Process:
- Intersect layers for administrative boundaries and sub-basin areas to obtain sub-basin areas by state
- Extract sub-basin areas by state layers into two separate layers (KA and TN)
- Dissolve the two layers to get total area by state
Showing posts with label Tamil Nadu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tamil Nadu. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Kaveri River - drainage areas in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
This video shows how I computed sub-basin areas for the Kaveri river in the Indian states of Karnataka (KA) and Tamil Nadu (TN). Data for drainage areas came from AQUASTAT and was processed in QGIS open source software. I then created this video using Flashback Express 5 screen recording software.
Process:
Process:
Thursday, May 17, 2018
Kaveri River dispute
The recent MLA election in Karnataka obscured pressing issues such as water. I stepped in to create maps of rivers.
I champion open principles: open data, open software, and open standards.
Natural Earth is a public domain map dataset that provided data layers for shaded relief, internal administrative boundaries (states),water bodies, waterways, and populated places. The datasets are available at 1:10m, 1:50m, and 1:110 million scales. I chose datasets at 1:10 million, the most detailed that Natural Earth provides.
 |
| Rivers of India |
Natural Earth is a public domain map dataset that provided data layers for shaded relief, internal administrative boundaries (states),water bodies, waterways, and populated places. The datasets are available at 1:10m, 1:50m, and 1:110 million scales. I chose datasets at 1:10 million, the most detailed that Natural Earth provides.
I processed the layers in QGIS, which is built on top of and
is Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). QGIS uses the GNU General Public
License (GNU GPL).The Free Software Foundation sponsors the GNU Operating System. FOSS software licenses grant the users rights to modify and re-use software product.
At the India extent, I applied labels for the states. Going on the premise that named waterways
are more significant than unnamed waterways, I created separate layers for named
and unnamed waterways. The named
waterways were portrayed with a thicker line, while the unnamed waterways were
portrayed in a lighter blue color and a thinner line.
I also created separate layers for rivers with a specified width and rivers with an unspecified width. Those rivers that had a specified width were deemed more important than those that didn't: likewise, they had a thicker line.
I also created separate layers for rivers with a specified width and rivers with an unspecified width. Those rivers that had a specified width were deemed more important than those that didn't: likewise, they had a thicker line.
 |
| Kaveri River |
I then selected administrative boundaries for Goa,Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu; saved them to a new layer; and zoomed in on the
layer.In addition to labeling the states, I labeled populated places. Natural Earth favors regional significance
over population census in selecting populated places. I also selected segments for the Kaveri River (waterways named Kaveri), saved them to a new layer, and styled the layer with a thick blue line.
Sources:
Front Page - Free Software Foundation - working together for
free software. (n.d.). Retrieved May 16, 2018, from https://www.fsf.org/
GNU Operating System. (n.d.). Retrieved May 16, 2018, from
http://www.gnu.org/
Natural Earth. (n.d.). Retrieved May 16, 2018, from
http://www.naturalearthdata.com/
QGIS. (n.d.). Retrieved May 16, 2018, from
https://www.qgis.org/en/site/
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Auroville
As Sri Aurobindo went deeper and deeper in the spiritual life, he turned over operation of his ashram to The Mother née Mirra Alfassa.
Some years after Sri Aurobindo's mahasamadhi in 1950, The Mother had a vision for a utopian community to bring people from all over the world together for spiritual evolution. This was the beginning of Auroville.
An unpaved road lined with shops that cater to "counterculture" types leads to Auroville. On the day we visited, it was pouring, and the road was gutted. When we ventured out of the car, red clay mud clung to our shoes.
The centerpiece of Auroville is the Matrimandir, a dome-shaped building with a golden exterior. One can go inside the Matirmandir to meditate only at certain hours of the day, and then, only with permission. In fact, one can view the exterior of the Matrimandir only at particular hours of the day.
Matrimandir, Auroville
No flowers, incense, or images are allowed in the Matrimandir. If meditation is withdrawal from sense-objects, the Matrimandir enables it!
