Hunger- A predicament unresolved.

In the antediluvian times when a problem aggrandized, committees were formed to solve the problems and specific measures were taken to ensure it won’t sprout up again. In case the issue couldn’t be solved at all, the people were taught to co-exist with  problems  with the justification of a mythological reference. Years passed, people who suffered in amassment were labelled “cursed” and the competent ones ruled.

Clusters under target

Thankfully today we have a lot of organizations and individuals to support these cursed souls and find them a respectful place in the society. We have various establishments to support women, the destitute, the mentally disabled, the animals and health victims with the patronage and backing from powerful celebrities, media stalwarts and politicians. A lot of social and economic issues came under control with change in attitude, and improvised analogies injected into minds with experiential campaigns. However, there is one adverse facet of the society that hasn’t changed at all and that is- Hunger. As per recent statistics by the Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations, India tops the Hunger list of the World with 194 million starving people, which is over 15 percent of India’s population. Additionally,  India ranks very high (exceeding China) in terms of food wastage where more than 40 percent of the agricultural produce gets wasted every year which amounts to 58000 cr.

The considerable increase in the economic growth of the country might have made a little amendment in the life of a few, but have failed to make any difference in satisfying the hunger of a large mass. Many reasons can be analysed for this issue -the status of unemployment, corruption, global recession, increase in the price of food and energy; one can even blame natural and man-made disasters. However we fail to realize that this issue has a solution and the solution is through YOU and ME. Let’s imagine a situation where you eat a huge breakfast at 9 am and throughout the day you stay in an empty stomach; what would be your condition at 8.30 pm? I am pretty sure you would be famished beyond limits. Do you get the point? Despite having a heavy breakfast much to your heart’s content at 9 am, by evening you feel starved and ravenous for food. Now, imagine living in a starved condition for days…we are not talking about skipping  meals or not getting your favourite  dessert .We are talking serious business here; a condition you and I would call a nightmare, the condition of Hunger and extreme starvation!

Volunteers of The Robin Hood Army

Is there a permanent solution to this problem? Maybe not! However, can we make a difference? Sure!  The answer is obvious- Reduce wastage and distribute surplus food. Did you know there is an organization in your country that dedicatedly works towards the reduction of hunger? It’s called the Robin Hood Army and they are present in different parts of India! The modus operandi is very simple, the RHA has  tie ups with various hotels and catering services in an around the city they operate and whenever they learn of surplus food, the group immediately gets together, collect the food and distribute it amongst some identified clusters in the city. The motto is simple- Reduce wastage and curb hunger.

India is the largest producer of milk across the globe and one of the major producers of vegetables and fruits; but it’s a shame to learn that 1/3^rd of the undernourished people in the world live in India.  It’s also not a mystery to comprehend why the prices of milk and vegetables are twice as it should be-the answer is wastage!

Deepak Singh, RHA Navi Mumbai Chapter

RHA is moulded out of people like you and me who are concerned about this national issue of  hunger and wastage of food; but the only difference is-they are out there fighting ! Deepak Singh, Head of RHA Navy Mumbai Chapter said, “The team is young and full of energy and the only aim when we get together for a drive is to make most out of the food we have in hand and feed maximum people. The source of food is mainly through hotels and catering services so that the surplus food can be fed to people thereby also ensuring there is no wastage of food.”

On the tie-ups with various hotels he said, “ Bringing a new Hotel on board is always a challenge, however we are doing quite well in maintaining relationship with the existing ones; but the problem is not as complex as you think. Even if it’s a household party where we realize food is in  surplus, we immediately get together and distribute it to the needy.”

My confabulation with the RHA team members made me realize that a different outlook and a positive attitude and make a huge difference in our war against hunger; it begins with you, as you can be a Robin Hood in your own account. Whenever there is a small party you host or even attend, make sure there is no wastage of food – either you call a Robin or be a Robin. Before you abandon that last slice of sandwich or a glass of soft drink, look around – what matters not to you could mean life to someone!

