Hi Folks,
I really feel very guilty writing this post as it has taken me forever to come up with it. I was occupied a bit too much in my work that I could not cater time for other things. Henceforth, I will try to be more regular.
Let me tell you all a story. This is the story of Dr. Channa Raju, a scientist in National Aeronautics Limited, Bangalore. Dr.Raju was born in a remote village as the eleventh child of poor parents whose only source of income was through farming. Due to the family's poor financial background, Dr. Raju had to face very tough challenges to access educational opportunities. Against all odds, he continued to pursue learning and managed to complete his middle school.
One day he learnt from various sources that the then President of the country would be visiting Whitefield ( a place in Bangalore). He along with a friend decided to visit Whitefield because they wanted to see how a President looked like. That is when he saw the beautiful building of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL) and mistook it for being the Mysore Palace (innocence at its best). He cherished a secret desire to study there. He secured admission in the College and that was the turning point in his life. After his graduation he continued his higher studies and obtained Masters degree from Indian Institute of Science and later completed his PhD from Indian Institute of Technology. He is now serving as a scientist at NAL, Bangalore.
This is a wonderful story of perseverence and determination which resulted in personal excellence. But surprisingly, this is not the end of story but just the begining. He realized that education is not easily accessible in rural areas and he decided to fill the void by startig an ideal elementary school for the children. Anjana school was started in 2000 and is recognized by the Govt of Karnataka. Apart from preparing the young to succeed academically and vocationally, the school strives to make them self-aware, confident, skilled and sensitive to human issues. The school maintains an open and rolling admission process throughout the year. Anyone with no means of education can walk into the school at anytime with their children.
The school is inspired by the personal story of its founder and the idea to give back to the Society and transform the lives of needy children through the power of education.
I am almost sure that I have not done justice to the great work done by Dr.Raju in this post. Please visit www.brahmi.org to know more in detail.
Personally, I feel that it is a great example of giving back to the Society. All of us have the responsibility to do something for the Society. We have numerous examples to emulate and Dr.Chenna Raju is one of them. Let us follow the path shown by such exemplary individuals and work sincerely to make this world a better place to live.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
Monday, December 13, 2010
Monday, November 1, 2010
Hi Folks,
It has taken some time for me to come up with my new post. There was so much that was happening around me that I could not really give time to my blog. I have taken up a new job and that has robbed me of so much time. Anyways, I have decided to become more regular than now and hopefully will do better.
Our holy scriptures pertaining to all religions have always stressed on the fact that man is originally Divine. Somehow over the time or by his own shortcomings and indulgences, he has lost his inherent nature. It takes some sincere soul searching and effort which we term as "Sadhana" to get back to the groove. People have done it and have showed us the path. Why are we not able to follow the laid path is purely because of our own unwillingness. This post is dedicated to one such Hero who has understood the highest principle of seeing God in man and put it into practice.
Mr.N.Krishnan from Madurai has been serving hot and hygenic vegetarian meals three times a day to mentally imbalanced people from the past 8 years. Till date more than 1.5 million meals have been served by "Akshaya" a Trust he has established. A typical day in Krishnan's life begins at 4 am in the morning where he starts to cook the day's breakfast. After the preparation, he loads the car with the food item and proceeds to every nook and corner of the city searching for these unfortunate people. He travels around 170 kms and feeds every mentally imbalanced person he finds on the street. He goes back and starts his preparation for the afternoon meals and follows the same routine, and later does the same for dinner. We can imagine a person doing it for a day or two, but doing it everyday for the past eight years is purely mindboggling stuff.
Krishnan was doing very well as a chef in a five star restuarant and had the oppurtunity to go abroad for a job. He went to his hometown for visiting his parents and take their blessings. When he visited the Madurai Meenakshi temple, he saw a mentally disabled person eating his own feces. What he saw stired his soul. He immediately fetched some idlis for the poor man to satisfy his hunger. Any other person would have forgotten or ignored what he had seen and gone off to pursue his lucrative career but Krishnan did the unthinkable. He decided to quit his job and serve the mentally ill people in Madurai. He had to face stiff opposition from family and friends but was determined in his idea to serve those lesser fortunate people. Today, Krishnan just 29 years old has served over 1.5 million meals to those people whom we blissfully ignore. Can there be any better example of selfless service. When I read an article about him, I was speechless. Here I am running around different countries and jumping various jobs to make a good career where as there are people like Krishnan who are giving up their careers for a very noble cause. What contrasting ideals and lifestyles....
Krishnan had to face financial constraints in the initial stages of his philanthropic work but was able to meet the finances by generous donations from people and institutions. Hats off to all the people who have supported such a noble cause. I wish Krishnan all the very best in all his endeavors and hope that people will try to emulate his work. Personally, I was very much moved when I read about him. We all have heard and read innumerable number of times that "service to man is indeed service to God". But sadly we have failed to put it into practice. We get so much involved in making our life more comfortable that we seldom think of other people. We lack the drive and motivation to work for the people. People like Krishnan have shown the path. It is up to us whether we want to follow or not.
Signing off for now, Krishna
It has taken some time for me to come up with my new post. There was so much that was happening around me that I could not really give time to my blog. I have taken up a new job and that has robbed me of so much time. Anyways, I have decided to become more regular than now and hopefully will do better.
Our holy scriptures pertaining to all religions have always stressed on the fact that man is originally Divine. Somehow over the time or by his own shortcomings and indulgences, he has lost his inherent nature. It takes some sincere soul searching and effort which we term as "Sadhana" to get back to the groove. People have done it and have showed us the path. Why are we not able to follow the laid path is purely because of our own unwillingness. This post is dedicated to one such Hero who has understood the highest principle of seeing God in man and put it into practice.
Mr.N.Krishnan from Madurai has been serving hot and hygenic vegetarian meals three times a day to mentally imbalanced people from the past 8 years. Till date more than 1.5 million meals have been served by "Akshaya" a Trust he has established. A typical day in Krishnan's life begins at 4 am in the morning where he starts to cook the day's breakfast. After the preparation, he loads the car with the food item and proceeds to every nook and corner of the city searching for these unfortunate people. He travels around 170 kms and feeds every mentally imbalanced person he finds on the street. He goes back and starts his preparation for the afternoon meals and follows the same routine, and later does the same for dinner. We can imagine a person doing it for a day or two, but doing it everyday for the past eight years is purely mindboggling stuff.
Krishnan was doing very well as a chef in a five star restuarant and had the oppurtunity to go abroad for a job. He went to his hometown for visiting his parents and take their blessings. When he visited the Madurai Meenakshi temple, he saw a mentally disabled person eating his own feces. What he saw stired his soul. He immediately fetched some idlis for the poor man to satisfy his hunger. Any other person would have forgotten or ignored what he had seen and gone off to pursue his lucrative career but Krishnan did the unthinkable. He decided to quit his job and serve the mentally ill people in Madurai. He had to face stiff opposition from family and friends but was determined in his idea to serve those lesser fortunate people. Today, Krishnan just 29 years old has served over 1.5 million meals to those people whom we blissfully ignore. Can there be any better example of selfless service. When I read an article about him, I was speechless. Here I am running around different countries and jumping various jobs to make a good career where as there are people like Krishnan who are giving up their careers for a very noble cause. What contrasting ideals and lifestyles....
Krishnan had to face financial constraints in the initial stages of his philanthropic work but was able to meet the finances by generous donations from people and institutions. Hats off to all the people who have supported such a noble cause. I wish Krishnan all the very best in all his endeavors and hope that people will try to emulate his work. Personally, I was very much moved when I read about him. We all have heard and read innumerable number of times that "service to man is indeed service to God". But sadly we have failed to put it into practice. We get so much involved in making our life more comfortable that we seldom think of other people. We lack the drive and motivation to work for the people. People like Krishnan have shown the path. It is up to us whether we want to follow or not.
Signing off for now, Krishna
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Hi Folks,
The nation was gripped with the Commonwealth Games (CWG)fiasco. The drama never looked to end. The falling ceiling, corrupt officials, unhygenic living conditions etc etc. The media made merry, cashed on these incidents and made loads of money. All of us too joined the brigade and started to curse the officials who were behind these games. Did we ever ponder why we were in this pitiable situation?
Who should be blamed for this mass disgrace. Can we blame the builders for faulty constructions or janitors for keeping the premises very unclean or Kalmadi & Co. for everything or the ruling Government for the total failure. In my humble opinion we are to blame ourselves for this mess. It is we who have chosen these incompetent and greedy bureaucrats & politicians who are functioning in the same manner as they were functioning twenty years ago. In other words we have become immuned to the attrocities administered by these corrupt politicians and today when our secrets are out in the open before the world, our false pride has been hurt. Anyways, all these shortcomings were gloriously covered up by an electrifying and fantastic opening ceremony. But the best thing to have happened is that our athletes have done extremely well and are looking to break India's all time best record in CWG. That is definitely someting for all of us to cheer about. Best of Luck guys and keep up the good work....
There is something that I want to share with you all about an incident which happened a couple of weeks ago which left me disturbed (only slightly). There is a certain temple that was close to my home and I used to visit the temple as often as I could. My occasional visits for its very tasty prasadams and its proximity to my home made it very special to me. A couple of weeks ago there was a theft in the temple and sadly the thieves looted the idol of all it's valuable ornaments. When I heard the news, I was shocked.
I still cannot conjure the reason of me getting disturbed. Was I becoming disturbed because it happened to the idol to which I was attached or because I had to answer myself to the question " If God cannot protect himself, how can He protect his people". Now that is a very sensitive question which can shake your faith in what you have believed or made to believe all your life. We have read and heard enough philosophical discourses that we can come up with an explanation for the incident. But, I wanted something more...With these thoughts I was skimming through Tagore's Geetanjali where I read the following poem.
Leave this chanting and telling of beads.Whom dost thou worship in this lonely dark corner of a temple with doors all shut? Open thine eyes and see thy God is not before thee.
He is there where the tiller is tilling the hard ground and where the path-maker is breaking stones. He is with them in sun and in shower, and his garment is covered with dust. Put off thy holy mantle and even like him come down on the dusty soil.
Deliverance? Where is delivarance to be found? Our master himself has joyfully taken upon him the bonds of creation; he is bound with us all for ever.
Come out of thy meditations and leave aside thy flowers and incense. What harm is there if thy clothes become tattered and stained? Meet him and stand by him in toil and in sweat of thy brow.
