Fulfilling...

To learn from ABuDhabi - Dubai experience

2011-09-27T03:29:00.000-07:00

The bailout package for Dubai during the height of financial crisis helps us appreciate few aspects of Indian government establishment.

Although the emirates are united under one nation, but it does seem to be mainly for namesake. There is infighting amongst the emirates in United Arab Emirates to gain the upper hand in the nation dominance. The king of each of these emirates is working to benefit for himself and his emirate. Now this is useful to make us Indians proud for the way the Indian democracy is organised to make every state to be responsible and answerable to the central government.

To read in detail follow this blog which brings in more insights to this issue.

Chi-Merican seesaw

2011-09-14T04:56:00.000-07:00

This is a tussle for power worth mentioning. It is a seesaw which requires players on either side, America and China, such that neither player can evolve into a world power single handed. China had recently disclosed its decision to acquire nearly a 3 trillion dollar worth of natural resources majorly in crude oil, gold, natural gas, copper, iron ore, etc. On the face of it, there seems to be working on in securing the nation’s supply of raw materials for the nation’s growth. Due to China’s huge demand the copper prices are pushed up. Also the natural resources too are not left alone in the Bull Run. But when the purchase is viewed from the point of view that these are the resources most fought for and with limited supply, the issue becomes severe. It becomes more severe when the acquirer is the biggest holder of dollars outside USA.

It is the making of the perfect battle of supremacy. The Chinese are looking forward to two things by this purchase. Firstly they wish to reduce their US dollar dependency as a reserve currency. Keeping these reserves with very high dependency will be detrimental to their growth of international power because of the volatile world political environment. It is a double edged sword with China. While it gives China a good leverage and a say on the American policy decisions, but a prejudicial step taken by any nation to reduce the utility power of USD will reduce the value of Chinese foreign reserves. America on the other hand needs the utility value of USD to decrease to pay off its mounting debts and also help its exports to be more competitive. And here is the making of the first centre for power struggle between the two nations.

But China wishes to use the devaluation for its own benefit. If the USD is devalued it will also force the Chinese to shell out bigger sums to acquire the natural resources reducing the USD reserves. To counter this they are buying in resources which contain real value with them like gold, silver, metals, etc. Another aspect to the devaluation row is that US wishes to reduce its dependency on imports from China. This requires the Chinese goods to cost more in that case Chinese yuan should be valued more. With Chinese not willing to do so, US got an (probably) unintentional opportunity because of the financial system failure. It has taken lot many steps to devalue its dollars including the quantitative easing.

Secondly China wishes to promote its currency to be used in the international settlements. To be able to do this they will require the gold backing for its money and also decontrol its currency. Taking a step forward into this move China is said to have planned purchase of gold worth 1 trillion dollars. And as can be seen in the current market scenario where the price of gold is touching new highs every month, the purchase of gold is helping China to get rid of the dollar and showcase that its currency has more real worth backing. But the irony is gold is still valued in dollars.

Direct fallout of this power tussle is in the commodity markets. The prices of silver (considered to be poor man’s gold) have touched levels never seen before. The other metals are also not left behind in this bull run. This has made more number of speculators jump into metal trading. The Chinese intention of creating an improved GDP to gold reserve ratio has become well known in the commodities market. The gold market which is already being bullied is getting a further fillip due to the Chinese intentions. Currently it holds around 1-2% of its forex reserves in gold but wishes to increase it to 4-5%. This will mean China buying in nearly half the world gold production in a year pushing up the prices to the sun. I believe that the run in the silver market might also be used as a deception to fulfil this Chinese dream, shrugging off more speculators from the gold markets.

But in this geopolitical war the one’s suffering are the retail investors around the world. The bigger the player, the better it is safeguarded from the policy shocks. The interest rate changes in China in recent times pulled down the commodity markets essentially filtering off the small speculators and the bigger players brought up the prices again. The Chi-Merican seesaw will continue swinging. On every volatile spike it is the retail investor who is thrown out while the elders benefit. So for whose benefit is the battle being fought? Is it a national pride or the citizen’s benefit?

New York Stock Exchange & Deutsche Boerse Merger

2011-09-14T04:45:00.001-07:00

The following article was written by me for my magazine "FOCUS" by club ECOBIZZ of IBS, Hyderabad (ICFAI Business School, Hyderabad)

New York Stock Exchange Euronext (NYSE-E) and Deutsch Börse (DB) are amongst the biggest stock exchange companies in the world. They have recently gone into the decision to merge creating the world’s biggest stock exchange firm having presence in more than 7 countries. Indeed a super power like situation.

What are these companies? And what is it about companies running the stock exchanges? Well NYSE is the most renowned stock market in the world, tracked by millions of traders for speculating the world sentiments. Many exchanges feel the effects of the movements on this exchange. It’s the biggest market for equity trading. Listing on this bourse signifies an Indian company as a blue chip for the Indian investors. This is the might of the greatest stock exchange in the world. It has its presence in pan Europe too along with dominance in American markets. DB on the other hand is the biggest player in the derivatives market having its presence in many countries in Europe. NYSE had in 2006 beaten DB in a bid to purchase Euronext the pan European stock exchange (covering many European countries) creating a behemoth of stock exchange company. Now with the news of NYSE-E & DB merger creating the world’s biggest, largest stock exchange entity.

The $10 Billion merger controlling a $20 Trillion has all the eyes of the world markets. This merger for exchanges means a convergence of technologies and processes, improving the performance of the exchanges and reduction in costs to investors. It shall also increase the investment choices for an individual investor after the consolidation of the investment avenues. The acquisition will broaden the trading avenues by increasing access to companies listed on foreign exchanges, access to foreign markets to tap money.

Exchanges, the world over, earn money by charging a small margin on trade volume and earn profits by charging margins on huge volumes. In this world of slim margins, even a new entrant with technologically advanced exchange can go ahead a lot further with ease and turn on profits. They will not be bogged down by outdated technology. With more competition sprucing up, the legacy exchanges are losing their market share, making it harder to get the necessary large volumes for the expected profits. The NYSE trade volumes have come down to 27% of U.S. equities, down from 90% 15 years ago. To compete with the upstarts and survive, these exchanges felt the need to combine, to diversify their geography, regain sizable market share in their trading businesses and create economies of scale that will lower their costs.

From a viewpoint of an outsider to this M&A activity, it seems to be merely the best thing that can be done for the two grand dads of the exchange economy who are struggling to remain relevant in a high-tech financial world. This M&A is a strategic bet by the two organizations to stay ahead in an increasingly global, interconnected and uniform financial market. Exchange consolidation the world over is not going to be only on a regional scale. Increasingly, the goal will be to create exchanges that span several continents and provide a single platform for trading stocks and derivatives from all over the world round-the-clock. Both NYSE and DB have products and services beyond trading, some distinct and some overlapping. They most likely would wish to consolidate common services, cut costs and take advantage of the combined customer base to give each of their businesses a bigger audience. Listing on stock exchange and settlement and clearance of trades though not high end but still provides a good amount of cash flow. An NYSE listing is still a sign of a blue-chip company that's stable and well managed. But as NYSE had outsourced its settlement and clearing operations years ago, it needs these operations to be performed in house and DB brings in this opportunity to NYSE. DB brings in the settlement and clearing business that reaches into several countries. Another complication is of equity trading and particularly in the US, is that this is a cut throat business and much of the profit is in derivative trading. In the case of the proposed DB NYSE, it is Deutsche Börse that has the most valuable derivative contracts. The most important derivative contract at NYSE Euronext is the Euribor futures which trade on Euronext and not on NYSE.

In a year or two, after the LSE-TMX (London Stock Exchange and Canadian Stock Exchange are also in the process of merger) and DB-NYSE combines and had completed the integration of their respective mergers, they will be looking at acquiring Asian exchanges to complete their global reach. Many analysts now believe that 5-10 years from now, there will probably be 4-5 global exchanges, each of which spans Asia, Europe and the Americas. It will look like the credit card industry. At that point, the Indian exchanges will have the choice between being in isolation in a merged exchange world and become a relatively smaller entity in a global exchange or start consolidation on by itself. The Indian exchanges need to act now to spearhead the formation of pan-Asian exchanges that would have much greater bargaining power during the final round of consolidation. The reason for India being capable of taking on the lead for the consolidation in Asian markets is that India is large and fast growing emerging market. Also its exchanges have world-class market design, range of derivative products, large and varied investor base, sound regulation and high liquidity.

The only concern would be an oligopoly – too much power in the hands of too few exchange firms. In that situation, markets could raise trading fees with little alternative for the investors and traders. The European monopoly commission is currently checking the merger activities of NYSE-DB to be sure that the merged entity does not affect the benefits for the market. Also another requirement for the positive outcome will be the changes in the regulatory framework for the nations containing these exchanges. With this we hope that a combined entity, originating from India or any other nation, should bring in more transparency, better investment and trading opportunities.

Privatization of Currency

2011-09-05T23:58:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon this concept a few weeks back and was totally intrigued at the number of possibilities any concept can possibly have. It was a breakthrough concept and implemented in 2009. Privatizing the currency used by the people. Allowing the people be sole owners of the currency being circulated throughout the world. Allow the people to use this currency instead of a nation’s currency for all the financial transactions. This idea shifts the center of control from the Governments and transfers it to the People. Citizens become the sole owner and authority of the currency. The concept is of creating something different. It is an online currency but it is different than the online credit points which you get in Facebook. But it is also an attempt to create a real world currency which is totally decentralized and no government or bankers can rule it. It is like a Euro currency for the whole world.

The idea is called Bitcoins. It is a virtual peer-to-peer currency that can be sent and received directly over various exchanges and mediums. It provides the benefits that your money can’t be frozen, tracked or taxed, and transaction costs are very low. This idea was then implemented using the works of “Satoshi Nakamoto” - pseudo name used by the creator of the idea. He is based in Japan and has created a concept which brought power into the hands of the people using the currency and not in the hands of few (which is the current economic scenario). With his concept paper “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” he proposed the mechanism of working of the private currency – Bitcoin. The idea of Bitcoin is it that is a currency that can be traded peer to peer without any government interference. This idea being highly sensitive to all the governments around the world, he uses the pseudo name and his location could not be mapped. The idea has a potential to destroy governments and disrupt economies. It is also touted as the most dangerous open source technological project ever developed. Even though some governments have allowed people transacting in bitcoins, they want to regulate this currency. They want to have a check at the usage of this currency. They are afraid of its powers which may be brought upon by the extended use of this new currency.

The world commerce takes place on the assumption that there is a third party (mostly bank) which will keep a tab on the transaction and verify the transaction. This is a trust based system where financial institutions serve as trusted third parties to process electronic payments. Completely non-reversible transactions are not possible, since financial institutions cannot avoid mediating disputes. The cost of mediation increases transaction costs, limiting the minimum practical transaction size and cutting off the possibility for small casual transactions, and there is a broader cost in the loss of ability to make non-reversible payments for nonreversible services. With the possibility of reversal, the need for trust spreads. Merchants must be wary of their customers, hassling them for more information than they would otherwise need. A certain percentage of fraud is accepted as unavoidable. These costs and payment uncertainties can be avoided in person by using physical currency, but no mechanism exists to make payments over a communications channel without a trusted party.

Working of this currency is based on the concept of people having the control over the transactions taking place and governing the same. The bitcoins are allocated to people according to their work in the bitcoin network. The users download the software and allow their computers to run for days on an algorithm to “create” Bitcoins. The algorithm is to check each transaction taking place in the network. Every computer has to validate every transaction taking place. For any transaction to be concretized it has to be validated by peer computers which check if the transaction is authentic. They also check if there is extra induction of bitcoin currency than what should be present in the system. As all the computers work as one entity to check the validity of the transaction there is nearly zero probability of bringing in extra money. There can be no forgery in the system and no person can get extra money for the computing work not done by his/her system. The more the computing power your computer has the more the work it does, the more the bitcoins you get. These digital coins are traded and stored on computer. The program is designed to make the coins rare and therefore have some value. There will only be 21 million Bitcoins in existence ever, right now there are 6 million coins mined. The more coins that are in existence the harder it will be to “mine” these coins.

The Japanese Recovery – The Strategic view

2011-09-05T23:54:00.000-07:00

The March 11 earthquake in Japan, the 5th largest in world, has affected the world economy in more ways than just economics. So while looking at this major natural disaster the two criteria discussed in the article are Economics & Politics.

The Economics: A classic case of “supply side disruption” fueled by the unpredictable and dangerous cocktail of earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. Japan is amongst the major producers of capital goods and creates 10% of the world economic output. The good exported by Japan, consisting mostly of machinery and transport equipment was in 2010 worth about $470bn. This natural disaster wrecked havoc on the factories producing the goods heavily demanded by the whole world. This was visible in major reduction in production & sales figures of auto majors sourcing from Japan. Their May 2011 sales figures declined nearly 23%. Japan provides nearly 60% of the world’s computer chips and the calamity resulted in closure of 2 companies for repairs reducing the output by 25%. The nations round the world hence need an early recovery for the smoothening of the supply chain and depreciation of Yen.

The fund flowed into the nation for the reconstruction and there was a high appreciation of Yen. The bond market in Japan was also gathering pace. This proved one major point – Investor confidence in Japan’s recovery and repayment capability. The Japanese showed this capability and capacity. They have restored the infrastructure destroyed with great speed. An example of this would be the case of the Tohoku Shinkansen, a high-speed rail line connecting Tokyo and northeastern Japan. It recommenced operations 49 days after the earthquake.

A stable growth in country’s production with stable government in Japan will be beneficial for the whole world. Stability at power is one of the major criteria which will change the credit rating of a nation (recent case being the USA). Japan has seen already seen 5 leaders change guard and the sixth was due, all within the span of 5 years. Moody’s for this purpose has downgraded the credit rating from AA3 to AA2. But investor sentiment does not shake much due to this downgrade. Japan has been a customer of lower rating for more than a decade, but yet its borrowing cost hasn’t increased much.

Nuclear Crisis: Even with the after effects of the Fukushima power plant, Japanese government is adamant at continuing with the Nuclear power plants while some of the European countries are planning a gradual shutdown. This is essential for few reasons. Firstly Japan does not have a very good supply of wind power or the solar power for generating consistent supply of electricity. Also with the harsh experience of the 1988’s Oil crisis and with aim of reducing the dependence of oil for power generation, only Nuclear power remains a credible source of energy. Secondly, with the continuing operations Japan will still be a part of group of countries promoting nuclear energy along with France, the USA, Korea and Russia. These countries are net exporters of nuclear software and hardware and rake in huge revenues from these. And the future of this source looks bright too. And here is the opportunity for India to pitch in. India can garner its relations with Japan for the supply of nuclear technology for both civilian and military needs. With huge electric power deficit faced by India and big future plans of energy sector development, it can leverage the requirement to get the required deals from Japan.

Another reason for Japan supporting the nuclear cause is because of its internal power equation. Only a minority of the Japanese citizens support the nuclear power cause while the majority still has the burns of the WW2 & Chernobyl engraved. To counter the anti-nuclear power sentiments, the power stations are built in states having low fiscal capabilities. These states are provided with higher subsidies. These subsidies increase the state’s dependency on the external funding and also allow the future expansion of the stations.

The Politics: The game changer in the political power scenario was the Japanese earthquake. Although not a pleasant occurrence, but it did provide China with an alternative to showcase it is ready to warm up its relation with Japan. This was essential to counter balance the Sino-Pakistan relations which have become an irritant in the world politics and increases the already heightened tensions between China and US. After the American raid in Abbottabad for Osama, any souring ties between the brothers’ in arms against terrorism give rise to speculation of deepening Sino-Pak relations. In fact Pakistan’s defense minister replied to the American withdrawal of military aid by saying “China will fill this gap”. This in effect suggests a deeper long lasting financing of Pakistan’s economy by Chinese funds. But this financing is not directly through funds for the economy, but on ground works. China has been building up the transportation system of Pakistan for China’s ambitious project of connecting Xinjiang with the Arabian Sea in a transport and energy corridor. China has also been active in the Arabian Sea by developing the Gwadar port of Pakistan and making it a Chinese naval base. So china needed to dispense with this image and helped Japan in rebuilding itself. But this was not a purely humanitarian work, but also to assess the Japanese internal military preparedness against any crisis situation (No country can get a free access unless a disaster strikes).

US, for the above reasons, wants’ to provide a faster counter balance for the Asian power struggle. “There are no free lunches”. US also wants the recovery for its internal benefit, jobs. Due to the credit crisis and associated job losses and the dependence of American industry on the high end produce of Japan, America will need a rejuvenated Japan as quickly as possible to keep the ball rolling.

Sports and A Nation's Crisis

2011-03-17T03:55:00.001-07:00

This article was published in my magazine - The Focus - September 2010 Edition - For IBS, Hyderabad

Do the sporting events create a crisis situation for the host countries? Are the sporting events actually deliver the "social benefits"?

South Africans are already feeling the heat of hosting the World Cup tournament. When the initial estimate of World Cup stadium costs was made by South Africa, it was set at some 2-3 billion Rand. Based on current visitor estimates, there seems no way for the SA Government to recoup that investment; to top it up, over the last few months officials have been predicting the final bill will come in around 13 billion Rand. It is a staggering increase, but also a typical example of the insane enthusiasm that every country gets when asked to stage anything to do with big-money sport. These mega events are organized with the hope of generating vast revenues and gain more businesses and tourists. Organizing countries highlight the advertising revenues and international exposure (social benefit) as the benefits that follow.

The 1990 World Cup cost Italy £550 million. The economic benefit has been variously described since then as neutral to negative. In 2002 the host country Japan made a whopping loss: ticket sales were £1.4 billion, and FIFA gave the country £100 million - but the all up cost was £4.7 billion. Even the Germans made only a measly £56.4 million on their staging of the World Cup in 2006: and if Germany can't make money out of something, then it just isn't possible. (Versus the cost of staging the thing, this represented a net profit margin of 0.4%). When the UK won the 'right' to stage the Olympics in 2005, the nation went crazy. The total expenditure which started at £4.8 billion has crept up to £8 billion by 2010.

The EU has estimates that when soccer World Cup tournament is played on another continent, the loss to economic output is £.8.1 billion -either through people watching at a late/early hour and then calling in sick, or just calling sick for the whole two weeks to see the finals in person. Last week, Britain's new coalition government announced $38 million in Olympic budget cuts as part of efforts to slash the nation's budget deficit.

