Category: General

Test post.

And we think we cant field a winning team for the worldcup football.

via sepia mutiny

Never underestimate the power of numbers. Particularly number 3. While reading through the newspapers online, out of all the typical ones, this report was the best report I had found written about late Pramod Mahajan, by some Johnny D of Hindustan Times. He writes,

He started as the sub-editor of Tarun Bharat in 1970-71 and became a schoolteacher from 1971-74 (three years again) before finally making his decision to work as a full time pracharak for Jana Sangh, Janata Party and finally Bharatiya Janata Party ( Three changes, the original party saw in his life time) since 1974. Now if one adds 1974, we get 1+9+7+4=21=2+1=3.

Wow! I would like to draw attention to one great fact here. 1+9+7+4 = 21 = 2+1 = 3. Can you believe it. As if that is not enough, the writer provides us with much greater insight, further down the article.

It is indeed shocking and surprising that today i.e. on May 3, 2006, the leader succumbed to three bullets on his 57th year (he’s completed 56 years and running his 57th year), which when adds (5+7=12=1+2=3) ends up in three!

What a penetrating insight into the power of numbers! And kudos to Hindustan Times for publishing such journalistic gems. I am sure with such exemplary standards of reporting (assuming the readers intelligence to be around a number between -1 and +1), papers might provide the readers with such an enlightening insight into the working of numbers. Please dont miss reading the report in its entirety.

Btw, did you know numerologically assessing the writer, Johnny D = 10+15+8+14+14+25+4 = 90 = 9+0 = 9 = 3 + 3+ 3! (three threes in that) !! WOW!!!

speeding cars, panning camera.

Bright bulb, high shutterspeed.

I am back, with my new Canon EOS 350D

I read my morning newspaper in the toilet, be it paper newspaper or internet newspaper. It was on one of those fine relaxed mornings that the websites screamed – Gandhiji didnt say “hey ram” when he was shot! What a news, I was stupefied… how could they say that?

The the great grandson of Gandhi had clarified, that he indeed did say “hey ram” when he was shot! Then some other guy checked FIR and said that Gandhiji didnt say that! Totally confused by all this, I had to call my historical sources to confirm what Gandhiji actually said and that was indeed quite a revelation. And as per sources the following had happened on that day.

Around 5.00 pm, Gandhiji had a cup of tea, and was planning for the evening prayer. Nathuram Godse was waiting for his time in the crowd, and from the appearance it seemed like he was calm. Around 5.10-5.15 pm, Gandhiji walked to the prayer ceremony and Nathuram godse came forward on his way. He touched Gandhijis feet at exact 5.15 pm.

From there my sources tell me an authentic story. It seems that after touching gandhiji’s feet Godse’s and Gandhiji’s eyes met, time froze and they had a conversation. No, I wont go into the transcript of the conversation, but most of Godse’s speech was in hindi mixed with marathi.

Apparently he told during that time, what a mistake Gandhiji had done by allowing partition, rather than helping the people, he had punished them, by allowing the division of a nation. Godse thanked him for that and said something like “with great power comes great responsibilities”, and took out his revolver.

But Gandhiji argued back about the greatness of non-violence and peaceful protest. He argued his case also strongly and a great debate ensued. Just like the tapasya of Maharshi Vishwamitra forced the gods to appear, this debate forced the appearance of all the devas of the heaven. To resolve the debate and to continue the cycle of karma they decided to show the future to them.

Suddenly the future vision came in front of them, a future where Gandhiji would be just a photo on the wall in all government offices, a great person whom all can claim rights for, but no one follows, where what he stood for made no impact, where they might even argue about what his final words were. Gandhiji just realizing the future was shocked! His principles will die with him, what he had thought as a golden age would be just a dream.

Even Godse realized his dream will be just a dream, there would be no hindu rashtra, no one would be treated equally be it a hindu or a muslim and any dream of realizing the a ram rajya would remain that – a dream. No one will even try to understand his position clearly. He will be potrayed as a murderer!

Gandhiji wend deep into shock trying to understand the future and assimilate it and just then, exactly at 5.17pm Godse’s finger pressed the trigger. As the bullets pierced Gandhiji’s chest, still in shock with the vision of the future, Gandhiji uttered his final words – Aila!

jana gana mana… – Google Video

Nicely done.