I don't know if this poem has answered my question as there are innumerable things that are beyond our scope of understanding but it definitely has broadened my narrow vision. We usually get emotionally connected with an idol in a temple which is very natural and reasonable. But believing it to exist only in the temple is foolishness as God is omnipresent. Let us all understand this truth and try to put it into practice.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
The nation was gripped with the Commonwealth Games (CWG)fiasco. The drama never looked to end. The falling ceiling, corrupt officials, unhygenic living conditions etc etc. The media made merry, cashed on these incidents and made loads of money. All of us too joined the brigade and started to curse the officials who were behind these games. Did we ever ponder why we were in this pitiable situation?
Who should be blamed for this mass disgrace. Can we blame the builders for faulty constructions or janitors for keeping the premises very unclean or Kalmadi & Co. for everything or the ruling Government for the total failure. In my humble opinion we are to blame ourselves for this mess. It is we who have chosen these incompetent and greedy bureaucrats & politicians who are functioning in the same manner as they were functioning twenty years ago. In other words we have become immuned to the attrocities administered by these corrupt politicians and today when our secrets are out in the open before the world, our false pride has been hurt. Anyways, all these shortcomings were gloriously covered up by an electrifying and fantastic opening ceremony. But the best thing to have happened is that our athletes have done extremely well and are looking to break India's all time best record in CWG. That is definitely someting for all of us to cheer about. Best of Luck guys and keep up the good work....
There is something that I want to share with you all about an incident which happened a couple of weeks ago which left me disturbed (only slightly). There is a certain temple that was close to my home and I used to visit the temple as often as I could. My occasional visits for its very tasty prasadams and its proximity to my home made it very special to me. A couple of weeks ago there was a theft in the temple and sadly the thieves looted the idol of all it's valuable ornaments. When I heard the news, I was shocked.
I still cannot conjure the reason of me getting disturbed. Was I becoming disturbed because it happened to the idol to which I was attached or because I had to answer myself to the question " If God cannot protect himself, how can He protect his people". Now that is a very sensitive question which can shake your faith in what you have believed or made to believe all your life. We have read and heard enough philosophical discourses that we can come up with an explanation for the incident. But, I wanted something more...With these thoughts I was skimming through Tagore's Geetanjali where I read the following poem.
Leave this chanting and telling of beads.Whom dost thou worship in this lonely dark corner of a temple with doors all shut? Open thine eyes and see thy God is not before thee.
He is there where the tiller is tilling the hard ground and where the path-maker is breaking stones. He is with them in sun and in shower, and his garment is covered with dust. Put off thy holy mantle and even like him come down on the dusty soil.
Deliverance? Where is delivarance to be found? Our master himself has joyfully taken upon him the bonds of creation; he is bound with us all for ever.
Come out of thy meditations and leave aside thy flowers and incense. What harm is there if thy clothes become tattered and stained? Meet him and stand by him in toil and in sweat of thy brow.
I don't know if this poem has answered my question as there are innumerable things that are beyond our scope of understanding but it definitely has broadened my narrow vision. We usually get emotionally connected with an idol in a temple which is very natural and reasonable. But believing it to exist only in the temple is foolishness as God is omnipresent. Let us all understand this truth and try to put it into practice.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
Monday, August 30, 2010
Hi Folks,
One of my favourite passtimes is to read something. This something can range from being a very spicy novel to an extremely illuminating spiritual discourse. The latter is definitely beyond my understanding, but I don't shy away from browsing them. It is my firm belief that reading is an extremely constructive habit which triggers you to think. Sadly, not many people use this faculty of thinking. It seems to me that we have forgotten to think. Anyways, I have something else in my mind to share with you all. I read an article "The speaking tree" in TOI (Times of India) and I wanted to share it with you all.
One day a sage went for his usual bath in the river and saw a scorpion struggling to come out from water. Sage was aware that scorpions cannot swim and tried to save its life by bringing it out of water. As he picked it up, the scorpion stung his finger and the sage instinctively flung his finger and off went the scorpion back into the river. This happened again and again but the sage was determined to save the scorpion.
A curious onlooker like me asked the sage that it was very clear that the scorpion would sting the sage everytime he picked it up. Why bother and just allow it to drown? The wise sage replied that it was the scorpion's nature to sting. It could not comprehend that he was trying to save it as that constituted of a higher conscious level beyond what its brain could percieve. As was its nature to sting, so was his nature to save. Why should a small scorpion deprive him of his divine nature which he had cultivated through years of sadhana.
For me, this is a beautiful story with a very strong moral. Translating this story into our lives, we encounter people who harm us, insult us, plot against us sometimes on our face and mostly behind our back. And what do we do to counter this onslaught. We happily join them and find ourselves engaged in cunning thoughts of revenge. In this process we injure ourselves more deeply than them by allowing our hearts and minds to darken. Our nature is to be kind, loving, honest and giving. Should we forego our inherent nature for others who in their ignorance and lack of understanding act with malice, deceit, selfishness and indifference.
This is a very tricky and sensitive question and each one should enquire within and find a solution for this very practical problem. Hope we will be earnest in our querry and will find a very reasonable answer to the problem.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
One of my favourite passtimes is to read something. This something can range from being a very spicy novel to an extremely illuminating spiritual discourse. The latter is definitely beyond my understanding, but I don't shy away from browsing them. It is my firm belief that reading is an extremely constructive habit which triggers you to think. Sadly, not many people use this faculty of thinking. It seems to me that we have forgotten to think. Anyways, I have something else in my mind to share with you all. I read an article "The speaking tree" in TOI (Times of India) and I wanted to share it with you all.
One day a sage went for his usual bath in the river and saw a scorpion struggling to come out from water. Sage was aware that scorpions cannot swim and tried to save its life by bringing it out of water. As he picked it up, the scorpion stung his finger and the sage instinctively flung his finger and off went the scorpion back into the river. This happened again and again but the sage was determined to save the scorpion.
A curious onlooker like me asked the sage that it was very clear that the scorpion would sting the sage everytime he picked it up. Why bother and just allow it to drown? The wise sage replied that it was the scorpion's nature to sting. It could not comprehend that he was trying to save it as that constituted of a higher conscious level beyond what its brain could percieve. As was its nature to sting, so was his nature to save. Why should a small scorpion deprive him of his divine nature which he had cultivated through years of sadhana.
For me, this is a beautiful story with a very strong moral. Translating this story into our lives, we encounter people who harm us, insult us, plot against us sometimes on our face and mostly behind our back. And what do we do to counter this onslaught. We happily join them and find ourselves engaged in cunning thoughts of revenge. In this process we injure ourselves more deeply than them by allowing our hearts and minds to darken. Our nature is to be kind, loving, honest and giving. Should we forego our inherent nature for others who in their ignorance and lack of understanding act with malice, deceit, selfishness and indifference.
This is a very tricky and sensitive question and each one should enquire within and find a solution for this very practical problem. Hope we will be earnest in our querry and will find a very reasonable answer to the problem.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Hi Folks,
As always I have not posted anything here from the past few weeks. I was a bit busy as I moved out of my present location. I have come back home and feel pretty good about it. I am relaxing a bit now but I have to start finding ways to spice things up before life starts to get boring and monotonous. In this context a question comes up, why does life get boring?
Leading a very mechanical life can be extremely dull and sometimes even depressing too. When life does not have any higher ideal, our thinking narrows down to just ourselves and every other person becomes a competitor. We feel vey insecure and are cut off from reality. We therefore get busy in going through the daily motions of a very mechanical life which lacks inspiration. In short, we don't see things beyond the next meal....
On the other hand, the moment we think beyond ourselves, life seems to have a purpose. A higher ideal always gives happiness. In simple words, selflessness is the key to happiness. Sadly though, these basic values are not being passed to the youger generation. Education today has degenerated to mere bookish knowledge being transmitted from the teacher to the pupil without igniting the minds of the youth with a higher purpose.
Inspiration is the key to human existance and the highest inspiration is the thought of contributing something to the society. When one is inspired to serve life gets exciting and happier and most importantly one evolves as a better person.
Let us all think along these lines and make our lives more purposeful and meaningful.
Signing off for now,
Krishna.
As always I have not posted anything here from the past few weeks. I was a bit busy as I moved out of my present location. I have come back home and feel pretty good about it. I am relaxing a bit now but I have to start finding ways to spice things up before life starts to get boring and monotonous. In this context a question comes up, why does life get boring?
Leading a very mechanical life can be extremely dull and sometimes even depressing too. When life does not have any higher ideal, our thinking narrows down to just ourselves and every other person becomes a competitor. We feel vey insecure and are cut off from reality. We therefore get busy in going through the daily motions of a very mechanical life which lacks inspiration. In short, we don't see things beyond the next meal....
On the other hand, the moment we think beyond ourselves, life seems to have a purpose. A higher ideal always gives happiness. In simple words, selflessness is the key to happiness. Sadly though, these basic values are not being passed to the youger generation. Education today has degenerated to mere bookish knowledge being transmitted from the teacher to the pupil without igniting the minds of the youth with a higher purpose.
Inspiration is the key to human existance and the highest inspiration is the thought of contributing something to the society. When one is inspired to serve life gets exciting and happier and most importantly one evolves as a better person.
Let us all think along these lines and make our lives more purposeful and meaningful.
Signing off for now,
Krishna.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Hi Guys,
It has been a long time since I have posted anything here. I had to counter a very grueling month of June and I am glad that it is over. Right now, there is nothing more interesting than FIFA world cup. It is the ultimate celebration of one of the most popular games on earth. Oh...what a game. Indeed it is the king of sport. Nobody even noticed the usually vibrantly followed Wimbledon. As a avid soccer fan, I am indeed sad that today is the last day for a great tournament. A tournament that for a month gelled the human race into one family from the vicious hoods of color, caste and boundary. Alas...all good things come to an end and so is FIFA world cup. We have to wait further 4 years for this global tournament to kick off once again.
FIFA world cup was played across ten different venues hosting 32 countries. The exuberant and excited vuvuzela blaring spectators represented only a small fraction of people watching the game. Far more have been following it through web, television and mobile phones worldwide. For 90 minutes, the human divisions like race, color and status got dissolved. This past month, there have been endless debates on the game, the referees, players and coaches which is much better than discussions on corruption, politics and religion. The tune of the official anthem of the world cup "waving flag" could as well be our global anthem which idealists have been dreaming for decades. For this reason there was no better place to host this global tournament other than SA, the Rainbow Nation.