Even the current Greece crisis has got its heritage linked back to the Olympic Games. While many factors are behind the crippling debt crisis, the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens has drawn particular attention. If not the sole reason for the nation's financial mess, it scores some point to the games as an illustration of what's gone wrong in Greece. Greece had been overspending. Governments in the Greek were not able to balance a budget in nearly 40 years, and the country narrowly averted bankruptcy in May before panicky European partners grudgingly put up massive rescue loans. As a result recently the Greece's Finance Minister George Papakonstantinou had to outline harsh spending cuts and tax increases to free up billions of Euros in a joint International Monetary Fund and Eurozone rescue. Greece will receive about $135 billion in bailout loans through 2012 from IMF and EU governments worried about the Greek crisis. This crisis could also damage the Euro.

There are more than a dozen Olympic venues - the start of Greece's irresponsible spending binge - now vacant, fenced off and patrolled by private security guards. Money loaned on short term, was spent on long term assets. The 2004 Athens Olympics cost nearly $11 billion by current exchange rates, double the initial budget, which does not include major infrastructure projects rushed to completion at inflated costs. In the months before the games, construction crews worked around the clock, using floodlights to keep the work going at night. In addition, the tab for security alone was more than $1.2 billion. Six years later, more than half of Athens' Olympic sites are barely used or empty.

So finally the question that prevails for us Indians is; are we heading for the same fate with the CWG? With the current media publicity of the in-appropriations in CWG purchases and more than `30,000 crore expenditure, do we still expect the tourists to come and watch the events at incomplete stadia? Would we even break-even?

India SA 5th ODI & Life

2011-01-23T07:57:00.000-08:00

What a match it has been so far. Indeed a very intriguing match being played at The Centurion park ground. Students in my hostel are cheering for every run being scored, elated for every four and intoxicated for every sixer. What a match. All are glued to the TV set in the common area. Yusuf's made the second fastest century in the Indian batting history. India still strugling at the looming danger of losing the match and the series. What hopes remains?

Just during this cheering a thought crossed my mind, what is happening?
For every run cheers and after the wicket fell gloom and later normal. Drawing a parallel to life with this match isnt this quite similar to our experience.

In your life you will get so many people and items which will be cheering you all through your life. Some of them will be just part of your life for few years or maybe months, but then what boils down is just one thing Nothing Remains. All this will be finished some day, then why do we need to be entangled to them? Why do we need them? People wont care who you were and what you did after you are gone. Then whats the use of being longing to these attachments, these things?

Then the answer dawned upon me, Indeed to make the path till your end a bit more pleasurable. Everyone will not give you company till your end, there will be few who will remain till your end. Life gives you the experience to be able to find those who care for you till end. Then why do need materialistic pleasure? Indeed it remains useless when you have the greatest treasure which you will relish till the end.

But continuing the thought, what will happen to your cherished few after you are gone? I am clueless at this thought. Help Me!!

Induced Spending

2010-11-08T07:03:00.001-08:00

The buzz word doing the rounds from the advent of "recession" is how to induce the consumer spending when they are quite skeptical about the future security. America is the leading example in this. America has brought in various fiscal and monetary policies which induce the people to spend more and save less. Policies are reducing the borrowing rate, reducing the value of the currency so that more money is spent constructively. But how much of it is actually done? American investors are sending their money to overseas markets where there are more returns on investments. How much is actually been spent to improve the economy?

As a parallel to this, India in the ancient times was very rich. Most of the population was wealthy and had some occupation to perform. There was no urgency in spending the money to buy items of desire. They had enough liquidity with them to spend as and when required. Also the people believed in savings and longevity of material goods.

This situation can be seen as an issue to the country's financial circulation. If people do not spend much and there is no consistent demand, then how can enterprises define their raw material pipeline? And as raw material for enterprise A is the output product of enterprise B, with this vicious circle there can be a devastating crumble of the system. With this crumble citizens tend to save more and spend less as there is no future security.

With this situation in mind and the recent festivities doing the round, I was amazed at the rituals which were formulated for all the festivals of our nation. There are numerous festivals, effectively making someone celebrate a festival or occasion everyday. All these occasions require people to invite guests and also give some money as "shagun". Now with this kind of raw money changing hands, the system is finally able to run the mill. People are spending during the festive seasons and saving during the odd seasons. These festivals are an imbibed feature of us Indians. We cannot live without it. Its our culture.

So without blaming any culture, I will say that if the festivities are made about such that people are compelled to spend, then you have your financial machinery running smoothly. There won't be any need of fiscal or monetary policies to Induce Spending.

Advertising. Is it attack on Indian traditions?

2010-05-08T06:34:00.000-07:00

Why do the advertisers and the media time and again try to attack the Indian cultural roots to sell their products, inspiring the youth and the consumers to get away from their roots?

All of us distinctly remember the time when shampoos had entered into the Indian markets. It was promoted as useful agent to get rid of stickiness from hair oil. Indeed a necessary and an on target point, but at what cost? People reduced the oil usage. Youngsters opposed hair oil usage. And what happened? The younger generation of yesterday, the working generation of today; is facing heavy hair loss, dandruff and various other hair problems. You may argue that these problems were already present thousands of years ago when Ayurveda was discovered, but were these problems so aggravated? We had many other natural options which could effectively cleanse the hair of the extra oil and also give strong and silky hair like “areetha”, “shikakai”, etc. But to get ahead in the race to use the latest products the people started using shampoos. But when they could not see any good benefit they stopped using both shampoo and also oil. Effect – More damage.

Now the companies are bringing in products which are catering to the above problem by instilling in the minds of people that “look you people, you don’t have time for putting on hair oil. We have this shampoo which contains oil. Use this”. Phase shift of ideology for shampoo industry?

This is just an example. This is happening in other products too which had competed against the use of traditional items. Best example is soft drinks. All the soft drink brands pitched in as the new youth drink. This is “THE” drink, and the alternative natural drinks are no use. And now these soft drink companies are in a race to capture the natural health drink product markets. Interesting!

Some may term it as “Market Capture” – Erase traditional products, then re-introduce them with new packaging. To me this can be termed as “Re - Laying the base”. [I resist from using the term “Foundation” as that’s not what is being remade.]

So the question which props the mind is does selling means just sell and no ethics? No values to the inherent ideology of the nation, the traditions? I was and am still searching for the answers.

I am divided with the answers I have got till now. Sometimes the “Brain” says it’s all in the business. You need to sell the product come what may. While the “Heart” says don’t do this, its unethical. Don’t fool your traditions. But then I recollect a line from the movie “Lord Of Wars” –

Never go to war. Especially with yourself.

har cheez ki ek umar (nahi) hoti hai?

2010-05-06T02:20:00.000-07:00

A very interesting article
Sourced from here

**************************

"Bete, har cheez ki ek umar hoti hai", parents used to say.

There is a time to focus on studies.
A time to build your career.
A time to shoulder responsibilities.

But in the Indian scheme of things you are never 'old enough' to really live your life the way you want to.Until ultimately you are old and telling other - "Bete, har cheez ki ek umar hoti hai..." Philosophy aside, there is a very real dilemma facing parents today. My ten year old daughter (if you ask her she'll say, "11 in 3 months time!") wants to join Facebook. Now officially you have to be over 13 to be on Facebook but you know how simple it is to circumvent that rule. Her point is, lots of kids in class have Facebook accounts. I have no way to verify that - and neither should be the basis of my decision. So what do I do?This is but one example. There is the 'when can I get a cellphone' question. When can I go to the mall with my friends - and no adult escort?Recently I was stumped by when can I get a manicure (just want to try it once).My standard response is:"When you are in class 10". But I doubt I will actually be able to hold out for another five years.

So what are my concerns, why stop her from 'having it all' as soon as possible?

Well, like all parents, I want to protect her. From the big bad world out there. And yet, I do not want to spy. And I do not want to worry when I don't spy (and therefore don't know what company she is keeping). The hope is, the older you get, the wiser you get. But is there any such guarantee in this world?At best, you are postponing the inevitable. I've let her read the 'Twilight' series (it's supposed to be teen fiction but hey.. it's a rage among kids her age).

I switch off 'Desperate Housewives' when she is around but she's just discovered 'Friends' and funny as it is, the storylines are definitely 'adult'. I've handed down my ipod to her (but strictly forbidden taking it out of home).Yes, kids are growing up faster - physically and mentally. But you know they're still kids when they ask you - can we do this or that? The day they 'just do it' is the day they have grown up.

Har cheez ki ek umar hoti hai. The question for parents is, when will be old and wise enough to let go?

So i call Mumbai Bombay

2010-04-07T09:24:00.000-07:00

The Marathas were never in possession of the Bombay group of islands. These were the territory of the Sultan of Gujarat. He was forced to give Bombay to the Portuguese. Unfortunately, these very proselytizing Portuguese murdered Sultan Bahadur Shah of Gujarat. There was no Indian ruler claiming ownership of these soggy, disease-prone islands of Bombay. Not only the Moguls but also the Marathas never claimed this piece of land as their own. They had no interest in the barren wasteland.

The wasteland of Bombay was given as the dowry by Catherine of Braganza (Portuguese princess) during her marriage to Charles II of England. That is how the British got possession of the islands.

Even for the British Crown, this remained a useless piece of land. It was passed on to the East India Company. The East India Company had no particular interest, nor could they see Bombay’s potential as a great port. Surat port was becoming congested and the Surtis of Gujarat were the first people who moved to Bombay in pursuit of their trade and commerce.

It was not the British East India Company but the Parsees who put their own private money in the development of the port. Major economic actives were initiated by the Parsees, Gujaratis and Bohras from Surat, which set into motion the process of evolution of Bombay and its becoming the financial capital of India. (Historically, meaning when Bombay was soggy, disease ridden place) There was no or negligible contribution worth the name from Marathas in development of Bombay.

Some people who never studied (or at least didn’t pay much attention while studying) history have renamed it ‘Mumbai’ and demand exclusivity to make political gains …

So i call Mumbai Bombay :)

The article has been sourced from here

JK Cement

2010-03-14T09:17:00.000-07:00

This is a classic advertisement, which puts the basic principles of advertisements to use. The principle - "You can sell any product by displaying a semi-clad lady in advertisement". This is the principle which even if you want to avoid, you cant. People who like it will like it, people who hate it will discuss about it. The ultimate goal of brand remembrance is achieved.

Indeed this principle has been used a lot of times for many great advertisements, but what the heck? There should be some linkage to the product being advertised and the content of it.

Well whatever be the case of the content of this advertisement, it has achieved its purpose. The advertisement has created buzz on the television media and online media by "hate blogs". Any kind of publicity is a publicity.

Am sorry about the quality of the video, but that's the best available online. If i get hold of good quality, will post it. But who cares about viewing a better version of this crap TVC. Do you? then let me know, i will get it for you.

amateur video advertisement for JK Cement.
And this video too has benefited as an outcome of the above advertisement. People have started hitting this video on youtube.

Whose IDEA is it?

2010-03-06T21:10:00.001-08:00

The Absolut Vodka commercial was released earlier, from which the Apollo Munich commercial has borrowed heavily. Below are the two commercials.

Indeed a brilliant idea for the promotion of both the brands. Even their commercials are named the same "Anthem". And yet both the products are at the either ends of spectrum. Each helping the consumers /customers to go to the other...

Absolut tvc a true brilliance for creativity.

Apollo Munich has gone forward for brand upgrade from Apollo DKV. They wanted to remake their image, focussing over the "Uncomplicated" policies with less of "Jargons". The Absolut tvc was utilised to the fullest for this purpose.

Videos

2010-03-05T10:00:00.000-08:00

A way to de-stress for Commonwealth Games volunteers

2010-03-04T22:05:00.000-08:00

As pressure mounts on volunteers for the approaching Commonwealth Games in the capital, they may find the perfect way to stay high on enthusiasm and physical fitness with an Art of Living course.

The mega event, which will take place in Delhi from Oct 3 to 14, aims to recruit 30,000 volunteers from a cross-section of people - from students and homemakers to ex-servicemen and corporate honchos.

Sudhir Mital, the special director general looking after the volunteers programme, said: 'The Art of Living Foundation has expressed an interest in providing a three-day course on stress management to the Commonwealth Games volunteers'. Read More from Sify

Jai Gurudev,

Antariksh

If you are stuck in the HOW?
You will lose the NOW.
Just DROP the HOW and
Experience the WOW!

The Karachi Project

2010-03-02T21:52:00.000-08:00

In the 1977 cold war thriller Telefon, a rogue KGB agent creates mayhem in the US simply by picking up a phone and reading a Robert Frost poem 'the woods are lovely, dark and deep...' to hypnotise sleeper agents who then go on to plant explosives across the continent.

The scenario could well echo a nefarious plan that India's security agencies are now grappling with: The Karachi Project set up by the Pakistan Army's ISI and groups like the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and HUJI which utilise Pakistani-trained Indian-operatives to plant explosives in selected cities in the Indian heartland.

For at least three years now, Indian security agencies have known of the outlines of this scheme, which Home Secretary G.K. Pillai held responsible for the German Bakery blast in Pune.

"The link between the LeT and Indian Mujahideen (IM), as part of the project, has been established. The LeT pushed David Headley into India to recce potential targets. IM operatives went to Pakistan and viewed videos shot by him, so that they could be sent to India to carry out attacks," he said.

Named after the Pakistani port city and crime hotbed which has turned into a sanctuary for fugitive Indian underworld dons like Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon, the joint-venture project was conceived some time after 2003. It is part of an overall strategy which, Admiral Dennis Blair the director of National Intelligence told a US Senate committee on February 3, was for Pakistan to "use militant groups as an important part of its strategic arsenal to counter India's military and economic advantages".

The Karachi Project has been directly responsible for the deaths of over 500 Indians in 10 bomb blasts since 2005.

Details of the project were first revealed by Pakistan-born American jihadi David Coleman Headley to the FBI in December last year. According to him, the fugitive Bhatkal brothers Riaz and Iqbal who founded the IM, Mufti Sufiyan and underworld don Yaqoob Khan aka Rasool 'Party' were being sheltered in Karachi by the LeT and ISI.

Headley, who checked out Chabad House close to German Bakery, also told the FBI interrogators about serving and retired Pakistan Army officers being part of the project. Headley confirmed that the ISI had put together a team of Indian jihadis in the port city, calling it the Karachi Project. They were waiting to launch them into India for attacks.

Over 500 people have been killed in 10 terror attacks carried out by the Karachi Project since 2005.

Headley recceed targets for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks while shuttling between Mumbai and Karachi thrice in 2006 and 2008. Pune also figured prominently in his terror reconnaissance missions. He visited Pune twice, in 2008 and 2009, and stayed at the Surya Villa Hotel near the Osho Ashram and the local Jewish synagogue during his latter visit. This was part of his March 2008 survey of Israeli targets--Chabad Houses across Delhi, Pushkar, Goa, Pune and Mumbai--for future terror attacks.

More details of the plot emerged after the arrest of Abdul Khwaja, second-in-command of Shahid Bilal, who headed the Bangladesh HUJI unit. Khwaja was picked up by the R&AW in a clandestine 'rendition' operation in Bangladesh in December last year.

Open your eyes to the complete information @ Yahoo @ this link

Good use of plastic. Kudos!!

2010-03-02T03:49:00.000-08:00

A Swedish entrepreneur is planning to mass produce Peepoo, a biodegradable plastic bag that acts as a single-use toilet, which may help millions of urban slum dwellers in developing countries like India

The bag, which is currently undergoing field trials in India and Kenya, is the brainchild of Anders Wilhelmson, an architect and professor in Stockholm. Once used, the bag can be knotted and buried, and a layer of urea crystals breaks down the waste into fertiliser, killing off disease-producing pathogens found in feces.

"Not only is it sanitary, they can reuse this to grow crops," Wilhelmson was quoted as saying by The New York Times. According to Wilhelmson, he has drawn inspiration to design the biodegradable toilet from Kenyan slum dwellers, who collect their excrement in a plastic bag and dispose of it by flinging it, calling it a "flyaway toilet" or a "helicopter toilet".

"People will say, it's valuable to me, but well priced," said the Swedish entrepreneur who has patented the bag and is confident that the bag will turn a profit. He plans to sell the bag for about 2 or 3 cents -- comparable to the cost of an ordinary plastic bag. According to United Nations figures, an estimated 2.6 billion people in the developing world, or about 40 percent of the earth's population, do not have access to a toilet.

It also estimated that 1.5 million children worldwide die from diarrhea every year due to of poor sanitation and hygiene, which is largely because of open defecation of waste that contaminates drinking water.

One of the UN Millennium Development Goals, set in 2000, is to halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to drinking water and sanitation, but so far progress has been minimal. With that in mind, Swedish Peepoople created the Peepoo bag to serve as a personal, portable and low-cost latrine for all the many people who don’t have one. Designed for use sitting, squatting or standing, the single-use, biodegradable plastic bag measures 14 by 38 cm and is lined with a urea-coated gauze layer that disinfects all waste. Used bags are odour-free for at least 24 hours and are safe for burial underground. Within two to four weeks after use, however, their contents get converted to high-quality fertiliser—something that’s also rare in many areas and so could become a source of income and further enrichment for an individual or village. Following field tests last year in Kenya and India, the Peepoo bag is scheduled to begin production this summer.

Sourced from here and here

Image contribution here

Day of Shiva

2010-03-02T02:38:00.000-08:00

Hindustan Times, 12th February, 2010

H.H. Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Shivaratri is the day of Lord Shiva. Shiva is the lord of meditation and, therefore, the lord of awakening.

Shiva is called Mahakala - grand time. Shivam also means innocent. Shiva is a very simple Lord, but in this simplicity there is a deep message.

Shiva, in His Nataraja form, symbolises the union of nature and the Divine. Natraja holds fire in one hand, representing the fire element. A damru (conical musical instrument) in the other hand depicts the space element. Shiva's hair is open and flying, representing the air element.

One foot on the ground symbolises prithvi (earth element), another in the air. One hand is the symbolic abhaya hasta offering protection and the other points to his feet symbolising surrender. With one foot already in the air, he has already taken a step towards the devotee. He says, "You are dear to me" even before beginning.

Shiva is dancing. Life should be like this. If both feet are stuck in the ground, then you cannot dance. Even to walk, you need to take one foot up.

Underneath his feet, there is Apasmaar (demon representing ignorance.) He is standing with his foot on top of desires. Only when we rise above desires, then it is a dance of joy and bliss. The Divine energy pervading the entire creation is eternally dancing.

