Musings

I am convinced more than ever that what I have always suspected is true "MY MIND IS MY BIGGEST ENEMY".

Its been there since childhood. I will not think the best but the worst. And the point is it has seldom happened but still I just cant control my mind.

Some people fear that others mock them. I fear my mind. It mocks me at every moment, convinces me all is for nothing and hammers in my head that I am making a caricature of myself.

There are times when in my head there are two people , haranguing with each other. Its like Jekyl and Hide arguing with each wins. Sanity still wins but the insane part ratlles the sane part a bit more each time.

Why the strong emotions? It was all happy till about two hours back and a small sentence then set off a bomb inside me.

Suddenly one feels like snapping at everyone. The sane part knows how incorrect it is and tries to bring back the state to normal but its impossible. Thankfully I am in a hostel where I can hide in my room but if I was with company I could say unforgivable words. That's the devil inside roaring out.

But then emotions make us human. The trick must therefore lie in hiding the dangerous ones.

And if one fails then..... Prozac Zindabad

Benazir Bhutto Dead

The latest news to come out of Pakistan confirms that Benazir Bhutto has died from injuries sustained in a suicide attack on her rally. If true and assuming it to be so, it signals a serious rise in level of conflict in Pakistan.

The signs are all there. Now there can be no short-term peace. The war in Pakistan has started. People could argue that we dont know who are the culprits and the blame cannot thus be appropriated but I am going to for the time-being assume that the culprits are the militant groups which have been so active recently. One problem however is that its been reported that she was shot in the head and neck. I am willing to accept that no one can stop a determine suicide bomber from blowing himself up but how the hell did a shooter get so close. Where was security.

The waves of suicide attacks that we saw recently are very likely to continue. Military action is not a balm that can magically wish away conflict. Its going to be a long journey.

Ms. Bhutto's death also brings into question the elections in Pakistan. The death of a leading candidate in such a brutal way brings into question how free the elections will be. Pakistan needs hope or else it could plunge deep into instability that would only bring further chaos. Of course her party could get the sympathy vote, but the question is who would be the new P.M.

Moving on,before a martyr of her is made I would like to remind the world of her legacy. As a P.M. she was once one of the most high profile
female leaders but her administration was accused of being very corrupt. She was Harvard and Oxfordeducated but during her time supported the Taliban(we all know who funded it) and also militant violence in Kashmir.

She returned from exile back to Pakistan despite obvious danger to herself. If she did it for the country ,it could be considered to be as courageous act as any possible.In fact after the earlier attack on her convoy when she had just returned, she said " I know some people will think it was naive to return to Pakistan despite death threats. But if you believe in a cause you have to pay a price... We are prepared to risk our lives. But we're not prepared to surrender this nation to militants."

But humans are more primitive. We always run after gains. The Bhutto family has played a deadly game with power, money and death. Her death could be the close of another chapter.

Benazir Bhutto followed her father into politics, and both of them died because of it - he was executed in 1979, she fell to a bomber today

Benazir Bhutto was the last remaining bearer of her late father's political legacy.

Her brother, Murtaza - who was once expected to play the role of party leader - fled to the then-communist Afghanistan after his father's fall.

From there, and various Middle Eastern capitals, he mounted a campaign against Pakistan's military government with a militant group called al-Zulfikar.

He won elections from exile in 1993 and became a provincial legislator, returning home soon afterwards, only to be shot dead under mysterious circumstances in 1996.

Benazir's other brother, Shahnawaz - also politically active but in less violent ways than Murtaza - was found dead in his French Riviera apartment in 1985.

She is survived by three children. It is a question who will be the next Bhutto to rise to center-stage

For all her faults, for all her short-comings, we in the end cannot deny her importance.The legacy she leaves behind is mixed but I hope her death galvanizes Pakistan's society against violence and the mad fire-breathing mullahs.

May Allah give peace to her soul.

Merry Christmas and the bigger picture

Well its a hot hot day here in Pune but I hope someone's enjoying a white Christmas.

I hope you have a great day and enjoy it all.

