an introduction

[siddharthamahavira]

Okay, I do not know where to post an introduction, so it might just as well be right here.

moved to introductions board - moderators

I am Siddhartha, a 30 year old family man with the dear wife and a 3 year old son. I am an electrical engineer by profession, and serve as an executive in Coal India Limited, currently posted at Northern Coalfields Limited which is headquartered at Singrauli, MP, and the Coalfield is just across the border in Sonbhadra, UP. Previously I have worked at the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and a few other places.
I hail from Muzaffarpur and Arrah, Bihar. My extended family is settled in Delhi, apart from Bihar.
My personal pursuits include photography, hobby electronics, literature, and a few other engagements.
Coming from a rural background, I had mastered the art of crafting and shooting handmade bows and arrows as well as spears. Now that I look back, I remember how I could very neatly separate mangoes from the stem using archery and precisely hit a bird's nest at about 30 yards with a javelin. Owing to a certain chain of mishappenings a generation back, firearms have been disposed of and are gravely looked down upon even today in the family. So very little exposure of any sort apart from occasionally handling guns and cartridges from the maternal side of the family.
As I bought my first airgun, an SDB 35, I also joined the forum and have been reading through many of the wonderful posts by the equally wonderful members.
I firmly believe in responsible gun culture, and find Indian gun laws to be severely debilitating to the ordinary citizen. I hope to own firearms someday when I have the mettle to go through the absurdly strict regulations & statutes.
That's about it.
Thank you!

[timmy]

Welcome, siddharthamahavira! I'm sure you are in quite a company here, being someone who enjoys guns, but also someone who has family members opposed to guns. There are people who have opinions that cannot be changed by logic, reason, or the ideals of democracy and human rights. There isn't much that can be done about them, but we can all take a stand for our own rights, whether or not these are recognized.

Electrical engineering sounds fun -- I brushed up with that a little bit in the past. Also, we share groing up in the country. Even though I occasionally enjoy a visit to a big city, with its museums, diverse places to eat, entertainment, and other such "big city" diversions, I am still thankful for being raised in the country, for doing farm work in my youth, and enjoying shooting in the back property. Enjoying a visit to the big city is not the same as wanting to live there, that's for sure! We will need to go to a big city to keep an appointment with a specialist, but I'm still not motivated for a visit at this time.

It's not always easy to ignore being looked down upon by those with who we're close, when the matter in question is something we enjoy or is something in which we believe. That's why it's fun to share with others who have the same interests and values regarding firearms, such as those of us here at IFG!

Welcome!

[Mr.Shome]

Hi Siddharthamahavira,

Great to see such a lovely introduction after a
long while. Our highly respected Timmy Sir has already shared some bits of his wisdom with you. If you stick along, you will find many good people here (yes, some jerks are also here, but they exist everywhere.). I hope, this fabulous forum will help you to gain immense knowledge.

Regards.।

[herb]

Welcome to the forum, post some photographs when you have time.

[Prabhath]

Welcome aboard.

[kanzakibullet]

A hearty welcome Siddhartha sir!

Happy to have a new member in our wonderful forum. Especially, one with knowledge of making bows and spears. Would really appreciate it if you can share a 'how-to' with us as well.

Sincerely,
Kanzakibullet

[Vikram]

Welcome to IFG.

[siddharthamahavira]

Thank you for the warm welcome, generous Sirs!

Indeed, growing up in the country, the unfiltered interaction with mother nature is something that can't be described in words. I have seen days when it was safe to drink from most of the natural sources of water and a lot of seasonal delicacies were foraged from the woods, farms, and the fields, and ponds. And that's a lifestyle the modern world is once again striving to achieve with organic foods, multigrain atta, brown rice, desi chicken & eggs, unrefined milk, food that used to be our mainstay 25 years ago but were phased out in the name of modernity.

Electrical engineering is a passion, and if any of the members need a discussion, feel free to consult me. I have studied it deeply enough that the basics are as clear as a child's play. The mystery in many matters is simpler than apparent, once we dig deep enough.

We have a certain type of bamboo in our place called lathi-bamboo. Rather than being broad and hollow like the normal bamboo, it grows to be slender and almost solid. It is exceptionally strong and lends itself well to making lathis. I used the same to fashion out bows and spears. For arrows, the reed of a certain tall grass that is used in the villages to make walls of huts was used. It grows about 12 feet tall. It's stem is very straight and lightweight yet strong, ideal for making arrows.

As I look back, it seems almost impossible to live that wonderful life again. As they say, you can never go back home.

The people and the posts in this forum are fabulous. I browse it almost daily and I am most impressed by the quality of the discussions here. It seems the self-discipline one needs for responsibly owning firearms translates to other aspects of life as well. I'm in good company!

Thanks once again!