Shiva represents Ananda Tattva (bliss) that the whole world longs for. We can only know the secret of Shiv tattva by going within. Feeling His presence all the time is the essence of Shivaratri. It is an occasion to awaken one's self from slumber. It signifies being aware of everything you have and - being grateful about it.

Be grateful for the happiness which leads to growth, and also for sadness which gives depth to life. You have to surrender the positives and negatives of your life to Shiva and become carefree! The greatest offering is your self and the greatest power is in surrendering to the divine. This is the right way of observing Shivaratri.

Criticising GM crops may land you in jail

2010-02-28T22:38:00.000-08:00

BANGALORE: Criticising Genetically Modified (GM) products could land you in jail — if the draconian draft Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill (BRAB) of 2009, which will be tabled in the current session of the parliament by the UPA government, is passed.

In an unprecedented muzzle on the right to freedom of speech of the citizen, Chapter 13 section 63 of the draft bill says, “Whoever, without any evidence or scientific record misleads the public about the safety of the organisms and products…shall be punished with imprisonment for a term that shall not be less than six months but which may extend to one year and with fine which may extend to two lakh rupees or with both.” The BRAI Bill drafted by the department of bio-technology under the Ministry of Science and Technology comes on the heels of a moratorium on Bt Brinjal announced by the Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh.

“What they are doing is much worse than what Hitler or Mussolini did. Through this bill, they want to take absolute authority. They are behaving like a vendor instead of a regulator,” Pushpa M Bhargava, a member of the Supreme Court appointed Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) said.

There are also other provisions in this bill which are disconcerting.

Article 27 (1) of the bill seeks to keep the information related to the research, approval and science of the GM Products out of the purview of the Right to Information ( RTI) Act.

In other words, farmers, NGO’s and Environmental groups that have been on the forefront of the campaign against BT Brinjal and other genetically modified crops, can no longer obtain information about it.

Not only that, the three member experts of the Department of Biotechnology will override any existing legislation about GM technology in the states.

The draft bill also states that the BRAI will set up its own appellate tribunal which will have the jurisdiction to hear arguments on the issues concerning biotechnology. In case of any disputes, petitioners can only approach the Supreme Court of India.

“The BRAI bill is more draconian than what the nation faced during the Emergency ‘’ says Devinder Sharma, writer and Food Policy Analyst. “If the Bill was already in force, I would have been in jail.

Jairam Ramesh too would have been in jail for challenging the health and environmental claims of the company developing Bt Brinjal,” he said. The bill demonstrates the extraordinary hold the multinational companies have over the UPA government, he added. Kavitha Kurugunti of Kheti Virasat Mission said that this bill is just a way to silence the voices who are opposed to GM technology.

Sourced from here

Tamil Nadu rediscovers Hindi

2010-02-22T04:11:00.000-08:00

Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray answers criticism against his party’s often violent agitations in Mumbai by citing the long history of anti-Hindi agitations in Tamil Nadu. He points to the state’s official policy that has led to insignificant use of Hindi in Tamil Nadu. Thackeray’s sense of history is impeccable because Tamil Nadu established the supremacy of Tamil through blood, in much greater intensity than the Sainiks do on the streets of Mumbai.

But Thackeray may have missed a finer point. Life has come full circle for Tamils. Today, Hindi is the most popular third language for the younger generation to learn across the state. “Everybody who once opposed Hindi is praising it now and sending their children to learn the language,” says C N V Annamalai, general secretary of the Chennai-based Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha.

Bollywood news is devoured, migrant labourers from Bihar have begun coming in, and politicians are learning Hindi to be able to make an impact in Delhi.

Tamils began protesting against Hindi as early as 1938. The Congress Party, which had come to power in the then Madras Presidency under C. Rajagopalachari, had made Hindi compulsory in schools. Tamils saw this as a cultural invasion that could render their mother tongue a secondary language on their own territory. There was a burst of protests, forcing the government to withdraw its order. Over the next decade, the Congress would try to impose Hindi several times, each time facing a bigger groundswell of protests.

The campaign against compulsory Hindi quickly became a political issue. The protests were led by E V Ramaswamy Naicker (known as Periyar) who had ironically given out his house just 16 years earlier to start a Hindi teacher training college. But by 1938, he had become a separatist, convinced that the South Indian “Dravidians” should form their own nation and get Purna Swaraj from “Aryan” conspirators.

The agitation was mainly sustained by students. One such man was Muthuvel Karunanidhi, who at the age of 14 showed a genius for organisation. As the protests raged year after year, the political careers of Karunanidhi and his mentor C N Annadurai blossomed. Soon after independence, they started a party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, promoting Tamil nationalism. Their propaganda made the Congress Party look like a Brahmins’ party seeking to impose Hindi, Hindu supremacy and caste hierarchies on the secular Tamil national identity.

The flashpoint came on January 26, 1965. The day marked the completion of 15 years of the Constitution, which provided for removing the use of English and making Hindi the sole official language of the Union. Central government offices across the state had their boards blackened by tar. Protests brought life to a standstill. Scores of young people set themselves ablaze and died in the cause of Tamil. The police couldn’t control the agitation. The army came in but failed too.

It was then the Centre made the historic decision to continue with English as an official language. Tamil Nadu, till today, follows the two-language system with Tamil and English. If we are an English-speaking nation today, thank the Tamil protesters for it.

The Congress lost power in Tamil Nadu in 1967. Annadurai and later Karunanidhi became chief ministers. The protests entrenched the Dravidian parties so deeply that Congress hasn’t been able to come back to power till today. This is a story of great inspiration for any regional politician seeking to consolidate his constituency and drive out national parties.

Meanwhile, the Hindi Prachar Sabha is quite busy. As many as 600,000 students appear for its exams in Tamil Nadu each year, a number that is growing at 20 percent. In 1965, at the height of anti-Hindi protests, the number was less than 20,000. “The anti-Hindi agitation basically did our job. It raised curiosity among the people and brought them to us,” says Annamalai.

Sourced from here

Link is this

Nice ads

2010-02-19T09:27:00.000-08:00

Alpenliebe Creamfills.... a nice advertisement. An adv which easily reflects the surprise found in the toffy

The next two defines the silkiness of the chocolate...
Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk

Indian Missile Claims

2010-02-19T09:17:00.000-08:00

Beijing's dismissal of the DRDO's claims that its missile technology is superior to that of China might provoke knee-jerk patriotism in Delhi. But no one in the world disputes that China is way ahead of India in missilery and military uses of space.

By transferring missiles and their production technology, China has also put Pakistan ahead of India. Instead of acknowledging the reality and redoubling the effort to catch up, the DRDO is making extravagant claims. Take, for example, its head V.K. Saraswat's claim that the Agni-III, with its 3000 km range, is ready for "induction" by the services.

A weapons system inducted after just four tests including one failure? This is the kind of sanctimonious self-congratulation that the DRDO has doled out for decades. Because they wrap themselves in the flag, we are not supposed to ask questions, only clap. Saraswat has claimed that "there is no need to produce and store missiles in today's world". Really? China has more than 1000 missiles pointed at Taiwan; and is producing and deploying missiles in scores every year.

This could be ignored but for the fact that it has begun to create diplomatic problems for India. Take the claim that India is developing anti-satellite weapons. Here he is talking about a weapon system that does not exist; and the Chinese have conducted ASAT weapon tests in 2007 and 2010 without making any claims in advance. Did he have the political clearance to say this?

Did he consult the foreign office which is campaigning in Geneva against an "arms race" in outer space? Even bolder is talk of targets for Agni-III in China and Pakistan. Since when has it become the DRDO's responsibility to decide on nuclear targeting? One had assumed that was the job of the nuclear command authority under the prime minister.

Meanwhile, the ministry of defence appears to have no oversight of the DRDO and the minister, A.K. Antony, seems out of the loop. Speaking at a conference in Delhi last week, Antony thundered against the "militarisation of space". Has anyone informed the poor minister that space has been "militarised" for decades? The international debate today is about deploying weapons in space.

While the minister of defence makes banal statements, his scientific adviser is boasting about space weapons. Why Delhi, which claims to be a responsible nuclear power, allows this dangerous drift at the MOD and DRDO is one of those known unknowns in Delhi.

Source: The Indian Express

The political ploy over Bt Brinjal

2010-02-16T03:39:00.000-08:00

If a public debate ended in a near-ban on Bt brinjal, the next review could well end up the other way, says A K Bhattacharya.

Non-governmental organisations have been celebrating ever since Environment and Forest Minister Jairam Ramesh announced a moratorium on the commercial use of Bt brinjal in India .

Bt brinjal, a genetically modified vegetable, had been developed to make it resistant to attacks by the most common variety of pests, thereby raising prospects of its increased output without any associated costs usually incurred on pesticides.

While most government scientists endorsed the genetically modified variety of the vegetable and even the Genetic Engineering and Appraisal Committee (GEAC), a government body, approved its use, several NGOs had voiced their concern over safety.

In a remarkable display of strength and well-orchestrated campaigns, NGOs staged protest rallies across the country and made their views known to Ramesh at the many public hearings the minister held to review, the GEAC decision to allow commercial use of Bt brinjal.

Views of most scientists from the Department of Biotechnology and the Indian Council of Agriculture Research were set aside. Also ignored were the views of the agriculture minister, the science and technology minister and the human resources development minister.

Not surprisingly, therefore, NGOs are celebrating their victory in their battle against Bt brinjal. Ramesh's decision to place a moratorium on commercialisation of Bt brinjal, they point out, is nothing but a step away from a ban on its use.

That is significant. Mind you, the moratorium is only a step away from a ban. It is not yet a ban. NGOs may not have fully realised the implications of what Ramesh has achieved in the last six weeks of public hearings and consultation with a host of civil society groups, activists, scientists and NGO representatives.

This is what a democratic government ought to do! A government body had cleared the use of Bt brinjal. If a minister had to reject that finding, he was required to hold public consultation and use his conclusions from those public hearings to put the use of that technology on hold. This is exactly what Ramesh did.

If NGOs are celebrating today, they should recognise that Ramesh can use the same instrument of public consultation to take another decision a few months later that may not necessarily agree with their viewpoint on Bt brinjal.

If Ramesh is now a paragon of correct behaviour and NGOs are complimenting him for his transparent and democratic style of functioning, they should not sulk when Ramesh revises his and the government's stance on Bt brinjal after subjecting the technology to another review.

Indeed, the minister has stated that there would be further tests in more reliable laboratories and the regulatory system would be strengthened. Moreover, there are indications that the Bt brinjal issue might be discussed either in Parliament or at a meeting of the National Development Council. Who knows, the government's final stand on Bt brinjal may undergo a change after this exercise.

NGOs should note that subscribing to the idea of a democratic decision-making process can be a double-edged sword. Participants in the debate should be prepared to welcome whatever be the final decision. It is like taking part in an election. If you win, celebrations are in order. But if you lose, accept the verdict and cannot cry foul.

This is precisely how the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government under Manmohan Singh has been trying to tackle knotty policy issues. Bt brinjal is one such example.

The other example is the question of removing subsidies on petroleum products. Last year, the UPA leadership had asked Kirit Parikh, who was then a member of the Planning Commission, to recommend what measures needed to be taken to relieve the government of its subsidies burden on account of the oil sector.

About a fortnight ago, the Parikh Committee submitted its recommendations on how the government could link its petroleum product prices to the market. If the government were to accept these recommendations, prices of petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas would go up by varying margins.

Petroleum product prices have always been a political issue in India. Even as the Union Cabinet examined the recommendations of the Parikh Committee, opposition political parties, including the Left, decided to oppose any move to raise prices.

Even the Trinamool Congress , a partner of the UPA, threatened the government with protest rallies against any move to increase petroleum product prices.

Last Sunday, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora was closeted with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and examined the implications of the Parikh Committee's recommendations.

The administrative issues with regard to the proposal for an increase in petroleum product prices have been resolved by now. What remains to be tackled now is to bring round the political leadership both within the UPA and outside.

Opposition political parties and even UPA partners may feel good that their voices are being heard. But this is a classic case of political management of a tricky issue of raising prices.

By involving different stakeholders in the decision- making process and prolonging the discussion with political parties on the imperatives of an increase in petroleum product prices, the UPA government is only ensuring a safe and secure implementation of its decision.

Like in the Bt brinjal case, there may be a moratorium on a petroleum product price hike for a few days or a few weeks. But at the end of reviews and consultation, the government will take a decision that it wants to take.

Sourced from http://www.business-standard.com/

Why we need Bt Brinjal (Baingan Tadka)

2010-02-01T04:16:00.000-08:00

“One step for man; one giant leap for mankind”.

Great quote which creatively resonates with the expansion of human adventures. We are great explorers thanks to our never ending quest for exploration – craving for unknown.

Starting from being the chimps who wanted to explore their surroundings, we have come to the extent of being present on every inch of this lovely planet. We have explored the outer universe and still trying to figure out what lies beneath us. We just know the depth we need to explore, but not its extent. We are even exploring the avenues and the methods to bring into us the qualities of living beings surrounding us. First we experimented with “Life After Death” for our beloved sheep – Dolly was the new name. Next we thought to get into experimenting bringing cross cultivation, by mixing genes of two different species. The only hindrance to this was the objection by governments against human trials. But now we have taken the detour to do this with plants. We are slowly progressing in imbibing qualities of other living organisms into us. We are bringing ONENESS to its truth.

All the living beings require staying together for mutual benefit. Now we have started exploring this option. We wanted to bring in the “Bacillus thuringiensis”, so we developed the Bt Brinjal. Actually the word Bt stands for “Bacillus thuringiensis”, which is a soil bacteria, and hence the BT Brinjal is actually the normal Brinjal, with an additional gene from the Bt bacteria, which produces Bt protein. This new Brinjal was researched on by Mahyco (Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company) and is promoted by University of Agriculture Sciences, Dharwad, and Tamil Nadu Agriculture University, Coimbatore. Now the genes of this little bacterium can freely integrate with our body. Totally unrestricted and unaffected by our immune system. This is true bio-diversity integration.

We can definitely neglect the reports of soil infertility due to using Bt Cotton, animals dying by eating the Bt crops, fauna extinction. We the Indians are the super powers of the next generation. We need to prove to the whole world that we can be the best “guinea pigs” available on earth. Why go anywhere else, Indian soil and its inhabitants are the best test objects. We have the out of the world immunity power which can thwart off any bacterial or viral attack from inside our body.

Why stop at “Bacillus thuringiensis”, check the mutation with the hepatitis virus, or AIDS virus, with these viruses as part of our body, we will enhance our capabilities against these diseases. Then India will be the only AIDS free nation in the world. Even tough the western companies initially will conduct extensive trials with their proven medications and procedures; they won’t succeed in selling those drugs in Indian markets as we will be the AIDS resistant human species. All their money will be lost at treating the guinea pigs of India.

On the future developments front, we have very bright prospects for the Indian companies. We should stop at nothing and start integrating the genes which will build up our antennae like cockroaches, create highly sensitive nose like dog, eating machine like pigs which can survive on any shit.

HAIL, INDIA!!!

HAIL, OUR POLITICIANS!!!

You can read the following articles to get the latest update

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/not-so-scientific-bt-brinjal-report-full-of-errors/109519-11.html

One more news, we can have genetically modified forests too. And this time USA doesn’t want to stay behind, so they will experiment with forests.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=eucalyptus-genetically-modified-pine-tree-southwest-forest

asato ma sadgamaya

2010-01-27T22:16:00.000-08:00

asato ma sadgamaya
tamaso ma jyotirgamaya
mrtyorma amrtam gamaya

Lead me from the asat to the sat.
Lead me from darkness to light.
Lead me from death to immortality.

(Brhadaranyaka Upanishad — I.iii.28)

This is true prayer—the seeker’s admission of his sense of limitedness and his heartfelt cry for assistance in transcendence. It is not a prayer for the things of the world. It is not a pray for food, shelter, health, partnership, riches, success, fame, glory or even for heaven1. One who recites these three mantras has realized that such things are full of holes, soaked in pain and, even in abundance, will forever leave him wanting. It is in this full understanding that one turns to this prayer. The essence of each of these three mantras is the same: "O, Guru, help me free myself from my sundry misunderstandings regarding myself, the universe and God and bless me with true knowledge."

The first mantra—asato ma sadgamaya—means, "Lead me from the asat to the sat." In fact, it is best to not translate sat (nor its negative counterpart asat) for, as with many Sanskrit words, sat has many meanings and not only are most of them applicable here, their deliberate combined import provides a depth that no one of them could hold independently. These co-applicable meanings include: existence, reality and truth. (Co-applicable meanings for asat being: non-existence, non-reality and untruth.)

We often speak of religion or philosophy as a search for Truth. But only in India’s philosophy of Advaita Vedanta has the concept of "truth" been so meticulously and successfully dissected. According to Advaita, for something to be considered true in the ultimate sense, it must be true not just at one given moment, but always be true—true in all three periods of time: the past, present and future. In fact, Advaita goes one step further. It says if something does not exist in all three periods of time that it does not truly exist, it is not ultimately real. Thus, truth, existence and reality are one and the same. That reality, Vedanta says, is what we call God.

The universe and its things are in a constant state of change. The planets are in constant motion, their positions in relation to each other and the other astral bodies are in continuous flux. The seasons similarly are ever-shifting. Scientifically, we can easily understand that our bodies (and the cells within them) come into existence, are born and then go through periods of growth, sustenance, deterioration and death. In fact these six modifications are part-and-parcel of everything in creation. On the level of emotions, we move back and forth between happiness, sorrow and anger. Even our intellectual convictions rarely stay fixed for very long. So, according to Vedanta, we cannot call this world ultimately real. It is not ultimately true. Ultimately, it does not exist. It seems real etc. but it is not. Such a thing is called asat.

The second mantra—tamaso ma jyotirgamaya—means "Lead me from darkness to light." When the Vedas refer to darkness and light, they mean ignorance and knowledge, respectfully. This is so because ignorance, like darkness, obscures true understanding. And in the same way that the only remedy for darkness is light, the only remedy for ignorance is knowledge. The knowledge spoken of here is again the knowledge of one’s true nature.

Currently, in the darkness of our ignorance, we believe ourselves to be bound and limited (otherwise we would not be reciting these mantras in the first place). But the Guru and the scriptures are telling us that, in truth, we are not, never will be and never have been bound. Eternally we sat-cit-ananda. The only thing that can remove our ignorance regarding our true nature is a spiritual education at the hands of a True Master like Amma. At the culmination of such an education, light floods the room, as it were; darkness vanishes.