Since I am discussing Christmas I shall talk a bit about Christianity. Another of the Abrahamic religion's , Christianity has more in common is Islam than any other religion. Many people believe in a clash of religions or civilizations theory but I don't believe in such a thing. The problem is there are too many sabre rattlers on both sides of the fence. I did like the pope trying to initiate dialogue but when he asked "what good has Islam brought", I wanted to ask what good has Christianity brought. Because the kettle cannot call the coal black!! If there are examples that could be attributed to Islam's short-comings , there are as many that are valid for Christianity.
The pope wanted to set up an internal debate but he just firmed up the battle-lines.

Anyway moving on, if there is a religious leader I really admire its the Archbishop of Canteburry, Dr. Rowan Williams. Young and educated , religious yet having the strength to listen to the other side.

I just love his speeches. From last years christmas day sermon:--

In his sermon for Christmas Day, Dr Williams tells how, whilst visiting a crèche attached to Bethlehem’s Holy Family Hospital funded by international donations, he cradled an abandoned new-born child in his arms. He recounts asking the hospital's director, Robert Tabash why the standard of care was so good, despite the harsh economic conditions in the town:

“Dr Tabash said that all of this is important simply because ‘the poorest deserve the best’ …'The poorest deserve the best': when you hear that, I wonder if you can take in just how revolutionary it is. They do not deserve what’s left over when the more prosperous have had their fill, or what can be patched together on a minimal budget as some sort of damage limitation. And they don’t ‘deserve’ the best because they’ve worked for it and everyone agrees they’ve earned it. They deserve it simply because their need is what it is and because where human dignity is least obvious it’s most important to make a fuss about it.

Dr Rowan Williams also urges pilgrims to visit the Holy Land in support of all the communities who live there. Reflecting on his recent experiences in the region, he says that one of the striking things about the visit was the challenge posed by the lack of hope for a political solution:

“One of the most chilling things on this journey to the Holy Land was the almost total absence in both major communities of any belief that there was a political solution to hand. So step back from that for a moment and ask, ‘What do both the communities in the Holy Land ask from us – not just from that convenient abstraction, the “international community”, but from you and me?’

What was needed to create trust and hope, he said, was ordinary people reaching out to the region:

“Go and see, go and listen; let them know, Israelis and Palestinians alike, that they will be heard and not forgotten. Both communities in their different ways dread –with good reason – a future in which they will be allowed to disappear while the world looks elsewhere. The beginning of some confidence in the possibility of a future is the assurance that there are enough people in the world committed to not looking away and pretending it isn’t happening. It may not sound like a great deal, but it is open to all of us to do; and without friendship, it isn’t possible to ask of both communities the hard questions that have to be asked, the questions about the killing of the innocent and the brutal rejection of each other’s dignity and liberty.”

Anyway this year he has called to take care of the planet. Another minister has called to welcome immigrants and not to leave them out. Read the message

The Dead Haunt us from the past

Omayra Sánchez was one of the 25,000 victims of the Nevado del Ruiz (Colombia) volcano which erupted on November 14, 1985. The picture was taken shortly before she died. She was alive for three days trapped and no one could help her.

Omayra was trapped up to her neck in water, concrete, and other debris for three days before she succumbed to gangrene and hypothermia. During three nights of agony, Omayra seemed strong but was suffering. According to a journalist who kept records of the events, Omayra sang and had normal conversations with the people who were trying to help her. The little girl was thirsty and scared. On the third night, Omayra began hallucinating, saying that she did not want to be late for school. At some point she asked the people to leave her so they could rest.

Television coverage of the disaster introduced her to the world when she was still alive. The photo shown here was taken hours before her death and published after her death.

I was looking at the photo when I realized the antiquity of the photograph. Omayra has been dead for 21 years. On the day of the volcano erruption, I was three months old. On the day she died ,I was three months three days old.

The 23,000 deaths may be a statistic but each death is an individual tragedy.

Its something to think about. We humans call ourselves so civilized, our civilization is at its Zenith and still such tragedies occur.

To everyone who reads this post, I have only one request. Download the photograph on your comp. And then once its done , open the photograph with windows picture and media viewer and zoom it to the size of your monitor.

And look into the eyes and imagine three days of suffering before a horrible death.

Some people consider photographs to be a sacrilege. It is said that each photograph captures a part of the person soul.

Maybe a part of the soul of Omayra Sanchez stares back at us!!!

Bye. Happy musings

One tight slap

This incident happened yesterday as I was going from my college hostel to the mosque for Eid-ul-Zuha prayers.

