Writer || Researcher. Founder @RestOfMyFamily, @tfsc_romf. Covering sociocultural issues in rural & tribal India for the last 10 years.
Bangalore
Joined May 2010
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Akshatha Shetty retweeted
Please do not ask a bookworm if they are going to finish the books they have before buying more. It is very offensive in our culture.
Akshatha Shetty retweeted
If you’ve never read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, it’ll change you
Akshatha Shetty retweeted
Don’t be angry by the patronising racism here. That’s standard at @TheEconomist. But do laugh at how brainless this is. Conservation and protecting creatures has been civilisational culture in India for millennia. This is the creamy layer of racism: sneering, ignorant, erudite.
Akshatha Shetty retweeted
ದೇಸೊದೆಡ್ಡೆಗ್‌, ಬಾಸೆದೆಡ್ಡೆಗ್‌
ಬೆನೊಡ್‌ ನಮ ಸಮೊ ಮಣ್ಣ್‌ಗ್‌ - ಕಯ್ಯಾರ ಕಿಞ್ಞಣ್ಣ ರೈ
ನನ ದುಂಬುಗು ತುಳು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ರಾಜ್ಯೊದ ರಡ್ಡನೇ ಹೆಚ್ಚುವರಿ ಆಡಳಿತ ಬಾಸೆ.
ತುಳುವ ಮಣ್ಣ್‌ದ ಜನಕುಲೆನ ದಶಕೊಡ್ದ್‌ ಇಂಚಿ ಇತ್ತಿನ ಬೇಡಿಕೆನ್ ಈಡೇರಿಸಾದ್ಂಡ್‌ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಸರ್ಕಾರ. ಈ ಪೊರ್ತುಡು ತುಳು ಬಾಸೆದ ಮಾನ್ಯತೆಗಾದ್ ಹೋರಾಟ ಮಲ್ತಿನ ಮಾತೆರೆನ್‌ಲಾ ನೆಂಪು ಮಲ್ತೊನುವ. ಉಂದು ತುಳು ಬಾಸೆದ ಪೆರ್ಮೆಗ್ ತಿಕ್ಕಿನ ಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ ಮಾನಾದಿಗೆ.
ಎರಡು ಸಾವಿರ ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಗೂ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿನ ಇತಿಹಾಸವಿರುವ ಪಂಚ ದ್ರಾವಿಡ ಭಾಷೆಗಳಲ್ಲೊಂದಾದ ತುಳು ಭಾಷೆಯನ್ನು, ಮಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ನಡೆದ ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ಸಚಿವ ಸಂಪುಟ ಸಭೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ರಾಜ್ಯದ ಎರಡನೇ ಹೆಚ್ಚುವರಿ ಆಡಳಿತ ಭಾಷೆಯೆಂದು(ದಕ್ಷಿಣ ಕನ್ನಡ ಮತ್ತು ಉಡುಪಿ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಗೆ ಅನ್ವಯವಾಗುವಂತೆ) ಘೋಷಿಸಲಾಗಿದೆ. ಇಲ್ಲಿನ ಜನರ ದಶಕಗಳ ಬೇಡಿಕೆಯನ್ನು ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಈಡೇರಿಸಿದೆ. ಈ ಮಾನ್ಯತೆಗಾಗಿ ಹೋರಾಡಿದ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ತುಳುವರಿಗೂ, ಭಾಷಾ ಅಭಿಮಾನಿಗಳಿಗೂ ಅಭಿನಂದನೆಗಳು. ಇದು ತುಳು ಭಾಷೆಯ ಮಹತ್ತತೆಗೆ ಸಂದ ಐತಿಹಾಸಿಕ ಜಯ.
ಮಾತಾ ತುಳುವಪ್ಪೆ ಜೋಕ್ಲೆಗ್ಲಾ ಸೊಲ್ಮೆಲು.
