" The Extent of Ignorance of 'Blind believes' is Insane"

The Sorry State of Indian Culture and magnetization towards popular culture has lead me to key in this Post.

The greatest problem of the present generation is following the herd towards something which is always in the eye without an iota of questioning the sanity of anything that one is following,
the frozen belief or should it be called "ignorance"- that whatever the yester year predecessors of ours followed was a Myth and blind belief which needs no questioning, far from being followed.

One simple Fact that i would like to quote regarding the practice that has been followed by our ancestors which was never even inquired is "Why do we eat with our bare hands ???" this was never supposed to be even thought of when i inquired with some learned intellectuals or peers the answer was very scientific and logical which amazed me,

When i used to think that eating with 'spoon and fork and what not' was a symbol of modernization of the so called modern folks because this is followed in all other populist countries apart from india.

Everybody looks down on you when you eat in india with you bare hands in some prestigious gatherings of the corporate world [ i have never been able to understand what is the meaning of prestigious in indian context ] even though we are not in a country that doesn't follow this as a practice.

The simple reasons why its followed is that - the food tastes better, when you touch the food with your fingers the brain evaluates - how hot is the food; what is the amount of chewing in the mouth needs to do.

probably some humanities and social sciences or Biology folks can do a survey/study with people who have never eaten food with their bare hands and report to clear the air of ignorance.

The category of people mentioned in the beginning would not agree with me;
i never would want others or myself to believe about whatever is said.

So i inquired it with a swedish friend of mine regarding this -

when i asked him "Have you ever eaten food with your bare hands?", he said "No, i usually dont but only once when i was in Thailand recently i had to eat with bare hands".

I asked "how did you feel was there any difference?". He replied "Yes!".
I said "Ok what is the difference". The answer was "It Tasted Better".
then i said to him in india we normally eat with bare hands and quoted him the reason.
He said that sounds reasonable and logical.

Things like these are many which we never care to inquire the reason which i have figured out is

-A two generation gap of lack of inquiry our fathers and forefathers were insisted by their forefathers that you should just follow, you should not ask because they never asked hence the reasons were lost in the middle and were never passed on, resulting in the present day to be termed as blind believes and practices.

which has brought us to this sorry state where we think that all practices that are followed in india are blind believes, which have no logical reason.

i always say to myself " I don't know what i don't know " so i would insist that one should try to inquire before coming to any conclusion regarding
whatever is insisted by the elders is baseless following something is an individual's choice but terming it to be gaudy and nomadic is insane.

The power of inquiry had led the human race to current superiority which is sadly lacking in the present generation of india and since we can only give what we have, i am afraid it will not be passed on to the next generation.

Which will result in lost identity we would never know what we have lost because of our ignorance.

So I urge all independent variables to give it a thought on what are you passing on to your next generation.

Do inquire never blindly follow or disregard something that has been practiced for Ages i do agree that there are some practices which don't have any sense.
which are the result of people who are like the spike of noise in any system which are a part and parcel of any system.

Another practice that i would like to quote which i have read and it amazed me.

This is relates to the female folks; who i believe have completely lost the importance of their existence, any culture whichever one considers has a strong base has always regarded the female sex as superior be it paganism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism etc etc., for the simple reason that they carry the onus of life giving or progeny.

Quoting from the Vedas
" Yatr Naareh' pujyantee Ramantee Tatr Devatha ha" - which literally translates to "As long as women are worshiped there shall exists divinity".

If one recalls any of our aunts or cousins or friends (female) practicing any Vrathas' - where in they are asked to wake up early in the morning take bath and visit the banyan tree with statues of gods around it;
Revolve around in whatever numbers which is irrelevant for a period of a month,
and she would be told that 'if she does this she will be able to conceive a child'.

Sounds Silly isn't it ???
even to me, but if we dig and try to find what might be the reason we might have to eat our words,

Thats the beauty of the indian practices; i wouldn't say hindu religion because Hinduism is not a religion but a western term to identify the people of the region near the river sindhu/saraswathi [ now dried up which flowed from Himalayas through pakistan into arabian sea ] .

