Agroeconomy of India in Thirukkural

Thiruvalluvar and agricultural economy

Valluvar and Valluvanaad have a relation.The valluvar and valluvakonathiri as chieftain

of it was the mainstream of agroeconomy of Cheranad of sangham period and a valluvar

from that Naad singing the glory of three purushartha(dharma,artha and kaama)is

definitely aware of the agroeconomy of Valluvanad.

Let us see what Valluvar had written about agroeconomy.It is believed that valluvar

wrote his treatise Thirukkural in BC 30 .The Valluvan among 12 children of Vararuchi

was also from Valluvanad.The water rights of Valluvakonathiri is mentioned by William

Logan in his Manual of Malabar.And the giving of land for cultivation with

Neerattiper(giving with water as a water right)is seen even during period of

Mahabali,King of Mahishmathy and Kerala .

Therefore,it is not accidental that after praising God in the first 10 kurals Valluvar starts

his praise of rains.He says by the knowledge of the one who knows about the rain and

cloud ,the rains come in correct order and sustain the world of existence (as the praise of

Rishabha in the veda ,and the relation of food and rain as in the Geetha 3.14)He says

knowing rain as the amritha(nectar of eternity) is wisdom.The people who eat food,the

food they eat,the produce they generate from the ground as food,and all food is by rain

only and therefore rain itself is food.Selfsufficiency of food is by agriculture and

agriculture is by rain.Puranaanooru has said(18.21) the importance of land and water in

food production.Kural said ,if there is no rain,hunger will weaken the world,even if it is

surrounded by water of the oceans .In kural 13 he uses the term Viyan ulakam(Viyyan or

viyyam being the lake of Ponnani is very important in that usage ).And in kural 22 also

he uses this term for the world..when monsoon fail famines occur.In one place reasonable

harvest and in another drought can happen.This has to be known by a unified welfare

state to tide over such crisis by sharing of food.The potential for mishaps should always

be foreseen and consequences of failure of a monsoon is known only by long years of

experience ,and only such people can take measures to prevent famines.This was what

was done by ancient Indians .The temple of each chieftain had granaries enough to feed

entire people of his village and beyond as sangham period guilds show.The granary of

Mohenjodaro show this foresight .

In kural 14 Valluvar use the ancient terms Uzhavar and Eru .He says if ploughmen stop

agriculture due to lack of rains ,they get laziness and weakness and the plough is the

prosperity and economy and strength of an agrarian economy.Eru is a pair of oxen and in

the word Eranad this term one can see.Akananur (193.2)also express the same view.

Kural 15 say ,if no rain we are ruined .And good rain give prosperity.The rain revive land

that was left uncultivated for years .The excess destroy too the crops.If clouds do not

pour not even a blade of green grass will come out of earths womb.He says in kural 211

that a good man’s service to society is compared to the nishkaamakarma of the rains .Not

only the land ,but also the ocean is thinned when there is no rain ,and its produce like

fish,pearls,corals etc disappear or lack lusture.In India ,people knew that if rains come in

April May the pearl formation and pearl culture suffer and the conception of pearl in the

conch in Oct Nov is prevented (In vasantha no rain should fall,and in Oct Nov or Sharad

rithu it should fall so that a drop enter the conch on swathy star to become a pearl

within.).Paripaadal (20)also mentions about this relation of rain to pearl .Thus ,even

pearltrade suffer and economy suffer with untimely monsoon.Without rain,no festivals,no

pooja,no offerings for deva or for guests etc .Both daana and thapas will disappear from

earth if there is no rain.Without water no life is possible on earth and dharma depends on

rain and water.

Kural 25 gives the name of Indra as the king who is witness to the greatness of the

Sage who have controlled the five (senses).The vedic RainGod is the only name Valluvar

has used in his whole treatise. (He mentions story of Vishnu measuring three worlds with

feet but without mentioning name)He says the deva on earth are the anthanar(Brahmins)

because they are the ones who knows Aram or dharma and does not hurt another

jeeva(ahimsa)and are compassionate (Kural 30).Am+Thanmai and Chem+thanmai are

used in this kural.The first as compassion and ahimsa and the second as himsa .He asks

people to do good deeds in whatever way possible,in all places,and all times and in all

ways possible and it is the ideal philosophy of the Chantron (ideal virtuous man).This is

the way of the Aryaputhra in all wakes of life .(The civilized individual).

How do we do service to people?

1.Ascertain the priority needs of the people.

2.Satisfy them with personal efforts and financial and other service contributions

3.Mobilise the community’s thinking ,resources and will in that direction

4.Make the profession /vocation a live opportunity for service in your immeadite

surroundings and geographical area.

5.Promote international good will and understanding

If there is no selfishness in mind that will be the best dharma .This Nishkaamakarma is

the keystone of Krishna’s as well as Valuuvar philosophy(kural 34)and is also reflected

in Proverbs (22.11)and Mathew(5.8) in Bible.

The Grihastha giving food to sanyasin,to poor people who are hungry,and to ancestors
,elders who are unable to work is the friend of all ashrama and all varna and all beings

and is doing the best dharma.(By doing the panchayajna).Aimpulathaaru is the word

Valluvar used in kural43.Periyapuranam (26)says:-

After dividing the total income into 6 parts a man has to give one part of it to king as tax

(kings due)and the rest five is for daiva,pithru,athithy,relations and society and for

oneself in equal quantity.

This was the customary revenue and the way of life of all people.It is this that was

changed by the foreign rules all over India.In Holy Koran(Ch 2,Rukoo 9)we find that

riches should go for parents,near and dear ones,kindreds,orphans needy and way-farers.

In kural a person who lives an ideal life with dharma is the Thala(head)or chieftain of all

others ,the leadership is only for him.(kural 47)Thus the term Thala,as head ,or chief

leader and place of such people is called Thalappally,Thalassery etc also in South India.

Kural 50 says “Vaiyathul vazhvaanku vazhpavan vaanurayum theyvathul vaykkapedum”
.
One who lives a good life in Vayyam with dharma,becomes a God among the

heavens.(Bhoodeva).And the role of a wife in such sahayajna is important as Valluvar

says ,even if a man has everything else ,but a wife without control of five senses and

culture he is living a life of poverty.The real kaappu(protection)of a womans chastity is

not fort or army but her own mind and her Nishta to follow swadharma.As a heroine of

Shakespeare said”My chasity is the jewel of our house bequeathed down from many

ancestors”.Proverbs (31.25)also say this.Kambaramayana asks( jatayu:uyir 144.57)who

protected Sita’s chastity?Was it Janaka’s good deeds?Rama’s dharma?Or her own

protection of chastity?The answer is obvious.Sharing a life of pain and

pleasure,adversities as well as good days alike a woman does her sahadharma not only in

family life but in all his vocations,and in the yajna and in the next world .If a wife is not

upto the mark ,a man cannot walk proudly as a Rishabha among people and hewill be

slighted by all who knows him,because of the noncultured uncontrolled habits of the wife

.(Eating ,drinking ,and involving in bad words etc she brings shame on him).Thus a good

cultured civilized wife is the auspicious life and good children are jewels of such a ideal

wedlock.Kurals 81-90 is on hospitality and feeding guests and needy as dharma.A great

person who does that is called a vallal with same dhathu as valla/valluva/vallabha etc

.Kural 87 specifically says the the worth of ones hospitality is measured by the quality of

his guests.Hospitality is a velvi or yagna,as Athithiyagna in 5 mahayagna.

From Babylonian,Sumerian ,Assyrian IVC times the perfect measurement and balancing

of weights and measures is wellknown among Indians.During Mahabali’s reign there was

no false balance or false measures is mentioned in Kerala stories.Thiruvalluvar in kural

118 says to hold the scales(of balance)even and fair is the ornament of those who seeks

perfection in their rectitude.This is justice of equality in all affairs too.Not only in

physical balance but also in mind free from bias or partiality and words free from envy or

selfish motives etc.Kural 120 says the tradesmen guard other people’s interest as their

own ,and thus their trade flourish.And in Aihole inscription of the guilds also we find this

idea expressed.Honest dealings as best policy in trade was not a lipservice but day to day

practice of dharma.This commercial ethics of agroeconomy of India was lost over the

time ,first in North India and then in SouthIndia by submission to the rules of foreigners

.The focusssed dedicated disciplined life of traditional dharma was replaced by new rules.

Kural 134 says a Paarppan(seer/Brahmin from which word the Parappanad is derived)if

he has forgotten his scriptures can read up and regain but once he looses his rigt conduct


he is loosing his birthright(Janmam right of dharma) or Pirappozhukkam.

Social cooperation is hallmark of Valluvar’s principle of dharma.He says good men

produce wealth industriously so that they may dutifully use it for benefit of society.And

only those who live with such social co-operation has lived a perfect life and others are

as good as dead.He is compared to a village drinking water source getting filled up with

rainwater as and when more people use it.It is like a fruit tree giving fruit to all in the

village.And like a healing drug or medicine for all ills of the society.And even if the

resources are small,people with knowledge of dharma share it with all.The worst misery

such a dharmic man have when he is deprived of wealth,is that he cannot help others as

before.Valluvar says even if social co-operation ruin you economically it is worth

embracing at that cost ,because it is better to be ruined by co-operation rather than live a

life of non-co-operation with society.(Kurals 211 to 220 are on socal co-operation).kural

221 distinguish daana from investment done for a return.It is more blessed to give than to

receive for a yogin and for a dharmishta.(Bible and Koran also admits this).Only a noble

mind can do daana even if it is riskyas Mahabali did.The great people who feed the poor

are investing not in physical wealth or returns but in the everlasting heavenly rewards

.The one who shares a meal with the needy do not suffer pangs of hunger .Those who

hoard wealth by unfair means and do not give it to anyone,does not know the happiness

of giving,and their wealth is lost as they have come.It is transient.If a poor hungry man is

wretched,the man who close door on his face is more wretched .The fame of a person

who helps sufferers and poor will be greater than all the scholars and literary and musical

giants is the opinion of Valluvar.Legendary figure of Paarivallal is an example.Paari was

a person who lived in Cheranad.The value of compassion is stressed by valluvar and he

says that if everyone stop meat eating no one will slaughter animals for making a profit

out of it.(Kural 256)

All these are under dharmasasthra.The Arthasasthra(porutpaal or economics )of Valluvar

is as follows:-

The kingship and Govt or State has six necessities.The army(Padai),the people(Kudi),the

food(Koozh),ministers(amaichu)allies(Natpu)and fortress(aran/aranmanai).The king

should have some qualities and training to obtain these qualities.In the practical realistic

economics of Vallluvar is the underlying moral ethical tone of the Arhtasasthra of

Bheeshma,Krishna of Mahabharatah times and it is absent in the 15th century

Machiavellian Prince .Time and place management is dealt with by Valluvar .The society

in which Valluvar lived must have been quiet informed and learned from his treatise.The

absolute value of honour is never forgotten even when dealing with the material aspects

of life is reflecting the values of the society.Aracharul Eru(Rishabha among kings)or

sometimes translated as the Simha among kings(Nrisimha)is having the 6 wealth as

Valluvar says.Such a king was equated to Lord Visnu by Thiruvaymozhi (34.8)is

significant Kulasekhara being a Chera/Walluva king.