[timmy]

siddharthamahavira, your interesting post recounting your memories has provoked some responses from me:

Thank you for the warm welcome, generous Sirs!

Indeed, growing up in the country, the unfiltered interaction with mother nature is something that can't be described in words. I have seen days when it was safe to drink from most of the natural sources of water and a lot of seasonal delicacies were foraged from the woods, farms, and the fields, and ponds. And that's a lifestyle the modern world is once again striving to achieve with organic foods, multigrain atta, brown rice, desi chicken & eggs, unrefined milk, food that used to be our mainstay 25 years ago but were phased out in the name of modernity.

How true it is, what you have said! Most of my experiences like these were field and farm based, as most of the woods had long since been felled to clear for farmland. They call it "progress," I suppose.

I was much more drawn to the plant side of things; I didn't care for the animals so much, and spent most of the time working the fields. Out in large fields, where no other human was present, there were many aspects of nature to be seen. Once, I was disking a large field that was newly plowed, and far to the West, I saw a brown cloud filling the horizon to a very high altitude. As the hours passed, it was clear that it was gradually coming closer and closer. Finally, it grew near enough that it was coming across the part of the field that I'd already disked. The brown color was from the dirt that had been whipped up, and it advanced with a line that was as sharp and straight as one drawn with a rule and a pencil, clear across the field. I was quite apprehensive about what would happen when this line reached me.

The weather had been clear, calm, and very warm, but when the line hit me, the temperature dropped considerably and it was very windy. A squall line had passed me, heralding the boundary of a cold front. I doubt that the "cilty folk" paid much attention, but experiencing what the weather folks talked about first hand was a unique experience.

I also became quite intrigued with maize. Sleeping in a bedroom right next to maize fields during hot and humid nights, one could hear the maize grow. The leaves and tissues of the plants would squeak and groan as the plants expanded. Describing this to "city folk," their reaction was one that indicated they believed they were being told a yarn such as country folk tell city folk to make them look foolish, only this time, they looked foolish because they did not believe what actually happened!

Going back to school in my old age, I learned about and studied maize, and was totally "a-maized" (sorry, couldn't resist! he-he) by the complexity of the plant and how teosite was turn into modern maize by Native Americans millennia ago. Genetically engineered crops aren't so new, after all.

As a boy who loved machines and was denied access to them by my parents, it was most enjoyable to drive farm trucks and especially tractors. There was one kind of tractor, now out of business, that I particularly liked, and only my Wife prevents me from getting one for a toy to this day.

Electrical engineering is a passion, and if any of the members need a discussion, feel free to consult me. I have studied it deeply enough that the basics are as clear as a child's play. The mystery in many matters is simpler than apparent, once we dig deep enough.

Thank you for your offer! I am laying out my electric toy trains, half of which will be controlled by relay logic. I chose to do this for the gaudier passenger trains, because the layout for them is not as complex, and because the design and maintenance of this section would remind me of my working days in electromechanical telephony. The more complex half will be controlled by a Raspberry Pi and a pair of Arduino knock offs, and it is the formulating of the programs I will need to automate this section that will likely require some assistance!

We have a certain type of bamboo in our place called lathi-bamboo. Rather than being broad and hollow like the normal bamboo, it grows to be slender and almost solid. It is exceptionally strong and lends itself well to making lathis. I used the same to fashion out bows and spears. For arrows, the reed of a certain tall grass that is used in the villages to make walls of huts was used. It grows about 12 feet tall. It's stem is very straight and lightweight yet strong, ideal for making arrows.

There is all sorts of bamboo, and it is a most interesting plant, too. Because it is fast growing, it is beginning to be more prominent in products as a so-called "renewable resource." our downstairs flooring is bamboo, which is quite durable and attractive, and we have some furniture made from bamboo, as well. Back during my childhood, my Dad used to make fly fishing rods from bamboo, which was considered the best material for that application in those days. (I'm not a fisherman, so I don't know whether some "gee-whizz" material has supplanted it -- again, no pun intended!

As I look back, it seems almost impossible to live that wonderful life again. As they say, you can never go back home.

I can assuredly tell you that this is true -- some of this is to the good, and some of it is not. Increased population means that more discoveries requiring greater research efforts and more advanced and complex products are available. It means that more astonishing medical cures and treatments have become possible. But increased population inevitably means a loss of rights and, perhaps, human dignity, when increasingly jammed together people must coexist. One could see this when too many chickens or pigs were crammed together in pens, and the animals began pecking at each other and chewing each other's ears and tails.

If there's no negative environmental impact to cities like Lagos, Nigeria growing to 100 million, and if the human nature doesn't require some element of grounding in a wild and natural environment, the future will be just fine, won't it?

It seems the self-discipline one needs for responsibly owning firearms translates to other aspects of life as well. I'm in good company!

