The Sweet Spot

The sky is overcast and one can imagine the song “ghanana ghanana ghir ghir aayee badara” from the movie Lagaan, as the surroundings looked lush with trees and saplings of all sizes covering the pale sand over ten to twelve acres. There are trees of many varieties like Neem, Khejri, Acacia, desert teak and fruiting trees like pomegranate, among other native species. As the person in the video indicates there is a temple and sand dunes intact outside, in the vast, otherwise barren landscape of the Thar desert around Barmer district of Rajasthan, one can’t help but wonder why the landscape is so lush inside the compound, even attracting rain, and wildlife such as peacocks and deer.  The video depicts a forest adopted by philanthropists Vivek and Vandana Sharma, who, through their foundation have given back to the community through multiple projects in New England and beyond. This project in Rajasthan, and another one in Vidarbha, Maharashtra, is through SankalpTaru (Sankalp:Pledge, T...

Proud Indian Americans looked on with their heads held high as they witnessed the Indian Flag being raised at the Acton town hall, accompanied by Jana-Gana-Mana, the Indian National Anthem. The Indian Flag will fly for twenty four hours at the Acton Town Center to commemorate India’s 74th Independence Day, on August 15th 2020. This is happening for the first time in the history of Acton, thanks to the leadership of the Acton Board of Selectmen (BOS) and Sahana Purohit, a Finance Committee member, who stepped  up promptly in response to IAGB (India Association of Greater Boston http://www.iagb.org ) initiative to hoist the Indian flag in 35 New England cities including Nashua, Connecticut and Maine towns. In Acton, the occasion was graced by prominent town representatives such as Massachusetts State Senator Jamie Eldridge, Massachusetts Representatives Tami Gouveia and Dan Sena,  Acton Board of Selectmen (BOS) Chair Jon Benson and Vice Chair Dean Charter, Selectman David Mart...

  My inbox and social media feeds were filled with offers “$0 out of pocket for solar installations”, as I had recently searched for rooftop solar installation prices just out of curiosity. The “smart” marketing apps continued feeding these ads, unaware that we have had a solar installation for the past couple of years. Two years ago I would have cringed at these ads. But now, happy with our installation, I was more patient and willing to give them more credit. Being an ardent follower of clean energy initiatives, we explored solar panel installations including a solar roof, many times over the last decade, years before they were ready for prime time. While we were still exploring, others around us were taking the plunge and reporting complete satisfaction with their installations. I was really impressed to see the system my cousin had installed in India, which p owered all of his law office, which hosted 10+ employees, plus a part of his residence. Finally for us, the stars aligne...