Confluence of Birds

Unemployment

2012-01-27T22:32:00.000-08:00

Michael Spence, a Nobel laureate in economics and a professor at NYU, thinks he's found a breakthrough idea on creating jobs.

By Brian Dumaine, senior editor-at-large

FORTUNE -- One common refrain heard at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos: "we need to create more jobs." That's hardly a controversial stance -- after all no one is reallyagainst creating jobs. The sense here is that if we can just figure out a way to create more employment the Occupiers would disappear and business could return to the good old days. The rub is that with high consumer and government debt levels in much of the developed world, no one seems to have any idea how to achieve this goal. One exception is Michael Spence, a Nobel laureate in economics and a professor at NYU, who thinks he has a breakthrough idea on the topic.

According to Spence, recent surveys show that today's generation of young working-age Americans simply don't believe that they will have the same employment opportunities that their parents enjoyed. (For a measure of this, just ask any parent who still has a college grad living at home.) There are good jobs out there but they are mostly, argues Spence, in businesses that are trade-related, that are linked to the global economy. These jobs tend to be in fast-growing businesses that provide high-value added products. Think Apple (AAPL) and the iPhone. Trouble is, about 70% of the value of an iPhone -- design, software, etc. -- is created in the U.S. but most of the jobs, especially the manufacturing ones, are in Asia. Only about 2% of all American jobs are trade related.

So where will we find more high-paying jobs? Spence points to Germany as a model where manufacturing makes up about 30% of its GDP compared to only 16% for the U.S. Germany focuses on high-end products that have appeal in global markets. But the Germans didn't get there by accident. Spence says that Germany's business leaders, working with government and labor, provided high-end manufacturing training for workers. The three factions were also able to cut a deal years back to reduce labor rigidity in exchange for employment security. Germany has also formed industry clusters, sophisticated supply chains that help reduce costs and speed up design and manufacturing. A recent New York Times article explained that the major reasonApple does not make iPhones in America is that we simply don't have the sophisticated supply chains found in Asia.

Can America replicate the German model? Spence thinks so. He says the solutions are easy. They include training, more government spending in the short term, and more fiscal discipline in the long term, an energy policy that makes sense, and reforming our "silly tax system."

The current gridlock in Congress makes it unlikely that Washington would adopt such a long-term outlook and pragmatic approach to boosting jobs. Spence, however, remains undeterred. All we need to do, he says, is "act and learn rather than debate and wait."A German Solution towards creation of Jobs

THE NATIONAL CORRUPTION INSTITUTE OF INDIA

2010-12-15T22:15:00.000-08:00

You’ve all heard of B-Schools. Yes the IIM and related armada of annually turned out Business School graduates who all end up working in companies which I have huge stakes in and yes the B-SCHOOL is also a distinct brand of business teaching that allows Professor Arindam Chaudhuri to dare aspiring B-Schoolers to think beyond the IIM’s and in return be rewarded with laptops (on a first come first serve basis)

The future of this country lies not in the B-School but rather in theC-SCHOOL where C stands for CORRUPTION. Apart from this Legendary Investor the next bunch of highest money makers are our politicians.

And politicians need to excel in the art and science of corruption to become successful politicians. Therefore I forecast a C-School boom much like the B-School boom so that aspiring politicians can learn the proper ways of corruption.
But no matter how many C-schools come up, none will ever match the class and academic scholarship of the World’s Best C-School: THE NATIONAL CORRUPTION INSTITUTE OF INDIA or The NCII.

Our most prestigious politicians like Shibu Soren, Sharad Pawar, Mulayam Singh, Vilasrao Deshmukh, The Reddy Brothers, Madhu Koda, Mayawati and more recently Ashok Chavan, A.Raja and Suresh Kalmadi have passed out with distinguished honors from the hallowed grounds of the NCII.
If you too want to become a successful politician then you must join the NCII.The WORLD’S GREATEST C-SCHOOL! Just check out their new advertisement for aspiring C-School applicants:

National Corruption Institute Of India (NCII) Affiliated To Indian Parliament

Listed on the World Corruption Index as the World’s Best C-School
Invites Applications for 3 Years Undergraduate Bachelors Degree in Corruption (BC).
Earn your BC from the World’s Most Reputed Institute for Corruption Studies
OUR COMPREHENSIVE SYLLABUS INCLUDES:-
Financial Theory and Practice

Transfer of funds through HAWALA for creation of MASS GHOTALA
FINANCIAL NETWORKING -Movement of money through well engineered networks between State Party Units and Central Party Unit.
Solicitation methods to increase donations towards Party Fund.
Theory and application of Popular BRIBE concepts and methods like ‘Chai Pani’, ‘Parcel’, ‘Change’, ‘Gift Box’ , ‘Color TV’, ‘Foreign Trip’ and the ever popular ‘Children’s School Fees’

Public Relations (PR) and Media Management

Learn how to be MISQUOTED BY THE MEDIA.
Learn to say the right things to be QUOTED OUT OF CONTEXT.
Excellent training in PARTY SPOKESMANOLOGY .Learn how to argue on TV with other Party people on TV like Professor Manish Tewari and Professor Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Develop public gestures like NAMASTE and HAND WAVING.

Learn the art of proving all allegations as “BASELESS AND POLITICALLY MOTIVATED”
Effectively refute STING OPERATIONS. Advanced course in proving that VIDEO FOOTAGE IS FALSE AND MANIPULATED.

Law and Order Module:

In this module you will learn how to:

Commit MURDER and RAPE
Bring LOCAL POLICE under your control
Get BAIL super fast if you are ever arrested.
Apply and get speedy ANTICIPATORY BAIL so you don’t get arrested in the first place!
FIGHT ELECTIONS FROM JAIL! Special lectures in this chapter by visiting Professors Shahbuddin and Pappu Yadav!

Advanced Riotology

Methods to build your own storage houses for HOCKEY STICKS AND WEAPONS to engineer riots.
Identify and develop your own fuel depots for easy and widespread dispersal of RIOT FRIENDLY PETROL TANKERS
Form effective partnerships with local liquor stores for easy procurement of ‘DESI DARU’ to get rioters high and ensure awesome rioting!
Full study in CONTEMPORARY BUS BURNING. New age exciting methods for INSTANTANEOUS BUS COMBUSTION.

Introductory Kashmir method of inciting riots through STONE THROWING.

Actual rioting demonstrations under the expert tutelage of Professor Pravin Togadia.

Gain Extensive Knowledge From Our Faculty Of World Class Professors . Special Courses In:

‘2G SPECTRUM – A Telecommunications Perspective’ By Professor Andimuthu Raja

‘Flat Taking From Army Jawan’ By Professor Ashok Chavan
‘The Correct Standard of Clean’ By Professor Lalit Bhanot
‘Sports Medal or No Medal, In Corruption Always Get Gold Medal’ By Professor Suresh Kalmadi

‘Application of Corruption on Non Human Species – Stealing Money for Cattle Fodder’ By Professor Laloo Prasad Yadav
‘Building A Corridor For The Taj Mahal Can Cost More Money That Building The Taj Mahal Itself’ By Professor Mayawati Kumari.

And Many Many More!!

SO FORGET B-SCHOOL!
BE COOL JOIN C-SCHOOL.
NCII IS THE BEST.

FLAT FOR SALE

2010-11-21T05:03:00.001-08:00

Flat for Sale.

Location : Keelkattalai, Chennai

5 yrs old. 1000 sf, tile flooring, 2BHK, 1st Floor apartment. Well maintained, RWH done, 3phase connection.

Nearby amenities..

Keelkattalai Telephone Exchange : 7 mins walk

Keelkattalai Bus depot : 10 mins walk

Nearest Hospital : Arun Hospital : 15 mins walk

S7 Madippakkam Police Station : 20 mins walk

Holy Family Convent School : 30 mins walk

Please contact me for pricing details

Trees - Good Article

2010-11-18T05:44:00.000-08:00

A very good article about Trees.. Read on http://tinyurl.com/2g8zb8u

Penang - Trip to Malaysia and Singapore

2010-08-17T05:47:00.000-07:00

After a long 4 years wait, finally took off to holiday. The trip was Chn - Penang - Langkawi - KL - Genting - Putrajaya - Singapore - Chn. Took about 10 days to complete this. My first stop was at Penang.
Part of the Malay Sultanate of Kedah, Pulau Penang, is a blend of heritage and modernity. Travellers from South India can see how much it resembles Pondicherry at the surface. There ends the similarity. Penang is one of the world heritage sites in UNESCO's list. A must do is the sampling of street food here which is of the top most quality and very cheap. We stayed in the Oriental Inn hotel which was very neat and not heavy on the purse.

Places to see:
Penang Hill, Kek Lok Si Temple, Wat Chaiyamangkalaram Temple, Burmese Buddhist Temple, Penang Snake Temple, Fort Cornwallis, Esplanade, Penang Museum, Reptile Garden, Penang Bird Park, Penang National Park, Flea Market Shopping @ Little India and China Town, Mall Shopping @ Komtar.

Going around: You can take the bus in Penang which is very cheap. All buses will go via Komtar which is more or less functions like the center of the city.

Air Asia flies to Penang from Chennai.

Wanted : Change in Employement

2010-07-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

Hi Reader,

Am currently looking out for a change from my present engagement. A brief about me

I have 9+ years of experience in operations and I believe that my strong process background coupled with managerial experience and Six Sigma training will make me avery competitive candidate for any position. The key strengths which I possess to succeed in any position include:
I have successfully managed payroll process for more than 60,000 employees with a delivery of Six Sigma Quality and with strict adherence to SLA timelines.
I strive for continued excellence through various process improvements, lean analysis and quality measures which has resulted in increase in the cost benefit ratio of the team by at least 15%.
I provide exceptional contributions for all customers, through a thorough analysis of VOC and acting on the same swiftly.
My key asset would be streamlining the process, from the scratch and ensuring that the ROI is more than the expected levels.
Please mail me your mail id to kesavan.m@gmail.com with the following details and I will send my resume to you. Please see my resume for additional information on my experience.

Name :

Consultant or Direct Employer :

Name of the company:

Your email id:

Your mobile phone number or direct contact number:

Thanks for your time

Kesavan.M

Baby saying swear word

2010-05-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

America's housing market: Where it all began | The Economist

2009-08-24T09:54:00.001-07:00

America's housing market: Where it all began | The Economist

Shared via AddThis

Dilbert - Its awesome

2009-02-12T09:09:00.000-08:00

Laughter is Sad

2009-01-31T19:44:00.000-08:00

Nagesh, is no more. A great actor and the best comedians of anytime died yesterday. A gifted comedian who donned many roles including a hero, anti hero, dead body and the list goes on... His movie Server Sundaram, is a realistic portrayal of his own life where after he has made his career, went home only to find his mom no more.

He has been a regular of KB camp and Kamal's most favorite comedian.

We will all miss his ways and means of making us laugh. Today he has made us cry as well something he hasnt done in his films.

Perumazhakalam

2009-01-25T05:50:00.000-08:00

“The greatest tragedy in mankind's entire history may be the hijacking of morality by religion.”

With the words of Arthur Clarke ringing true, human emotions are so often get weighed down in the name of Religion. This is heightened in the movies. Thankfully Perumazhakalam (When it rains hard) doesnt fall under this category.

Directed by Kamal, produced by Salim Padiyath, this movie centers around the subject of two yound married women, one whose husband is killed by the other's husband. The only way out to rescue from the death sentence is by a letter of pardon by the widow.

Meera Jasmine (Razia) portrays the character so well, it fetched her the national award. Ganga (Kavya Madhavan) as the widow, gives a sterling perfomance though her footage is very limited.

The use of Hindustani Classical music as a background score is so apt that it pinches you with the pain undergone by these ladies.

A must watch for all lovers of GOOD CINEMA. Rating *****

My Prediction for 2009

2009-01-18T08:56:00.000-08:00

LEO
July 24 to August 23

Mantra of the year: Big or small, try every opportunity coming your way.

The year 2009 for the multitasking Leo is about staying more centred and having what it takes to always use mind over matter in every situation. Leos not only have a fighting spirit but they are born leaders. This special ability makes them stand apart and become achievers in any field of work. April onwards entrepreneurs are on the roll. When it comes to action they will leave no stone unturned. Difficult situations and cranky colleagues may be part and parcel of your challenging job/business. Taking it in stride and learning from your experiences, which will prove rich and abundant, will open excellent opportunities for you. Fame and fortune throughout, even if rivals and competition get a wee bit unfair around mid-year. Being open to the opinion of others and trying not to be dogmatic in your views will help you move ahead in leaps and bounds. The employed receive a wage hike/bonus with their pay check and a likely transfer to a destination overseas around April-May.

Finances
August is a good month for speculation and investments in real estate/art/stocks and shares. Money comes in as easily as it goes, but all is worth it as by the end of September you discover success. Those in the field of writing, teaching and alternative medicine may study further to deepen their knowledge and enhance their prospects as money flows in abundance as they master their craft.

Romance
Those looking for marriage/commitment will receive some good news and celebrate with loved ones. Marriage is on the cards, so be happy with your choice and make the most of fun-filled romantic weekends. If single you tend to be choosy when it comes to deciding on a life mate, follow your instinct. Make a decision by November.

Health
Focus on your health, you can do much better. Adding an exercise routine to your day can enhance your blood circulation keeping you energized and focused to give your best. A regular spa treatment and pampering yourself rejuvenates your spirits. Enjoy.

Lucky colour: Wear yellow for happiness
Lucky stone: Yellow sapphire
Lucky day: Wednesday
Famous Leos: Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Vinay Pathak

***

GaneshaSpeaks

Career
Good news: 2009 is a progressive year for you dear Leos! Promotion, perks and a satisfactory position at the workplace are waiting for you but beware of ego clashes as you progress, otherwise you may create anger all around! Ganesha suggests you to avoid changing your job in the first and third quarters. However, the second and fourth quarters are fine for a job change.

Relationships
Your focus could be largely on the progress of your career, the materialistic world, and domestic comforts, so love relationship could become secondary for a while. However, you always love to be loved and in the second quarter, you may also come across someone very interesting. However, if you are already in a relationship, this year you are likely to feel a bit stressed up about it, specifically in the second half of the year.

Favourable dates for love, sexual matters, weddings
July 23 to August 22
November 22 to December 21
January 20 to February 18

Favourable time for travelling
March 26 to 30
November 18 to December 6

Favourable time for education and related matters
February 22 to April 11
July 18 to August 1

Caption: For the multi-tasking Leo -- think Sanjay Dutt, actor and budding politician -- 2009 is about staying centred and having what it takes to always use mind over matter in every situation.

Long Time No See

2009-01-17T06:32:00.000-08:00

Hi,

Its been a real long time well.. Happy New Year. Either am tooo lazy to hit the blog or am tied up with the work. No more promises.. But def am going to keep this alive...

Cheers

Subramaniapuram

2008-08-04T09:38:00.000-07:00

This Sunday i happen to watch Subramaniapuram.. Well the new breed of directors like Bala, Ameer, Vishnu Vardhan all seem to have the knack of potraying violence in altogether new frame of picture. In Billa it was highly sophisticated whereas Paruthiveeran was very close to earth..

This film by debutante Sasikumar is simply hard hitting to the terms of reality as those who are native of Madurai would swear by heart that this is how life was back in the 80's. For the Chennaiites, this might throw some surprise but this is REAL..

Subramaniapuram simply rocks.. Honestly I never knew James Vasanthan could pull out such a terrific performance in the musical score...

Long Time No Post...

2008-07-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Its been a real long time since there was a post from me.. Well the news as of now is that am Alive and Kicking... Currently bit tied up with work..

Will sooon resume back.

Jashn-e-bahaara

2008-02-04T10:09:00.000-08:00

Kehne ko Jashn-e-bahara hai
Ishq yeh dekhke hairaan hai
Kehne ko Jashn-e-bahara hai
Ishq yeh dekhke hairaan hai
Phool se khusboo khafa khafa hai gulshan mein
Chupa hai koi ranj fiza ki chilman mein

Sare sehmein nazare hain
Soye soye vaqt ke dhare hain
Aur dil mein koi khoye si baatein hain
Ooooo hooooo…

Kehne ko Jashn-e-bahara hai
Ishq yeh dekhke hairaan hai
Phool se khusboo khafa khafa hai gulshan mein
Chupa hai koi ranj fiza ki chilman mein

Kaise kahen kya hai sitam
Sochte hai ab yeh hum
Koi kaise kahen woh hai ya nahi humare
Karte to hai saath safar
Faasle hain phir bhi magar
Jaise milte nahi kisi dariya ke do kinare

Pass hain phir bhi paas nahi
Humko yeh gum raas nahi
Seeshe ki ek diware hai jaise darmiya

Sare sehmein nazare hain
Soye soye vaqt ke dhare hain
Aur dil mein koi khoye si baatein hain

Oooo hoooo..

Kehne ko Jashn-e-bahara hai
Ishq yeh dekhke hairaan hai

Phool se khusboo khafa khafa hai gulshan mein
Chupa hai koi ranj fiza ki chilman mein

Hum ne jo tha nagma suna
Dil ne tha usko chuna
Yeh dastaan humein vaqt ne kaise sunai

Hum jo agar hai gumgee
Woh bhi udhar khush to nahi
Mulakato mein hai jaise ghul si gai tanhai

Milke bhi hum milte nahi
Khilke bhi gul khilte nahi
Aankhon mein hai baharein dil mein khiza

Sare sehmein nazare hain
Soye soye vaqt ke dhare hain
Aur dil mein koi khoye si baatein hain
oooo hoo

Kehne ko Jashan-e-bahara hai
Ishq yeh dekhke hairaan hai
Phool se khusboo khafa khafa hai gulshan mein
Chupa hai koi ranj fiza ki chilman mein

Zubeidaa

2007-11-11T08:35:00.001-08:00

Well this is a old movie.. not very old but in mid 2005 somewhere... But this is a sheer masterpiece by Shyam Benegal. After a long time I got hold of this DVD and immediately got hold of it.. It is a very simple story of a girl who wishes to be free told in a backdrop of Rajput kingdom and the culture clash between Mumbai and Fatehpur Kingdom..

Zubeidaa, the central character played by Karishma Kapoor has given a good performance and even the supporting cast by Rekha, Manoj Bajpai and Rajat Kapoor is splendid. A.R.Rahman has given his heart and soul to bring out a pleasant soul stirring renditions especially So Gaye by Lataji.

This movie is a collector's item and I have got mine.. As often repeated in the movie, The saga of love is indeed lost...

My First using Windows Live

2007-11-10T06:52:00.001-08:00

Hi...

Am posting this through Windows Live Writer... Hope this is successful. If it is, then my blog will be updated on a daily basis...

C ya soon

Bourne Ultimate

2007-09-22T12:58:00.000-07:00

Hi folks,

Am back again with Bourne Ultimatum... Jason Bourne is still searching for his past and this movie starts right where it left in Bourne Supremacy. Jason sees Neski's daughter and he wants to apologize for her dad's demise. CIA starts tracking down Jason and again Jason is on the run through the streets of Paris, Madrid, London and New York...

Bourne Ultimatum is a very sharp, slick movie with edge of the seat chases and master games to recover the TOP SECRET Treadstone / Blackbriar files.... the car chase and the way Jason tricks the CIA deputy director is simply awesome. Matt Damon proves still why he is THE action hero ...

Altogether this is a good offering from Paul Greengrass and the one of the best films still going strong well into the third offering of the series.

Rating : ****

Satham Podathey... Silent Classic

2007-09-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks,

Today I went to Satham Podathey, a thriller by Vasanth and the film is simply good. Neat screenplay, excellent background scores added with sterling performance by Padmapriya, Prithiviraj and Nitin are the pluses of the movie. Lovely photography is adding its weight to the positives of the movie.

On the flipside, couple of songs are'nt quite necessary in this thriller and a bit of melodrama, though the latter might have been a must to showcase the true story into a larger than life image.

In totality I would rate the movie 3.5 out of 5... Satham Podathey is a silent classic.

RGV's Aaargh

2007-09-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

Well its been a long time since I posted here and today I got an opportunity to do so.. Today I went to see RGV's Aag... it really set my patience on fire... the most stupidest, idiotic tribute ever made to the most loveliest entertainer India has ever produced. I m not going into the story coz there is no story

Wonder why AB agreed to do this project in the first instance... so many minute things which made the original a great movie are missing here...

The famous coin is missing
Soorma Bhopali's antics
Highly subtle romance between AB and JB
the immortalised mouth organ music... plays bit in parts in the new one

And to top it all.... Gabbar's sarcastic dialouge delivery...

to sum it up...

kitne aadmi the theater mey
sirf do sarkaar...

Ab tera kya hoga ramu....

Anthem of Love - By the Genius ARR

2007-08-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

Mausam Aate jaate Hain
Sadiyaan Aateen Jaateen Hain
Kuchh Cheezen Rahjaateen Hain Yaad Mein
Wo Din Wo Raaj Kahaan Hai
Naaz-O-Andaaz Kahaan Hai
Naghmen Hain Aaj Sada Ke Saath Mein

Koi Kahta Hai Jeene Ka Maqsad Yahaan Inayat Mein Hai
Koi Kahta Hai Jeene Ka Maqsad Yahaan Daulat Mein Hai
Mujhse Jo Koi Ye Poochhe Kyon Na Kahun Zindagi Ki karaamat
Mohabbat Mein Hai

Jhum Jhum-Tana Nana- Jhum Tana Nana-Jhum Ek Sada Dil Hai
Jhum Jhum-Tnana Nana-Jhum Tana Nana Nana Ek Sada Rab Hai
Jhum Jhum-Tana Nana-Jhum Tana Nana-Jhum Ek Mohabbat Hai

Radha Krishna Ki Mohabbat
Aadam Haua Ki Mohabbat
Heer Aur Ranjha Ki Mohabbat ..Ek Hai

Shaah Jahaan Mumtaaz Ki Mohabbat
Laila Majnu ki Mohabbat
Teri Aur Meri Mohabbat Ek Hai

Jhum Jhum-Tana Nana- Jhum Tana Nana-Jhum Ek Sada Dil Hai
Jhum Jhum-Tnana Nana-Jhum Tana Nana Nana Ek Sada Rab Hai
Jhum Jhum-Tana Nana-Jhum Tana Nana-Jhum Ek Mohabbat Hai

Deevane Mohabbat Ke Hain Jo Hai Un Ko Pahla Salam
Tohfa Mohabbat Ka Hai jo Har Dil Ka Usko Salam

Money Laundering

2007-07-25T09:09:00.000-07:00

Am back now after a hectic workdays... Post Sivaji I was into a thought process as to what this Money Laundering is all about and what is happening. Some of the knowledge which I gained are shared in this blog....

The tragic events that occurred in the United States on 11 September 2001 and other terrorist attacks that are being perpetrated with alarming regularity across the world, are a grim reminder of the power of organized crime. In the wake of the terrorist attacks, a number of governments have called for a rapid and coordinated effort to detect and prevent the misuse of the world financial system by terrorists.

Money Laundering refers to the conversion or "Laundering" of money which is illegally obtained, so as to make it appear to originate from a legitimate source. Money Laundering is being employed by launderers worldwide to conceal criminal activity associated with it such as drug / arms trafficking, terrorism and extortion. As per an estimate of the International Monetary Fund, the aggregate size of money laundering in the world could be somewhere between two and five percent of the worlds gross domestic product.

There are three independent steps or stages in Money Laundering as shown below:

Placement: "Placement" refers to the physical disposal of bulk cash proceeds derived from illegal activity.

Layering: "Layering" refers to the separation of illicit proceeds from their source by creating complex layers of financial transactions. Layering conceals the audit trail and provides anonymity.

Integration: "Integration" refers to the reinjection of the laundered proceeds back into the economy in such a way that they re-enter the financial system as normal business funds.

Banks and financial institutions are vulnerable from the Money Laundering point of view since criminal proceeds can enter banks in the form of large cash deposits. Bank officials therefore need to exercise constant vigilance in opening of accounts with large cash deposits and in checking suspicious transactions.