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one”- Mother Teresa

If you wish to be a part of this organization, visit the Robin Hood Army page on Facebook and sign up there or visit http://robinhoodarmy.com/

Image Courtesy: The Robin Hood Image bank and Google 

References:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Food-worth-Rs-58k-crore-goes-waste-in-India-every-year/articleshow/20452251.cms

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2014/08/india-perishable-food-waste-population-growth/

http://robinhoodarmy.com/

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/an-army-of-robin-hoods-that-fight-hunger-2934688/

A Holiday To Remember- 1st Anniversary Celebration in Paris

The memories of my First Wedding Anniversary celebration are still whirling across my mind and as it goes I recollect the approbation and marvel I and my Canon captured in our reminiscences. Is there a better place to celebrate love and togetherness other than the beautiful city of Paris? I think not!

Waiting in Anticipation at the Airport

The preparations and anticipation began two months before the travel and one of the main things I wanted to do before the journey was lose my weight-which obviously didn’t happen as I love my life a bit too much; however my husband surprised me with a brand new Canon, 2 weeks prior to our departure- now that is definitely better than losing weight in my logical analysis.

22^nd of December: We were counting days when finally the  “D” day arrived on the 22^nd of December, 2016. Brimingham to Paris takes an hour of flight journey and France is an hour ahead of The United kingdom. We arrived  in Paris at 4pm  and started our journey towards The Best Western Arc De’ Triomphe Hotel located in the Avenue De Wagram. A remarkable point we noticed about the building clusters in Paris is that most of them are triangular in shape; and our hotel was at the tip of a triangular block. The manager of the hotel was very friendly and helpful, God bless his soul, he helped us get a brief idea about the routes to use for our big Paris exploration on the next day and while he helped us get our luggage onto the tiniest elevator we have ever been in, Jithu wondered if both of us would fit in with our luggage; at this the manager smiled and exclaimed- That’s why Paris is called the city of love! One would be quite amused to learn that many blocks in Paris either have tiny or no elevator in the buildings because the elevators were  late additions to the buildings. The buildings have been preserved in that condition for years; so elevators were constructed in the only available spaces near the stairs.

Paris Infrastructure

Our room was beautiful and it had this out of the world Nespresso Machine that made the most beautiful coffees throughout the day. The over-all décor of the room was very quaint; we crashed into our beds to wake up enlivened next morning. I deliberately kept the curtains open so I could see the beautiful view until I sleep.

The next day we stopped by at a local bar for brunch where we ordered some bacon, eggs and pancakes with honey. What I enjoyed eating the most was the French bread- Baguette. Though baguettes are baked all over the globe, it is essentially connected to France. Baguettes come in different shapes and sizes and are given different names according to its size. For eg- A short Baguette , shaped in the form of a rugby ball is called batard which literally means bastard.

Open Top City Bus Tour

After attacking the food, we decided to experience an open top city bus tour to apprehend the city of Paris. The city bus tour was beautiful as we got an exquisite glimpse of the French Infrastructure, Heritage and Culture. Paris canopies architectural references and examples from the 18^th century to the present era; in fact it was in Paris that the Art Deco style of architecture first established that involved craftsmanship using rich materials which represented luxury and glamour . The bus gave us some beautiful peeps of  The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral- an iconic landmark which was once the power centre of Paris, The Louvre Museum, The Orsay Museum, The  Paris Opera House and a couple of other attractions.  