1Army in appropriate strength and variety(Chathuranga)

2.Treasury/Nidhi with all necessary resources for expenditure in normal and in times of

adversity like famines etc to provide food
.
3.Able,experienced,learned in statesmanship to advise king ,without fear or favour should

be the ministers.

4.The allys who stand by king through adversity and prosperity ,honestly ,ready to give

up even ones own life for the sake of king and nation.
5.The people who are just and learned in all affairs of state and able to decide in village

assembly what they require,what priorities of the kudimakkal are.And how it would

affect welfare of entire nation.

6.Fortress for defence .

The best fortress is dharma.Then the natural fortress of mountains and oceans and

rivers.Structures like manmade fortresses to be used when there is no natural protection.

These were existent from time of Ramayanam onwards.Thus the continuity of a culture

has to be assessed from scriptures.The 7th organ,the head is the king himself.Kural 756

says the sources of income of state as Uruporul,Ulkuporul and Teruporul.

Uruporul include the dues or tax paid to treasury by people the tax rate of 1/10th

,1/6th,etc.Also the treasures which come in ships(uru)whithout heirs or in a storm

etc.Ulkuporul is the ulkam and sulkam (chunkam)as duty of transport

customs.Teruporul is the tribute from a vanquished king,seizure of that kings assets,as

a legitimate acquisition for payment of the army etc.

The word Koozh for food covers all varieties of food articles as resources of the nation

and it is on this the agroeconomy is based to feed all citizens and to make profit from the

excess produce.In a political game we find dishonest change from one side to other for

power gains.This type of friends or allys make the kings /rulers Govt weak.So too

advisers who always try to please by saying untruth also is bad for a ruler.In

Mahabharatha the worth of Vidura was that he always said fearlessly what he felt about

the partiality of the king though it displeased him.

Valluvar says the rulers should have courage,generosity,knowledge and perseverance in

boundless measure.Alert,learned,brave rulers/leaders are needed in all regions.A king

without Dharma will not be able to aquire wealth,develop and guard it,for equitable

distribution of state expenditure and public good .(kural 385).Rulers should be accessible

easily to public and should be kind and use only good words to them(This is important in

our present day too).Only then he get public support.To such a king the people willingly

succumb and support.Only by performing such dharma of the land the ruler become

worshipped as God by people.To a king who is just,patient and impartial and have

forbearance all world rally under a banner.(K 389)This was the idea of a unified nation

under an emperor in India.The light of a king are his kodai(giving away as well as

umbrella both seen in the Kodainadu of Valluvanaad of Chera kingdom of

Malabar)Chenkol (justice )and concern of the Kudi’s(peoples)welfare.(Prajakshema in

scriptures).The one who has these symbols is called The Udaiyaan(one who has) or ruler

of that region.(K 390).The divine light or thejas which gives a status of king or ruler is

thus generosity,graciousness,dharma or protection of justice without partiality and

concern of peoples welfare.Each king aspired for such qualities and educative system was

designed for this purpose.The learning shape ones conduct and therefore education and a

Guru was given priority in the system.En(Number)and eluthu(letters0are two eyes of

humans for making a best life.The seers or people with eyes are only these people with en

and ezhuthu as their eyes.The eye of others is not eyes,says kural(393).Thus Paarpanar

(See paarpanar anghadi,Paarappanaadu etc in Kerala kings traditions).To bow before

such Udaiyar(who have knowledge)is to learn from them and improve life.

Valluvar mentions sand which gives water as one digs .

Kural 396:-Thottanaithu oorum mantrakkeni maantharukku

Kattranaithu oorum arivu.

As one digs deeper into sand more water comes out.Similarly as one learns

more,knowledge is deeper and wider. Learning in this birth stand him for next 7 births (K

398) and the learning when it makes others happy ,one is prompted to learn more and

help more.In this way the pursuit of learning continue.Valluvar compares the ignorant to

a barren land which does not give any ield to be counted fertile(K 406).What is the

diference of the learned from ignorant?Valluvar says the difference of man from other

animals.(k 410).Therefore listening to the wise is the most sublime wealth.Wisdom is the

best wealth for Vallluvar .The wise man love entire world with constancy unlike a bloom

that opens and closes frequently(K 425).This is seen in Bhagavad Geetha (7.8-9).Only

men of wisdom foresee what is to come and are prepared for it .The ignorant know not

what is ahead of them and are caught unprepared .(427)Therefore wise are not afraid of

any adverse situations .They have already read the signs of it (foresight)and taken

precautions against it so that the peole are saved.The wise do not allow even a small

blemish on their character.They avoid even millet-sized(Thinai size)fault in their mind as

if it is great as a Palmtree(Panai).Thus is purest of mind and intellect.(Sathwik as said in

Geetha).Because such small faults can accumulate and ruin ones wisdom.The life of one

who do not foresee ,is like a haystalk in advancing fire.So,a king who judges fault

/adharma in others should be faultless .Miserliness,amassing wealth without giving or

sharing it to others is not just a vice but it is the worst vice and such a person find his

wealth declining and vanishing(K 437,438).Another wealth is having good people as

friends and councellors(k 441-450) and avoiding bad people to enter the circle of friends

and councellors(451-460).Because water will take the character of the soil through which

it flows.Men’s character is likewise altered by the associations they make.Kurumthokai

says(40)Chempulapeyal neer pola.The water in red soil take muddy red colour

easily.Crime by imitation and crime by association happen when one associate with bad

people.The perceptions of a mans mind are belonging to own mind.But ,the nature of a

man can be assessed by the company he keeps(453).In fact the knowledge and

dispositions which look like arising from ones mind are stemming largely from one’s

company(454)and this psychological knowledge is needed to have association with

sajjana and dissociation from durjana .Purity of mind and of actions spring from purity of

associations.The pure minded leave behind a progeny of pure minded.The efforts of the

pureminded will never fail.They will succeed.The purity of mind not only gives spiritual

growth but also material and personal prosperity and good associations leads one to

glory.It gives strength and support in all actions and dharma.Actually this is the reason

why the friend(husband/wife) in a family life also was selected from a good lineage of

dharma.Kural 460 use the term Thunai(help/mate) for an associate.

What is forethought for ultimate success?

Here Valluvar gets to Arthasasthra proper after his introduction to graihastha and

Raajadharma.

There are 3 elements for each action to be considered before it starts.

The risk of loss ,the possibility of acquisition,and the ultimate return as value.For one

who considers all these after proper consultation with his honest friends and sajjana

associates there is no failure.The wise conserve what is already

gained.(Protection/Sthithy).Only after that they enter a risky,doubtful enterprise.No one

venture into a project without full deliberation and a clear decision .To have an illmade

project plan facilitate loss of what one has already aquired and therefore the wise draw a

welldesigned action plan .Valluvar says doing the forbidden and not doing the obligatory

both leads to ones ruin.The action should follow analytical decision,resulting from deep

deliberations .The action plan that has no systematic planning will fail even if there is a

majority support (as we see in our present elections) according to kural 468.If we do not

consider the public welfare all our plans will be ruined which is important for public

relations in a welfare state

Valluvar Strategy:-

Decide how much resources and power one needs to carry out a project.

The resources at disposal

The strength of it and of the allies

After studying al ranges of possibilities ,related problems launch project.

Concentrate on enterprise fully

Then nothing is impossible.

Overestimation of resources and strength is not good for success of project.Even the

weight of a peacock feather can break the axle of a cartwheel .(overconfidence and over

exhibition of power is not good).A parallel in English is a last straw that break the camels

back.The one who climbe to the thinnest branch of a tree and attempts to go further fall

and perish.Therefore measure the income,and give a part as dharma(charity work)and

live a life of dignity.If the channel of inflow is narrow and small ,the outflow should not

be disproportionate.(Kural 478).The sources of income and expenditure to be balanced

well is the idea.If there is ample resources and if the enterprise start at right time the

rewards will be good.Tying up operations to seasonal variation is the rope which binds us

inseparably to prosperity.(K 482).This is very important in all matters of

economy,especially in agricultural operations for a good produce without much risks of

loss by natural calamities.Thus right means and right time is important in agricultural

economy (in all economic pursuits).The right place for action also is important.(K

484).For growing paddy one has to choose the soil,climate best for paddy.Similarly for

each crop.When the right time comes,act swiftly,and with a sure aim (K 490).Do not

waste time when the right hour and opportunity comes.Act quickly and make produce

necessary for sustenance and sharing with others.this policy of agricultural economy is

important in Kerala and India (generally)which depend upon monsoon rains for its

produce and for overseas trade from antiquity.Kural 496 says the four wheeled chariot is

not of use in the sea and the swift sailing ship is not useful on land.Therefore every kind

of transport should be planned for the produce to be used in a particular medium and used

to maximum benefit of gain,with minimum loss .

There are four tests for efficiency of an executive(administrator/king).they are on

Dharma(virtue),wealth(artha) Love(Kama) and fear of death(Courage to face adversities).

Thus choose a leader with a good background ,free of faults ,sensitive to public censure

.(K 502).Valluvar also says from a good family (Kudippiranthu).Kural 794 also says the

same.When you select the leader ,weigh the persons worth and his failings fairly and

choice made if good prevails.(This is a democratic method of selecting a King by the

people and the assembly of people which was there in India as we understand from

Ramayana times ).Have we this faculty of selection in modern India is to be debated

seriously .The deeds of the individual and his behaviour alone will be the touchstone

which determines ones greatness and littleness.(K 505).Perumai and Chirumai are words

used here for great and small.It also mean the elder and the younger.(The words Perumaal

and Cherumaan or Cheraman coupled thus is the younger Great King of Mooshakavansa

.The elder one being in Mahishmathy ,the banks of Narmada ,and younger one in West

coast including present Karnataka and Kerala).Choosing councilors,ministers etc should

be with utmost care and impartiality and good and learned men with impartiality alone

should be selected(K 506-507).One who chooses a stranger without testing his ability as

well as honesty and impartiality,into administratin is causing endless trouble to posterity

(508).Trusting untested strangers and doubting tested honest aides also leads to such

destruction.(510).The good performance of public service is a test of good leaders.He

should be able to (512)

1.Enlarge resources of income

2.develop wealth of the realm in which he is in charge

3.Overcome and find solution to all problems that arise .

The criteria for proper selection are :-

Affectionate loyalty,a discriminating mind,decisiveness,and freedom from desires.With

thes e,the person should also be a man of action .Work is to be entrusted only to people

with expert knowledge and painstaking application and not to ones

favourites(515).Therefore before starting a enterprise,think of the nature of the job,the

suitable men for it,and appropriate time and place for it.(516).After making such a

decision that such and such a job can be done by such and such a person competently and

honestly ,with the available resources ,he should be left free to do it by himself.(517) This

is delegation of power .The delegation promotes motivation.The freedom and flexibility

is a way of decentralizing power from the emperor /chief executive to

subordinates/people.But the Emperor/Chief executive does not loose all responsibility.He

has to do

1.Tests and checks in the field of activity of the subordinate,inspections periodically to

see all works well

2.statistical checks

3.good will,performance and acceptance as prevailing in people being checked .

Thus central and peripheral systems work in harmony based on a common goal and

dharma or ethics .Both have responsibility to the job and to the people and nation

alike.This can happen only when all are united by a common code of dharma.If this

dharma prevails everything in the nation will automatically be straightened out .

