Happenings

(Another) Upcoming Crazy Weather System

February 24, 2019 Happenings

Brace yourself, Ontarians, for one last time! Because hopefully, this could be the last crazy weather system before the spring makes its way into Toronto. Personally, just when I thought the mercury was rising, the Canada Geese have arrived and the snow was thawing, unfortunately, there’s more of it coming shortly. If one was looking for surprises in Canada, they can be rest assured, the weather won’t disappoint and would deliver on its promises pronto!

So, Environment Canada has issued an alert beginning Sunday afternoon until Monday, for a “major wind storm” this time that will sweep through most of Southern Ontario.

Weather System Alert - Southern Ontario

The winter this year has been especially onerous, over the past few days the temperatures have swung up and down like a yo-yo, not to mention there was a storm just a few weeks ago dumping tons of snow. And if you all thought all that was a result of a dreaded global phenomenon called ‘climate change’, not only are you dead right but you are free to panic as well, according to this insightful and scary article.

Not to digress from the topic, but there’s no doubt in my mind that winds gusting at 120 km/h seem likely to take some serious toll on the city damaging precious life & property. It’s a weekend too so I just hope that this oncoming dreaded weather system passes on smoothly giving the residents some much-needed breathing space from its brutality. The crazy weather, with a looming threat of power outages and low visibility, means many in the affected neighbourhoods would be sadly confined yet again to the safety of their homes. For those courageous adventurers, who would still dare to venture out and risk everything despite the clear warnings, I can only say — stay safe, stay alert, and if possible, stay indoors.

Dastardly Attack On Democracy

February 15, 2019 Happenings

It was ironic, on the day when the entire world was celebrating an emblem of freedom and democracy there was a reprehensible suicide attack carried out on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy on the Jammu-Srinagar Highway at Pulwama in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, India. It was an explosive-filled vehicle that was rammed into the convoy and the Pakistan-based Islamist terror outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammed, has taken responsibility for this dastardly act which has resulted in over 40 casualties. I collectively stand, shoulder to shoulder in grief with my fellow citizens in offering my condolences to the soldiers who laid down their lives for their nation. I’m not only hurt but also angry by this mindless stunt of sabotaging our democratic rights and freedom. I sincerely hope that every individual responsible for the planning, logistics and execution of this cowardly deed would be brought to justice, sooner than later.

We, the citizens of modern society, proudly advocate the values of freedom and believe in the advantages of global peace & security, in whose absence mankind has suffered in an endless loop of struggle, conflict & survival. The state actors who commit brutality on a democratic society do not believe in the worthiness of a strong & harmonious nation for all humanity, rather, they openly justify the assault on freedom for their own vested interests and falsely driven radical ideologies. These state actors spread misinformation by forcibly suppressing the truth to divide our society and inject their violent doctrine amongst us. But time and again, the ultimate truth and beliefs have strongly prevailed over these inordinate forces.

Therefore, it doesn’t come as a surprise that despite countless attacks on her innocent souls, be it the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, the 2001 J&K Legislative Assembly or the 2016 Uri attack, whenever radical terrorism has challenged & attempted to clamp down on the democracy and values for freedom India has triumphed over tyranny and falsehood with her vast & diverse society, it has emerged unscathed, proven herself much stronger and highly resilient for her adversaries! Even in this melancholic moment, I am certain that a nation which has stood on the tenets of morality, equality, truth and justice for humanity, will prevail over this misadventure once again. Jai Hind!

A Winter Storm Is Blowing Through Toronto

January 29, 2019 Happenings

Having landed strictly from a tropical lineage AND having successfully achieved the distinction of surviving the frosty winter of Canada so far, I can speak with a certain degree of authority that winter storms are a unique feature of this country’s culture. Needless to say then, any discussion surrounding the Canadian winter is incomplete without mentioning the word ‘storm’. Just like the monsoon season which brings the city of Mumbai to its bare knees and drives the life of the common man to a complete nightmare, we Canadians, have been blessed with heaps of wintery snow raining to bring our individual lives to a dead end. Likewise, the storm that is sweeping parts of Ontario and GTA as I write this piece has wreaked more havoc today than its usual share with no sign of stopping so far, and it is soon going to be followed by a ‘polar vortex’ — one that is going to be much brutal than what came in 2014.

The ice storm this winter (some reports called it the “Alberta Clipper”) is definitely massive with the snowfall predicted to be at 15-25 cms for a single day and bringing temperatures down to the -40s. However, those figures sound lame when you read what happened two decades ago, during another such massive ice storm of January 1999. It was so severe that the then mayor, Mel Lastman, had to summon the help of the military in Toronto (and got squarely ridiculed for his decision) after the city saw a whopping 118 centimetres of snowfall in the first half of that month! Gosh, I can’t even imagine how that much snow must have felt on the ground.