Objectives of Money Laundering and Rules for Bankers

The major objectives of Money Laundering activities are:

Concealing the true ownership of illegally-obtained money and
Placement, layering and integration of such funds

Two cardinal rules that are to be invariably observed by bank officials for steering clear of the Money Laundering Trap, are:

Know your customer (KYC) and,
Know your employee

Money Laundering can be traced back to the Hawala Mechanism, which facilitated the conversion of money from black into white. "Hawala" is an Arabic word meaning the transfer of money or information between two persons using a third person. The system dates to the Arabic traders as a means of avoiding robbery. It predates western banking by several centuries.

The Hawala Mechanism left virtually no paper trail, which would attract investigations. The profits generated from Hawala were surreptitiously invested in real estate, gilt edged securities etc., to launder them.

Crime & Money Laundering

Across the world, banks have become a major target of Money Laundering operations and financial crime because they provide a variety of services and instruments that can be used to conceal the source of money.

Money Laundering has a close nexus with organized crime. Money Launderers amass enormous profits through drug trafficking, international frauds, arms dealing etc. Cash transactions are predominantly used for Money Laundering as they facilitate the concealment of the true ownership and origin of money. Criminal activities such as drug trafficking acquire an air of anonymity through cash transactions. With their polished, articulate and disarming behaviour, Money Launderers attempt to make bankers lower their guard so as to achieve their objective.

Implications of Money Laundering for banks

What are the implications of Money Laundering for banks? Launderers employ currency deposits, fake businesses and cash being generated through legitimate businesses. Across the world, banks and financial institutions are liable for prosecution if their employees become involved in Money Laundering activities. At the same time, norms for record keeping, reporting, account opening and transaction monitoring are being introduced by central banks across the globe for checking the incidence of Money Laundering. Employees of banks are also being trained to recognise suspicious transactions. The dilemma of the banker in the context of Money Laundering is to sift the transactions representing legitimate business and banking activity from the irregular / suspicious transactions.

The Basle Statement of Principles

The Committee on Banking Regulations and Supervisory Practices of the G 10 at a meeting in Basle in Switzerland, in December 1988, evolved a set of principles to address the dangers posed by Money Launderers. The committee was formed by the Central Bank Governors of Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and United States. These principles, which are now known as the Basle Principles, deal with the prevention of criminal use of the banking system for the purpose of Money Laundering. Recommendations for banks and other financial institutions have been set out in the Basle Principles so that these institutions can protect themselves against Money Laundering. The Basle Statement of Principles covers all aspects of laundering through the banking system.

The Basle Principles suggest policies and procedures in four areas to curb Money Laundering as shown below:

Customer Identification
Compliance with Laws
Cooperation with Law Enforcement agencies, and,
Adherence to the Statement.

These are dealt with in some detail below:

Customer Identification

This re-emphasizes the adage "Know your Customer" (KYC). KYC requires that banks should make reasonable efforts to determine the customers true identity, and must introduce effective procedures for verifying the bonafides of new customers.

Compliance with Laws

The laws and regulations pertaining to financial transactions as enacted in different Banking related statutes must be observed. Banks should not offer services or provide active assistance in case of transactions where they have good reason to suppose that these are associated with Money Laundering activities.

Co-operation with Law Enforcement Authorities

Banks should co-operate fully with national law enforcement authorities to the extent permitted by specific local regulations concerning customer confidentiality.

Adherence to the Statement

Adhering to the Statement implies that banks need to adopt policies that are consistent with the Statement and ensure that all staff members are informed of the banks policy in this regard. Some key factors in promoting adherence to the Statement of Principles are staff training and implementing specific procedures for customer identification and retaining internal records of transactions.

The Basle Principles set out an effective guideline for what banks and financial institutions should do to cope with Money Laundering.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

In response to mounting concern over money laundering, the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) was established by the G-7 Summit that was held in Paris in 1989. This intergovernmental body facilitates the development and promotion of policies, both at national and international levels, to combat Money Laundering. While reviewing Money Laundering techniques and counter-measures, the FATF monitors members' progress in implementing anti-money laundering measures. The FATF also collaborates with other international bodies involved in combating money laundering. Forty Recommendations, which provide a comprehensive blueprint of the action needed to combat money laundering, have been set forth by the FATF. These forty recommendations are being implemented by many banks across the world.

Money Laundering: The Indian Scenario

With increasing sophistication in the use of technology for transfer of funds and given the fact that there has been considerable liberalization and progressive dismantling of controls in the regulatory framework in India, banks in India need to be in a state of high alert so that they can steer clear of Money Laundering. It is important to remember that banks and financial institutions are both transmitters of money and regulators of the flow of money.

In India, we already have certain prudent banking practices which check the proliferation of Money Laundering activities in the country. Some of these practices are outlined below:

Identification of prospective clients is carried out prior to the opening of a bank account by obtaining proper introduction. This procedure partly addresses the requirement of KYC.

Criminal investigation is allowed in banking transactions in India. For example, the Income Tax Department can call for information relating to customers accounts and transactions. Erring accounts can be frozen. This addresses the Basle Principle on Compliance with legislation and law enforcement agencies.

Certain statues such as "The Bankers Books Evidence Act, 1891" and the "Banking Companies (Preservation of Records) Rules, 1985" require the making available / retention of records to investigating agencies, which addresses the Basle Principle on Record Keeping and Systems.

Existing Legal Framework to Curb Money Laundering in India

In India, while the Prevention of Money Laundering Bill is yet to be enacted as a law , we have certain statutes, as outlined below, that incorporate certain measures which attempt to address the problem:

The Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974
The Income Tax Act, 1961
The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988
The Indian Penal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985
The Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1988

The Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), 2002, seeks to deal with types of heinous crimes like subversion, insurgency and terrorism in place of the existing criminal justice system, which is not designed to deal with such horrific crimes. The Act replaces the Ordinance that was first promulgated on October 24, 2001 and re-promulgated thereafter in December 2001. The Act also meets the requirement of the United Nations resolution calling upon member nations to enact a model deterrent law to curb the growing menace of internal and global terrorism.

Irregular / Suspicious Transactions related to Money Laundering

The list below provides examples of some of the basic ways in which money can be laundered. Banks need to be wary of such transactions.

Customers depositing cash through a large number of cash deposit slips into the same account or customers having numerous accounts into which large cash deposits are made. Each deposit is such that the amount thereof is not significant but the aggregate of all credits is sizeable. This is known as "smurfing".

A substantial increase in turnover in a dormant account.

Receipt or payment of large sums of cash, which have no obvious purpose or relationship to the account holder and / or his business

Reluctance to provide normal information when opening an account or providing minimal or fictitious information

Depositing high value third party cheques endorsed in favour of the customer or other transactions on behalf of non-account holders

Large cash withdrawals from a previously dormant or inactive account, or from an account which has received an unexpected large credit from abroad

Sudden increase in cash deposits of an individual with no justification

Employees leading lavish lifestyles that do not match their known sources of income

Although the above list is only indicative of the possible occurrence of Money Laundering, the need for prompt recognition of suspicious / irregular transactions is emphasised.

To sum up:

Money Laundering is a serious, highly sophisticated and global criminal activity. The degree of organization displayed in Money Laundering is a major cause for concern of banks and bank supervisors. Banks and other financial institutions can protect themselves against Money Laundering by implementing an effective KYC Policy, knowing their customers, checking the source of funds, monitoring the conduct of accounts, and by learning to recognise suspicious/ irregular transactions.

Aatha naan Paas aaiten :)

2007-05-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

I have successfully cleared Six Sigma Green Belt Certification Exam. Now waiting to finish my project, after which I will be a Six Sigma Green Belt. Yahoooooooo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Senti Mental

2007-04-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I had taken a leaf out of my life experience and a poser was given to which so many of us responded. Mostly the comments were in support of Suzie... This is the point which I would like to point out.. How come most of us think on the same bandwidth called Sentiment... Theoritically it might sound am being sadist or inhuman... But let us analyze the following points before we come into a conclusion...

If Suzie can marry Karthik, did she weigh in the recuperssions Karthik is going to face, from his family and from the society...

What if Karthik was showing more of sympathy and moral support than true love and affection...

What is the acceptance level, tolerance level of both... Will this relationship head the same way...

This is how most of us think. Positive and Sympathetic during decisions taken which matters most to heart. We Indians are collectively programmed to think more on the matters of heart than the rationality called brain. Similar example is of Richard Gere kissing Shilpa... Oh cmon guys show some sanity in what we protest... What is wrong in he kissing Shilpa when both of them are really not bothered. The so called moral police want to gain mileage in everything that concerns some attention... Wish they show the same kind of attention to the innumerable rapes and atrocities done against women...

Anyways let us all practice the process of thinking a bit practical before we take the judgement...

To Do or Not to Do

2007-04-22T08:24:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: Any reference to the living is purely intentional and there is no coincidence as the following is lifted straight from a real time life experience...

Karthik was happy when Suzie accepted his invitation of dinner.. He had been anticipating this for a long time.. Reason : There was something troubling Suzie and she was masking her pain with false happiness...

A little flashback into the lives of these.. Karthik and Suzie worked in the same office. Over the time they had become good friends..

The D-Day had arrived. Karthik picked Suzie and went to a restaurant where they could talk in peace without any botheration.. Karthik asked Suzie about what is bothering her.. She was as cool as cucumber and she masked her sorrows with a great smile.. On the way to the resto, Suzie and Karthik were talking about their lives and Karthik told Suzie about how his failed love life, made him to attempt at committing suicide and Suzie was feeling bad about it... This made her a bit comfy with Karthik and it also enabled Suzie to break the ice with Karthik.

They both talked and Suzie told him about her story how she was in love with a guy.. She married him against the wishes of her parents only to see her dreams fade away, when this guy left her with a kid... Suzie is now without any moral support and she is leading a life for her own... The kid is also not with her... Karthik held back his tears with a great effort and asked Suzie why is she not considering to marry again... Suzie replied " " ....

Ok this is the story.. Wht should Suzie do.. Should she marry or not.. Can Karthik help Suzie to lead a great life which she dreamt of..

Outsourcing at its best

2007-04-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

Lawyer Balthazar Napoleon de Bourbon, 48, of Bhopal, India, has always loved France, and even gave his children French names. And, he has recently learned, he may be first in line as king of France. His lineage has been traced to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, and apparently also the Bourbon king of Spain. He is willing to take a DNA test to confirm the link.

You know, this "outsourcing" thing is really getting out of hand.

Taxing the Tax

2007-04-10T08:42:00.000-07:00

The financial year just closed a couple of weeks back and virtually in every office across India would have burnt the proverbial midnight oil for one single reason, Tax...

Indian Taxation is the most complicated and interesting laws ever made in the world. A simple illustration below at an attempt to make it easy across the board.. Read on

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.

The fifth would pay $1.

The sixth would pay $3.

The seventh would pay $7.

The eighth would pay $12.

The ninth would pay $18.

The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until on day, the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20." Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?' They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer as they were paying less than the amount. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay. And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).

The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).

The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).

The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).

The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings. "I only got a dollar out of the $20," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man," but he got $10!" "Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got TEN times more than I!" "That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!" "Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible

Walk the Line

2007-04-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

Am a die hard Kamal fan. There is one very disturbing factor which is missing in him is the mass appeal.. He appeals only to the educated class A mass. Now wait this is not a post on his latest venture Dasavatharam or his lineage.. This is a post about another man. A self made, hardworking, who is definitely has the massest appeal.. Yes am talking about Sivaji (The Boss) Rao Gaikwad better known to the Tamil people as Superstar Rajnikanth.

He had an introduction which not even in one's wildest imaginations would have gone to any actor. The disturbing scene of a man in rags with a beedi in his mouth opening the gates of a house is well etched in the memory of all those who had watched the movie Apoorva Ragangal. This can also be said in a metaphor, opened the gates of fortune of this man who has become the Superstar of the South and if Sivaji ( his latest movie) becomes a hit, will become the highest paid actor in Asia.

Rajni's travel can be of two distinctive parts.. From the 70's and 80's till early 90's where he was playing the role of an actor, whose films were definitely were meaningful and full of acting unlike style of today's films... His notable performances were in Apoorva Ragangal, Aarilirindhu Arubathu Varai, Moondru Mudichu, Thambikku Entha Ooru, 16 Vayathinile, Priya and so on... Then came the style and action hero period where till date his best films were Baasha, Annamalai. His flair for comedy was brought to the fore in Thillu Mullu which again showcased his best performance. With Sivaji set to release in May, Rajni would have completed a full circle.. From Sivaji to Sivaji...

The buck starts from here...

2007-03-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

Gurukanth Desai : "Dhas rupaiya dho aur companee ka Malik ban jao.."

This is borrowed from the immortal legend who actually turned the Great Indian Middle Class dream a reality. Dhirubhai Ambani redefined the Stock Market and today the entire nation's economy is measured how well the stock market works... Bears, Bulls, Stags rule the nation's progress and whoa there are stars over your head... We dont know what are these.. An attempt to upload these complicated working mechanism into a layman's head...

Stock Market is the place where companies scout for capital to kickstart their projects, fund their ventures. This is achieved by dividing the ownership of the company into denominations which can be easily accessible to all, known as Shares. The sensex is the yardstick measuring the performance of the listed companies in the stock exchange. When the sensex goes up (Bullish Market), it means that overall the companies are performing very good and when it comes down (Bearish Market), it means that our economy is not doing that well.

Now the latest fad is mutual funds and host of other financial instruments to tap the capital. Why is that we need so much capital.. Why companies are after our money ??? Well the answer lies in the simple fact called "GREED". We all would want to earn more. Likewise the companies as well.. When we all get more money, then we are happy. Then everyone are happy.. The money we earn is either spent or locked up in savings for our future... When you spend you buy other product or services which is in turn is produced by someone else. This person needs money to produce them. So where does he go for the money.. Obviously to you only. He is merely acting as a medium where he is helping you to spend your money.

On the other hand, when you lock up your money for savings, what you do you put it in bank or any savings scheme. The bank in turn,to earn money,lends the money on a rotation to others who need money to earn money, with some interest. Now with so much money in circulation, there is something which we need to do something for us. To improve our living condition, no one is bothered to spend. Practically we would not pay to lay roads in front of our house. It is also not possible.

This is where the bonds, securities come into picture. There are various types of bonds with varying risk factors. The high risk instruments come with a carrot called higer interest rates. Attached is also what you call as the devil. The varying degree in the risks is directly linked with the rate of return or simply known as the return on investment. The government floated bonds are with low risks and low returns and the funds from these are used for various developmental projects.

Next time you hear about investing in stocks, equities and other financial terminologies, just think that all are getting channelised to the growth of yourself financially and to the growth of nation.

My Heart will go on....

2007-03-12T10:38:00.000-07:00

How do you live... What makes you live another day...A little poking into the human body system, reveals some of the engineering marvels created by the greatest engineer. Check out how we live everyday...

The normal heart is a strong, hard-working pump made of muscle tissue. It's about the size of a person's fist. The heart has four chambers. The upper two chambers are the right artium and left atrium, and the lower two are the right ventricle and left ventricle. Blood is pumped through the chambers, aided by four heart valves. The valves open and close to let the blood flow in only one direction.

The four heart valves are:

the tricuspid valve, located between the right atrium and the right ventricle

the pulmonary (pulmonic) valve, between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery

the mitral valve, between the left atrium and left ventricle the aortic valve, between the left ventricle and

the aorta.

Each valve has a set of "flaps" (also called leaflets or cusps). The mitral valve normally has two flaps; the others have three flaps. Dark bluish blood, low in oxygen, flows back to the heart after circulating through the body. It returns to the heart through veins and enters the right atrium. This chamber empties blood through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle. The right ventricle pumps the blood under low pressure through the pulmonary valve into the pulmonary artery. From there the blood goes to the lungs where it gets fresh oxygen. After the blood is refreshed with oxygen, it's bright red. Then it returns by the pulmonary veins to the left atrium. From there it passes through the mitral valve and enters the left ventricle.

The left ventricle pumps the red oxygen-rich blood out through the aortic valve into the aorta . The aorta takes blood to the body's general circulation. The blood pressure in the left ventricle is the same as the pressure measured in the arm.

Have you ever wondered what makes your heart beat? How does it do it automatically, every second of every minute of every hour of every day? The answer lies in a special group of cells that have the ability to generate electrical activity on their own. These cells separate charged particles. Then they spontaneously leak certain charged particles into the cells. This produces electrical impuses in the pacemaker cells which spread over the heart, causing it to contract. These cells do this more than once per second to produce a normal heart beat of 72 beats per minute.

The natural pacemaker of the heart is called the sinoatrial node (SA node). It is located in the right atrium. The heart also contains specialized fibers that conduct the electrical impulse from the pacemaker (SA node) to the rest of the heart.

The electrical impulse leaves the SA node (1) and travels to the right and left atria, causing them to contract together. This takes .04 seconds. There is now a natural delay to allow the atria to contract and the ventricles to fill up with blood. The electrical impulse has now traveled to the atrioventricular node (AV node) (2). The electrical impulse now goes to the Bundle of His (3), then it divides into the right and left bundle branches (4) where it rapidly spreads using Purkinje fibers (5) to the muscles of the right and left ventricle, causing them to contract at the same time.

Any of the electrical tissue in the heart has the ability to be a pacemaker. However, the SA node generates an electric impulse faster than the other tissue so it is normally in control. If the SA node should fail, the other parts of the electrical system can take over, although usually at a slower rate.

Although the pacemaker cells create the electrical impulse that causes the heart to beat, other nerves can change the rate at which the pacemaker cells fire and the how strongly the heart contracts. These nerves are part of the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system has two parts - The sympathetic nervous system and the parasympathetic nervous system. The sympathetic nerves increase the heart rate and increase the force of contraction. The parasympathetic nerves do the opposite.

All this activity produces electrical waves we can measure. The measurement is typically represented as a graph called an electrocardiogram (EKG).

So next time when you hear your heart beat you know what activity is going on there...

Around the world on a budget day !!!!

2007-03-10T19:28:00.001-08:00

Come Feb 28th, the whole of the world gives the utmost attention to one man whose speech will decide the fate of the world's largest democracy's spending and earnings. In a world with diverse political ideologies and economic structures, each country has its own way of making the budget. The mechanism to manage country's finances is intrinsically linked with political structure in a given country. Even as Indian Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram disappointed us with the budget, let us look at the other economic powerhouses on the way they prepare the budget.

United States

The Federal Budget process begins on the first Monday in February of each year and should be concluded by October 1, the start of the new Federal Fiscal. The process is initiated with the President submitting a proposed Budget to Congress. Congress is under no obligation to adopt all or any of the President's budget proposals and often makes significant changes. However, since the President must ultimately approve all future bills, the Congress is often reluctant to completely ignore the priorities of the President's budget.

The Congressional Budget Act requires passage of an annual "Congressional Budget Resolution", a concurrent resolution passed in identical form by both House and Senate, but not requiring the President's signature. Both House and Senate Budget Committees hold hearings on the annual Budget Resolution. The Budget Committees are required to present their final Budget Resolution for consideration by the full House and Senate by April 1. The full House and Senate now debate, amend, and take action on the Budget Resolution as reported to them by their respective Budget Committees. Agreed to by both House and Senate, it is approved by April 15.

As a vital part of the Budget Resolution, Congress must agree on "spending allocations" or limits on how much money can be spent on discretionary programmes during the following fiscal year and next five fiscal years. These spending allocations establish aggregate totals of money that cannot be exceeded by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees during the annual spending process. The House and Senate Appropriations Committees now take the total aggregate spending allocations from the Budget Resolution and divide the amount into thirteen "sub allocations". By June 10, the full House and Senate should begin consideration of the annual spending bills.

The Budget Act stipulates that the House should have given final approval to all 13 spending bills by June 30. All 13 spending bills are then signed by the President and become Public Laws by October 1, the start of the new Fiscal Year.

Japan

Japan's annual budget is adopted through a parliamentary/cabinet system. Unlike in the United States, where the Congress has constitutional authority over formulation of the budget, in Japan that authority is bestowed upon with the Prime Minister's cabinet. The budgetary process generally begins soon after the start of a new fiscal year on April 1. All ministries and government agencies prepare budget requests in consultation with the Policy Research Council. In the fall of each year, Budget Bureau examiners revie these requests in great detail, while top Finance Ministry officials work out the general aspects of new budget and the distribution of tax revenues.

During the winter, after release of the ministry's draft budget, campaigning by individual Diet members for their constituents and different ministries for revisions and supplementary allocations become intense. The coalition leaders and Finance Minsitry officials consult on a final draft budget, which is generally passed by the Diet in late winter.

Thus, when the budget document is submitted to the Diet during the end of January, it is not the beginning of budget formulation, as in the United States, but rather the final result of budget deliberations following the completion of negotiations among the majority political parties and the ministries.

Germany

In Germany, budget bill presentation is on the Budget Day that coincides with UK queen's speech. As such, the three day 'Haushaltsdebatte' is the annual big set-piece of German politics.
Many of the government's initiatives are well known in advance, having been carefully agreed upon during long negotiations between the governing coalition parties. The three day debate is mainly a chance for the government to highlight the 'success' of its policies and outline its plans for the future. In their speeches, the chancellor, his finance minister and the rest of the cabinet will cover all policy areas, from spending issues to defence and foreign policy.

The opposition parties, meanwhile, will tries to expose the chinks in the government's armour. After the first reading of the budget bill in the Bundestag or Federal Parliament, it is closely scrutinised by the parliamentary budget committee, which is chaired by an opposition MP. The bill then goes to Germany's second chamber, the Bundesrat or Federal Council, where the country's regional states are represented.

United Kingdom

In the UK, the budget is prepared by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the second most important member of the government. It must be passed by Parliament. The Parliament seldom makes changes to the budget.

France

In France, the finance bill is presented to the National Assembly together with a report on the general economic situation. The budget proposals are referred to the Committee of Finance, General Economy and Planning. Any changes to the finance bill are presented as 'adjustments'.

The proposals are then passed on to the Senate for consideration within 20 days. It is here that the budget is likely to encounter the toughest, although mostly verbal resistance. The Senate may be controlled by opposition parties. The government may indulge them and give way on a few issues. However, if it commands a solid majority in the National Assembly it can be adamant on its original proposals.

The government now treads more carefully if it has a slender majority based on a fractious coalition. The governing parties find a compromise, preferably before the bill is presented to parliament. If the prime minister is in a tight spot and needs to rely on every single vote, maverick parliamentarians - or parties - can wreak havoc and force last-minute changes.

However, it can be said that the French government's budget has an easier time in parliament than either Germany or the United States.

China

The Legislature of China also known as National People's Congress is a huge body which on the whole meets only for a few days every year. A few important members from this body are chosen to constitute a "standing committee."

It is this committee which drafts the budget in China. However, the National People's Congress meets to approve this draft and give it the final form of the "new annual Budget."

Can brahmins eat non veg...

2007-02-17T08:02:00.000-08:00

This debate has been raging for decades and I have decided to add some fuel to the fire as well... Well can brahmins eat non veg or not... When you ask a strict brahmin whether he eats non veg, pat will come the reply that he doesnt and if you start asking the logic behind it he will quote all the scriptures and conclude that they (we) are not supposed to eat non veg...

I found this a bit interesting and did some research on this and posting the findings here...

Hindu scriptures give permission to have non-vegetarian food

a. There are many Hindus who are strictly vegetarian. They think it is againsttheir religion to consume non-vegetarian food. But the true fact is that the Hindu scriptures permit a person to have meat. The scriptures mention Hindu sages and saints consuming non-vegetarian food.

b. It is mentioned in Manu Smruti, the law book of Hindus, in chapter 5 verse 30

“The eater who eats the flesh of those to be eaten does nothing bad,even if he does it day after day, for God himself created some to be eaten and some to be eater.”

c. Again next verse of Manu Smruti, that is, chapter 5 verse 31 says

“Eating meat is right for the sacrifice, this is traditionally known as a rule of the gods.”

d. Further in Manu Smruti chapter 5 verse 39 and 40 says

“God himself created sacrificial animals for sacrifice, ... , therefore killing in a sacrifice is not killing.”