Some years after Sri Aurobindo's mahasamadhi in 1950, The Mother had a vision for a utopian community to bring people from all over the world together for spiritual evolution. This was the beginning of Auroville.
An unpaved road lined with shops that cater to "counterculture" types leads to Auroville. On the day we visited, it was pouring, and the road was gutted. When we ventured out of the car, red clay mud clung to our shoes.
The centerpiece of Auroville is the Matrimandir, a dome-shaped building with a golden exterior. One can go inside the Matirmandir to meditate only at certain hours of the day, and then, only with permission. In fact, one can view the exterior of the Matrimandir only at particular hours of the day.
Matrimandir, Auroville
No flowers, incense, or images are allowed in the Matrimandir. If meditation is withdrawal from sense-objects, the Matrimandir enables it!
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Mahabalipuram
Last month, I realized a long-standing ambition to visit southern India. India is endlessly fascinating in its variety of ethnic groups and languages, and I believe that the common thread that runs through these groups is Hinduism.
My husband and I flew from Kolkata (Calcutta) to Chennai, from where we took road trips to Mahabalipuram, Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry), and Auroville.
In this post, I will discuss our visit to Mahabalipuram. Mahabalipuram hosts many rock-cut monuments that date to the Pallava dynasty of the 7th century CE.
Mahabalipuram is somewhat of an anomaly: while it is located in southern India, the monuments make references to the Mahabharata.
Arjuna's Penance
Arjuna is the emaciated figure standing on one leg on the upper left. Wikipedia states that one interpretation of the Arjuna's Penance relief is that "[Arjuna is] performing an austerity Tapas to receive a boon from Shiva as an aid in fighting the Mahabharata war. (The boon which Arjuna is said to have received was called Pasupata, Shiva's most powerful weapon)."
However, the Wikipedia account is not consistent with the account given in the translation of The Mahabharata by Chakravarthi V. Narasimhan, which is based on the critical edition from the Bhandakar Oriental Research Institute in Pune. In the latter account, Arjuna meets Shiva, who is in the guise of a hunter. Shiva bests Arjuna with his prowess with bow and arrow and hand-to-hand fighting, but nonetheless praises Arjuna's skills and bequeaths the Pasupata to Arjuna.
Above is the panch ratras, each dedicated to one of the Pandavas. From left (foreground) to right: Draupadi's ratha (resembling a thatched roof house), Arjuna's ratha, Bhima's ratha, and Dharmaraja Yudhisthira's ratha. To the right of the elephant is the ratha for the twins Nakula and Sahadeva, sons of Madri.
There is so much more to Mahabalipuram - for example, the rock relief showing Krishna's raising of Govardhan hill, the "Butter Ball," a huge rock resting precipitously on a slope, and the Shore Temple - that I encourage the reader to Google Mahabalipuram.
My husband and I flew from Kolkata (Calcutta) to Chennai, from where we took road trips to Mahabalipuram, Puducherry (formerly Pondicherry), and Auroville.
In this post, I will discuss our visit to Mahabalipuram. Mahabalipuram hosts many rock-cut monuments that date to the Pallava dynasty of the 7th century CE.
Mahabalipuram is somewhat of an anomaly: while it is located in southern India, the monuments make references to the Mahabharata.
Arjuna's Penance
Arjuna is the emaciated figure standing on one leg on the upper left. Wikipedia states that one interpretation of the Arjuna's Penance relief is that "[Arjuna is] performing an austerity Tapas to receive a boon from Shiva as an aid in fighting the Mahabharata war. (The boon which Arjuna is said to have received was called Pasupata, Shiva's most powerful weapon)."
However, the Wikipedia account is not consistent with the account given in the translation of The Mahabharata by Chakravarthi V. Narasimhan, which is based on the critical edition from the Bhandakar Oriental Research Institute in Pune. In the latter account, Arjuna meets Shiva, who is in the guise of a hunter. Shiva bests Arjuna with his prowess with bow and arrow and hand-to-hand fighting, but nonetheless praises Arjuna's skills and bequeaths the Pasupata to Arjuna.