The final mantra—mrtyorma amrtam gamaya—means: "Lead me from death to immortality." This should not be taken as a prayer to live endless years in heaven or on earth. It is a prayer to the Guru for assistance in realizing the truth that "I was never born, nor can ever die, as I am not the body, mind and intellect, but the eternal, blissful consciousness that serves as the substratum of all creation."

It is important to remember that, with all these mantras, the leading is not a physical leading. The Atma is not something far away that we have to make a pilgrimage to, nor is it something we need to transform ourselves into. Atma means "self." We don’t need to transform our self into our self. Nor do we need to travel to it. We are it. The journey is a journey of knowledge. It is journey from what we misunderstand to be our self to what truly is our self. What the mantras really means is "Lead me to the understanding that I am not the limited body, mind and intellect, but am, was and always will be that eternal, absolute, blissful consciousness that serves as their substratum."

Once, when discussing these mantras, Amma said the first step in attaining the knowledge for which one is praying when they chant these mantras is satsang: listening to spiritual talks, reading spiritual books and being in the company of spiritual seekers and, of most importantly, spiritual masters. "We need to continuously be fed the knowledge that our true nature is the Atma and not the body mind and intellect," Amma said. Through satsang, our attachment to the asat gradually lessens. "Slowly as you understand that everything in the world—all worldly relationship, all worldly things—are ever-changing an impermanent, your attitude towards the world changes. We gain detachment." As we become more and more detached, our desires also naturally decrease, because we know that the things of the world are impermanent and cannot bring us lasting happiness. As the desires decrease, the mind becomes less and less agitated. It obtains serenity, stillness, peace. Then, with this stilled, subtle, penetrating mind we can finally come to realize our true nature.

Caste System in Historical India

2010-01-19T10:03:00.000-08:00

Sourced from here and here

An elaborate detailed talk by the historian Sri D. K. Hari, was an eye opener on the knowledge of Caste system, its true intention and form, and its current situation. The brief of talk is present here.

In the modern political view of India, the very word Caste is looked at as controversial. The word Caste was brought on India by the Portuguese with their term"Casta". The term "caste system" is of British colonial creation and was first used in 1871 census in India.

Varna and Jathi:

From time immemorial we have been having the societal division concept through Varna and Jathi. This concept of Varna and Jathi were combined and transformed into caste system by the colonial British administrators for their administrative nomenclature and classification.

What do you understand by Varna? Many people think of it as color of the skin. Though it does mean color, it was not used for what is the division of people in the society based on color.

The word Varna is etymologically from Var meaning "to choose". There are four Varna in India. They being:

Brahmana, Vaishya, Kshatriya, Sudra

As the word Varna suggests it is to choose ones way of life among these 4 primary streams.

Under or inside the Varna is the concept of Jathi. Jathi stands for trade guilds, stock, variety. It also refers to species or nation. These two concepts of division of labour in society based on choice attitude and aptitude of the individuals practiced from ancient and medieval India was summarily clubbed as caste by British colonial administrators.

The Four Varnas were not by birth, but by choice. A parson from any Jathi was allowed to take the task in one of the four Varnas. There are ample examples of Rishis who were initially fishermen, robbers and so on, thus from any Jathi a person could become Brahmana, based on his skills and knowledge.

There have been many kings who were from various Jathi, based on their valour.

There have been many businessmen based on their negotiation skills, not based on the birth.

Sudra doesn't refer to the lowest, it refers to the tasks which are logistics oriented. People choosing Sudra varna could manage irrigation system, for example. And an irrigation system was by no means less important than defence or army, and India being farmers' country the irrigation system was its backbone.

The importance of various varnas, and the power in the society the people following certain varna has always been fluctuating, and not given to one Varna. E.g. the Kshatriyas would be very important in war time, where as Vaishyas would be important in peace time, for bringing prosperity to the country by good trade. Brahmanas would be very important when everything is prosperous, as the human beings would seek the knowledge of divine, and Sudras would be important when festivities are to be organized, huge crop harvesting and transport is to be managed.

Migration:

The caste system of India was not tightly bound but had the concept of migration from one caste to another in built based on the occasion of the individual person. Most of the great Rishi, the Vedic scholars and the other great scholars of the Indian civilisation were born in the Sudra varna and because of their abilities and realisation migrated to become Brahmana.

Kings of Bharath:

Most of the kings of India also belong to the Sudra Varna and because of their kingship became Kshatriya. This migration was a recognised aspect of the IndianVarna system.

Caste Stratification:

It is in the medieval period during the onslaught and later in the colonial period the caste stratification took place which led to the debacle and down slide of India.

Caste – a pan religious reality:

The horrors of caste are not limited to the Hindus alone . The Indian Christians also the practice of caste system very rigidly. They have segregated churches, segregated cemeteries, segregated services, segregated processions.

The Muslims also have practiced the caste system in India with Azraf being the noble and the Arzal being the degraded. The Mayazur are the low caste bonded labour in Pakistan.

Even among the Sikhs the caste does exist in reality as the Jat Sikh and the Chamar Sikh.

From this it is clear that the concept of caste is not just in the Hindu religion but it is a pan religious reality of India.

Social leaders:

Various social leaders of India whose names are noble and endless have worked tiredlessly to abolish or mitigate the horrors and stratification of caste whenever it has reared its ugly head in the society.

Colonial wreak:

The colonial rule in India wreaked the economy of the land. Probably the most affected by the colonial rule were the Sudra whose property, education, vocation and stature were snatched away from them by the British administrators.

Change adapt:

Today, as India is progressing we see a cycle of changes happening. With these changes, the Jathi Varna concept of India needs to adapt itself. This concept held the fabric of the Indian society in its progress for many thousand years.

Realisation:

The realisation that should come now in us, is that the 3 upper castes namely Brahmin, Kshatriya and Vaisya should realise that they all belong to the common stock of people and due to opportunities and historical reasons they are better off socially now. The above 3 castes are of the same genetic stock as the Sudra. They belong to the same land, same society, and have all been one through the ages. This realisation should enthuse these three castes to take a concrete effort by themselves in uplifting the Sudra brotheren through positive effort.

Wherever the Chaturvarna system started, there may have been some reason for its introduction. This article investigates such possible reason and usefulness of Varna in the light of division of labor for complete progress of society.

In any work there are two types of activities involved – Physical Activity and Mental Activity. In society, there are people who preferably opt for a high or low of either type of activity. Let's look at the Varna system from the requirements of the activity in each:-

Varna	Physical Activity (in terms of outdoor work)	Mental Activity (in terms of thinking planning Analysis)	Skills needed
Khatriya – Defense	High	High	Agility of body and constant analysis of politics
Vaisya – Trade	Low	High	Skillful decisions and good negotiation skills needed
Sudra – Logistics ss	High	Low	High Physical robustne
Brahmin – Teachers	Low	Low	Steadiness of mind

This table shows that according to the body – mind type of a person, only certain activities can be suitable to that person. E.g., if someone is highly involved in physical activities, he or she may not be interested to sit at one place and perform chantings and give teachings. Someone who is not physically fit, cannot take up challenge of defending the nation.

If you look at the tasks required to run a nation, it will also broadly fall in the four categories:-

Defense from enemies – internal or external;

Trade for prosperity and exchange of products- again internal and to the other nations;

Logistics management in the entire country;

Teaching of values, learning from past experiences.

Other way to see its importance is, if either of any of these categories fails, the country cannot survive – A security breach can be dangerous to the country. Lack of proper trade brings down the economy. In any war hit area, the opposing nation first hits the logistics, like roads, water channels, modes of transport and so on. The moment Teachers are not skilled, the knowledge transfer from one generation to the next generation doesn't happen.

Antariksh Vijayvargiya

it comes back....

2009-07-31T00:05:00.000-07:00

If you love something, set it free.
If it comes back, it was, and always will be yours.
If it never returns, it was never yours to begin with.
If it just sits in your room, messes up your stuff, eats your food, uses your phone, takes your money, and never behaves as if you actually set it free in the first place, you either married it or gave birth to it.

Hast Mudra for HEALTH

2009-02-01T21:51:00.000-08:00

Health in Your Hand: Seven Mudras for Amazing Health Benefits

Mudras are very powerful. If you practice these Mudras regularly you can see the wonderful health benefits.

1. Gyan Mudra (Mudra of Knowledge):

Method:
Touch the tip of the thumb to the tip of the index finger, with the other three fingers stretched out.
Specialty:
As it is a Mudra of knowledge, it enhances the knowledge. The tip of thumb has centers of pituitary and endocrine glands. When we press these centers by index finger the two glands work actively.
Time duration:
There is no particular time duration for this Mudra. You can practice by sitting, standing or lying on bed whenever and wherever you have time.
Benefits:
o Increases memory power and sharpens the brain
o Enhances concentration and prevents Insomnia
o If we practice it regularly, it will cure all psychological disorders like Mental, Hysteria, Anger and Depression

2. Prithvi Mudra (Mudra of Earth):

Method:
Tip of the ring finger touches the tip of the thumb, with the other three fingers stretched out.
Specialty:
It reduces all physical weaknesses.
Time Duration:
It has no particular time duration. You can practice it any time you want.
Benefits:
o It helps to increase the weight for weak people
o It improves the complexion of skin and makes the skin to glow
o It makes the body active by keeping it healthy

3. Varuna Mudra (Mudra of Water):

Method:
Tip of little finger touches the tip of thumb, with the other three fingers stretched out.
Specialty:
It balances the water content and prevents all diseases which come due to lack of water.
Time Duration:
It has no specific time duration and one can practice it according to their time.
Benefits:
o It retains clarity in blood by balancing water content in the body
o Prevents the pains of Gastroenteritis and Muscle Shrinkage

4. Vayu Mudra (Mudra of Air):

Method:
Keep the index finger on the base of the thumb and press with thumb keeping the other three fingers straight.
Specialty:
It prevents all the diseases that occur due to the imbalance of the air.
Time Duration:
The practice of this mudra for 45 minutes reduces the severity of the disease in 12 to 24 hours. For better results practice it for two months.
Benefits:
o It cures Rheumatism, Arthritis, Gout, Parkinson's disease and paralysis without any medicine
o It is useful for Cervical Spondilytis, paralysis to face and catching of nerve in neck
o It corrects the disorder of gas in the stomach

5. Shunya Mudra (Mudra of Emptiness):

Method:
Keep the middle finger at the mount of Venus and press it with thumb.
Specialty:
It reduces the dullness in our body.
Time Duration:
One can practice it for 40 to 60 minutes daily until to be cured from the disease.
Benefits:
o It relieves an earache within 4 or 5 minutes
o It is useful for the deaf and mentally challenged, but not for inborn ones.

6. Surya Mudra (Mudra of Sun):

Method:
Bend the ring finger and press it with thumb.
Specialty:
It sharpens the center in thyroid gland.
Time Duration:
Practice it daily twice for 5 to 15 minutes.
Benefits:
o It reduces cholesterol in body and helps in reducing weight
o It reduces anxiety
o It corrects indigestion problems

7. Prana Mudra (Mudra of Life):

Method:
Bend ring finger and little finger and touch the tip of thumb with their tips keeping the remaining two fingers stretched.
Specialty:
As it is the Mudra of life, it improves the power of life. Weak people become strong. It reduces the clamps in blood vessels. If we practice it regularly, we will become active.
Time Duration:
No specific time duration. One can practice it any time.
Benefits:
o It improves immunity
o Improves the power of eyes and reduces eye related diseases
o It removes the vitamin deficiency and fatigue

8. Apana Mudra (Mudra of Digestion):

Method:
The tips of middle finger and ring finger touch the tip of thumb while the other two fingers are stretched out.
Specialty:
It plays an important role in our health as it regulates the excretory system.
Time Duration:
Practice it daily for 45 minutes, but practice for longer time yields more benefits.
Benefits:
o It regulates diabetes
o It cures constipation and piles
o It helps excreting the normal waste regularly

9. Apana Vayu Mudra (Mudra of Heart):

Method:
The tips of the middle finger and ring finger touch the tip of thumb, while the index finger touches the base of thumb and little finger stretched out.
Specialty:
It benefits the heart. It works like injection in the reduction of heart attack. It is as powerful as sorbitate tablet. It reduces the gas content in body.
Time Duration:
Practice it as many times as you can. Heart patients and BP patients can practice it for 15 minutes daily twice for better results.
Benefits:
o It strengthens the heart and regularizes palpitation
o It regulates excretory system
o It redeems gastric trouble

10. Linga Mudra (Mudra of Heat):

Method:
Interlock the fingers of both the hands and keep the thumb of the left hand vertically straight and encircle it with the thumb and the index finger of the right hand..
Specialty:
It generates heat in our body. Take milk, ghee, more water and fruit juices in addition to practice of this mudra for much benefits.
Time Duration:
Practice it any time you want. But don't practice it a lot as it produces heat in the body.. It can cause sweating even in winter if you practice it longer.
Benefits:
o It stops production of phlegm and gives power to lungs
o It cures severe cold and bronchial infection
o It invigorates the body
It is amazing but true. If you want to see the results, start today!

S/w Engg Prob: Font problem

2009-01-28T06:09:00.000-08:00

There are times when you need to use ListView in your tool to display things. And also you may need all the strings being displayed, should be properly formatted in display i.e all the columns of the strings should be proper.

Tip: use “Courier New” font for display. The default is “Microsoft Sans Serif”.

This way all the rendering in the listview shall be proper and good to “see”.

Mitrata

2009-01-20T02:25:00.000-08:00

This was the simBly the funniest incident happened to me in recent time.

It was this weekend “Sunday” when I and my friend were wandering in search of a flat for him and his to be wife. We drifted for around 6 hours, searching for one and finally finalized one of the selections. We were damn tired and thought that we should have dinner at my place and then he should go. For dinner we thought, why don’t we catch up with some movie? Both of us hadn’t watched Dostana and we weren’t in the mood to watch the pirated movie and instead thought of buying an original CD. We went to the “Total Mall” near my place to buy the CD. There instead of just buying the CD we bought a VIP skybag for him, and then when we searched for the CD it was no-where to be found. We inquired and got to know that they don’t keep the movie cd’s with them.

Well then that was it. And we thought maybe we can skip the movie thing and probably just have dinner and let it go. So after paying the bill, we were coming down and then we spotted the “Music World” shop. For those who don’t know, it’s a shop which has lots of cd’s and books available. Well we thought maybe this was our chance to get a hold of the CD. We entered the shop with all our luggage and with whole hearted anticipation of finally getting the glimpse of the movie, holding the “Sacred CD” (pun intended). But we didn’t find it.

And then!!!!!

We asked the shop-keeper: “Do you have Dostana?”.

And,,,,

He just smiled, with the tinkle in his eyes of seeing the real Dostana with his own eyes.

Innovation the Japanese way!

2009-01-06T02:07:00.000-08:00

We do need simple solutions but they've got to be ingenious too.

The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste of stale fish.

To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish. The frozen fish brought a lower price. So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive. Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish.

So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem?

Here's what they did:

The Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they added a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are active and challenged.

Have you realized that some of us are also living in a pond but most of the time tired & dull, so we need a Shark in our life to keep us awake and moving? Basically in our lives Sharks are new challenges to keep us active and taste better...

Sometimes it could be your BOSS!

The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you enjoy a challenge .

Excellence

2008-12-30T00:11:00.000-08:00

A man once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you need two statues of the same idol?" "No," said the sculptor without looking up, "We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage." The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. "Where is the damage?" he asked. "There is a scratch on the nose of the idol." said the sculptor, still busy with his work. "Where are you going to install the idol?" The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. "If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?" the gentleman asked.

The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, "I will know it."

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not.

"Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside.

Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and excellence.

This is how we miss out something called "LIFE"

2008-12-28T23:27:00.000-08:00

THIS IS HOW WE MISS OUT SOMETHING CALLED "LIFE"

A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and the boy was the gem of their eyes. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for office so he asked his wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard. His wife, preoccupied in the kitchen totally forgot the matter. The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the
bottle fascinated by its color and drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages. When the child
collapsed the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was stunned. She was terrified how to face her husband. When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just five words.

QUESTIONS :

1. What were the five words ?

2. What is the implication of this story?

ANSWER :

The husband just said "I am with you Darling"

The husband's totally unexpected reaction is a proactive behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point
in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he had taken time to keep the bottle away, this would not have happened.. No one is to be blamed. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.

If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be much fewer problems in the world. "A journey of a thousand miles
begins with a single step". Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears. And you will find things are
actually not as difficult as you think.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

This story is really worth reading. ..... Sometimes we spend time in asking who is responsible or whom to blame, whether in a relationship,
in a job or with the people we know.
By this way we miss out something called L.I.F.E

My first intraceptive

2008-10-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: This is just a forward mail I received and bears no resemblance to the sender. Also I expect the audience to be matured enough J

MY FIRST C0ND0M:

I recall my first time with a condom, I was 16 or so. I went in to buy a packet of condoms at the pharmacy. There was this beautiful woman assistant behind the counter, and she could see that I was new at it. She handed me the package and asked if I knew how to wear one. I honestly answered, 'No, this is my first time.' So she unwrapped the package, took one out and slipped it over her thumb. She cautioned me to make sure it was on tight and secure. I apparently still looked confused. So she looked all around the store to see if it was empty. It was empty. 'Just a minute,' she said, and walked to the door, and locked it.

Taking my hand, she led me into the back room, unbuttoned her blouse and removed it. She unhooked Her bra and laid it aside. 'Do these excite you?' She asked. Well, I was so dumb-struck that all I could do Was nod my head. She then said it was time to slip the condom on.

As I was slipping it on, she dropped her skirt, removed her panties and lay down on a desk. 'Well, come on', she said, 'We don't have much time.'

So I climbed on her. It was so wonderful, that unfortunately, I could no longer hold back and KAPOW, I was done within a few minutes. She looked at me with a bit of a frown. 'Did you put that condom on?' she asked. I said, 'I sure did,' and held up my thumb to show her.

She fainted !!!

Some good advice

2008-10-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

The heart is always right—if there's a question of choosing between the mind and the heart—because mind is a creation of the society. It has been educated. You have been given it by the society, not by existence.

The heart is unpolluted.

Who is HINDU?

2008-10-11T01:14:00.000-07:00

Got this article in mail. Interesting though!

Am I a Hindu?