Though, as I began to look deeper for more facts they continued to unravel itself. I realized it was in fact, the snow storm back in the December 1944 which was the harshest in the city’s history — it took 16 lives in Toronto, and 21 in Ontario overall. It seems we might be staring at yet another record-breaking heavy snow storm this time around.

Continue reading…

Win Some, Lose Some For India

November 24, 2018 Happenings

Team sports are so important for fulfilment & I’m especially sentimental about one such sport called Cricket. Like any other game the outcome is unpredictable and therefore stressful, and secondly, Cricket brings such pride & glory to billions of fans regardless of a win or loss. In that, it was quite a turnaround eventually for the Indian women players who missed winning their maiden World T20 title. I was holding on to my nerves as captain Harmanpreet Kaur’s squad were cruising remaining undefeated until they succumbed to reigning champions England in the semis. The surprise exclusion of Mithali Raj from the semis has been under the scanner quite obviously and her contribution could have made a difference, but unmindful of their loss, their journey has been the most inspiring for this World T20 and beyond.

  • v New Zealand-W (India Women won by 34 runs)
  • v Pakistan-W (India Women won by 7 wickets)
  • v Ireland-W (India Women won by 52 runs)
  • v Australia-W (India Women won by 48 runs)
  • v England-W (England Women won by 8 wickets) (Semi-Finals)

Although India’s defeat was hard to digest & at such a crucial juncture, I just wish the Indian women’s team would win the title in the future, much like the juniors early this year.

But Mary Kom’s sixth gold win at the Women’s World Boxing Championship was stupendous. It was a record-equalling feat and she became the most successful woman boxer in the game’s history when she beat Ukraine’s Hanna Okhota in a unanimous 5-0 verdict in the 48kg category summit bout. This wasn’t surprising when you consider “Magnificent Mary’s” reputation in world boxing today although, since I don’t follow boxing I wasn’t aware of a tournament of this vast scale being organized and in India. Admittedly, I was depressed with the fallout of women’s cricket but Mary Kom’s win lifted my spirits high!

GSLV-III And India’s Human Spaceflight Dream

November 14, 2018 Happenings
GSLV Mk.III launching from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

Always the one to glorify any news relating to advances made in science & space technology, I couldn’t hide my emotions when I read about the successful mission of one of India’s heaviest launch vehicle systems the GSLV-III (aka GSLV Mark III) which placed a communication satellite payload to its GEO orbit, the 3,423 kg (7,546 lb) GSAT 29. However, when this 13-storey tall heavy rocket took-off from the Satish Dhawan Space Center it not only connected the country’s remotest, most crucial parts with a high-speed network it also marked a step closer in achieving the goal of putting ‘Vyomanauts’ into space.

One of the most ambitious ISRO projects is the proposed manned mission into space, that will lift-off on a homegrown launch vehicle; the GSLV-III, with an all-Indian crew. The project has been named Gaganyaan or ‘sky craft’ and a planned date for the launch is 2022. If you want to truly understand the significance of today’s launch you will have to go back to the 90s when India was prevented from gaining access to the cryogenic engine technology by the US from Russia’s Glavkosmos which cited the dual purpose use of the technology and prohibited its transfer under the provisions of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). That pushed back the development of the GSLV rockets by decades. 

The GSLV-III handles payloads of up to 4-5 tons into the GEO orbit with the cryogenic upper stage providing the extra thrust required by the rocket to carry heavier payloads into deeper space. That (second) stage is designated as ‘C-25’ and contains the CE-20 cryogenic rocket engine which was developed indigenously. It’s one of the most powerful cryogenic upper stages in the world today.

India has plans to orbit an Indian crew into space in 2022 and that mission will be accomplished by GSLV-III (nicknamed ‘Bahubali’). Meanwhile, this mighty launch vehicle is also slated to carry another most anticipated lunar probe with a rover landing, the Chandrayaan 2 in January 2019. In all of this, today’s successful flight of the GSLV-III rocket indeed brings India closer to its human spaceflight dream. Vyomanauts! Let’s go!!

Some GSLV-III stats in a nutshell:

  • Height – 43.4 m
  • Mass – 640,000 kg
  • Payload to LEO – 8,000 kg
  • Payload to GTO – 4,000 kg
  • Stages – 3
  • Boosters – 2x S200

Photo – Indian Space Research Organization