Appropriate contact with the honest and affectionate people who give support is part of a

successful ruler.(522-23)If he have no such intercourse he is like a lake without bunds

getting a bountiful supply of water.

Kulavallaa kodu intri neer niraithan :- shows the knowledge of construction of a bund

(Kotu/kolu)for lakes for irrigation.Chutthramthazhaal or lookingafter the community or

the society/tribe is like protecting water with a bund for productivity .Thus public

intercourse and co-operation in agricultural field of Kol with bunds protection is related

in the two kurals.A halfway between state communism and individual capitalism is seen

in this strategy of co-operative farming industry is noteworthy.From Kural 524 we get the

nature of Kulasangha or agricultural guilds of ancient India.

The tribe of a man (with an elderly experienced leader as chief)surrounds him and

establish social contact with all,and result in prosperity of all together(524)..The generous

chief with a kind word attract all his kinsmen as allys.Thus loyal people surround him in

all times,even in adversity.(Saama and Daana are used by a good leader .)The crow when

it gets food ,call all its community to share it,before it eats.the good chief is like that

(527).He gives first and only then takes is share.He treats according to merits and

demerits the people of the assembly so that everyone strives to be meritorious.Special

services are rewarded by titles and awards .If someone leave you,find out what the reason

was ,and correct it and get back that ally is a good advise Valluvar gives.(529)When such

people who deserted you come back ,test them before taking into confidence ,but do not

reject summarily.

Arrogant thoughtlessness is a worser enemy than anger to a executive.A false sense of

security and overindulgence in pleasures result from that.One has to be ever watchful and

thoughtful .Vigilance and bravery are more important than a fortress in

defence.Negligence can lead to disasters.Therefore listen to works of wise people and do

swadhyaya ,learn always,be watchful and vigilant and dharmic in all deeds and

words.Just as people lookat raincloud for sustenance,they look at rulers for

justice.Therefore,

Anthanar noorkum arathirkkum aathiyaay

Nintrathu mannavan kol.(543)

The ultimate basis of veda of sages and dharma of the wise ,is the straight unfailing

scepter(symbol of justice)of a good king.Kol is the word here for justice,for balancing

,and a measure,and a scepter as symbol of justice.Chenkol,Thulaakkol and Kol fields of

the king (the law and order,the weight and measures,the wetland paddy as food)all comes

under the guild of a kulasangha of learned Anthanar (Brahmana/Brahmakshathra /rajarshi

as chieftain of a tribe ).If the ruler is such a just and wise one ,all wishes of people being

fulfilled justly under him,the entire world will be at his feet.(544).Then seasonal rains and

rich harvests will attend him .(545).It is not weapons which give victory to a just king but

his Kol (546) or natural justice and corresponding prosperity from the land blessed by

seasonal rains to give all fruits .The person who protects dharma,is protected by

dharma.Valluvar compares destruction of bad people who are harmful to dharma ,to

weeding of fields for growth of good crops(550).Kural 551-560 is about a tyrannical king

who is destroyed by his own actions.The lack of a compassionate ruler is compared to

lack of rainclouds leading to dry land with no greenery (557).Under a tyrannical regime

,according to Valluvar ,it is the haves (rich)who suffer more than the have-

nots.(558).They are deprived of all that they had ,because the tyrant is after their wealth

and ignore the poor.This was the foresight Valluvar had about the Landlords and kings of

India ,which happened under the foreign rule.It was they who lost all .The have-nots

remained as such .The haves lost all .If king is not just,rains fail,famines come,cows yield

less,Brahmins loose intellect and forget their Manthra and knowledge(559-560) and all

these happened as Valluvar foresaw it in BC 31.It is interesting how Valluvar compares a

dharmic king to a good music.

Pan en aam paatarkku iyaipu intrel

Kan en aam kannottam illaatha kan.(573).

Tune,expression,words ,of song etc should be in perfect harmony.To have an eye without

compassionate graciousness is like a music with these in disharmony ,and total

imbalance.The integrated quality of music as well as the king is in its compassion.

Valluvar has identified intelligence service and arthasasthra or literature on state-craft as

two eyes of the ruler.(Ottrum urai chantra Noolum).This is in conformity to the old

Sanskrit texts also.What was the need of a intelligent service or Gupthachara?To know

whatever happens to every one in the kingdom,at all times and necessary steps to be

taken for help or for prevention of disasters.For this a wide network of Gupthachara are

employed.They cover all,including kith and kin of king in their watchful eye.They

disguise as sanyasins,holy men,get access to all places and collect information without

arising any suspicion and protect secrets even under extreme co-ercion (586).They have

inner sources of verification of such information collected and present only after full

confirmation.A system of countercheck was there.The balanced statecraft of the times

should be understood from such statements of Valluvar.The spys should not know each

other.If three informants say the same version,there is reliability of information and

action can be taken.But the open reward is not possible for a gupthachara ,since that will

expose him to public eye and his job will suffer.

What Valluvar says about laziness is noteworthy.He says a person/administrator who has

no laziness will gain the entire universe ,which was measured by the three steps of Lord

Thrivikrama.That is the story of Mahabali ,King of Mahishmathy and of Kerala during

Vaamana Avathar of Vishnu.And the rule of Adi alavu(measuring with feet the timespace

in astronomy)vakya is famous in Kerala tradition of astronomy .Lack of laziness and

human effort in achieving great deeds is praised.The great works are finished by the

strength of perseverance .And such works are for benefit of others too.Social service or

Velaanmai is with distribution of what is needed with a sense of duty to those who

deserve it most(Thakkarkku) as said in the Geetha .One who is committed to a cause and

do not go after sense pleasures is the pillar of strength for people,for

society.Industriousness brings prosperity while laziness brings the opposite.The elder

sister go with the lazy and the younger,the lotus-born Lakshmi with the industrious

(617).There may be limits to ones intelligence,or its outcome,and one may call it fate or

Luck.But with whatever available knowledge ,failure to apply that knowledge for work

and for social welfare is blameworthy (618).Thus practical application of learning,gnana

is needed for all people and no one can escape from not exercising the will power to

make it to good use.Then Valluvar says(619)even if Daivathaan (God)or providence is

not helpful the personal efforts will bring its fruits (kooli or salary/fruit of action).The

result will be proportional to the effort .Reaction has to be proportionate to action is a

universal law of prakrithy.With hard labour and ceaseless industry people are able to

overcome the fate (swabhaav of thriguna ).This kural(620)is just the opposite of Kural

380 which states that destiny is supreme and even with planned efforts to overcome it,one

has to experience its effects.How is these contradictions conciliated? The 380th kural is

saying that karma determines a mans disposition and predilections in present life .620th

say human beings have options either to take the line of least resistence and let it go like

that or to overcome pre-determined obstacles with a dominant will ,discerning knowledge

and persistent effort which could make all the difference in ultimate outcome in a

particular set of circumstances.Even though the result may not be 100% what is desired

one can reach a near enough objective.Geetha(4.37)say fire of knowledge reduce karma

to ashes and Valluvar say a matching will and industry could complete the process of

victory over fate and that is what Nishkamakarmayoga of Geetha also teach

us.Therefore,there is no contradiction,though seemingly contradictory.Conciliation

happen when we understand the meaning properly.If not,the controversy will lead to a

theoretical jargon of confusion which is of no use to anyone.

Fortitude and power of endurance in face of all adversities is a great strength and a

strategy to overcome it.Kural 622 says ,even if a flood or deluge comes with all

misfortunes,the wise can overcome it with his right thinking.Whether Shakespeare got his

expression”Taking up arms against a whole sea of troubles” from Valluvar has to be

thought of.If one can look at misfortune with a smile on his lips and face it,one can

overcome it is Valluvar theory.Such a person with fortitude is compared to a brave bull

yoked to plough,who breaks all terrains that it traverses up or down,desert or

swamp.(624).The tenacity of the bull in preparing the hard ground ready for next produce

is compared here .To understand that misfortunes is the law of life and to know this and

to be not perturbed is wisdom.Then one can face it with unflinching

equanimity.Adversity is a challenge for survival and know our circumstances and plan

ahead and face when it comes.

What all should the advisors or councilors of a wise king know?

Karuvi(instruments/technology),Kaalam(time/seasons),cheykai(the methods of

performance)cheyyu(the act or function itself)aruvinai(all its pros and cons )should be

analysed by them.He should have 5 traits:-Resoluteness,concern for welfare of

people,study of statecraft,driving energy.He should be able to reunite antagonists,cherish

existing allys,disunite allys among the enemies.(except the last said all seems necessary

from my point of view.)This is for the unity and co-operation and leadership qualities of

the ministers is a must for it.The minister assess everything in the country on a action-

oriented basis .The success-oriented action plan of a minister depend upon his

learning.Every subtle knowledge about the country should be known to them if they have

to take a successful action .They should know their country,its

tradition,geography,strengths of agrarian and other economy traditionally and various

measures of improvement for increased production,welfare of people etc and the defence

of the nation.Not only book learning but practical knowledge is important(637).The art of

persuasive speech,oratory and communication power as part of leadership quality of

ministers is ascertained by Valluvar.It should be logical and convincing to listeners

.Kural 644 says “no greater dharma or worldly benefit can accrue ,than by suiting ones

speech to the assessed intellectual level of the audience.”The target audience determine

the standard of speech of a yogin .This is a principle of management and public speech

of modern times.

In debate convincing style,good memory and fearlessness are important.Profound ideas

can be expressed in simple language in orderly fashion.A unfocused question can bring

an unfocused answer.So ask what you want to clarify in simple short structured

question.You will get structured focused answer if the student know answer.If they don’t

know no beating about the bush is possible.So a discussion if it leads to beating about the

bush means the opponent is simply showing off that he knows everything and actually

doesn’t know anything ,So the best answer should be a golden silence .To people who are

squeking without an aim,and to purposeful arguments to belittle one,what should one

do?Do not go into waste of time by arguing with them is the best advice Charaka gives

.That will reduce confusion.And will save your time,energy and health.To go into

meaningless argument with such people is detrimental to ones reputation also.

So what are two steps a wise advisor give to a person who start an enterprise?

1.Avoid all illconsidered actions

2.Once an actionplan is agreed upon after proper discussion of its pros and cons and its

risk etc,embark upon it and be ready to face all problems that ensue.

Life is such a project which has to be faced both in pain and pleasure,in gain and loss

alike.An efficient wise man disclose his purpose and action plan only after completion of

action and its success .premature disclosure can lead to many problems.Kataikotka is the

word used for final disclosure by Valluvar.

Make a plan,speak about it.That is an achievement.But a greater achievement is to

accomplish the plan as stated and ten speak about it.(664).The man with a

willpower(Ichasakthy)makes a design or plan of action,achieve his objective facing all

adversities and he is an efficient leader(666).Do not insult men looking at their

stature,because an axle-pin(Achaani) is essential for function of a mighty temple car.Thus

all people ,whether small or big,rich or poor were given equal importance in the

management science of ancient India .And that was the reason why all were satisfied and

there were no rebellions in diastant past ,one should think.Kural 669 says programmes

,which increase happiness and peace of all beings or subjects ,should be pursued wih a

willpower and continued even against al hazards.This is the ultimate hallmark of success

for Valluvar ,just as for Srikrishna in the Bhagavad Geetha.

