हम आज भी शतरंज का खेल अकेले ही खेलते है
क्योंकी दोस्तो के खिलाफ चाल चलना हमे आता नही
(Forwarded)
क्योंकी दोस्तो के खिलाफ चाल चलना हमे आता नही
(Forwarded)
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Leaves Of Grass - by Walt Whitman
Songs Of Innocence - by William Blake
A Distant Music - by Emily Baxter
Songs Of Innocence - by William Blake
A Distant Music - by Emily Baxter
Supernatural - Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire (Season 11, Episode 1)
I almost missed this episode because till a day before AXN wasn't showing Supernatural in the TV Guide. At 5 minutes to 10 my phone chimed the reminder and I switched the channel in time to see the show begin.
Okay, I made a face when Crowley's spirit (do Kings of Hell have one?) left his body and entered a woman's. Cannot picture anyone else but Mark Sheppard as Crowley. Thank God (!) he returned before the episode ended though I am still wondering why he needed to switch bodies for a while. Two things kept me on the edge of the seat. One, I worried that the baby was going to die a horrible death - till the very end of the episode that is. And two, I worried that Sam was going to turn into one of the rabid zombies. Of course now that I know that the zombies have an expiry date I am sure the Winchesters will find a cure soon. I doubt we are going to lose Sam that easily.
But I don't like Castiel in his new avatar with bloodshot eyes. Why does he have to suffer in every season? :-(
Okay, I made a face when Crowley's spirit (do Kings of Hell have one?) left his body and entered a woman's. Cannot picture anyone else but Mark Sheppard as Crowley. Thank God (!) he returned before the episode ended though I am still wondering why he needed to switch bodies for a while. Two things kept me on the edge of the seat. One, I worried that the baby was going to die a horrible death - till the very end of the episode that is. And two, I worried that Sam was going to turn into one of the rabid zombies. Of course now that I know that the zombies have an expiry date I am sure the Winchesters will find a cure soon. I doubt we are going to lose Sam that easily.
But I don't like Castiel in his new avatar with bloodshot eyes. Why does he have to suffer in every season? :-(
The other day, I was reading a slideshow about Google as a workplace. Two points worth remembering for every Manager:
In his opinion managers, get involved with all kinds of tasks they shouldn’t because they have to believe they hired the best people for the job in the first place.
Employees learn best with two things: Immediate repetition of one particular skill as well as immediate feedback and course direction.
In his opinion managers, get involved with all kinds of tasks they shouldn’t because they have to believe they hired the best people for the job in the first place.
Employees learn best with two things: Immediate repetition of one particular skill as well as immediate feedback and course direction.
I couldn't help but smile at the following paragraph in "A Gathering Light":
What I saw next stopped me dead in my tracks. Books, hundreds of them. In crates. In piles on the floor. In bookcases that stretched from floor to ceiling and lined the entire room. I turned round and round in a slow circle, feeling as if I's just stumbled into Ali Baba's cave. I was breathless, close to tears, and positively dizzy with greed.
I would have felt exactly the same if I had stepped into a roomful of books like Mattie did. :-)
What I saw next stopped me dead in my tracks. Books, hundreds of them. In crates. In piles on the floor. In bookcases that stretched from floor to ceiling and lined the entire room. I turned round and round in a slow circle, feeling as if I's just stumbled into Ali Baba's cave. I was breathless, close to tears, and positively dizzy with greed.
I would have felt exactly the same if I had stepped into a roomful of books like Mattie did. :-)
And the following two paragraphs from the same book left me speechless:
I remained on the ladder, looking at the figurine in my hand. You're wrong, Aunt Josie, I thought. It's not pride I'm feeling. It's another sin. Worse than all the other ones, which are immediate, violent and hot. This one sits inside you quietly and eats you from the inside out. It's the Eighth Deadly Sin. The one God left out. Hope.
I remember staring at the lines. It is true what she says though I never thought of Hope like this.
I wondered if all those things were the best things to have or if it was better to have words and stories. Miss Wilcox had books but no family. Minnie had a family now, but those babies would keep her from reading for a good long time. Some people, like my aunt Josie had neither love nor books. Nobody I knew had both.
What can I say?