Four years ago, I was flying from JFK NY Airport to SFO to attend a meeting at Monterey, CA. An American girl was sitting on the right side, near window seat. It indeed was a long journey - it would take nearly seven hours!

I was surprised to see the young girl reading a Bible - unusual of young Americans! (Later I came to know that September 11 has changed mind-set of lot of US citizens. They suddenly turned religious, it seemed.) After some time she smiled and we had few acquaintances talk. I told her that I am from India.

Then suddenly the girl asked: 'What's your faith?'

'What?' I didn't understand the question. 'I mean, what's your religion? Are you a Christian? Or a Muslim?'

'No!' I replied, 'I am neither Christian nor Muslim'.

Apparently she appeared shocked to listen to that. 'Then who are you...?'

'I am a Hindu', I said. She looked at me as if she is seeing a caged animal. She could not understand what I was talking about.

A common man in Europe or US knows about Christianity and Islam, as they are the leading religions of the world today.

But a Hindu, what?

I explained to her - I am born to a Hindu father and Hindu mother. Therefore, I am a Hindu by birth.

'Who is your prophet?' she asked.

'We don't have a prophet,' I replied.

'What's your Holy Book?'

'We don't have a single Holy Book, but we have hundreds and thousands of philosophical and sacred scriptures,' I replied.

'Oh, come on...at least tell me who is your God?'

'What do you mean by that?'

'Like we have Yahweh and Muslims have Allah - don't you have a

God?'

I thought for a moment. Muslims and Christians believe one God (Male God) who created the world and takes an interest in the humans who inhabit it. Her mind is conditioned with that kind of belief.

According to her (or anybody who doesn't know about Hinduism), a religion need to have one Prophet, one Holy book and one God. The mind is so conditioned and rigidly narrowed down to such a notion that anything else is not acceptable. I understood her perception and concept about faith. You can't compare Hinduism with any of the present leading religions where you have to believe in one concept of god.

I tried to explain to her 'You can believe in one god and he can be a Hindu. You may believe in multiple deities and still you can be a Hindu. What's more - you may not believe in god at all, still you can be a Hindu. An atheist can also be a Hindu.'

This sounded very crazy to her. She couldn't imagine a religion so unorganized, still surviving for thousands of years, even after onslaught from foreign forces.

'I don't understand...but it seems very interesting. Are you religious?'

What can I tell to this American girl?

I said: 'I do not go to temple regularly. I do not make any regular rituals. I have learned some of the rituals in my younger days. I still enjoy doing it sometimes.'

'Enjoy? Are you not afraid of God?'

'God is a friend. No- I am not afraid of God. Nobody has made any compulsions on me to perform these rituals regularly.'

She thought for a while and then asked: 'Have you ever thought of converting to any other religion?'

'Why should I? Even if I challenge some of the rituals and faith in Hinduism, nobody can convert me from Hinduism. Because, being a Hindu allows me to think independently and objectively, without conditioning... I remain as a Hindu never by force, but choice.' I told her that Hinduism is not a religion, but a set of beliefs and practices. It is not a religion like Christianity or Islam because it is not founded by any one person or does not have an organized controlling body like the Church or the Order, I added. There is no institution or authority.

'So, you don't believe in God?' she wanted everything in black and white.

'I didn't say that. I do not discard the divine reality. Our scripture, or Sruthis or Smrithis - Vedas and Upanishads or the Gita - say God might be there or he might not be there. But we pray to that supreme abstract authority (Para Brahma) that is the creator of this universe.'

'Why can't you believe in one personal God?'

'We have a concept - abstract - not a personal god. The concept or notion of a personal God, hiding behind the clouds of secrecy, telling us irrational stories through few men whom he sends as messengers, demanding us to worship him or punish us, does not make sense. I don't think that God is as silly as an autocratic emperor who wants others to respect him or fear him.' I told her that such notions are just fancies of less educated human imagination and fallacies, adding that generally ethnic religious practitioners in Hinduism believe in personal gods. The entry level Hinduism has over-whelming superstitions too. The philosophical side of Hinduism negates all superstitions.

'Good that you agree God might exist. You told that you pray. What is your prayer then?'

'Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavantu. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.'

'Funny,' she laughed, 'What does it mean?'

'May all the beings in all the worlds be happy. Om Peace, Peace,

Peace.'

'Hmm...very interesting. I want to learn more about this religion. It is so democratic, broad-minded and free...' she exclaimed.

'The fact is Hinduism is a religion of the individual, for the individual and by the individual with its roots in the Vedas and the Bhagavad-Gita. It is all about an individual approaching a personal God in an individual way according to his temperament and inner evolution - it is as simple as that.'

'How does anybody convert to Hinduism?'

'Nobody can convert you to Hinduism, because it is not a religion, but a set of beliefs and practices. Everything is acceptable in Hinduism because there is no single authority or organization either to accept it or to reject it or to oppose it on behalf of Hinduism.' I told her - if you look for meaning in life, don't look for it in religions; don't go from one cult to another or from one guru to the next.

For a real seeker, I told her, Bible itself gives guidelines when it says 'Kingdom of God is within you.' I reminded her of Christ's teaching about the love that we have for each other. That is where you can find the meaning of life. Loving each and every creation of the God is absolute and real.

'Isavasyam idam sarvam' Isam (the God) is present (inhabits) here everywhere - nothing exists separate from the God, because God is present everywhere. Respect every living being and non-living things as God. That's what Hinduism teaches you.

Hinduism is referred to as Sanathana Dharma, the eternal faith. It is based on the practice of Dharma, the code of life. The most important aspect of Hinduism is being truthful to oneself. Hinduism has no monopoly on ideas. It is open to all. Hindus believe in one God (not a personal one) expressed in different forms. For them, God is timeless and formless entity.

Ancestors of today's Hindus believe in eternal truths and cosmic laws and these truths are opened to anyone who seeks them. But there is a section of Hindus who are either superstitious or turned fanatic to make this an organized religion like others. The British coin the word 'Hindu' and considered it as a religion.

I said: 'Religions have become an MLM (multi-level- marketing) industry that has been trying to expand the market share by conversion. The biggest business in today's world is Spirituality. Hinduism is no exception...'

I am a Hindu because it doesn't condition my mind with any faith system.

How simply he explained the concept of HINDUISM, a way of living a life...

Life is.......

2008-10-10T02:38:00.000-07:00

“Leaving the house in the morning,

Dressed in clothes that you bought on credit card for work,

Driving through the traffic in a car that you are still paying for,

Putting in petrol that you cannot afford,

In order to get to the job that you hate,

But need it so badly so that you can pay for the clothes, car, petrol and the house that you leave empty the whole day, in order to live in it”

Everyone is special

2008-09-29T03:55:00.000-07:00

Walking on the road, you pass so many people. Some look confident, purposeful, well-dressed, well-maintained.

But the majorities appear so ordinary, wear ill-fitting clothes, unfashionable footwear, have too much fat or too little, nothing remarkable about them, nothing attractive.

But yet someone somewhere eagerly waits for this unimpressive man to come home every evening.
Someone's entire world turns around the strength of this frail-looking woman.
Someone's very purpose in life hinges on this brash youngster cutting through traffic.
Someone knows only the shelter of these old arms each time their world begins to crumble.
Someone will count hours, minutes, and weep like a child when this pock-marked face alights from a long-distance train.
Someone will cave in, crack up, and never be the same again if this one person disappears from the face of the world.

There are no ordinary people !!!

Some pictures from trip

2008-09-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

The beautiful girl. She was always hopping around and always calling her mom for some thing or the other. Finally when she had her tummy filled, she slept with open mouth. Was very cute girl.

In Gujrat, before approaching some jungle area....

In Mumbai - Pune Rail route. Dense fog

In Motion....

These two pics are taken from both the rail tracks. Once on either side. This small dam is in MP.

The first one is my favorite as it shows the dam completely and also the man is seen walking.

On the way to rajasthan..

In Gujrat

This is the country side i was talking about in my blog.

This was on way to mumbai

the ghats

Regards,
http://antarikshv.blospot.com

Things to come

2008-09-21T00:07:00.000-07:00

In my next few blogs I shall be describing the people who have put an un-erasable mark on my life, my thinking and all the aspects of my life. I met all these people at variety of stages of my life. I met them when I had everything and was fully satisfied with the way the life was carrying me. And then I met a few when I was of the opinion to change the way of life. And yet some met me when I was a “Thinking Powerhouse - a psychologist” guiding people in their life and eventually getting highly influencing beyond the permissible limits. I had no intentions of influencing people’s lives, but I didn’t know what I was doing. It’s now when I analyse my behavior that I understand I had in some means influenced them and their decisions.

I feel I have done some mistakes. I feel that I was quite childish in the manner I behaved when I was a psychologist. I felt that I have grown up in the manner of thinking. But I still feel that I haven’t grown up. There is lots of childishness still left in me. I haven’t yet understood the worldly manners. I was the “frog in the well”, my whole world was confined within the very few people who were around me. I had made the circle of trust. I had made a very thick “Great Wall Of China” around me.

Now that I am getting of age, I feel that a maturity of thoughts of owning a family is still at large. I have a long way to go. Lets hope in around 2-3 years when I will finally get married. I wonder whether girls need to think this much or how do they cope with all the emotional and mental maturity expected in them at this age as mine. I am 24 and I require another 2-3 years for understanding life. Do the girls have this option? Do they acquire this maturity? Do they need? Of course they need. Idiot! Who does not need the maturity for living with a person who is known to the spouse just few months back and now they are living together and sleeping together? You have given a free ticket to a nearly stranger. The stranger is the person with whom you have to spend your life, your happiness and your sorrows. What all limits shall you pose to this stranger? Are you ready to become a responsible person? You have to become the person having the responsibility to handle another person.

But then there is another question of your life. “Why are you born?” “What’s the purpose of your life?” Looking at the life from a very top level it seems you go through these stages:
Study in the best school.
Study to get the best marks so that you can get into the best college.
Study to get the best marks so that you can get into the best graduation college.
Get the best marks to get the best company to work with
Get the best salary so that you become the best bachelor.
Get the best wife, so that you get the best kids.
And then pose the same steps to your kids.
---- The cycle continues.

I had put these questions to many people and none have given any satisfactory reply to these. I admit that I had started asking these questions right at the age of 10, but then what do you expect any parent to say? My parents said that I have to become a very big and successful person in life. That’s my destiny. Hah. I feel that’s the mouse race everyone is falling into. And it seems there is no option from it. But its just the feeling that there might be something, what it is, don’t know! Feel “The Matrix” like situation may be true. Maybe there is something higher than what it seems. Something more important, something more than just Life.

People who haven’t thought about these things may take it two ways:
Ohh! He has become mature.
Ohh! What a crap maturity. These things do not get along in this world.
So it means that there will be many people who can confuse. You will not know what you need to do or where you need to go.

Here comes in “The Spirituality” into existence. It’s the man’s answers to his own questions. He brings into existence the Gods. In all the religions there is someone or something which the human race must follow or accept. The meaning of your existence lies with your beliefs. You believe in something and live your life for that.

Your existence depends on your beliefs.
And beliefs is everything...

Regards,
http://antarikshv.blospot.com

The Day Of Meetings:

2008-09-19T09:20:00.000-07:00

4th September: We started off early in the morning to go and meet our relatives. The occasion was of 12th day after the death of my uncle. I had never attended such kind of things and didn’t knew what was expected of me and what needed to be done. Well then we all started off. My relative having a full knowledge of what all things might come up at the occasion and Me having absolutely no knowledge of the storm.

As we reached the house there were people who were ready to greet us at the door. (I think they were like the vultures, awaiting the bachelor to be snatched.) They didn’t had the warm welcome smiles but had those looks. As we entered the house and I bowed to say namaste, the unknown person too joined her hands said namaste. She had those looks, she scanned my complete body head to toe. I was being scanned and kept into the hard drive. I think an immediate siren must have been sounded at the time of my arrival. Maybe the day yesterday all the preparations must have been done. Maybe this was a planned scene to be enacted by all the people who were attending except for the near and dear ones. The “Extras” were just the fillers of the show and came in to check out the new marriage material in town.

These extras were from a wide variety of background. Some had a very huge business earning around a crore monthly, while some had hundreds of acres of agriculture land. One of the most unexpected was the Minister’s brother. He too had come in to check me. Damn! Seemed like my relative was announcing “Ladies and Gentleman. Here I present to you Antariksh.The eligible bachelor. Please have a look at the exibit. He shall be answering all the questions you ask about his family and himself. Please start one by one. I shall make arrangements for the proper movement of the exibit within the hall. Please keep 2 seats vacant near you.”

And so the day of interviewing started. It was all one sided. I didn’t even get the chance to see the girl nor the chance to know anything about the firl. It was like just answer the one line questions and move further. Meet all the people in the hall and say hello. Damn! I think I felt how it feels for a girl to be interviewed. How the people ask girl, “Beta, tum kya karte ho, kaha rehte ho, papa kya karte hai, kitna kamate ho, papa ka number kya hai” hey raam!! Bas aur kitna jhelenge dost… Jhelna to padega. Shaadi jo karni hai naa yaar.

All this was totally unexpected for me. Had gone to attend some serious stuff and came out with something unexpected and customary things.

Yeah yeah, have to get married. But is this the right age to get married? I feel like I am still a kid. Or is it the goose bumps? Who knows? I? No dude, I too don’t know whether I am ready for getting married so early. Look I am still 24. Yeah yeah I knoaw I have been working from past two years and have been earning good, but still I haven’t seen the other enjoyments of life. What enjoyments am I talking about? I don’t know, this is the standard answer what everyone says when not interested in getting married. Ok what about financial health? What you still don’t buy this argument? Hey I hardly end up with some amount at the end of the month in my account. It’s a different story that I invest the amount instead of keeping it idle, but still I am not left with any amount to spend.

Ok, there is one theory of mine which will help me get married in about 2-3 years down the lane instead of getting culled immediately. All the things in my favour are the things and the rituals made by our ancestors. Our ancestors have said that for getting married the boy’s and the girl’s kundali must match. Matching the kundalis is the job of parents. Getting a matched kundali takes time of around 6-9 months. Once matched and once a girl is selected, it comes down to me. I will get to see the selected girl after around 1 year. The control is shifted to mua. Ha ha ha. I have to then select the girl amongst the parent selected girls. So till now I have already spent around 1- 1.5 years.

But once I select the girl the control moves to the pandit. He tells the appropriate time when the wedding take place. Also the hindu calendar has a say in deciding the time of wedding. Actually there is a period of 6 months which is not the wedding season. So he selects the appropriate time for the marriage and the dates generally are after 6 – 7 months. And finally the D day arrives after 2 – 2.25 years from now. So I am happy to attain an age of 26 or 27 years and then get married.

Disclaimer: It’s completely my theory of what the timelines may be taken. But it’s comic and a bit realistic too. So hope for the best.

Pre-Quel to ‘The Day Of Meetings’

2008-09-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

There is one discovery i made today.Hello Freinds i am now going to publish the more of the exciting stuff happened in my life. The all "First Timers" of my life.

3rd September: I reach ratlam from bombay. Its a place of our relatives. A small city of good people who just wanna satiate their taste buds with all the yummy dishes both veg and non-veg and both sweet and salty. The city where you will have "Sweet Kanda Pohe", "Sweet Samose" ,"Sweet Kachori", and everything has little sugar added to it. Its a a town situated near to Gujrat border and many people do come in for buisness and the major food stall vendors and Jain's. So they put sugar in everything. And their sweets are extra sweet. Ok , a cultural change.

In ratlam i saw some of the famous temples. The temples were very faaaaaarrr. Aroound 3-4 km from their house. The temples were indeed ald and famous. Only one temple was a relatively newer construction. It was built by a defunct company "Jain Vitamins Limited". The temple was really astonishing. The temple was built around 15 years ago, when the company was on the top and was earning heavy profits. Once the company started building the temple, the worker unions opposing it. They were demanding a less expenditure on the temple and better salary for the workers, even when the workers were earning the best in the market. Now the company has shifted and there is no industrialisation in ratlam. Well keeping the politics aside, the temple was an extraordinary example of craftmanship. It was really wonderful and beautiful. The temple had recently received a terror threat, so nobody could take in their cellphones. So i dont have the pictures of the temple. Its a group of temples. Shiv, Ram, Krishna, Ganpati, Hanuman and Durga temples. The architecture was really wonderful.

During this travel for seeing all the temples, my relative had to receive many calls. These many calls seemed to be a bit distracting and time consuming. But i thought that it was ok to attend the calls. Later in the evening he said to me that all those calls were for me. Those were the calls from parents of girls for me. They wanted my details. This was my first encounter with the interview process.

So my Relative was busy talking to the fathers of the prospective brides, and here I was feeling the heat – both on the outside in the sunny weather and inside as to what I need to do.

The day was filled with lots of festive food (The day being start of Ganesh Utsav - Ganesh Chaturthi), anxiety and ACIDITY. I had a terrible acidity with the food I had to take in. The food had lots of sweetness, lots of oil and lots of ghee. I may be sounding one of those extra calorie conscious psychopaths but I am not. I am one of those who eat a lot of these stuffs, but not to this extent of having acidity. It was really too much. It was the extreme. It all started in morning. In the morning I had to eat 2 plates full of “pohe” – the rice flakes. It’s the staple dish for breakfast in those parts of the country. Along with that I had to have 2 samosa and 2 kachori. Damn god, it was really too much. All this happened at around 11 am. And then when I hadn’t even digested my breakfast it was already time to have the lunch. Lunch had 2 sweets and dal, baati, churma. Lunch was served along with the side dishes too. Ohh god! Why did I make this rule for not leaving any food behind in the dish? It would had been a lot better if not for this rule. But anyways this was the start for the first time for “Days of Acidity”.

At night I slept tight and without any thought of what was coming ahead the next day. It was the silence before a storm.

The silence.

Interesting

2008-09-13T06:57:00.000-07:00

Hello All,
I wish to write this blog as a general e-mail letter which i generally used to write. So the following format will be somewhat similar to that.
Actually i haven't written blog from last 2 weeks and was having the feeling of being negligent towards my very own blog. i had the sinking feeling of this odd deed i did.
Well from last week onwards i have been traveling and traveling a lot. i have been in 6 states of India already, had a plan for the seventh but as i was really too much tired my stamina for more traveling gave up. now i shall just return back home.