Once a decision made quick implementation is needed(671-672).There are two types of

actions:-1.Which can be done at leisure ,implemented slowly as along term plan

,slowly,deliberately

2.Things require prompt quick actins which cannot be delayed or put off even for a

Moment

Agricultural pursuits have both these limbs of action.Before commencing an action,it is

wise to consider in depth the objective,possible obstacles,benefits and and riska and

reactions after completion .(676)To do a job advise from an experienced one with

expertise on the subject is essential.kural 678 say one successful plan will lead to another

as with one elephant ,we capture another elephant ,which again shows that Valluvar was

aware of capturing of elephants in the Chera country.The 677th and 678th kural read

together mean that one should learn expertise from an experienced person and use it by

hard work and industry to reach heights of success and become a model for entire

world.Japan had done this in recent years.If one wants prosperity to ones country ,one

should create a peaceful atmosphere for carrying out all activities of production,trade and

commerce etc.Selection of messengers and ambassadors to courts of other countries and

the diplomatic qualities of such messengers are dealt with in 681-690 kurals.

Valluvar says the speech of a wise man in an assembly is like the channeled water to

grow living plants.The word chorinthtru indicate the correct amount of water being

channellised in right manner through proper channel to each field/or plant so that all

grow and prosper.It shows the common methods of irrigation prevalent in those times.

Speaking to people who will not understand the intellect of the speaker is like throwing

nectar into a gutter.(720)

In a discourse one has to absorb worthy thoughts from those more learned(724).

A welfare state and a prosperous nation:-

To be prosperous a nation need ,(K 731)

1.Unfailing harvest (produce for food sufficiency)

2.Wise men for giving good advise(men of learning and character)

3.worthy men of wealth (good and compassionate rich people who share wealth with

others)

The land,labour ,and learning and capital sharing in other words which are organized on a

definite basis of dharma.

A country with abundant production and consequent wealth and harvests in plenty

unaffected by pests and diseases is prosperous and famous.(732)

A great nation bears unexpected burdens with fortitude,and still regularly pay the needed

taxes to the King(733).Freedom from famine and epidemics and harassment by

others(foreigners/enemies)make one prosperous.(734).Pasi,pini and pakai should not be

there for prosperity .This foresight of Valluvar deserves special mention.Because all the

three usually come together and make the nation weak and poor but still a great nation

face it and come up or emerge againas a great nation.(Which we are witnessing now in

Japan,India etc).

Kural 735 says that a prosperous nation will not have warring sects and destructive

internal strifes or murderous offences that disturb the peace of the country.Kolkurumbu

(motiveless murder)is happening every day in all nations of the world at present and

makes entire world less prosperous.Only if they see reason and come to terms ,peace will

prevail.The country which was laid bare by enemies,still do not loose its basic essence of

prosperity is the leader among nations according to Kural(736).And kural 737 continue

that the waters on the surface of land,rains that fall from clouds,the mountains,rivers and

great dharma(val aran) are the real prosperity of a country.Actually the word irupunal is

used (two sources of water).The surface and groundwater including.The ocean and

mountains as natural resources as well as defence,dharmam and plalace(Aranmanai being

palace/fort)for protection is given in a pun in this kural.Piniyinmai(Diseaseless ,healthy

state),chevam(wealth)vilaivu(good harvests)inpam(happiness) and

emam(security/defence)are the five necessities for prosperity of a nation.(738)The

pleasures are interpreted as social festivals and fares with dance and music for rejoicing.

Kural 739 says the prosperous land gives good produce without much effort,and with

rainfall and good soil ,and it is the best.The dry lands where people toil with their sweat

to earn a living is not considered as a good prosperous land. The good sign goes to Kerala

and Malabar and to Cherrapunchi in Assam then.(in case of India).

Naaatu enpa naataa valarthana naatu alla

Naata valam tharum naadu .

But still with all these economic factors and all other attributes of a prosperous land if a

land is not doing well it is because the ruler is not good and efficient(740).This is what is

disturbing when we think of Kerala.Kerala has all signs of a prosperous land and if it is

not yielding good produce the rules and attitudes of the people are to be considered

thouroughly to find the real cause for this failure.

How the ancient kings colleted revenue ?Valluvar say(755)the wealth is collected from

people when they give it with compassion and love .The king should not collect it

without their willingness.The ownerless property,custom duty,excise duty ,prizes and

tributes alone belong to the king absolutely(756).Along with this 1/6th of produce which

people give willingly as revenue for protecting them goes to kings income.

The position of one who makes wealth (an entrepreneur)with plenty of financial backing

is compared to a person who ascends a hill to see a elephant fight on the level

ground.(safety and security if there is good capital behind).

Valluvar thinks that in great adversity only a honest traditional army will serve the king

and the new ones will run away or make benefit by frauds.He asks what is the use of

having an army of rats which dismantle with the hiss of a serpent?The good honest army

does not desert or disgrace and maintain traditional valour in all situations.(Such an army

of Valluvakonathiri as Chaver army came into existence against Zamorin during

Mamanka means ,such people were present in Valluvar’s time also.Was he one among

the army chiefs of such tradition?It looks like so.Because 771 is a kural of such a chief

addressing a prince insulting a cheifton/king .It says:-Do not challenge my leader .Many

have challenged him before and now they have all become stone statues.(about the

memory stones of warriors as Veerakkal in Tamil speaking countries).For my leader the

word used is “En Ai” as laid down by Tolkappiyam.(Aiyyan/Ay ).

About enmity within a guild or tribe Kural(881)say even a shady grove and inviting

fountains will bebad if they breed diseases and equally dangerous are treacherous

kinsmen and friends within a kingdom.How internal strifes ruin a nation is described in

detail by him.Even if the treachery is only the measure of a sesame (ellalavu)since it is

from within it is dangerous is his view.He also says men who are ruled by wives (by fear

of her,acting according to her words ,and are infatuated with wife)will not be able to do

something great for society ,though he may achieve some personal wealth and fame

.Because he had lost his greater dharma he is looked at with scorn by others.It is a

shameful evil for a man of worth according to Valluvar to be obedient to wife and neglect

social duties.The man who is afraid f his wife is a wretch who does not get salvation

because he fails in doing dharma.H ecannot do a good turn to even a deserving person for

fear of his wife and her harsh words.They pretend as Gods of bravery but people will not

respect him.Or even if he lives like a God ,with fame,wealth and luxuries ,he never gets

acclaim as a good person.A modest womanhood is to be praised more than such a

manhood.The man who is a slave to wife will not do justice even to his honest friends

and to society .He will do the wife’s bidding all the time .He does not get love,virtue,or

anything at all .The woman who love for wealth of a man will only be a ruin for his

dharma.The people who sell dance,music and body for money are alike in

Chilappathikaram (3.8.9).The enemies of a good man are woman who pretends love for

getting his wealth(Irumanappen or woman with one in mind and doing another)playing

dice and drinking alcohol.Therefore ne should avoid these for a dharmik life.

A kavariman or yak removed of its wool prefer to die than live.Like that is a honest

human being of good ancestry who will never part withhis homour.In the Cheraman

Kanaikal Irumporai,a chera king sang(Purananuru 74) when he was imprisoned and

slighted by a chola king that he preferd to end life than suffer such slight within a prison.

A chantron(gentleman)is having 5 qualities according to Valluvar.

1Compassion for all lives.

2.sensitiveness to shameful conduct

3.social co-operaion

4.Grace to all neighbours and beings of world

5.upholding truth always.

He my be poor but his innate strength of character makes him rich internally even in that

state and he is any day nobler than a wealthy man without this character.Kural 930 say

all men have limbs and organs alike but it does not exalt a man to oneness with the great

man.Meaningful affinity comes from cultural identity not from the human form

alone.The one who serve others with dharma,justice is praised by entire world as great.It

is by such men of good breeding and culture that the world goes on smoothly.But for

them the balance and harmony of world would be buried in dust.Accumulation of great

wealth in a uncultured mans possession is like milk kept in a unclean vessel and turn sour

easily.Wealth not shared with public is a waste.It is a miser who hoard wealth who is

born as a demon in next birth according to Valluavar.They are burdens to mother

earth.Even with their crores of money they are useless .He is a plague on his own wealth

or a beautiful lady who grows old in her obstinate loneliness of spinsterhood (not

allowing any one to enjoy her beauty).His wealth is a poisonous tree in the middle of a

village ,with fruits which no one will eat or relish .The generous man is like a raincloud

and even when his resources finish they are replenished in no time for benefit of

mankind.

Food ,clothing,and other daily needs are alike for all men but the good man is different

from others by his sensitivity to shame.The great people who wants to serve the world

plans their activity systematically within the defencive bounds of sensitivity to shame.If

one breaks rules of ethics he offends his birth.If he acts dishonourably,he is lost to virtue

itself.

Citizenship duties:-

Valluvar says(1021-1030) nothing advances ones family prestige better than service to

the community,committedly performed till ones objective is fulfilled.Endeavour and

indepth knowledge are the two qualities based on which a community will prosper.When

a person sets out to work for the advancement of family and the community ,God himself

will grid up loins and lead him.The efforts of those who try ceaselessly to raise the

standards of prestige of their extended family (kulasangha)will be crowned with success

even without much planning.The man who shuns inequity and assiduously promotes

community welfare will find all the world becoming his kindred.

Kuttram illa kudi ceythu vaazhvaanai

Chuttamaaychuttum ulaku.

In Purananuru Poet Kanian Poomkuntranaar say”Yaathum oore yaavarum keleer”.(The

entire world is our home/village .)Manly endeavour in a person of noble heritage involves

advancement of his community ,as his personal business and family’s bounden duty.Just

as the brunt on the battlefield falls on the courageous,the service to community as a total

burden devolves on those who can bear it.Community service need not wait upon season

or dignity.Those who procrastinate so ,will ruin their own reputation and the

community.The effective reform of society is built upon the consecrated suffering of a

few devoted and committed individuals.Such people are ready to suffer any thing

(physical and mental)for the benefit of others
.
The kural is “Idumpaikke kolkalankollo kudumbathai kuttram maraippan udambu”and

the word Idumpa is significant.If one remember the name of Bheema’s wife Hidumba(in

Tamil Idumba) who bore a son for sacrificing his body for community benefit,one

wonders whether this Tamil name was given because she belonged to Tamilspeaking

Dravida country.

Kambaramayanam also say(Sethubandha 53):-

Idumbai ethanaiyum pstutheythinum

Kudumbathankum kudippiranthaarine

If there is no public spirited people to support it,family and community will fall uprooted

,when a misfortune befalls.(Nallal illatha kudi is a village where there are no good and

unselfish people).

Agriculture:-

1031:-chuzhantrum erppinnathu ulakam athanaal

Uzhanthum uzhave thalai.

The world depends on the plough ,more than on any other avocation in life.Despite

hardships ,therefore agriculture is the best (the thalai or head of all

professions).According to this view agriculturists are the most productive class and the

crux of a country’s economy.The 18th century France also said this .But Indian

agriculture and its ways are unique due to its geographical peculiarities and the

monsoons.The Kallaani anicut in Cauvery by Karaikalacholan is proof of the old King’s

concern of irrigation.