I remained on the ladder, looking at the figurine in my hand. You're wrong, Aunt Josie, I thought. It's not pride I'm feeling. It's another sin. Worse than all the other ones, which are immediate, violent and hot. This one sits inside you quietly and eats you from the inside out. It's the Eighth Deadly Sin. The one God left out. Hope.
I remember staring at the lines. It is true what she says though I never thought of Hope like this.
I wondered if all those things were the best things to have or if it was better to have words and stories. Miss Wilcox had books but no family. Minnie had a family now, but those babies would keep her from reading for a good long time. Some people, like my aunt Josie had neither love nor books. Nobody I knew had both.
What can I say?
Reader's Digest - Select Edition
Must say that if it were not for the Select Edition I wouldn't have read two of the books that I did.
One was "Up And Down In The Dales" by Gervase Phinn - a delightful account of a school inspector's life. It is a humorous take on the experiences of a person who has to visit schools and test children for their reading-writing skills. An absolute must-read for anyone who wants to read something which will leave him/her with a smile on lips and a heart full of happiness. I am definitely going to look out for more books of this author.
The second one was "A Gathering Light" by Jennifer Donnelly. This is a story of Mattie who lives in the American hinterlands but aspires to land in New York one day and writes books - though she knows that she will never be able to leave because she has promised her dying mom that she will look after her younger sisters. You get to read about the hardships of a farm life in the early parts of the 20th century, the trials suffered by families without a steady stream of income, their problems and their joys. There is another thread in the story - that of Grace Brown, a lady staying in the hotel Glenmore that Mattie works in. Grace goes for a boat ride in the nearby lake and drowns there while Mattie wonders what to do of the letters that Grace had given her to burn. I learnt later that Grace is based on a real-life character. You can read about her at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Grace_Brown but don't do this if you plan to read the book any day.
The rest of the two books in this Edition were "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown, which I had read earlier but enjoyed reading once again and "The Return Of The Dancing Master" by Henning Mankell - a crime story set against the backdrop of a WW2 chapter in Sweden's history that few people know about.
The last book in the previous edition that I had read was "Blood Is The Sky" by Steve Hamilton. This one has protagonist Alex McKnight combing the forests of northern Ontario to find out what happened to brother of his best friend. Hunters and tribe of Ojibwa Indians make for an unusal setting. Though it is not very hard to guess who killed Vinnie LeBlanc's brother it is not an easy job figuring out just why.
I now have another volume of Select Edition with me. One of the novels is by Clive Cussler and I am eager to find out what the other three are all about :-)
One was "Up And Down In The Dales" by Gervase Phinn - a delightful account of a school inspector's life. It is a humorous take on the experiences of a person who has to visit schools and test children for their reading-writing skills. An absolute must-read for anyone who wants to read something which will leave him/her with a smile on lips and a heart full of happiness. I am definitely going to look out for more books of this author.
The second one was "A Gathering Light" by Jennifer Donnelly. This is a story of Mattie who lives in the American hinterlands but aspires to land in New York one day and writes books - though she knows that she will never be able to leave because she has promised her dying mom that she will look after her younger sisters. You get to read about the hardships of a farm life in the early parts of the 20th century, the trials suffered by families without a steady stream of income, their problems and their joys. There is another thread in the story - that of Grace Brown, a lady staying in the hotel Glenmore that Mattie works in. Grace goes for a boat ride in the nearby lake and drowns there while Mattie wonders what to do of the letters that Grace had given her to burn. I learnt later that Grace is based on a real-life character. You can read about her at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Grace_Brown but don't do this if you plan to read the book any day.
The rest of the two books in this Edition were "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown, which I had read earlier but enjoyed reading once again and "The Return Of The Dancing Master" by Henning Mankell - a crime story set against the backdrop of a WW2 chapter in Sweden's history that few people know about.
The last book in the previous edition that I had read was "Blood Is The Sky" by Steve Hamilton. This one has protagonist Alex McKnight combing the forests of northern Ontario to find out what happened to brother of his best friend. Hunters and tribe of Ojibwa Indians make for an unusal setting. Though it is not very hard to guess who killed Vinnie LeBlanc's brother it is not an easy job figuring out just why.
