Bits And Pieces

He wears saffron robes. He has a HUGE fan following. He is almost never politically correct. And he swears by Pranayama as the cure to everything. He is Baba Ramdev. To be honest, i was a bit skeptical at first when my mother told me about him a few years ago. Another "poli saamiyar" (fake godman) i thought. Over the last few years though, from what i have seen and heard of him, my opinion has changed quite a bit. He is a Baba of the masses. Wherever he conducts his shivirs (workshops) on yoga, it is not only the affluent people, but also the "aam junta" who throng the place. He seems to have Utopian dreams for India. He follows a 2 pronged approach : 1. Popularization of Yoga in every nook and corner of India 2. Taking on national issues like corruption and poverty head on. It is no secret that he has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way with his comments on non-vegetarianism, soft drinks, homosexuality and supposed miracle cures for incurable diseases. But the fa...

Pattaasu = fire crackers I'm not talking about Diwali here. Everyone knows about Diwali. It is one of my favourite festivals ever. If you don't know, please find out about it from another source. It is very interesting. What i do mean to write about is the anticipated billion wala in our parliament. How would it be if Mukesh Ambani, the richest Indian (according to Forbes in 2010) were to donate his entire wealth for the good of the nation? The exchequer would earn 27 billion dollars! 1 US dollar = 44.2252 INR (as of 11/2/2010) so that makes it a whopping 1194.0804 billion rupees! Now, i've noticed that we Indians are more comfortable dealing with lakhs and crores rather than millions and billions. 1194.0804 billion rupees = 1194.0804*100 = 119408.04 crore rupees !!! That is one lakh nineteen thousand four hundred and eight crore rupees! Do you even realize how much that is??? Here is how a few standard numbers look against it : 10 -> ten 100 -> h...

Today is the day after Avani Avittam , and all Brahmin boys must chant the Gayathri mantra 1008 times. Yesterday was a college holiday. And today, courtesy the Brahmin boys, college is scheduled to start at 10:30 am instead of the usual 8:30. I woke up at 6:00 am because i forgot about the change in timings. I was hurrying about finishing my record work, when suddenly i realized that college was not for another 4 hours! I called a friend, and she asked me to switch on the tv and watch sun news. With a feeling of suppressed excitement i did so....and here's what was flashing on the screen- "bala mazhai kaaranathaal, chennaiyil palli kalloorigalukku vidumurai" (due to heavy rains, the state has declared a holiday for schools and colleges in Chennai). My joy knew no bounds and i started dancing around. My happiness was short lived. Although a nearby college followed the government order, my college did not think it necessary to do so. As a result, i have to attend classes, a...

After a lot of confusion we are finally leaving for our final year tour this evening. Still not sure how many are coming though. Too many add ons and cancellations! So obviously i had to start packing yesterday itself. No procrastinating here :) I have the perfect suitcase for the occasion, but it has a combination lock. And yes, you guessed right, i forgot the combination. Even my most meticulous dad hadn't noted down those blasted 3 numbers. I didn't have the patience to try out all thousand patterns. So i left it to my dad to figure out what to do. I think he was at it for more than an hour, when suddenly out of nowhere, one particular number(***) jumped at me and danced before my eyes. The last time i had used the suitcase was 5 years ago, and honest to God, i didn't remember what the combination was. There was no association that i could form with this ***, no reason for it to have popped into my head. It felt like i was inside one of those movies on marujanmam (rebirt...

I do a lot of meandering on the internet, somewhat like a cow let loose on the fields. On one such recent excursion i came across 'Poi' - A performance art which originated in New Zealand. It is a traditional art form of the Maori people. Check out this video : How cool was that! All it takes to get started are 2 identical weights tied to 2 same length strings. It is a lot of fun :) I've tried it and can actually perform some fancy moves :) Give it a shot when you are bored. It is not as tough as it looks, but not that easy either. Just make sure you don't take someone's eye out :)

Tomorrow, i have my university practical examination. Yet i feel compelled to put up this post. Otherwise, my head will surely burst. I've always been a great fan of Telugu films dubbed into Tamil. When i was very young, i sincerely adored 'Bhakta Prahalada' and would sing along with the 'Narayana mantram' song. Then came the various Amman films with the talking birds & beasts, the wonderful colours, the voodoo dolls, the magic, and not to forget, the superb graphics! But the best so far has to be the HORROR film Arundhati! They showed it on tv today. What is mere studies compared to the joy of watching such a great film! I've never seen a better film in my life! It had some really imaginative action sequences. like the one below. Watch closely from the 3rd minute. Awesome right? Now check this out from The House of Flying Daggers : The Arundhati people should definitely sue those guys for stealing their ideas, and that too before they could even implement t...

This poem is my excuse for a post. I've already shown it to a few. So nothing new for them. To the rest - It may not be much, but i felt whatever i wrote, and it gave ME some satisfaction. So here goes..... Dear God I think of you whenever i'm sane And all that you mean to me And though you know what's on my mind I still do wish to say I believe in you with all my heart Despite your mysterious ways I never fear to spread my wings You are there to break my fall Life's quite an ocean for me to cross Without you by my side I'm yet a child not knowing the way Please let me hold your hand The soul of my soul, you are a part of me And yet i cannot see you Though the heart believes my mind does question "What is it that you seek?" I know you are, but what are you? A question i cannot answer What am i but a speck of truth In a picture meant just for your eye Twas you that sowed the speck with life And watched the speck become me Tis you who enjoys watching me stru...

Uyyo!!! Whatte loooong break ;) "Sorry what did you say? Oh, my hibernation? Yeah, it was great :) " It's not like i was busy. Just that i was not able to come up with anything interesting, at least not for general public viewing ;) First let me try to be of some use here. Some books that i really liked and would suggest for a good read : The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger Tuesdays with Morris - Mitch Albom Some songs that i fell in love with which you might like : $ Ek meetha marz dene -> movie - Welcome to Sajjanpur (Hindi) $ Bheeni bheeni mehki mehki -> movie - Welcome to Sajjanpur (Hindi) $ Dúlaman -> Celtic Woman - A New Journey (Irish) $ Mar jawan -> movie - Fashion (Hindi) $ Picchai paathiram -> movie - Naan kadavul (Tamil) $ O my friend -> movie - Happy Days (Telugu) $ I love you more today than yesterday -> Spiral staircase (English) $ Kaise mujhe -> movie - Ghajini (Hindi) Oh My God!!!! Shreya Ghoshal WHAT A VOICE!!! Some...