Kalingar said ,after all the wanderings across the seas ,over the mountains,felling forests

and wandering over the land ,finally one returns to the constructive toil behind the plough

to get his own food.

1032.The ploughing class is the axlepin of the revolving world ,because they sustain all

others who leave the plough ,to take to different occupations.

This is still true.Whoever makes two grains of corn or two blades of grass ,to grow on a

spot of land where only one grew before ,deserves better of mankind and do essential

service to country.Therefore Thomas Jefferson called Good farmers as chosen people of

God .Dr Johnson called agriculture is the noblest science.

1033.The people who till soil and raise their own food are the people who live by

right.Others are only parasites who live upon them.They have to live Thozhuthundu

(worshipping for eating) to those who live Uzhuthundu( by plough).

Proverbs(2,11)say

He who tills his land has enough to eat

But to follow idle pursuits is foolishness.

1034:Palakudai nezhalum tham kudaikkeezhkaanpar

Alhaku udai nezhalvaar

Note the words Kudai and kudai twice in this.This is a description of the Kudainaadu.

It says the green fields waving in fullness with sheaves of corn surely bring all countries

around it ,and under its umbrella.

This is true to every word as we know from history of India .All the foreign people came

to India hearing its prosperity ,its culture through the seafaring people of the western

shores and reached Kerala first.Kodai nad was the seat of the Chera king and a person

from Valluvanad of this Valluvakonathiri is natural to use the word and describe it .The

people who eat only the fruits of their own toil,will never beg.Nor will they deny alms to

a mendicant at their door.Sharing food is the quality of a agriculturist.Vallluvar valued

this economic freedom which agriculture confers on a person who takes it up as an

avocation.Both land andits tiller know high value of sharing and giving in abundance

.The self respect of never begging and always giving is a virtue of people who produce

food .For a person who cultivates land and respects and love the profession the land gives

everything.The kings of Chera country and their chieftains were famed for their giving

alms and food right from time of Mahabharatha war and in sangham literature this is

always mentioned.It is this land which is neglected and people are begging at other states

doors for their sustenance in the present times.This should ask the question “Why “and a

solution for it found .

1036:- Uzhavinaar kaimmadanghin illai vizhaivathoom

vittom enpaarkku nilai.

If tillers of land withdraw their labour ,even those who have renounced the world will

lose their serenity and concentration of spirit.That is the whole economy will come to a

standstill and it should never happen for the prosperity of land .The intellect of the

sanyasin,of scientist and of white collar job people depend on food which is produced by

agricultural people.

1037:-If the ploughed soil is left todry to a fourth of its bulk there will be plenteous crops

,without even a handful of manure being put in.

Field is ploughed in wet state .The turned up soil is left dry in sun and air ,for

considerable length of time ,till the dried up soil is only 1/4th of quantity of original mud

turned up ,then that soil does not need any further manure to become fertile.This is

because aereation results in absorption of nitrogen from atmosphere.So Valluvar is

postulating an ancient parallel to modern principle of effective aereation and

nitrogenisation of soil.Adequate aeration is needed for raising good crop.

The word Thodippuzhuthi is used here.It is considered as a measure of weight ,also called

a Palam in later times. Kacha or kachu in the kural means a 1/4th of Thodi.One

interpretation is that thodi is a pound but how this interpretation was derived is unknown.

One palam is a weight.The thodi is a piece of land .Kacha is 1/4th of thodi .Or of one

palam .This is a integration of geographical (length,bredth and area) into weight (mass)

which gives perfect astronomical and cosmic measurement integration of whole earth in

relation to its mass and energy .

1038:-Ploughing is important.Manuring is more important.After weeding,more vital than

water management is plant protection.

Valluvar here lists the important steps for a good crop.

1.requisite extant of ploughing

2.manure

3.weeding at right time

4.proper water management

5.protection of crop from pests and diseases.

He has not left out anything of green revolution .

1039:- If the husbandman does not pay personal attention to his land ,like a neglected

wife,that field will turn its face away from him in loving anger.

Valluvar use the word Oodal here ,the paribhava or anger of love.Or remain sulky and

sullen.The absentee landlordship was not probably there inValluvar times and all

agriculturists loved the land and their vocation as well as the plants .

1040:-Ilam enru achai iruppaaraikkaanin

Nilamennum nallaal nakum

This good earth(as a woman )will laugh at those who pleads poverty,and sit idle

,neglecting their productive land.

The labourers and farmers who complain of poverty when they have this good earth

which is bountiful and give in plenty if proper attention is given is considered foolish by

Valluvar.There is no land unfit for cultivation .Idleness and poverty go together.

The size and combination of inputs can overcome inherent limitations in any soil.And

therefore a man who sits idle and let his land go fallow is an idiot ,who deserve to be

laughed at .If we do our share ,the land itself will do the rest .

Poverty is dreadfully painful and destroy all honour and refinements of speech and

action.When poverty and famines come ,people neglect studies and revert to disgraceful

speech even if born in a family of scholars.The analytical thoughts of people are

neglected when people are suffering hunger.This leads to loss of all values and dharma

.Even a mothers love is less when a man is poor .People look at relatives as if they are

total strangers when they are poor.

People who have once experienced poverty ,will always think of it .Kural 1048 says this

thought:- The abject poverty that killed me yesterday, Am I to face it again today?Every

day will be a struggle for existence for such a man and a question of sheer survival in

face of adversities and he never lives in bliss .One will go to sleep in midst of flames but

will never sleep in midst of poverty and the fear of it.He counts each day and his savings

to ward of poverty the next day and becomes a mercenary and forgets all other

virtues.Thus poverty makes a nation lose honour .people who have to depend on salt and

gruel on others sometimes take up to sanyasa only to get a feed (because sanyasins get

food .This is what Sankara said Udaranimitham Bahukrithavesham).At the sight of

charitable people who are ready to give alms to needy ,poverty will flee from earth.Thus

rich people can be trustees of society by sharing wealth in improving society.They used

to donate lands and wealth to temples for charity of feeding poor .

Good men share wealth at a mere call while ignoble ones give only when crushed like a

sugarcane.(1078).They see a neighbour wellfed and clothed and hasten to find vices in

them.There is no use for the world with such unscrupulous men .In case a misfortune

come,these people will quickly sell themselves to the highest bidder.

Thus Valluvar described the dharmic agrarian economy which prevailed during his times.

The weather makers and global warming

“The spotlight thus falls on political elites,administrative mandarins,and scientific advisors.Here is their genuine opportunity ,not just to act with political maturity but to take a giant leapon behalf of humanity.Can they break with all the vested interests ,the inertial forces,the conventional wisdoms,which are the historical lot of those in power ,even while these have now lost all value ? Through some Damascene vision might they at this late hour provide not only redemption for themselves ,but for the rest of humanity too ? One thing ,though,is sure:Little time is left.” (Mark Levine and David Cromwell June 2007 .Preface Surviving climate change .The struggle to avert global catastrophe.Pluto press 2007)

The major trends that are shaping our future are recognized as the food trends,the energy and climate trends,economic trends ,transportation trends,health and social trends and conflict and peace trends.The year 2004 was a record breaker of expansion of world economy at a 5 % rate and consumption and production of everything from grain to meat and steel and oil rose to heights.The sudden shift was summed up by the achievement of China in steel production.The global grain harvest shot up by 8 % and rises in consumption and change in diet pattern occurred.By this the grain reserves became very low at the end of the year leaving the year vulnerable to a food shortage and high prices if the 2005 harvests were hurt by adverse weather.Total carbon emissions and atmospheric carbon dioxide accelerated and 2004 was the foutrth warmest year ever recorded and the 10 warmest years in last 120 years were after 1990.Rise in temperature melted the polar icecaps,and glaciers .Thinning the ice of arctic is happening and by 2100 the arctic ocean is predicted to be ice-free.The collapse of the icesheets of Greenland and Antartica causes a rise in sea level.The worlds ecological system is in danger as human forces are impinging on coral reefs ,tropical forests and other critical natural systems.1/4th of mammals and ½ of the world’s wetlands are already lost to us.By the 2004 December Tsunami ,the importance of the preservation of wetlands and the coral reefs which are key ecosystems of the globe were recognized.The severe damage to wetlands in the name of development and also of coral reefs are pointed out as reasons for the calamity.
Grain harvest in 2004 :-2049 tons as against 800 tons in 1960.After the declining harvests of the five years (in previous 7 yrs)wheat was 11 5 more than the 2003 harvest.United nations declared the year as international year of the rice.The rice demand always outpaces its production and it is this one crop which actually gives aawareness about a pending food crisis.Rice is 20 % of the world’s energy supply in calories directly.Wheat is 19 % and corn 5%.Since demand exceeded production since four consecutive years china,India and Pakistan(major rice growers)pushed prices higherGlobal rice stocks dropped .People are hungry not because of global shortage as such but by the lack of regional sustenance farming and lack of purchasing power whenprices go high.Hunger kills more than 5 million children each year ,roughly one child every second(pp 22 Vital signs 2005-2006 world watch institute)
Energy and climate trends:-
1 Fossil fuel use surges
2.Nuclear power rises once more
3.Global wind growth continues
4.solar energy markets booming
5.biofuel use growing rapidly
6 climate change indicators are on the rise.Like CO2 ,heat,glacier melting etc.
Economic trends :-
Global economy continue to grow
World trade rises sharply
Foreign direct investments inflow decline
Weather-related disasters near a record
Steel surging
The inflows of foreign direct investment from 1970-2004 show that there is a general decline of investment from industrial countries.Is the industrialization a failure ?Or is it that they are not investing globally?