I now have another volume of Select Edition with me. One of the novels is by Clive Cussler and I am eager to find out what the other three are all about :-)
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Talakkad and Malangi (Ekaant, Epic Channel, 8 October 2015)
The Ganga is considered as the holiest of the rivers in North India. It is said that you need to take but one dip in the river to cleanse away all the sins done in the lifetime. In the southern part of the country, the Kaveri enjoys same importance. There is one very interesting legend about this 765 Km long river. It is said that in the months of October-November Kaveri and Ganga meet underground so that Ganga, which is tainted with peoples' sins can cleanse herself with the help of Kaveri. :-)
Kaveri is one of the most ancient rivers of South India. More than 100 tributaries join her at various points of her journey. The river has 3 islands - the most important of them is Shrirangapattanam - the very place where Tipu Sultan and his father HaiderAli fought 4 battles. Tipu had conquered this region from the Wodiyar dynasty of Mysore. The Wodiyars had been ruling since 14th century. When the British defeated Tipu they handed Mysore's control back to the Wodiyars.
Throughout the centuries, the ShriRanganathSwami temple of Shrirangapattanam has been conducting Pooja of RanganathSwami who is considered to be the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu. The Wodiyar dynasty has donated generously to this temple. There is a fascinating legend associated with this temple and the Wodiyar dynasty. It is said that this legend explains the 3 events which have been occurring to this very day:
The Wodiyar dynasty kings are not blessed with any child since past 19 generations.
A nearby village called Malangi is being slowly destroyed by Kavery.
The village of Talakkad, about 45 Kms away, has been buried under layers of sand.
And it is believed that a 400-year old curse is behind all this. So what is the story?
Talakkad is probably the only Sand Dune in Kaveri. It is made of sand flying through air. As per a book written by a historian in 1951, in a year about 12 feet of sand collected in this place. People believe that if any excavation is carried out here, it is possible that an ancient civilization like the Indus valley may emerge. The 4-5 temples that can be seen here today have been excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India. Those in the know say that there might be more such temples buried beneath all this sand. Based on the excavation done so far it can be said that the civilization here was spread in an area of 3-4 Kms. Along with Hindu and Jain religion, Budhhism was also being followed. It can be deduced that more than 1500 families used to call it a home.
There is one temple here - Vaidyeshwar temple. Anyone looking at this temple would know that there was no sand here when it was constructed. This huge stone structure could only have been constructed on solid earth, not on sand. Then where did all this sand come from? Especially when there is no ocean about. A person called Rachaiya, who stays in a nearby village, told the program anchor the story of the curse which is said to be the cause of all this mayhem.
A woman called Aalamelamma, who used to be a queen once, is responsible for this curse. And an event of immense historical significance is behind this legend. This event was responsible for annexing Talakkas and Mysore to the Wodiyar empire. As mentioned before, Wodiyars had been ruling over Mysore since the 14th century. At that time Mysore was but a small kingdom that was part of the Vijayanagar empire. The adjoining kingdom of Shrirangapattanam was much bigger than Mysore. In 1565, Vijayanagar was destroyed and the region's political scene underwent a major shift. Shrirangapattanam was then ruled by King Rangarai (who was also called as Tirumalarai). He was paranoid about the other kingdoms attacking him. So he started calling these kings for Navaratri Pooja and killing them. Mysore's Wodiyar king caught wind of it and made sure that he didn't fall into the trap. Then he attacked Shrirangapattanam and conquered it. King Rangarai was killed in this battle. His wife, Aalamelamma, shifted to the nearby village of Malangi. She was an ardent fan of the deity that was considered to be the consort of Lord ShriRanganathSwami. The temple of this deity, AadirangaMandir, is still considered among one of the most important temples of South India. In those days, every Tuesday and Friday, an Aarti of the deity used to be performed. And the idol used to be decked in the finest of the jewelries. After the ceremony was over these jewellery used to be handed over to Aalamelamma for safe-keeping. When she shifted to Malangi she took all this jewellery with her. After the battle was over, the temple priests went to the Wodiyar king and requested to get this jewellery back. The king sent his people to Malangi but Aalamelamma handed over only one nose-ring made of pearls but refused to give anything else back.The king was enraged at this blatant disregard of his diktat. He ordered his men not to come back without taking all the jewellery into custody. When the king's men came for her for the second time she was in Talakkad, which was her birthplace. She jumped into the river along with all jewellery and committed suicide, but not before uttering terrible curses:
May the Wodiyar dynasty never be blessed with children.