#CabinetInMangaluru | #ದೃಢಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಸಂಕಲ್ಪ
Akshatha Shetty retweeted
Pour tous ceux qui ont vécu de près le 11-Septembre, il reste un débat extrêmement douloureux : celui des « jumpers », ces hommes et ces femmes qui, prisonniers dans les tours, ont choisi de sauter dans le vide plutôt que d’affronter les flammes et la fumée.
On estime qu’ils furent plus de 200.
Lorsque les premières chutes ont commencé, les directeurs et stars des télévisions américaines ont été confrontées à une question terrible, en plein direct : doit on montrer ces images ?
Certaines les ont diffusées dans les premières minutes, avant de décider de ne plus les montrer . Le debat a ete intense .
Il ne s’agissait plus seulement de raconter ce qui se passait, mais de décider, en quelques secondes, jusqu’où pouvait aller le devoir d’informer face à la mort d’êtres humains filmée en temps réel.
Vingt-cinq ans plus tard, le débat revient sous une forme totalement différente. Sur les réseaux sociaux, ces images circulent de nouveau. Certains estiment qu’une génération qui n’a pas connu le 11-Septembre doit les voir pour comprendre réellement l’horreur de cette journée.
Aux États-Unis, la question des « jumpers » reste toujours l’un des sujets les plus sensibles de la mémoire du 11-Septembre.
Et derrière ces images demeure une question journalistique qui, elle, n’a pas vieilli : que doit-on montrer en direct lorsqu’une tragédie se déroule sous nos yeux ? Où s’arrête le devoir de témoigner et où commence le devoir de protéger la dignité de ceux qui meurent ?
Akshatha Shetty retweeted
At the height of the Ice Age, the busy part of the world was in the Indian subcontinent and equatorial lands. Three great floods took much of it, now on the sea floor.
At Poompuhar, on the coast of Tamil Nadu, an underwater survey has mapped an 11 by 3 kilometre area, twenty-five kilometres out to sea, that appears to hold a drowned harbour, dockyards, settlements and canals wide enough to move over seventy ships at once. Some of the material dates to a period when, in the version of history most people were taught, human beings had not yet invented cities. Archaeologists’ initial dates need further investigation but it appears to be a transformational discovery.
The seas were then 120 metres lower than today. Two subcontinents that no longer exist, Sundaland off Southeast Asia and a second land reaching from Japan toward Taiwan, stood above the water. The warm coasts of the south were where fish were caught, cereals, fruits and nuts were collected, timber grew, and trade goods were gathered. When the ice melted, in three great surges, 25 million square kilometres of lived-on land went under, more than the size of Europe. Its people were sailors; Australia had been reached by boat sixty thousand years before.
Sri Lanka was managing cereals 15,000 years ago. The oldest cotton thread on earth was spun in northwest India. The Sarasvati, five miles wide in places, fed a river system that by one estimate housed a tenth of every human being then alive, while the far north was still thawing. Almost every culture keeps a story of a great flood, and they cluster thickest in the drowned lands. In India it is Manu, warned in time, and a boat towed to safety by Vishnu in the form of a great fish.
The story of the ancient world did not begin where we were taught. It began in the equatorial regions, on coasts now under the water, and the divers are only now starting to reach them.
Link to my full Substack essay with sources in the image below.
Akshatha Shetty retweeted
Why is the beheading of Chandra Nagamallaiah - kicked and beheaded in Dallas over a washing machine dispute - as his wife and son were made to watch - not getting more attention in Western Media?
Akshatha Shetty retweeted
Today marks the birth anniversary of one of the greatest freedom fighters, ‘Kappalottiya Tamizhan’ V. O. Chidambaram Pillai. A staunch follower of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, VOC was one the early proponents of Swadeshi movement.
He launched the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company in 1906 with a capital of ₹10 lakhs, directly challenging the dominance of the British-owned British India Steam Navigation Company (BISNC).
To counter him, the British resorted to unfair trade practices—slashing fares to as low as one rupee, deliberately delaying the entry of ships into ports, and obstructing medical and customs clearances for passengers. Even with such hurdles, VOC’s venture gained momentum, which enraged the British authorities. Collector Ashe, unable to suppress his success, targeted VOC, had him arrested, and subjected him to brutal torture, leading to the collapse of the company.