Fifteen years ago, the country hosted the Rugby World Cup. The then President, Dr. Nelson Mandela realized the racial divisions in the country and hatched a small plan with the Rugby Team captain and the nation with 11 languages and myriad dialects forgot all their divisions and spoke the language of sport. To unite the country, Mandela reached out to the unpopular rugby team. This is beautifully depicted in Clint Eastwood's Invictus. I strongly recommend you guys to watch the movie.
Let us all ponder for a minute, how we shed off our usual differences for a month and became united for one cause. At the end of the day, it is just a simple game. It is not going to change our lives. But the inherent message of the game is unity. Let us all cling to the message and come together. Unity is indeed strength. The scriptures state "vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" meaning world as a global family. This world cup really did bring the world together. Let us all take this as an inspiration and put this ideal into practice.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
It has been a long time since I have posted anything here. I had to counter a very grueling month of June and I am glad that it is over. Right now, there is nothing more interesting than FIFA world cup. It is the ultimate celebration of one of the most popular games on earth. Oh...what a game. Indeed it is the king of sport. Nobody even noticed the usually vibrantly followed Wimbledon. As a avid soccer fan, I am indeed sad that today is the last day for a great tournament. A tournament that for a month gelled the human race into one family from the vicious hoods of color, caste and boundary. Alas...all good things come to an end and so is FIFA world cup. We have to wait further 4 years for this global tournament to kick off once again.
FIFA world cup was played across ten different venues hosting 32 countries. The exuberant and excited vuvuzela blaring spectators represented only a small fraction of people watching the game. Far more have been following it through web, television and mobile phones worldwide. For 90 minutes, the human divisions like race, color and status got dissolved. This past month, there have been endless debates on the game, the referees, players and coaches which is much better than discussions on corruption, politics and religion. The tune of the official anthem of the world cup "waving flag" could as well be our global anthem which idealists have been dreaming for decades. For this reason there was no better place to host this global tournament other than SA, the Rainbow Nation.
Fifteen years ago, the country hosted the Rugby World Cup. The then President, Dr. Nelson Mandela realized the racial divisions in the country and hatched a small plan with the Rugby Team captain and the nation with 11 languages and myriad dialects forgot all their divisions and spoke the language of sport. To unite the country, Mandela reached out to the unpopular rugby team. This is beautifully depicted in Clint Eastwood's Invictus. I strongly recommend you guys to watch the movie.
Let us all ponder for a minute, how we shed off our usual differences for a month and became united for one cause. At the end of the day, it is just a simple game. It is not going to change our lives. But the inherent message of the game is unity. Let us all cling to the message and come together. Unity is indeed strength. The scriptures state "vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" meaning world as a global family. This world cup really did bring the world together. Let us all take this as an inspiration and put this ideal into practice.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Hi Guys,
It has been some time since I posted anything here. The main reason for my absence from here other than my inherent laziness is that I did not find any interesting or significant events happening around us. Maybe, I have to dig deeper to get some interesting news....
I was thinking about the conflicts we face today. There are conflicts within us, at home, workplace and practically everywhere. We don't get along well with each other because we are trying to out-do each other in every single act. We are jealous of other people's success and in the process we tend to misunderstand them. The twins (jealousy & misunderstanding) fuels hatred in us.
When we look at children playing with each other, it does not matter to them how other children look like, how they talk, what they wear etc etc. Children are not born with hate, but are taught to hate by the society. With hate arises the problem of judging others. When someone judges others, they actually use their own shortcomings to measure the other person. Hate is an extreme emotion that causes darkness, confusion and paralyzes not only our life but also lives of others. Hatred can be based on race, religion, sex and national origin. The hatred among the Nazis towards Jews resulted in a war. India and Pakistan will never reconcile because of the same reason.
Each of us must try to stop this deadly hate which is always brimming in our minds. Why must we hate one another? Don't we have anything else to do other than talk about someone. Must we dwell on somebody to such an extent that it consumes our lives, pollutes our mind and destroys somebody's life . We must stop planting the seeds of hatred in our children and teach them to love all & serve all. Hate is a disease and the only antidote to it is love. We have to develop love for each other to eliminate hate from our lives. I was watching a video about "christian" the lion. I will upload the same here. The video will sum up what I have tried to convey here. Truly, love has no limits. Think about the video and sleep over it.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
It has been some time since I posted anything here. The main reason for my absence from here other than my inherent laziness is that I did not find any interesting or significant events happening around us. Maybe, I have to dig deeper to get some interesting news....
I was thinking about the conflicts we face today. There are conflicts within us, at home, workplace and practically everywhere. We don't get along well with each other because we are trying to out-do each other in every single act. We are jealous of other people's success and in the process we tend to misunderstand them. The twins (jealousy & misunderstanding) fuels hatred in us.
When we look at children playing with each other, it does not matter to them how other children look like, how they talk, what they wear etc etc. Children are not born with hate, but are taught to hate by the society. With hate arises the problem of judging others. When someone judges others, they actually use their own shortcomings to measure the other person. Hate is an extreme emotion that causes darkness, confusion and paralyzes not only our life but also lives of others. Hatred can be based on race, religion, sex and national origin. The hatred among the Nazis towards Jews resulted in a war. India and Pakistan will never reconcile because of the same reason.
Each of us must try to stop this deadly hate which is always brimming in our minds. Why must we hate one another? Don't we have anything else to do other than talk about someone. Must we dwell on somebody to such an extent that it consumes our lives, pollutes our mind and destroys somebody's life . We must stop planting the seeds of hatred in our children and teach them to love all & serve all. Hate is a disease and the only antidote to it is love. We have to develop love for each other to eliminate hate from our lives. I was watching a video about "christian" the lion. I will upload the same here. The video will sum up what I have tried to convey here. Truly, love has no limits. Think about the video and sleep over it.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Hi Folks,
The finals of the world T20 Tournament in the Caribbean islands ended today. Fittingly, the most consistent team of the tournament won the trophy. England, the inventors of the game ended their drought and were crowned world champions. Australia, usually a ruthless and dominating team known for its attacking approach and never say die attitude was a very subdued outfit today. I guess they were already emotionally sapped in the nerve wrenching game against Pakistan and looked a tired side. Anyways, the tournament was well organized and the standard of cricket was just outstanding. The famed men in blue came back in blushes and have a lot of work to do. My analysis of the tournament is as follows:
Best Team: England
Best Player: Mike Hussey
Best Bowler: Graham Swann
Best Captain: Paul Colingwood
Moving from cricket to something better......
The state of Bihar is always in news for the wrong reasons. For a change, this time Patna's Super 30, an initiative by maths wizard Anand Kumar has made its way into Time Magazine's Best of Asia 2010.
Under the Super-30 initiative, poor students are coached free of cost to crack JEE, one of the toughest Indian exams to secure admission into the coveted portals of IIT. Established in 2002, the program selects 30 meritorious candidates each year from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and trains them for IIT-JEE providing them free tuition, boarding and lodging. All 30 students have been admitted into the IIT's in 2008 and 2009. From its inception, Super-30 has seen 182 out of 210 students from poor backgrounds make it into the IIT's.
I am sure you guys are surprised as I am. But the story of the man who made it possible is even more inspiring.
Anand Kumar was admitted into Cambridge University for higher education. Due to financial constraints, he could not go there. Having experienced the financial hardships in his life, he decided to do something for the poor but brilliant children who invariably fade away due to lack of exposure and opportunities. Thus he started the Super-30. In a small time frame of 7 years, he has changed the fates of 182 children and their families.
Can there be anything more inspiring. I don't think so.
He could not realize his dream due to financial difficulties. But he has made sure that it will not happen to any deserving student again. Hats off to Anand Kumar and his team.Many states are already implementing the same scheme for economically backward students and Super-30 is soon expanding to become Super-60.
All of us realize the importance of quality education. We are all doing so well because we were exposed to education of highest standards. But what is the use of such education when it is used only to give you and your family a comfortable life. We have to look beyond our selfish interests. Education should serve to enlarge the vision and broaden the outlook of the people. We have to think about people who are less privileged than us and try to help them. Let us all be inspired by people like Anand Kumar and think positively in this direction.
Signing off for now,
KK
The finals of the world T20 Tournament in the Caribbean islands ended today. Fittingly, the most consistent team of the tournament won the trophy. England, the inventors of the game ended their drought and were crowned world champions. Australia, usually a ruthless and dominating team known for its attacking approach and never say die attitude was a very subdued outfit today. I guess they were already emotionally sapped in the nerve wrenching game against Pakistan and looked a tired side. Anyways, the tournament was well organized and the standard of cricket was just outstanding. The famed men in blue came back in blushes and have a lot of work to do. My analysis of the tournament is as follows:
Best Team: England
Best Player: Mike Hussey
Best Bowler: Graham Swann
Best Captain: Paul Colingwood
Moving from cricket to something better......
The state of Bihar is always in news for the wrong reasons. For a change, this time Patna's Super 30, an initiative by maths wizard Anand Kumar has made its way into Time Magazine's Best of Asia 2010.
Under the Super-30 initiative, poor students are coached free of cost to crack JEE, one of the toughest Indian exams to secure admission into the coveted portals of IIT. Established in 2002, the program selects 30 meritorious candidates each year from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and trains them for IIT-JEE providing them free tuition, boarding and lodging. All 30 students have been admitted into the IIT's in 2008 and 2009. From its inception, Super-30 has seen 182 out of 210 students from poor backgrounds make it into the IIT's.
I am sure you guys are surprised as I am. But the story of the man who made it possible is even more inspiring.
Anand Kumar was admitted into Cambridge University for higher education. Due to financial constraints, he could not go there. Having experienced the financial hardships in his life, he decided to do something for the poor but brilliant children who invariably fade away due to lack of exposure and opportunities. Thus he started the Super-30. In a small time frame of 7 years, he has changed the fates of 182 children and their families.
Can there be anything more inspiring. I don't think so.
He could not realize his dream due to financial difficulties. But he has made sure that it will not happen to any deserving student again. Hats off to Anand Kumar and his team.Many states are already implementing the same scheme for economically backward students and Super-30 is soon expanding to become Super-60.
All of us realize the importance of quality education. We are all doing so well because we were exposed to education of highest standards. But what is the use of such education when it is used only to give you and your family a comfortable life. We have to look beyond our selfish interests. Education should serve to enlarge the vision and broaden the outlook of the people. We have to think about people who are less privileged than us and try to help them. Let us all be inspired by people like Anand Kumar and think positively in this direction.