May Malangi be swallowed by Kaveri.
May Talakkad be buried under sand.
It is said that since then Talakkas began to be covered by sand. Malangi began to be slowly destroyed by the fast current and whirlpools in Kaveri and since past 400 years every second generation Wodiyar king is childless.
So what do the scientists and historians have to say about this?
History says that at the beginning of the 17th century there was a great famine in India. The water level went down considerably in Kaveri and whatever was left was obstructed by the dam that was constructed in the 14th century. Because of this the fine sand in the riverbed started getting blowe by the wind. Since the wind was moving from the south, the sand started getting deposited in Talakkad, slowly burying it.
Now as far as Malangi goes, the Kaveri river has an elbow bend near it. The fast-flowing water is eroding the riverbank and the village situated on it. Th whirlpools originate because of the huge boulders in the riverbed.
Okay, so did the legend of the curse came into being because the people at that time couldn't have known about the scientific reasons behind these 2 events? Or were the scientific explanations were given later in a bid to check the superstitious ideas? What then is the explanation behind the Wodiyar dynasty being childless? After all it is also said that the Wodiyar king had kept an idol of Aalamelamma in his Mysore palace and even in this day and age a pooja is conducted in the hope that her soul will find peace and the curse will be lifted.
Wait a minute! Didn't the curse say that none of the Wodiyar Kings will be blessed with a child? Then what is this about every 2nd generation king being childless? If you think again, you will realize that when a king adopts a child, the curse doesn't apply to the child because he wasn't originally a king. But the son of this adopted king is a prince and hence subject to the curse. Sounds rather silly to believe this but it has really been happening since past 400 years. Even when the last Wodiyar king, Shrikant Datt, died in 2013, he didn't have a child to succeed him. So what does science have to say about this?
Some people do have a theory about this as well. They say that since the kings get married in their own families, they suffer from a biological defect called Inbreeding Depression. And that's the reason for their childlessness. Some people also say that when the British started applying their Doctrine of Lapse in India, the Wodiyars themselves spread rumors about this curse in an attempt to save their kingdom from falling into the British hands.
Whatever the reasons, this story about Talakkad, Malangi and the Wodiyar kings is indeed fascinating!
Kaveri is one of the most ancient rivers of South India. More than 100 tributaries join her at various points of her journey. The river has 3 islands - the most important of them is Shrirangapattanam - the very place where Tipu Sultan and his father HaiderAli fought 4 battles. Tipu had conquered this region from the Wodiyar dynasty of Mysore. The Wodiyars had been ruling since 14th century. When the British defeated Tipu they handed Mysore's control back to the Wodiyars.
Throughout the centuries, the ShriRanganathSwami temple of Shrirangapattanam has been conducting Pooja of RanganathSwami who is considered to be the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu. The Wodiyar dynasty has donated generously to this temple. There is a fascinating legend associated with this temple and the Wodiyar dynasty. It is said that this legend explains the 3 events which have been occurring to this very day:
The Wodiyar dynasty kings are not blessed with any child since past 19 generations.
A nearby village called Malangi is being slowly destroyed by Kavery.
The village of Talakkad, about 45 Kms away, has been buried under layers of sand.
And it is believed that a 400-year old curse is behind all this. So what is the story?
Talakkad is probably the only Sand Dune in Kaveri. It is made of sand flying through air. As per a book written by a historian in 1951, in a year about 12 feet of sand collected in this place. People believe that if any excavation is carried out here, it is possible that an ancient civilization like the Indus valley may emerge. The 4-5 temples that can be seen here today have been excavated by the Archaeological Survey of India. Those in the know say that there might be more such temples buried beneath all this sand. Based on the excavation done so far it can be said that the civilization here was spread in an area of 3-4 Kms. Along with Hindu and Jain religion, Budhhism was also being followed. It can be deduced that more than 1500 families used to call it a home.