You are correct, I believe -- the mastery of firearms or air guns does develop the traits of physical and mental self-control, as well as a more refined sense of responsibilities, if one recognizes these things and applies them as learning experiences.

I have a feeling that your participation will be fruitful for all of us!

[Shivaji.Dasgupta]

Welcome Siddhartha.
You will get a lot of interaction and discussions here in IFG.
My hobby is matches at some places with you. I too grown up in Bihar I.e present jharkhand. Our farm land is still in very close proximity of forest area though the forests are not as dense as it was in our childhood.
I was also learnt making bows and Arrows from Bamboo ( I read your post and I think you are mentioning SARKANDA REED for Arrows) spears both broad blade and spiked, and other related articles useful in Rural context like Tangi ( Fish tailed are, normal Axe, catapult,
Local tribal people were my guru in these learnings. I am still using arrow and air rifle both for pest control in farms. Though due to my job requirements most of the times I travel across country and sometimes abroad but whenever I get some spare time I try to practice my old learnings. Due to lot of restrictions firearms belongs to my family rarely in use now and I don't have a Arms License yet in my name. Home in near future my application will processed granted with AL.
Wish you very good and interactive time here in IFG.

[siddharthamahavira]

Thanks a lot, Timmy sir!
You seem to be a most interesting amalgam of the traditional and the contemporary. Most people either lose themselves in the modernity or are born into it and never get to venture into traditional lifestyle.
The domestication of maize has struck me as intriguing and I read up further about it. I also researched about teosite and am truly amaized hahaha to see colourful grains! Thank you!
We have mango and lychee or hards at home and it used to be a very exciting night when guarding the harvest from a 30 feet high machaan.
I didn't get to experience a squall first-hand but I've seen the thunderstorm columns approaching visibly during monsoons.
I would like to know more about your experiences. You should share them in the forum. Somehow I am reminded of Jim Corbett while reading your write-up, the great man's books on hunting are not just about hunting maneaters but rather a vivid recollection of his tryst with the infinite beauty of mother nature.
Do let me know about your plan of the toy train. It is a wonderful idea and I would be glad to get to know it!

Thank you, Shivaji babu!
Sarkanda reed is indeed very light but it's rather thick and doesn't tend to be narrow. The grass I speak of is something else. I'll let you know once I recall the name haha. Tangi is also called Tengari at our place.
Jharkhand is a beautiful state and is largely undisturbed of its natural assets, though sadly the forests are shrinking as you've observed. I visited Babadham recently with family and the experience was most pleasant. I wish you the best with the procurement of a license! We shall keep meeting in the forum I hope

Thanks once again, gentlemen! God bless us all

[timmy]

Most people either lose themselves in the modernity or are born into it and never get to venture into traditional lifestyle.

True enough! But others get off of the bus and eschew progress to remain lost in the past and in nostalgia. I'd like to avoid both extremes.

The domestication of maize has struck me as intriguing and I read up further about it. I also researched about teosite and am truly amaized hahaha to see colourful grains! Thank you!

The remarkable aspect of this is considering that the many differences between teosinte and maize are controlled by just a few DNA base pairs, even only one in some instances, such as the male and female inflorescences



and teosinte's external silica seed case becoming the internal "cob" of maize, to name a couple. This is the earliest and perhaps the most sophisticated example of genetic engineering, and it all took place in Southern Mexico by ancient Native Americans over 5000 years ago.

Also, maize and the multicolored kernel colors (each kernel is the result of an instance of pollenization) was the inspiration for Barbara McClintock's Nobel Prize winning discovery and research of gene transposition, a key element in sexual reproduction in plants and animals.

I grew up loving maize and, when I studied it later, found it even more a-maize-ing (I'm sorry, I couldn't resist the pun)!

We have mango and lychee or hards at home and it used to be a very exciting night when guarding the harvest from a 30 feet high machaan.

It would be interesting to hear of your harvest guarding in a machaan! That's Jim Corbett stuff, for sure!

Do let me know about your plan of the toy train. It is a wonderful idea and I would be glad to get to know it!

These are old Lionel trains, some from when I was very young, and others that I've acquired since. The oldest locomotives are from 1946 and still run fine. Lionel uses a 3 rail system, where the outer rails correspond to the rails of actual track and are considered "earth," and a similar insulated center rail is the "hot" supply.

I'm working on a three part design: the first two each have two trains on a shared layout, where the sharing is controlled by circuits of Omron LY relays operating on the safety principles defined by William Robinson in he 1870s. The third part will have four trains operating on two interconnected layouts, controlled by a Raspberry Pi and a pair of Arduinos. The relays will be a nostalgia thing, reminding me of my early days of electromechanical telecom switching, and the third one will let me wet my chops on some programming skills, as I want both complexity and flexibility that would be too involved for relays in that part of the setup.