Mahabharata Anushashan Parva chapter 88 narrates the discussion between Dharmaraj Yudhishthira and Pitamah Bhishma about what food one should offer to Pitris (ancestors) during the Shraddha (ceremony of dead) to keep them satisfied. Paragraph reads as follows:

“Yudhishthira said, “O thou of great puissance, tell me what that object is which, if dedicated to the Pitiris (dead ancestors), become inexhaustible! What Havi, again, (if offered) lasts for all time? What, indeed, is that which(if presented) becomes eternal?”

“Bhishma said, “Listen to me, O Yudhishthira, what those Havis are which persons conversant with the rituals of the Shraddha (the ceremony of dead)regard as suitable in view of Shraddha and what the fruits are that attach to each. With sesame seeds and rice and barely and Masha and water and roots and fruits, if given at Shraddhas, the pitris, O king, remain gratified forthe period of a month. With fishes offered at Shraddhas, the pitris remain gratified for a period of two months. With the mutton they remain gratified for three months and with the hare for four months, with the flesh of thegoat for five months, with the bacon (meat of pig) for six months, and with the flesh of birds for seven. With venison obtained from those deer thatare called Prishata, they remain gratified for eight months, and with that obtained from the Ruru for nine months, and with the meat of Gavaya for ten months, With the meat of the bufffalo their gratification lasts for eleven months. With beef presented at the Shraddha, their gratification, it is said ,lasts for a full year. Payasa mixed with ghee is as much acceptable to the pitris as beef.

With the meat of Vadhrinasa (a large bull) the gratification of pitris lasts for twelve years. the flesh of rhinoceros, offered to the pitris on anniversaries of the lunar days on which they died, becomes inexhaustible. The potherb called Kalaska, the petals of kanchana flower,and meat of (red) goat also, thus offered, prove inexhaustible.So but natural if you want to keep your ancestors satisfied forever, you should serve them the meat of red goat.

Well even though we have some documented verses with us my sincere request is to spare the poor animals... Let us all become veggies...

Trip to Mahabs...A Different Story Altogether

2007-02-11T06:56:00.000-08:00

Well my first post after a long forced exile... Today I went to Mahabs as a part of community social responsibility(CSR) in my company. A small flashback into this CSR, our company has taken over a school named SET Anne's and they are sponsoring the underprivileged but academically bright students. Today we took them on a field trip to Mahabs...

We started the day from the school at 10.00 am. Here in the school I saw some real heart wrenching situation which I guess should be taken as lesson (still we forget the next day)... One student's mom gave her kid some 60 bucks and you should see the notes, all soiled and crumpled... She just told her kid not to worry and enjoy...

The ride to Mahabs was a rocking one.. These guys and gals were enjoying to the core... they were happily singing and dancing in the van and were in their heights of enthus.. One thing that stuck to me was their IQ levels... We were just interacting and quizzing and found these guys to be very intelligent and witty too... A small teaser to their level of wit and intelligence, we asked them why Punjab was named as Punjab, the guy retorted immediately, it was becos "panjathulla adi pattuchu athan"...another guy started asking questions to us..."america karanukku irumal vantha enna pannuvan", before we cud answer he said "irumuvan", "seri innoru kelvi", "africa karanukku vikkal vantha enna pannuvan", another guy immediately said "thanni kudippan"...but the master was this " intha sidela oru terrorist, antha sidela oru thirudan, naduvula oru police vandi, policekkaran yaara first pidippan", we said the terrorist, he laffed and said " sir muthla avan vandi brake a pidippan" we were like....(you can guess our feelings)....

Once we reached Mahabs and did all the sightseeing, we rested for lunch... These kids were so damn enviro conscious, they put all the plastic covers, tumblers which were used for lunch in the bin and the whole place never looked like a group of 50 ate there.. Not even a single morsel of food was there in the ground...Boy they are putting us to shame... Then we went for shopping and honsetly you will never believe, majority of these guys were buying bangles, sea shells and other things for their family and they didnt spend a single penny for them, not even for eating or the horse ride... Responsibility at their best...

Coming back home, these guys thanked us for the wonderful time they had.. you know how.. they spoke to us in fluent English... and these kids are from the slums and corporation schools.. At this point of time I feel they are not under privileged.. They have risen above everyone... Atleast we can be rest assured that the future of India is in safe hands...

TERMINATOR RETURNS

2007-02-07T08:12:00.000-08:00

AM BACK.. MY NET IS WORKING.. ROSE LIKE A PHOENIX.. FROM THE ASHES...

wish i cud write like this... but yes me back to the world of net and blog...

English Songs...

2006-11-02T19:33:00.000-08:00

The other day my friend was browsing through my blog and she called me up and said “you are posting all those things which can’t be argued or debated. Post something which can be argued or debated, which will increase your hits.” The underlying meaning of this statement is that she wants to argue with me. Also she wanted me to post something about the English songs. So she has given me two topics and now I thought I could post on something that is very easy. Something about the English Songs.

My exposure to the English songs is very limited but I think I hear to only those songs which are the most appealing. Some of them might not for others but over the years I have developed a taste for real good songs which are liked by all. My tryst with English songs started when the Doordarshan started the Metro channel and began beaming MTV.

“Things haven’t been the same since you came into my life honey”

It all started with All4One’s I Swear, one of the loveliest romantic song. Then came Madonna with her Bedtime Stories, where she crooned Secrets. Then Black hole Sun came down on us. That was the time when I really developed a liking to songs and some of them were really captivating. Some of the songs have gone to become evergreen hits like Hotel California, which is really a thathuva padal. Backstreet Boys came with a bang with Everybody, Show me the meaning of being lonely, Larger than Life. Hey how bout BOYZ to MEN. Even they were pretty good. Oh gosh how can I forget about the King of Pop MJ. Even though he had many numbers which were terrific, my all time favorite of his always remains the Earth Song. Jon Bon Jovi, the Always man, Oh we love you Baby !, then the great master, Bryan Adam, announcing

Here I’m, This is me, I have come to this world So I’m here, Here I’m so young and strong…

Elton John’s ode to Princess Diana melted many hearts like the Candle in the Wind, Madonna’s Like a Virgin, Prayer and much more which still lingers in my heart. At this rate I guess I would be bring the entire fraternity of the English music, but last but never the least I would give my salute to Beethoven, Mozart, Yanni, Kenny G, Eagles, Beatles, Pink Floyd…and the list goes on for their stamping contributions to the English music culture. One might wonder why I have left out the Latino music but that’s a different story altogether.

Everything I do I do it for you.

Theory of Self Destruction

2006-10-24T01:53:00.000-07:00

According to Darwinism, " Species that adapt to their environment thrive and others fail to evolve and face extinction." This applies to ideas, fundamentals and policies as well. You might wonder what is this leading to. Today I saw yet another American action movie set in Somalia.. One might wonder after seeing for the nth time about the brave american hero who fights for his country in a war ravaged country. This is from the cinematic angle. Turn to reality.

America has failed in totality with its foreign policy towards other countries and the only saving grace for it is its being as "Super Power". But that has also not stopped it in getting a raw deal from Vietnam and other countries where it has resorted to all means right from using the Atoms in Japan to Naplams in Vietnam...What does it lead to...What it acutally predict..

Generally America wants to control even the movement of the humans in other nations so that nothing escapes its notice. In a bid to become the "Supreme Power" they are on the gradual decline on the economic front, military front with a stark example of Iraq and even in the internal matters.

Worse when Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, people resorted to looting, which is characteristically unhumane for a developed country like USA. In comparison, Mumbaikars acted more humane when faced with grim situation like this. What went wrong. Experts believe that it is the indoctrination of wrong ideas and ideals like Islamic Terrorism, Favoritisim and blind belief in its allies who have now switched to the other side of the radical beliefs.

At this rate of continued self destruction, America will surely lose its status and once again Equality will prevail in the world.

As Vairamuthu rightly penned "vellai pookal ulagam engum malarume, vidiyum bhoomi amaidhikaga ezhugave".

Laugh while you can...

2006-10-08T09:32:00.000-07:00

You must be wondering what the title is leading too.. but I was confused as what would be the apt title.. This post i about my weekend tryst with the movie...Me and my friends went to Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi after planning for a long time.. Finally we made it on Saturday and trust me it was rocking laughter right from the word go..

Am not going to talk about the movie as it will be more of a review.. so I thought I could list out some of my favorite dialouges from the movie...

Laguda pandigala en geda poi vittirkal

neer ellam oru Ammaichara

"Enda kudaye thane varinga solla kudaatha?? "

Mannar manna anga Bathala kinaru

Mannar manna ethu namma vantha vazhi"

Ayyooo Mudiyala"

KA KA GA PO..................Karuthukalai kachithamaga Gavikolkirai....Pooooooooooo

Naa enguu poonalumm pothiikondeyy varuvergalaa..

solla vendiyathu thaneyy ingu vali illai endruuu

laguda pandigallaaaaaMudiyalaaa...Mudiyalaa...

aiooo oru puravai thindruvittuu naa padamm paadduu...

oru puravai thindrathukku poraaa oru akka poraaga illa irrukirathuu...

"thantaanuku sattai pottal kuttai paiyan kattaiyaal adipaan,. avan yaar?"

the british : I AM 18th EDWARD

Pulikesi: WE ARE 23rd PULIKESI

kradaka.........allakai mundamen

Kaavalaali:Ennada indha pakkam vara..andha pakkam pora..kalla thooki podara!!!

Mannar 23 aam pulikesi:Anekamaaka danguvaar arundhu vittadhendru ninaikkiren

Kann simitum nerathil kabal endru kabaalathil kattayal adithu vittarkalada

Ottran - "Ellam Thangalidam kuditha yaanai paal manna"

Pulikesi - "Yaanai alla, nyaanam, nyaanam"

Ottran - "Yaanai, yaanai"

Pulikesi - "Nyaanam"

Ottran - "Yaanai"

Pulikesi - "Mudiyala!"

"Naan oru maaveera chakravarthi enbadhu oru puram irukkattum. Aanal, en uruvathai oviyamaga varaindhu vaithaal sattru dongal pol irukkum." - Pulikesi to Amaichar

oru ppra vuku pora..periya akkaporaga allava irukiradhu????

Mandhiri: Karadiye kaari thuppiya pulikesi un mugathil kaari thuppi vittar!

Pulikesi: Adha avan un idam kaettana? Adha yaen ippo gnyabaga paduthurae?

Pandriyidam Nandri SolliKundrin mel aeriVendridalam Gunasekaranai...Avan Yaar!!!

Josier: Neengal iruvarum serndhu viduveergal enbadu enakku theriyum

Sriman: Eppadi therium appa?

Josire: Eppadi therium? Ketpadhu sulabam. Rettai kolandaigal pirandhuivittaal thiraikkadhaiyil verennadhaan seyya mudiyum?

These are some of the best which I really enjoyed.. Post yours tooo.... Till the

KAKAGA PO

Close encounters of a different kind

2006-10-06T10:16:00.000-07:00

This post is similar to the one posted previously but from a different perspective... But the disclaimer is that am not justifying the actions..but there are always two sides in a coin...

Yesterday i came in the bus. The bus was quite full and I got place to stand next to the driver's seat. I was observing the driver for a full 25 mins ride and I realized how much concentration and skill is required to drive the bus... Especially with so much responsibility on you to deliver the passengers safely to their destination. The driver was glancing the rear view every split of a second and constantly keeping an eye on the heavy traffic and ensuring that no one is travelling in the footboard... Hats off to them.. With good precision to steer the bus and without any incident the driver was on target..Appreciable job...

But on the flip side, he jumped two signals, no respect for the lane discipline, the drivers create a bad name for themselves by not obeying the traffic rules and showing scant respect to the other users of the road. Wish the drivers realise what they are doing and follow the rules and laws so that they regain the respect...

My Experiments with truth

2006-10-04T08:28:00.000-07:00

Hi ppl...

Its a long time since i blogged and today got my laptop from office to do two things...one to check my mails and two to blog.. Over the past few days I had some myraid experiences with the truth, honesty, discipline...So thought of sharing them with you all...

One day i took an auto from Taylors Road. The normal auto fare is Rs.25.00 and the auto fellow also agreed without much haggling which one usually undergoes...there is a no entry into Halls road and the traffic has to go only via the New Avadi road which joins the Chintamani road...The auto fellow cooly went into the no entry.. I told him that it is a no entry so you are not supposed to go. he said he wont go into the normal traffic road and he will go only in this road.. i got shocked at this blatant refusal. I told him that it is supposed to be a traffic violation and you are not supposed to do this.. He asked me to get down and started abusing me... I got pissed off and got down and started walking...

Then he brought around 4 of his colleagues and they started asking me to pay him. i said i wont as he din take me to the destination and moreover he was vioalting the traffic rules.. They said all the stories about petrol hike and bad roads etc...and they said they will reduce 5 Rs and will drop me..I said i was willing to pay 5 Rs extra but he should not vioalte traffic rules.. they refused to accept and I ended up walking... This is the state of our autos...

I believe that there is a solution for this but the government are refusing to take as it will be a loss to the exchequer..You might wonder how.. thro bribes and other devious means... I heard through some known sources that to get a permit the person need to shell out close to 70 K as bribe alone..then ofcourse the rest formalities..

May god bless Chennai....

Processor Dumeel

2006-09-19T20:03:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

its been a long time since i posted something here... reason.. my processor got short circuited and am waiting to change both the processor and the motherboard...

Till then... happy blogging and let me know in my mail abt ur blogging activities...so i can check when time permits...

See you soon...

Am 27 now....

2006-08-18T20:50:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I turned 27 years old.... So what is the big deal..But turning back into all these 27 years of existence is a path trodden with lots of success and failures. So i thought let me put down everything summed up into 27 important points in my life.. which has directly affected me to a great extent..which I guess everyone visiting this blog will read... Its more like a self appraisal..but without any feedbacks....

Born on 18th August 1980..in an orthodox brahmin family...My mom told I was a blue baby..So there I thought my struggle started..

Went to LKG in Hyderabad as my dad was posted there.. Earned the nickname of talkative among the class from the principal Geeta madam.. Early start to my career...

Fractured my right leg when I was practicing High Jump with my neighbours compound.. Actually I put the Ganesha Idol, stole from their puja room and put it in the bucket at their bathroom and opened the tap.. came out and told them that Ganesha is taking bath.. This was in 1983

We moved to Chennai and I was put in Valliammal School in Chintamani for 1st standard... worst in studies.. used to fail in lots of subjects..

October 18 1984... my brother was born..

After 2 years in Chennai moved back to Hyderabad again..Did my 3rd Standard..used to fight with a lot of my classmates...Raju, Shibijeet these people were my sworn enemies..

Again moved to Chennai.. got bored of this frequent shuffling...again in Valliammal.. First brush with Computers...the year was 1987.. enrolled in Info Drive in Anna nagar for Basic programming..was fascinated with them

Went to music class.. learnt classical music..

Terminated Music class due to Tonsilits operation.. Early end to my music career..Destiny plays its part very well

Went to Scouts and Guide camp near Avadi.. Learning experience as first time I was on my own.. Learnt what is responsibility

Grandpa died... Though spent most of my childhood with him.. never understood him..Now i realise how much I miss him...

After 4 years in Chennai Went to Delhi...New place, New environment everything new..was thrilled.. oppurtunity to learn everything new.. Enrolled in DTEA for my 8th Standard...

Toured most of the North India..the travelling bug in me has started to grow...

Tenth Standard... everyone pressurised me...scrapped thro with 60%.. Maths was my nemesis..

Back to Chennai... old place...old surroundings.. but still I miss Delhi..will go there someday

Decade old friendship with Vinod started... Still we survive.. Wondering how ???

Grandma died... Missing her a lot... my fav but no one will accept it.. coz i never showed my emotions towards her...

Bitten by ARR bug.. tryst with music started again.. Started hearing to lots of music...

Passed out of 12th with 85%.. Still wondering how I managed..

Had lot of crushes.. But never materialised beyond me dreaming thats it.. Now I feel so stupid for these..

First day in College....Me and Vinod in Same College.. Second day bunked college and went to VIP...

Three years in College passed on.. Thick friends in Yogi, Vijay started... Still its on...

First day in Job.. thrilled at being independent...

Enrolled for MBA... never thought I would go this far in Studies...

Met with accident.. broke my arm and was in Apollo for 15 days.. Love that place for the most obvious reasons.. Good Nurses :).. GRO days most unforgettable in Life where i had maximum fun...Moved to Xansa.. good friends in Subha, Ash, Ramki .... but some are withering away.. Life has to move on...

Went to UK.. first trip on Aeroplane, outside India...Memorable till date.. Made good friends with Judith, my manager in UK.. Now we are very close...Went to Singapore.. roamed thro streets of Singapore on my own.. now know the place like back of my hand...

Got an offer in UK..Thanks to Judith... waiting for my UK visa..and being Vetti..

So this is an peek into my life..Roller coaster ride for 27 years and still on..........

Is Jesus a Hindu -- Is Christianity a derivative of Hinduism

2006-08-09T05:36:00.000-07:00

Recently I was browsing through various sites and various communities in Orkut for my next blogpost when I stumbled upon an interesting fact (fiction) which was totally unignorable..Let me share a few of them with you all..

Beliefs about Jesus

A few skeptics claim that Yeshua of Nazareth was a purely mythical character. A few others believe that he was a real individual who lived in perhaps the 2nd or 3rd century BCE. But there is a near consensus that Yeshua of Nazareth was born in Palestine circa 4 to 7 BCE.

Beliefs about his nature and role differ

Most Christians believe that he is the Son of God, the second personality in the Trinity. He spent a relatively short period preaching and healing (one year mainly in the Galilee according to the synoptic gospels; three years mainly in Judah according to the Gospel of John). He was executed, resurrected and ascended into heaven. Conservative Christians believe that the normal destination for human beings is eternal punishment in Hell; only a relatively small percentage of people who repent of their sin and trust Jesus as Lord and Savior will escape this fate.

Muslims believe that Jesus was, after Muhammad, the greatest of prophets. Jesus was neither crucified nor resurrected; he ascended bodily into heaven without having first died. They believe that God would not have allowed his prophet to die an ignoble death by crucifixion. Various traditions within Islam hold different beliefs. Two are: that Jesus substituted Judas Iscariot for himself on the cross, or that God intervened and removed Jesus from Roman captivity before the crucifixion took place. They regard God as being single and indivisible. The Christian Trinity of three persons is rejected as the ultimate blasphemy against God.

Jewish Christians circa 30 CE appear to have believed that he was a Jewish reformer, teacher, prophet, and native healer, but not a deity.

In the early Christian movement, Gnostic Christians believed that Jesus was a spirit being, who only appeared to be a person in the flesh.

About Krishna

Krishna was born, lived and died at least 14 centuries before Yeshua. Estimates of his birth date vary. Some are 1477, 3112, 3600, 5150, and 5771 BCE. 3,4

Hindus believe that whenever profound evil spreads widely throughout the earth, the Supreme Being comes to earth in the form of a human person "in order to uproot vice and to establish virtue so that the earth may get rid of sinners." Lord Krishna was just such an incarnation. "Krishna is the eight and the complete incarnate of Vishnu, the Godhead of the Hindu Trinity of deities. Of all the Vishnu avatars he is the most popular, and perhaps of all Hindu gods the one closest to the heart of the masses...Krishna was dark and extremely handsome. The word Krishna literally means 'black', and black also connotes mysteriousness...Whether he was a human being or a God-incarnate, there is no gainsaying the fact that he has been ruling the hearts of millions for over three millennia. In the words of Swami Harshananda, 'If a person can affect such a profound impact on the Hindu race affecting its psyche and ethos and all aspects of its life for centuries, he is no less than God' ."

He is believed to have died at the advanced age of 125. "In his final days on earth, he taught spiritual wisdom to Uddhava, his friend and disciple, and ascended to his abode after casting off his body, which was shot at by a hunter named Jara."

Are Jesus and Krishna the same individual?

For reasons noted above in the Overview, that is impossible. But many individuals raise the possibility that the Gospels' description of Jesus' life was derived, at least in part, from Krishna's life story, and from the myths of other god-men.

Stephen Van Eck writes: "Then there is the Hindu epic, the Bhagavad-Gita, a story of the second person of the Hindu Trinity, who took human form as Krishna. Some have considered him a model for the Christ, and it's hard to argue against that when he says things like:

I am the beginning, the middle, and the end' (BG 10:20 vs. Rev. 1:8 )

His advent was heralded by a pious old man named Asita, who could die happy knowing of his arrival, a story paralleling that of Simeon in Luke 2:25 .

Krishna's mission was to give directions to 'the kingdom of God' (BG 2:72), and he warned of 'stumbling blocks' along the way (BG 3:34; 1 Cor. 1:23 ; Rev. 2:14).

The essential thrust of Krishna's sayings, uttered to a beloved disciple, sometimes seems to coincide with Jesus or the Bible. Compare

'those who are wise lament neither for the living nor the dead' (BG 2:11) with the sense of Jesus' advice to 'let the dead bury their own dead' (Matt. 8:22 ).

Krishna's saying, 'I envy no man, nor am I partial to anyone; I am equal to all' (BG 9:29) is a lot like the idea that God is no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:11 ; see also Matt. 6:45 ).

And 'one who is equal to friends and enemies... is very dear to me' (BG 12:18) is reminiscent of 'love your enemies' (Matt. 6:44 ).

Krishna also said that 'by human calculation, a thousand ages taken together is the duration of Brahma's one day' (BG 8:17), which is very similar to Peter 3:8 "But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day [is] with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day"

Views about the linkage between Krishna and Christ

Many early Christian theologians noted the extreme similarity between Christianity and other religions such as Hinduism. a henotheistic religion, Mithraism an ancient Pagan religion, etc.

Eusebius of Caesarea (circa 283-371 CE) wrote: "The religion of Jesus Christ is neither new nor strange."

St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE) wrote: "This, in our day, is the Christian religion, not as having been unknown in former times, but as having recently received that name."

Some early Christian leaders attributed the similarities between Christianity and earlier religions to a trick of Satan. They felt that Satan had created many crucified saviors, born of virgins, before Jesus in order to discredit Christianity's uniqueness. Others attribute the similarities to coincidence.

Conservative Christians generally believe in the inerrancy of the Bible. Thus, the Gospel of John is absolutely accurate when it presents Jesus Christ as a supernatural being, the Son of God, who was present at the creation of the universe, is the savior of humanity, and who came to earth so that believers "might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10 KJV). Any similarity to legends about Krishna are either forgeries, or coincidences. There was no incorporation into the Christian Gospels of legends about the life of Krishna. The points of similarities must have resulted from other influences. There is no Krishna-Christ linkage; the topic is ridiculous; it is not even worth investigating. It is blasphemy to suggest such a connection.

Some skeptics have suggested that Yeshua of Nazareth (a.k.a. Jesus Christ by most Christians) and Krishna, the second person of the Hindu trinity, are the same person. It is rather obvious that that they are not. Jesus appears to have been born in Palestine during the last decade BCE, whereas Krishna is dated many millennia earlier, in India.

Some liberal religious historians have raised the possibility that stories of Jesus' birth, ministry, execution, and resurrection were copied, at least in part, from Krishna's life.

Many liberal Christians feel that a Hindu source for many of the events in Jesus' life is a topic is worth studying. Many non-Christian religious belief systems, including Hinduism, permeated the Mediterranean region in the 1st century CE. There were various male heroes within Egyptian, Greek, Indian, Roman and other pantheons of Gods, whose role was to be saviors to humanity -- much like Jesus. In order to compete with those religions, Christianity would have had to describe Jesus in terms that matched or surpassed the legends and myths of other religions. Otherwise, it would not have survived. The authors of the gospels may well have picked up themes from other sources and added them to their writings in order to make Christianity more credible to a religiously diverse world, most of which worshiped multiple Gods and Goddesses. By isolating and removing such foreign material, we might be able to get a clearer picture of what Jesus taught and how he lived.

If a strong Krishna - Christ link exists, what is left of Christianity?

If one were to delete from the Gospels the events in Jesus' life that seem to originate in Krishna's story, one would end up with a story of:

A very human, itinerant, Jewish, rabbi-healer.

A teacher who largely followed the teachings of Hillel -- a liberal Jewish rabbi from the 1st century BCE.

An observant Jew who had a special relationship with God -- a kinship so close that Jesus referred to God by the familiar term "Abba."