Polayaadimone. That was his standard swear word. Depending upon the intensity of the tone you could figure out, if that is a serious telling off, a mild scolding or a benevolant appreciation. That one swear word was sufficient for mani periyappa to express his feelings. He was second eldest among the four brothers, of which my father is the youngest.

I dont know much about mani periyappa’s childhood, but from several anecdotes, it seemed he had an interesting one. My grandfather had a hotel business in Tamilnadu and Mani periyappa’s earlier schooling was in tamil. (He used to tell us couplets from thirukkural, occasionally). But the studies stopped, as my grandfather eventually moved to kerala permanently. The only clear information about Mani periyappa’s childhood came from my grandma who used to narrate stories from the past.

It seems that once when he was a kid, he got very upset with his mother over something, and threatened to commit suicide. Grandma narrated the tale with a chuckle, as how periyappa climbed a tree with a chaaku charadu (jute thread) and prepared the thread for ending his life. My grandfather came to know about this and immediately grabbed hold of a strong rope and came to the scene. The situation now got worse, as my grandfather threatened periyappa, that if indeed he came down without committing suicide, he will be beaten up, which he guaranteed that wont be forgotten for a long time.

My grandma was wondering who was more mad, my grandfather or periyappa standing confused and in fear on the tree with a jute thread hanging off the branch now. As my grandfather personally offered to replace the weak jute thread with strong coir rope the situation only offered two possible resolutions. 1. commmit suicide on the rope provided by my grandfather, or 2. climb down the tree and hope that grandma will save him from the imminent beatings. Sense prevailed and option 2 was taken.

After my grandfather settled in perumbavoor, Kerala, Periyappa got a job at Rayons factory, a job that he continued till the company locked out. Meanwhile he had got married to Narayani periyamma and had two kids – kumar anna and latha acca – the only sister for us 8 brothers of the joint family. Braving ups and downs of a life when the factory closed, leaving him unemployed, the family survived on murukku/pappadom business and kumar anna chipping in with his part-time work at a ration shop. But life’s sudden downs didnt break his will to go on. Years flew by as we all kids whom he had mentored, grew up braving those periods, got married, settled down. He grew older. Though his health was failing, his will kept him going.

I still remember the carrom board games, that he used to play with my father and friends, how my father would keep on losing the parippuvada/pappadavada/cigarette bet playing against periyappa, who was a master in his game. We kids used to watch his play in wonder, be it the carrom or rummy and other card games. I remember the day when I fractured my wrist, he was the one who rushed me to hospital, stayed with me for 3 days till the doctors sent me home with the plaster on. A father figure who kept a watch on all of us. I would gorge the thin crispy dosais he made, myself and periyamma would almost fight to have his dosais.

He is no more. I got a phonecall tonight – “Periyappa is gone”, my brother Prasanth told me over phone. That was it. He was in hospital for a nearly a week, and he passed away, just like that. As I heard the news over phone thousands of miles away in UK, nothing made sense.

I remember the last time I spoke with him over the phone. He was scolding me for not having kids yet after 4 years of marriage. “shandan ennu koopuduva ellavarum”, (people will call you a eunuch) he said, “vegam pillere undaakkikkoo” (make kids fast). “Not to worry,” I said to him laughingly, “it doesnt matter what the world calls me, I need no kids to prove I am a male”… He laughed at me, and shouted over the phone – “polayaadimone”.

As my cold is slowly on the retreat, I am getting back to my favourite pastime. Fitting myself snugly lengthwise on our ikea sofa and watching the telly.

Richard Dawkins was presenting a documentary about the root of all evil. Himself being an atheist, he was contrasting science with religion and the re-emergence of the christian equivalent of extremism. I was expecting him to bring Buddhism and Hinduism also into the documentary, but it didnt come at all. I was surprised, when I went to the channel 4 website for that program; they had eastern religious imagery on the left side of the page as background and the abrahamic religious imagery on the right. Though the program had not even mentioned eastern faiths, I was wondering about the appropriateness of that representation. I will have to assume that maybe in next episode he will bring in eastern religions also into context, to justify the imagery on the website.

Following that was a Paul McKenna programme to reduce weight on sky one. Unfortunately my wife was there before I could change channels, and I had to go through the whole program. My wife considers me a bit unhealthy, and wants me to loose a bit of weight. I would happily classify myself as being endowed with “extra muscles”. Later I found on the website that within 4 weeks of this plan, I could see how I have faired. Maybe the program is to “loose weight, become gora.”