There is one temple here - Vaidyeshwar temple. Anyone looking at this temple would know that there was no sand here when it was constructed. This huge stone structure could only have been constructed on solid earth, not on sand. Then where did all this sand come from? Especially when there is no ocean about. A person called Rachaiya, who stays in a nearby village, told the program anchor the story of the curse which is said to be the cause of all this mayhem.
A woman called Aalamelamma, who used to be a queen once, is responsible for this curse. And an event of immense historical significance is behind this legend. This event was responsible for annexing Talakkas and Mysore to the Wodiyar empire. As mentioned before, Wodiyars had been ruling over Mysore since the 14th century. At that time Mysore was but a small kingdom that was part of the Vijayanagar empire. The adjoining kingdom of Shrirangapattanam was much bigger than Mysore. In 1565, Vijayanagar was destroyed and the region's political scene underwent a major shift. Shrirangapattanam was then ruled by King Rangarai (who was also called as Tirumalarai). He was paranoid about the other kingdoms attacking him. So he started calling these kings for Navaratri Pooja and killing them. Mysore's Wodiyar king caught wind of it and made sure that he didn't fall into the trap. Then he attacked Shrirangapattanam and conquered it. King Rangarai was killed in this battle. His wife, Aalamelamma, shifted to the nearby village of Malangi. She was an ardent fan of the deity that was considered to be the consort of Lord ShriRanganathSwami. The temple of this deity, AadirangaMandir, is still considered among one of the most important temples of South India. In those days, every Tuesday and Friday, an Aarti of the deity used to be performed. And the idol used to be decked in the finest of the jewelries. After the ceremony was over these jewellery used to be handed over to Aalamelamma for safe-keeping. When she shifted to Malangi she took all this jewellery with her. After the battle was over, the temple priests went to the Wodiyar king and requested to get this jewellery back. The king sent his people to Malangi but Aalamelamma handed over only one nose-ring made of pearls but refused to give anything else back.The king was enraged at this blatant disregard of his diktat. He ordered his men not to come back without taking all the jewellery into custody. When the king's men came for her for the second time she was in Talakkad, which was her birthplace. She jumped into the river along with all jewellery and committed suicide, but not before uttering terrible curses:
May the Wodiyar dynasty never be blessed with children.
May Malangi be swallowed by Kaveri.
May Talakkad be buried under sand.
It is said that since then Talakkas began to be covered by sand. Malangi began to be slowly destroyed by the fast current and whirlpools in Kaveri and since past 400 years every second generation Wodiyar king is childless.
So what do the scientists and historians have to say about this?
History says that at the beginning of the 17th century there was a great famine in India. The water level went down considerably in Kaveri and whatever was left was obstructed by the dam that was constructed in the 14th century. Because of this the fine sand in the riverbed started getting blowe by the wind. Since the wind was moving from the south, the sand started getting deposited in Talakkad, slowly burying it.
Now as far as Malangi goes, the Kaveri river has an elbow bend near it. The fast-flowing water is eroding the riverbank and the village situated on it. Th whirlpools originate because of the huge boulders in the riverbed.
Okay, so did the legend of the curse came into being because the people at that time couldn't have known about the scientific reasons behind these 2 events? Or were the scientific explanations were given later in a bid to check the superstitious ideas? What then is the explanation behind the Wodiyar dynasty being childless? After all it is also said that the Wodiyar king had kept an idol of Aalamelamma in his Mysore palace and even in this day and age a pooja is conducted in the hope that her soul will find peace and the curse will be lifted.
Wait a minute! Didn't the curse say that none of the Wodiyar Kings will be blessed with a child? Then what is this about every 2nd generation king being childless? If you think again, you will realize that when a king adopts a child, the curse doesn't apply to the child because he wasn't originally a king. But the son of this adopted king is a prince and hence subject to the curse. Sounds rather silly to believe this but it has really been happening since past 400 years. Even when the last Wodiyar king, Shrikant Datt, died in 2013, he didn't have a child to succeed him. So what does science have to say about this?
Some people do have a theory about this as well. They say that since the kings get married in their own families, they suffer from a biological defect called Inbreeding Depression. And that's the reason for their childlessness. Some people also say that when the British started applying their Doctrine of Lapse in India, the Wodiyars themselves spread rumors about this curse in an attempt to save their kingdom from falling into the British hands.
