Newspaper Stuff

I've been avoiding newspapers for the last week, but last night I sifted through them, and these articles caught my eye:

We had hoped that it would rain while we were gone, but there were only a couple of light showers. As the paper says, Chennai looks to the sky as reservoirs go dry. And here's a picture from The Hindu, November 12 -- it did not appear on its website -- of the water lorries that are filling the streets these days:

Gyan for Dummies: the latest Tamil college slang.

'Allah fish' found: a fish with markings that appear to praise Allah was found in Cuddalore district.

More elephants: Yes! I can never get enough of them. In An Elephant's Journey, the elephant Vellaiyammal sets off from Thanjavur to the month-long health camp:

A dhothi and a rose garland were put around the neck of the elephant, which was tied with a rope to the truck. Wooden poles, padded with clothes were fastened around the elephant to keep it steady, and grass and straw were supplied. Aarthis were performed after the puja in the presence of S. Kosalaraman, the Thanjavur District Collector; S. Ilango, Joint Commissioner, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department and Bhabaji Rajah Bhonsle, the senior prince and hereditary trustee of the palace Devasthanam. An `ash gourd' was broken and lemons put under the wheels of the truck. The vehicle with the elephant moved out of the temple at 1.30 p.m.

In case you're wondering what an elephant actually does at health camp, here's what you need to know:

the routine would start at 5.45 a.m with the animals' designated spots being cleaned and their legs and tusks getting an oil massage. Then they would be provided with green fodder and given a bath. In the afternoon, they would be examined by a team of doctors....`ragi', `kollu', rice, mineral supplements, salt, turmeric, Ayurvedic ingredients, such as Astachoornam and Chayavanprash, were being included in the diet. Protein supplements were also being provided. The elephants would get a special medical care from veterinarians. They would be given a bath and then brought to the camp at 8 a.m for feeding and thereafter let into the wilderness for grazing. They would return to the camp at at 6 p.m.

Although most of the elephants at the camp are attached to Hindu temples, one of them, Fathima Beevi, is the elephant of a Muslim dargah in Nagore:

Back to water again: from the Guardian: Coke on trial as Indian villagers accuse plant of sucking them dry

The mighty Coca Cola corporation of America has given evidence to a small village council in southern India in an attempt to keep open a huge bottling factory which is threatened with closure following allegations that it is sucking the community dry....

The village claims that Coca Cola's biggest bottling plant in India is draining water from their wells, drying up their ponds and adversely affecting the lives of more than 2,000 families who depend on the underground water for crops...