Never a dull moment

108 is an important number for various religions. As a kid, my grandma used to ask me to wash my legs and sit before the deities with a lamp lit to provide light for the deities- we did not electric connection at our village home those days. She used to insists that I should chant Namassivaaya 108 times. In my anxiety to keep count, sometimes I used to finish by saying one hundred and six. one hundred and seven and one hundred and eight instead of chanting Namassivaaya and keeping the count on my fingers ! I used to be scolded roundly by my grandma when ever she observed such aberration. Like our elders who have rudraaksha malas with 108 beads, devout Muslim brethren in Middle East use rosettes with 108 beads to keep count of the pious verses they chant. I have found several people praying mentally while moving rosette bead by bead between the thumb and index fingers. Palitana in Gujarat is the most important religious place for Swetahmbhar jains and there is a series of temples spread...

Obesity among youngsters is of concern in urban India. Kids do not go out and play the way they used to do a generation ago. It is indoor activities including computer games and video consoles for time pass these days. Added to it, junk food and aerated beverages also contribute their might to obesity. An American non profit organisation "Mission: Readiness" which has several retired generals and admirals as members has brought out a report in this aspect. The finding of the report is called " Too fat to fight ". They have reported that a major reason for medical rejection by army at selection stage is that candidates are too fat and there is a dramatic increase in obesity in the 17 to 24 year old age group in USA. Though the recruitment targets are being met by the army now, there is a fear that the increasing trend in obesity amongst youngsters would reduce the army intake in times to come thereby resulting in a national security threat. As things stand 25 % of th...

Shashi Tharoor has been courting controversy ever since he gave up pin striped suits with matching silk ties and slipped into political attire of bandhgala. He has been tweeting away merrily and referred to economy class in aviation industry as "cattle class". If he had such contempt for economy class, he should not have ventured into politics and should have stayed put in some multilateral agency or an international organisation where he could have used his contacts across the globe to the hilt. Though he is a modern man in terms of mastery over "technology", he tended to be immature. Decision making in Cabinet means collective responsibility for the decisions taken and there is no point in tweeting after agreeing to austerity measures. He and his boss SM Krishna did create a furore by staying in five star hotels for considerable length of time after being sworn into the cabinet and the excuse they gave was that their official quarters were not ready. There was a p...

The schooling these days makes parents to do things which they have never done before. I have not written any slogans or any poem on any topic during my school days. Now there are so may focus days like "Mother's day","Earth day" etc where students are asked to prepare slogans and poems. The slogans and poem I managed to compose this Sunday afternoon for "Earth day" celebrations of my younger kid are appended. Last week I worked on inventions, inventors and their brief profile. Though it is tough, it is never too late to learn things. Slogan writing and composing poems calls for some effort. Slogans Our parents are unique to each one of us but Earth is the Mother of entire humanity ***** Plastics Plastics go away Never come back any other day Mother Earth wants to be green and happy Plastics Platics go away ***** Poem MOTHER EARTH If it does not rain on time, we blame you If it rains more we blame you. If it is very hot , we blame you. If it is too col...

Summer has set in at the right earnest. The maximum temperature has touched 44 D Celsius. It is warm and humid in the night and even ceiling fan running at full speed does not give any respite. Most of the grass and plants which are not watered regularly have turned blackish brown in colour. There is a bright spot in the midst of the hot weather - early morning walk. Civil Lines cools down in the night and the ambience is pleasant in the morning until sun's rays break out on the horizon. I have walked beyond Civil Lines but the temperature goes up the moment I pass beyond Civil Lines and enter normal areas of crowded buildings and shops. The only reason for the pleasant early morning ambience is the green cover. There are plenty of trees lining the road and the government bungalows have huge well watered gardens and large trees. There are several flowering plants in bloom on the footpath standing more than shoulder high. There are pletny of birds nesting on the tall trees with exce...