This is very close to the image of Jesus found by many liberal theologians, in their quest for the historical Jesus.

If the events in Jesus' life that appear to come from Krishna were eliminated as invalid, then most of the key Christian beliefs about Jesus would have to be abandoned: his virgin birth, incarnation, sinless life, crucifixion, descent into Hell, resurrection, ascension to heaven. Criteria for salvation, belief in the Trinity, the inerrancy of the Bible, the inspiration of the authors of the Bible by God, etc. would also have to be rejected.

It would be an interesting piece to do a research on and if the truth is out... no more comments from me..

Stages of Man's Life

2006-08-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

Munbe vaa En Anbe Vaa

2006-08-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

Here I post the lyrics of the latest sensation by ARR in the film Jillendru oru Kadhal....

Singers : Naresh Iyer and Shreya Ghoshal
Lyrics : Valee

munbe vaa en anbe vaa
odi va uyire va
munbe vaa en anbe vaa
poo poovaai poo poovaai
naan naana? kaetten ennai
naane naan neeya? nenjam sonnathey

munbe vaa en anbe vaa
oone va uyire va
munbe vaa en anbe vaa
poo poovai poopoam vaa

rango rangoli
kolangaL nee pottaai
kolam pottavaL kaigaL vaazhi
valayal satham jal jal

rango rangoli
kolangal nee pottaal kolam poattavaL kaigaL vaazhi
sundara malligai sandhana malligai sithira punnagai vannam intha

aaaahh ohhhh aaaah
poovaithai poovaithai
nee poovaikkor poovaithai
maNa poovaithu poovaitha
poovaikuL thee vaithaai ahhhh…ahhhhhh

thaeney nee mazhaiyil aada
naan maan naan nanainthen vaada
en naaLaikkuL un ratham naadikuL un satham ida oh…

porum oru sila naaLum thaniye naan aada tharaiyinil neendhum (munbe)

nilavidam vaadagai vaangi
vizhi veetinil kudi vaikkalaama
naan vaazhum veetukul veraarum vanthaley thagumaaaa……

then malai thaekukku nee dhaan
unthan tholgalil idam tharalama
naan saayum tholmel vaeroruvar saainthaley…thagumaa…

neerum sengula chaerum kalanthathu poley kalanthavar yaar
(munbe vaa en anbe vaa)

THE VEDIC WEDDING CEREMONY- An Explanation of the Traditional Hindu Marriage

2006-08-06T04:50:00.000-07:00

A marriage is a relationship between or among individuals, usually recognized by civil authority and/or bound by the religious beliefs of the participants. The fact that marriage often has the dual nature of a binding legal contract plus a moral promise, can make it difficult to characterize. In one form or another, marriage is found in virtually every society. The very oldest records that refer to it speak of it as an established custom. Despite attempts by anthropologists to trace its origin (such as the hypothesis of primitive promiscuity), evidence is lacking.

The ceremony in which a marriage is enacted and announced to the community is called a wedding. A wedding in which a couple marry in the "eyes of the law" is called a civil marriage. Religions also facilitate weddings, in the "eyes of God". Hinduism sees marriage as a sacred duty that entails both religious and social obligations. The traditional hindu marriage is a very lengthy process and has got more religious strings attached to it as well..Let us look into the Traditional Hindu Marriage..

Vaak daanam
This step is a part of Kanya Varanam, where the groom-to-be (brahmachari) sends two elders on his behalf to the father of a girl whom he wishes to marry. The elders convey the message of the brahmachari and ask for the daughter's hand. The two mantras in the form of brahmachari's appeal to intercede on his behalf come from Rg 10.32.1 ("pra sugmantha...") and 10.85.23. The first mantra begs the elders to proceed and return quickly with success back from their mission on his behalf. The second mantram ("anruksharaa Rjava:...") asks for the gods' blessings for the elders' safe journey to the house of the father of the would-be-bride. The mantra prays to Aryama and Bhaga for a marriage full of harmony. The father accedes to the request of the elders and the resulting agreement for betrothal is known as vaak daanam.

Kanyaa daanam
Here, the brahmachari meets his prospective father-in-law. The latter seats him facing the eastern direction and washes the feet of the future son-in-law, considering him as Lord Vishnu Himself. All honors are given including the ceremonial washing of the feet of the groom by the father-in-law and offer of madhu parka (a mixture of yogurt, honey and ghee) to the accompaniment of selected Veda mantras.

Vara prekshanam
In this ritual, the bridegroom and the bride look at each other formally for the first time. The bridegroom worries about any dosas (defects) that the bride might have and prays to the gods Varuna, Brihaspati, Indra and Surya to remove every defect and to make her fit for harmonious and long marriage life blessed with progeny and happiness (mantra: Rg 10.85.44). The bride groom recites the mantra and wipes the eyebrows of the bride with a blade of darbha grass, as if he is chasing away all defects. The darbha grass is thrown behind the bride at the conclusion of this ceremony.

Mangala snaanam and the wearing of the wedding clothes by the bride
Five Veda mantras are recited to sanctify the bride in preparation for the subsequent stages of the marriage. This aspect of the marriage is known as mangala snanam. The sun god (Surya), water god (Varuna), and other gods are invoked to purify the bride in preparation for a harmonious married life. Next, the bride wears the marriage clothes to the accompaniment of additional Veda mantras. The bridegroom then ties a darbha rope around the waist of the bride and leads her to the place, where the sacred fire is located for conducting the rest of the marriage ceremony. The bride and the groom sit on a new mat in front of the fire. The groom recites three mantras which invoke Soma, Gandharva and Agni to confer strength, beauty, and youth on the bride.

Maangalya dhaaranam
There is no Veda Mantram for tying the mangala sutram (auspicious thread) around the neck of the bride by the groom. The latter takes the mangala sutram in his hands and recites the following verse:

mAngalyam tantunAnena mama jIvanA hethunA |
kaNThe: badhnami subhage! sanjIva Sarada: Satam ||

(meaning: This is a sacred thread. This is essential for my long life. I tie this around your neck, O maiden having many auspicious attributes! May you live happily for a hundred years (with me).

Paani grahanam
After maangalya dhaaranam, the groom lowers his right palm and encloses it over the right hand of the bride. He covers all the five fingers of the right hand of the bride with his right palm through this act of paani grahanam. He recites mantras in praise of Bhaga, Aryama, Savita, Indra, Agni, Suryan, Vayu and Saraswati, while holding the bride's hand. He prays for long life, progeny, prosperity and harmony with the bride during their married life. The closed fingers of the right hand of the bride is said to represent her heart. The paani grahanam ritual symbolizes the bride surrendering her heart in the hands of the groom during the occasion of the marriage.

Sapta padi
During this ritual, the groom walks with the bride to the right side of the sacred fire. All along, he holds his wife's right hand in his right hand in the way in which he held her hand during the paani grahanam ceremony. He stops, bends down and holds the right toe of his wife with his right hand and helps her take seven steps around the fire. At the beginning of each step, he recites a Veda mantra to invoke the blessings of Maha Vishnu. Through these seven mantras, he asks Maha Vishnu to follow in the footsteps of his wife and bless her with food, strength, piety, progeny, wealth, comfort and health. At the conclusion of the seven steps, he addresses his wife with a moving statement from the Veds summarized below:

Dear Wife! By taking these seven steps, you have become my dearest friend. I pledge my unfailing loyalty to you. Let us stay together for the rest of our lives. Let us not separate from each other ever. Let us be of one mind in carrying out our responsibilities as householders (grihasthas). Let us love and cherish each other and enjoy nourishing food and good health. Let us discharge our prescribed Vedic duties to our elders, ancestors, rishis, creatures, and gods. Let our aspirations be united. I will be the Saaman and may you be the Rk (Saaman here refers to the music and Rk refers to the Vedic text that is being cast into music). Let me be the upper world and let you be the Bhumi or Mother Earth. I will be the Sukla or life force and may you be the bearer of that Sukla. Let me be the mind and let you be the speech. May you follow me to conceive children and gain worldly as well as spiritual wealth. May all auspiciousness come your way.

This series of Veda mantras starting with "sakhaa saptapadhaa bhava ..." and ending with "pumse putraaya ..." are rich with meaning and imagery.

Pradhaana homam
After sapta padi, the couple take their seat on the western side of the sacred fire and conduct pradhaana homam. During the conductance of this homam, the bride must place her right hand on her husband's body so that she gets the full benefit of the homam through symbolic participation. Sixteen mantras are recited to the accompaniment of pouring a spoon of clarified butter into the sacred fire at the end of recitation of each of the mantras. These mantras salute Soma, Gandharva, Agni, Indra, Vayu, the Aswini Devas, Savita, Brihaspati, Viswa Devas and Varuna for blessing the marriage and beseeches them to confer long wedded life, health, wealth, children and freedom from all kinds of worries. One prayer -- the sixth mantra -- has a sense of humor and provides deep insight into human psychology. The text of this mantra is: "daSaasyam putraan dehi, patim ekaadaSam kRti". Here, the groom asks Indra to bless the couple with ten children and requests that he be blessed to become the eleventh child of his bride in his old age.

Stepping on the grinding stone
After pradhaana homam, the husband holds the right toe of his wife and lifts her leg and places it on a flat granite grinding stone known as "ammi" in Tamil. The ammi stands at the right side of the sacred fire. The husband recites a Veda mantra when he places the right foot of his wife on the ammi:

May you stand on this firm stone. May you be rock-firm during your stay on this grinding stone. May you stand up to those who oppose you while you carry out your time-honored responsibilities as a wife sanctioned by the Vedas and tradition. May you develop tolerance to your enemies and put up a fair fight to defend your legitimate rights as the head of the household in a firm manner, equal to the steady strength of this grinding stone.

Laaja homam
After ammi stepping, a ceremony of doing homam with parched rice is conducted. Here, the wife cups her hands and the brothers of the bride fill the cupped hands with parched rice. The husband adds a drop of ghee to the parched rice and recites five Veda mantras. At the end of each of the recitation , the parched rice is thrown into the sacred fire as havis (offering) to Agni. Through these mantras, the wife prays for long life for her husband and for a marriage filled with peace and harmony. At the end of the laaja homam, the husband unties the darbha belt around the waist of his wife with another mantra. The husband states through this mantra that he unites his wife and ties her now with the bonds of Varuna and invites her to be a full partner in his life to enjoy the blessings of wedded life.

Griha pravesam
This ceremony relates to the journey of the wife to her husband's home. The husband carries the sacred fire (homa agni) in a earthern vessel during this journey home. There are many Veda mantras associated with this journey. These mantras pray to the appropriate Vedic gods to remove all obstacles that one can experience in a journey. The bride is requested to become the mistress of the house and is reminded of her important role among the relatives of her husband. After reaching her new home, she puts her right foot first in the house and recites the following Veda mantra:

I enter this house with a happy heart. May I give birth to children, who observe the path of righteousness (dharma)! May this house that I enter today be prosperous forever and never be deficient in food. May this house be populated by people of virtue and pious thoughts.

Praavisya homam
After griha pravesam, a fire ritual known as praavisya homam is performed by the couple to the accompaniment of thirteen Veda mantras from the Rg Veda. Jayaadi homam is also part of the praavisya homam. This homam offers the salutation of the newly married couple to Agni Deva and asks for strength and nourishment to discharge the duties of a grihasthas for the next one hundred years. After that, the bride shifts her position from the right side of her husband to his left side. At that time, once again, she recites a Veda mantra invoking the gods for blessings of children and wealth to perform the duties of a householder.

At the end of the above homam, a child is placed on the lap of the bride and she offers a fruit to the child, while reciting a prescribed Veda mantra. Yet another mantram asks the assembled guests to bless the bride and then retire to their own individual homes peacefully. During the first evening of the stay in her new home, the couple see the stars known as Dhruva (pole star) and Arundhati. The husband points out the pole star and prays for the strength and stability of the household thru a Veda mantra. Next, the husband points out the Arundhati star to his wife and describes to her the the story of Arundhati and her legendary chastity.

The rich and meaningful ceremony of the Hindu marriage (Kalyana Mahotsavam of the temples) is thus carried out in concert with sacred Veda Mantras. The bride and bridegroom should enunciate clearly the Veda mantras and reflect on their meanings during the different stages of the marriage ceremony. This way, they can be sure of a long, happy and prosperous married life and play their appropriate role in society to the fullest extent. Srinivasa Kalyanam is performed in the temples to remind us of these hoary Vedic traditions behind a Hindu marriage.

God walks on earth - Last but definitely not the least

2006-08-05T01:40:00.000-07:00

If a musician wants to blossom into a full-fledged person, it's not enough if he knows only classical music; nor it is enough if he's well-versed only in raagas and techniques. Instead, he should be a knowledgeable person interested in life and philosophy. In his personal life there should be, atleast in some corner of his heart, a tinge of lingering sorrow.

When Rahman arrived on the Indian music scene with his first film Roja, the music industry in India was going through a crisis with the retirement of older music composers and the lack of innovation in Indian film music. Roja was a massive hit, and Rahman followed it up with a number of other extremely popular films, including Bombay, Rangeela, Dil Se and Taal . The huge sales of these albums prompted movie producers to take film music more seriously.

Today, A.R.Rahman is one of the world's most successful musicians. The man has redefined contemporary Indian music and an icon for millions all over the world - a man who needs no introduction.

Fans of Indian movies need no introduction to Rahman. Like Gershwin, Puccini or Lennon-McCartney, the name stands for melody, quality, energy, instant hummability — a sound both personal and universal, devouring older forms and transforming them into something gorgeously new.Scoring an Indian film means writing the songs (with a lyricist) as well as composing and conducting the background music. Rahman proved a master of it all. His songs were recognizably Indian but paraded a world of musical influences, from raga to reggae, from Broadway to Ennio Morricone, with each tune heightening the film’s drama.

If one song triggered Rahmania among non-Indians in the West, it was Chaiyya Chaiyya, from another Ratnam terrorist tragedy, the 1998 Dil Se. Shahrukh Khan stands atop a speeding train and (using the thrilling voice of Sukhwinder Singh) performs this update of a Sufi chant, with lyrics by the esteemed poet Gulzar. Andrew Lloyd Webber happened to hear Chaiyya one Saturday when Britain’s Channel 4 broadcast Dil Se, and the song convinced him that the West was ready for Rahman. It remains Rahman’s most pulsing, irresistible song, which gets me juiced and happy any time I put it on RealPlayer. When Chaiyya opened the second act of Bombay Dreams (with Singh, on disc, still vocalizing), it had audiences stamping their feet and cheering. Not after the song — during it.

As Rahman sums it up

Music is language itself. It should not have any barriers of caste, creed, language or anything. Music is one, only cultures are different. Music is the language of languages. It is the ultimate mother of languages

God walks on earth - Second of the Trimoorthy

2006-08-05T01:19:00.000-07:00

Mani Rathnam

Mani Ratnam consistently chooses realistic, contemporary themes and complex plots for his movies in an industry often accused of making commercial, fairy-tale-like, formulaic movies. With a career spanning over two decades, he has been praised for handling serious issues whilst retaining a high entertainment factor in his films. Familial and marital hardships, terrorism, love, class and religious conflict, war, politics, adoption, history and disability are just some of the socio-political issues to have been featured in his films

Rathnam carefully preserves the dignity and the credibility of his gangland hero by never asking him to synch to playback; the de rigueur musical duties are either "source performances,: justified by the context (we pause to ogle the entertainers at a brothel), or are handed off to a high-spirited sidekick (Jankaraj). Kamal Hasan's Velu sings only during a festival celebration, a setting that justifies the performance "naturalistically."

Rathnam's gentle domestic drama Mouna Ragam shuttles most of its crowd-pleasing melodrama onto a siding, segregating it in a flashback to an early romantic trauma suffered by the heroine (Revathi) when she loved a terrorist who was gunned down right in front of her. In real time, she's the understandably reluctant bride in an arranged marriage who can't bring herself to embrace (in any sense) her new husband, a painfully nice and even progressive fellow who loves her and does the best he can. In sharp contrast to the plot-heavy norm of Indian movies, Mouna Ragam is a straightforward account of two well-meaning people negotiating a domestic partnership.

In every important respect, Mouna Ragam is less contrived than most current Hollywood movies. The strong point of Rathnam's screenwriting, here as elsewhere, is that the plot complications spring organically from the situations; they never feel cooked up. Rathnam elides the standard commercial conventions whenever he can, but he still draws power from them; the songs are heard but not lip-synched, so that they seem to embody the character's inarticulate longings.

Far from being plot-heavy, Rathnam's most sumptuous and successful picture to date, Roja is almost static in its basic situation. A young engineer (Arvind Swamy) is held hostage by Kashmiri separatist guerillas, and his young bride (Madhu) takes desperate measures to get him back, shuttling from one group of stonewalling bureaucrats to another. Rathnam holds the characters (and us) suspended in a state of high anxiety for most of 137 minutes, and the vibrating atmosphere seems to energize the yearning romantic lyricism that is the picture's only real raison d'etre. The political setting, Rathnam says, is incidental: "The film takes the point of view of the average Indian who doesn't want to see his country split apart."

Because it was a huge national success and not just a regional hit, Roja marked a turning point. Nayakan had to be remade in Hindi, with Bollywood stars, in order to reach the larger pan-Indian audience. But in 1993, the Hindi-dubbed version of Roja was India's top-grossing movie after Jurassic Park. That's progress of a sort.

Thiruda, Thiruda could easily be a hit on the American college-market repertory scene, for any booker or exhibitor not overly anxious about the number of shows they could cram in per day. The story of a pair of buddy thieves and the curvy women who come between them, the film moves beautifully, has a great gimlet-eyed bad guy in Salim Ghouse, and a stirring A.R. Rahman song score that is "picturized" a bit more conventionally than in Rathnam's other films but with irresistible zest. In this case the director seems to be relishing the foolishness of Indian film conventions and to fret over the need to 'redeem" them a bit less; his fond complicity with the foolishness is the key to the movie's triumph. But then, Rathnam controls not just a movie's look but its tone to an extent that is unusual in the Indian commercial films I've seen.

The technical polish and the attention to detail in Rathnam's lyrical films have reinvigorated the conventions of mainstream Indian cinema, but without blasting them to kingdom come.

God walks on earth - First of the Trimoorthy

2006-08-05T00:44:00.000-07:00

I am forced to write this post because of the simple reason... I was stumped when i was listening Jillunu oru Kadhal songs.. There is this particular song Munbe Vaa En Anbe Vaa sung by Naresh and Shreya Ghosal.. Man the song is still playing, must be the nth time and it is pulling me like a magnet.. In my opinion after Snehidhane (Alaipayuthey) this must be the best romantic number from A.R.Rahman. It just occured to me can anyone do more than this and I was googling for this particular enigma when a quote he made for the question made me land in thud...

How would you describe A.R.Rahman in your own words?
A.R.Rahman is a failure and slowly he is trying to reach something

So i thought it would be the best if I post about him.. then it had occured to me how come I can leave the other key contributors to the renaissance of Tamil Cinema..So there goes my post on the triumvirate of the Tamil Cinema...

KAMAL HAASAN - The Chameleon of Acting..

Born on November 7, 1954, Paramakkudi, Tamil Nadu.. Seven of his movies have been sent as India's official entry to the Oscars... What more do one need to prove about the calibre and quality....

Kamal Hasan, who took the title role in Rathnam's sinewy 1987 gangster epic Nayakan (Hero), a set of sharply pointed variations on The Godfather, the Chow Yun-fat of Madras. Hasan's performance as Velu, the son of a murdered union leader who becomes a smuggler and then a lordly mob boss sticking up for the downtrodden, stands up well to the obvious comparison with the Corleone dons of Pacino and De Niro. In addition to a solid force of personality Kamal exhibits qualities of sweetness and playfulness that have so far eluded those dour thespians. (The actor is often referred to simply as "Kamal" by the home court fans; the name means "lotus" in Tamil.) Hasan is one of those natural movie stars who simply seem to have more life in them than anyone in sight.

In Bharathan's highly effective melodrama Thevar Magan , Kamal first appears as a callow princeling in trendy city clothes, returning to the feudal landscape of his ancestoral estate in jungly Tamil Nadu, and shifts before our eyes into a solid, deep-rooted, commanding figure that is a lot closer to his usual star persona. Hasan seems to absorb all the weight of regional tradition, to make it a part of his own substance, acquiring so much density in the process that you expect his feet to sink into the earth at every step. When his sophisticated financee (Gowathami) returns to collect him after several months, to find him transformed from a modern young go-getter into a grave and terrifying country patriarch, he no longer seems to be a mere human but, incoming into his inheritance, he has evolved into sacred monster, a rural demigod.

Both Nayakan and Thevar Magan manage to suggest the ambiguity of Hasan's motives as he represses his finer feelings and his citified "progressive" values in order to embrace hide-bound patriarchal values. Once he gets a taste of them he clearly relishes the percs of being an all-powerful masculine overlord. What red-blooded male wouldn't prefer a culturally validated lord-and-master role to the headaches of wrestling with the compromises and half measures and incessant negotiations of modern egalitarian social relations? This is the sneaky element of complicity that makes the effect of these movies so difficult to shrug off. In their own distinctive, tough-minded fashion, both of these pictures are wish-fulfillment fantasies, and in their ironic self-awareness, their notable lack of "naivetZ," they may be more representative of the current Indian film scene than some snooty Anglos are tempted to assume. Easily these two are the most important movies in the career of the great..

Secret Services

2006-08-03T01:31:00.000-07:00

Over the years the role of a Secret Service has increased from mere intelligence gathering to almost running the internal affairs...The popularity of Mossad, RAW, ISI have been increasing tremendously.. The Secret Service has been in practice from the dark old ages. But one institution has redefined the very definition of Secret Service... GESTAPO better known as the German SS during Hitler regime

The Gestapo a contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei; "secret state police" was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Under the overall administration of the SS, it was administered by the RSHA and was considered a dual organization of the Sicherheitsdienst and also a suboffice of the Sicherheitspolizei.

The Gestapo was established on April 26, 1933 in Prussia, from the existing organization of the Prussian Secret Police. The Gestapo was first simply a branch of the Prussian Police, known as "Department 1A of the Prussian State Police".

Its first commander was Rudolf Diels who recruited members from professional police departments and ran the Gestapo as a federal police agency, comparable to several modern examples such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the USA. The Gestapo's role as a political police force was only established after Hermann Göring was appointed to succeed Diels as the Gestapo Commander, in 1934. It was Göring who invented the term "Gestapo" (at first called Gestapa) and urged the Nazi government to expand Gestapo power out of Prussia to encompass all of Germany. To this, Göring was mostly successful except in Bavaria, where Heinrich Himmler (head of the SS), served as the Bavarian Police President and used local SS units as a political police force.

In April of 1934, Göring and Himmler agreed to put aside all differences (due in large part to a combined hatred of the Sturmabteilung) and Göring handed over full command of the Gestapo to the authority of the SS. At that point, the Gestapo was combined into the Sicherheitspolizei and considered a sister organization to the Sicherheitsdienst or SD.

The role of the Gestapo was to investigate and combat "all tendencies dangerous to the State." It had the authority to investigate treason, espionage and sabotage cases, and cases of criminal attacks on the Nazi Party and on Germany.

Day to Day Activities

Contrary to popular belief, the Gestapo was not an omnipotent agency that had its agents in every nook and cranny of German society. So-called “V-men” as undercover Gestapo agents were known only to be used to infiltrate Social Democratic and Communist opposition groups, but these cases were the exception, not the rule.

As the analysis of the Gestapostellen done by the historian Robert Gellately has established, for the most part the Gestapo was made of bureaucrats and clerical workers who depended upon denunciations by ordinary Germans for their information. Indeed, the Gestapo was overwhelmed with denunciations and spent most of its time sorting out the credible denunciations from less credible ones. Far from being an all-powerful agency that knew everything about what was happening in German society, the local Gestapostellen were under-staffed, over-worked offices that struggled with the paper-load caused by so many denunciations. The ratio of Gestapo officers to the general public was extremely lop-sided; for example, in the region of Lower Franconia, which had about one million people in the 1930s, there was only one Gestapo office for the entire region, which had 28 people attached to it, of whom half were clerical workers.