Now my college is situated on a highway and the location itself is quite outside the main city. As I drove out of the gate and had driven like ten metres ahead , I saw a motorcycle parked on the side of the road. A couple were standing next to the bike with the lady's back to me while the guy stood facing her , so consequently I could see his face. ISnce our college is on a major interconnecting road, I assumed they were one of the hundreds of people who trvel over 15-20 km one-way for work.

I was still a little way off when the guy swung his hand and gave the girl a tight slap. Now I can assure it was no playful spank coz with the swing he had I am sure the slap was solidly painful. I can be sure because I know the strength a guy has.

It was early morning and except me I think no one saw the slap. Even the pillion rider on my motor-cycle did not see it.

I was still like 4-5 metres from where the couple were and I slowed my bike to stop and assist. But then I realized a thing. The girl had not moved from her place, there was no sob, no indignation from her, no cries for assistance. She had accepted the slap. And me stopping had no relevance. It was finally a personal matter.

Why do females accept physical abuse? A recent poll in India revealed that more than 50% of women believe that their husbands have a right to beat them up. Is not it said. People like me can cry themselves hoarse over the need for violence-free homes but if women accept violence as a natural thing, nothing will happen.

Anyway though I did not stop , I wish I had stopped and told the guy this-"Be careful. The lady can slap you and by law you cannot punish her. But if the lady had decides to report you for the slap, you are going to jail under the Domestic Violence Act". The only question si did the lady know of the act.

Teraa chehra kitna suhaana lagta hai By Kaifi Bhopali

Tera chehra kitna suhaana lagta hai,
Tere aage chaand puraana lagta hai.

Tirche tirche teer nazar ke lagte hain,
Seedhaa seedhaa dil pe nishaana lagtaa hai.

Aag ka kyaa hai pal do pal mein lagti hai,
Bujhate bujhate ek zamaana lagtaa hai.

Sach to ye hai phool ka dil bhee chhalni hai,
Hanstaa chehra ek bahaana lagta hai.

ANother beautiful Ghazal. I love the third sher.

Eid Mubarak

Eid mubarak to EVERONE .

hAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY

Two funny forwards

I generally do not post forwards but I think these two deserve a place on cyberspace.So read and have a laugh.

Six answers given by a GIRL when she is proposed……….


1 Nahi

2 Mujhe waqt chahiye


3 I have always seen u as a friend


4 I already have a boy friend


5 We should concentrate on studies


6 Tum abhi tak mujhe jante kahan ho? Yeh infatuation hai.


Six answers given by a BOY when he is proposed…… …..


1 Yes


2 Yes


3 Yes


4 Yes


5 Yes


6 Yes
___________________________________________________________________
Girl :
Aisa khat likh Saajna,
Meri umar beet jaae

Padhte padhte…!!













Boy :

#include
Void main()
{
Int i=1;
While(i)
{
Printf(“\n Lo Padho..!!”);
}
Getch();
}

Histrionic,Narcissistic and Schizotypal::Thats me

Disorder	Rating
Paranoid Personality Disorder:	Low
Schizoid Personality Disorder:	Low
Schizotypal Personality Disorder:	Moderate
Antisocial Personality Disorder:	Low
Borderline Personality Disorder:	Low
Histrionic Personality Disorder:	Very High
Narcissistic Personality Disorder:	High
Avoidant Personality Disorder:	Low
Dependent Personality Disorder:	Low
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder:	Low
-- Take the Personality Disorder Test -- -- Personality Disorder Info --

Well I took this test on the sit and it confirms what I have always believed. I am loony with a number of loose nuts.

Anyway I do think there is a clash in the results coz I cant be all the above things simultaneously

The Intellectuals in Islam

Gracefully she approached

Gracefully she approached,
in a dress of bright blue silk;
With an olive branch in her hand,
and many tales of sorrows in her eyes.
Running to her, I greeted her,
and took her hand in mine:
Pulses could still be felt in her veins;
warm was still her body with life.

"But you are dead, mother", I said;
"Oh, many years ago you died!"
Neither of embalmment she smelled,
Nor in a shroud was she wrapped.

I gave a glance at the olive branch;
she held it out to me,
And said with a smile,
"It is the sign of peace; take it."