Naxal insurgency has been in the headlines since the unrest in Lalgarh region in Paschim Medinipore district of West Bengal. Naxal uprising in West Bengal where Communist government has been in power for more than three decades at a stretch shows the lack of development and disconnect with the masses in that region. The writ of the state administration does not run beyond the district headquarters. It shows the casual and callous attitude of the state government to those masses living in far away places dependant on forest produce and other mercies of nature. They simply do not matter in electoral politics where only large head counts matter. Though there will be a sense of fear amongst some of the people in Lalgarh abour naxals, such movements can not sustain without local ground level support. Since this has happened over a period of time, it definitely shows neglect by state government. At this stage naxal uprising in Chattisgarh is being treated as a law and order problem. Now ther...

It had to happen some day or the other. Globalisation brings in not only economic interdependency but a host of other things as well.Some of these things are alien to our milieu and it would take some time to get used to it. Of course, these have been confined to urban masses as things stand. The obsession with celebrities is one such import. I have read somewhere that seats were sold for Pd Stg 1000 each to fans and public ( of course dinner was served ) for Victoria Beckam- David Beckam marriage reception. There is nothing wrong in making hay while sun shines and selling seats at the marriage reception is one such opportunity. There is an obsession with celebrities ( read film stars and good looking sports persons - on this count, PT Usha would have never made the grade ) with TV channels giving minute by minute coverage and newspapers also spending reams of paper. Suddenly such celebrities have become opinion leaders on anything and everything under the sun. Amir Khan has become ...

The labour force involved in construction sites are a peripatetic lot. Whenever the ground is dug for large construction, rows of huts come up near the site for accommodating the labour. Some of them are families where the children play around the vicinity of the project whiling away time. The project could take a couple of years or two. Once the construction is over, they move with their meagre belongings to the next site wherever it is. The families spent years together moving around like gypsies as long they have the physical capacity to undertake such work. Any illness in the family could be a big set back. Jaipur Municipal Corporation is relaying the roads in some areas. I stay in Civil Lines where Raj Bhawan, CM's official residence and those of ministers are located. The labour force involved in the work spread their mattresses and spend the nights on the road. The work must be tiring as they do not stir when large number of morning walkers pass them chattering. Cars and aut...

I have not found much use for technology- I use my mobile phone only for calls, setting alarm and texting messages. No music , no downloads from website. My kids feel that I am a stone age man. As for internet, once again it is mails and a bit of news watch on sports and current events. I do some searches whenever kids have some project work or the other. I am a member on Facebook but as days go by, I am not amused by Facebook. It seems to be more a show place for those feelin glost rather than a general communication tool. Facebook is me, me and me all the way in the form of photos and news items members read. It seems to be substituting face to face interaction. Having roots in USA, one can understand the driving force behind Facebook- loneliness and strict social norms of privacy making people look for some outlet or other for expressing themselves. There are newer and newer models of mobile in the market everyday with mind boggling ( and superfluous ) features. What such features h...

There has been allegation that Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler were involved in inciting mobs to lynch to death Sikhs during the delhi riots in 1984 which followed in the wake of Indira Gandhi's assassination. There have been several FIRs filed against them but either due to lethargy or collusion, both have managed to avoid legal action. Sajjan Kumar has again been accused in a bunch of FIRs filed on the rioting incidents and the High Court ordered his arrest. He played truant and Police also told the court that he could not be traced.After harsh words from High Court, Sajjan Kumar surfaced and was promptly arrested. Now the legal proceedings would commence on these set of FIRs. I wonder how people would remember and narrate the events which unfolded on those fateful days 26 years ago. The defence would then try to prick holes in the statements of witnesses which should be easy picking as it would be impossible to remember lucidly the timing and details of the events. I can remembe...

Acupuncture, the medical therapy from China, has gained popularity around the world for its simplicity and efficacy in providing relief for some recurrent maladies like joint pains and muscular pains. The therapy concentrates on motor and nervous system for amelioration. There several dental doctors in Kolkata and Chennai of Chinese origin who have a good reputation for their professional skills. I am not too sure whether all these doctors trace their roots to China as we have a tendency to associate people with mongoloid features to China while mongoloid features span across Philippines, Koreas, Japan, Thailand and some other South East nations as well. The animal which we would readily associate with China the way we associate kangaroo and koala bears with Australia and kiwi with New Zealand is panda. This cute looking animal is the mascot of World Wildlife Fund and was presented to Jawaharlal Nehru when he visited China in his capacity of Prime Minister of India. I am told Chinese h...