The reason for this strange practice insisted to married woman with no children is the oxygen released by banyan tree in the early mornings can stimulate brain cells to release increased amounts of estrogen [ a sex hormone in females ] which can be helpful for conceiving, and the month logic is with respect to the menstrual cycle in females, which would be corrected with the stimulation of this hormone in the body.

Its so graveous that we instead of inquiring the reasons; term them as stupid.

All science, physics, logical has been oversimplified by our forefathers into practices, now termed as religious practices and blind believes because of gap in inquiry and some amount of weed that has added in.

I hope the independent variables who happen to read this post;
start to give some work to those other wise useless brain cells, in the way of realizing the greatest treasure this special place we inherit has given us.

Thanks for reading!!!

The Pain and Pleasure of Lost of Found

Independent variable would like to put you- through a situation which i have gone through very recently.

Here goes the situation " Assume " [the very word which has been used so many times during all my engineering life].

Assume that you are at the fag end of a tiring week of preparation and stress; finally you finish the assigned task to you; with some element of satisfaction that the task at hand is finally over,
then comes the moment to re-charge yourselves by putting some fuel in the form of food into those hungry cells of your body.How pleasing to have some food after a hopeless diet for 3 long days on just slices of plain bread and water ?

you are just sailing in the thought of a satisfying meal - commuting in the free shuttle service inside the university -which is 350 Acres of huge uneven; hilly landscape with scorching heat of 30 degrees and humid.

As every journey no mater how short or how long would come to an end; like wise this short journey also came to an end at a stop.
You are about to get down but your conscious says you are missing something!!! you just ignore it as weird, saying to yourselves "i have everything intact!! " . You get out of the bus and as soon as the bus moves away;the strange feeling of emptiness amplifies, making you to think what is that you are missing ??, you start to check and the first thing you think of is ????

THE WALLET !!! Yess Oh NOOOO you don't have your wallet, the wallet which holds your visa, debit cards, identity card has vanished.; you make all the calls and wait for the bus to return after 20 mins check at the bus you dont find your wallet.

the painful process of revamping to normal is hard, you call the banks and block the cards; get the new card; you don't have your university ID which is the access to your lab; so you apply for a new one with a hefty fee!.
Its illegal to stay without a visa; so you visit the police station to lodge a report.

Describing the police station briefly; A corporate office is the nearest and appropriate approximation; Yes! its just like a corporate office you get a visit pass at the entrance you are attended by the officer just like the receptionist at the office you sit and sign the fully compiled report: "there you go sir! its noted down if its reported to be found we will intimate you, thank you". such a pleasant experience at a police station could never be imagined in INDIA for sure.
[-will pen one of my room mate's experience at an indian police station soon]

Next Day you hope and pray that you get the wallet! some angel gets it for you and deposits at the police station or the university. reality: "Sorry No luck!!!".

Eight days go by, you have come back into the grove of normal routine with pecking traces of the past, thinking of the lost object. Its so true that "the value of the present holding can only be felt with the pain of the lost in past tense".

Ten days go by, Nothing shows up you have no option but to report at the immigration for re-applying for the visa, you visit the immigration office;

WOW how is this immigration office?; A well structured floor wise segregation of the various services 1st floor General inquiry : where a female sits so patiently and answers with equanimity no matter how many times you ask the same question [ jog back in your memory and think of your interaction at a public office in india]. 2nd floor Passport application , 3rd Citizeship services and the 4th floor foreign services you obtain a ticket at the entrance of each floor and wait for your turn which is invariably 10-15 mins at spacious lounge with sufficient seats to rest. you are attended at one of the 35 counters with at most respect and hospitality [ which most of my fellow countrymen would agree is a thing of rarity in indian government offices back home ].

You are given an appointment to collect the new visa in 2 weeks time with a big hole in your pocket which has no wallet.

Fifteen days roll. you have forgot all the dark shades of events unfolding for the past fortnight.
You board another route bus in the university campus, your mind recalls the unfortunate start of the string of events which started in the same vicinity; it takes you to the same seat where you sat a fortnight ago; deep within some thing says search around.
But the brain says " are you insane that was 15 days back dude do you think you will still find your wallet ?"

the eyes start wandering around the window side seat in the crevices of the seat and the Bus body you find something stuck !!!