I took it from her and said,
"Yes, it is the sign of...", when
My voice and peace were broken
by the violent arrival of a horseman.
He carried a dagger under his tunic
with which he shaped the olive branch
Into a rod and looking at it
he said to himself:
"Not too bad a cane
for punishing the sinners!"
A real image of a hellish pain!
Then, to hide the rod,
He opened his saddlebag.
in there, O God!
I saw a dead dove, with a string tied
round its broken neck.

My mother walked away with anger and sorrow;
my eyes followed her;
Like the mourners she wore
a dress of black silk.
By Simin Behbahani (Khalili)

A beautiful poem by an Iranian lady poet. I have been searching for Islamic intellectuals recently and I think I just found one .. Either I am searching in the wrong place or they are an endagered species.. The importance of artists--poets, writers , painters and sculptors does not arise from the harmony they bring but rather from their ability to have an independent view-point.

Read more here http://www.iranchamber.com/literature/sbehbahani/simin_behbahani.php

and here A Poet Who 'Never Sold Her Pen or Soul'

Interesting Articles

1. Bill Gates on the skills one needs to succeed.

2. Computer Skills still undervalued in UK board room.


Both the above stories highlight what I am increasingly convinced about-that the next generation of leaders will technocrats first and foremost.

A Senseless Murder!!!!!

""You must believe in free will; there is no choice. ""

A hundred murders may be a statistic but each and every one is an individual tragedy.

Aqsa Parvez ,a sixteen year old Canadian Muslim girl was reportedly strangled by her father reportedly because of her insistence against not wearing the hijab.

Another honour killing added to the count.

A photograph of her which I have uploaded to the right shows her smiling a pose. Now the smile is gone and the heart no longer beats. A TRAGEDY. SO YOUNG.

The present incident has nothing and everything to do with Islam.

Islam itself has nothing to do with honour killings.

The fact is there is no "honour in murder".

AND IT MUST BE SAID LOUD AND CLEAR.

THE QURAN IN NO PLACE CONDONES MURDER.

But in many muslim cultures especially from the middle east tend to believe otherwise. Father's , brother's ,husband's and brother-in-laws seem to think that murder shall bring back a lost honour. And they justify it. Why is it that the concept of honour is linked to women only?

If the girl wanted to give up the hijab, she should be allowed. The girl should have had that choice which was so cruelly denied.

If she did not believe in something, it was her own imaan. God will judge us all. QURAN FORBIDS US FROM JUDGING OTHERS

The father had no right to do what he did.

Hope he is punished in this world and the next for his crime.

I take solace in the sublime. May Allah grant peace to her soul.

Let us vow to remember Aqsa and swear to always say "there is no honour in honour killing"

Kya Karoon,had to speak out

I generally avoid commenting on aricles in forums on the web because I believe seldom a meaningful dialogue is possible because the person who has written that rabid, anti-islam article is unlikely to change his views even if someone proves his premises are invalid.

But this article in New-York Times was such that I had to comment. Because while I ignored it in NYT, it was published next day in the Times Of India, a paper I read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/07/opinion/07ali.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

It is sad that the TOI will so blindly print an article from a foreign news-source(NYT) without verifying details.

The author is introduced as a former member of Dutch parliament. The fact is Miss Ayaan Hirsi Ali is a lady who has openly renounced Islam and yet will openly call Islam 'her religion' for her benefit and for publicity's sake. Her remarks to an extent in the past have been openly Islamaphobic and border on xenophobia. She was a member of the far-right in Dutch parliament and was disqualified when it emerged that she had lied while appealing for asylum in 92. Any other citizen would have been deported but because she is so openly anti-Islam , a special allowance was made so that she could remain a dutch citizen.

It is very easy to condemn and to vilify. The fact that the author has a muslim sounding name makes it appear as if a Muslim is confessing no moderates exist. Because Miss Ali does imply so very clearly.

I ask, should the TOI have given her legitimacy by printing her article?

The author uses generalizations when scope for none exist. Saudi- Arabia has laws that even many orthodox muslims are not very comfortable with, let alone the moderates. Why does she not see the example of India where despite hiccups Muslims are a very progressive lot. Or Turkey which despite being a Muslim majority state enforces secularism to a point that even America ad Europe do not.