Busy Streets of Paris

The Wedding Feast at Cana

We got down at the Louvre  Museum stop to visit one of the World’s finest Gallery of Art, Culture and Heritage- Musee de’ Louvre! The Louvre essentially accommodates Sculptures and Artefacts from ancient Greece and Egypt and a notable collection of paintings from the era of Neoclassical, classical and Renaissance. The biggest mistake you can make in Louvre is to attempt to see it all at once, which we did out of the lack of time but we spent a significant amount of time at the Grand Galerie’ where we went through some of the beautiful Italian paintings that depicts religious scenes mainly from the Gospels. The Monalisa is obviously the biggest sensation in Louvre and mind you, she is the most protected and mobbed painting but she is not my favourite; the painting I love the most is the biggest painting in the Louvre where water turns into wine, “The Wedding Feast at Cana”. I will shamelessly admit that my favourite feature in the painting is the way the grandeur and beauty of the women in Venice is depicted through this painting.

Examining a bullet hole on the sculpture

Abduction of Helen of Sparta

The Lower Pyramid within The Louvre

The mobbed Monalisa

Paris from The Eiffel Tower

After Louvre, we decided to visit the Eiffel Tower. Although many will argue that The Eiffel Tower is the most popular attraction in Paris, I would say the city is much more than the Tower however it’s always a delight to watch the tower sparkling at night like a dream but in the end, it’s just a tower. The Eiffel tower is divided into 3 stages, with restaurants on the first and second stage, and the topmost stage is 906 feet above the ground which is the highest observation deck that is open to the public. You can have a beautiful birds eye view of the entire city of Paris and the best time to visit The Eiffel tower is night. It is said that Gustave Eiffel who designed The Eiffel tower received a lot of criticisms from various artists, in fact a petition was sent to The ministry of works and commissioner for exposition claiming that the erection of the Tower is the biggest insult to the French Infrasructure. Gustave retaliated by saying that his tower looks like the Pyramids of Egypt so it wouldn’t be right saying that something that is beautiful in Egypt becomes hideous in Paris. However, today Eiffel tower is one of the most visited monuments in Paris.

The Eiffel Tower

After experiencing the three major attractions on the 23^rd we decided to call it a day.

24^th-  On the Christmas eve, most of the attractions were closed so we did not have  much to do so we decided to have a walk across the streets of Champs Elysees-  one of the most famous shopping streets in Paris. On the Christmas eve the streets were decorated in a way that magnified its glory 10 times. All the big brand stores like Hugo Boss, Marks and Spencer and Levi’s were decorated to look like treats. We managed to do a little shopping from these streets and we headed straight towards a local stall that sold mulled wine and waffles. It was a perfect day! We had our dinner from a Middle Eastern Restaurant;  where they served an extraordinary entrée which is very famous across Avenue De Wagram- A platter of sides where one dish contained raw salmon dipped in Mayonnaise . I wouldn’t say I liked the platter too much but it was an interesting experience.

The Cruise Ride

25^th December- Our Anniversary date falls on the Christmas day and we decided to take the day slow by watching television and attending calls. At 5 pm we decided to step out for a romantic cruise ride on the river Seine. We had a glimpse of some of Paris’ famous monuments and attractions within a comfortable heated deck; and suddenly the realization struck us that we are leaving this beautiful place tomorrow.

The Avenue des Champs Elysees

26^th December- We packed our bags and decided to go for a quick walk to bid farewell to this city. I would say Paris is best explored on a walk; as you walk through the picturesque and quaint paths across the street you experience the real beauty of Paris which is beyond the famous monuments and The Monalisa- you see why the city of love is named the way it is- the buildings, the roads, the elegantly dressed women, the singing children, the whiff of the French bread and the magic of the city make you want to come back and experience all of it again. Yes, Paris is important for its attractions and monuments but it’s much more than all that…

We reached Birmingham on the 26^th of December and made a promise to go back for a longer time and make Paris more of experiences and less of attractions.

The City of Paris

Note: Some pictures were captured on our Canon while some from my phone. 

References:

http://en.parisinfo.com//

http://www.nyhabitat.com/blog/2014/12/08/4-things-did-not-know-about-paris-stairs/

http://www.toureiffel.paris/en.html

http://primaryfacts.com/2970/the-louvre-facts-and-information/