Furthermore, for information about what was happening in German society, the Gestapostellen were most part dependent upon these denunciations. Thus, it was ordinary Germans by their willingness to denounce one another who supplied the Gestapo with the information that determined who the Gestapo arrested. The popular picture of the Gestapo with its spies everywhere terrorizing German society has been firmly rejected by most historians.

Gestapo counterintelligence

The Polish government in exile in London during World War II received sensitive military information about Nazi Germany from agents and informants throughout Europe. After Germany conquered Poland in the fall of 1939, Gestapo officials believed that they had neutralized Polish intelligence activities. Cooperation of NKVD and Gestapo: In March 1940 representatives of NKVD and Gestapo met for one week in Zakopane, for the coordination of the pacification of resistance in Poland. The Soviet Union delivered hundreds of German and Austrian communists to Gestapo, as unwanted foreigners, together with relevant documents. However an advanced Polish intelligence network developed throughout Europe to provide information to the Allies.

Some of the Polish information about the movement of German police and SS units to the East during the German invasion of the Soviet Union in the fall of 1941 was similar to information British intelligence secretly got through intercepting and decoding German police and SS messages sent by radio telegraphy.

In 1942, the Gestapo discovered a cache of Polish intelligence documents in Prague and were surprised to see that Polish agents and informants had been gathering detailed military information and smuggling it out to London, via Budapest and Istanbul. The Poles identified had tracked German military trains to the Eastern front and identified four Order Police (Ordnungspolizei) battalions sent to conquered areas of the Soviet Union in October 1941 and engaged in war crimes and mass murder.

Polish agents also gathered detailed information about the morale of German soldiers in the East. After uncovering a sample of the information the Poles had reported, Gestapo officials concluded that Polish intelligence activity represented a very serious danger to Germany. As late as June 6, 1944, Heinrich Müller, head of the Gestapo, concerned about the leakage of information to the allied forces, set up a special unit called Sonderkommando Jerzy, designed to root out the Polish intelligence network in western and southwestern Europe.

In 1997, Cologne, Germany transformed the former regional Gestapo headquarters in that city, the EL-DE Haus, into a museum to document the organization's past actions. Although the museum's purpose is historical and educational, it is sometimes considered vulgar and offensive, especially by those who were psychologically traumatized, tortured, or otherwise hurt by the Gestapo.

Truth Drugs

2006-07-31T20:52:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I posted...To be honest after the blockage of blogging I felt stifled and did not want to blog at all.. But encouragement and inspirational news flowing around, it pepped me to start again. So here I go again blogging..

Truth Drugs...One might wonder what is this truth drugs.. It gained high popularity during the Nazi regime when the Secret Police captured the wounded soldiers and administered them Scopolamine.. which induced a level of comfortness in the soldiers and when talked to them will blurt out all the strategies and positions..Indeed a strategic move by the Nazis..who are known for their war strategies..

A truth drug (or truth serum) is a drug used for the purposes of obtaining accurate information from an unwilling subject, most often by a police, intelligence, or military organization on a prisoner.

Drugs used for this purpose have included ethanol, scopolamine, and sodium thiopental (more commonly known as Sodium Pentothal)—all sedatives that interfere particularly with judgment and higher cognitive function. While alcohol is used for this purpose by many individuals in a more innocent sense, it is used by professionals as well. A book by a former Soviet KGB officer based in Washington, Washington Station, details the use of near-pure alcohol to verify that a Soviet agent was not compromised by US counter-intelligence services.

While fictional accounts of intelligence interrogation gives these drugs near magical abilities, information obtained by publicly-disclosed truth drugs has been shown to be highly unreliable, with subjects apparently freely mixing fact and fantasy. Much of the claimed effect relies on the belief of the subject that they cannot tell a lie while under the influence of the drug.

As of 1993 in Canada these were still used to help diagnose schizophrenic subjects, especially paranoia where the difficulty was to get the subject to talk at all. Subjects experienced with other hallucinogenic drugs reported similarity of effects of sodium amytal to that of LSD or psilocybin, but for a 20 minute period.

Interest in their use outside intelligence services has since declined to negligible levels—though their use has been re-examined after the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks. It is possible, but thought unlikely by experts in anaesthetics (the drugs most closely resembling truth drugs in common use), that intelligence services do have more effective drugs at their disposal which they have not disclosed.

Garudapuranam

2006-07-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

In my earlier post about Garudapuranam I had briefly explained the punishments.. Now here is the mother of them.. The entire listing of punishments of Garudapuram.. Infact the punishments is just a chapter of Garudapuranam.. Thanks to Anand of the Orkut community to which I belong.. He is the one who gave this big explanation..

Vasaga thoshaga kshandavya:

ANTHAKUUBAM

Those who murder pious people and those who cheat divine ones will be sent here. This place is a well filled with dangerous animals, insects, birds & snakes. These creatures will endlessly torture the sinners till their sentence is over.

KIRUMIBOHJANAM

Those who eat food without offering to God will take the form of worms and other worms at this place will bite them.

SUNMAALI
Those who flirt will be poked with spiked weapons.

PARIBAATHANAM

The drunkards will be sent here. They will be given boiling iron liquid to drink.

PANDRI MUGAM

Those rulers/kings who sentence others unjustly and those who torture the weak old people will be sent here. This place looks like a pig's face. Here the keepers of hell will break the sinners' arms and legs. Their bodies will be squeezed in between rollers like sugar cane. At such moment, the sinners will faint without realizing it.

VAJRA GOONDAM

Those who have illegal affairs will be forced to hug burning rods while being whipped.

THAAMISRUM

Those who steal others' wife, property or children will be terribly beaten up by the keepers of hell. The continuous torture will make them semi-conscious, overcome by greater fear and tremendous pain.

ANNATHA THAMISRUM

Those who deceive their life partners by not offering them food, will be tortured here till they look like a lifeless tree. They are made blind for their sins.

RAURAVAM

Those who take away others' property by their cunning speech and those who destroy other families for their own happiness will die as pauper. In hell, those affected by him will take a cruel form then a poisonous snake to punish him. Such sinners will be held in Maha Rauravam till their sentence ends.

KUMBIBAAGAM

Those who do cruelty to birds and animals and those who eat their meat will be pushed into a pot of boiling oil. They will be in it for countless years.

KALASUTHIRAM

Those who chase their parents away will be brought here. This is a place of fire and tremendous heat. Sinners will suffer internally and externally. They will not be given food or water. At such stage, they will be walking, standing and rolling on the floor with great pain.

ASIBATHIRAM

Those who convert to other religions without a good reason will be brought into this forest with sharp knife like leaves. They will be beaten with sharp edge belts. Those running away from them will suffer more cuts from such leaves and stones. Moreover, they will be cut into pieces continuously till their sentence ends.

SAARAMEHYAATHANAM

Those who burned down houses or poison others, those who do mass murders and politicians who destroy countries will be held here. They will be fed on dog meat and in return more than 700 dogs will bite them before they are freed.

AHVISI

Those who do good services for mere publicity will be brought to the top of high place or hill to be pushed down. The hard surface/ground will shatter their bodies into pieces. The hell keepers will gather the bodies together to repeat such punishment again.

SHAARARGARTHAM

Those who disregard other qualified ones or holy ones and those who boasts about themselves while insulting other capable people will brought here. They will be hanged up side down, beaten and tortured by the keepers.

RASHOHGANAM

Those who do human or animal sacrifices in Yagna and those who eat their meat will be brought here. Those killers will be turned to animals and those animals or others killed by them will take human forms. They will tear them apart and eat up their flesh and drink their blood.

SUULAPUROHTHAM

Those who cheat the innocents who trusted them and those who commit suicide by hanging or piercing the trident into their body will be brought here. Tridents and birds with sharp beaks, will pierce them as punishment.

THANTHASUUGAM

This place is infested by poisonous and scary five or seven headed creatures. Those who are brought here will be eaten by them.

VADAAROHTHAM

Those who torture animals or other creatures staying in caves, valleys and webs will be sent here. They will be placed in smoky pits, fire pits and punished by poison.

PARYAAVAATHANAGAM

Those who murmur to themselves by cursing their superiors while having their meals will be sent here. Crows and eagles will poke such sinner's eyes till their eyeball drop off.

SUSIMUGAM

Those who become arrogant about their wealth, those who show hatred to the poor, those who bury or protect their wealth with 'genies' guarding it and those who refuse to return the money borrowed from others will be brought here. Such sinners will be tied with ropes and their bodies will be cut into pieces.

AGNI GOODAM

Those who take away others' things by force will be sent to this chimney like place to be barbecued continuously.

VAITHARANI

Those who offend the 'shastraas' will be pushed into the river filled with blood, pus, flesh, fats, hairs, bones, urine and bowels. They will be bitten till they bleed by the creatures dwelling in it. The sinners will struggle helplessly unable to reach the shore.

POOYOHTHAM

Those who neglect their culture, those who have illicit affairs with low Status women, those who misbehave without self-discipline and those who neglect the right way of living so as to live like free birds or animals will be brought here to eat bowels and to drink blood, urine and pus.

PRINAROHGAM

Those who rear dogs and donkeys and use them for hunting will become targets for arrows shot by the keepers.

VISASNUM

The keepers will whip those who sacrifice cows for the sake of pride..

For more info on this great purana please visit the following link..

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/gpu/index.htm

Wife...

2006-07-09T14:13:00.000-07:00

I came across this poem in some website. It was really good and hence I thought I could share the same with you all...

You shine with the brilliance and elegance of love,
Flying in the blue sky line like the lovely white dove.
To live without love is a sad and lonely thought,
To give out love is your main ambition sought.
Your image reflecting in the misty morning shadow,
Running with you in spring through the meadow.
Waking and seeing you beside me,
I let the thoughts of love shine over thee.
Love is something you and I share,
Doing, caring, needing, and wanting is only fair.
Making one out of our two soul,
No one can change it, I behold.
Angered moments we both do have,
Only to grow closer and to forgive is love.
Times gets tough, but to my amaze,
Your love is still there in not much of a haze.
As time gets easy, and I sure they will,
Your time will be more useful and your desires to fill.
All I can wish for is for you devotion,
To be with me in all of our emotion.
And with this I will end, I love you my wife,
My wife it's you, my whole loving life.

1000 page views

2006-07-03T16:05:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of those who have visited my blog and patiently viewed, read and commented in my blog.. Most common criticism is that i post a very long one and it makes difficult to read.. Yes i do understand that but I give more attention to detail and try to explain all the nuances of the subject and leave no stones un turned..So please bear with me!!!!

Thanks for helping me to achieve this magical figure !!!!!

Islamic Banking

2006-07-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

Banking is something which has undergone revolution in a bigway.. A leaf out of that revolution is what I would like to share with all of you..

Islamic Banking

What is Islamic banking?

Islamic banking has the same purpose as conventional banking except that it operates in accordance with the rules of the Shariah, known as Fiqh al-Muamalat (Islamic rules on transactions). The basic principle of Islamic banking is sharing of profit and loss and prohibition of riba´ (interest). Amongst the common Islamic concepts used in Islamic banking are profit sharing (mudharabah), safekeeping (wadiah), joint venture (musharakah), cost plus (murabahah) and leasing (ijarah).

In an Islamic mortgage transaction, instead of loaning buyer money, a bank might buy an item from a seller, and sell it to the buyer at a profit, while allowing the buyer to pay the bank in installments. The higher cost might include what would in non-Islamic arrangements have been charged as interest, but there could not be additional penalties for late payment. This arrangement is called murabaha. Another approach is ijara wa iqtina, which is similar to real estate leasing.

How do these banks operate in India?

There are several Baitul Mals working in cities as well as in villages. Only 10 to 15 Islamic banks with deposits of about Rs 75 crore are operating all over the country in various states. They are actually non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) which work on profits/loss basis. Islamic banks by and large cater to the needs of local area except a few of them operating across districts or states. Their sources of funds are limited and as a result these banks have to operate on small scale missing the economies of scale. Islamic banks in India provide housing loan, on the basis of co-ownership, venture finance on mudarabha basis as well as on musharaka basis and consumers loans. Some banks finance transports also on the mark up basis via hire purchase. Education finance and skill development finance is also provided by them. Investments are made in government securities, small savings schemes or units of mutual funds. Investment in shares of companies is also made by some Islamic banks. Hire purchase and lease finance are other source of investments.

In business deals there are several other approaches to handle a lack of interest. Most important is musharaka, which is equity financing. Further mudaraba means if one entrepreneur is doing the work and the other is giving the funds to finance it then both profit and risk must be shared. Such participatory arrangements between capital and labour reflect the Islamic view that the borrower must not bear all the risk/cost of a failure, as it is Allah who determines that failure, and intends that it fall on all those involved. So venture capital and even micro-venture capital are fine, but not loans. Islamic banking is restricted to Islamically acceptable deals, which exclude e.g. alcohols, pork, gambling, etc. Thus ethical investing is the only acceptable investing, and moral purchasing is encouraged.

What are the regulations for Islamic banking in India?

Islamic banks in India do not function under banking regulations. They are licenced under Non Banking Finance Companies Reserve Bank Directives 1997 RBI (Amendment) Act 1997, and operates on profit and loss based on Islamic principles. RBI has introduced compulsory registration system. In the Monetary and Credit Policy for the year 1999-2000, it was proposed that in respect of new NBFCs, which seek registration with the RBI and commence the business on or after April 21, 1999, the requirement of minimum level of net owned funds (NOF) will be Rs 2 crore.

What are the current practices in Islamic banking globally?

Generally speaking, all interest-free banks agree on the basic principles. However, individual banks differ in their application. These differences are due to several reasons including the laws of the country, objectives of the different banks, individual bank’s circumstances and experiences, the need to interact with other interest-based banks, etc. The three important features are the deposits, modes of financing and services.

What are the different deposits available?

All the Islamic banks have three kinds of deposit accounts: current, savings and investment.

1. Current accounts

Current or demand deposit accounts are virtually the same as in all conventional banks. Deposit is guaranteed.

2. Savings accounts

Savings deposit accounts operate in different ways. In some banks, the depositors allow the banks to use their money but they obtain a guarantee of getting the full amount back from the bank. Banks adopt several methods of inducing their clients to deposit with them, but no profit is promised. In others, savings accounts are treated as investment accounts but with less stringent conditions as to withdrawals and minimum balance. Capital is not guaranteed but the banks take care to invest money from such accounts in relatively risk-free short-term projects.

3. Investment account

Investment deposits are accepted for a fixed or unlimited period of time and the investors agree in advance to share the profit (or loss) in a given proportion with the bank. Capital is not guaranteed.

What are the different modes of financing?

Banks adopt several modes of acquiring assets or financing projects. But they can be broadly categorised into three areas: investment, trade and lending

1. Investment financing

This is done in three main ways: a) Musharaka where a bank may join another entity to set up a joint venture, both parties participating in the various aspects of the project in varying degrees. Profit and loss are shared in a pre-arranged fashion. This is not very different from the joint venture concept. The venture is an independent legal entity and the bank may withdraw gradually after an initial period. b) Mudarabha where the bank contributes the finance and the client provides the expertise, management and labour. Profits are shared by both the partners in a pre-arranged proportion, but when a loss occurs the total loss is borne by the bank. c) Financing on the basis of an estimated rate of return. Under this scheme, the bank estimates the expected rate of return on the specific project it is asked to finance and provides financing on the understanding that at least that rate is payable to the bank. If the project ends up in a profit more than the estimated rate the excess goes to the client. If the profit is less than the estimate the bank will accept the lower rate. In case a loss is suffered the bank will take a share in it.

2. Trade financing

This is also done in several ways. The main ones are: a) Mark-up where the bank buys an item for a client and the client agrees to repay the bank the price and an agreed profit later on. b) Leasing where the bank buys an item for a client and leases it to him for an agreed period and at the end of that period the lessee pays the balance on the price agreed at the beginning an becomes the owner of the item. c) Hire-purchase where the bank buys an item for the client and hires it to him for an agreed rent and period, and at the end of that period the client automatically becomes the owner of the item. d) Sell-and-buy-back where a client sells one of his properties to the bank for an agreed price payable now on condition that he will buy the property back after certain time for an agreed price. e) Letters of credit where the bank guarantees the import of an item using its own funds for a client, on the basis of sharing the profit from the sale of this item or on a mark-up basis.

3. Lending

The main forms of lending are: a) Loans with a service charge where the bank lends money without interest but they cover their expenses by levying a service charge. This charge may be subject to a maximum set by the authorities. b) No-cost loans where each bank is expected to set aside a part of their funds to grant no-cost loans to needy persons such as small farmers, entrepreneurs, producers, etc and to needy consumers. c) Overdrafts also are to be provided, subject to a certain maximum, free of charge.

What other services are offered by such banks?

Other banking services such as money transfers, bill collections, trade in foreign currencies at spot rate, etc where the bank’s own money is not involved are provided on a commission or charge basis.

What are the deficiencies?

To start with, they have not developed adequate internal control system; as a result their accounting system is not very transparent. A number of times they are not able to follow the directives of regulatory authorities pertaining to deposit acceptance from public. For instance, they hardly go for credit rating. They do not submit required information and data to Reserve Bank of India. Their monitoring system warrants appointment of technical people familiar with reporting system. It is also observed that accounting practices needs to be learned by the officials of these banks. Lack of skilled staff, professionals and infrastructure frustrate their effort to expand and enlarge their operations.

What are major issues and constraints in Islamic banking?

The biggest issue which is a permanent hurdle for Islamic banks operating in countries with interest-based banking is that they cannot function as banks unless powers of issuing cheque are given to them. They cannot be members of settlement/clearing house unless they accept two conditions regarding their liabilities and assets like conventional banks that have to keep fractional cash reserve with the central bank and statutory liquid assets in their assets. Thus banks in India have to maintain deposit account with the RBI over which they get interest. The SLR includes government and approved securities. A bank licensed by the RBI becomes the part of monetary system, which means it can create money by deposit generation through deposit acceptance. Since these assets are interest based, Islamic bank cannot hold them. Consequently, the central bank cannot act as the lender of last resort because such accommodation by the monetary authority is also interest based. Islamic banks cannot inter-act with conventional banks based on principles of interest.

The last but not the least, Islamic banking has been constantly in short-term and medium-term operations though some of them are undertaking long-term finance also. It is understood that inability to evaluate projects profitability has tended to act against investment financing. Some borrowers frustrate the banks appraisal efforts as they are not reluctant to provide full disclosures of their business. Moreover, the borrowers do not observe business ethics which make it difficult to establish close bank-clientele relationship -- a condition for successful Islamic banking. As a result a number of Islamic banks have been closed during the recent years. Adverse selection has been one of the reasons for their closures.

Greatest Movies...

2006-06-29T03:36:00.000-07:00

My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

Does these dialouges ring bell in your ears.. Ever find the grind of life getting you down? Is the day-to-day struggle threatening to drag you under?

If so, there is a movie out there that can replenish your energy and refresh your outlook. Passionate and magical, Forrest Gump is a tonic for the weary of spirit. For those who feel that being set adrift in a season of action movies is like wandering into a desert, the oasis lies ahead.

Forrest Gump represents a return to the themes of that earlier movie. In this case, the main character remains a child in heart and spirit, even as his body grows to maturity. Hanks is called upon yet again to play the innocent.

Forrest Gump (Hanks), named after a civil war hero, grows up in Greenbow, Alabama, where his mother (Sally Field) runs a boarding house. Although Forrest is a little "slow" (his IQ is 75, 5 below the state's definition of "normal"), his mental impairment doesn't seem to bother him, his mother, or his best (and only) friend, Jenny Curran (played as an adult by Robin Wright). In fact, the naivete that comes through a limited understanding of the world around him gives Forrest a uniquely positive perspective of life.

During the next thirty years, Forrest becomes a star football player, a war hero, a successful businessman, and something of a pop icon. Through it all, however, there is one defining element in his life: his love for Jenny. She is never far from his thoughts, no matter what he's doing or where he is.

A trio of assets lift Forrest Gump above the average "lifestory" drama: its optimism, freshness, and emotional honesty. Though the movie does not seek to reduce every member of the audience to tears, it has moments whose power comes from their simplicity. Equally as important is laughter, and Forrest Gump has moments of humor strewn throughout.

During the 60s and 70s, no topic more inflamed the turbulent national consciousness than that of Vietnam and those who were sent overseas to fight. Forrest, as might be expected, has a singular viewpoint on his time spent there: "We took long walks and were always looking for this guy named Charlie." In this observation can be found the essence of the title character's nature.

Through the miracle of visual effects, Forrest meets his fair share of famous people - George Wallace, Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon, and John Lennon. While mixing the real footage of these notables with new images featuring Hanks is not a seamless process, the result is nevertheless effective.

Forrest Gump has several messages, some of which are less obvious than others. The most frequently recurring theme is an admonition not to give up on life. Why surrender when you don't know what lies ahead? By contrasting Forrest's life with the lives of those around him, and by showing how the passage of time brings solace to even the most embittered hearts, the movie underlines this point.

Tom's performance in Forrest Gump is more impressive. The Alabama accent may seem a little awkward at first, but it doesn't take long for the acting to dwarf the twang. Hanks has no difficulty creating a totally human character who is free of guile and deceit, and barely able to comprehend a concept like evil. Robin Wright gives the best performance of her career, surpassing what she accomplished in The Playboys. Looking and seeming like a younger Jessica Lange, she is believable as the object of Forrest's undying affection.

The real scene-stealer, however, is Gary Sinise. A renowned director and theatrical actor, Sinise is probably best known to film-goers for his portrayal of George in 1992's Of Mice and Men (which he also directed). In this movie, his Lieutenant Dan Taylor is riveting. The passion and pain he brings to the middle portions of Forrest Gump hold together some of the film's weaker moments.

The soundtrack boasts a wide variety of sounds of the era -- perhaps too wide a variety. Often, music can be useful in establishing a mood, but Forrest Gump rockets into the realm of overkill. There are sequences when the choice of song is inspired (the use of "Running on Empty" for Forrest's "long run" comes to mind), but the soundtrack could have used a little pruning.

Ultimately, however, any gripes about Forrest Gump are minor. This is a marvelous motion picture -- a mint julep on a hot summer's afternoon.

As always said Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get...

Won 6 Oscars. Another 32 wins & 37 nominations

Politically Correct Rhymes and Stories

2006-06-28T14:42:00.000-07:00

This article has appeared in Business World...It was very interesting so I thought I could share it with all...

The Madhya Pradesh government has removed several poems from the primary school syllabus, including ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’, saying it was an attempt to reduce ‘western influence’ on children.

“Attempts were made to include poems that reflect nationalism and culture,” State School Education Minister Narottam Mishra said.

Responding to Narottamji’s call, I humbly put forward some nationalist, progressive and culturally correct nursery rhymes and fairy tales for our children.

Baa Baa Black Sheep is a racist rhyme where the poor coloured sheep is deprived of his wool for the benefit of his feudal “master” and “dame”. Instead of that colonial relic, the following rhyme would be more suitable:

Baa Baa black sheep, have you any wool?
C’mon, don’t give me any of that bull.
I don’t have a master, I don’t have a dame
And I don’t care about the white boy who lives down the lane.

Note the defiant tone, so necessary to develop nationalist pride.

Of course, not all rhymes need to be patriotic — we need local colour as well. So, here goes a rhyme introducing our kids to Bollywood:

Twinkle, twinkle, filmi star,
They make so much money yaar
They sing and dance and get so high,
And meet the bhais in Dubai.

“Georgie Porgie” who kissed the girls and made them cry is so blatantly sexist that it needs to be banned forthwith. Instead, I propose the following sweet little rhyme that will introduce tiny tots to the joys of marital bliss:

Subramanian Iyer, full of curds and rice,
Thought Alamelu was very nice
But when Alamelu became his wife,
Subramanian Iyer ran for his life.

The “red” in Little Red Riding Hood is anathema to the BJP government of Madhya Pradesh. So, here are some changes in the story:

Once upon a time, in an ashram in the forest, lived a little girl who always dressed in a saffron sari, so people called her Little Saffron Sari. One morning, her mother gave her a basket full of goodies to take to her grandmother, who lived deep in the forest. “Recite the Vedas when you walk,” said the mother, “so no harm will come to you.” But the morning was bright and sunny and the flowers were pretty and soon Saffron Sari stopped reciting the shlokas.

