I Heard The Crows Call For Rain

As scientific tools falter in predicting rain patterns, Indian scientists turn to the Vedas and traditional knowledge for some fine tuning.

Nearly 70 percent of India’s population relies almost exclusively on agriculture, so accurate weather forecasts are extraordinarily important. During the past 100 years, the monsoon has been normal 85 times, so predicting an uneventful season is relatively safe. Nevertheless, during the last two decades, the official rainbow chasers have gone terribly awry.


Retired Air Vice Marshal Ajit Tyagi, director general of Indian Meteorology Department (IMD), admits, “The extremes are really difficult to forecast.” The 135-year-old department, supported by dedicated satellites and hordes of sophisticated Doppler radars, predict the amount of rainfall (in percentage) annually. Every year, IMD projects precipitation levels on a scale, in which it predicts either a normal monsoon, a drought or a flood. The country’s economic fortunes and rural lives hang on its projections.

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Published in the magazine - Little India - the largest circulated Indian publication in the United States, as well as the largest circulated overseas Indian publication in the world.

Hari's flute, Krishna's tune

Music was not a genetic bequest for Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia. His father, a wrestler of international repute, wanted him to enter the world of muscle combat. But his interest lay in the much softer and mellower notes of life. 


At the age of 15, Chaurasia embraced music for life. When asked how difficult it was to switch from the game of muscle to the play of chords, he says, “It was difficult, but at the same time, fascinating too.”

Panditji began learning classical vocal from Pandit Raja Ram of Benares. The journey had just begun. His destination still looked hazy and distant. It was after attending a flute recital by Pandit Bholanath that the foundation for a flute legend was laid. Call it love at first sight or at first sound, the flute became his soul, his essence of life. His flute knows the delightful art of conveying delicate levels of feelings through subtle manipulation of tones and intervals. 


Avoiding all pinpoints he says, “I treat my each concert like first and last, so each one of them is memorable to me.” For audiences, this is definitely the case. “Music is my prayer and each auditorium a temple,” he adds. Pandit Chaurasia is a musician who is credited for developing a style that is respectful of tradition, yet full of novelty. Touching the chords of every heart, even his critics remain in awe of his style.

Cover story for the American magazine DeshVidesh (August 2010). Desh-Videsh magazine, is widely circulated in the southeast US. Readers hail from Florida, Georgia, Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.  The magazine reaches a varied audience of over 50,000 Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshi, and Indo-Caribbeans.

The Gurus Go Green

What started as a journey to nirvana now seems to be heading towards a greener destination.

Spiritual Gurus who had been leading their followers on sacred paths until recently have now begun directing them to greener trails. Vowing to save the dying ‘Green’ Planet, many saffron-clad babas can now be spotted campaigning to save the environment. Using their wide reach and strong influence, the Gurus of India are successfully sketching and running climate cause campaigns - much to the shame of government ministries and professional organizations that have failed to make any impact so far.

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Khabar is a monthly magazine for the Indian community ONLY in GA, AL, TN & SC. Besides Indian-Americans, Khabar also reaches other South Asian immigrants in Georgia; those from countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka who share common needs for good and services.

Money to my home

A recently released data by the World Bank officially records that remittance flowing back to developing countries from the bank accounts of their migrants was equal to a sum of $338 billion in the year 2008. What’s interesting here is that out of this huge sum, more than $50 billion was the contribution of Non Resident Indians only.

Ten on ten 
India has consistently topped the chart for almost a decade now being the highest recipient of worker’s remittances. According to the World Bank figures, India received remittances worth $45 billion in the year 2008.

The World Bank acknowledged being surprised with the figures as South Asians proved to be stronger than all the expectations of the Bank. Report says that the remittance flows to Pakistan also increased by 24 per cent in the first eight months of 2009 on a year on year basis. Flows to Bangladesh and Nepal increased by 16 and 13 per cent respectively in the same period.


Creditable India!

Widening the smile further comes an estimate from Indian Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC). Under the chairmanship of eminent economist C Rangarajan who has also been the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, PMEAC has suggested that the remittance flow to India will grow strongly in the financial year 2009 – 2010 (which runs from April to March). Inward private transfers accounted to have already reached $27.5 billion in the first half of the current financial year. PMEAC predicts that India will receive not less than $30 billion in second half of the financial year taking the total annual figure to over $57 billion, a nearly 30 per cent hike over the previous financial year’s total.

Credit for credit


In the era of recession the promotion in cadres and salary hikes could definitely not be credited for the funds credited by NRIs. It’s the liberalisation of rules and regulations added to more flexible exchange rates. The convenient remittance services provided by Indian and International banks and several other organisations also encouraged shifting of channels from informal ones like hawala to official and proper banking channels.

The heavy inflow could also be credited to several attractive schemes and Indian government’s policy initiatives keeping NRIs in focus. Reserve Bank of India’s report sites factors like Rupee depreciation, increase in interest rate ceilings on NRI deposits, etc. The uncertainty in Oil prices also encouraged NRIs looking for an hedging opportunity to park their money in India and expect relatively better growth prospects.

Middle-East Vs West


A study on invisibles by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the balance of payments comprising income from transaction in services and overseas investments, besides permanent transfers such as remittances by the Diaspora, has said that the Gulf has accounted for 27 per cent of the total remittances from NRIs globally.

The Central bank has quoted a survey on remittances by overseas Indians conducted in November 2009 that in comparison to a similar survey last done by RBI in 2006. The comparative data says that remittance from North America has dipped from 44 per cent to 38 per cent in three years as compared to rise in remittance from Gulf countries from 24 per cent to 27 per cent and from Europe – 13 per cent to 18 per cent.

Adding on to GDP


In developing nations like India where every dollar counts a lot, the remittances make up more than three per cent of the total national GDP. That’s a big contribution. For countries like Tajikistan, Tonga and Lebanon remittances contribute 25 to 50 per cent of their respective national GDP, similarly for Guyana, Nepal and Honduras the add-up is between 15 to 25 per cent of the GDP, remittance to such nations is nothing less than a lifeline to country’s economy...

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Originally appeared in an American magazine DeshVidesh (August 2010). Desh-Videsh magazine, is widely circulated in the southeast US. Readers hail from Florida, Georgia, Washington, DC, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina.  The magazine reaches a varied audience of over 50,000 Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshi, and Indo-Caribbeans.