Signing off for now,
KK
Friday, April 30, 2010
Hi Folks,
I was occupied with some serious work and therefore did not have the time to spare for my post. But here I come again..... The gala time of IPL came to an end last week. As the probes go on deeper, it definitely looks very shady and murkier. Let us now leave IPL and move on to the next big thing ie T20 world cup. I watched the opening game between the Lankans and Kiwis. The competition was more intense and the game lived up to the billing of a world cup. That augers well for the tournament and also for cricket. Unlike IPL, where almost every other ball was dispatched to the boundary, T20 World Cup will feature low scores, tight finishes and exciting games. Good luck to all the teams and special wishes to the men in blue.
moving on from T20 to Vision 2020.....
Wings of fire is one of my most favorite books. It is an autobiography of Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam. He is a visionary who is a role model for all of us. He is one of the few people who truly believes that India can become a developed country by 2020. He is convinced that Youth have the power in them to change the destiny of the country. He therefore spends all his time to inspire the youth to come forward and rise to the occasion. Even at this age (he is closing in on 80) he is extremely busy working towards his vision 2020. I have seen him a few times when he came to my college and addressed all of us. He was a Bharat Ratna, President of the country, a scientist par excellence , philosopher, spiritual seeker, poet, musician.......What more can you expect. In fact, he was more than all of these. He was so simple and humble. I am reminded of a dialogue in a movie by name Bawarchi. The protagonist says " It is so simple to be happy, but it is so difficult to be simple."
Dr.Kalam with all these heavy and hefty tags was extremely simple. I would like to quote a few lines from the book "wings of fire".
"Each individual creature on this beautiful planet is created by God to fulfill a particular role. Whatever I have achieved in this life is through His help, and an expression of His will. He showered His grace on me through some outstanding teachers and colleagues, and when I am paying my tributes to these fine persons, I am merely praising His glory. All these rockets and missiles are His work through a small person by name Kalam, in order to tell the several million mass of India, to never feel small or helpless. We are all born with a divine fire in us. Our efforts should be to give wings to this fire and fill the world with the glow of its goodness."
These lines are some of my favorite lines and whenever I read these lines I feel very close and connected to God. These lines also throw some light at Dr.Kalam's personality. I can actually go on and on, but I realize that Dr.Kalam is no stranger and is obviously everyone's Hero. So let us all sit back and question ourselves, What am I doing towards Vision 2020?
The answer in most cases would be "nothing".
Never mind..... It is never too late. Let us all inquire within with all sincerity and analyze our actions. Let us all work constructively towards this and make Dr. APJ's vision as our mission.
May God bless us all.
Signing off for now,
KK
I was occupied with some serious work and therefore did not have the time to spare for my post. But here I come again..... The gala time of IPL came to an end last week. As the probes go on deeper, it definitely looks very shady and murkier. Let us now leave IPL and move on to the next big thing ie T20 world cup. I watched the opening game between the Lankans and Kiwis. The competition was more intense and the game lived up to the billing of a world cup. That augers well for the tournament and also for cricket. Unlike IPL, where almost every other ball was dispatched to the boundary, T20 World Cup will feature low scores, tight finishes and exciting games. Good luck to all the teams and special wishes to the men in blue.
moving on from T20 to Vision 2020.....
Wings of fire is one of my most favorite books. It is an autobiography of Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam. He is a visionary who is a role model for all of us. He is one of the few people who truly believes that India can become a developed country by 2020. He is convinced that Youth have the power in them to change the destiny of the country. He therefore spends all his time to inspire the youth to come forward and rise to the occasion. Even at this age (he is closing in on 80) he is extremely busy working towards his vision 2020. I have seen him a few times when he came to my college and addressed all of us. He was a Bharat Ratna, President of the country, a scientist par excellence , philosopher, spiritual seeker, poet, musician.......What more can you expect. In fact, he was more than all of these. He was so simple and humble. I am reminded of a dialogue in a movie by name Bawarchi. The protagonist says " It is so simple to be happy, but it is so difficult to be simple."
Dr.Kalam with all these heavy and hefty tags was extremely simple. I would like to quote a few lines from the book "wings of fire".
"Each individual creature on this beautiful planet is created by God to fulfill a particular role. Whatever I have achieved in this life is through His help, and an expression of His will. He showered His grace on me through some outstanding teachers and colleagues, and when I am paying my tributes to these fine persons, I am merely praising His glory. All these rockets and missiles are His work through a small person by name Kalam, in order to tell the several million mass of India, to never feel small or helpless. We are all born with a divine fire in us. Our efforts should be to give wings to this fire and fill the world with the glow of its goodness."
These lines are some of my favorite lines and whenever I read these lines I feel very close and connected to God. These lines also throw some light at Dr.Kalam's personality. I can actually go on and on, but I realize that Dr.Kalam is no stranger and is obviously everyone's Hero. So let us all sit back and question ourselves, What am I doing towards Vision 2020?
The answer in most cases would be "nothing".
Never mind..... It is never too late. Let us all inquire within with all sincerity and analyze our actions. Let us all work constructively towards this and make Dr. APJ's vision as our mission.
May God bless us all.
Signing off for now,
KK
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Hi Folks,
India's GSLV-D3 powered by cryogenic engine developed by our scientists failed in its maiden mission as the rocket carrying a communication satellite deviated from its path and went out of control. It will take another year to fix and schedule the next launching. It was 15-18 years of hard and dedicated work by the ISRO scientists. This sort of unfortunate events often occur, but I am sure our scientists will bounce back and make it happen in the future.
I was not expecting a failure but the result did not surprise me as these unfortunate events always happen in R&D. But, I was extremely disappointed by the media for not giving due attention to such an important event in the history of space research in India. Media was very happy and busy covering the more important issues like Sania-Shoaib wedding, IPL-Modi-Tharoor rifts and scams etc etc. An Amitabh, Aamir and Shahrukh movie will be given all the limelight and details about how the movie was made, costumes and sets would be discussed for hours well before the movie would be released. The attention given to a very trivial issue such as a movie boggles my mind.
Here, we have a technology developed by our own people spending 18 years of intense research to put our country in the top league and our responsible media gloriously ignores the event and is busy giving us the details about the Mehendi on Sania's hand. God bless us all..........
ISRO has spent Rs 330 crore on this project till date. Some people might argue that the money has gone down the drain. Well, I think this money was used for a constructive cause and was definitely not a waste. Money was always pocketed by our great netas and babus as and when they wanted. Some all-time great political scandals are here :
Bofors Scandal ( 1990) worth 400 million Rs, Hawala Scandal (1993) worth 18 million dollars, Fodder Scandal (1996) worth 950 crores and more recently Madhu Koda scam worth 4000 crores .
Here we have a serious case where money was spent on a very useful and productive invention and I am sure we will all reap the benefits from this endeavor in the future.
There is no point in blaming the media alone, we all have to share the blame with it. We encourage media to glorify irrelevant and insignificant happenings while ignoring the more useful and important events. Hope we all will see the right things in the right perspective.
I am sure that ISRO will achieve the launching of satellite using our own cryogenic technology
and make all of us proud. Wishing them all the good luck and signing off for now....
KK
India's GSLV-D3 powered by cryogenic engine developed by our scientists failed in its maiden mission as the rocket carrying a communication satellite deviated from its path and went out of control. It will take another year to fix and schedule the next launching. It was 15-18 years of hard and dedicated work by the ISRO scientists. This sort of unfortunate events often occur, but I am sure our scientists will bounce back and make it happen in the future.
I was not expecting a failure but the result did not surprise me as these unfortunate events always happen in R&D. But, I was extremely disappointed by the media for not giving due attention to such an important event in the history of space research in India. Media was very happy and busy covering the more important issues like Sania-Shoaib wedding, IPL-Modi-Tharoor rifts and scams etc etc. An Amitabh, Aamir and Shahrukh movie will be given all the limelight and details about how the movie was made, costumes and sets would be discussed for hours well before the movie would be released. The attention given to a very trivial issue such as a movie boggles my mind.
Here, we have a technology developed by our own people spending 18 years of intense research to put our country in the top league and our responsible media gloriously ignores the event and is busy giving us the details about the Mehendi on Sania's hand. God bless us all..........
ISRO has spent Rs 330 crore on this project till date. Some people might argue that the money has gone down the drain. Well, I think this money was used for a constructive cause and was definitely not a waste. Money was always pocketed by our great netas and babus as and when they wanted. Some all-time great political scandals are here :
Bofors Scandal ( 1990) worth 400 million Rs, Hawala Scandal (1993) worth 18 million dollars, Fodder Scandal (1996) worth 950 crores and more recently Madhu Koda scam worth 4000 crores .
Here we have a serious case where money was spent on a very useful and productive invention and I am sure we will all reap the benefits from this endeavor in the future.
There is no point in blaming the media alone, we all have to share the blame with it. We encourage media to glorify irrelevant and insignificant happenings while ignoring the more useful and important events. Hope we all will see the right things in the right perspective.
I am sure that ISRO will achieve the launching of satellite using our own cryogenic technology
and make all of us proud. Wishing them all the good luck and signing off for now....
KK
Monday, April 12, 2010
Hi Folks,
The spring season is over and we are all set for a brutal summer. I just hope it would be bearable. April 15 does not remind us of someone special or something spectacular, but from now on, it would be remembered as an important landmark that would be reached on Thursday, 15 April, 2010. You all guessed it right.....ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) will be launching its Geosynchronous Sattelite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) into space. GSLV-D3 will inject the satellite GSAT-4 into the geostationary orbit at a height of 36,000 km over the equator. This will be the 19th GSLV built by ISRO. So what is so special about it this time?
Scientists and engineers of ISRO will be flight testing Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) which is developed by them through intensive research over the past 15 years. This project took off when India was denied the CUS technology by the developed countries.
With CUS in it's kit, India would join the elite club of five nations namely US, Russia, Japan, China and Isreal which have all mastered the complicated technology of Cryogenic engine. Until now ISRO was using Russian made cryogenic engine but due to the technology denial policy of the US, Russia had to stop giving us the cryogenic technology. Thus, the project to build our own cryogenic engine was started in 1996. Hats off to the team of scientists and all other people involved in achieving this stupendous task. This is really a proud moment for all of us. Hope the technology succeeds so that we can use it to launch all our future satellites.