Naturally, a hungry wolf saw the opportunity. “What are you doing out here, little girl?” the wolf asked in an extra-friendly voice. “I’m on my way to see my Grandma who lives in the middle of the forest, near the ant-hill,” Little Saffron Sari replied. Hearing that, the wolf took a shortcut to the grandmother and without further ado gobbled her up. He then put on the grandmother’s clothes and waited for the little girl.

When Saffron Sari came to her grandmother’s she let out a cry. “What big teeth you have, grandmother,” she exclaimed. “The better to eat you with”, said the wolf and fell upon the little girl. Luckily, a rishi who was meditating nearby was attracted by all the commotion and he came and admonished the wolf that it was against his dharma to eat little girls. “I’m going on a hunger strike right here till you stop chasing Little Saffron Sari”, he said, planting himself on a bed of nails by the door. The wolf was so impressed that he immediately disgorged the grandmother and decided to become a vegetarian. All of them then recited the Vedas in unison.

For communist-ruled states, the story could be one of Comrade Little Red Riding Hood, the proletarian heroine who single-handedly destroys the oppressive capitalist wolf who had eaten up her grandmother in an act of primitive accumulation.

For Congress-ruled states, of course, the story will be of the smart little Italian girl who buys off the wolf by offering him a reservation under the ‘Other backward animals’ quota.

Sidhuisms... Too Good

2006-06-26T16:20:00.000-07:00

1. That ball went so high it could have got an air hostess down with it.

2. There is light at the end of the tunnel for India, but it’s that of an incoming train which will run them over.

3. Experience is like a comb that life gives you when you are bald.

4. This quote was made after Ganguly called Dravid for a run and midway sent him back and Dravid was run out in the third test against the West Indies at Barbados.”Ganguly has thrown a drowning man both ends of the rope.”

5. Sri Lankan score is running like an Indian taximeter.

6. Statistics are like miniskirts, they reveal more than what they hide.

7. Wickets are like wives - you never know which way they will turn!

8. He is like Indian three-wheeler, which will suck a lot of diesel but cannot go beyond 30!

9. The Indians are going to beat the Kiwis! Let me tell you, my friend that the Kiwi is the only bird in the whole world, which does not have wings!

10. As uncomfortable as a bum on a porcupine.

11. The ball whizzes past like a bumble - bee and the Indians are in the sea.

12. The Indians are finding the gaps like a pin a haystack.

13. The pitch is as dead as a dodo.

14. Deep Dasgupta is as confused as a child is in a topless bar!

15. The way Indian wickets are falling reminds of the cycle stand at Rajendra Talkies in Patiala one falls and everything else falls!

16. Indian team without Sachin is like giving Kiss without a Squeeze.

17. You cannot make Omelets without breaking the eggs.

18. Deep Dasgupta is not a Wicket Keeper, he is a goalkeeper. He must be given a free transfer to Manchester United.

19. He will fight a rattlesnake and give it the first two bites too.

20. One, who doesn’t throw the dice, can never expect to score a six.

21. This quote was made after Eddie Nichols, the third umpire, ruled Shivnarine Chanderpaul ‘NOT OUT’ in the second test at Port of Spain T&T “Eddie ichols is a man who cannot find his own buttocks with his two hands.”

22. Anybody can pilot a ship when the sea is calm.

23. Nobody travels on the road to success without a puncture or two.

24. You got to choose between tightening your belt or losing your pants.

25. The cat with gloves catches no mice.

26. Age has been perfect fire extinguisher for flaming youth.

27. You may have a heart of gold, but so does a hard-boiled egg.

28. He is like a one-legged man in a bum kicking competition.

29. The third umpires should be changed as often as nappies and for the same reason.

30. Kumble’s bowling at the moment is flat as a Dosa.

Greatest Movies...

2006-06-25T13:05:00.000-07:00

In my last post I blogged about a film which deals in a complex situation with the backdrop of music which transcends all barriers...Now this is also a movie which definitely deals with even more complex problem...using a medium called Humanity...

SCHINDLER’S LIST

Plot

Schindler’s List opens in a Jewish family’s home. The Jews are reciting in prayer for the Sabbath day around a table full of brightly-lit candles. When the Jews are gone from the house the candles slowly burn out.

The German forces defeat the Polish in weeks. Soon afterward, the Jews are forced out of their homes to report to the train station, where their names are registered. Over 10,000 Jews are being shipped off to Krakow. People tease and yell at any Jew they see in the street.

In Krakow the ghetto is overcrowded with Jews. The Jewish people are all gathered together and organized into working groups by the Judenrat (Jewish council comprised of twenty-four elected Jews responsible for the order). Oskar Schindler visits the ghetto. He is a German businessman, who wishes to see Itzhak Stern, a Jew that owns a pot-making factory. Jews are no longer allowed to own businesses, so Oskar makes a deal with Itzhak, and plans to take over the factory after trading money and appointing him his factory manager.

It is now March 20, 1941 - the deadline for entering the ghetto. Edict 44/91 establishes a Jewish district. All Jews are now forced to pack their belongings and move out of their homes by German soldiers. When the Jews arrive to the ghetto, they receive housing assignments and are forced to be in tight living quarters.

The next morning, the people are gathered outside and information on their education and working experiences are reported. Some of the Jews that can’t be used for work are loaded onto trucks and sent off to horrible camps. Some of the Jews that are able to work will soon report to Oskar Schindler’s factory.

Under Sterns influence, Schindler has come to feel an empathy and responsibility toward his workers, and when the Nazis confine all Jews to a forced labor camp commanded by the sadistic Amon Goeth, Schindler volunteers to keep "his Jews" confined at the factory. At his own expense, he constructs barracks and strings barbed wire. He apparently creates a outpost of the labor camp which in reality is a safe haven from the sinister Goeth, who regularly sends "unfit" Jewish workers to Auschwitz.

Oskar starts to promote his new factory by sending baskets full of goods to many German leaders. The Jews begin their work in the factory. They are taught how to make pots and pans. These workers are very grateful to Oskar for the jobs because it keeps them out of the camps and alive. A one-armed man personally thanks Oskar for his job. The Germans later murder him because of his handicap.

Thousands of Jews are shipped off on a train to a concentration camp. The entire luggage is stolen and gone through by German soldiers. By mistake, Itzhak Stern is placed on a train. Oskar hears of this mistake and rushes down to the station and desperately retrieves him from the train.

Untersturmfuhrer Amon Goeth is the German officer that is in charge of the construction of the Plaszow labor camp. The Jewish people build the camp, along with Goeth’s house located inside the camp. Goeth is sadistically cruel -- a man that is not reluctant to shoot anybody in the camp. He is very angry about the success of the Jewish people, and says that all they have done in the past will soon be forgotten...

It is now March 13, 1943, and liquidation of the ghetto takes place. Thousands of armed German soldiers run wild through the streets of Krakow. Jews are randomly pulled from their houses and killed. The soldiers violently raid the Jews' homes and steal their belongings. Many run and hide from the soldiers, but are soon found. Many of the residents of the ghetto are killed. Only a few live and some of them are taken to Plaszow forced labor camp.

After the horrible day of killing, Oskar reports to the camp. He has lunch with some of the leading German men. Oskar is very upset; he has no workers anymore because they were all captured and taken off to the camp. He is allowed to take back most of his workers to the factory.

Once everybody returns to work, a young lady that wishes for him to hire her parents visits Oskar. The lady’s parents are at the camp and she is very worried about them. She feels as that if Oskar hires them they will live. He gets angry with her and says that he will not hire them, but he does the next week out of kindness.

Several days later at Plaszow the sick Jews are separated from the healthy. The ladies pricked their fingers and rubbed their own blood on their faces so they would look healthier. The weak and sick Jews were killed so there would be more room for the new shipments of Jews arriving at the camp. All of the children were placed on trucks and sent away. Several of them attempted to hide so they wouldn’t have to leave their family. Most were unsuccessful.

It is now Oskar’s birthday. He throws a big party with many of his German friends. Several young Jewish factory workers come to his party to give him a gift. One of the young girls gives him the gift and in return he kisses her. This is a mistake. He broke the Race and Resettlement Act by kissing the Jewish girl. Goeth discusses what happened that night and Oskar apologizes.

In April 1944 Goeth receives orders to exhume and burn the bodies of more than 10,000 Jews killed at Plaszow and the Krakow Massacre. The living Jews at the camp are forced to recover and burn the dead from a year before. The little girl in the red coat, from earlier in the movie, is burned.

Evacuation orders are received. All the Jews from Plaszow are being moved to a different camp to avoid the advancing Russians. But Schindler creates a desperate plan. Digging deeper into his fortune, he constructs a new factory farther west and bargains with Goeth to 'buy' all the Jewish workers he will need to staff it. With Stern, he draws up a list of names, "Schindler's List", consisting of more than 1,100 men, women and children. He races against time to save them. In the end, through impossible luck and unyielding determination, Schindler rescues "his Jews" - the Schindlerjuden, as they will call themselves.

Cast

Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley and Ralph Fiennes.. Steven Spielberg has done the impossible in this movie.. He literally made everyone cry and hate Hitler for his atrocities..

Awards
Won 7 Oscars. Another 60 wins & 22 nominations

Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire...and Spielberg has certainly brought out the real meaning of life and what humanity is all about....

PS::
For more details on Hitler's atrocities please click the links below.. These might give you a better light about the Nazi rule..

The Holocaust
The Euthanasia Program
Amon Goethe
The Jews saved by Oskar Schindler
Auschwitz Memorial

Greatest Movies....

2006-06-24T01:57:00.000-07:00

With this post I will attempt to showcase some of the greatest and must watchs in the field of cinema... This is one of the medium which integrates the culture and ethos of societies.. Being a cinema buff as many of you know it, I would like also like to share the knowledge I gained from being a addict of cinema.. This series will also attempt to showcase some of the foreign language movies which are not so popular with us...

So here we go.... The honor of being the first movie is Sindhu Bhairavi...

Why????

K.Balachander was undoubtedly one of the most talented directors in tamil cinema. He loved to focus on complex relationships and analyse the complications that arose out of them. His directorial talent is on full display in his masterpiece Sindhu Bhairavi, a mature love triangle set against the backgroud of Carnatic music. Excellently etched out characters, sharp dialogs and mesmerising music elevate this movie to the level of a classic.

Awards

Sindhu Bhairavi reaped a rich harvest of awards with Suhasini, Ilaiyaraja and Chitra all winning national awards for the movie. If KB himself had nabbed the best director award, it would have been richly deserved.

Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Actress - Suhasini
Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Music Direction - Ilayaraaja
Won - Silver Lotus Award - Best Female Playback Singer - K. S. Chithra

Not only because of the above.. This is one of the gem which KB has ever directed and am sure that even he cannot achieve the same again...

The Story

J.K.Balaganapathy(Sivakumar), JKB for short, is a famous singer. But he lacks the right kind of company to discuss music with since his wife Bhairavi(Sulakshana) is a zero as far as music is concerned. It is at this point that he meets Sindhu(Suhasini), a music teacher. Though she offends him at their first meeting on stage, her boundless enthusiasm for and in-depth knowledge of music draw him to her. They end up spending a lot of time together and this closeness soon develops into a full-blown affair. When she is advised to not spoil Bhairavi's life, Sindhu moves away from JKB. But her absence affects him and he starts drinking. When his life seems on the brink of destruction, Bhairavi herself invites Sindhu back to correct him. And seeing the positive effect Sindhu has on JKB, Bhairavi decides to get her married to her own husband. There is also a side story of Sindhu, who was deserted as a baby by her mother, finding her roots.

Directorial Touch

The movie is filled with deft touches that have a forceful impact while making us applaud their innovativeness. One of the best illustrations of this appears early in the movie. Sivakumar just saying that his wife is a novice as far as music is concerned would have sufficed. But KB makes Sivakumar stop with "For my wife, music is..." and then cuts to Sulakshana asking a vegetable vendor "Kilo enna vilai?". This conveys her state more effectively than any dialog could have.

KB's directorial acumen is evident at several other places too. Showing the unwrapping of a mridangam and a veena to signal the physical union of Sivakumar and Suhasini, using the daily delivery of tamil magazines to indicate the different days of the week (Suhasini is angry at Sivakumar during this time and her mood gradually changes and a magazine with Sivakumar's cover picture signals her complete transformation) and indicating Suhasini's train journey with a line of boys on the beach are some of these places.

There are few things that happen without reason and what happens on screen seems perfectly plausible. Sivakumar's lack of music-minded companionship is beautifully brought out by the aforementioned scene that illustrates his wife's blissful ignorance of music and the scene where his orchestra is playing cards while he is looking for a meaningful discussion of music. This factor is key in order to sympathise with his character during his relationship with Suhasini. The same goes for Suhasini. Her gradual bonding with Sivakumar is based on music and this is picturised skillfully. This is important since the audience has to view her with compassion, and not the scorn usually reserved for the other woman in a marriage, for the movie to work.

Support

The movie is populated by one of the liveliest and most memorable cast of supporting characters. 'Mridangam' Gurumoorthy ('Delhi' Ganesh) and 'Sitar' Gajapathy (Janakaraj) are the most prominent among these. 'Delhi' Ganesh's drunken outburst against Sivakumar on his relationship with Suhasini and his later confession that he acted drunk just so he could speak his mind are touching. Janakaraj is a reformed liar and the way his head is shown swelling up each time he holds a secret is masterful and funny. It is amazing how smaller characters like the judge's driver and Sivakumar's grandfather become unforgettable after appearing in only a couple of scenes. But in the midst of such outstanding characters, Pratap Pothan's character seems unnecessary.

Suhasini delivers a masterful performance. Her expressive face excels at hiding sadness with a bright smile and she gets lots of oppurtinities to do so. Her gradual closeness to Sivakumar is understandable and the transformation from anger to realisation of her feelings for him is made believable by her performance. Her reaction when Manimala bars her from entering their house so that she could "save her husband from her" is brilliant as is her talk on the beach with Manimala. Sivakumar gets the role of a lifetime and delivers. His character has the oppurtunity to run through a full gamut of emotions and he does justice to most of them. Sulakshana earns our sympathy with her wide-eyed, innocent look. She earns laughs when she imagines slapping Suhasini while she is leaning on her shoulder (KB earns another point here with the picturisation of this scene) and her repeated distractions with household chores, when attempting to learn music, brings out her character .

Music... An Enigma which is still being decoded...

This movie was the first time Ilaiyaraja tuned the music for a KB film and the result is colossal - exactly what we would expect from the union of two gifted giants. Ilaiyaraja employs two innovations. In Mahaa Ganapathy..., there is no Mridangam and the last song Kalaivaaniye... is completely in aarohanam with no avarohanam. Moham Ennum is stirring and intense against the backdrop of the waves crashing against the rocks. And the way the completely folksy Paadariyen Padippariyen... merges into Mari Mari Ninne... is nothing short of amazing. Even the dappanguthu Thanni Thotti... fits into the movie since it illuminates the depths to which Sivakumar has plunged due to Suhasini's parting. K.J.Yesudas has sung all the songs and his mellifluous voice is a pleasure to hear.

Raaga Song Name

Lochana Kamala Lochana is sung in Dharbar ragam, Poomaalai in Kanada ragam, Thanni Thotti in Kaapi ragam, Kalaivaaniye in Kalyani, Mogam Enum Thee in Kanakangi ragam, Mahaganapathim in Naatai , Paadariyen Padipariyen in Saramathi, Naan Oru Sindhu in Sindhu Bhairavi and Manathil Urudhi Vendum in Thilana ....

This is indeed a kohinoor in the director KB's cap..

Restroom Conversation.. Think Twice

2006-06-23T16:15:00.000-07:00

The following conversation is taking place inside a men's rest room...

I was barely sitting down when I heard a voice from the other stall saying :
" Hi, how are you?"

I'm not the type to start a conversation in the men's restroom But I don't know what got into me, so I answered, somewhat Embarrassed, " Doin just fine!"

And the other guy says: " So what are you up to?"

What kind of question is that? At that point, I'm thinking this Is too bizarre so I say: " Uhhh, I'm like you, just travelling!"

At this point im just trying to get out as fast as I can when I hear I Hear another question. " Can I come over ?"

Ok, this question is just too weird for me but I figured I could Just be polite and end the conversation. I tell him, " No....... I'm a little busy right now !!!"

Then I hear guy say nervously....

Listen. I'll have to call you back. There's is an idiot in the Other stall who keeps answering all my questions!!!"...........

My Brother Barath

2006-06-23T00:56:00.000-07:00

Now that my brother has joined Infy and he is joining on Monday... I thought that this should be the best moment to talk about him and his exploits.. Well if you ask the St. Josephians they all know Barath as quiet and all samathu paiyan.. but actually he is not.. Well I would like to give more insight into him and my attempt at understanding him...

October 18 1984...

This day a bundle of joy arrived at our house.. He was born in the Rajalakshmi Nursing Home in Anna Nagar..I guess at around 8.00 in the morning.. this part am not too sure.. My reaction as a 4 year old was mixed.. Fear and joy.. Fear because of I thought of losing attention paid to me...Joy coz i got a bro to play and fight... But over the years fear gave away to joy and happiness..

The Formative Years

He was a fighter right from the begining of life..When he was 8 months old he was down with seizures and had to be hospitalized..No one knew whether he could survive the onslaught and those initial months were tense and I was very much terrified even though i never let out my apprehensions...Thanks to his favorite doctor Dr. Badrinath in Shenoy Nagar.. he was back to normal and started his little steps into the world.. Till today only this doctor knows in and out of my brother...

The Start of Academic Life...

I must accept that Barath was deadly lucky in this.. Am sure no one would have got such a start to his academic life as he got it.. The first trip to school still lingers fresh in my mind.. He went to the school the first day like a Kalyaana Mappilai..Janvasam carla mela thaala thoda malaiellam pottu school ponan...

In the school he got some lovely friends like Karthik and Gopi... Gopi..oh that name still has some kind of excitement...Barath used to fight with him like anything and he used to bite Gopi... his mom would come complaining to us...:) tht was the funniest part...

Life in Delhi

Dad got transfered to Delhi and we joined the DTEA in Pusa road...even though we were there for only three years.. he developed a strong bondin with Sesha, Sriram.. and some friends i dont remember their name...

Back in Chennai

Back in Chennai, he fought with dad and mom that if he needs to go to school he will go to Valliammal only and that too in Karthik's section.. later Karthink used to take real pains to teach Barath how to cycle...

Unique Personality Traits

Barath has some unique personality traits.. I guess his friends know about them but let me try to give it from my end...

He is afraid of Dogs...
He is the laziest dog i have ever seen...even lazy than sloth
He doesnt mingle with girls.. He has girlophobia..atleast in our family..he used to cry if even my paati lifts him...
He is definitely hardworking with respect to his studies.. Cant believe he wakes up at around 3.00 in the morning for his mid term exams as well....
Got terrific bunch of friends
Loves ladysfinger...i meant vendakkai...

Hey this is the most toughest blog I have ever posted... Dont know how much i missed about him... Its real tough man to write about someone who is with you for a long period of time...Cant beleive he is going to work...God Bless Infy...

Bend it like Brazilian

2006-06-16T02:44:00.000-07:00

Ok.. to fuel the FIFA fever here is the video of one the most greatest goal ever scored in the FIFA history... It left everyone gaping...even the goal keeper...

Can he do anything about it..

The Da Machi Code

2006-06-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

WONLY FOR U.... YENJAAOY!!

Robert Lingam I.P.S (Vijayakanth) visits Madurai to deliver a lecture in college about public safety. The head pujari of Meenakshi temple is murdered. He was stabbed to death, but before dying he lies down in the robotic break dance position next to a shiva lingam, the message clearly being "call robert lingam". He had also smashed the breasts of a goddess statue and hung a bell with a chain from her hip. Also clutched in his hand is the Congress party manifesto with the 49% reservation for OBCs underlined with his blood.

Pujari's grand daughter Mahalakshmi (Sneha) had just returned from USA with a degree in cryptology, symbology, singing and group-dance. She cuts short her weekend trip to Chennai and returns to Madurai upon the murder.

She meets Commissioner Lingam at the murder site and together embarkto solve the murder and in the process "witness the biggest cover up in Hindu history". "My 'Thaatha' used to insist that me and my brother play hide and seek inside the temple", said Mahalakshmi.

"Why the congress manifesto? Why the underlining on the reservation part? Was your thaatha going to lose his job as head-priest to an OBC candidate?",puzzled look on Lingam's face with knit eyebrows."Thaatha always said reservation was plain bull shit"

"What?"

"Bull shit - very rarely he used english but whenever this topic used tocome up, he wud use that term"Lingam's eyes lit up. "That's the clue...yes, bull shit, oh Rama how did i miss that", excited he clutches Mahalakshmi's wrist as they bolt out of the murder scene.
"Where is the biggest Nandi bull statue in this temple complex?"

"by the east gate"

"Let's go".................

Lingam put his hand into the orifice which was the asshole of the Nandi bull statue. His fingers felt the cold touch of an ancient palm leaf. Pulling it out Lingam attempted to read under the flickering light of the solitary lamp post nearby.neatly written in outdated tamil script were the lines,

"Kai Anchu, Vaai Nooru Periya bookukule oru chinna book"
"Ah", Lingam sighed.
"What does it mean?"
"I have heard both these lines before...but in a very different context"

Lingam looked skywards for some divine intervention to help him solve this new clue. Towering into the skyline in front of him as dawn was breaking,was the tall gopuram of the temple. Quickly turning around, a smile danced on Lingam's lips as his sight fell on all the five towers. "The five towers, phallic symbols...the five Pandava brothers, We need to get to a library,I need to see the original copy of the Kama sutra", "this early in the morning?" asked Mahalakshmi as they hurried towards Lingam's jeep.

As they jeep hurtled towards the town library, Lingam explained, "
Few temples in India are famous for their erotic art and architecture. The kings built those to encourage population growth. For centuries, there has been rumours of a secret society that guarded a secret behind such art and symbols, a secret so powerful that if revealed would shake the very foundations of conservative culture."

COMING SOON TO A SCREEN NEAR YOU....
WITNESS THE GREATEST COVER UP IN HINDU HISTORY A SECRET SO DEVASTATING THAT IF REVEALED COULD LEAD TO EVEN MORE CATACLISMIC POPULATION EXPLOSION..... WAS THE MOST NOTORIOUS PIECE OF INDIAN LITERATURE ORIGINALLY PART OF THE GREATEST EPIC POEM EVER WRITTEN?

WERE THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE KAMASUTRA THE SAME GODS AND GODDESSES GLORIFIED IN ANCIENT TEXTS? CONTINUING WITH THE MODERN INDIAN TRADITION OF BLATANTLY APING THE WEST....

A.M.RATNAM PRESENTS

CAPTAIN in

THE DA MACHI CODE
'SO CORNY A DARK MAN'
PONGAL 2007

Wanted "Innocence" Alive...

2006-05-29T05:32:00.000-07:00

Definitions of innocent on the Web:

free from evil or guilt; "an innocent child"; "the principle that one is innocent until proved guilty"

lacking intent or capacity to injure; "an innocent prank"

impeccant: free from sin

lacking in sophistication or worldliness; "a child's innocent stare"; "his ingenuous explanation that he would not have burned the church if he had not thought the bishop was in it"

innocent(p): not knowledgeable about something specified; "American tourists wholly innocent of French"; "a person unacquainted with our customs"

barren: completely wanting or lacking; "writing barren of insight"; "young recruits destitute of experience"; "a novel devoid of wit and inventiveness"; "a life empty of happiness"; "innocent of literary merit"; "void of understanding"

a person who lacks knowledge of evil

(used of things) lacking sense or awareness; "fine innocent weather"

Innocence is a term that describes the lack of guilt of an individual, with respect for a crime. It can also refer to a state of unknowing, where one's experience is less than that of one's peers, in either a relative view to social peers, or by an absolute comparison to a more common normative scale. In contrast to ignorance, it is generally viewed as a positive term, connoting a blissfully positive view of the world.

If you had noticed from the definitions given above, Innocence has been framed negatively.. Lack of this and devoid of that...Is it so..? Think and then proceed from here...