Oh My GOD!!!!!! its your own lost BLACK wallet $$$$. Untouched, unfluttered everything intact with every dime.

but the time and requisite have replenished your lost necessities. you feel happy, you feel sad
its a mixed bag of feelings thanking the unknown force, same time cursing your own ignorance saying- "you should have searched properly!".

you spend a moment of relief a non feeling state------- Slowly sinking into reality.

This is the pain of lost and the pleasure of finding back!

-Good Day

An Evening with " Dr. APJ ABDUL KALAM

The stage was set for His highness or rather the most simple selfless ever working man i have seen in my life; to visit our campus for receiving Honorary Doctorate in Engineering
The moment i say i got fortune of a life time to meet Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam friends have been asking me- "Wow how was the experience ?" , "Hey did you really meet him?", " Great how was he?"..... and so on.
So i key down the most cherished moment of my life in this post.
Here goes the sequence of events:

We go to the venue dressed completely in formals [ first time i went in complete formals to the university] the scheduled time for the commencement of the event was 6 PM Local Time, but we were so excited that i and a bunch of like minded were there in the lobby of the auditorium at 5 Pm.
First Look: One of the security officials asks me "Are you here to meet Dr. APJ ?" i was so excited since it was an hour early and the place looked deserted with only cops settting up their metal detectors and various security arrangements in place, I enquired back skeptically " Has he come already " the reply was affirmative and with in No time the head of the security officials Echoes back into his Communicator "Lobby Clear" and elevator door opens and I saw impeccably dressed as ever, in black suit with shining white hair just like his wisdom; in uniquely combed style, beaky nosed Dr. APJ waving at us !!!! i alerted my friends "Hey See there". That was the first look at the "Missile Man of India" -I skipped a hear beat.

I was replaying the moment in my memory for a few minutes and then the security team were all set to allow us into the auditorium and i was the first to enter the auditorium [proof to your right]

The ceremony kicked off with the packed auditorium in the meticulous fashion as ever as if some one has programmed it with no bugs.

If you have time you can have a look at the ceremony video which is the courtesy of NTU website.

SINGAPORE-THE FABRIC WOVEN BY CONTRASTING CULTURES

DISCLAIMER: Opinions are like Watches each one has one and thinks "Mine is showing the right time". Below is my opinion it might not be right but this is how i look at the glass its half full for me. [Assuming that chinese and indians form the significant population of this small country]

This post of mine shall be about the the two neighboring states whose cultures have same origin yet they have a difference of light years.

I am fortunate to have a peek at both sides of the coin.
I happen to be witness of this mere incident that gave me vital insights of the yawning difference in the mindset of the people who are the citizens of the two most promising economies.

I was at the convocation of my friend at NTU which ended with snacks, i got to see this incident, here it goes: "There were Indians who were abandoning their used plates wherever they could think no one else would see them leaving and there was a professor who was chinese; seeing a fork on the floor which others were willfully ignoring, picked it up and dropped it into the trash can-its rightful place". Inference is self explanatory.

I witnessed people following the rules on the road just as one brushes his/her teeth; its so natural and its seems so organized and fascinating to look at and admire, to be a part of. which can even be done in India or any other country for that matter but its by birth, we find the illogical reasoning so natural to pass the onus/blame to "xyz". I wish some day that every city in my country, every citizen of my nation adopt this attitude.

The whole city looks so clean and litter free its proud thing for any resident to boast of, However i do not nullify that my fellow Indians don't have this sense, but there are not enough trash cans on the Indian streets to dispose the litter and adding salt to the wound is the ever increasing population.

Further, as the say nothing is ideal in this world i would like to jolt down some not so good things as well, These people have been virtually invaded by the western influence they are more liberalized in so called "western sense" when it comes to their attire.They are far from satisfaction when it comes to communication; they get very skeptical and over-cautious if any stranger approaches them.Also they are not so energy conscious [ not sure where we stand ] because i have seen lot of vehicles turned on with driver on a stroll.

Above were the few observations i could make during my brief stay here so far
Concluding i quote Shakespeare "There is nothing bad or good in this world; its all how One sees it". So every place and its inhabitants have something at offer for -to learn and adopt either good or bad . So, the onus is with the individual like an independent variable to take either negative or a positive value. I have taken the positives what would you like to have ???