The foreign direct investment from 1970-2004 (10 yr interval)billion 2003 dollars from UNCTAD
Year Total Industrial countries Low/middle income countries
1970 50 37 14
1980 108 91 17
1990 271 222 49
2000 1471 1174 297
2004 601 315 286

Weather related disasters a record in 2004:-
105 billion pound economic loss due to natural disasters.Storms,tornados,floods,heat waves,extreme cold waves.12000 people lost lives.December 2004 earthquake in Sumatra and subsequent tsunami in Indian ocean sweeped away 280000 people in 11 countries in a matter of few hours and millions left homeless.In summer monsoons of 2004 2200 people were killed in India,Nepal and Bengladesh.Dakka was submerged under water for 40 %.China and Carebean lost 2000 lives in summer floods.In yangtse basin 85 % of forest cover was clearcut,14 million people displaced in floods an d4.5 million Ha of cropland destroyed.Rain surged down barren slopes of Hiti and local forests stripped for fuelwood.From 198 onwards 110 -205 events of severe floods occurred the world over.Deforestation,erosion,irrigation interfering river drainage ,global climatic changes and filling of wetlands and fields for construction works etc have all contributed to this.Southern US and Caribbean was hit by a string of hurricanes in 2004 Charlie alone causing 20 lilllion dollar loss.cyclones in Japan,landslides environmental disasters were on the record in 2004.The economic loss in 2004 was 104.6 billion 2003 dollars which had a similar figure in 1998 (106.7).
Health and social trends:
Population continue to rise steadily
Number of refugees decline
HIV/AIDS crisis widening worldwide
Cigarette production dropped
Conflict and peace trends:-
Violent conflicts unchanged
Military expenditure surges
Peacekeeping expenditures soar high
Mixed progress on reducing nuclear arsenals

SPECIAL ENVIRONMENT FEATURES
1 Mammals on decline
2.Global ice melting increases
3.Wetlands dry up
4.Forest loss continues
5.Air pollution still big problem

MDG(Millennium development goals) are :-
1.Eradicate poverty and hunger
2.Achieve universal primary education
3.Promote gender equality and empower women
4.Reduce child mortality
5.Improve maternal health
6.combat HIV/AIDS ,malaria and other diseases
7.Ensure environmental sustainability
8.Develop a global partnership for development

In 1903,Sir Edgar Wallace called the atmosphere the great aerial ocean.It protects all life,connects everything with everything else and has regulated our temperature for 4 bilion years. The weather is what we experience every day.Climate is the um of all the weathers over a certain period for a region or for the planet as a whole.The troposphere of the earth which is 10 Km in height ,slightly above the Mt Everest, has only a little part (bottom one third)of breathable air.Beyond that the strato,meso and thermosphere has no breathable air.The keeling curve of CO2 concentration in ppm atop Mt Launa loa,Hawai between 1958 -2000 showed a change from slightly less than 315 to over 370 .All these carbon when it goes from atmosphere reaches carbon sinks ,including you and me,all living things and ocean,soil,even rocks.That is the earth .The orbit of earth at present is not very elliptical and there is only 6 % difference between January and July temperatures.In one lakh years there is an orbital cycle of earth which changes the intensity of sunrays reaching earth.Another cycle due to tilt on earths axis lasts 42000 years and a third shortest cycle changes in 22000-25000 years due to wobble of earthon its axis.In this ,the earths axis shifts frm pole star to vega affecting intensity of seasons.When vega (Dhanishtaadi) marks true north winters will be terribly cold and summers scorchingly hot.This was known through Milanchovich . to western world only in 1941 .With sunspot cycles of 11 years the earth temperature vary.More the sunspots more is the warming of earth.But it does not affect the life on earth in dangerous proportions.The present stratospheric cooling by ozone hole and tropospheric warming by increased greenhouse gases is mainly manmade disasters due to industrial revolution.Today we face a rate of change thirty times faster because the living things need time to adjust speed is important as scale when it comes to climate change.For more than 10000 years human beings have been deforesting earth.And a great flood in BC 3104 is recorded both in Indian and Mayan calendars which sweeped of the great urban port cityin the Rann of cutch,Dwaraka .And the new cities developed in 3100 in Mesopotamia ,on its southern end.Now carbon,oil,solar energy are used indiscriminately and disproportionately which had lead to the speeding up of the climate change and nine out of ten warmest years ever recorded occurred since 1990.(pp70.we are the weathermakers .The story of global warming.Tim Flannery Penguin books 2006).
The rise in temperature had started in 1970 itself.1976 and 1998 had two rapid rises.The 1976 one occurred when scientists drilled the oldest coral porites in Mainana in pacific nation of Kiribati.Ashift in jet stream, changes as far as southern Australia and Galapagos in pacific ocean on equator 1000 kms off south American coast recorded by national geographic.In 1830 Darwin visited here.In 1977 the native finch perished in draughts only 180 survived of the 1300.Of them 150 were males and tough competition for mates in the spring and only the bigbeaked variety survived.1998 is tied up with El Nino –La nina cycle ,a 2-8 year long one which brings climatic changes.
El nino means the new child,Christ coined by Peruvian fisherfolk who noticed warm currents during Christmas visiting the fishing grounds.La nina is the new girlchild that is the cooling period in ocean of south America.La nina phase has winds blowing westward across pacific pushing warm surface water tocoast of Australia and to its north.Then the cold Humbolt current is able to surface off pacific coast of south America carrying the nutrients that feed the prolific fishery in the world,the anchovetta.
El nino phase begin with weakening of tropical winds allowing warm surface water to flow back eastwards overwhelming the Humbolt and releasing humidity to atmosphere which brings floods to the normally arid Peruvian deserts.Droughts strike Australia and south east Asia.El nino when severe devastate 2/3 rd of globe with droughts ,floods and extreme weather.1997-98 was a severe El nino year.As greenhouse gases build up in atmosphere we will experience persistent El nino like conditions.It is the bird watchers,nature and animal watchers who have recorded the climate changes first.In India it has a very long history.In England the first record is between 1736-1947 when a family recorded the date the first frog and toad croaked on their estate every year .In 1850 no such records are there.Over the last 55 years over the globe the records are strong .The species are shifting to the pole by an average of 6 KM per decade and retreated up mountainsides at rate of 6.1 meter per decade .Spring activity has advanced 2.3 days per decade.These trends accord with scale and direction of temperature increase by greenhouse gas and is called global fingerprint of climate change.CO2 is driving nature Polewards with a lash.Tiny marine organisms called copepods,nonmigratory species of 35 varieties of butterflies have changed habitat.The butterflies have perished in the south.The tropical birds of costa rica low lands in last 20 years moved 18.9KM northwards.Northern hemisphere seabird lay eggs on average 24 days earlier each decade .Budding and flowering of plants is 1.4 -3.1 earlier per decade and this denotes change in spring activity.Spring is warmer than it was 25 years ago.But number of cold days in winter is unchanged.The wintermoths therefore hatch upto 3 weeks before the oak bear their first leaves,and the caterpillars can survive only 2-3 days without food,and perish.Those that survive grow fast since no competition for food meaning birds have less time to find them .Even the remotest rainforests face the threats of global warming.
The subatlantic plankton pool is the base of foodchain.They thrive even in winter under the ice and the krill feed on them and complete their 7 year lifecycle.When there is krill there is penguin.Since 1976 the krills decreased 40 % per decade.Emperor penguin is half of what it was 30 years ago.Adelie penguin has declined by 70 %.Antartic is frozen continent surrounded by immenselyrich ocean.Arctic is frozen ocean surrounded by land.And is home of 4 million people.In Alaska the winters are 2 -3 degree C warmer than 30 yrs ago.The thundra,the collared lemming,the reindeer ,polar beers ,nanuk,ivory gull of Canada all face threat of racial extinction by about 2050.And north polar cryosphere will vanish forever with unknown consequences of climatic changes,all due to manmade greenhouse effect.

We Indians must know something about the protection of ocean and the coral reefs in it too.Coral reefs yield 30 billion US dollars each year to people who have no other resources to live.The citizens of five nations are protected by the fringing coral atolls which stand between them and the invading seas.Destroying the fringing reefs ,you destroy all the pacific nations just like bulldozing Holland’s dykes.The biodiversity of the corals also is destroyed by that action.Corals are marine equivalents of south Africa’s sand plains with great biodiversity.In 1857 Alfred Russel Wallace described coral gardens,medusae,fishes and many other in Ambon Hrbour and in 1990 none of them exits.Just effluent ,garbage,butchered remains of animals and goats are described by Tm Flannery.In 1997-98 El nino,rain forests of Indonesia burned like never before.Before that south western Sumatra had rich biodiversity of coral reefs.1997 saw red tide in Sumatra coast due to minute organisms fed on iron in the smog of the fire.The smog cloud over south east Asia in 2002 El nino was larger.About the size of US.It cut 10 % sunlight heated lower atmosphere and ocean.Aqaculture and corals alike are devastated from Indonesia to south Korea .Recovery is unlikely for these east Asian coral reefs.2004 ,scientists visiting Myrmidon reefs off coast of queensland for the 3 yr survey reported they looked as if bombed.The reef crest was bleached leaving a forest of dead white coral.only on deeper slopes did life survive.Before 1930 coral bleaching due to high ocean temperature was not heard of.In 1970 it was small scale.In 1998 El nino it was global dying.The great barrier reef was bleached 42 % in 1998 and 18 % suffered permanent damage.2002 El nino killed 90 % of all reefforming corals ,60 % of great barrier reef was affected .In 2006 cyclone larry came which destroyed 50000 homes in queensland and secured the reef for another year by its cooling effect on ocean water.
The golden frog of central American rain forests in costa rica is an example of loss of species quoted.In April May alone the males surface and mate with the females.The last male appeared in May 15th 1989 and no more of the race now exists.He was the first victim of global warming recorded.We killed it with our reckless use of coalfired electricity ,huge cars and causing global warming .
The gastric brooding frog of SEqueensland disappeared with in 6 years after its discovery in 1973 by researchers who wanted to know how the female frog converted the stomach into a nursery and delivered children through mouth.Amphibians face threat of extinction by climate as well as by experimental science.

1960 the Sahel disaster of Africa:-This was a marginal rainfall area and regional more rain and better soil allowing a living through fields and in dry lands a seminomadic camel herding life.The famines and droughts were common.And for decades the west argued that the reason is the people themselves who overgraze the camels,goats and cattle,gather firewood,destroy the covering vegetation,expose its dark soil and change its albedo and so on.But all these were proven wrong by painstaking studies in US between 1930-2000.The human –caused degradation was too small to trigger the climatic shift.The rise in sea-surface temperatures of Indian ocean increasing greenhouse gases was the real reason.The Indian ocean is the most rapidly warming ocean in the world and as it warms the conditions that generate the sahelian monsoon weaken.The rainfall is less.Food is less.People starved.From arid Africa (which generates ½ of global dust)particles scatter,absorb light,lower temperature ,carry nutrients to ocean and distant landsassisting in growth of plants,planktons and increase absorption of CO2.
In SW corner of west Australia rain fell during winter and get 100 cm annually.The farming is done here.The wheatbelt is here.vineyards also have come up.Before the European settlements the southwest was blanketed in thick vegetation called Kwongan(as konkan in India).Following rains the kwonkan become a vast wildflower garden and several species are jammed in a single hectare.1829-1975,the first 149 years of European settlement people cleared kwonkan for farmlands.From 1976 there is decrease in rainfall and problems for agricultural economy.In 1960 the farmers with goal of clearing million acres of kwongan scrub per year bulldozed and found only sterile stretches of sand and the most unfertile soil underneath the naturalvegetatin.The farmers did hydroponic gardening .Drilled in their wheat,dusted the sterile sand with nutrients waited for the never failing winter rains to come and water their seeds.By 2004 ,decades after nature refusingto water,wheat growing shifted westwards replacing dairy farms .
Winter rainfall has decreased and summer rainfall increased.Before te bulldozing the vegetation was taking up salt brought by westerlies and every drop from heavens and salt stayed in xalline form by them.But now ,when summer rains fell the salt from sea creep up kill everything .The first sign is salty taste inprevious sweet creeks.The water became undrinkable.Streamside vegetation died converting within a decade into salty drains.The perished farmers faced worst case of dry-land salinity .Neither science nor Government has given any solutions and damage bill is in billions (pp 117 Tim Flannery)Perth is now a thirsty city with 1.5 million people ,bankrupt wheat farmers trying to sell their fields .Less winter rainfalls causes less water in Perth’s catchmentsSince 1975 rain falls in light showers that soak into the soil and do not reach the dams at all.Now the Government is planning to squeeze out groundwater from Gnangara mound destrying its biodiversity also ,and to lay a desalination plant at cost of Australian dollar 350 million to suck ocean water and remove saline from it.All the cities in Australia are facing water crisis of some sort.The west coast of America also has water problems.
Most powerful El nino of 1997-98 the most powerful fatal hurricane in 200 years ,the hottest and deadliest European summer on record(2003) the first south Atlantic hurricane ever*(2002)unprecedented flooding in Mumbai (2005)worst storm season in US ,most economically devastating hurricane Katrina (2005)and Monica ,the most powerful cyclone ever recorded in Australia(2006) and Tsunami(2004) are eyeopeners for us.Warm water warm air and it carry extraheat .30 degree C air hold four times as much hurricane fuel as air at 10 degree C.Since 1950’s the hurricanes have changed their tracks.The example is the frequency of typhoons ravaging East China and Philippines sea has decreased since 1976 but number increased in south China sea.

In Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal there were fewer typhoons which is good for millions living near sea level in these regins.Dramatic decrease in number of cyclones in subantartic ocean south of latitude 40 but a modest increase in antartic ocean is seen.1996.97.98 consequitively US had hurricanes.In 1780 there was a great hurricane which was severe.In 2004 storms returned .4 major tropical storms crossed Florida in quick succession.
Ktrina-Florida,Gulf of Mexico,New Orleans
Rita-Texas
Started as thunderstorms in warm waters off Bahamas,became tropical storm ,a group of thunderstorms that circled until it developed a vortex.
In UK the recording of climate as records started in 1660, about 60 years after they had contact with Indian subcontinent and its trade and commerce based on searoutes and crop systems.1990’s was the warmest decade after that records began.The two nations most disadvantaged by climate change are US and Australia.

In India,apart from Gujrat and Western Orissa there is less drought than 25 years ago.Only NW India experiences heatwaves.2005 saw record monsoon rains and storms in Mumbai and surrounding regions which brought devastating floods and damaged offshore Mumbai high gas field.

Rising sealevel.

2/3 people on earth live within 80 KMs of the coast.Even a modest rise of sealevel would be disastrous from Manhattan to Bay of Bengal.The Asian tsunami of 2004 gives an indication of this.Netherlands is planning construction of superdykes ,Thames barrier is being strengthened for prevention of further damages by such catastrophe.In Bangladesh 1 million live within one meter of sealevel.Thermal expansion of ocean,glacier ice melting lead to rise in sealevels.Climatology is a science of prediction .From 2003 the Hadley center for climate prediction is set up in England.Half of the energygenerated after the world war 2 till date since Industrial revolution has been consumed in last 20 years by human activity.And it is too late to alter this situation in our world.But we have time still to avoid disaster and reduce probability of dangerous climatic upheavals and its effects.
We can limit the carbon dioxide emission.protect nature,trees,biodiversity,water resources,fields and forests withwild life and resortto more simpler and traditional lifestyles to reduce consumption of energy .This is what Gandhiji was advocating all along as a visionary .

Methane release from seashore

Ice crystals trap molecules of methane.Clathrates(Latin-caged) is the name for this ice which burns and contain gas under high pressure.When brought to surface these burn ignited.There is massive deposits of this in the seabed.368 trillion cubic meters of natural gas is recoverable in the world.The ocean floor has 10000-42000 trillion cubic meters compared to this energy.If this is touched and released colossal bursts of methane energy wil lhappen.The entire planet will be destroyed and all species extinct.That will be the end of civilization .Australia,the most urbanized natin on earth is having climate variations due to high energy consumption of its cities.The people all over and scientists all over warn about these consequences yet our local administrators are ready to explore ocean floor,drill it for treasures,bulldozer it for destroying old sethus under it.The methane energy of the caged pressurized variant is lurking below to devour everything in a catastrophic final deluge and man is foolish and selfish not to see this danger even after predictions by climatic experts.

Ozone is the earth’s sunscreen shieling us from 95 % of UV radiations.In 1928 industrial chemists invented HFCs for refrigeration,propellants in spraycans,in airconditioning units.1985 the use of it was 1.8 million tons.They increased chlorine levels five times the previous levels.The hole it punched in ozone layer south of 40 degree latitude exposed to them to skin cancer (southern chile,Argentina,Tasmania,south island of Newzealand)Even near the eqator the chances of skin cancer increased.25 years ago chance of getting melanoma was 1/250.Today it is 1/84 due to ozone depletion.Immune system and eyes are damaged by UV rays.Early cataract can occur .1987 Montreal protocol addressed the global pollution problem successfully.In 1997 the Kyoto protocol aimed at reduction of co2 emission by 5 %.But four nations failed to ratify it,including USA and Australia.Because supplying energy was profitable.Emissions trading creates a new currencycalled carbon dollar.Australia had the highest per capita greenhouse emission of any industrialized country ,25 % higher than USA.At present the Kyoto protocol is the only international treaty to combat climate change.

Can we find solutions to problem of global warming while continuing to use fossil fuels?
Carbon is locked in coal for hundreds and millions of years and will remain there for more millions more if we refuse to dig it up,just for the sake of profits.

How to solve ?
Wind power and turbines is used by Denmark .In China windfarms contribute to global electricity grid.3000 megawatt of windpower is enough to power a small city.Solar hot water,thermal and photovolcaic cells is another alternative suggested.The average home requires only 1.4 kilowatts of power to run a photovolcaic cell .It operates best in summer and one need generate only what one needs.Japan is using this.Sun is a nuclear power at a distance.Earth based nuclear power is an alternative choice .From 2004 May the world is considering this .It does not emit carbon dioxide.India has reactors under construction.China also is seriously considering this option.Geothermal reservoirs of molten mantle of earth is suggested by some.The decarbonising the grid is decentralizing power and empowering individuals.

We need not wait for the govt but can start doing it at home.

Use solar energy.
Buy a hybrid fuel car.
Select a aircraft that fly lower so that co2 consumptiion is less (4%) and average flight time over Europe vary less than a minute.
If we can cut our personal emission by 70 % ,the schools,companies,farms etc can also do that at a higher level
Start a movement in the locality
Use handmade /herbal/natural things
Use organic manure and protect the livestock
And many others depending upon the region located.
Use biofuel for energy needs .Biofuels are derived from biomass ,that is living organisms,and metabolic products.Like hay,corn,plant leaves,grass,dung and urine of animals etc.They are better than fossil fuels(coal,oil,gas) because burning biofuel does not increase the carbon dioxide in atmosphere.The slash-burn agriculture and the bioproducts of domestic animals for energy was thus a very scientific protective method which Indians used for millennia.Liquid biofuel is the ethanol.Level of carbon dioxide have increased from 280 to 385 ppmv since 1750,which is 37 % and this is due to burning of fossil fuels and still people are drilling oceans to get fossil fuel .While I write this Arabian sea is being drilled for it at Cochin and no one thinks that we are digging our own grave in two ways by disturbing the depths of that ocean .Most of Kerala’s coastlands are below sealevel and at or slightly above sealevel.
Another thing we can do is protect our tree and grow more forests and trees .

My health village scheme (Music therapy in education,management and administration Readworthy publications 2008) is intended for the beginning of it at a local level.Planting nutritious fruit trees of the local varieties in each home and school and roadside and helping forestation and protection of biodiversity by social co-operation etc are possible by us without any Government help.Only when it is a policy decision we need approach a politician/Government agency for help.Self help is the best help.

In 100 ways to change the world Johan Tell says call the politician as first and last (1 and 100).The reason is ,we have no power to make policies and we can say that such and such are the problems and such and such policies would help the nation.If he is committed and if what you point out is for the benefit of all your ideas may be put into policy decisions and you can help the world.That is the first .If even after several calls and requests for help ,he doesn’t heed ,the 100th (the last)call is to tell him that we are withdrawing our support and vote for you and that will do the trick.( 100 ways to save the world.Johan Tell.Bonnier books 2007)

The deforestation had been due to the following reasons
1cattle ranching because of Europes appetite for processed meat.
2.Activity of farmers encouraged by state to settle in forestlands and the slash and burn agriculture.
3.fires,mining,road and railway construction
4.logging ,legal and illegal
5.large scale commercial agriculture as livestock foodsources and estates etc which are monocultures and the biodiverse forests are destroyed for this economic activity which is shortlived.
About 117000 sq KM of rainforest is destroyed each year and rainforest cover on globe is now only 5 % and the carbon dixide level is more because of this.
The CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions of each country is assessed.USA is the first and the worst polluter .Second is China and third is EU.The order is as follows with India in 5th place.
USA
China
EU
Russia
India
Japan
Germany
Brazil
Canada
Uk UK IS THE LEAST POLLUTOR.

Greenhouse gas emission including land use change is as follows:
USA
EU
China
Indonesia
Brazil
Russian federation
India
Japan
Germany
Malayasia
(UK is Only 13th)
So all of share the responsibility for killing our own earth and our own life on it.
The warming of climate ,the global rise in sea level and co2 increase etc are more after 1950 and scientists have found that man and his greed alone is responsible for this.

Sealevel rising

IPCC tird assessment report predicted that by 2100 the rise will by by 9-28 cms .NASA reports a sealevel rise on average 3 mm every year between 1993 and 2005.Tht is 3.6 cms over 12 years.Fron 1961-2003 over 43 yrs the rise was only 7.46 cms .Oceans rise when there is thermal expansion.Warm watertakes more space.second reason is melting of ice and glacier by global warming.The third cause is reduction in salinity as more freshwater added by melting ice.Freshwater is less dense and takes more space than salinewater.
Apart from the entire coast of kerala the other major cities endangered by rising sea level are
Tokyo
Shanghai
Hongkong
Mumbai
Calcutta
Buenos Aires
St Petersburg
Newyork
Miami
London
Many small islands in Indian and Pacific ocean ,like the Maldives,Carteret island in Pacific (which will be the first to be lost)By 2015 this island with its 2500 inhabitants will be lost forever is the prediction(pp96 The A-Z of global warming Simon J Rosser.Schmaall world publishing 1988).
How do you think the Indian astronomers knew the cyclical nature of climate and the great world cycles of yuga ,kalpa etc? Simply by experience and observation and deduction they have known the eccentricity of earths orbit around sun and the perihelion at Makaram 1st and aphelion on Karkitakam 1st.(Now the West place it on 3rd January and 4th July based on the region of Greenich)The earth is close to sun in summer of southern hemisphere and winter in northern hemisphere. It is farthest from sun when the northern hemisphere has its summer and southern has its winter.The tilt of earths axis between 22.1 to 24.5 degree (currently 23.5) on its orbital plane cause cycle of 40000 years .Now the tilt is becoming more upright from 23.5 to 22.1 and there is a climate change.The tilt causes the seasonsTilt greater,severe warmer summer and cooler winters.Less tilt,cooler summer and milder interWhen cooler summers happen icemass formed.Ice has reflective surface and reflects sun’s energy back to space keeping temperatures in poles cool.If the Greenland ice melts completely the sea level will raise by 4.5 to 6 meters .
Precession of equinox is the earths wobble around its axis and has a cycle of 26000 yrs.The perihelion and aphelion then changes completely.Now the southern hemisphere is tilted towards sun at its perihelion (Makaram or Utharaayana)but by 26000 years this will reverse.This is called ayanaamsa by Indian astronomers and precision of equinox by the west.
The ocean thermohaline circulation(OTH) is the ocean conveyor belt ,meridional overturning circulation(MOC) and these are terms used for a system of large currents that bring warmer water from equator to northern hemisphere and returns colder water back to equator.It depends both on temperature and the salt and hence the name.London is 51 .30 degree north of equator as Saskatoon in Canada.Saskatoon is covered by ice about 5 months of year during winter.Glasgow and Hudson bay in Canada are in same latitude,and the moderate climate of Europe is maintained by the warm drifts from equator.The transport of ocean nutrients for marine life also is due to OTH.OTH drives the north Atlantic drift while winds drive the gulfstream .(That is why people around the eqator knew the monsoon and the ocean currents and the west did not know it)..The currents are affected by the global warming as it has slowed by 30 % though it is within natural variability of changes.