In prison, VOC was forced to pull the oil press like a bullock, yet his spirit remained unbroken. He emerged as a symbol of courage and determination, inspiring generations with his unwavering fight for India’s freedom.
Akshatha Shetty retweeted
Janaki Ammal was born in 1897 in Kerala. At a time when most girls were expected to marry early, she chose science.
Botany became her world.
2/19
Akshatha Shetty retweeted
1/3 Since the Opposition are not participating in the special discussion, let me say how proud all Indians are of the recent mission of Commander Shubhanshu Shukla to the International Space Station (ISS). It served as a stepping stone to our nation's own human spaceflight program, Gaganyaan. Shukla's mission provided ISRO invaluable hands-on experience & data that cannot be replicated in simulations. His first-hand observations on pre-launch procedures, spacecraft systems, and the psychological and physiological effects of microgravity are crucial for de-risking and refining the Gaganyaan mission.
Our hero astronaut capt Subhanshu Shukla has returned home after a successful mission to International Space Station. Parliament will honour him with a special discussion on his historic milestone and India’s growing space ambitions in our journey towards #ViksitBharat
Akshatha Shetty retweeted
"It is rare for people to come into themselves if no one is excited and curious about their core, their potential."
Akshatha Shetty retweeted
In the 7th century, negative numbers were used in calculations in India which was innovative because Europeans dismissed these numbers as absurd until the 17th century, when they gained widespread acceptance due to their practical use in accounting and bookkeeping.
Akshatha Shetty retweeted
📚✨ SU Paniyadi deserves the Jnanpith Award! ✨📚
For his legendary literary masterpiece "Sathi Kamale," SU Paniyadi stands tall among the greats of Indian literature. A powerful, emotional, and culturally rich work — yet today, in the very heart of Tulunadu, we have to struggle to find this gem in any library! 😔
Isn’t it time we honored our legends and preserved our heritage? Let’s raise our voice and spread awareness! 🙌
📢 Share this and let the world know about Sathi Kamale and SU Paniyadi!
#TuluPride #SathiKamale #SUPaniyadi #JnanpithForPaniyadi #SaveOurLiterature
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Akshatha Shetty retweeted
IMPORTANT: If you know next of kin of those killed or injured in the Air India AI171 crash in the aircraft or on the ground in Ahmedabad, please share this with them.
I decided to share this important information as my father was in the insurance industry and I am aware how air accident compensation claims work.
1. HIRE a lawyer who knows aviation or insurance law.
2. DO NOT sign anything the airline or anyone asks you to sign without vetting by your lawyer.
3. Passengers on the flight are covered under the Montreal Convention 1999. Your lawyer should have good knowledge of compensation under this convention.
4. People & property on the ground are covered by the airline's third party insurance policy.
Don't go by any PR announcements of compensation being made in media.
Air Accident Compensation is a brutal lawyer-led industry. There is no sympathy in their conversations. The insurance lawyers will try to save as much compensation money as possible. See past history of disputes after crashes for reference, search on Google.
If there are lawyers who can help victims, tag them in the replies so that next of kin can know.
Akshatha Shetty retweeted
I agree entirely with this analysis, which conforms to my own unscholarly assessment of what is going on. I also agree that this trend will be unstoppable among everyone who has access to AI.
I thought initially that the answer lies in more compulsory book-reading assignments from the earliest levels of schooling. But the truth is that there is no way you can monitor this. A child given three days to read a book and report on it can get AI to summarise it authoritatively for him in three seconds.
For those of us who write books, the consolation remains that book-reading was always a minority taste. The size of that minority might dwindle, but we will still have those who read for pleasure.
Yet those who write volumes to impart information or to advance a thesis that AI can easily summarise will be writing for the smallest minority of all, specialists who need more than AI can provide.
The future of reading - by Arvind Narayanan, Professor, Princeton University: A hypothesis on the accelerating decline of reading:
* Broadly speaking, people read for pleasure/entertainment and for learning/obtaining information.