A child is innocent but does it mean that its lacking in creativity... does it mean that it is not rationale.. The fact is that the child is the most creative person...maturing is losing creativity steadily..

How many times were you ashamed of crying.. But does the child ever feel ashamed of crying.. Research points that crying is the best form of throwing away our sorrows and pain.. How do you feel after you cry.. Havent you felt a lot better...

Coming to the most relevant scenario Does the child know what caste it is... No.. also it makes friendship without any barriers known to man...caste, creed, color, sex, blah blah.... So do you think we are matured if we practice all these barriers for developing relationships...

This reminds me of a very complex situation I had to face.. One of my friend's kid was seeing Vijay's movie which was running in some channel.. Suddenly he asked us in tamil What do you mean by Keep? We were stunned and couldnt answer...To our relief he also lost interest and changed the channel... Many would blame on the television and other media which is corrupting.. also the moral police would raise their voice saying all these should be banned.. Is there any solution for man made destruction.. Aint we in a Catch 22..

My own website...

2006-05-26T01:54:00.000-07:00

Dear all....

Atlast.. i have my own site in Google... have started working on it as well.. as usual please visit the site and mail me your comments..

The site is : http://kesavan.m.googlepages.com/

Thanks for your continous support..

Bricktop

10 simple pleasures

2006-05-25T10:10:00.000-07:00

Ok.. my kinda 10 simple pleasures

10 . Walking down the beach on a cool summer night
09 . Watching a movie at home...
08 . listening to music and sleeping...
07 . playing with my cousin's dog
06 . surfing the net
05 . seeing the old photos of mine...
04. Chatting with friends
03. walking in the road when it is pouring heavily
02. fighting with my bro... its so fun seein him irritated...u shud see his face.. wud go beet red..
01......watching tom and jerry cartoon... oh i love them geeeeeeee

My trip to Malampuzha

2006-05-25T04:16:00.000-07:00

Malampuzha, a little township on the foothills of the Western Ghats, is located 10 km from Palakkad town. The name Malampuzha originates from the river Malampuzha which flows through here. Major attractions are Dam, amusement park, boating facilities, rock garden and ropeway. Nurtured by this tributary of Kerala's longest river, the Bharathappuzha, Malampuzha is a lush green town and has been a major tourist attraction for its trekking trails and the large irrigation dam.

Around the reservoir of the dam are beautiful gardens and amusement parks. Boating facilities are available on the lake. Other attractions in the Malampuzha garden are the beautiful rock garden, the fish-shaped aquarium, the snake park, the ropeway which takes you on an aerial tour of the park, and the gigantic Yakshi (an enchantress) sculptured by Kanai Kunhiraman, the leading sculptor of Kerala.

The most interesting feature of the rock garden is that the whole place is made of unwanted and broken pieces of bangles, tiles, used plastic cans, tins and other waste materials. The garden is a master work of sculptor Padmasree Neck Chand Saini. His rock garden in Chandigarh is world famous and attracts thousands of tourists every year.

Oh getting there is one hell of a ride.. to appreciate any good tourism is to enjoy its subtle local flavors.. Similarly when you want to get to any place in Kerala then the bus ride is one of the most unforgettable experiences. The formula 1 racing seems to be David as compared to this Goliath.. One small advice.. Kindly do not eat when you plan to go for a ride.. But honestly this is one of the best drives I have ever seen.. Chennai’s Pallavan sir please take some lessons from your mallu counterparts…

We really had a good time as weather was also right for suthifying and we suthified and saw every bit of the nature’s bounty.. Unfortunately we couldn’t go to the famed snake park as we reached there a bit late… we reached there at 5.30 pm.. hey howz my photography., PC kitta assistant a sera time vandhachu illa.. yogi looks smart na.. ellam ennoda photography than…

Nalla suthify pannitu we became a bit tired so we started back home.. and suddenly it was pouring.. boy that is wat pouring is actually is.. the weather became so cool… it was.. am sorry I am not able to explain but rather experienced…the next day… eager to know wat happened .. Wait for my next post… its getting on interesting…..

Trip to God's Own Country - Day 2

2006-05-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

Having described the place we are in.. let me share some of my experiences about the fun we had...

As i have mentioned in my previous post about the river.. that was really the fulcrum of some of our major fun... the water was cool... and sweet, clean and unpolluted.. the river was a victim of illegal sand quarrying few years ago.. and now its full of rocks and the river is chest deep.. i guess that should be 5 - 5.5 feet in depth and flows gently...

we used bath twice and sometimes thrice a day.. spending almost an hour in the river... which is a luxury compared to Chennai standards... note that this is where the entire village takes bath....

we finished our bath and washed our clothes and had idlis and podi for breakfast...i loved that podi... wow man slurp.... after having our breakfast.. we thought of getting the feel of the village and started roaming... (in reality we wanted to check out some mallu gals to sight adichify hehehe)

the weather was not too hot rather and we roamed the street and seeing the architecture of the kerala houses and the temples.. must say that they are really artistic... the houses are long and have many rooms and some have constructed first floor tooo.. kinda duplex houses...let me describe you the houses there so u can visualise them....

The entrance has a thinnai which is kinda sitout in the house entrace facing the street... this place is a real good place to sleep at nights when it is reall cool.. you will be at the top of the world... the house is guraded by a heavy wooden door.. and there is a long passage which runs from the entrance to the end of the house in the backyard... this is in strcit accordance to the Vaasthu, the science of architecture.... the first room is the main hall which can sit roughly 15-20 people for eating... so you can imagine how big it will be..

then comes the kitchen... spacious enuf for cooking... then you have the place to was utensils... and then the backyard...

The backyard is a garden..invariably its Kerala so you have coconut trees and other plants...

the houses also have wells...which is used only for cooking and drinking water... the bathroom and toilet are in the farthest end of the backyard.....

there is a belief or rather i can put it in this way.. its a unwritten rule that the houses in the village will not rise above the flag staff of the Shiva temple of the temple... there is a house in the one of the villages which violated this.. but thats a different post altogether... will post it in the later parts...

The whole day we spent in suthifyin the village... also we had been to Malampuzha... this is a great picnic spot and lovely place to visit... the experiences of Malampuzha will follow...

Bend it like Beckham

2006-05-16T07:03:00.000-07:00

Did you ever wonder how Beckham curls the ball so much!!!! Here lies the explanation...Read on..

Physicists are not known for donning replica shirts and face paint, yet they are among the millions who marvel at David Beckham, Roberto Carlos and other masters of the banana kick.

Backed by wind tunnels, high-speed cameras and computer simulation, scientists have been keen to understand the complex physics that go into one of those dazzling curving kicks from outside the box.

Three big variables combine to determine where the ball will go, according to researchers at Britain's University of Sheffield.

They are the VELOCITY of the ball, determined by the force at which it is struck; the SPIN of the ball, which imparts the curve; and the DRAG, or the braking effect of the air.

The key factor in all this is something called the Magnus Effect, named after a 19th-century German physicist, Gustav Magnus, who was curious to understand why spinning artillery shells deflected to one side.

Magnus found that a spinning ball or cylinder swirls the air around it, causing vortices on both sides of its surface.

Thus, one side of a spinning football experiences lift, while the other side is slowed. It is this imbalance of local air pressures that causes the sideways movement -- the curve.

But the real masters of the banana kick can also get the ball to change angle during its flight.

One of the most memorable place kicks in football history was a 30-metre stunner made by Roberto Carlos in a Brazil-France match in 1997.

The kick was initially so wide that a ballboy, standing to the right of the French goal, instinctively ducked, thinking that he was going to get whacked.

But then the ball suddenly dipped leftwards into the net, delighting Brazilian fans and leaving French keeper Fabien Barthez open-mouthed.

How did Carlos work this magic?

The answer lies in airflow.

Just after a kick, a spinning ball is moving forward at relatively high velocity, and the air flows irregularly over it.

But when the ball slows down -- specifically, when it reaches between eight metres and 10 metres per second (18-23 miles per hour), depending on its surface structure and texture -- the airflow becomes smooth, or "laminar," which instantly increases the drag.

The change is dramatic. In a fraction of a second, drag can be increased by 150 percent. This drastically brakes the forward movement of the ball and thus enhances the curving movement derived by the Magnus Effect.

The British journal Physics World estimates that Carlos kicked the ball at 30 metres per second (70 mph) with the outside of his left foot, impelling an anticlockwise spin of more than 10 revolutions per second.

The force of the kick initially caused the ball to take a relatively straight line, bringing it a metre (yard) to the right of the French defensive wall.

The ball then slowed, causing the laminar airflow to kick in and suddenly boosting the leftward curve, with the outcome that poor Barthez will no doubt remember all his life.

As any footballer will know, bending kicks also have other variables: the angle at which the foot hits the ball, the part of the foot that connects with the ball's surface, the humidity of the air and the ball.

High-speed cameras have shown that you will get maximum spin by kicking the ball with the front of your foot and with the angle between your leg and foot at 90 degrees, and if the ball, the boot and the air are all dry.

What the cameras don't say -- but which everyone knows -- is that it also helps if you are Brazilian.

Emotions

2006-05-16T05:17:00.000-07:00

Trip to God's Own Country - Day 1

2006-05-16T01:28:00.000-07:00

Atlast I got the time to share my experiences about the trip to God's Own Country..I never thought that all the visuals in the ads about kerala will be unfloding in front of my eyes so soon.. This is my first trip to Kerala and wow wat a terrific experience...

Day 1
We boarded the train Alapuzha express on 7th night and we got comfortably settled in our berths.. We had a mallu family accomadated in our cubicle..(oh gosh doesnt it sound obvious) so me and my friend had a good time (u know y)...

I settled in my berth and started reading "False Impressions" by Jefferey Archer.. (good one will review it later).. and it was almost 2.. my eyes were tired so i slept.. our destination was Palakkad and the train was supposed to arrive at 6 early morning.. my friend woke me up by 5.30... with excitement i woke up and looked out of the window to get a first glimpse of God's country..

:( disappointed due to overcast sky it was quite dark and i cudnt make out really wat was there out..

the train was late by 20 mins and i was getting impatient.. i waited all my years to see this place and at the last moment why the heck it is prolonging to show me its face...

Finally the train chugged into Palakkad station and my friend's cousin was there to pick us up.. The moment i stepped on the soil of Kerala a strong scent of coconut oil wafted thro the air.. i believed that we are indeed in kerala..

We got into the jeep and we started towards my friend's cousin's place... the roads were similar to singara chennai with bumps and holes and it was no different than that of the bylanes of our gr8 city...

The marked difference were colored lungis and coconut oil scent.. but everythin else were same...

Slowly it started dawning and we were still travelling...just like revealing the face of a beautiful girl when she takes off her purdah... the dark cover over the lush green fields and mountains were taken away by the sun...wow... the impatient wait was finally rewarded...

Boy wat is this am i dreamin... greenery all the way... clean unpolluted breeze Truly it was GOD'S OWN COUNTRY..

b4 i keep confusin every1 with my friend's cousin blah blah..let me tell u smethin abt my friend...

His name is Yogesh...we call him yogi.. (ana no1 ayogi hehehe)... my best friend.. he was my college mate and we never used to talk a lot in the college... am clueless how we bcame thick but glad we bcame... one of the most patient.. cool... unassuming personality diametrically opposite to me... he works for hp and was recently promoted as well.. abt his cousin.. he is rajesh.. another lovely person.. he is so damn matured.. cool and fun loving responsible guy... unfortunately we didnt get any oppurtunity to meet b4 this....

well rajesh's house was in Chandresekara Puram in Edathara village.. it was around 20-30 kms from Palakkad... we reached his house by around 7.30 i guess...

let me first describe the village

Name : Chandrasekara Puram, Edathara Village
Population : Maximum 150 including the floating population
No of houses : 75
no of streets : 1
Temples : 2 (1 Krishna temple, 1 shiva temple)
Per Capita Income : around Rs.5000
Average age of population : must be somewhere between 35 - 40
Facilities avaliable:
Post Office, BSNL WLL connection to all houses.. STD, ISD facilities..
Water Supply : Unlimited water supply as they have a river flowing by the side of their village
Clean and unpolluted air and water supply..
Property prices : you can get a house for 3.50 lacs maximum....
Cable connection ready...

Peace of Mind : Priceless...

This place is surrounded by lush green paddy fields on all sides and there is only one approach road to enter and exit.. its a long 2kms away from the main road.. virtually cutoff from all the hustle bustle of the world..

(to be continued...)

ATTENTION PLEASE

2006-05-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

Anyone who can conclusively determine the sex of the child in the picture will be rewarded suitably.

Back after a holiday

2006-05-14T10:32:00.000-07:00

Here I am...
This is ME...
I have come back from a week long holiday on a trip to the God's Own Country...
just came home so will share all my experiences ASAP...
ok then

cya

Lawyer's Kindness

2006-05-06T04:12:00.000-07:00

One afternoon, a wealthy lawyer was riding in the back of his limousine when he saw two men eating grass by the road-side. He ordered his driver to stop, and he got out to investigate.

"Why are you eating grass?" he asked one man.

"We don't have any money for food," the poor man replied.

"Oh, well, you can come with me to my house," instructed the lawyer.

"But, sir, I have a wife and two children with me!"

"Bring them along!" replied the lawyer.

He turned to the other man and said: "You come with us, too."

"But I have a wife and six children," the second man answered.

"Bring them as well" replied the lawyer.

They all climbed into the car, which was no easy task, even for a car as large as the limousine. Once underway, one of the poor fellows says: "Sir you are too kind. Thank you for taking all of us with you."

The lawyer replied: "Glad to do it. You'll love my place; the grass is almost a foot tall."

Mind your language

2006-05-06T03:53:00.000-07:00

What is the plural of apples...

Did I hear your apples then you are right..

What is the plural of fish

Did I hear your fish then you are wrong..

Remember when Mrs. Philopitopidopitus (the old hag with the pointy glasses) taught you that the plural of fish was still fish? It never seemed to make much sense. If you had six guppies, then you have six fish. Right?

Right.

One would then assume that swordtails, guppies, and piranhas (I wonder who will be dinner?) are all fish. Right?

Wrong!

We have all made this incorrect assumption. Actually, you now have three species of fishes.

Confused?

It works like this:

The word fish is both singular and plural. When singular, it refers to two or more specimens of the same species. The plural fishes refers to two or more specimens of different species.

Now go back and tell your teacher she was wrong and make sure that she gives you the two points subtracted from your essay for getting it wrong.

Milk and Vomit any correlation... Yes

2006-05-04T11:24:00.000-07:00

Mmmm, Mmmm. Mmmm.

There's nothing quite as nice as a cold glass of milk with your favorite cookie (Oreo, chocolate chip- you choose).

While consuming this great "meal", you happen to read the container of milk.

The milk is homogenized - huh?

What the heck does this mean?

First, let’s discuss what milk is - obviously it's the opaque white (or yellowish) liquid secreted by the mammary glands of female mammals.

The milk consists of fat globules suspended in a nutrient solution. These globules of butterfat will separate easily from the milk - they float to the top of the solution, as what we commonly call cream. The left over liquid is skim milk.

Let's suppose that you don't want to separate the milk from the butterfat. After all, milk that separates into different layers is unappetizing.

Your solution - shoot the milk through a really fine nozzle to break up the fat globules. As a result, the butterfat does not rise to the top and the milk is creamier - this process is called homogenization.

This nifty process was first patented by Auguste Gaulin in 1899, but it was a real tough sell.

Why, you may ask?

Here's why:

Consumers were used to the cream line at the top of the bottle of milk.

What to do? What to do?

The McDonald Dairy in Flint, Michigan had a unique solution way back in 1932. If they could convince the people that homogenized milk was better for the digestive system, then they could sell lots of homogenized milk.

Here's how they did it:

They hired a bunch of guys. They split them into two separate groups. One group consumed homogenized milk and the other consumed non-homogenized milk. After a short period of time, they vomited the milk back up!

The salesmen then carried the jars of vomit around with them to show consumers that homogenized milk was best.

It's hard to imagine how they actually did this.

I can see it now:

Knock, knock.

The lady of the home comes to the door to see who it was.

The salesman responds with some line like "Hi! I'd like to show you some jars of vomit to prove to you that homogenized milk is best."

I'm sure she welcomed him with open arms.

Yuk!

Should we assume that the jars of vomit worked? After all, we are still drinking homogenized milk today.

My Cutey Pie... cho chweet na

2006-05-04T04:09:00.000-07:00

My Film... am planning to direct

2006-05-03T09:52:00.000-07:00

How much you are really worth !!!

2006-05-02T06:24:00.000-07:00

Let's suppose that when you die, you wish to sell your body. Now I'm sure that there is some pervert out there that would want to do some things we shouldn't mention. However, many claim that your body is a mineral goldmine. Could the minerals actually be "mined" and sold at market value? Let's see:

According to the U.S. Bureau of Chemistry and Soils, your body is:

65% Oxygen (worthless - meaning that you're mostly hot air!)
18% Carbon (worthless)
10% Hydrogen (worthless)
3% Nitrogen (good for plant food)
1.5% Calcium (worthless)
1% Phosphorous (good fertilizer)
0.35% Potassium (worthless)
0.25% Sulfur (can be used to make that rotten egg smell)
0.15% Sodium (salt)
0.15% Chlorine (not enough for the backyard pool)
0.05% Magnesium (of slight value)
0.0004% Iron (I guess we can rust)
0.00004% Iodine (sell this to the medical industry)

Plus minute quantities of fluorine, silicon, manganese, zinc, copper, aluminum, and arsenic (!). No gold, silver, or platinum deposits.

Value of all this great stuff - less than $1.00. This won't cover the price of the funeral.

I guess if you had enough bodies some money could be earned. Doesn't sound worth it. Just the smell of the decomposing bodies would make me want to live in poverty for the rest of my life.

I overlooked a better money making scheme.

Instead of selling the minerals in your body, you could sell your skin. Those sick Nazis had an entire industry built on this scheme. They made lampshades, shoes, and other things that used leather-like human skins. Thankfully, they lost the war and this practice ended.

The question is, how much skin do we have? We have to know if we intend to sell it.

The average person has between fourteen to eighteen square feet of skin on the body. Each person varies a bit. Things such as your height, how fat you are, and how big your breasts are causing the three major differences.

So how do they estimate this?

I guess that they could skin you after death and measure it that way. They don't.

It seems that the Japanese have the solution. The Imperial State Institute for Nutrition at Tokyo has a method. First, they have you strip naked. They then adhere a strong, thin paper to every centimeter of your body. The paper is allowed to dry and removed. They then cut the paper into small pieces and carefully calculate your body measurements. Sounds kind of kinky.

This could cause a change in our standards. Instead of Miss June being a 36D-22-34 (must be an inflatable model), she would now be a 12,800 square centimeter beauty.

So how much is this skin worth? If we assume that a square foot of cow hide sells for 25 cents, then you would be worth approximately $3.50. Plus, you could still get nearly $1.00 for the minerals contained in your body, as most elements are stored in your bones and internal organs. Hey, if you're lucky, the market could be on an upswing. Maybe you could get five bucks!

May Day - Origination and Importance

2006-05-01T02:46:00.000-07:00

As today is May Day, let us find out the origin of such practice and its importance.. Thanks to Wikipedia..

International Workers' Day (a name used interchangeably with May Day) is the commemoration of the Haymarket Riot of 1886 in Chicago, Illinois, and a celebration of the social and economic achievements of the international labor movement. The 1 May date is used because in 1884 the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions, inspired by labor's 1872 success in Canada, demanded an eight-hour workday in the United States to come in effect as of May 1, 1886. This resulted in a general strike and the riot in Chicago of 1886, but eventually also in the official sanction of the eight-hour workday. The May Day Riots of 1894 and May Day Riots of 1919 occurred subsequently.

Due to these left-wing overtones, May Day has long been a focal point for demonstrations by various socialist, communist, and anarchist groups. In some circles, bonfires are lit in commemoration of the Haymarket Riot usually right as the first day of May begins. In the 20th century, May Day received the official endorsement of the Soviet Union; celebrations in communist countries during the Cold War era often consisted of large military parades and shows of common people in support of the government.

The Red Scare periods ended May Day as a mass holiday in the United States, a phenomenon which can be seen as somewhat ironic given that May Day originated in Chicago. Meanwhile, in countries other than the United States and United Kingdom, resident working classes fought hard to make May Day an official governmentally-sanctioned holiday, efforts which eventually largely succeeded. For this reason, May Day in most of the world today is marked by huge street rallies of workers led by their trade unions and various large socialist and communist parties — a phenomenon not generally seen in the U.S. (which has a history of strong anti-communism) or the UK.

In most countries other than the U.S. and UK, May Day is often referred to simply as "Labor Day".

Garuda Puranam...

2006-05-01T02:00:00.000-07:00

Call it post Anniyan effect.. I was really fascinated with the concept of Garuda Puranam and the types of punishments. I'm ashamed that i didnt know such things being a brahmin myself.. But katradhu kal alavu, kalladhadhu ulagalavu (Thalaivar sollirukar).. So I googled and poured through many sites and was finally able to accumalate something sensible.. Wish i can do some real research on this.. Read on.. Lets see how many will thirunthify seeing this ;-)

To take care of different types of sinners, there are different narakas.

The most important naraka is Rourava, reserved for those who lie or bear false witness. This hell has a long expanse and is full of huge pits. These pits are full of burning coal. The sinner is let loose at one end of the hell and is made to walk to the other end. Naturally, he keeps falling into the pits and gets severely burnt. When he reaches the other end of the hell, he is released from Rourava. He then goes to other hells if there are other sins to be accounted for.

Another hell is named Maharourava. It is covered with burning sands. The fires that burn here are so bright that they hurt the sinner’s eyes. The sinner’s hands and feet are tied and he is thrown into the hell. There he burns. To compound his miseries, the hell is populated by fierce crows, vultures, wolves, mosquitoes and scorpions. These bite him and sting him and eat his flesh as he burns. After several years spent in maharourava, sinners are released.

Unlike Rourava and maharourava, the hell named Atishita is extremely cold. There is no light there and everything is in total darkness. The only heat that sinners can generate is by clinging on to each other’s bodies. There are hailstorms which make the skin smart. And there is no food to eat. To satisfy their hunger, the sinners end up eating each other’s flesh and blood and bones.

The hell named Nikrintana is quite different. There sinners are tied to stakes and their bodies are sliced with sharp chakras. The slicing begins with the feet and then moved up the body to the head and then again starts with the feet. The tragic part of this is that the sinners do not die in the process. For as soon as a part of their body is join up again. Thus a sinner does not die, but continues to endure the misery. And so it continues for a thousand years before there is release.

A hell named Apratishtha is a place where sinners are whirled round and round until they begin to vomit blood and their intestines come out of their mouths.

Asipatravana naraka is a huge expanse. The edges of the hell are extremely hot and there is a grove of trees in the centre. The centre is also cooler. The sinners are let loose at the edges and they suffer so much from the heat that they dash towards the centre. Asi means sword and patra is the blade of a sword. Vana is a forest. The hell is so named because the trees in the grove have leaves that are as sharp as the blades of swords. When sinners dash into the grove, their flesh is sliced with the leaves of the trees. And the grove is also full of fierce dogs which immediately eat up the torn flesh.

Next the hell is named Taptakumbha. This has hot (tapa) pots (kumbha). The pots are full of boiling oil. The sinners are hung upside down inside these pots and roasted. And while they are being boiled in oil, vultures tear apart whatever portions of their bodies continue to be exposed.

There are many hells. But the seven major ones are the ones that have just been described Rourava, maharourava, atishita, Nikrintana, apratishtha, Asipatravana and taptakumbha.

All the hells are located under the earth. The hells are so terrible that a single day there seems like a hundred years on earth. Imprisonment in any naraka is for a fixed term. When all these tenures in different hells are over, it is time for the sinner to be born again. And what he is born as is determines by the karma of his earlier life. The greater the sins he committed in his earlier life, the more inferior the form he is born as. And so the cycle of birth, atonement and rebirth continues.

Rewards for punya are received in heaven. But these rewards are not forever. Once the term is over, the person has to be reborn.