Earth’s population growth

Current 6,500,000,000
20 yrs ago 4,000,000,000
BY 2050 expected 9,000,000,000
This contribute to global warming,energy needs,food consumption,more of fossil fuel pollution,a vicious cycle .Water,food and climate ,will be problems for the entire life on earth.
Billions of people in 1830 was 1.
1930. 2
1960 it was 3,
1975 became 4.
1987 5
2007 6.5
By 2050 expected 9.(credit population institute figures)

Unless we use renewable energy to substitute the fossil fuel we may not be able to break the vicious circle,
The renewable eergy is that can be regenerated
1.solar power(Akkaasa)
2.wind power(Vaayu)
3.hydropower(aapas) which includes hydroelectric,tidal and wave powers
4.geothermal(agni) from heat of earth.
5.biomass (prithwi)
These are the five elemental powers which can be regenerated by recycling.

Nuclear power does not produce greenhouse gases .Therefore some nations are thinking about it as alternative.
The ancient astronomers of India were aware of a 11 yr cycle of sun and an increased magnetic and sunspot activity called the ucha or maximum of the sun and then a manda or minimum period of quiescence.With sunspots the sun activity is maximum .The last solar maximum wasin 2000-2002.Helioseismology is an ultrasound technique for the sun’s body.The NASA with it predicted the suns next solar cycle to begin in 2007 -2008 and 30-50 % increase than the current cycle with a peak in 2012 (cycle 24).The solar radiation is not the reason for global warming but anthropogenic forces(manmade)are the cause has been proved.Temperatures of last 1000 years remaining constant and from 1800 a sharp upward rise is the evidence for it.The 1990’s were the warmest decade and 1998 the warmest year.For last 150 years man has created this problem.
2005 and 2007 were hottest like 1998,and even more and 2002.2003,2006 were very hot.
Global warming increases mosquitoes,pathogens like malaria and mosquitoes can survive in a wide area and higher altitudes with warm temperatures.A population of 40-60000000 in Africa will be prone to vector-transmitted malaria with a temperature rise of 2 centgrade.
Weather changes like heatwaves,floods,droughts and hurricanes are due to global warming.In 2003 before tsunami Europe had heatwave that killed 35000 people.15000 were in Paris alone.August 2007 terribe fires raged Greece.June 2007 floods and rains in north of England happened .Danube,Rhine and Rhone overflowed.Increased rain in northern hemisphere and reduced rain in the tropics and subtropics happened.
Droughts in Australia,USA,(California)and Missisipppi are having effects of drought.May 2007 saw drought in Australia .Queensland and Sydney are under threat.

A tropical cyclone is a low pressure system that has a cyclonic surface wind circulation.If it occurs in North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific ocean it is called a hurricane.In Northwest Pacific,to the east of 160 degree longitude it is called a typhoon.It is called a cyclone in Southwest Pacific ocean and North and Southwest Indian ocean.Data from 1851 is available and from 1944 are with aircraft monitoring and from 1970 it is with satellites..There were five or more hurricanes over four years in 1950s ,three different years in 1960s,and 1990s and over two years till 2000,but 2004 saw six major hurricanes and 2005 saw seven.2006 was quieter with two major hurricanes.2007 had 13-16 named storms,7-9 hurricanes ,3-5 major hurricanes.
The most active was 2005.28 named storms ,15 were hurricanes,7 of them major.This beat record of 1969 with 12 hurricanes ,5 of which were major.In 1950 eleven hurricanes ,eight of which were major.50s 60s and 90s were active hurricane periods.1995-1999 a record thirtithree hurricanes recorded.1991-1994 was the quietest after the 1940s.Atlantic hurricanes alternates between quiet and active period of activity over 20-25 yr periods.Typhoons increased since 1980s after a decrease in activity from 1960-80.The activity cycle is thius similar to Atlantic hurricanes.When there is ocean warming hurricanes become stronger.The destructive power of hurricanes has increased since mid 1970s when there was rapid increase in the global ocean and land temperatures.Just after the tsunami of 2004 there had been a record year of hurricanes in North Atlantic with 27 named storms ,7 major,and four reaching category five status.
Category 5 storms of 2005:-
Emily hit Mexico in 18th July 2005
Katrina developed in August and made landfall in Lousiana and Mississippi ,of category 3 strength
Rita developed in September 2005 ,close to Florida on 20th,causing storm-force winds upto 76 mph on Key west.It strengthened and tracked to Mexicao and reached category status with 175 mph

Wilma arrived in October and produced 60 inches rain passing over Yucatan peninsula in Mexico and made landfall in Florida as category 3 storm
In 2007 the hurricane Dean damaged Jamaica as it made its way to Mexico.

We have altered the weather and water cycles and caused the extinction of biodiversity on face of earth and are heading for our own extinction by own deeds.
Animals under threat are the polar bear,sea turtles,whales,giant panda,orang-utan,elephant,tigers,birds of different varieties,pikas a small hamstersized flowergathering mammal in Alpines of western USA ,SW Canada and Asia.varietes of frogs including the golden frog of costa Rica,penguins,coral reefs with several symbiotic organisms depending upon them.We will soon have the same fate as these formsof life.

What we can do?
1.turn off all electrical appliances when they are not in use-the phone chargers,TV,DVD,which take 10 -60% of normal power even when in standby.Make sure that the plugs are easily accessible to turn off easily.
2.Standby buster and energy tracker.Turn off the appliance with remote handset .The equipment functions via radio waves and have a playback time of 6 months.It measures your energy consumption and allow you to monitor the power consumption.
3.Buy energy –efficient appliances Don’t keep the fridge near a cooker so that it takes more energy to keep cool.
4.Turn off lights when it is not needed.
5.Boil water that is just enough for use.
6.Turn down household thermostat down 1 degree centigrade to reduce carbon blueprint and to save money
7.Use solar energy whenever possible
8.Insulate properly to prevent heat loss
9.Take a shower .It use les energy than a bath
10.Recycle rubbish to reduce energy requirements.Like the wastes,paper,cardboard,tin,aluminium cans ,glass bottles and jars and plastic cans .UK is doing this (www.recyclenow.com)
11.Use green energy.
12.carbon free travel and holiday.(vacation)
Reduce the carbon dioxide emission offsets to zero.
The golden standard of a Clean development mechanism(CDM) is the objectives of the Kyoto protocol.Keep the planet clean,pure,lessen the greenhouse gases,and keep it cool and safe for life to continue as before.In the book Flexibility in climate policy Tim Jackson,Katie beg and Stuart Parkinson has described how to make the Kyoto mechanisms work the joint implementation(JI) its objectives ,social and environmental aspects ,methodology and case study research.The many project case studies using biomass and wind energy are interesting and we should be thinking in those lines and using less of fossil fuels.This is the only way to do away with the havoc caused by the Industrial revolution on the globe in such a short period.

Conflict scenario from 2010-2030 anticipated –Peter Scwartz and Doug Randall (Oct 2003)are the effects of climate changes and not climatic /weather changes.


In Europe they reported migration from ``Holland &Germany to Italy &Spain by 2020 and by 2007 itself the lowlying coastal areas of Holland are being evacuated due to violent storms.Melting of Himalayan glaciers have relocated Tibetans.The rising sealevels & floods people are migrating.By change in the THC the northern latitudes including UK will become colder drier and akin to Siberia.Deaths from war,famine ,weatherrelated disastersare predicted by the Pentagon report of Schwartz and Randall.Riots of interal conflicts in India,South Africa,Indonesia : Elsewhere countries exploiting resources of others to feed and care for their own populations ,conflict over water resource in Nile,Danube,Amazon basins,USA &Europe will be mighty fortresses barring entry to millions of starving people ,Scandinavians will move south.Africans will move to south Europe.China’s huge population and food needs will make it more vulnerable.Bengladesa will be uninhabitable due to rising sea level which will contaminate inland water supplies.( On 25th May 2009 when Aila struck kolkata and Ganga swelled with its tributaries in sunderbans breaking embankments in 100 spots, and 24 pargannas bore the brunt ,and 100 irrigation dams smashed ,inundating scores of villages at least some might have remembered this prediction!).When fossil fuel is dangerous to human life on earth,and hydroelectric power is destroyed by lack of water and destruction of dam reservoirs people think of other measures of energy sources.The Pentagon report therefore says that Israel,china,India,Pakistan will be ready to use nuclear arsenals and japan,south korea,Egypt and germany ,in addition to iran and north korea will develop nuclear capability.
The interesting part is that this is not a climatic prediction,but the impact or effects of climatic changes on various parts of the globe on a regional basis.So,what was wrong in Varahamihira and his predecessors giving this type of predictions to rulers and people to be on the look out for problems and solve them before they came ?The west is gradually adopting the ways of the ancient east,because only now have they got the scientific knowledge of the weather,of the seas and its relation to human activity.
The role of eclipses and earthquakes due to expansion of waterbodies during eclipses were predicted by Indian astronomers.If we look at the following figures you can see how the major disasters of earthquakes wiping away populations had occurred on either new or full moon days.
2001 Gujarat earthquake killing 20000 people on new moon day
Dec 26 in 2004 the famous tsunami on a full moon day.
26th September Japan kurile island earthquake on new moon day.
Dec 26th 2003 new moon day Iran earthquake kills 30000 people.

The European travels to India in 15th to 16th century and the events thereafter was their study period of the human behaviour and knowledge of sciences .It took nearly 400 years for them to accept it,but by that time,they had altered the entire global weather by the greed for more power and we have to face the consequences of what we call the great industrial revolution.We have enjoyed its good effects so far.Now we have to suffer the bad effects too. For surviving the climatic changes and to avert the catastrophe of manmade changes to the weather We have to
1 understand the problem of the gravity of the human-made climate change
2.We have to break out of te present impasse.
We include all of us,and the policy makers,opinion formers,the rich,powerful and influential in corporate business ,academic and scientific institutions and leading nongovernmental institutions .

I am a music lover.Music integrates everything.And intelligent time measure and design is part of music,medicine and astronomy all of which I have learnt.Music is creatively alive and is very precise about counting.Timing and tuning to shared reference points are fundamental to powers of live music.It has a timeless stability and political relevance of equality anf oneness of everything and a very peaceful eternal dharma of sustenance of life.All conflicts can be solved with such peaceful intelligent integrating processes.And if science can make us aware of the dangers of global warming it can find out a way out of it too.Therefore ,all of us together can solve the problem,if we so desire.If we survive,it will be by our combined effort.If the civilization and humanity perish it will be by our shared action of selfishness.What do we want ourselves to do is our own decision.