Signing off for now,
KK
The spring season is over and we are all set for a brutal summer. I just hope it would be bearable. April 15 does not remind us of someone special or something spectacular, but from now on, it would be remembered as an important landmark that would be reached on Thursday, 15 April, 2010. You all guessed it right.....ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) will be launching its Geosynchronous Sattelite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) into space. GSLV-D3 will inject the satellite GSAT-4 into the geostationary orbit at a height of 36,000 km over the equator. This will be the 19th GSLV built by ISRO. So what is so special about it this time?
Scientists and engineers of ISRO will be flight testing Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) which is developed by them through intensive research over the past 15 years. This project took off when India was denied the CUS technology by the developed countries.
With CUS in it's kit, India would join the elite club of five nations namely US, Russia, Japan, China and Isreal which have all mastered the complicated technology of Cryogenic engine. Until now ISRO was using Russian made cryogenic engine but due to the technology denial policy of the US, Russia had to stop giving us the cryogenic technology. Thus, the project to build our own cryogenic engine was started in 1996. Hats off to the team of scientists and all other people involved in achieving this stupendous task. This is really a proud moment for all of us. Hope the technology succeeds so that we can use it to launch all our future satellites.
Signing off for now,
KK
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Hi Folks,
There are days when I accomplish what I want to and then there are days when I just do nothing. I have this peculiar tendency to oscillate from extremely lazy to extremely active zone. I never gave it a lot of thought but I guess it is characteristic of a typical Libran. During one of these lazy days of mine, I decided to watch a movie which is my most favorite pastime.
I watched Well done Abba and I realized that I was actually smiling when the movie ended. The movie is set in a rural background and boasted no big names. There were no expensive sets, no romantic locales for picturing songs, no choreographers, no graphics, no stunts, simple costumes.......but not once did I take a break. Then I checked the details and found out that the directorial credit was by the Legendary Shyam Benegal. Then everything fell in place.
When the Master delivers his goods, all we have to do is to take a bow.
Bomman Irani and Minisha Lamba have joined his usual team of actors for this political satire. The movie is definitely slow to pick up, but once it picks up you are already hooked to it.
Benegal is always perfect with his casting. Go back to the days of Ankur, Nishanth, Manthan, Mandi and you realize that all his characters were perfectly casted. In here we have a very moving and strong performances by Bomman and party.
Benegal's movies always represent the grim realities of the social, cultural and political backgrounds of India, be it an oppressive landlord, corrupt official, subjugated tribal women, selfish politician or a bonded labor. The situations he portrays in his movies are all true and in fact taken for granted by all of us.
If you guys want to spend your precious time in a decent way, I will recommend you all to watch Well done abba. In fact if you have time please do watch all his movies. Each one of them is a masterpiece. He belongs to a rare breed of directors who gives value and respect to the audience and truly believes in delivering message oriented meaningful cinema. Hats off to Benegal saab.
Signing off for now,
KK
There are days when I accomplish what I want to and then there are days when I just do nothing. I have this peculiar tendency to oscillate from extremely lazy to extremely active zone. I never gave it a lot of thought but I guess it is characteristic of a typical Libran. During one of these lazy days of mine, I decided to watch a movie which is my most favorite pastime.
I watched Well done Abba and I realized that I was actually smiling when the movie ended. The movie is set in a rural background and boasted no big names. There were no expensive sets, no romantic locales for picturing songs, no choreographers, no graphics, no stunts, simple costumes.......but not once did I take a break. Then I checked the details and found out that the directorial credit was by the Legendary Shyam Benegal. Then everything fell in place.
When the Master delivers his goods, all we have to do is to take a bow.
Bomman Irani and Minisha Lamba have joined his usual team of actors for this political satire. The movie is definitely slow to pick up, but once it picks up you are already hooked to it.
Benegal is always perfect with his casting. Go back to the days of Ankur, Nishanth, Manthan, Mandi and you realize that all his characters were perfectly casted. In here we have a very moving and strong performances by Bomman and party.
Benegal's movies always represent the grim realities of the social, cultural and political backgrounds of India, be it an oppressive landlord, corrupt official, subjugated tribal women, selfish politician or a bonded labor. The situations he portrays in his movies are all true and in fact taken for granted by all of us.
If you guys want to spend your precious time in a decent way, I will recommend you all to watch Well done abba. In fact if you have time please do watch all his movies. Each one of them is a masterpiece. He belongs to a rare breed of directors who gives value and respect to the audience and truly believes in delivering message oriented meaningful cinema. Hats off to Benegal saab.
Signing off for now,
KK
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Hi Folks,
All of us are aware of the problems that cripple the growth and development in our Country. You all will agree with me that there is nothing that we can do about it. None of us have that sort of passion and time to do something about that. I would rather spend time with my family than think about the problems in the society. It sounds very selfish but is the truth.
So one day after a sumptuous dinner, I was thinking on these lines and I realized that if we can understand each other and respect the other person, then we get rid of all the differences between us and can live quite a good life in peace and harmony. In today's fast paced life, there is no clear understanding among family members, neighbors and friends. "Understanding" is clearly life's major problem.
Abraham Lincoln once said " To correct the evils, great and small, which spring from positive enmity among strangers, as nations or as individuals, is one of the highest functions of the civilization."
Individuals make a nation and a better individual makes a better nation. So how can we become a better individuals? Well, I am not here to tell about that. We have all the scriptures at our disposal to follow and become good. I am here to share one of my ideas regarding understanding people.
I was reading about Sun Signs by Linda Goodman. I have read about Librans in her book, and I admit that she was almost spot on about them. It was as though I was reading about myself. Then I got this idea. So often, we all get disturbed by the way some people behave. We keep cursing them and try to run away from them. But on deeper introspection, if we can understand why they are behaving in a certain way, I am sure we all will forgive them and will not run away from them.
We can start by reading thoroughly about the traits of each Sun Sign. Then we can start playing the Sun Sign game. It will be lots of fun, but more importantly you will be learning something that is more serious and really useful. How to recognize people, their dreams, & their needs. Once you start understanding a person, you will feel closer to them. When you know about the person, there will be no bitter feelings and the world will be one happy place to live.
Well, this is my idea. I have not seriously started to practice it but I will definitely give it a shot. Will it work. I am sure as nobody can hide their Sun Sign.
Signing off,
Krishna.
All of us are aware of the problems that cripple the growth and development in our Country. You all will agree with me that there is nothing that we can do about it. None of us have that sort of passion and time to do something about that. I would rather spend time with my family than think about the problems in the society. It sounds very selfish but is the truth.
So one day after a sumptuous dinner, I was thinking on these lines and I realized that if we can understand each other and respect the other person, then we get rid of all the differences between us and can live quite a good life in peace and harmony. In today's fast paced life, there is no clear understanding among family members, neighbors and friends. "Understanding" is clearly life's major problem.
Abraham Lincoln once said " To correct the evils, great and small, which spring from positive enmity among strangers, as nations or as individuals, is one of the highest functions of the civilization."
Individuals make a nation and a better individual makes a better nation. So how can we become a better individuals? Well, I am not here to tell about that. We have all the scriptures at our disposal to follow and become good. I am here to share one of my ideas regarding understanding people.
I was reading about Sun Signs by Linda Goodman. I have read about Librans in her book, and I admit that she was almost spot on about them. It was as though I was reading about myself. Then I got this idea. So often, we all get disturbed by the way some people behave. We keep cursing them and try to run away from them. But on deeper introspection, if we can understand why they are behaving in a certain way, I am sure we all will forgive them and will not run away from them.
We can start by reading thoroughly about the traits of each Sun Sign. Then we can start playing the Sun Sign game. It will be lots of fun, but more importantly you will be learning something that is more serious and really useful. How to recognize people, their dreams, & their needs. Once you start understanding a person, you will feel closer to them. When you know about the person, there will be no bitter feelings and the world will be one happy place to live.
Well, this is my idea. I have not seriously started to practice it but I will definitely give it a shot. Will it work. I am sure as nobody can hide their Sun Sign.
Signing off,
Krishna.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Hi Folks,
It is the season of IPL again. "Invent and harvest" looks to be the mantra of IPL. From the day, IPL was announced, it was an instant hit with the public. With each edition the franchises seem to make more money than ever. Franchises are getting more and more creative and in the process making more money. In the last edition the concept of Fan clubs was introduced and was a mega hit. It is said that it took 150 years for a football team like Manchester United to have its own Fan club. Now IPL looks like breaking all the records. Movies and Cricket sell more than anything in India and IPL is precisely the combination of both. I don't know where all this is heading to, but just by thinking of the amount of money generated by this tournament drives me crazy.....
I saw a match between Mumbai & Rajasthan and it was pure slam bang. I realized that I did not relish the match, then I reasoned that probably I belonged to a different generation. Every ball was mercilessly dispatched towards the boundary. My prediction for the next IPL will be to introduce throwing rather than bowling. Running hard and bowling doesn't make sense as every ball is going to be hit, so why not introduce throwing. It will possibly save some time ???
Moving from cricket, the Government tried to bring out the bill that was under cold storage for 14 long years. The proposed bill to reserve 33.3 % seats in state legislatures and Parliament for women was first drafted by H.D. Devegowda led UDF. The bill could not be passed due to the lack of political consensus between various parties.
My opinion: The good thing is that this bill will encourage more women to come into politics. The worse thing is that the whole focus is on increasing the number. There should be an attempt in improving the quality of people entering politics. Mere numbers is not going to help. Rather it will bring in more puppets who will be doing jobs for the Biggies who bring them in.
Another major concern is that this bill will strengthen the already existing political dynasties (Gharanas). Sisters, aunts, mothers, spouses etc etc of the male politician will all be included in the Band......They all can have get-together parties in the respective Assemblies or even Parliament at the Government's expense. God bless us.
Signing off,
Krishna
It is the season of IPL again. "Invent and harvest" looks to be the mantra of IPL. From the day, IPL was announced, it was an instant hit with the public. With each edition the franchises seem to make more money than ever. Franchises are getting more and more creative and in the process making more money. In the last edition the concept of Fan clubs was introduced and was a mega hit. It is said that it took 150 years for a football team like Manchester United to have its own Fan club. Now IPL looks like breaking all the records. Movies and Cricket sell more than anything in India and IPL is precisely the combination of both. I don't know where all this is heading to, but just by thinking of the amount of money generated by this tournament drives me crazy.....
I saw a match between Mumbai & Rajasthan and it was pure slam bang. I realized that I did not relish the match, then I reasoned that probably I belonged to a different generation. Every ball was mercilessly dispatched towards the boundary. My prediction for the next IPL will be to introduce throwing rather than bowling. Running hard and bowling doesn't make sense as every ball is going to be hit, so why not introduce throwing. It will possibly save some time ???