One Day President of USA.. Can you believe it

2006-04-30T09:27:00.000-07:00

Ok this article really interested me and wanted to share with you all. Looks like straight out of Mudhalvan, the movie, but not as dramatic as it was...

President of the United States for just one short day.

Quick: Who were the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth Presidents of the United States (under our current Constitution)? If you're like the typical American, you probably have no clue.

So here's a refresher for you:

#11 was James K. Polk

#12 was David Rice Atchison

#13 was Zachary Taylor

Hold it! I can hear you screaming all the way over here - David Rice who?

They never taught you about this guy in history class. In fact, they said that Taylor was Prez #12, not #13.

What's going on here?

First, a bit of background:

David Rice Atchison was born on August 11, 1807 in a place named Frogtown, Kentucky. Today it is called Kirklevington (They should have stuck with Frogtown).

At the young age of 36, Atchison was appointed to the United States Senate to replace a Missouri Senator that had just died. He held this office for 12 years, from 1843 to 1855.

Then it happened:

President James Knox Polk was scheduled to step down from office at noon on Sunday, March 4, 1849.

Uh, oh! BIG problem!

It seems that President-elect Zachary Taylor was a religious man and refused to be sworn in on a Sunday. It was the Sabbath. Taylor insisted on waited until the following day.

The big question arose: Who was going to serve as the President during this twenty-four hour period?

Normally, the Vice-President (George M. Dallas at the time) would fill the position, but his term expired along with Polk's. Dallas had actually resigned as President of the Senate on Friday, March 2nd.

Under the law, the Presidency then fell to the President Pro Tem of the Senate. You can guess who that was - David Rice Atchison! Atchison had just been elected for an additional term to this office during the closing hours of the Thirtieth Congress.

As a result, Atchison legally became the President for a twenty-four hour period, even though he was never elected to this office or sworn in. That's a daguerreotype of Atchison on the right.

Now if you were President for a day, what would you do? Declare war on some dinky little nation? Bomb your enemies? Appoint your friends to office? Make some weird executive decision?

Atchison did none of these things. When asked what he did on this day, he commented "I went to bed. There had been two or three busy nights finishing up the work of the Senate, and I slept most of that Sunday."

In other words, this particular day was uneventful in American history. No major executive decisions needed to be made.

Many, including Atchison, have questioned whether or not he was actually President. Technically, Atchison was appointed as President Pro Tem for each session of the Senate. Since the previous session of the Senate had been dismissed, one could claim that Atchison's term had expired (even though he was to continue in this role when the Senate reconvened for the next session).

This leads to a very interesting question: If there was no President, Vice-President, President Pro Tem, a dismissed Senate, and a dismissed House of Representatives - Who in the world was running this country?

Even if one could prove that Atchison wasn't President for the twenty-four hour period between the two Presidents, he definitely had the job for several minutes.

Here's why:

On Inauguration Day the first person to be sworn in was David Rice Atchison as President Pro Tem. So now he was definitely President (congratulations!). Atchison then ended this short stint as President with the swearing-in of the new Vice-President, Millard Fillmore (he would become President in just sixteen months following the natural death of Zachary Taylor). The entire Senate then proceeded to the east portico for the inauguration of the new President.

So ends the reign of one David Rice Atchison as the leader of the United States. We may never truly know for sure if he actually was President for that short period of time, but, let's face it, it makes for a better story to think that he was.

Chelsea regains EPL

2006-04-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

Chelsea 3

Gallas (4), Cole (60), Carvalho (72)

Manchester United 0

Chelsea joined an elite group of English football clubs who have retained the league title when they beat United 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

United's woes were increased close to the end when they had Wayne Rooney carried from the field after falling heavily under a challenge from Chelsea full-back Paulo Ferreira. Immediately there were fears for Wayne's participation in the World Cup.

Ferguson had made just one alteration to the starting line-up which had appeared in United’s last league game at Tottenham two weeks ago. Louis Saha, having recovered from injury, replaced Ruud van Nistelrooy, who was named amongst United’s five subs.

Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho made several changes to the side which slipped out of the FA Cup against Liverpool at Old Trafford. Goalkeeper Petr Cech, Arjen Robben and Ricardo Carvalho were recalled to the starting line-up in place of Carlo Cudicini, Geremi and Asier Del Horno.

Chelsea kicked off attacking the Shed End on what was a pleasant, mild afternoon on Fulham Road. Understandably, there was a feverish atmosphere inside Stamford Bridge as the game got underway. United’s travelling contingent of supporters were housed behind the goal at the Shed End, the territory of Chelsea’s most fanatical fans in its days as an open terrace.

This was always going to be a high octane contest, but few could have predicted the game’s explosive opening. Barely five minutes had elapsed before Chelsea’s players and supporters were celebrating after William Gallas had put his side in front.

The home side won a corner on the right which was taken by Joe Cole. Didier Drogba rose above the cluster of players in the crowded area to head the ball towards goal and there was Gallas to add the finishing touch with a close-range header.

Stamford Bridge was immediately alive with noise and movement as the home fans acclaimed a dream start for their side.

Just a couple of minutes later and Cech was having his name taken by referee Mike Dean following an incident in which Wayne Rooney caught Chelsea skipper John Terry as they challenged for the ball. Cech raced from his goal to voice his opinions and was cautioned for his trouble.

United looked odds on to equalise in the 22nd minute when Rooney raced through the Chelsea defence with just Cech to beat. One-on-one with the Chelsea keeper, Rooney seemed certain to capitalise, but he pulled his shot wide of Cech's right-hand post - to the delight of the Chelsea fans behind that goal.

Michael Essien went close for Chelsea with a low drive after fine approach work by Robben and then just before the break Rooney saw Cech save a similar attempt with one outstretched hand.

United had another promising attack on the stroke of half-time. Ryan Giggs provided the cross which Rio Ferdinand headed back across goal, but John O’Shea couldn’t make the most of the opportunity and headed over.

It had been an unnerving start to the game for United, but they rallied well and apart from Gallas’s 5th minute opener, there wasn’t a great deal to choose between the sides as the whistle went to signal the end of the first half.

Second Half

Louis Saha set-up Ronaldo for a shooting chance in the fourth minute of the second half, but the United winger’s shot was always curling away from Cech’s far post.

It was United who made the brighter start to the second half, but they could easily have gone further behind when Joe Cole’s angled drive threatened to sneak into the top corner of Edwin van der Sar’s goal.

Ronaldo received a booking in the 55th minute after clattering Essien.

Despite the game being balanced on a knife-edge the Stamford Bridge crowd, no doubt sustained by the one-goal lead, remained supremely confident that this was to be their day as they continued to reel out the victory anthems.

Sixteen minutes into the half and their songs became louder after Cole had struck to double Chelsea’s lead. It was a cracking finish from the former West Ham United star, who took a short pass from Drogba before crashing a rising drive between van der Sar and the post.

Stamford Bridge looked all set for a party and that arrangement was confirmed in the 73rd minute when Carvalho blasted Chelsea’s third goal.

The public address announcer had no doubts when he gleefully proclaimed Carvalho’s strike as “the third goal for the champions!”

Chelsea celebrated in grand style with their ecstatic supporters after the game as the gleaming FA Premier League trophy was handed over for the second successive season to skipper John Terry.

Chelsea are the first London club to retain the title since Arsenal back in the mid-1930s. The other English teams who have done it are Preston, Aston Villa, Sheffield Wednesday, Liverpool, Portsmouth, Wolves and, of course, United.

It's now up to teams like United to prevent Chelsea from achieving the rare hat-trick of titles next season.

Team Line-Ups

Chelsea: Cech; Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry, Gallas; Robben (Duff 67), Lampard, Makelele, Cole (Crespo 76); Essien; Drogba (Maniche 86). Substitutes: Geremi, Cudicini.

United: van der Sar; Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Silvestre; Ronaldo (van Nistelrooy 65), O’Shea, Giggs (Richardson 73), Park; Rooney (Evra 82), Saha. Subs: Howard, Brown.

Attendance: 42,219

Power of Democracy

2006-04-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

Check out the power of Democracy... This is what democracy is all about.. Thanks to CNN IBN

The voting for the second phase elections in Kerala passed off peacefully with voters coming out in large numbers to register their democratic right.

But in the Kakkayam dam site polling booth - 60 kms away from Calicut - a lone voter, Rama Dasan has brought the Election Commission in Kerala to its knees.

On the day Rama Dasan is to cast his vote, four Election Commission officials and two policemen wait patiently for this lone voter to come and cast his precious vote.

He can arrive any moment and even if he decides to skip voting this time, they have to wait for him till the stipulated closing time of 1700 hrs (IST). This is the power of Indian democracy.

"We have heard that he refuses to adjust. Every year, he normally comes by 4 pm, but this time, he said he will come early. We are waiting for him from early morning and only when he comes can we leave," says Election Officer at Kakkayam dam site polling booth, Mahesh NV.

Unlike Election Commmission officials, the CNN-IBN team is not duty bound to wait for him. So, they decide to venture into the dense forests in search of Rama dasan.

Their biggest problem is not the bumpy road, but the signs of wild elephants and leeches. They finally find Dasan who decides to come with them and vote.

Dasan casts his vote and proudly shows his inked index finger. But ask him why he decides to stick to this polling booth and he flares up.

"The booth cannot be cancelled. We give tax to government, about Rs 30,000 per year. The interest on this amount is enough to fund this polling booth once in five years," he says.

"The government is not doing us any favour. If I have to go down to another polling booth, I have to spend Rs 500 for transportation. Will the government pay me for that?," questions the 52-year-old.

Dasan refuses to budge and the law is on his side - the distance from the residence of the voter to the nearest polling booth should be less than one-and-a-half kilometres.

Nuclear Explosion

2006-04-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

Ever wondered how it will be when an Atom Bomb or Nuclear Bomb explodes.. See the pic below.. Wonder how the Japs felt...

Working of Stock Market

2006-04-29T09:36:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time in a village a man appeared who announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for Rs. 10. The villagers seeing that there were many monkeys went out in the forest and started catching them.

The man bought thousands at 10 and as supply started to diminish and villagers started to stop their effort he announced that now he would buy at 20 rupees. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again. Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer rate increased to 25 and the supply of monkeys became so that it was an effort to even see a monkey let alone catch it. The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at 50!

However, since he had to go to the city on some business his assistant would now buy on behalf of the man. In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers "Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at 35 and when the man comes back you can sell it to him for 50. The villagers queued up with all their saving to buy the monkeys Phir na woh aadmi mila na us ka assistant. Sirf bandar hee bandar.....

The Anthem at Old Trafford

2006-04-29T09:25:00.000-07:00

Who sing of victory,

Of games that brought us glory,

From Newcastle to Torquay,

Where sixty thousand voices,

Roar us on to victory,

We will follow United,

Hello, Hello, we are the Busby Boys,

And if you are a City fan,

Surrender or you'll die,

We will follow United.

Whether we're across the sea,

Or whether we're at home,

It matters not we follow,

To all corners of the globe,

We wear the colours proudly,

The black, the white, the red,

We will follow United.

Hello, Hello, we are the Busby Boys,

And if you are a City fan,

Surrender or you'll die,

We will follow United.

And now we're back in Europe,

The feeling's fucking great,

We'll try to emulate that team,

Of 1968,

We'll win the Cup, have no fear,

And then we'll drink your beer,

And we will follow United...

What the hell do we care? What the hell do we care?

Hail! Hail! The Reds are here,

What the hell do we care now?

For it's a grand old team to play for,

And it's a grand old team to see,

And if you know your history,

It's enough to make your heart go woah-oh...

We don't care what the City fans say,

What the hell do we care?

All we know is there's gonna be a show,

And the famous Man United will be there.

There is something about Manchester United

2006-04-29T02:18:00.000-07:00

I had been to Manchester on an official trip last year and it was nothing short of bliss to me. I was eager and excited because it was my first trip to Manchester and also am going to the home of a cultural giant in the game of football. The Reds are one of the most richest clubs in the world. Luckily I had also got a ticket to one of the league games. It was against a relegated team called Crystal Palace. When i entered the stadium, it was full of passion and music.. Every one were singing the songs and shouting REDS, WE are the REDS.. Four of us went for the game. Two of them were Brits and two of us from Chennai. The game started.. In front of me unfolded a dream which i have been longing.. I was speechless for some time just sinking into the reality.

Every attempt by the reds to score were cheered with deafening chanting and i was like oh god where am i.. is it true wat am seeing.. by the first half reds scored and the entire stadium erupted in a goooooooooaaaaaaaaaaalllll.. from the second half the crystal palace were beginging to dominate but reds fought back and scored one more to extend their lead. here am seeing the bicycle kick, deft passes, penalty saves, acrobatic saves... oh my god i just couldnt believe that there are real..

In the second half i started to mingle with the gang and started shouting "hey ruudi go on", at times i also told my colleague from chennai about the players here.. you i was just carrying that i know them man attitude.. see that is louis saha, see this is rooney.. and it was an ecstatic moment in my life..

Once the game was over with the reds winning 2-0, we all went to the store.. i bought 3 manutd t shirts worth GBP 15.00 each and one laptop bag worth GBP35.00 (all St.Josephians will know that bag, as my brother Barath used to get it to college) and mugs for GBP 20.00 each.

ya i know immediately people will multiply them into 80.00 and say man thats too much for a t shirt and laptop bag.. but there is something about Manchester United. You can never be able to put in the right words of that feeling..

We shall not we shall not be moved;
just like a team, that's going to win the football league (again);
we shall not be moved

How to name it

2006-04-29T01:52:00.000-07:00

I dont know what title should i keep for this post so instead of pondering and breaking my head over it am just going to pen my views. The other day i had a lengthy discussion with my friend about the concept of Rahukalam and other things which our mom would say before we start off on a new assignment. Be it attending interviews or even going out for a function they would say start either before Rahukalam or after it..

I have pondered on this so many times why they insist on such things and was googling to get some substantial answer but in vain. But i read a very interesting article on Astrology and Science by the famous astrologer Raman. He had explained that all these are interlinked with our eternal being and infact we are not we are but acting as what we are..

This is what Shakespeare had said in his poem "All the world's a stage" and even before him our own tamil poet ( guys help me am not able to remember his name) "Yaadhum oore Yaavarum Kelir"..

The concept has a macro perspective rather than a micro perspective.. We should be able to grasp at the macro level.. which means understanding how these rahukalam affects us is more essential that what it is..

It can be easily explanined. Every moment, every second is enacted upon and think that the entire system is made of IF's and But's.. Well here is a small example.. You are going to a say foodworld.. you wanted to buy some chocolates.. Well if you had started at say 9.10 and you reached there 10 mins later, this would have affected someone else in the other direction. if you go there and you find that the exact brand of chocolates are stocked out, then the last person who had brought the chocolates must had somekind of instinct to have that chocolate at that time.

Or for a even better understanding, you have an unexpected visitor to your house.. you are delayed to an another activity because of this. so that unexpected visitor's action of coming to your place has in turn affected your activity..rather delayed your actions for that another activity.

Over the centuries the astrologers have been observing these things and they have compiled the data and brought in the concpet of Rahukalam, indicating the period where the negative forces are more in vouge than the positive forces.

I dont mean that I believe completly into but this rational explanation seems to be really fair..

Comments please

The Telephone Call

2006-04-28T08:51:00.000-07:00

A woman is in bed with her lover who also happens to be her husband's best friend. They make love for hours, and afterwards, while they're just laying there, the phone rings.

Since it is the woman's house, she picks up the receiver. Her lover looks over at her and listens, only hearing her side of the conversation...
(She is speaking in a cheery voice)

"Hello? Oh, hi. I'm so glad that you called. Really? That's wonderful.

I am so happy for you.

That sounds terrific. Great! Thanks. Okay. Bye bye."

She hangs up the telephone and her lover asks, "Who was that?"



"Oh" she replies, "That was my husband telling me all about the

wonderful time he's having on his fishing trip with you."

Appearing for a driving test ?? This might help

2006-04-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

The following are a sampling of REAL answers received on exams given by the
California Department of Transportation's driving school.

Q: Do you yield when a blind pedestrian is crossing the road?
A: What for? He can't see my license plate.

Q: Who has the right of way when four cars approach a four-way stop at
the same time?
A: The pick up truck with the gun rack and the bumper sticker
saying, "Guns don't kill people. I do."

Q: When driving through fog, what should you use?
A: Your car.

Q: How can you reduce the possibility of having an accident?
A: Be too shit-faced to find your keys.

Q: What problems would you face if you were arrested for drunk driving?
A: I'd probably lose my buzz a lot faster.

Q: What changes would occur in your lifestyle if you could no longer
drive lawfully?
A: I would be forced to drive unlawfully.

Q: What are some points to remember when passing or being passed?
A: Make eye contact and wave "hello" if he/she is cute.

Q: What is the difference between a flashing red traffic light and a
flashing yellow traffic light?
A: The color.

Q: How do you deal with heavy traffic?
A: Heavy psychedelics.

Q: What can you do to help ease a heavy traffic problem?
A: Carry loaded weapons.

Q: Why would it be difficult to be a police officer?
A: It would be tough to be a dickhead all day long.

Movie Review - The Predator

2006-04-28T08:05:00.000-07:00

Today it was so hot that i didnt venture out.. Boring at home so I thought of watching a movie. Pondering what to watch.. i chanced upon this movie The Predator..

An Arnie movie.. this one alongwith Terminator series stands as one of the best movies of Arnie.. Suspense till the end and good action scenes make this movie really watchable.. Unlike other Arnie movies, here he is very straight and doesnt utter much of one liners and plays what is expected of him.

Good movie and watchable...

Movie Review - The Insider

2006-04-28T03:24:00.000-07:00

So here is my first movie review.. Today I saw The Insider.. A true story of a whistle blower who was responsible for bringing out the regulations in the Tobacco Industry in USA.

T H E I N S I D E R

Starring

Al Pacino, Russel Crowe.

Nominated for 7 Oscars including the Best Picture..

Plot

Dr. Wigand, played by Russel Crowe, has been fired by his company on a frivoulous reason that he has a bad communication skills. He is the senior official in the Brown and Williamson, a tobacco company.. The real reason he has been fired is because he knows that the tobacco company are into activities which are harmful for the human consumption.

Lowell Bergman, played by Al Pacino, is the producer of 60 Minutes on the CBS. He is that kind of journalist who never leaves his sources high and dry. He comes to know about the tobacco addiction and seeks the help of Dr. Wigand. Initially he refuses to co-operate but later on, understanding the social responsibility he relents to do an interview with Bergman.

He also testifies for the lawsuit filed in the court in the State of Louisiana..This complicates the matter for CBS as they dont want to air the interview as they have been threatened by the tobacco company for a multi billion lawsuit.

What follows is an intense drama of highs and lows of both Bergman and Wigand. Does the interview finally goes on air? Does Wigand's breaking of the confidentiallity agreement by agreeing to the interview was purposeful.

Watch The Insider, a lovely drama with powerful perfomances both from Russel Crowe and Al Pacino, hit on you with the message that everyone has got a social responibility to fulfil.

Director Michael Mann has created a good charecterisations for the story from a true incidentwhich shook America's tobacco industry. Good cinematography is also a plus to this movie but the 2 hrs and 15 mins length is what keeps the viewers patience on the hooks. But for us since we are accustomed to the lengthy movies.. I do recommend this movie.

Leonardo Da Vinci

2006-04-27T23:46:00.000-07:00

In this post let me take you through Da Vinci.. The Master Painter, The Master Engineer and .... oh he is into everything... just read on and comment..

Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code has really taken the world by storm. The story of Robert Langdon, Jesus being a married guy and ofcourse the cryptology used by Leonardo Da Vinci has made the book the best seller... In my post let me share some knowledge about Leonardo Da Vinci, Cryptology and the question of the world. Is it really true that Jesus married and lead a normal life?

Leonardo da Vinci was a renaissance painter, architect, engineer, mathematician and philosopher, a genius the world has never seen again so far. Leonardo da Vinci was like a man who awoke too early in the darkness, while the others were all still asleep.

It was the period of the renaissance when Leonardo da Vinci was born on the 15th of April 1452. Leonardo was born probably in this farmhouse in Anchiano, which is 3 km away from Vinci. The family of Leonardo lived in this area since the 13th century.

The father of Leonardo da Vinci, Ser Piero, was 25 years old and a public notary when Leonardo was born in 1452. In the same year Ser Piero married his first wife Albiera. He didn't marry the mother of Leonardo, because she was the daughter of a farmer and not from a wealthy family. The mother of Leonardo was called Catarina. Her first name is all what we know today.

the Baptismal chapel and font in Vinci where Leonardo was christened. Leonardo was christened from the parson Piero da Bartolomeo to the name Lionardo and not Leonardo. The chapel is inside the lovely church of Vinci. The church and beside the castle of Vinci are forming the skyline of this lovely town. Leonardo lived probably in Anchiano for five years until he settled to Vinci.

In Vinci Leonardo went to school. Vasari told that teachers of Leonardo da Vinci were despaired about all the questions and doubts of Leonardo. Leonardo learned at school to write, to read and to calculate. Also he was taught in geometry and Latin. Later Leonardo tried to improve his knowledge in Latin, because he thought that he didn't learn enough at school in Latin. Perhaps this is the reason why Leonardo did his notes in Italian.

Leonardo lived in Vinci until 1466. With the age of 14 Leonardo moved to Florence where he began an apprenticeship in the workshop of Verrocchio. Leonardo started an apprenticeship in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio 1466. Verrocchio was at this time the most gifted and manifoldest artist in Florence. He was a sculptor, painter, goldsmith, bronze caster and more. There is no doubt that Verrocchio had much influence on Leonardo. Verrocchio was fascinated by the drawings of the young Leonardo and so he gave him a place in his workshop. Leonardo worked at the workshop of Verrocchio with some other famous artists like Botticelli, Perugino and Lorenzo di Credi.

The first known and dated work of Leonardo da Vinci is a pen and ink drawing of a valley shaped by the river Arno. This drawing dated 5th of August 1473 reflects the ingenious mind of Leonardo. The Arno valley is drawn with aerial perspective by allowing the color of the paper to dominate and less details as the depth increases. This effect will be called later "the perspective of disappearance".

A remarkable event happened on 8. April 1476. At this time it was usual to put anonymous accusations in a wooden box (called tamburo), which was put up in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. On 8 April Leonardo and four others were accused. The anonymous person accused Leonardo to have a homosexual affair with Jacopo Saltarelli, who was a model. The procedure ended for all participants with an acquittal of the charge. This story is an indication of the supposed homosexuality of Leonardo da Vinci.

Leonardo da Vinci created the left/left painting 1478. Remarkable is the beauty of the virgin and the attentive facial expression of the child, who looks at the flower. This Madonna painting is one of two, which Leonardo painted at this time. The second one, a Madonna with a cat, doesn't exist, but a sketch from Leonardo exists in the British Museum.

Around 1480/1481 Leonardo created the small Annunciation, which is now in the Louvre. It's a lovely small painting with a deep and misty landscape and also the flowers in the foreground are a typically work of Leonardo da Vinci. Beside this Annunciation there exists another one, which is now in Florence. The annunciation from Florence is usually ascribed to Leonardo, but the most scientifically facts indicate, that it is from Lorenzo di Credi, who worked with Leonardo in the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio.

King Francis I. invited Leonardo da Vinci to spend the last span of life in Amboise at the court of France. In autumn 1516 Leonardo arrived in Amboise. Leonardo lived in Amboise in the small castle Cloux which is now called Le Clos Luce. This castle is situated between the town and the king castle.

In France Leonardo didn't paint, but he made hydrological studies. Leonardo died on 2 May 1519 in Amboise. At this time Leonardo da Vinci was 67 year old. His state of health was not the best, because Leonardo had a paralysis on the right side of his body since 1517 and Vasari told about an illness some weeks before Leonardo died. On 23 April 1519 Leonardo wrote his last will. Asari told the legend that King Francis I. Immediately came to Amboise when he heard about the near end of Leonardo da Vincis life. This painting from Cesare Mussini (1929), which you can admire in the Galleria dell´Academia in Florence, shows this last meeting. It is only a legend, because King Francis I. was on 1 May 1519 in St. Germain en Laye and so he couldn't be in Amboise one day later.