Urban Ooru

Last month, September, was the month of the equinox. A year sees four watershed touch points of seasons – the two equinoxes and the two solstices. Equinox is when the day and night are approximately equal across the earth. It also means that the sun rises and sets exactly in east and west respectively. Equinoxes happen between March 20 th to 23 rd and September 20 th to 23 rd annually. The actual date may vary from year to year. The solstices are when days and nights are the longest or the shortest depending on the hemisphere one is in. December 21 st to 23 rd sees the shortest day and longest day in the northern hemisphere and vice versa in the southern hemisphere. June 21 st to 23 rd sees the longest day and shortest night in the northern hemisphere and vice versa in the southern hemisphere. Everything is about the angle Its fascinating that something like this happens – all because of the tilt in the axis around which the earth rotates. The earth’s tilt is around ...

This month saw us celebrating our 73 rd Independence Day. It is a day that fills our hearts with a renewed sense of patriotism and pride. India is on a developmental upswing and there is a palpable energy that one can find everywhere. We have reached Mars – Mission Mangal, the blockbuster film on the historic Mars mission just released this month to rave reviews while our second mission to the Moon – Chandrayaan 2, has successfully locked into the lunar orbit. Despite all the inherent inefficiencies of our cities that we complain about, there is construction everywhere – buildings, metro lines, flyovers, pavements, underground service lines - the list is endless. Broadband penetration across the country is growing at a blazing speed and we are on the verge of getting 5G services. This is all great news! However as per a recent UN report released in June 2019, India will become the most populous country on earth by 2027 – a mere 8 years from now. The growth that India will s...