* Reading for pleasure has been declining for a while and is being replaced by videos (very sharply among young people). This trend will surely continue.
* Reading for obtaining information is getting intermediated by chatbots. We are in the very early stages of this shift, so I think people underappreciate the magnitude of what's coming. It's not just that AI replacing traditional web search. Even when it comes to reading news articles, business documents, or scientific papers, the vision that tech companies are pushing on us is AI summarization + synthesis + Q&A.
* We don't have to accept this, but I predict that most people will. It's a tradeoff between speed/convenience and accuracy/depth of understanding — the same tradeoff that was once offered to us when it became possible to search the web to look up a quick fact as opposed to reading about the topic in depth in an encyclopedia.
* Just as most people in most cases prefer a shallow web search over deeper reading, most people in most cases will prefer AI-intermediated access to knowledge. Traditional reading won't disappear, but people will do it vastly less often, except in hobbyist reading communities and professions where traditional reading is needed.
* The decline of reading-for-pleasure (due to video) and reading-for-information (due to AI) will accelerate each other, as reading text without an intermediary will come to be seen as a chore.
* Personally, I find this sad. But while it's tempting to moralize all this, I think that's unproductive. Yelling at individuals to resist new media has been done for centuries and has never worked.
* Even if people individually rationally choose these tradeoffs, I think we collectively lose something; critical reading skills are arguably essential for a democracy. We need to figure out what to do about that.
Akshatha Shetty retweeted
🕯 Remembering Ubar Manja Baidyer – Martyr of the Amara Sulya Rebellion, 1837 🕯
On this day in 1837, Ubar Manja Baidyer, a fearless son of Tulunadu, was sentenced to death by the British for his bold resistance in the Amara Sulya Rebellion — a historic uprising where the people of Tulunadu and Kodagu declared freedom from British rule, two decades before the 1857 revolt.
Together with Kalyanaswamy, Kedambady Ramayya Gowda, and other local heroes, our ancestors captured treasuries, overthrew British control in Mangalore, and showed the subcontinent what true swarajya looks like.
🇮🇳 But today, we must face a painful truth:
Despite their sacrifices, the languages of these freedom-fighting regions — Tulu and Kodava — are still not included in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
⚠️ Worse still, the Kannada Development Authority (KDA),(@kdabengaluru ) in its official circular, has disrespected this legacy by wrongly labeling Tulu and Kodava as mere dialects of Kannada.
👉 We strongly condemn this ahistorical and insensitive statement.
📢 Tulu and Kodava are independent, ancient languages with their own grammar, literature, oral epics, and cultural systems — far older than many officially recognized languages.
🗣 A rebellion that began from these lands should not end in silence.
Let this day not just be one of remembrance — let it be a call to reclaim our language, our identity, and our rightful place in history.
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#UbarManjaBaidyer
#AmaraSulyaRebellion
#HeroesOfTulunaduAndKodagu
#RecognizeTulu
#RecognizeKodava
#TuluIn8thSchedule
#KodavaIn8thSchedule
#KDA_WithdrawYourStatement
#LanguagesAreNotDialects
#TulunaduHistory
#KodaguHistory
#DDTaulava
#VoiceOfThePeople
#SwarajyaBeginsWithLanguage
Akshatha Shetty retweeted
A set of calibrated, calculated, precise strikes against terror targets. Exactly what i had advocated last week: hit hard, hit smart. I applaud the government and stand solidly with our armed forces.
At the same time we have behaved in a manner that would not justify further expansion of the conflict. We have made our point and acted in self-defence. Time for all concerned to act wisely to prevent uncontrolled escalation.
Jai Hind! 🇮🇳
Akshatha Shetty retweeted
The James Webb Space Telescope detected dimethyl sulfide in its atmosphere (on Earth that comes from marine microorganisms).
K2-18b is potentially habitable super-Earth about 2.6 times the size of our planet. It is located 124 light-years from the Solar System.