Moving from cricket, the Government tried to bring out the bill that was under cold storage for 14 long years. The proposed bill to reserve 33.3 % seats in state legislatures and Parliament for women was first drafted by H.D. Devegowda led UDF. The bill could not be passed due to the lack of political consensus between various parties.
My opinion: The good thing is that this bill will encourage more women to come into politics. The worse thing is that the whole focus is on increasing the number. There should be an attempt in improving the quality of people entering politics. Mere numbers is not going to help. Rather it will bring in more puppets who will be doing jobs for the Biggies who bring them in.
Another major concern is that this bill will strengthen the already existing political dynasties (Gharanas). Sisters, aunts, mothers, spouses etc etc of the male politician will all be included in the Band......They all can have get-together parties in the respective Assemblies or even Parliament at the Government's expense. God bless us.
Signing off,
Krishna
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Hi Folks,
It has been a while since I posted something here. Among all the happening news that caught my attention the most read and re-read article was about the world record innings in the history of Cricket in limited overs format. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has been the cynosure of one and all for over two decades. He has been praised and glorified by the world media for so long. Despite, achieving success like very few can he remains the same simple and humble Sachin. God would truly be proud of this gentleman. I remember one of his friends describing him as the son of God. I truly understand the statement now. When the whole world is heaping praises on this wonderful human being, let me also contribute in my own way.
I have seen Sachin a few times. I do not remember the year, but he had come to Prashanthi Nilayam. There was a huge crowd gathered for an important festival. In this mammoth crowd a very old lady was pushed so badly that she fell down. Even before anyone could help her, Sachin was there to offer his hand to her. He did it by breaking his own security cover. I was so impressed by his gesture. How many times do we see something like that from a super star. This incident touched me very much and I became his life long fan.
Moving from cricket.....
I saw a video a couple of days ago on Ram Bahadur Bomjon from Nepal. His followers believe him to be the reincarnation of Budha. He is barely 20 but is in meditation from May 2005 foregoing food, water and even sleep. He soon became popular as people thronged to see him. This disturbance made him to change his location in March 2006. He has been on and off public viewing since then. The latest when he was seen was in Dec 2009. Only he knows the reason why he is doing it. He has said that he would disclose everything in 2012?????
The scientific community is bewildered and cannot give any reason how the wonder kid is able to live. This proves that science cannot explain everything. In fact, spirituality begins where science ends. It is up to us, how we perceive things. If we have open minds and heart, wisdom will dawn on us. On the other hand, if we are arrogant and have narrow vision we will not be able to experience the beauty which is a joy forever. God bless us all.
Signing off for now,
Krishna.
It has been a while since I posted something here. Among all the happening news that caught my attention the most read and re-read article was about the world record innings in the history of Cricket in limited overs format. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has been the cynosure of one and all for over two decades. He has been praised and glorified by the world media for so long. Despite, achieving success like very few can he remains the same simple and humble Sachin. God would truly be proud of this gentleman. I remember one of his friends describing him as the son of God. I truly understand the statement now. When the whole world is heaping praises on this wonderful human being, let me also contribute in my own way.
I have seen Sachin a few times. I do not remember the year, but he had come to Prashanthi Nilayam. There was a huge crowd gathered for an important festival. In this mammoth crowd a very old lady was pushed so badly that she fell down. Even before anyone could help her, Sachin was there to offer his hand to her. He did it by breaking his own security cover. I was so impressed by his gesture. How many times do we see something like that from a super star. This incident touched me very much and I became his life long fan.
Moving from cricket.....
I saw a video a couple of days ago on Ram Bahadur Bomjon from Nepal. His followers believe him to be the reincarnation of Budha. He is barely 20 but is in meditation from May 2005 foregoing food, water and even sleep. He soon became popular as people thronged to see him. This disturbance made him to change his location in March 2006. He has been on and off public viewing since then. The latest when he was seen was in Dec 2009. Only he knows the reason why he is doing it. He has said that he would disclose everything in 2012?????
The scientific community is bewildered and cannot give any reason how the wonder kid is able to live. This proves that science cannot explain everything. In fact, spirituality begins where science ends. It is up to us, how we perceive things. If we have open minds and heart, wisdom will dawn on us. On the other hand, if we are arrogant and have narrow vision we will not be able to experience the beauty which is a joy forever. God bless us all.
Signing off for now,
Krishna.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Hi Folks,
The hot topic this week in news is the release of My name is Khan (MNIK). There was a huge controversy around the release of the movie due to weird political gimmicks. This definitely was made into a sensation, courtesy to our ever irresponsible media. But it definitely did a world of good to the movie as it opened to packed houses. About the movie, I am not a huge Sharukh fan but I am huge huge and a huge fan of meaningful cinema. MNIK is a typical bollywood film with lot of take home messages. The reviews of Times of India gave it a 5/5......I think that was too generous, but the film definitely deserves a bow.
Many would condemn me as always being cynical. But, I guess that there is so much truth in what I post here. These celebrities have a huge fan base comprising people of all walks of life, all age groups and different backgrounds. There are thousands of crazy people who cry for them, laugh for them and literally live for them. They celebrate the birthday of their idols in a manner in which they don't celebrate for even their kith & kin. One may categorize it as stupidity, and I agree it is stupidity. But fans are fans. They just love their idols and want to follow them. They want their stars to succeed in everything they do. They always wish well for the star. The nation even goes out of the way and confers the prestigious national honors to these stars.
So, do these stars owe something to the people? If, these stars have something called a conscience then they will agree with me that they owe a whole lot to the people. They should take it as a responsibility in enthralling the audience with meaningful cinema. They should motivate and inspire the people by their words and charisma. People are really dying to follow them. The good messages from the movie rubs off on the audience. So, these celebrities should be more responsible and be idols worth emulating in real life.
MNIK is a movie with so many subtle messages. The release of the movie is so critical when the politicians are trying to divide man on the name of language, religion, caste and boundaries. A very well made movie which will go down very well with the people. 3 cheers to Karan Johar and his team. Well done....... Hope, others will take a cue from this example and give us good movies in the future.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
The hot topic this week in news is the release of My name is Khan (MNIK). There was a huge controversy around the release of the movie due to weird political gimmicks. This definitely was made into a sensation, courtesy to our ever irresponsible media. But it definitely did a world of good to the movie as it opened to packed houses. About the movie, I am not a huge Sharukh fan but I am huge huge and a huge fan of meaningful cinema. MNIK is a typical bollywood film with lot of take home messages. The reviews of Times of India gave it a 5/5......I think that was too generous, but the film definitely deserves a bow.
Many would condemn me as always being cynical. But, I guess that there is so much truth in what I post here. These celebrities have a huge fan base comprising people of all walks of life, all age groups and different backgrounds. There are thousands of crazy people who cry for them, laugh for them and literally live for them. They celebrate the birthday of their idols in a manner in which they don't celebrate for even their kith & kin. One may categorize it as stupidity, and I agree it is stupidity. But fans are fans. They just love their idols and want to follow them. They want their stars to succeed in everything they do. They always wish well for the star. The nation even goes out of the way and confers the prestigious national honors to these stars.
So, do these stars owe something to the people? If, these stars have something called a conscience then they will agree with me that they owe a whole lot to the people. They should take it as a responsibility in enthralling the audience with meaningful cinema. They should motivate and inspire the people by their words and charisma. People are really dying to follow them. The good messages from the movie rubs off on the audience. So, these celebrities should be more responsible and be idols worth emulating in real life.
MNIK is a movie with so many subtle messages. The release of the movie is so critical when the politicians are trying to divide man on the name of language, religion, caste and boundaries. A very well made movie which will go down very well with the people. 3 cheers to Karan Johar and his team. Well done....... Hope, others will take a cue from this example and give us good movies in the future.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Hi Guys,
It is a dull day outside and the weather has confined everyone to their homes. The winter this year is quite harsh and I guess is a consequence of Global warming about which we have been hearing since decades. With nothing much to do and feeling not so well with the body, I am here once again with another interesting post (hopefully).
I am a huge classical Carnatic music fan with zero knowledge about the art. If you ask any follower about their favorite musician you will listen to a long list of musicians. The point I am trying to make is most of the people in the list are in their final stages of their respective lives (others are no more) . You will not find many artists below 40 years of age. With the younger generation not interested in Classical music and artists not young either, I was thinking about the perennial question " Is the art dying ". I hope I am totally wrong. With my musical background, I do not have any credentials to comment on such an art, but my comment on the younger generation is absolutely spot on.
In my opinion Carnatic music is a gift that not everybody can procure. It is a sadhana or Yoga by which you can open the doors of your heart and realize the innate Divinity. All the compositions are brimmed with devotion and if you practice the art sincerely you are bound to get the desired results. Sadly though not many of the younger generation are interested in this great art. With these thoughts in my mind I was killing my share of time on Youtube when I saw a performance by Smt. Vishaka Hari. Believe me, I was not only bowled over by her rendition of a Hari katha and musical talent but also by her beauty. There is a certain radiance in her face that you can't help but take notice. She is the combination of beauty and brains and is indeed a fresh brand ambassador of the Carnatic music.
I was totally mesmerized by her and immediately tried to find a lot about her, but sadly even Google is not much aware about her. But I am sure she will be world famous in a few years from now. She was a child prodigy in both music and dance. She chose the former and under the tutelage of Sri Lalgudi she blossomed into a very fine musician. She was extremely good at academics and completed her CA . As per her wishes, she entered the marital life with Sri Hari, an eminent Harikatha exponent. Sri Hari is the son of Krishna Premi , also called as Sri Anna who is a spiritual leader and has many followers. With the blessings of her father in law she chose Harikatha as a medium in rendering service to people. ( I have gathered this info from various sources)
She has developed a unique style of delivering discourses through music. Her deep knowledge of the scriptures , musical prowess and most importantly the Bhakthi Bhava ( feeling of devotion) with which she delivers her upanyasas leaves the audience spell bound. People of all age groups enjoy her musical renditions. Her extra-ordinary ability to keep the audience mesmerized by her soulful rendering of raagas and shlokas is an instant winner. She moves the audience to tears and also makes them laugh. Her style is flowing and flawless. The themes of her discourses are drawn from Ramayanam, Mahabharatham, Bhagavatham and other Puranas. She is indeed a tribute to the tradition of Harikatha. She is still under 30 and I am sure will go places in the future. I saw her videos on Kuchela Upakyam and Andal Kalyanam. I have no words to describe my feeling after watching them.
