Highest Rainfall In India- Not Dehradun or Cherrapunji but Mawsynram- Meghalaya

No, Dehradun is not. Recently Thehindu reported that Dehradun received more rainfall than any other city in India(2,865 mm of rainfall between June 1 and September 30-2013)I have been passionately following the Dehradun rainfalls since 2002 (the time I got into journalism) because I found it an extension of my awareness not just of myself, instead the atmosphere I am living in.

Out of passion and ignorance combined I also took a video in the month of July and posted on YouTube, claiming that Dehradun was the highest place in India that records rainfalls. I believed the Right). According to the Hindu newspaper Mumbai came second with 2,365 mm rainfall.
Hindu newspaper. See here and the title read, If Dehradun was the highest rainfall receiving spot in India or not. It's not my fault if the IMD, NE can not provide the exact data in a leading newspaper like the Hindu. They have data from Guwahati, Imphal but not Meghalaya. Cant help but get misled. However my dear friend Dr. Anand Sharma shall be commenting on this story sooner, as I me sure he is more busy than before after the Uttarkhand deluge.

Disaster Recovery in Uttarakhand = WB approves $ 250 Million Dollar

The World bank approved $ 250 million grant, I wonder if we can invest a portion of that amount for weather forecasting purposes??

“Disasters, like the one we witnessed in Uttarakhand, can roll back decades of development and are a fundamental threat to economic development and the fight against poverty. This project will focus on both reconstruction and disaster preparedness. It will help the government of Uttarakhand with immediate relief efforts by building houses and public infrastructure including small roads and bridges. A very important part of the project will be to help the state be better prepared for the future. Disaster preparedness work will include putting in place information and communication systems that can provide early warning to people likely to be impacted,” said Onno Ruhl, World Bank Country Director in India. “In Uttarakhand, the challenge is to build smarter, so that they do not undermine the fragility of the environment. This project will incorporate lessons from previous national and global post-disaster recovery projects to ensure that recovery is targeted, effective and more resilient to future disasters,” he added.

The Highest Rainfall In India-Fact

This is the list and the annual rainfall is much more making locals living there living a precarious life, out of no choice. 

1. Mawsynram, Meghalaya State, India - 11,871mm per year
   
2. Cherrapunji, Meghalaya State, India - 11,777mm
3. Tutendo, Columbia - 11,770mm
4. Cropp at Waterfall in New Zealand - 11,516mm
5. Ureca on Bioko Island in Equatorial Guinea, Africa - 10,450mm
6. Debundscha in Cameroon, Africa - 10,299mm
7. Big Bog in Maui, Hawaii - 10,272mm
8. Mt. Waialeale in Kauai, Hawaii - 9,763mm
9. Kukui in Maui, Hawaii - 9,293mm
10. Emei Shan, Sichuan Province in China - 8,169mm

Cherapunji and Meghalaya

According to the Guinness in a calendar month Cherrapunji, Meghalaya, gets 9,300 mm (366 in) and typically in a 12-month period Cherrapunji, gets about 26,461 mm (1,041.75 in), recorded between 1 August 1860 and 31 July 1861.

However, Mawsynram the neighbouring district of Cherapunjee is just as awesome like its sister city. I visited that place last year, where I lost my canon camera, I wish to proclaim that the Meghalaya region is by far one of most underestimated places in India, yet to be explored. 

Pic source- WikiMedia, NatGeo, Flickr

Legal Education and Scope in India - A Fresh Look

“Justice that love gives is a surrender, justice that law gives is a punishment” - Mahatma Gandhi

Law Students Dissolution ed?

If you have ever felt that law in general is Greek, you may or may not be right.  Did you know that India today breed the larges number of legal professionals in the world? According to a Harward Law School report, there are approximately, 1.3 million registered attorneys, and half a million Indian law students pass out every year from various colleges in India. Albeit that not all of them go through the regular run of the mill jobs like litigation-oriented practice or drafting. The HBS believes that partnerships in areas of legal specialization should be toast of the future. 

 As an ex-content manager and co-founder of a legal website lawisgreek.com, I have felt that Law students are mostly unclear about what role they would like to enshrine in the field of law, for a simple reason that law is vast and it touches all of us in some way or the other. It is not just the glamour, the intensity, or the money or the status that a law graduate brings along once he is in the market place. It is much more than that. If you talk about the Indian legal market, I’d say, we are in a nascent stage in terms of growth even in the law courses offered by government law colleges. A law student should first of all identify his/her inherent interests, desired skill set he has, plus a yardstick to measure “legal professional opportunities” available these days.

Legal Education in India

One might ask about the outcomes resulting from the influence of the above factors and the future direction of legal education in India given the level of economic development and globalization. Never since Independence has legal education received the attention it receives today from society, government and the private corporate sector. This has resulted in better infrastructure, greater private participation and increased investment, though yet inadequate for quality legal education. In 2010, according to a trusted source, top hundred India based companies have spent last year nearly $ 500 million in the legal fees. Can you imagine what will happen in 2013?

Legal Transformation India Going Through

We are undergoing reforms even in legal education sector, and not just foreign direct investment. According to a Harvard Law School study, legal education is undergoing a constant process of change. The change could be in legal organization, the way management handles legal queries, legal content writing and dissemination and even the sources to disseminate or publishing legal content has come a long way since 1950. Basically the legal change is imminent and based on a social order such as installing democracy, following and adhering to human rights and installing the rule of law which will in turn secure the rights of a ‘law abiding citizen’. The rights are justice, liberty, equality and dignity.

Career in Law – What not to expect

If you are a fresh kid passing out of a law college, do not expect to make a mark in the legal fraternity instantly. It takes time, a lot of time to understand the intricacies the legal profession provides.  Initially a law grad may have to do all sorts of so called ‘dirty jobs’ like accounting or drafting and may find these jobs monotonous and boring, but that’s the catch. A career in Law is a competitive business, for the simple reason being that it requires basic understanding of “logical thinking”. Very good law colleges train to optimize this “logical thinking” and impart quality law education across.  A lawyer thinks like a detective or an investigative journalist and would like to go deeper in to the scheme of the things. Are you prepared?

The article first appeared on The 'Learning Curve' sponsored by The Chopras