Above is the panch ratras, each dedicated to one of the Pandavas. From left (foreground) to right: Draupadi's ratha (resembling a thatched roof house), Arjuna's ratha, Bhima's ratha, and Dharmaraja Yudhisthira's ratha. To the right of the elephant is the ratha for the twins Nakula and Sahadeva, sons of Madri.
There is so much more to Mahabalipuram - for example, the rock relief showing Krishna's raising of Govardhan hill, the "Butter Ball," a huge rock resting precipitously on a slope, and the Shore Temple - that I encourage the reader to Google Mahabalipuram.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
The Hindu : From Indus Valley to coastal Tamil Nadu
This article From Indus Valley to coastal Tamil Nadu from the May 3, 2008 edition of The Hindu notes that there are commonalities between arrow-like symbols on megalithic pottery from Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu and Indus Valley symbols.
Megalithic pottery from Tamil Nadu
The pottery from Tamil Nadu is said to be dated between 300 BCE and 300 CE, while the Indus script dates is said to be dated between 2600 BCE and 1900 BCE.
I have been meaning to write a review on the book The Aryan Debate
, edited by Thomas R. Trautman. Trautman adheres to the traditionalist view of the origins of the Indian people, which posits that the Aryans migrated from outside India and that the Aryans post-date the Indus Valley Civilization; however, he gives respectful attention to scholars with alternative viewpoints. He bases his judgments on what the vaunted "community of scholars" says about what linguistics and archeology (with emphasis on archeological evidence about the presence of the horse in India) indicate about the origins of the Indian people.
Trautman believes that the Indus Valley script might be some version of Dravidian, but doesn't provide any evidence. Indeed, the articles on the Indus Valley script in The Aryan Debate iterate that there has been no successful decipherment of the Indus Valley Script. Trautman would likely take the similarities of symbols on the Tamil Nadu pottery and Indus Valley script as evidence that the Indus Valley script was some sort of Dravidian.
Megalithic pottery from Tamil Nadu
The pottery from Tamil Nadu is said to be dated between 300 BCE and 300 CE, while the Indus script dates is said to be dated between 2600 BCE and 1900 BCE.
I have been meaning to write a review on the book The Aryan Debate
, edited by Thomas R. Trautman. Trautman adheres to the traditionalist view of the origins of the Indian people, which posits that the Aryans migrated from outside India and that the Aryans post-date the Indus Valley Civilization; however, he gives respectful attention to scholars with alternative viewpoints. He bases his judgments on what the vaunted "community of scholars" says about what linguistics and archeology (with emphasis on archeological evidence about the presence of the horse in India) indicate about the origins of the Indian people.Trautman believes that the Indus Valley script might be some version of Dravidian, but doesn't provide any evidence. Indeed, the articles on the Indus Valley script in The Aryan Debate iterate that there has been no successful decipherment of the Indus Valley Script. Trautman would likely take the similarities of symbols on the Tamil Nadu pottery and Indus Valley script as evidence that the Indus Valley script was some sort of Dravidian.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Lost Temples of India
Here's another reason for my wish to travel to southern India: this video The Lost Temples of India, which was presented on The Discovery Channel:
The above video is Part 1 of 6. Parts 2 through 6 are also available.
My criticism about this documentary is the dramatic ominous music background for the temples, which contrast with the reposeful music on the segments showing the Taj Mahal. What statement is that making? Still, there are awe-inspiring views of the temples at Thanjavur (Tanjore) and Madurai, both in Tamil Nadu.
The above video is Part 1 of 6. Parts 2 through 6 are also available.
My criticism about this documentary is the dramatic ominous music background for the temples, which contrast with the reposeful music on the segments showing the Taj Mahal. What statement is that making? Still, there are awe-inspiring views of the temples at Thanjavur (Tanjore) and Madurai, both in Tamil Nadu.
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