The Mystery of Ram Setu (Rama's Bridge) a.k.a Adam's bridge

Since our childhood we've heard the stories of "RAMAYAN" , the famous battle between Lord Rama and Ravana at the island of Lanka now known as Sri Lanka.

The Main and biggest hurdle for Rama and his army was to cross the Indian Ocean which was standing tall between India and Lanka, which he realised only after reaching at the tip of India, where no furhter land could be seen, the only thing visible was blue sky and the Blue Ocean.

To cross the ocean looked impossible so, Rama thought of praying to the god of ocean to let him and his army be able to walk over the ocean's water without drowning, to which the god of ocean denied but he gave another way to cross the ocean and this resulted in the making of the Bridge which is known as "Ram Setu" or Rama's Bridge.

The idea was, the god of Ocean asked rama to use the stones to make the bridge but not just stone, these stones should have the name "Ram" written/scripted on it, only then those will be able to float over the water of ocean.

Hisotry V/s Science

East Indian company was getting settled in "Bharat" and started looting the resources and wealth of the country. They did not leave anything - Jewels, diamonds, grains, woods, sandal, muslin cloths, cotton, milk products and what ever they thought important was taken. Their mode of transport was ships. When ever the ship crossed the space between

India and Srilanka, the ship will collapse or broke and sink. It happened for thrice. It becomes a mystery for the East Indian company people.

A set of tribal people who lived in that part of the country believed that Brit people earned the angry of " Kadal Kanni" ( Glamorous-cum-powerful angel of sea) and she was demolishing the ships. As no one was able to find the reason, Brit decided to travel around Srilakna and not between

India and Srilanka. Mystery continued till the arrival of an energetic British executive ' Adam. Adam did not believe on Kadal Kanni. He called few swimmers, few techies from England with required equipments, traveled to the mystery spot and examined the spot with a question in the mind, "What is the issue for traveling?" Adam was astonished to know that there was bridge in the ocean which goes towards Srilanka. Hence forth it is named as " Adam's Bridge".

City of Dreams from People who Lived in it

India's first woman press photographer, Homai Vyrawalla takes us through the colourful facets of this city captured in black and white.
These eyes, of the 97-year-old Homai Vyrawalla, bear witness to events spanning almost a century - of spectacular victories and sordid downfalls, and also the humdrum in the life of the common man while it all happened.
Her narrations conjure effortlessly in our minds the times of the '30s in "Bombay". And whenever our curiosity meets her polite response of, "These days I can't remember much," there are the photographs taken by her, to fall back upon.
In black and white, these photographs paint an illustrious picture of a Bombay that today's colour photographs can never lay claim to. For one, the city Vyrawalla remembers was clean. "It was called 'Bombay Beautiful'. The roads were not only swept but also washed. Belgaadis (buffalo-drawn carriages) had water tankers fitted with sprinklers to do the job." (That these days, this exercise requires a visit from US President, we chose not to tell.)
Yet, this does not answer satisfyingly for the exuding charm of these images, which, we'd like to take the liberty to assume, are a manifestation of Vyrawalla's enchanting life. You'd understand what we mean if you knew that she met her companion here at 13 and dated him for 15 years before they married, and also that it was here when she first took to photography.
What met the lens where the eyes of a lady who was romancing life itself, as is evident from her stories and her 'captures'. "Every relaxing moment we (Homai and her husband Maneckshaw) were clicking. There was one camera between us and we took pictures wherever we went." A favourite was Chowpatty. "Marine Drive came up much later," she says, as she recollects her times on pure sand amidst tamashas, stunt acts, even kushti. Her wedding reception was held there too, "It was just me and husband, going to Chowpatty and having bhel puri," she says.
Among the buildings, she says, she loved the Rajabhai Tower, and immediately asks, "Is it still there?" The hope that it's survived is evident in her voice, and meets with a content giggle, as soon as we nod. Sometime later, when Victoria Terminus comes to her mind, she shares, "It's a gorgeous building, even from an aerial view," and not from atop any other building, but a plane. "I was working for the British High Commission in those days, and often got to accompany the commissioners on the plane."
Vyrawalla knew the city well. Bombay of that time, she says, was divided into two parts. "You got the same things, but at different prices in the places of the rich and the poor. I'd pick up four annas a piece for blouse from Bhuleshwar and stitch it myself, and people always thought I was very well-dressed."
Now based in Baroda, she is makes it very clear that it is the old Bombay she misses. "The city never flooded and communities lived in harmony." She also rues the now forgotten confluence of Marathi and Gujarati.
That was a time when Parsis where at the helm of things, points out the curator of the show, and also her biographer, Sabeena Gadihoke, as we browse through frame after frame where Parsis have been caught in both religious and fun activities. We also agree with Gadihoke that most of Vyrawalla's subjects like those of the Oval Maidan, where boys are playing cricket, or Mumbai's iconic monsoon have contemporary relevance

ADAM v/s MADAM

"Fuck you man!", "Go to Hell!! "I don't care...", haha... aren't these words one use to by now, surely yes.. without a second thought, esp. for a person like "ME" says ADAM, who'z intensely , madly, terribly (one can atleast use 100 odd adjectives to describe the depth of his) in love with his so called girl friend, who's popularly known as "MADAM"
..

