17 February 2026
After a hiatus of almost one and a half years, our regular communique are back. From a fortnightly routine, we have moved to a monthly routine with the release cycles coinciding with the New moons.
We are in the middle of the great Tariff wars, initiated by Trump last year. Over the last 100 years or so, especially after the second world war, USA had gained lots of bargaining power through a series of actions (like Oil trading in dollars etc). Trump started spending that bargaining power and he had already spent more than half of it, we shall presume. Tariffs as a weapon seem to have lost its effect, almost. And Nations have returned to their drawing boards on learning Self-reliance. The same strategy that Gandhi talked about 100 years back and King Ashoka some 2500 years back in our motherland.
Now, if Nations keep Self-reliance at the center of its trade strategy, how will Inernational trade evolve in the coming days? It's a deep question and lets leave it for experts to expound upon. As eco-warriors, lets stay focused on its ecological dimension - natural resource utilization, carbon footprint, cyclicity, localization and the like. The last week's announcement by Trump says that all textiles exported from Bangaladesh containing cotton imported from USA would attract zero tariff. A great step to promote local economy and self-reliance. Till date, Bangaladesh has been purchasing the raw material from India primarily (logically due to its proximity) and looks like they'd be penalized if they continue to do so. Only when cotton travels half the globe to reach Bangaladesh and the final apparel again travels back half the globe to reach US shores, the trade is encouraged and national growth is guaranteed. But isn't it sheer stupidity from the Carbon footprint & Energy efficiency point of view? But then who cares, as long as fossil fuels exists to satisfy our desires
Bioluminescence
Bioluminescence is an interesting word. We are always in search of Light, as we can't do much in dark. Here's a technology to produce light and the author has beautifully weaved with another important aspect - Synchronicity.
From fireflies to quantum dots The 'bulb' we use in our homes emits only 10 percent of the electrical energy supplied to it as light. The remaining 90 percent is wasted as heat. The 'fluorescent' bulb, also known as 'tube light', converts 80 to 85 percent of the electrical energy supplied to it into light. The rest is wasted as heat. But the firefly emits 95 to 98 percent of its chemical energy as light energy. It is surprising that the light-emitting ability of the firefly reaches almost 100 percent. Cold light A molecule called luciferin in the abdomen of a firefly absorbs ultraviolet rays from the surrounding environment and reaches a high energy state. The protein molecule called luciferase combines with oxygen to decompose the high energy luciferin into carbon dioxide and ketones, and when it reaches a low energy state, light is released. This is called bioluminescence. The special feature of this is that almost all of the chemical energy is converted into light energy. No heat is released. That is why the light emitted by fireflies is called 'cold light'. Fireflies use this light to mate and to repel enemies. Another surprise is that the firefly does not emit light continuously. It operates like an 'on' and 'off' switch. It decides how long to emit light and how long to turn off the light, and accordingly allows oxygen to pass through a special organ in its abdomen. This amazing chemical reaction is a gift from evolution to the firefly. Synchronization property These fireflies start emitting light after it gets dark in the forests. At first, hundreds of fireflies will emit light at irregular intervals. When viewed, they will flash and flash. But after a while, all the fireflies will flash and emit light at the same time, and then stop at the same time. The spectacle is beautiful to watch. Scientists have been studying this synchronised behaviour of fireflies. Fireflies have no leadership. No orders or instructions. They just do the same thing. They observe how two fireflies near them are flashing (coupling) and change themselves accordingly (feedback). In this way It has been revealed that order is gradually established and the whole thing comes to a collective order. It is a very important law of nature that when things are separate, one property comes, and when they are together, another property comes (More is different). Our heartbeat is also a synchronous property. This synchronous property is also present in the activities of neurons in the brain. Laser light is a synchronous phenomenon in which various atoms in a high energy level come to a low energy level at the same time. That is why laser light is very powerful, has a directional property, and has a chromatic property. The need for synchronization As technology advances, the way we use light continues to improve. Nanoparticles play a key role in the fact that the screens in use today have much higher color accuracy than the television, computer, and smartphone screens we used years ago. There is a quantum dot. When we shine ultraviolet rays on quantum dot particles, they emit light in different colors according to their size. When we place billions of quantum dots in the same place, it is not much use if they emit light at different times. Research is currently underway to create technology that allows these quantum dot particles to emit light with a synchronous property, similar to the synchronous property of fireflies. Nujoseph Prabhakar |
Mysore News
The Kisan Swaraj Sammelan for Southern Chapter is back in Mysore. For more details, please visit:
https://kisanswaraj.in/wp-content/uploads/KSS-2026-PRASARANGA-KSOU-MYSURU-PROGRAM.pdf
In rememberance of B.G. Jayachandra
B. G. Jayachandra is a typical Mysorean - traditional, authentic, nature lover and activist.
He have played a critical role in the existence of Prakriti Store today. A casual conversation at Indira Cafe in Vontikoppal 16 years back led me into organic retailing then. Jayachandra came from a well known family that ran Gowrishankar book depot in Mysore for many decades. He's known for brokering deals and bargaining commissions. He was an organic activist all through his life till the very end. Even with great difficulty, he'd come to the store for shopping fresh and organic vegetables till the very last.
A source of inspiration indeed. RIP sir 🙏🏻
Store updates
As you may have noticed, we are gradually moving from sealed packets to dispensing through glass bottles/jars for sale of cereals, pulses and spices. Do send us your feedback and inputs on this initiative. Also, please note, the brown covers used for packing the food items are of good quality (virgin paper material), but still, the items can't be kept in those covers for more than 2-3 days as it'd absorb moisture. So, the food item would lose its flavour, taste and attract pests easily.
Look forward to hear from you. You can send your opinions & views to:
email: admin@prakriifood.in
Whatsapp: 9611278166
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