1St September: I started my travel from bangalore to mumbai. The purpose of the whole trip was to attend the death ceremony of my uncle. So i thought lets have a look at the friends on the way itself. So i started on and went ahead. Traveling to mumbai was starting phase of the very big travel. Bangalore had a wonderful weather to start with. It was raining in bangalore when i started. It was a wonderful weather. Train was at 3.25pm but i started from house at around 12.30 itself, for fears of water clogged roads or the more famous of bangalore traffic jams. (i did not wanted to miss this particular trip, and wanted a very good start for this one.) so i reached railway station well before time and then the railways came to rescue. The announcement was being made "Lokmanya tilak terminus express is running late by around 30 minutes". Gosh now i have to spend 2 hours on platform doing nothing.
But then i had to carry on with the boredom. And finally i heard those beautiful words, the train was approaching the. There was one thing i dread while traveling by train, and that is "Hijada's" (The third type of sex). I dunno why, but i get a weird feeling while they are around, and i always try to neglect them. And as luck shall provide it, these kinds of personalities were available at the station and were ready to board the same train as Me. Well then for the first time i didnt faced any problems from them during the journey so i felt good. Then the journey was good, except for the weather. I was sweating right from the time i left Bangalore boundaries. En-route to Mumbai, i had traveled in Andhra Pradesh also.
I had a wonderful company for my travel. They were so co-operative that they allowed me to finish reading my novel. They didnt even talked between themselves. Hats off to them. A Truly Wonderful Experience.

2nd September: Saving grace was the beautiful morning which was a damn good welcome for me. Took some pics of the beauty. The indian countryside. I had never seen the indian villages on my travel. I had seen them when i was a kid and then i had only seen the high trekking mountains and the beautiful valley. But this was more soothing. It was the place where our food is grown, its the place of life. Looking at the vast expanse of the fields, i felt a pinch of jealousy for not being able to be there. It right now is my dream to own a 50 acre of agriculture land and own a house in it. Give it to farmers for farming. I wanna have this thing.....

By Afternoon i was in the urban areas of Maharashtra. I was seeing all the dirt and the lethargy of the living. This was in stark difference to the nature i had seen in morning. By the time i had reached my final stop i was at the Kalyan station. Kalyan local station was just a passage ahead. I bought the local train ticket. It had a very good facility of a person shelling out the tickets using his smart card. I got down at CST i.e VT. From there my friend had come in to receive me. We then went on to Pizza Hut. I was damn hungry and also was bathing in my own sweat. Finally was able to get into the Air Conditioned room of Pizza Hut. With this experience i started becoming more appreciative of Bangalore Weather, or in short Bangalore. I was of the opinion for not settling down in bangalore due to the difference of languages, and the rising cost of living. But then weather was the breaking point of all the negativities.

My friend had already made the arrangements for my visit. I stayed at her house till evening and then i had to start for the next slab of my travel to the Dhaar. It was nice. She was amongst my "circle of trust". Details later. From there on i took a cab to the station of my boarding, the Chattrapati Shivaji Terminus. I boarded the train and after half an hour it started. I had my dinner in the train. For the first time i had a good company to chat to. I had people who were willing to have some discussions and not sit like manequins. And then theres the end of the day.

Rest of the journey details shall be put up in the next blog. Keep reading.

Regards,
Antariksh.

My Trip

2008-09-12T05:23:00.000-07:00

Hello Freinds in some days i shall be putting up the detailed report of my trip. I had taken a log break from my office. All the fun and the sorrows shall be listed out here. keep reading and commenting.

Regards,

Antariksh

Priceless Trick

2008-09-12T01:12:00.000-07:00

Grandmother was pretending to be lost in prayer, but her prayer-beads were spinning at top speed. That meant she was either excited or upset.Mother put the receiver down. "Some American girl in his office, she's coming to stay with us for a week."She sounded as if she had a deep foreboding.Father had no such doubt. He knew the worst was to come. He had been matching horoscopes for a year, but my brother Vivek had found a million excuses for not being able to visit India, call any of the chosen Iyer girls, or in any other way advance father's cause.Father always wore four parallel lines of sacred ash on his forehead.Now there were eight, so deep were the furrows of worry on his forehead. I sat in a corner, supposedly lost in a book, but furiously text-messaging my brother with a vivid description of the scene before me.

A few days later I stood outside the airport with father. He tried not to look directly at any American woman going past, and held up the card reading "Barbara".Finallya large woman stepped out, waved wildly and shouted "Hiiii! Mr.Aayyyezh,how ARE you?"Everyone turned and looked at us. Father shrank visibly before my eyes.Barbara took three long steps and covered father in a tight embrace.Father's jiggling out of it was too funny to watch. I could hear him whispering "Shiva Shiva!" She shouted "you must be Vijaantee?" "Yes, Vyjayanthi"I said with a smile. I imagined little half-Indian children calling me"Vijaantee aunty!" Suddenly, my colourless existence in Madurai had perked up. For at least the next one week, life promised to be quite exciting.Soon we were eating lunch at home. Barbara had changed into an even shorter skirt. The low neckline of her blouse was just in line with father's eyes.He was glaring at mother as if she had conjured up Barbara just to torture him. Barbara was asking "You only have vegetarian food? Always??" as if the idea was shocking to her. "You know what really goes well with Indian food,especially chicken? Indian beer!" she said with a pleasant smile,seemingly oblivious to the apoplexy of the gentleman in front of her, or the choking sounds coming from mother. I had to quickly duck under the table to hide my giggles.Everyone tried to get the facts without asking the one question on all our minds: What was the exact nature of the relationship between Vivek and Barbara? She brought out a laptop computer. "I have some pictures of Vivek"she said. All of us crowded around her. The first picture was quite innocuous. Vivek was wearing shorts, and standing alone on the beach. Inthe next photo, he had Barbara draped all over him. She was wearing a skimpy bikini and leaning across, with her hand lovingly circling his neck.Father got up, and flicked the towel off his shoulder.It was a gesture we in the family had learned to fear.He literally ran to the door and went out.Barbara said "It must be hard for Mr. Aayyezh. He must be missing his son." We didn't have the heart to tell her that if the son had been within reach, father would have lovingly wrung his neck.

My parents and grandmother apparently had reached an un-spoken agreement. They would deal with Vivek later. Right now Barbara was a foreigner, a lone woman, and needed to be treated as an honored guest.It must be said that Barbara didn't make that one bit easy. Soon mother wore a perpetual frown.Father looked as though he could use some of that famous Indian beer.Vivek had said he would be in a conference in Guatemala all week, and wouldbe off both phone and email. But Barbara had long lovey-dovey conversations with two other men, one man named Steve and another named Keith. The restof us strained to hear every interesting word. "I miss you!" she said to both.She also kept talking with us about Vivek, and about the places they'd visited together. She had pictures to prove it, too. It was all very confusing.This was the best play I'd watched in a long time. It was even better than the day my cousin ran away with a Telugu Christian girl. My aunt had come howling through the door, though I noticed that she made it to the plushest sofa before falling in a faint. Father said that if it had been his child,the door would have been forever shut in his face.Aunt promptly revived and said "You'll know when it is your child!"

How my aunt would rejoice if she knew of Barbara!On day five of her visit, the family awoke to the awful sound of Barbara's retching. The bathroom door was shut, the water was running, but far louder was the sound of Barbara crying and throwing up at the same time. Mother and grandmother exchanged ominous glances. Barbara came out, and her face was red. "I don't know why", she said, "I feel queasy in the mornings now."If she had seen as many Indian movies as I'd seen, she'd know why.Motherwas standing as if turned to tone. Was she supposed to react with the compassion reserved for pregnant women? With the criticism reserved for pregnant unmarried women? With the fear reserved for pregnant unmarried foreign women who could embroil one's son in a paternity suit?Mother, who navigated familiar, flows of married life with the skill of a champion oarsman, now seemed completely taken off her moorings.She seemed to hope that if she didn't react it might all disappear like a bad dream.I made a mental note to not leave home at all for the next week.Whatevermy parents would say to Vivek when they finally got a-hold of him would be too interesting to miss. But they never got a chance.The day Barbara was to leave, we got a terse email from Vivek. "Sorry,still stuck in Guatemala. Just wanted to mention, another friend ofmine,Sameera Sheikh needs a place to stay. She'll fly in from Hyderabad tomorrowat 10am. Sorry for the trouble."

So there we were, father and I, with a board saying "Sameera". At last apretty young woman in salwar-khameez saw the board, gave the smallest ofsmiles, and walked quietly towards us. When she did 'Namaste' to father,Ithought I saw his eyes mist up.She took my hand in the friendliest way and said "Hello, Vyjayanthi,I've heard so much about you." I fell in love with her. In the car father was unusually friendly. She and Vivek had been in the same group of friends in Ohio University. She now worked as a Child Psychologist.She didn't seem to be too bad at family psychology either. She took out a shawl for grandmother, a saree for mother and Hyderabadi bangles for me."Just some small things. I have to meet a professor at Madurai University,and it's so nice of you to let me stay" she said. Everyone cheered up.Even grandmother smiled. At lunch she said "This is so nice. When I make sambar, it comes out like chole, and my chole tastes just like sambar".Mother was smiling. "Oh just watch for 2 days, you'll pick it up."Grandmother had never allowed a muslim to enter the kitchen. But mother seemed to have taken charge, and decided she would bring in who ever she felt was worthy. Sameera circumspectly stayed out of the puja room, but on the third day ,I was stunned to see father inviting her in and telling her which idols had come to him from his father. "God is one" he said.Sameera nodded sagely.By the fifth day, I could see the thought forming in the family's collective brains. If this fellow had to choose his own bride, why couldn't it be someone like Sameera? On the sixth day, when Vivek called from the airport saying he had cut short his Gautemala trip and was on his way home,all had a million things to discuss with him. He arrived by taxi at a time when Sameera had gone to the University."So, how was Barbara's visit?" he asked blithely. "How do you know her?"mother asked sternly. "She's my secretary" he said. "She works very hard,and she'll do anything to help." He turned and winked at me.Oh, I got the plot now! By the time Sameera returned home that evening,itwas almost as if her joining the family was the elders' idea. "Don't worry about anything", they said, "we'll talk with your parents."

On the wedding day a huge bouquet arrived from Barbara.

"Flight to India - $1500.
Indian kurta - $5.
Emetic to throw up - $1.
The look on your parents' faces - priceless" it said.

Tools to Embedded -

2008-08-11T06:07:00.000-07:00

Today onwards I am being given another job at my office. I have to look into the embedded code also. This is a total phase shift for my kind of people. I have a background of working and creating applications. I work at the highest level in the machine hierarchy. From today onwards I have to look into the world at the lowest ladder.

This world is the starting step for all the things to work. Here while coding we have to keep into mind even 1 byte of memory, we can’t waste that greatly. It was heaven while coding for the applications. The environment takes care of the memory management. The developer does not think twice about memory wastage, just keep on finishing the job assigned.

I was in a dilemma, as to should I go ahead or blatantly refuse to work on it. I was weighing the pros and cons of the action I take.
Pros:

An un-chartered territory to be explored (60%)
A possible chance to get into limelight of peers and superiors
To prove that “I CAN DO IT”
Added feature in resume

Cons:

Performance & work pressure
Scared of the unknown
“CAN I DO IT”

The urge to get into something others don’t want to or to prove myself was more and so its the pros who win and I am into it. I am getting into the look and feel of it. Let’s see how the things appear at the bottom.

In the meantime I also resolved an application problem for one of my close friend. He had gone for some volunteering work in some deep village in Orissa. He was acting as a translator basically, but a knowledgeable translator. We are friends from years and these kind of deeds help strengthen the bond. He and his team were gratified for the opportune help I provided. It helps a lot to all. We get a chance to get in touch with different people and get to face more different kinds of problems. It adds to our knowledge and helps to improve your credibility.

I too have the urge to do some volunteer work for the benefit of the country as my friend has done.

Love needs no proof - Sri Sri 14th Jan '94

2008-08-05T03:48:00.000-07:00

Sri Sri Ravishankar (Guruji) was discussing the Narad Bhakti Sutra's. Following is just a small preview of the extent of the knowledge present in the Sutra's. You too can get to understand the Sutra's, just get onto the wagon, join Art Of Living for the enlightenment.

Devotion is the simplest and easiest among all practices. The path of devotion. Three types of devotion - Satvic, rajasic and tamasic. Three type of divine love. With or without some desire behind it. Whenever there is love ,then behind that love there could be some desire. And there need not be also. But the love without any desire behind it is much superior, is greater. Tamasic, rajasic and satvic love. Satavic love is greater than the rajasic and tamasic love.
As said before the love of a terrorist is also love. He loves something. That's why he is a terrorist. He is ready to give up his life. Isn't it? He loves something. He has some ideology. He is ready to put his life to it. Without love he cannot do that. Love is the main driving force behind it. But it is Tamasic love, Rajasic love. Satavic love is superior.
Then the next sutra that says "Anya smad soulabhyam bhakta ".It is easier compared to other paths. Love itself being the path for love is easier. Anyway that is fruit of all other actions, all other attainments. Whether you want to go through the path of knowledge or action or yoga or service, the attainment or you aim at divine love only. "Anya smad soulabhyam bhakta". This is simpler and easier. Remember, whatever is very simple and easy, that itself is very difficult and complicated too. The simplest things are the most difficult things to do. But yet here Narada emphasizes, this is simpler. Is why says, this does not need any other proof.
The next sutra goes "Prmanantarasya anapekshitvat, swayam pramanantvat".Because it is a proof by itself. You don't need any other proof for your advancement. If you see, how you have grown in your love, you don't need to go and ask anybody how is my progress? Have I progressed or not? If you are welling up in gratitude, you don't have to go and ask anybody, have I improved in my life? That itself is the proof. If you are dissolving, every cell of your body is vibrant with surrender, with devotion, even if the whole world stays on the other side and says you have not evolved, you will simply smile at them.
That is what has happened with all the prophets, that is what has happened with Jesus. Everyone wanted him to give a proof that he is the son of man .He simply kept silent. He never said a word. Because it's evident. What more? When you know you are the source. You are from that source and you are the source you don't need anyone else to prove or you don't need to prove it to anybody either, "Prmanantarasya anapekshitvat.". No need of any other proof for love. But normally we demand proof. When you love somebody, you ask them "prove me". Indirectly or directly you are demanding for a proof that they really love you. And you just see, all the proofs that you get is really nothing. Do not mean anything. They cannot stand. Is this not the conflict today, in all the relationships, everywhere in love? Because everyone wants the proof that the other person really loves them. And through gestures you cannot have proof. It's not foolproof. all gestures could fool you very easily. So they cannot be a proof for your love. They all can be like airhostess' smile. It's not an authentic- "Goodbye", "Thank You", "Welcome you on the board", "Have a nice day". Have a nice day? Do they really mean it? Have a nice day. Haan, of course though as you all get out they will have a nicer day. Their duty is finished. Job is done.
You are so uncertain about love, because your love has not gone deeper enough in yourself. You have not blossomed in love, in your inner strength. So you demand proof from others too .You demand proof that they love you. This is foolish. Narada says no. Such devotion neither demands proof, nor requires any proof. You need any proof that sun has come out? Is there any other proof needed for sun to be? You need a torch to look at the sun? It's so evident. The love is so evident. Enlightenment is so evident that you do not need any other proof. "Prmanantarasya anapekshitvat, swayam pramanantvat". That itself, love itself is the proof of blossoming. Haan, if you find there is no love, and when one thinks that one is enlightened or one claims to be enlightened then can look sor....(don't know..?) ,you can doubt. Because divine love itself is the proof of blossoming. So that divine love neither demands proof, nor requires proof, because that itself is the proof.

Just five more minutes

2008-07-29T02:52:00.000-07:00

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground. "That's my son over there," she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide. "He's a fine looking boy" the man said. "That's my daughter on the bike in the white dress." Then, looking at his watch, he called to his daughter. "What do you say we go, Melissa?" Melissa pleaded, "Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes." The man nodded and Melissa continued to ride her bike to her heart's content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his daughter. "Time to go now?" Again Melissa pleaded, "Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes." The man smiled and said, "OK." "My, you certainly are a patient father," the woman responded. The man smiled and then said, "Her older brother Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I'd give anything for just five more minutes with him. I've vowed not to make the same mistake with Melissa. She thinks she has five more minutes to ride her bike.

The truth is, I get Five more minutes to watch her play."

Life is all about making priorities, what are your priorities?
Give someone you love 5 more minutes of your time today!

Master is the Door

2008-07-28T04:36:00.000-07:00

You are lost on the street. T here is rain, thunder, wind, and cold; you need shelter. You look
around and you find a door. You come to the door because it is more inviting, more charming, more joyful than anything out on the street. When you enter the door of the Master, you
come Home. You see the world from a new perspective. From inside you can still hear the
thunder and see the rain, but it no longer disturbs you. Inside there is warmth and security. The
world looks much more beautiful--not a nasty place, but a place filled with love, cooperation,
compassion. Your fear drops away.

When you can see the whole world through the eyes of the Master, it is a sign that you have
come to the Master; you have entered the door. This is the purpose of having a Master.
If you are still seeing the world as before, then you have not yet come to the Master; you are still
standing out in the street, cold and wet; you are only looking at the door, you have not yet entered in.

Question: What does it mean to “see through the eyes of the Master”?
Just this: Every situation that you face, you are thinking If this situation comes in front
of the Master, how would he handle it? If this complication comes to the Master, how would he take it? If someone blames the Master, what would he do? The key is to feel the Presence of the Master. The Master is the Presence, not a relationship. Relationships can be broken, mended, and broken again. There is craving and aversion in every relationship. This is the wheel of sansara, the misery of the world. All relationships go topsyturvy, whereas the Presence is vast, infinite, stable and centered.

Don’t make the Master a worldly relationship. “Oh, he looked at me.” “He didn’t look at me.”
“Oh, he said this.” “He didn’t say that.” “Somebody else is close; I am not close.” All this garbage comes into it. Just enter the door of the Master and come Home. Only the Presence of the Master will bring fulfillment to your life--and to all your relationships

...Sri Sri

These and many more things are taught at The Art Of Lving. This knowledge of "Presence instead of Relationship" can be applied to all of your problems, and mind it, it does help a lot. There is open messages and open knowledge here. No hidden messages to be deciphered. Everything is just in mind. The way people handle their situations, the way the things are assumed, all these change the effect of the situations on us.

Feeling the presence of a Guru, this is a very ancient Indian teaching, more lately being adapted by some non-Indian teachings also. The logic is simple. The uncouncious mind does connect to your Guru, when you require urgent help and find no other way out. You simply imagine the way your guru will be handling the situation and your problems are settled.