Its not been ages, nor it has been few weeks, but the way their relationship is goin on looks solid, unlike the typical BF-GF cat fights/dog fights it has been more of smooth, n definitely bit argumentive but conclusive journey... are they really happy, or they pretend to be, or they don't.... :P

...

Being a guy i can definately say that, it has been really a tough journey for ADAM, who cares a lot, bothers a lot, thinks a lot and not to forget respects a LOT... for MADAM, while it is vice-versa as well but then... Girls will always be girls and why not, after all its a female power, and they have to act pricey irrespective of whatever the situation is, irrespective of however the condition is....

"One can always think is it really fair, i mean.. ok.." but ADAM never gives that thought even for a once, coz for him, MADAM is all over his head, and he'z ready to take up and give up anything and almost everything for the matter of fact tht it might give MADAM, some distinct pleasure, and that may or may not lead to a small curve on her face which we commonly call it as smile :) YES!.. just for a single smile...!!! one can really cross 7 seas swimming! sounds abstract, and almost "Naah" but yes, that the magik of love and can be fe,t and understood by one who;s already fallen in it, or has risen from the fall with all those unseen wounds and cuts on his/her heart/mind and sometimes even on parts which are visible outside :) :P

Love cannot be defined in words, nor can't be expressed in same, it can just be felt, and can be make it feel !

Lord of the Hills, 90 and still rokking

Over the years we've seen the adventure sports and the interest in it is increasing day by day in yougsters but here;s one special person who's probably youngest of all of us (@ heart) at same time eldest of all of us (by age - 91)

1. Veteran trekker and Indias first parasailor,91-year-old N.K.Mahajan alias Abasahebs latest adventure has won him a place in the Limca Book of Records.2.His regular trekking and continuous involvement in varied adventure sports like parasailing make him an enthusiastic adventure lover.3.He has also set a record with his three parasailing jumps.The first one was at the age of 82,second at 87 and the third was at 88 years.4.Mahajan crossed the valley between the Duke's Nose and the Duchess Pinnacle in five minutes by using rock climbing techniques on February 20.The length of the valley crossed is approximately 150 feet and its depth is 500 feet.

The Nausiec and Anxious state of Mind on Last working week @ when u bid Aediu

Change is inevitable.. Sometimes good, at times can b bad,either it may be Lucky as well , bt its again "SumTym..". To ans the question "So.. How are you feeling" is quite difficult for those who've really enjoyed their time in the organisation, d reason being tonnes and tonnes of memories and happy moments be it professional or personal or casual.. well bt then again you need to move on in your life for beeter prospect in terms of Pay d basic need, then the knowledge and brand name and ofcourse your own comfort zone.

Bidding a gud bye is always goin to be tough in such conditions where you even spend minimal time of 6 months @ a work place.. but its a cycle which has to go on and on and on...!!

Mujhe yuhi kar k Khwabon se Judaa... Jaane kaha

Mujhe yunhi karke khwaabon se judaa
Jaane kahan chup ke baitha hai khuda
Jaanu na kab hua khud se gumshuda
Kaise jiyun rooh bhi mujhse hai judaa

Kyun meri raahein, mujhse pooche ghar kahan hai
Kyun mujhse aake, dastak pooche dar kahan hai
Raahein aisi jinki manzil hi nahin
Dhoondho mujhe ab main rehta hoon wahin
Dil hai kahin aur dhadkan hai kahin
Saansein hai magar kyun zinda main nahin

Rait bani haathon se yun beh gayi
Takdeer meri bikhri har jagah
Kaise likhun phir se nayi daastan
Gham ki siyahi dikhti hai kahan
Aahein jo chuni hain meri thi raza
Rehta hoon kyun phir khud se hi khafa
Aisi bhi hui thi mujhse kya khata
Tune jo mujhe di jeenay ki saza

Banday tere maathe pe hain jo kheenchay
Bas chand lakeeron jitna hai jahaan
Aansu mere mujhko mita te hain rahe
Rab ko hukm na mit ta hai yahan
Raahein aisi jinki manzil hi nahin
Dhoondho mujhe ab main rehta hoon wahin
Dil hai kahin aur dhadkan hai kahin
Saansien hai magar kyun zinda main nahin

Kyun main jaagoon, aur woh sapne bo raha hai
Kyun mera rab yun, aankhien khole so raha hai
Kyun main jaagoon

India - d country where Politics is the reason behind all the blunders..

What do we mean when we say what we do about our country?
There are N number of words that we often see, use in our day to day life..
Words Liek "Governance, Supereme court, Judicial system, Politics, Power etc etc.."
Taking a sneek peek on these words what do they actually mean (not dictionary meaning, but from Ron;s dictionary)

Governance: 1) The word used by politicians fed up with bureaucrats. 2) The word used by civil society fed up with everybody. 3) The word used by people who wish they were living in China.