In the recent times, not many have inspired people in Bhakthi Yoga. The only person whom I know, who has done it is MS Amma . All others are extremely talented and have promoted the music, but here we have a special case. Her discourses have large congregations and people are all swooned by her rendition and are transported to a higher world. She has added a whole new dimension to the art of Harikatha. I sincerely wish her many years of service to our society by her soulful rendition.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
It is a dull day outside and the weather has confined everyone to their homes. The winter this year is quite harsh and I guess is a consequence of Global warming about which we have been hearing since decades. With nothing much to do and feeling not so well with the body, I am here once again with another interesting post (hopefully).
I am a huge classical Carnatic music fan with zero knowledge about the art. If you ask any follower about their favorite musician you will listen to a long list of musicians. The point I am trying to make is most of the people in the list are in their final stages of their respective lives (others are no more) . You will not find many artists below 40 years of age. With the younger generation not interested in Classical music and artists not young either, I was thinking about the perennial question " Is the art dying ". I hope I am totally wrong. With my musical background, I do not have any credentials to comment on such an art, but my comment on the younger generation is absolutely spot on.
In my opinion Carnatic music is a gift that not everybody can procure. It is a sadhana or Yoga by which you can open the doors of your heart and realize the innate Divinity. All the compositions are brimmed with devotion and if you practice the art sincerely you are bound to get the desired results. Sadly though not many of the younger generation are interested in this great art. With these thoughts in my mind I was killing my share of time on Youtube when I saw a performance by Smt. Vishaka Hari. Believe me, I was not only bowled over by her rendition of a Hari katha and musical talent but also by her beauty. There is a certain radiance in her face that you can't help but take notice. She is the combination of beauty and brains and is indeed a fresh brand ambassador of the Carnatic music.
I was totally mesmerized by her and immediately tried to find a lot about her, but sadly even Google is not much aware about her. But I am sure she will be world famous in a few years from now. She was a child prodigy in both music and dance. She chose the former and under the tutelage of Sri Lalgudi she blossomed into a very fine musician. She was extremely good at academics and completed her CA . As per her wishes, she entered the marital life with Sri Hari, an eminent Harikatha exponent. Sri Hari is the son of Krishna Premi , also called as Sri Anna who is a spiritual leader and has many followers. With the blessings of her father in law she chose Harikatha as a medium in rendering service to people. ( I have gathered this info from various sources)
She has developed a unique style of delivering discourses through music. Her deep knowledge of the scriptures , musical prowess and most importantly the Bhakthi Bhava ( feeling of devotion) with which she delivers her upanyasas leaves the audience spell bound. People of all age groups enjoy her musical renditions. Her extra-ordinary ability to keep the audience mesmerized by her soulful rendering of raagas and shlokas is an instant winner. She moves the audience to tears and also makes them laugh. Her style is flowing and flawless. The themes of her discourses are drawn from Ramayanam, Mahabharatham, Bhagavatham and other Puranas. She is indeed a tribute to the tradition of Harikatha. She is still under 30 and I am sure will go places in the future. I saw her videos on Kuchela Upakyam and Andal Kalyanam. I have no words to describe my feeling after watching them.
In the recent times, not many have inspired people in Bhakthi Yoga. The only person whom I know, who has done it is MS Amma . All others are extremely talented and have promoted the music, but here we have a special case. Her discourses have large congregations and people are all swooned by her rendition and are transported to a higher world. She has added a whole new dimension to the art of Harikatha. I sincerely wish her many years of service to our society by her soulful rendition.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Hi Guys,
As the Republic of India celebrates its 60th anniversary, there is so much to cheer about for all of us. We all have traveled through very tough and trying times in the past 60 years. I cannot say that we are on top, because we are not. But I can gladly say that we are moving ahead. I still wonder many times what was the real reason for the British to grant freedom to us. I sometimes think that they left us on our own because there was nothing left with us. They literally left us in ruins. 200 years of looting can put any country on the back foot. Historians have estimated that in the last 20 years of the Raj, the crown took a whopping 150 million pounds every year as a tribute.
Independent India's political leadership had such gigantic milestones to achieve. Mere praise is not sufficient for these selfless leaders who sowed the first seeds of development 60 years ago. India's GDP in the first half of 20th century grew at a rate of 0.1% per annum. Since then India has made tremendous progress. GDP has quantum leaped by over 500 times. The average annual salary was Rs 255 in 1951 which is now Rs 33,283. Steel production has soared by 50 times, cement by 70 times, electricity by a whopping 128 times. Food production has shot up by 4 times, thanks to Green Revolution.
Independent India has marched ahead with great pride and is respected by all the developed and developing countries. Indians have made a mark in all fields of engineering, science and technology, buisness, research and development. Even in a recent talk to a group of students, the President of United States Mr.Barack Obama warned the students about the tough competition they would have to endure from people of Bangalore and Beijing. This pretty much sums up how much we have achieved when you compare from where we started 60 years ago.
But is this the true picture of the progress. All this is only the better part of the truth. The bitter truth is that even after 60 years, a shocking 400 million of our brethren are still under poverty line. India has developed on par with global standards in the cities with cars, buildings, malls, planes, metros etc etc. But on visiting the rural areas gives you the right picture. It appears that they live in a ancient civilization bereft of even the basic needs of living. Our development is very much uneven and is a huge concern.
As we are celebrating our 60th anniversary, there is so much to cheer about, the freedon from ruthless economic plunder, our improved strength in the economy, self sufficiency in the food, slow and steady improvement of technology, education and health. But, this is not enough. Much has to be achieved for a decent dignity of livelihood for every man. This is not the job of only our leaders. This is the responsibility of each and every educated individual of our country. We all should be aware of our problems. As part of our college education we had a self reliance program in the rural villages of our country. Many of us were shocked at the plight of the people and their living conditions. That was an eye opener for so many of us. The younger generation of today are hardly aware of the problems that has gripped our country. We have to stop being selfish all the time. Thinking only about us, our career, our assets etc etc is a very selfish outlook of life. We all need to move from this mold of thinking. Thinking & caring for others, acting as a group will put us on the right track. If all the individuals are good, it reflects a good family which reflects a good home which in turn reflects a good society which in turn reflects a good and a strong nation. Each and every individual must think in this direction, that will take care of more than half of our problems.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
As the Republic of India celebrates its 60th anniversary, there is so much to cheer about for all of us. We all have traveled through very tough and trying times in the past 60 years. I cannot say that we are on top, because we are not. But I can gladly say that we are moving ahead. I still wonder many times what was the real reason for the British to grant freedom to us. I sometimes think that they left us on our own because there was nothing left with us. They literally left us in ruins. 200 years of looting can put any country on the back foot. Historians have estimated that in the last 20 years of the Raj, the crown took a whopping 150 million pounds every year as a tribute.
Independent India's political leadership had such gigantic milestones to achieve. Mere praise is not sufficient for these selfless leaders who sowed the first seeds of development 60 years ago. India's GDP in the first half of 20th century grew at a rate of 0.1% per annum. Since then India has made tremendous progress. GDP has quantum leaped by over 500 times. The average annual salary was Rs 255 in 1951 which is now Rs 33,283. Steel production has soared by 50 times, cement by 70 times, electricity by a whopping 128 times. Food production has shot up by 4 times, thanks to Green Revolution.
Independent India has marched ahead with great pride and is respected by all the developed and developing countries. Indians have made a mark in all fields of engineering, science and technology, buisness, research and development. Even in a recent talk to a group of students, the President of United States Mr.Barack Obama warned the students about the tough competition they would have to endure from people of Bangalore and Beijing. This pretty much sums up how much we have achieved when you compare from where we started 60 years ago.
But is this the true picture of the progress. All this is only the better part of the truth. The bitter truth is that even after 60 years, a shocking 400 million of our brethren are still under poverty line. India has developed on par with global standards in the cities with cars, buildings, malls, planes, metros etc etc. But on visiting the rural areas gives you the right picture. It appears that they live in a ancient civilization bereft of even the basic needs of living. Our development is very much uneven and is a huge concern.
As we are celebrating our 60th anniversary, there is so much to cheer about, the freedon from ruthless economic plunder, our improved strength in the economy, self sufficiency in the food, slow and steady improvement of technology, education and health. But, this is not enough. Much has to be achieved for a decent dignity of livelihood for every man. This is not the job of only our leaders. This is the responsibility of each and every educated individual of our country. We all should be aware of our problems. As part of our college education we had a self reliance program in the rural villages of our country. Many of us were shocked at the plight of the people and their living conditions. That was an eye opener for so many of us. The younger generation of today are hardly aware of the problems that has gripped our country. We have to stop being selfish all the time. Thinking only about us, our career, our assets etc etc is a very selfish outlook of life. We all need to move from this mold of thinking. Thinking & caring for others, acting as a group will put us on the right track. If all the individuals are good, it reflects a good family which reflects a good home which in turn reflects a good society which in turn reflects a good and a strong nation. Each and every individual must think in this direction, that will take care of more than half of our problems.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Hi Guys,
I was wondering about what I would write in my next post. I started my blog with some cricket during the Champions Trophy. I would not mind to take a detour here. I have watched the just concluded test series between Eng and SA & Aus and Pak. I was thrilled by the pace and swing bowling armory of each of these teams. It was just a treat to watch the new ball nip, bounce and swing at notorious pace. Anybody who said that test cricket was in peril should have a look at these series and I am sure will take their statements back.
Coming back to the point I broke off from, I started with cricket, touched upon some politics here and there, but mostly kept my posts on some of my most favorite personalities. I was thinking about dedicating my post to some of my favorite plays. So here I am today with the summary and my take on Hayavadana.
Hyavadana is a play written by Girish Karnad. The play's plot comes from Kathasaritasagara, an ancient collection of plays in Sanskrit. Drawing on the play " Transposed Heads" by Thomas Mann, Karnad adapted the play to approach the problem of identity in world of tangled relationships.
Devadutta and Kapila are very good friends. Devadutta is an erudite scholar and is an embodiment of knowledge while his friend Kapila is a very talented sportsman with a very attractive physique. One day, Devadutta sees Padmini and is swooned by her beauty. He decides to marry her and asks his friend Kapila for help . Kapila goes to Padmini to persuade her to marry Devadutta and succeeds in his mission, but in his hearts of hearts even he was floored by her beauty. Padmini is very much attracted to Kapila's body and the intellect of Devadutta. She nevertheless marries Devadutta.