Whatever the reasons, this story about Talakkad, Malangi and the Wodiyar kings is indeed fascinating!
Waffle House, R-City Mall
I didn't want to go for ice-cream or for any Indian sweets for that matter. That left only one destination - The Waffle House (in the foot court). Though I have eaten waffles before, I haven't sampled them in a stick format. Their menu is very interesting so it was hard to make a choice. Finally, we chose Banoffee Pie and Nutella Love.
It was fun to watch the guys at the counter make waffles and then add other ingredients to them. When our waffles were ready I couldn't wait to taste.
First about the Banoffee Pie - the banana and caramel sauce was yummy but I wish they had put more of it on the waffle. The waffle needs to be soaked in it through and through. I don't much care for dry waffle :-( The Nutella Love had fared much better in that area.
I am not too crazy about the stick form however. It is messy and not very convenient to eat. Next time I am going to order from their sundae menu.
 |
| Banoffee Pie |
 |
| Banoffee Pie and Nutella Love |
First about the Banoffee Pie - the banana and caramel sauce was yummy but I wish they had put more of it on the waffle. The waffle needs to be soaked in it through and through. I don't much care for dry waffle :-( The Nutella Love had fared much better in that area.
I am not too crazy about the stick form however. It is messy and not very convenient to eat. Next time I am going to order from their sundae menu.
California Pizza Kitchen, High Street Phoenix
Whenever we visit this place, we seem to order their Thai Crunch Salad/ BBQ Chicken Salad and Fire Roasted Vegetable pizza. This time around I had made up my mind to go for something different. So we chose Californian Club Pizza and Garlic Cream Fettuccine.
The Californian Club Pizza was perfect - chicken, crispy bacon, lots of fresh lettuce and tomato with a tasty guacamole spread on top. The pasta was yummy too.
I wonder if we were lucky in our choices or everything on the menu is good. I suspect it is the latter.
 |
| Californian Club Pizza |
 |
| Garlic Cream Fettuccine |
I wonder if we were lucky in our choices or everything on the menu is good. I suspect it is the latter.
The Bowl House, R-City Mall
When it comes to food, this mall spoils you for choice for sure. I debated for quite some time between going to the Village or The Banana Leaf and then happened to pass by The Bowl House. The menu was a mix of dishes from Malaysia, Korea and Japan. Why not give it a try?
So we went in, perused the menu and ordered Chicken Chilli and Chicken Teriyaki with Udon noodles. The Chicken Chilli took me back to my childhood days as it tasted a bit like the chilli chicken we used to have in Worli's Flora restaurant. For years, I have been searching for the same flavor across restaurants without success. Can't say this one was an exact match but it was close enough to remind me of Flora. :-)
This was very first encounter with the Udon noodles. Can't say I can find fault with their taste. The texture might come across as a bit heavy for those of us used to thinner Chinese noodles. The flavor was very good but I couldn't help but notice that their appearance was eerily similar to that of the insects that are shown crawling over plates of leftover food in science-fiction or horror movies, especially when you pick up a spoonful and the rest slide over each other in the plate. I don't think I am ordering Udon noodles anytime soon.
The seating arrangement was fine. The service was prompt and courteous. Definitely worth more visits to sample more of their menu.
So we went in, perused the menu and ordered Chicken Chilli and Chicken Teriyaki with Udon noodles. The Chicken Chilli took me back to my childhood days as it tasted a bit like the chilli chicken we used to have in Worli's Flora restaurant. For years, I have been searching for the same flavor across restaurants without success. Can't say this one was an exact match but it was close enough to remind me of Flora. :-)
This was very first encounter with the Udon noodles. Can't say I can find fault with their taste. The texture might come across as a bit heavy for those of us used to thinner Chinese noodles. The flavor was very good but I couldn't help but notice that their appearance was eerily similar to that of the insects that are shown crawling over plates of leftover food in science-fiction or horror movies, especially when you pick up a spoonful and the rest slide over each other in the plate. I don't think I am ordering Udon noodles anytime soon.
The seating arrangement was fine. The service was prompt and courteous. Definitely worth more visits to sample more of their menu.
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