Forestry in India  
  

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TOPIC: Retired Indian (from India) Forester looking to discuss Forestry
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/216bfea46f618c83?hl=en
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Wed, Jan 9 2008 9:54 am
From: "a.c. lakshmana"


Dear Mr.Gary Smith and colleagues,

I thank all persons responsible for introducing me to this group. The deliberations are frank and interesting.
Mr Gary Smith has drawn our attention to Teak tree(Tectona grandis) which is one of the best timber in the world.For that matter the Western ghat forests of my state Karnataka, are blessed with unique trees like sandal-Santalum album, the costliest tree in the world, nearly Rs.3000 or US $ 700 /kilogram.The other trees like rose wood- Dalbergia latifolia are also unique in many ways.

Because of industrialization and other developments forests are shrinking.Foresters have to come out with supplementary alternatives to agriculture lands.i feel teak,sandal bamboo,rattan cane,etc, are the suitable ones.
That is how i wrote that bamboo and rattans are my specialties.

once again thanking the group or their friendly gesture.
Yours sincerely,
a.c.lakshmana.


== 2 of 3 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 14 2008 8:21 am
From: "a.c. lakshmana"


DEAR FRIENDS,

14 Th of January , is a day of an important festival in India. It happens to be the day on which the Sun changes his axis from South to North bringing sunshine and warmth to all of us.This is like an alarm wake up call bringing back life to all hibernating animals and plants. The whole universe wakes up rejuvenated after a cold resting period. In India it is celebrated as a post harvest festival and is called PONGAL/SANKRANTHI. Different parts of the country call it by different names.It is called lodi in Punjab,Bihu in Bengal etc.
The harvest heap is religiously worshiped , so are the
animals,sun and land, and the BIO-DIVERSITY.
The harvest is shared by haves with have nots, not as alms, but almost as their share.
Paddy or other grain bunches are hung in the front near the roof tops for birds, cooked rice is strewn in the field both as food and incidentally acts as natural pest control.
The domestic animals are washed, tied with ringing bells, horns
are painted mostly red and the animals are made to jump 3 rows of
paddy fire symbolizing successful crossing of hurdles in life.

Every country across the globe celebrates harvest festival in some form or the other, but some of them
are becoming mere symbolic-traditions ,forgetting the original philosophy that brought everybody happiness and peace. I felt that we should revive this old spirit bearing in our minds
the philosophy of our ancestors. In India January 14 is fixed day for celebrating sankranthi which is also called UTTARAYANAPUNYAKALA in Mahbharath,which took place
3500 years ago. It was a thought that why should we not consider this auspicious BIO-DIVERSITY day and improve over this philosophy. and leave a glorious heritage for our children for a better tomorrow.
This e-mail has bearing to one of our friends mentioning about some good practices in the East.
I WISH ALL OF YOU A HAPPY,PROSPEROUS,PONGAL/BIO DIVERSITY DAY.

YOURS SINCERELY,
A.C.LAKSHMANA.

Yours sincerely,
A.C.LAKSHMANA.


== 3 of 3 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 14 2008 9:34 am
From: James Parton


ENTS,

This remids me of the Imbolc and Ostara Festivals of Celtic Tradition.
Imbolc arrives in early February in what feels like the dead of winter
in much of the Northern Hemisphere -- cold and white during the days,
and with long bluish shadows falling over the snow as twilight nears.
Nevertheless, this day marks the first seed of springtide (whose
midpoint will be celebrated later in March).
At this time, sacred pagan rituals were held across Europe. The
Celtic name, which is the most well known of many ancient names, is
Imbolc, a time to celebrate the goddess Brigid in her lively, creative
maiden-aspect. In the Catholic Church, the feast is Candlemas ("Mass
of the Candles"), for in earlier times churches and monasteries were
filled with tiers of burning candles to mark the end of the Yule
season with a celebration commemorating the Virgin Mary's ritual
purification forty days after giving birth.

http://www.worldspirituality.org/imbolc.html

Ostara occurs at the spring equinox which celebrates the sun returning
to the northern sky. On the equinox the days and nights are of equal
length. Incedentally Christians adopted some of these celebration
activities into Easter, which gets its name from Ostara. The rabbit
and eggs are a symbol of fertility.

http://thunder.prohosting.com/~cbarstow/ostara.html

The Indian celebrations have a lot in common with Imbolc and Ostara.


James Parton


TOPIC: Retired Indian (from India)Forester looking to discuss Forestry
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/216bfea46f618c83?hl=en
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Mon, Jan 21 2008 6:40 pm
From: Josh


Mr. Lakshmana,

I discovered your old post from Jan 9. Thank you for taking part in
ENTS discussions. You are by far the most "eastern" of all of the
eastern native tree society.

In college I wrote a short paper on the politics of environmentalism
in India, and your state of Karnataka seemed to be one of the leaders
of social and environmental reform in India. I am very interested in
anything you have to say about the forests and people of Karnataka and
the Western Ghats. I would love to visit the Western Ghats sometimes
to experience some of the fantastic biological diversity present
there!

When I was travelling in Laos and Thailand a few years ago, many rural
villages had large plantations of Tectonia grandis. Does Tectonia
grow rapidly enough to produce lumber in a human lifetime? It's nice
to hear there are so many options in Karnataka for foresters to help
people increase there income. Is Cashew farming profitable and
sustainable there (cashews are my favorite source of vegetable
protein)?

I look forward to see more posts from you,
Sincerely,

Josh Kelly


==============================================================================
TOPIC: Retired Indian (from India)Forester looking to discuss Forestry
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/216bfea46f618c83?hl=en
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Tues, Jan 22 2008 11:43 am
From: "a.c. lakshmana"


Dear Mr.Joshkelly,

I am delighted to read your e-mail and your interest in the western ghat forests which are the 7 Th richest hot spots in the world.
Tectona grandis are coming up well in private lands in South India also. In my own farm the best tree had attained 3.3 feet girth in 10 years.They can be harvested around 20 years.The financial returns are good.
Casew comes up along coastal area.As the productivity is not up to the mark further expansion is not taking place.
If you come to Bangalore i will host you for three days, you can also visit western ghats .
I will be interested in going through your article of your college days.Glad to know that you have ranked Karnataka on a high scale regarding reforms.
I will be delighted to go through the contributions and life of some great foresters of USA.Are they available in any website.

Yours sincerely,
a.c.lakshmana.


==============================================================================
TOPIC: Retired Indian (from India)Forester looking to discuss Forestry
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/216bfea46f618c83?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 2 ==
Date: Wed, Jan 23 2008 12:09 pm
From: Josh


A.C. (do you mind being addressed less formally?),

Thanks for your reply. Wow! The Ghats are a very productive area, and
harvesting teak in 20 years - that is remarkable.

Thank you very much for your offer to host me in Bangalore. The
dollar is currently falling so fast, I'm not sure when I will be able
to travel abroad. However, If I do come to Bangalore, you and I will
have to visit. Thanks again.

Finding my old college papers will be difficult, and will involve
searching through many floppy disks. I haven't used those in a
while!

As a botanist by avocation, I am not an expert in forestry. One
forester/botanist from the U.S. that does interest me is W.W. Ashe.
He was a pioneer in the acquisition of National Forests in the Eastern
U.S. and an advocate of primary forests. My friend Rob Messick has
done loads of research on him and he seems like a fascinating man.

I look forward to reading more posts by you, A.C.

Take Care,
Josh



== 2 of 2 ==
Date: Wed, Jan 23 2008 4:19 pm
From: nesfl@valinet.com


During your long career in India, did you work in forests where tigers
roamed?

Michele