IN ancient polities political disorder used to be best measured by linguistic disor der. In the Mahabharata, a sense of moral vertigo is induced by no one knowing quite what key moral terms mean any more.
Thucydides conveys a sense of political disorder and chaos by telling us that words themselves have lost all meaning. Confucius thought that a well-ordered society required "fixing names."
On that measure most of the key terms of our political Constitution arenowprofoundlydisordered.The traditional associations of those wordsdon'tmakeanysense;butthe new ones are not fixed. Perhaps the path to moral clarity lies through first recognising and fixing meanings. Only then can we understand that we are in the midst of a new constitutional regime, where old words need new definitions.

Let us begin with our constitutional order.

Office of the prime minister: The weakest office in the cabinet.

Cabinet government: Each minister for himself or herself.

An opposition party: A party guilty of exactly the same things it accuses government of.

Federalism: A system of government where the Centre takes credit for growth and blames the states for poverty.

MemberofParliament:Marginal players in the system, whose sense of worth depends upon major pandemonium.

Supreme Court: The only office whose majesty cannot be redefined.
(Any redefinition risks incurring a contempt petition.) Office of the governor: Like an imperial regent in princely states.
Can meddle if necessary.

Civil liberties: Something you might just get -if you can have Ram Jethmalani as a lawyer.

Coalition politics: When there is always some other party to blame.

Separationofpowers:Wheneach branch of government thinks it can do the other's job better.

Then there are two curious words associated with government. These are curious because they mean themselves and their opposite. Is it a coincidence that they are used in connection with our government?
The first is scheme: both a benevolent government project to help the people and something conspiratorial.Ingovernmentthetwomeanings unite to make benevolence a conspiracy. The second is sanction: it can mean "giving permission" or "reprimanding." When sanctions are given or refused, which speech act is being undertaken?
Then there are some new words that signal political change; words that promise a new revolution and imagine new utopias.

Governance: During revolutions, new slogans are coined. "Power to the People!", "Liberty!" and so on. Now our war cry is "Governance!" Fourteen prominent citizens have even petitioned the prime minister to take this seriously. A powerful revolutionary slogan, inevitably, has several meanings. It poses a real semantic challenge. Is it a noun or a verb? Is it a problem or is it a solution?Isthereapathtogovernanceor is governance the path?
But here are some competing definitions. 1) The word polite company uses when it doesn't want to directly blame the government fornottakingdecisions.2)Theword the PM uses to explain why he cannot take decisions. 3) The word usedbypeoplefedupwithpolitics.4) The word used by politicians fed up with bureaucrats. 5) The word used by civil society fed up with every body. 6) The word used by people who wish they were living in China.

Independent institutions: Ano ther revolutionary re-imagining o our institutions. What form o government does it mean? 1) Where people have the illusion tha they can bypass politics. 2) Where people want to duck the question "Who guards the guards?". 3) Where the solution to a breakdown in every institution is to create another one. 4) One which bureau crats and judges love, since they ge more power.

But perhaps we should no complain. After all, all utopias are fuzzy and vague. And seriously, can there be a more energising war cry than "Governance"?
But we don't just have an emerg ing utopian political imagination.
Even some of our old institutions have taken on new roles. Consider: Income tax department: The department that raids individuals when the media does not do a good enough job producing gossip about film stars.

Central Bureau of Investigation: The agency the Supreme Court trusts, just because the court is monitoring it.

Civil society: That part of the establishment that does not like the establishment but is too afraid to come out on the streets.

Ministryofdefence:The ministry that defends India against its greatest enemy: not Pakistan, not China, but corruption. No decision, no corruption. Weevenhaveaneweconomicsto go with a new political system.

Inflation: The only economic phenomenon that government can blame on the weather.

Public-private partnerships: More efficient rent-seeking arrangements between the public and private sectors.

Interest rate: The thing the RBI has to fiddle with when the government closes off all fiscal options.

Inclusive growth: The kind of growth that gives the government an excuse to launch more schemes that it claims it has no capacity to implement.

Free market: When government discretion and tariffs are sold on the market.

Then there are serious redefinitions of major political challenges: Kashmir: The place the BJP needs to plant a flag when it is bored with other problems.

Northeast: The place where ethnicityandelectionsaresynonymous.

Maoism: The political phenomenon that the Trinamool thinks will be easier to fix than the Railways.

Thelistcouldgoon.AfterallIndia has arrived at the world stage. It must have a new global vocabulary.

Strategic thinking: The decision we take when we have given ourselves no options.

This list is admittedly incomplete and random. More skilful linguists could come up with deeper and profound changes. Our language is breaking under the weight of our political and economic innovation.
We are talking at cross-purposes because we don't know whether we are using words in their old or their new meanings.

Since language is an inherently social enterprise we will all have to contribute to the reconstruction of our language. But how can one possibly make sense of our times, when words and institutions lose all theirmeaning?Inutteringthem,we conjure up merely unmeaning shadows of their former referents.