In the more recent additions to this technique it is suggested, that the guru can be assigned for different aspects of your problems. Like have a guru for your love life. Another guru for your office work. Your guru can be anyone. Either living or Dead. Either Younger or Elder. Either Relationship or Stranger. It is upto you to define the guru, and leave the situation in guru's hand. The guru will guide you through....

Bangalore Blast. It was today...

2008-07-26T09:10:00.000-07:00

It is Friday (July 25, 2008) today, and it is my turn for the vehicle pooling.

As always I am awake at 6.20 am. Didi is already done with the dishes and about to get ready to prepare the lunch for my nephew, me and her. Jijaji always has his lunch at office itself. She is cooking dal and roti. By 7.45am lunch boxes are ready and didi is about to leave. I am still doing my daily yoga and jijaji is helping my nephew to get ready for school. Today I make my own lunch. I don’t want to take dal for office lunch. I made sweet rice for lunch and planning what all features I can add to an ordinary project for the client. My vehicle partner calls up and says that he just woke up and is getting ready (Pretty usual stuff for him to get up late and get late).

Everything is as usual. No change in the situation. No change in the lives.

We both get onto my bike and start off to our office. Today we are taking the service road towards our office to bypass the usual traffic jam at the junction near our house. We reach our office before time. I start working upon the project. I start doing multi-tasking: I start reading news on my google reader using mozilla firefox. Till then my outlook opens up and I start catching up with my friends using IMO. And before I get to know, it’s already time to lunch at 1pm.

Me and my friends start having our lunch. We are catching up the live action of cricket: India-Sri Lanka Test match. We are speculating what will be the final score Sri Lanka will pose for India to achieve? This is amongst are normal time pass while having lunch. We discuss about lots of things for whiling away the time, totally unaware of what lies ahead in time for the people of Bangalore. For us. For the world. Everyone unaware of the things to happen for the day.

Everything is as usual. No change in the situation. No change in the lives.

We all come back at our seats. Unaware of the welcome mail already present in my mailbox. The mail was:
Urgent Alert, bomb blasts in Bangalore.
Today at 1.30 pm 3 blasts occurred at Mysore Road, Adugodi, and Forum. Employees are requested to stay calm and within the company premises.

It was a mail from my friend, he had forwarded the mail from his office. I thought he was just kidding. I thought this could not happen in Bangalore atleast. I dismissed the mail as a prank. But then immediately there was a pop-up on my web communicator. My colleague just said that something has happened in Bangalore. I immediately opened up the google search page and checked: “Bomb blasts Bangalore”. It didnt gave search result relevant to this. I thought it must be another hoax. Then people started entering my office bay and all were on their mobile phones. Tensed. Perplexed. Astonished. I thought has this really happened?

I asked them “What has happened? Why are you so tensed?” they said “Hey! Don’t you know? There are bomb blasts in Bangalore. Where are you dude?” I suggested lets immediately go to canteen to check the news on the TV. We are going to the canteen, on the way more people are joining us. All of us are thinking what has happened? How big is the explosion? How many have exploded? Till we reached to the canteen, there are two more blasts reported. Within 15 minutes there are more reported blasts within the city.

Everything is as un-usual. Total change in the situation. Many changes in the lives.

This was the first time I was hearing the blasts in the city in which I live. Never had I, before, heard this kind of incident. I was looking at the people’s faces. I felt the fear, anger, amazement and the bag of emotions which I hadn’t imagined. People started receiving calls asking for their wellness. Some people were terrified and angry as their calls were not getting connected to their friends, relatives. Their FAMILY. The networks were jammed to stop the rumor mongerers. The people started analyzing the situation and deducting the person/ organization who could conduct such kind of act. Everyone was immersed in the situation.

8 blasts, 1 death with 8 injured. The blasts were mild blasts using gelatin and some hurting stuff. Today was an unusual day.

I have experienced many cities. All the cities have been calm and quite. This city being IT capital, the Silicon City of Asia, had all the ingredients and the attractions for a terror strike. Ahh, “TERROR STRIKE”. People associate this quoted word sentence to only the North-East India or the Kashmir. Rest of the Indian peninsular region being quite and calm. Then why has such kind of attack on the Indian IT capital? Many theories are doing the round in my mind. Is it to show that the terrorists are still present in India, to warn the government “Beware, we are still here”. Or was it a precursor to something heavier, more deadly. Or was it just to show to government the terrorists striking power, the immaculate timing of the blasts?

But then immediately I got a phone call on my cell. It was from my friend from Goa, who is doing his MBA. He was concerned. I was thinking should I say him the truth about the vicinity of location to my residence, or to say that the location was very far. The truth was the location is quite near and I was planning to go that place on Saturday. But telling him that would have not done any good. He would be more sorry than happy. I didn’t not say that the reported death too, was at the same location which is near to my residence. I told him, “Hey everything is alright. Didi is at home, nephew too is on his way back. The school is in other direction than the blasts ites. Jijaji is in office. I am in office.” He also wanted to check with our another friend in bangalore. She is married and lives with her husband and brother-in-law. I called her up. The call didn’t get through. I called again, then again, and finally got through. She picked it up quite late. My first sentence “Are you OK?”. To my amazement she said, she is in Pune. She has gone there to see off his brother-in-law to US. I was thankful that she was in Pune. Then I immediately sent an sms to jijaji asking about how the things are at his side? He said he was ok. Then I called up my cousin who is in the same office as Jijaji. She too was in office itself.

Finally the canteen got a bit emptied and employees had started going back to their workstations. Till evening a warning was announced on the PA system, not to leave the office and the cabs will be arranged. The Bangalore traffic conditions was bad. Everyone was heading towards their home, to get along with their family, to be together. There was huge traffic jam. Me and my pool partner decided to leave late. Till then we thought of doing our project work.

Everything is usual. Total change in the situation. Many changes in the lives.

Later while riding back to home, I was thinking, has this incident did any change in life? Did it affect the way I think? Did it affect me? Or Did it affect anyone?

Is it resilience of the people to take up this kind of incidence or is it indifference?
Are the people really affected by such kind of things? I feel people are getting used to such kind of incidence. People do not feel the attachment towards other. There is no affection left. But the immediately what counter convinces this thing is, even if I feel affectionate to those affected by the incidence, what change can I bring in their lives. There is no way I can help them with my meager resources. If I give it to the government, will there be no corruption to suck up my helping money? Will my help money reach the needy? Will there be any difference made with my donated amount?

People keep swinging between these extremes and do not settle on any thought as their final ideology. There is a group of people who want to help, another group who is indifferent towards all the incidents and there is another group who want to cash in from the helping hands. There are 10 answers and 100 questions to be answered. This imbalance doesn’t help anyone. And finally……

Everything is usual. No change in the situation. No change in the lives.

The ultimate reality remains is:
In a universe of ambiguity, this kind of certainty comes only once.

Money Drain

2008-07-21T05:21:00.000-07:00

Last week I received a mail speaking about how our country loses its money by buying the foreign products. Below are few statements out of the mail.

Indian economy is in a crisis. Our country like many other Asian countries is undergoing a severe economic crunch. Many Indian industries are closing down. The Indian economy is in a crisis and if we do not take proper steps to control those, we will be in a critical situation. More than 30000 crore rupees of foreign exchange are being siphoned out of our country on products such as cosmetics, snacks, tea, beverages...etc which are grown, produced and consumed here . A cold drink that costs only 70 / 80 paisa to produce is sold for nine rupees, and a major chunk of profits from these are sent abroad. This is a serious drain on indian economy. "coca cola "and" sprite " belong to the same multinational company, "coca cola"? Cant you consider some of the better alternatives to aerated drinks. You can drink lemon juice, fresh fruit juices, chilled lassi (sweet or sour), butter milk, coconut water, jaljeera, enerjee, masala milk..........Everyone deserves a healthy drink, including you!
Over and above all this, economic sanctions have been imposed on us. We have nothing against multinational companies, but to protect our own interests we request everybody to use indian products only for next two years. With the rise in petrol prices, if we do not do this, the rupee will devalue further and we will end up paying much more for the same products in the near future.
What you can do about it?
1. Buy only products manufactured by wholly indian companies.
2. Enroll as many people as possible for this cause.
Each individual should become a leader for this awareness.
This is the only way to save our country from severe economic crisis. You don't need to give-up your lifestyle. You just need to choose an alternate product.

List of products provided by Indian companies
1. Bathing soap:
Use - cinthol & other godrej brands, santoor, wipro shikakai, mysore sandal, margo, neem, evita, medimix, ganga , nirma bath & chandrika
Instead of - lux, lifeboy, rexona, liril, dove, pears, hamam, lesancy, camay, palmolive
2. Tooth paste:
Use - neem, babool, promise, vico vajradanti, prudent, dabur products, miswak
Instead of - colgate, close up, pepsodent, cibaca, forhans, mentadent .
3. Tooth brush:
Use - prudent, ajanta , promise
Instead of - colgate, close up, pepsodent, forhans, oral-b
4. Shaving cream:
Use - godrej, emani
Instead of - palmolive, old spice, gillete
5. Milk powder:
Use - indiana , amul, amulya
Instead of - anikspray, milkana, everyday milk, milkmaid.
6. Mobile connections
Use - bsnl, airtel
Instead of - hutch

It did seemed logical & horrifying.
Logical because these things do actually happen and there is lot of truth involved in it. The foreign multinationals get huge sums of profit by selling their products on a royalty. People here just become the followers of the leader. What is actually required is that we should rise above the situation in creating an Indian Leader like the Tata’s to whom the foreign companies will follow. In India, people just “like” to read about it and don’t actually “do” anything about it. Their conscience is satiated by reading these things and they feel they have contributed. The actual way to contribute is not by thinking alone. There must be some action associated to what your thoughts are.

Horrifying, because this is the situation for the Indians for the past 2000 years. There is no change at all. The Indian kings and the politicians have always been retroactive. Look at all the big battles drawn on the Indian soil, all the attacks been targeted on the India. The attackers from the north have taken so much gold from here. Mohammad Ghouri had attacked India four times and every time he had taken all the gold and the riches from the Indian emperors. Indians had never disappointed him and neither did to the British.

Even though we had the capability to rise again from the downfall we never rose to the occasion of actually invading other countries and bringing back our gold. We were the people who believed in self content. We had never conquered any territory outside the mainland India. Except King Ashoka others were happy fighting amongst themselves for the ultimate power. King Ashoka had established a lot of territories under his kingdom.

Understandings from the past history leads us to another point of concern is the way we live our lives. Do we Indians actually dream of becoming big in world picture? Answering to this question some people might start thinking what is this question? Aren’t we going ahead in the terms of buyouts of the foreign companies? I would ask then, whether is this question ever struck to them to make something big in their lives? Just a handful of industrialists are paving their ways to get ahead. But look at the companies they are acquiring. The resident government of their home country is making it a point that the already employed people and not rendered un-employed, i.e. their jobs are not moved to India. But is there such kind of thinking available on the Indian soil? Are the politicians actually concerned about the development and money drain? The other countries make it a point that their countries money is not siphoned off.

So let us make it a point to contribute towards the wellness of our country. Let us buy foreign currencies at the rate as they are buying our currencies. Lets have
1 Rs = 45 US $
1 Rs = 33 CAN $
Etc….

World Economic Crisis - Thanks America

2008-07-17T02:32:00.000-07:00

We saw last week that our economic crisis is driven primarily by the global economic crisis that in turn is driven by the upward spiralling price of oil and the downward spiralling value of the dollar. The third crisis, which for us is at least as great, is the global food crisis. This last should suit America because it will make food dependent countries even more dependent while it will still retain enough strength to feed the vast majority of its own people. For us the food crisis should be much less acute than the oil and dollar crises because we are principally a food-growing country with the capacity to easily feed our own people, while the other two crises are totally out of our control. We are their helpless hostages.

When the world recession of the Nineties started, it used to be said that, “He who has cash is king.” Today, because cash is increasingly losing value (purchasing power) at an alarming rate, the wisdom is: “He who has land is king.” Or should be if he has any sense. This is true both for individuals and states. By that measure, we are a very lucky and wealthy country. The USSR with the world’s mightiest military machine laced with 32,000 nuclear warheads collapsed because it couldn’t feed its own people.

To simply accept the contention that the global food crisis is caused only by too much land being allocated to producing crops that produce the petroleum substitute biofuel ethanol is to be simplistic in the extreme. High food prices are also driven by high petroleum prices. Where do you think the farmer gets electricity from that runs his pump to water his fields? What do you think runs his tractors and harvesters, the trucks on which his produce is transported from farm to market? High oil prices mean higher electricity costs, or even inadequate electricity as we now have. What happens then? We end up with food too expensive to buy or even scarce, probably both, as we also now have. It all goes back to oil and its price, not to mention distribution and greed-driven hoarding. We have to make a doable plan immediately to use our energy resources in the most efficient and optimum manner to overcome energy shortfalls both in terms of quantity and price.Europe alone is sitting on proverbial “lakes of wine and mountains of butter.” Why not put all this food into the markets of the poor? It all has to do with Control without Responsibility, America’s latest doctrine. America knows what it is doing, not just regarding food but also oil. They had the decline of the dollar under control too, until China stepped in. The tragedy is that we do not know what they are doing and we do not know what we are doing.

The initial fall of the dollar was deliberately targeted to reduce the trade imbalance between America and China. America had the internal strength to withstand the fallout or so it assumed, forgetting how indebted it is and to whom and that it has neither the output levels nor the pricing of oil totally under its control. The US had been asking China for years to revalue the Yuan, which it thinks is artificially undervalued. When China did not the US decided to devalue the dollar instead, but it was a managed devaluation, nothing to go hysterical about. Then two things happened to make the US lose some control, enough to make a difference: China decided to sell some of the US debt that it holds and Iran set-up its Euro-denominated Iranian Oil Bourse (IOB) on May 5. This knocked the wind out of the dollar.America is the most indebted country in the world. On June 3, 2008 at 9:04:07 GMT its national debt stood at $9,477,171,636,632.85. That, I think, is just under $9.5 trillion! Which means that at the same time and date each US citizen was indebted to the tune of $30,890.69. Considering that the poverty line in America is $18,500 per annum, an American owes nearly twice as much as the income of the 10 percent Americans or over 30 million human beings that live in abject poverty in the richest country in history. These are the joys of market forces capitalism for you. The US national debt has been growing at the rate of $1.55 billion per day since September 28, 2007.

Gandhi was right: “There’s enough for everyone’s need but not enough for everyone’s greed.”

The US debt would still have been manageable if it had been indebted to itself. America forgot how indebted it is to China before needling it. China is the world’s largest investor in US Treasury bills, bonds and securities ($400 billion in US T-Bills alone) and holds more US debt than any other country (a staggering 40 percent) except Japan. In addition, it holds a huge reserve of US dollars because its currency, like ours, is tied to the dollar. When a country has you by where it hurts most, you do not needle it lightly. Around mid-April China fired a shot across America’s bow when Xiu Jian, Vice Director of the Bank of China, the country’s central bank, said that it is considering shifting a major portion of its national currency reserve of $1.4 trillion into “more stable” currencies. The dollar took a nosedive and fell to record lows the lowest ever against the Euro, the lowest in a generation against the Sterling and the lowest in 57 years against the Canadian dollar. China fired another shot across America’s bow by divesting 50 percent of its $400 billion US T-Bills to establish a $200 billion fund to help diversify its holdings in equities and stocks around the world. China wisely stopped because the USA is also its largest trading partner (that is where America has clout over it and most other countries) and killing the goose that lays golden eggs would have meant China killing itself.

Europe, however, couldn’t avoid the fallout as high Euro and Sterling values started eroding its exports alarmingly while it becomes too expensive to breathe in. A lot of EU exports are shifting from Europe to China.However, don’t forget that if America was not the cleverest country in the world because of its knowledge bank, the largest there is, it would not be in the position of primacy that it is in. To imagine that China can destroy the dollar simply by selling its debt and holdings is to be naive. America is not going to take this lying down. It could demonetise. It could force the price of oil so high that China’s economy goes into reverse gear. Or it could simply revert to the gold standard that it left in 1971 and which is the source of much of the world currency crisis because it exposed the illusion of paper money backed by itself as the mirage that it really is not worth the paper it is printed on. If all currencies are worth so many dollars, what is the dollar worth? Hot air? It became oil, but that is de facto, therefore no total control. I wonder whether the price of gold has shot up only because people find it a safer investment bet in today’s uncertainty or because the US is also quietly busy buying up gold just in case it has to go back to the gold standard and leave the rest of the world in the lurch.

Next week the Iran Bourse will open to trade oil, not in dollars but in Euros. The Iranian Oil Bourse (OIB) was registered on May 5 this year. The consequences are horrendous: with the dollar no longer the sole currency with which to trade oil, its credibility as the benchmark has weakened gravely and thrown all world currencies into a tailspin either crashing in value making essential imports unsustainable or increasing in value reducing their exports drastically causing huge trade deficits, as with Europe. There has been a run on non-oil producing Third World currencies as capital flight continues unabated. That is why soft currencies are weakening against all hard currencies while non-dollar hard currencies are strengthening.The fall in the dollar’s value was one of the triggers of the oil price rise.

