The Hindu :Sunday, December 12, 2004

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, December 12, 2004

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Winter is here, so are the birds
The coming of the cold season brings with it events in the natural world that are as spectacular as they are mysterious, and as breathtaking as they are epic in proportion. It's a humbling experience to those of us who care to take note, says PANKAJ SEKHSARIA.

Culture

Fairly different
S.C. SHARMA finds a lot has changed at Renuka Fair, in Himachal Pradesh's Sirmaur district, in the four years since he last visited it.

VIGNETTES

Ode to a mountain train
For the pastoral Todas of the Nilgiris, nothing is more precious than their buffaloes. So, what better way to show their love for the Nilgiri Mountain Railway than to compare it with this animal, in a poem. It reflects their confidence and receptiveness towards an alien intrusion, say DHARMALINGAM VENUGOPAL and PRABHU POORNAN.

Issues

Patently unfair
The third amendment to the Indian Patents Act, due to be passed in the winter session of Parliament, threatens to compromise the public's access to essential medicines and, thereby, people's right to health. AMMU JOSEPH explores the implications of the proposed legislation for citizens in the context of the passage of Human Rights Day — December 10 — which looks at among other things, the right to health and healthcare.

GENDER ISSUES

Pushing at the barriers
Violence against women is a complex issue but it has been brought out of the private sphere into the public realm. Though progress is slow, it is progress nevertheless, writes ANANDHI SUBRAMANIAN.

Environment

ECO WATCH

Return of the salmon
Thanks to intensive sewage treatment measures implemented by riverside communities and industry, the Rhine is gradually overcoming the acute water poisoning over the years, says GUNVANTHI BALARAM.

Columns

THE OTHER HALF By Kalpana Sharma Iraq's unwritten stories		CAMBRIDGE LETTER By Bill Kirkman Unconcerned about Ireland

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People

EXPERIENCE

`An outsider, always'
Several stories of successful Inter-Country Adoption (ICA) have been published. The adopted children are portrayed as well-to-do, well-adjusted individuals. But how do they actually feel? GITA RAMASWAMY talks to an Indian adoptee in the U.S.

TRIBUTE
Writer well loved
`She liked life, and respected the span of time that was hers'. SUSAN VISVANATHAN on writer Shama Futehally who died last week.

IN CONVERSATION

Language of dance
Lakshmi Vishwanathan's latest production focuses on the life of one woman, Bangalore Nagaratnamma, and her contribution to the arts. The show is in aid of the renovation of the historic Senate Hall in the University of Madras. CHITRA MAHESH talks to the dancer.

Art inspires
Thailand's best-known artist Thawan Duchanee talks to LEKHA J. SHANKAR about his art.

IN THE NEWS

Well deserved
There can be no questioning the choice of Ebrahim Alkazi as Roopwedh Pratishtan's first recipient of the Tanvir Award, writes GOWRI RAMNARAYAN as even his critics accept the veteran's unquestionable contribution to Indian theatre.

Lifestyle

URBAN SPACES

Re-defining architecture
`It may look crowded, but it's also kinetic, chaotic, vital and pulsating with energy. Mumbai is the richest city in India,' says Rahul Mehrotra. It is out of this very chaos that he extracts the exuberance that he brings to his many roles as architect, conservationist, urban planner, teacher and writer, says GEETA DOCTOR.

GARDENING

Grand beauty
ORCHID plants are members of the Orchidaceae family — the second largest family of flowering plants after the Sunflower family. Some orchids are natural terrestrial growers, while others are epiphytic (grow on ...

IMAGES

Natural Mumbai
`It's not just a collection of pretty pictures. It looks at the beautiful side of Mumbai and what we have done to it,' says naturalist Sunjoy Monga, on his first-ever exhibition of photographs that just concluded in that city. MEENA MENON writes.

Health

HEALTHWATCH
Perfect sight
Many people do not realise that certain things they do cause defective vision. Dr. AMAR AGARWAL writes about relaxation techniques for the eyes.

Miscellany

History painted all over

Astrology

MOON SIGNS
By Khousikan
Queries Answered

Mesha

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Mithuna

Kataka

Simha

Kanya

Thula

Vrischika

Dhanus

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Meena