[to be continued]

- Tamasoma Jyothirgamaya

ಕಾಣದ ಕಿರಣ.......

"ಬಾನಂಗಳದಿ ಉದಯಿಸದ ತಾರೆಯೊಂದ ಕಂಡೆ ನಾ;
ತೇಲುವ ಮೋಡಗಳಲಿ ತುಂಬಿರುವ ಹನಿಗಲಿ ಮಿಂದೆ ನಾ;
ತಾಯ್ಕಣ್ಣಲಿ ಜನಿಸದ ಶಿಶುವಿಗೆ ಮಮತೆಯ ನೋಡಿ ಬೆರಗಾದೆ ನಾ;
ಜ್ಯಾನಿಯ ಕೈ ಲೇಖನಿಯಲಿರುವ ಶಬ್ದ ಸಾಗರದಿ ಮಿಂದೆ ನಾ;"

"ಜನಿಸಿದ ತಾರೆಯ ಮುಚ್ಚಿದ ಮಾಲಿನ್ಯದ ಮೋಡಕೆ ನಿಂದಿಸಿದೆ ನಾ;
ಕಲುಷಿತ ಕಾಲದಲಿ ಕಾರ್ಮೋಡಗಳ ಹುಡುಕಿದೆ ನಾ;
ಸೌಂದರ್ಯ ಸೆರೆಯಲಿ ಕ್ಷಿಣ್ಣಿಸಿದ ವಾತ್ಸಲ್ಯಕೆ ನೊಂದೆ ನಾ;
ಧನದ ಅಲ್ಪಮೋಹಕೆ ಅಡಯಿಟ್ಟ ಜ್ಞಾನಕೆ ಶಪಿಸಿದೆ ನಾ;"

ಈ ಅಲೆಗಳಲಿ ಸಿಲುಕಿದ ಬುಧಿಗೆ
ಬಂದೊದಗಿತ್ತು ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಯೊಂದು ಹೀಗೆ
ಹಿಡಿಯಿಥೆ ಹುಚ್ಹು ನಿನಗೆ ?
ನಗುತ ನಾ ಉತ್ತರಸಿದೆ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗೆ ??
ಮೊದಲನೆಯದ ಕರೆದೆನಾ "ಆಶಾ ಕಿರಣವೆಂದು"[Hope]
ಎರಡನೆಯದು ಪ್ರಸ್ತುಥಿಯಲಿ[present] "ಅದರ ಮರಣವೆಂದು" [Dead Hope]

ಕರುನಾಡ ತಾಯಿ ಸದಾ ಚಿನ್ಮಯಿ........

"ಆ ನಾಡು ನನ್ನ ತಾಯ್ನನಾಡು ಅದನಾ ಹೇಗೆತಾನೆ ಮರಯಲಿ"
"ಆ ನನ್ನ ಜನರ ಜಗ್ಗುಲಿ, ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಬರಿ ಯಂತ್ರದ ಧಾನ್ದಲಿ;
ಆ ನನ್ನ ಊರ ಸಂಪಿಗೆಯಾ ಸುವಾಸನೆ, ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಾಣಿ ಪಕ್ಷಿಗಳ ಪಕ್ವದ ದುರ್ವಾಸನೆ;
ಆ ನನ್ನ ಸುಮಧುರ ಕನ್ನಡ ನುಡಿ, ಇಲ್ಲಿ ತಿಳಿಯಲಾರದ ಸ್ವರಗಳ ಛಡಿ;
ಆ ನನ್ನ ತವರಿನ ನಿಷ್ಕಲ್ಮಶ ನಾರಿ, ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಆಧುನಿಕತೆಯಿಂದ ತತ್ತರಿಸಿರುವ ಕುವರಿ;
ಆ ನನ್ನ ಬಾಂದವ್ಯಗಳ ಹೂಮಾಲೆ, ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಸ್ವಾರ್ಥದ ಸೇರಮಾಲೆ;
ಓ ವಿಧಿಯೇ ಪ್ರಗಥಿಯಂಬ ಹೆಸರಿನಲಿ ನೀ ಎನ್ನ ಎಲ್ಲಿ ತಂದು ನಿಂದೆ.."