Three other triggers contributed heavily too:
the greed-driven speculation of oil brokers and hedge funds,
the Iraq war and
the new Iranian oil bourse that caused a further decline in the dollar, raising oil prices even more, like a self-sustaining upward spiral.
Now add a fourth trigger: the increasing probability of some kind of strike against Iran.
Estimates are that the Iraq war alone trebled the cost of oil. By May the world had spent an extra $6 trillion on higher energy prices alone since the Iraq war. Else the price would have been $40 even less but for greedy speculators and hedge funds. Oil has been trading on two dollar-denominated oil bourses, NYMEX and IPE, both privately owned by US citizens. They play a huge role in determining crude oil prices. The New York Mercantile Exchange Inc (NYMEX) was established more than 135 years ago. London’s International Petroleum Exchange (IPE), now Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), was established in 1980. NYMEX “pioneered the development of energy futures and options contracts in 1978 as [a] means of bringing price transparency and risk management to this vital market.”
This is precisely what opened the door to greed-driven speculation that has driven the price of crude unnaturally high. “IPE is one of the world’s largest energy futures and options exchanges. Its flagship commodity, Brent Crude, is a world benchmark for oil prices…” Brent is British North Sea, not OPEC.This kept the demand for the dollar high as oil producers were paid in dollars that they invested in western, particularly American, banks, stocks, bonds, real estate, in bailing out US corporations (like Saudi Prince Al Waleed once did Citibank and recently the UAE did) and buying billions of dollars worth of useless armaments. It was also necessary for oil-importing countries to have huge dollar reserves to buy oil. But when on May 5 Iran registered its Euro-denominated IOB in competition with the dollar-denominated NYMEX and IPE, and many countries supported it, the dollar took more beating.This requires some explaining. Iran did this to break free from the tyranny of the dollar. Russia and Europe welcomed the Iranian oil bourse because 70 percent of Europe’s oil is imported from Iran. The two most oil-hungry nations growing hungrier by the day, China and India, also said that they were very interested. Now you see why Iran’s president is “the most dangerous man in the world?” It has nothing to do with the damned nuclear bomb. It has to do with the detonation of the oil bomb that has detonated the dollar bomb.
For America this is war, literally, because having left the Gold Standard in 1971 it had, de facto, made oil the commodity on which the dollar is based by ensuring that oil is sold mostly in dollars. (When Saddam said in April 2002 that he was considering selling some Iraqi oil in Euros he signed his death warrant). Came the decline in the dollar came the decline in the value (purchasing power) of oil revenues as well as OPEC’s dollar-based assets. Oil-exporting countries started thinking in terms of selling some oil in Euros. This would put the dollar even more on the skids. President Bush’s first Middle East trip this year, ostensibly a “peace mission”, was actually to deliver what Mike Whitney calls “the horse’s head” (as in the film, The Godfather). “Bush went to the trouble of travelling half-way around the world to tell the Saudis and their friends in the Gulf States that they were going to continue linking their oil to the dollar or they were going to “sleep with the fishes.”Why did the Arab countries say that they might shift partly to Euro? With the fall in the dollar’s value, OPEC saw the real value of its oil, its dollar surpluses and dollar holdings decline too. Since oil has largely been sold in dollars through NYMEX and IPE, oil sellers put their hordes of surplus “petrodollars” in US banks, real estate and other investments. But now the dollar’s decline has made selling in dollars no longer as valuable as it was. While buying in dollars means that oil-importing countries have to have many more dollars to buy the same amount of oil because not only has the oil price kept rising, its price has also gone up with the erosion of Third World currencies (as has their foreign debt). Oil import bills have doubled and trebled since the oil price rise started, making a mess of national trade balances.
When recently Saudi Arabia announced a small increase in oil output, crude prices should have fallen. Contrarily, they went up instead, underlining the influence of greedy speculators and manipulative hedge funds. Plus the probable attack on Iran. However, Saudi Arabia didn’t say it would increase oil output because of US pressure but for the obvious reason that, like China, its doesn’t wish to kill the geese that lay golden eggs for the oil-producing countries. There is more. Saudi Arabia has not forgotten the lesson from the famous oil price hike of 1973: don’t take the price of oil so high that alternative energy sources become viable. When oil goes beyond $150, American shale oil, heavy crude and Canada’s Calgary oil sands will variously become viable. So will solar power. Once they tap these resources, what then? Plus one cannot rule out the bizarre possibility that Saudi Arabia has been told that Iran will soon be attacked. That would leave Goldman Sachs’ prediction of oil at $200 by year’s end far behind and drive its price up beyond imagination, leading to a global economic meltdown. Better to start reducing prices now by increasing output than wait for the possible fallout.
However, this last is only conjecture and will always sound fanciful until it actually happens.
The only way America can strengthen the dollar is by creating a trade surplus. IMPOSSIBLE.
That would mean reducing their workers to near-slavery to compete with Chinese wages and other inputs. What will happen in the US? Chaos for sure. Maybe a workers revolution, but looking at the situation as it is now, it is more likely to be a re-run of Germany post-1929, and some form of an extreme right wing movement will emerge.
The romantic socialist notion of a “workers revolution” aside, there is a point here. The Great Depression of the 1930s caused a rightward swing in Germany and led to the emergence of the Nazis. Yes, America is a democracy because its system works for it, but democracy is fragile. It doesn’t take much adversity to derail it.Before you get too excited, let me caution you that the assumption that that America will suddenly collapse is wishful thinking. It is we who are more likely to collapse, at least before America does.
Sure history is witness to the fall of many civilisations, empires and superpowers. They all collapsed because they ran out of intellectual steam that led to decadence and internal contradictions. Only Britain’s was a managed withdrawal from empire. But America is not the Soviet Union. It is a country crafted by consensus, not force. Its people are proud to be Americans, not sullen like the Soviets were. It is based on the ideals of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The USSR was based on an unworkable and increasingly inhuman Leninist-Stalinist totalitarianism. America is dynamic, not decadent. The American Declaration of Independence is one of the greatest pieces of writings by man.
In contrast, Lenin’s voluminous works read like a dirge. The first three words of The Declaration of Independence “We the people” bring a lump to the throat because they say it all. Today America is so far ahead in knowledge of all kinds, especially in the sciences, that no country has a chance of catching up unless America loses its great ideals. The problem with America is that it does not accept the right of others to practice those same ideals if it does not consider the outcome to be in its interest or if it threatens its hegemony. Yes, China, Russia and Germany will soon acquire polarity too, but the magnetism of the American pole will still be the greatest because America has primacy over all fours sources of global power -- knowledge, communications, finance and military. China, Russia and Germany have strengths in only one or two, not all four. That’s the difference

Why attacks on India embassy in Afghanistan?

2008-07-13T23:24:00.000-07:00

While Afghan security sources have projected the incident as an attempt to kill Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the neo Taliban has projected it as an operation to demonstrate its capability even in Kabul, despite all the security precautions taken by the government. The incident has revealed serious deficiencies in route security and perimeter security.

The deficiencies in route security enabled six heavily-armed terrorists enter the city and reach the hotel without being detected and intercepted anywhere. The deficiencies in perimeter security enabled the perpetrators to take up position in a room of the hotel without being detected and fire from there.

Apart from these physical security deficiencies, was there also complicity by any member of the security forces? That is a question, which should be worrying the Afghan authorities. In Iraq, many successful terrorist strikes have been made possible by internal complicity.In Afghanistan, till now, there have been few instances of such complicity." Forty one people are reported to have been killed by a suicide bomber with a Vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device outside the gates of the Indian embassy in Kabul on July 7. Four of them are stated to be Indian nationals -- including the Indian defense attaché, a counselor-level diplomat and two security guards.
From the indications available so far, it is evident that it was a targeted attack on the Indian mission. Was it also a targeted attack on the defense attaché? This question arises from the fact that the vehicle-borne suicide bomber reportedly rammed his vehicle against two cars of the mission as they were about to enter the mission. North Atlantic Treaty Organization officers in Afghanistan have spoken of a 40 per cent increase in the infiltration of terrorists from the tribal belt of Pakistan into Afghanistan since the new Pakistani government suspended military operations against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and entered into peace negotiations with them. Even as acts of terrorism -- including suicide terrorism -- have increased in Afghan territory, there has been a sharp decrease in acts of suicide terrorism in Pakistani territory.

The increasing Indian presence in Afghanistan for assisting in the economic development of Afghanistan and for strengthening the capability of the Afghan government in various fields has been a constant source of criticism by Pakistan, which has taken up the issue repeatedly with the US and other NATO countries. Urdu newspapers in Pakistan had even accused India of fomenting trouble in Balochistan from covert bases in Afghan territory.
Pakistan thus has a strong motive to target Indian nationals and interests in Afghanistan through its surrogate, the Taliban. During the last three years, there has been a steep increase in acts of suicide terrorism by the neo Taliban of Afghanistan headed by Mulla Mohammad Omar.

Initially, the suicide attacks were by individual suicide bombers who carried the IEDs on their person. The modus operandi using VBIED, which causes many more fatalities than individual bombers carrying the IED, was and is still being used with devastating effect in Iraq by Al Qaeda. Training in this has been imparted by Al Qaeda to neo Taliban volunteers in the training camps of Al Qaeda, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and the Islamic Jihad Group, another Uzbek organization, in North Waziristan in the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.
The successful attack outside the Indian mission has been made possible by poor security on the road in which the Indian mission is located. One would have, therefore, expected the level of road security and access security on this road to have been high. The details available so far do not speak of any specific physical security deficiency in the Indian mission itself .

Al Qaeda has been looking for opportunities for a major terrorist strike against the US and Israel. Even if Al Qaeda has no motive presently for targeting Indian nationals and interests, it badly needs a successful terrorist strike against the US or other Western powers in order to prove to its followers and admirers that its capability for action against the US and Israel remains strong.

The Secret - Talk by Poojya Gurudev on Aug 24th 2007, Bangalore Ashram

2008-07-10T23:12:00.000-07:00

Our life runs through intention. Everything we do has either a desire or intention or unconscious habit attached to it. If you want to call it desire, as 'a desire arises in the mind', I have no objection. But there is a difference between intention and desire. People don't understand this. Even if you say 'I don't want any desire", it is a desire.

Why some people desire gets fulfilled, others don't? Desire is a feverishness attached to a wish or a thought. If not fulfilled, they make you miserable. Because desire doesn't seem to bring fulfillment.

Unfulfilled desire gives a void. Fulfilled desire gives a greater void. If desire is the mother of sorrow, then shouldn't we not desire?

[Here comes the knowledge. The secret knowledge of desire and intention.] Most of the people in the world do not know the difference between intention and desire. An intention has to be dropped. Have an intention, have an attention and consciously drop it. If you hold on to the intention, intention becomes desire and desire causes heartache.Intention, attention and manifestation. Your attention goes to fights, to problem. If your mind is clinging on to negative, that's what is going to grow. People don't understand this. Instead of attention, intention they turn the intention into a feverish desire and become depressed. Intention is beyond fleeting positive and negative thoughts. Only those thoughts that translates into intention becomes action.Let us see the distinction between desire and intention.

Intention has a purpose
Desire has feverishness.

Intention has a goal. If your attention is all the time on the negative, switch it to positive. The feeling of abundance, feeling you have abundance andabundance will grow. Your attention is not there. You never put your intention onit and you say it didn't manifest. Many people who say "I am poor" do notput their intention and attention on it. Clarity comes only through depth of meditation and meditation cannot happen when mind is feverish with desire.Bringing desire to intention, putting attention and allowing time to manifest is a really intelligent way to deal with desire.

*Question:* If you drop an intention, how can it convert into action?
*Answer:* Intention should go with a feeling. Intention is a need that comes withinyou. Then it becomes an intention. Like someone wants a car or transportation, they really need a car, then you just put an intention, sankalpa - I really need this.One is fantasy - it is not a real need, your heart, your soul is not longing for it. Like someone else has a car, I also want a car. Someone has a bigger house. I also want. This is not a need. It is not going to happen. If you say "Im so tired of moving houses, and more people are coming and I need a bigger hall", then it is an intention. And then you add the clause "Anythingbetter than this is ok". "This or anything better than this, I can accept".But if you have not kept your commitment, you are not sincere, you are cheating, nature will know that. It will also cheat you! Nature will also not give you the power to manifest what you intend!

Million reasons to smile

2008-07-03T00:32:00.000-07:00

In one of the mails i received i found this "peaceful" story.

There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them. One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peacefully towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace. The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on the nest--in perfect peace. Which picture do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why? "Because," explained the king, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace." "When Life gives you a thousand reasons to cry, Show that you have a million reasons to smile.”

VC++ .Net 2005, some tips

2008-07-02T21:21:00.000-07:00

For accessing the “range” value in the word document the syntax is different for C# and VC++. To access the range value for the paragraph object the following is to be done
VC++ :
Word::Paragraph ^oPara1;
oPara1 = oDoc->Content->Paragraphs->Add(oMissing);
wrdRng = oDoc->Bookmarks->default::get(oEndOfDoc)->Range;
oPara1->default->default= "Heading 2";
C# :
Word.Paragraph oPara1;
oPara1 = oDoc.Content.Paragraphs.Add(oMissing);
wrdRng = oDoc.Bookmarks.get_Item(ref oEndOfDoc).Range;
oPara1.Text = "Heading 2";
For preparing the application for the client having a different language than English the following code has to be added for the operations to be performed in the Excel sheets:

System::Globalization::CultureInfo ^ originalCulture = System::Threading::Thread::CurrentThread->CurrentCulture;
System::Threading::Thread::CurrentThread->CurrentCulture = gcnew System::Globalization::CultureInfo("en-US");
…..
….
The application code
…..
…..
System::Threading::Thread::CurrentThread->CurrentCulture = originalCulture;

This is required as the language of the OS for the client system maybe other than English. This changes the display format in the client machines and the default behavior of the keyboard inputs. The above code helps to change the behavior of Excel according to the English language.
Also the problem may occur when the application uses the values being displayed in the UI at the client side. As the values (e.g. Date) may have a different format in the client machine using the value directly for some calculations (e.g. Querying the database) may give a run-time error.
For calling a function in the Office applications (like MS Word) there are two methods
Late binding:
findObj->GetType()->InvokeMember("Execute", BindingFlags::InvokeMethod, nullptr, findObj, args7);
This function invokes the function “Execute”. So at the run-time the function to be invoked is understood.
Early binding:
findObj->Execute((Object ^) sFindText,oMissing,oMissing, oMissing,oMissing, oMissing,oMissing,oMissing,oMissing,(Object ^)sReplaceText,oMissing, oMissing,oMissing,oMissing, oMissing);
One of these two methods can be used for calling a function.
Use “Überschrift” instead of “Heading” as the font name in the word document creation. This is specific to German language.
The code when compiled on the German OS system, may sometimes not work on an English OS system. The solution is to recompile the same on the English OS. This recompiled code will work on both the systems viz. German OS and English OS systems. The piece of code to be checked for the execution inconsistency is the part where threading is undertaken. The code which initializes and starts the thread has to be checked for the possible error.
MS Access uses the format “mm:dd:yyyy” (US format)for the dates in the queries to be executed. We were formatting the query in “dd:mm:yyyy” (German format). The query output differed to what was expected.

Office Relations

2008-06-24T23:51:00.000-07:00

In the wake of two shocking incidents that took place in Bangalore and Hyderabad, couples committing suicide because of extra-marital affairs with their colleagues, I just thought of writing a small article on how to avoid such incidents. This is really a serious matter and if not dealt on at an early stage could lead to such incidents in our personal life too. I have done research on human behavior and psychology and am trying to put-in some text which may (or may not) be helpful to you. Never-the-less I feel it's worth knowing such things and if possible every individual can make a conscious effort to more or less follow the same.
Some people don't take advice but taking good advice may do you no harm. Those who are not married this is the best article as before starting a new relationship if you are ready for it, will only help you to lead a happy life.
We spend 40/45/50/60 hours a week with our colleagues. This is the most we spend with any members of our family. So it's obvious they are an integral part of our life. Good, understood. But an important point to remember is colleagues are colleagues and not friends and if you think they are friends then you are highly mistaken. Imagine working together for 9 hours a day together and then returning home and continuing to talk with your colleague on phone. This is what happened with that Infosys guy who could not stand this behavior of his wife and killed her and committed suicide. Which husband would like his wife talking on phone with her colleague and that too male counterpart? Or which wife will like her husband doing the same? Just keep yourself in that situation and see. Anger will creep in within you.
So whatever gossip or topic you want to discuss with your colleagues do it during office hours and once you are out of office forget about your work and your colleagues unless it's official matter. They expect the person to come and talk with them for sometime but people enjoy talking with the colleagues with whom they had been working since morning. No wonder such people will have a horrendous married life.
A simple thing to think about. Say you are not married. You go to office and come back say at 6.00 in the evening. You have so much of time left. Can't you read some books and increase your knowledge or start experimenting with new dishes rather than spending one-two hours on mobile. Main thing to understand is such gossiping on calls becomes a habit and bad habits die-hard. You will be addicted to talking and this can be bad as time goes on.
One you start working you have to come out of college life. In college you could enjoy, flirt, and do anything you wanted. But this is real life. Be responsible or else you will be responsible for your terrible life and the life if your husband/wife. Any person no matter who he/she is would never like his/her wife/husband having such relationship with her/his colleagues.
Last year 90% of divorce happened because of Extra-Marital Affairs and in that 80% because of relationships with colleagues. And we would not like this to happen with us. So start from now.
Imagine a girl getting married and someone says to her to be husband that the guy over there is the one who regularly calls your wife or your wife gives missed calls or calls that guy. Always this thing will remain on the back of his mind. Similarly someone tells the bride that your groom always keeps calling that girl or vice-versa…. Imagine yourself at that place. Situations arise because we allow them to. No one can lead ideal life but we can always make an sincere effort to lead one.
Please keep your office and its people at office and lead a normal happy life. For your good and for the good of your spouse.

Regards,
http://antarikshv.blospot.com

My Sixth Standard

2008-02-02T04:03:00.000-08:00

Hey guys I found laid in my mailbox this wonderful pic dating way back to 1996. I was in sixth standard. This picture is contributed to me by Dhiren – the last known person still in contact. Here in the picture you shall find the two teachers which were amongst my fav's.

This blog page has contributions from Dhiren & Rinku. I at present remember few of the names of my ex-classmates. Some are in touch while rests aren't. But still cherish the lasting memory of school life.

Always left to right (starting from bottom of pic)

Priyanka Kela, Reenal Lahoti, -, -, Bhagyashri jaju, Karuna, Shweta rathi, Rinku Agarwal, Devashree, Pallavi, Ganga, Revati Udavant

Madhuri Tuplonde, -, -, -, Nivedita Rao, Shieeka, -, -, Tr. Mangala, Tr Simi, Jeenal Patel, Revati Puranik, Pradnya, -, Priyanka, -, Manju

-, -, -, Karunesh, Vinod, Nilesh Shirorkar, Sudeep, Milind, Rahul, Kalpesh, Ravi Grover, Sudeep, Deepankar, -, Nikhil Jaju, Dinesh Keswani, Dhiren Patra

Avinash, -, Ansley, Antariksh, Ritesh Boob, Aniket Nagle, Pranjal Roy, -, -, Rahul Patil, -, Nilesh, -, Kamlesh

Of these people I recently had a chance to meet Dhiren and Rinku.

This is the evidence for the same
Me and Dhiren (clicked by Rinku)

Me and Rinku (clicked by Dhiren). We are pointing to missing Dhiren.

Unseen Taj

2008-02-02T02:18:00.000-08:00

The commando

The interiors

The rooms

The prayers

The policeman

The march

The victory