As time passes Devadutta observes that Padmini is more fond of Kapila and this causes a lot of discomfort in him. On the other hand, Kapila is honest and has no pervert intentions. On a journey to Ujjain, Devadutta is overcome by extreme jealousy about the behavior of Padmini and Kapila. He excuses himself from the two and visits a Kali temple. In a fit of emotion, he cuts off his head. Kapila comes searching for Devadutta and is shocked by the sight. He understands the situation and blames himself for it. In a emotional bust and a feeling of guilt, he too beheads himself. Searching for both comes a pregnant Padmini who is aghast at the gory scene. She prays very sincerely to the Mother Kali to resurrect the lost lives. Mother is pleased with her devotion and grants the boon. Here comes the twist.....
Padmini, in a state of anxiety, fear, joy and confusion unknowingly places the wrong heads on each of the bodies and they come alive. Devadutta's head is on Kapila's body and vice versa. There is a huge debate on who should be the rightful husband and finally on the recommendation by a scholar, head is given the importance over body. Kapila's body with Devadutta's head is ruled in favor as the rightful husband of Padmini. Devadutta's body with Kapila's head is dejected with the decision and leaves to the forest. Time passes again but the past always haunts the protagonists. Padmini always remembers Kapila and even visits him in the forest once with her kid. Kapila and Devadutta confront each other again and in a combat, kill each other. Unable to bear the tragedy, Padmini immolates herself along with the dead bodies of Kapila and Devadutta.
When I read the play a couple of years ago, I was dumbfounded. For me, this is a super story. I am not qualified to talk about the plot and other technicalities. But I have my own moral for the story. Everybody is unique and special in this creation. Each of us have some special talent in us to live and lead our life. We should lead our life in a rightful manner. In the story, none of the characters can be blamed. This happens to us in our life always. Take what comes to us as gifts from God and be satisfied and contented. Again, the moral of the story is to lead a life in a rightful way ( path of Dharma).
Signing off for now,
Krishna
I was wondering about what I would write in my next post. I started my blog with some cricket during the Champions Trophy. I would not mind to take a detour here. I have watched the just concluded test series between Eng and SA & Aus and Pak. I was thrilled by the pace and swing bowling armory of each of these teams. It was just a treat to watch the new ball nip, bounce and swing at notorious pace. Anybody who said that test cricket was in peril should have a look at these series and I am sure will take their statements back.
Coming back to the point I broke off from, I started with cricket, touched upon some politics here and there, but mostly kept my posts on some of my most favorite personalities. I was thinking about dedicating my post to some of my favorite plays. So here I am today with the summary and my take on Hayavadana.
Hyavadana is a play written by Girish Karnad. The play's plot comes from Kathasaritasagara, an ancient collection of plays in Sanskrit. Drawing on the play " Transposed Heads" by Thomas Mann, Karnad adapted the play to approach the problem of identity in world of tangled relationships.
Devadutta and Kapila are very good friends. Devadutta is an erudite scholar and is an embodiment of knowledge while his friend Kapila is a very talented sportsman with a very attractive physique. One day, Devadutta sees Padmini and is swooned by her beauty. He decides to marry her and asks his friend Kapila for help . Kapila goes to Padmini to persuade her to marry Devadutta and succeeds in his mission, but in his hearts of hearts even he was floored by her beauty. Padmini is very much attracted to Kapila's body and the intellect of Devadutta. She nevertheless marries Devadutta.
As time passes Devadutta observes that Padmini is more fond of Kapila and this causes a lot of discomfort in him. On the other hand, Kapila is honest and has no pervert intentions. On a journey to Ujjain, Devadutta is overcome by extreme jealousy about the behavior of Padmini and Kapila. He excuses himself from the two and visits a Kali temple. In a fit of emotion, he cuts off his head. Kapila comes searching for Devadutta and is shocked by the sight. He understands the situation and blames himself for it. In a emotional bust and a feeling of guilt, he too beheads himself. Searching for both comes a pregnant Padmini who is aghast at the gory scene. She prays very sincerely to the Mother Kali to resurrect the lost lives. Mother is pleased with her devotion and grants the boon. Here comes the twist.....
Padmini, in a state of anxiety, fear, joy and confusion unknowingly places the wrong heads on each of the bodies and they come alive. Devadutta's head is on Kapila's body and vice versa. There is a huge debate on who should be the rightful husband and finally on the recommendation by a scholar, head is given the importance over body. Kapila's body with Devadutta's head is ruled in favor as the rightful husband of Padmini. Devadutta's body with Kapila's head is dejected with the decision and leaves to the forest. Time passes again but the past always haunts the protagonists. Padmini always remembers Kapila and even visits him in the forest once with her kid. Kapila and Devadutta confront each other again and in a combat, kill each other. Unable to bear the tragedy, Padmini immolates herself along with the dead bodies of Kapila and Devadutta.
When I read the play a couple of years ago, I was dumbfounded. For me, this is a super story. I am not qualified to talk about the plot and other technicalities. But I have my own moral for the story. Everybody is unique and special in this creation. Each of us have some special talent in us to live and lead our life. We should lead our life in a rightful manner. In the story, none of the characters can be blamed. This happens to us in our life always. Take what comes to us as gifts from God and be satisfied and contented. Again, the moral of the story is to lead a life in a rightful way ( path of Dharma).
Signing off for now,
Krishna
Monday, January 11, 2010
Hi Guys,
I hadn't realized that we are already 10 days into the new year. Days seem to fly past you. Tomorrow is the 12th of January and it is indeed an important date in the history of India. A hero was born on this day who inspired and continues to inspire thousands and thousands of people to realize the innate Divinity in one and all. He was the first true ambassador of India who represented our country on the world stage. He is none other than Swami Vivekananda.
Born as Narendranath Dutta on Jan 12, 1863, Naren was brilliant in school and college. But he had the strange quest for God. He did not believe in superstition and was always rational in his thinking. He always had two distinct visions in his dreams. He saw himself as a very successful and wealthy man with all the comforts in life and in the other case he saw himself as a wandering monk. He chose the latter and India will be ever grateful to him for that. His quest for God led him to Sri Ramakrishna. The love between the Guru and the disciple blossomed slowly but steadily. The disciple did not commit to Sri Ramakrishna like others did. He tested him and after being convinced of Master's Divinity gave himself wholeheartedly to Sri Ramakrishna and his Mission. He was a scholar par excellence and was a pillar of strength and courage to all the fellow disciples of the Master. He took over as their guardian after the Master's death. To understand the problems of the people and the country he traveled the length and breadth of the country. He realized that India was a spiritual Giant and had to be shaken from a dormant stage. He also understood that we were deeply struck in poverty and illiteracy, and spirituality would make no sense to hungry mouths. On Divine command , he set forth to the land of opportunity which represented the fanfare,vanity and richness in opulence. He worked extremely hard during his 2 year stay in USA & UK. He lectured on the ancient Vedantic Philosophy and set up centers of excellence in both the countries. He initiated many monks who are continuing the great legacy.
With the money he had earned by his lectures he started the Ramakrishna Mission and Ramakrishna Ashram independently. The former is the service wing of the organization while the latter being the spiritual. This tireless work had adverse affects on his health and he could only survive for 39 years. Millions of people have been benefited by the works of Ramakrishna Mission. He inspired people to aspire for God. He inspired people to aim for the true freedom. All great leaders of 20th century were truly inspired by him.
I want to end this post by a quote from Swami Vivekananda.
" It may be that I shall find it good to get outside my body-to cast it off like a worn out garment. But I shall not cease to work. I shall inspire men everywhere, until the world shall know that it is one with God."
"May I be born again and again and suffer thousands of miseries, so that I may worship the only God that exists, the only God I believe in, the sum total of all souls."
Swami Vivekananda suffered and sacrificed his whole life for the mankind. Let us all try to follow his teachings and improve ourselves as better human beings.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
I hadn't realized that we are already 10 days into the new year. Days seem to fly past you. Tomorrow is the 12th of January and it is indeed an important date in the history of India. A hero was born on this day who inspired and continues to inspire thousands and thousands of people to realize the innate Divinity in one and all. He was the first true ambassador of India who represented our country on the world stage. He is none other than Swami Vivekananda.
Born as Narendranath Dutta on Jan 12, 1863, Naren was brilliant in school and college. But he had the strange quest for God. He did not believe in superstition and was always rational in his thinking. He always had two distinct visions in his dreams. He saw himself as a very successful and wealthy man with all the comforts in life and in the other case he saw himself as a wandering monk. He chose the latter and India will be ever grateful to him for that. His quest for God led him to Sri Ramakrishna. The love between the Guru and the disciple blossomed slowly but steadily. The disciple did not commit to Sri Ramakrishna like others did. He tested him and after being convinced of Master's Divinity gave himself wholeheartedly to Sri Ramakrishna and his Mission. He was a scholar par excellence and was a pillar of strength and courage to all the fellow disciples of the Master. He took over as their guardian after the Master's death. To understand the problems of the people and the country he traveled the length and breadth of the country. He realized that India was a spiritual Giant and had to be shaken from a dormant stage. He also understood that we were deeply struck in poverty and illiteracy, and spirituality would make no sense to hungry mouths. On Divine command , he set forth to the land of opportunity which represented the fanfare,vanity and richness in opulence. He worked extremely hard during his 2 year stay in USA & UK. He lectured on the ancient Vedantic Philosophy and set up centers of excellence in both the countries. He initiated many monks who are continuing the great legacy.
With the money he had earned by his lectures he started the Ramakrishna Mission and Ramakrishna Ashram independently. The former is the service wing of the organization while the latter being the spiritual. This tireless work had adverse affects on his health and he could only survive for 39 years. Millions of people have been benefited by the works of Ramakrishna Mission. He inspired people to aspire for God. He inspired people to aim for the true freedom. All great leaders of 20th century were truly inspired by him.
I want to end this post by a quote from Swami Vivekananda.
" It may be that I shall find it good to get outside my body-to cast it off like a worn out garment. But I shall not cease to work. I shall inspire men everywhere, until the world shall know that it is one with God."
"May I be born again and again and suffer thousands of miseries, so that I may worship the only God that exists, the only God I believe in, the sum total of all souls."
Swami Vivekananda suffered and sacrificed his whole life for the mankind. Let us all try to follow his teachings and improve ourselves as better human beings.
Signing off for now,
Krishna
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