The problem is Islam suffers from bad public relations. Newspapers will scream about the injustice in Saudi Arabia or the sentencing of the teacher in Sudan. They will search for people who support the act and print their comments in bold. Maybe unintentionally, but a feeling percolates through that the problem is Islam. It is not.

However the fact that many Muslims have condemned the act vociferously is seldom reported. Even if it is printed it becomes a footnote, just a small paragraph at the end. Many Muslim, yes Muslim bloggers have vociferously condemned the trial judgement in Saudi-Arabia and other such acts.

Why do moderate muslims need to apologize for what they are not guilty of ? The author intentionally turns a blind eye to many wonderful people trying to in their own small ways encourage dialogue and make the world a better place. And that is the fatal flaw in the article

Little Rock

Extract 1:-
Few pictures capture an epoch. But in the contorted, hate-filled face of a young white girl named Hazel Bryan standing behind Elizabeth, screaming epithets at her, Counts encapsulated the rage of the Jim Crow South. And even behind her large sunglasses—her eyes were as sensitive as the rest of her—Elizabeth embodied something else: the dignity, and determination, and wisdom, and stoicism, with which black Americans tried to change their lot.


Extract 2:-
"This little girl, this tender little thing, walking with this whole mob baying at her like a pack of wolves" was how Benjamin Fine later described the scene. Once she reached the bus stop, Elizabeth sat herself down at the edge of the empty bench, as if not wanting to take up too much space. "Drag her over to this tree!" someone shouted.

I have always been in awe of the American Civil Rights Campaign, not because of what was achieved but how and with what it was achieved. In the 1950s most of the African-American population were till living in miserable ,segregated areas working in low paying jobs.

They were oppressed, the Jim-Crow laws legalized discrimination, denied the right to vote, had no colleges, poor schools for their kids, abused in their faces, terrorised by the Ku-Klux Clan and other white supremacist groups AND STILL THEY DARED TO HOPE.

They demanded equality and they fought for it -peacefully. The struggle was hard but segregation ended.

But the story gas still not ended. Discrimination still exists, the black population in America is still marginalized.

YET THE DOORS OF OPPURTUNITY ARE WIDE OPEN.

There is a lesson here for the world today especially the Islamic world. Stop whining about being discriminated. CREATE INTELLECTUALS. Educate each and every child so he has the courage to fight rather than just blame others.

final extract:
"It doesn't matter whether your teacher likes you or not; study for yourselves. Even a shy person can develop steel. And if you reach out to someone being harassed, you can save his life."


Read the full story here.

The Initiative must come from wihin

This is an interesting article I read about mosques being able to regulate themselves. Click to read the whole story. I think it is quite a positive step.

I have always beleived mosques can be used to spread a better message, not just within muslim communities but also outside. The hearts and mind can be won with a concerted effort. What plagues Islam is bad P.R. !

Anyway the best thing is the initiative has come from within. Its muslims who must realize the chaos we are in-both as individuals and as a group and make amends.

Update

So I have not posted for long.

I know the excuse is pathetic but the fact is my internet connection was down.

And I was not really in the mood to go to a cyber-cafe and blog. Beyond the obvious ,let me confess that I was procrastinating big time.

Well all good things must end.

SO how have things been? Boring as usual.

Last year of engineering is indeed a farce. After being placed one seriously does not feel like studying. I just hope I can get myself to study for my semester exams which are to be held in December. Dont really want the infamy of a backlog.

Anyway looking at the bigger picture I recently sat for the C.A.T.(Common Aptitude Test) for admission to the IIMs. And I managed to kind of blow it. The paper was easy but tension got the better of me and I managed to mistime the paper. But the world is still there and if I dont clear the sectional cut-off this year I shall try again next year and hopefully ace it then.

I have made my choice and I shall be moving towards the MBA stream rather than M.S. Its hard to explain why but the main tilting point was the fact that I think an MBA would lead me to more opportunities of leadership and creativity.

Btw have a SOP to write for FMS and I only have a day. The evils of delaying till the last moment.

This is me

Okay this is a photo of mine that I was working on for long.

No, this is not a sketch.

It's a manipulation using two different softwares sequentially.

Interesting Tale- Words of the wanderer

"
Two years he walks the earth. No phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. Ultimate freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager whose home is the road. Escaped from Atlanta. Thou shalt not return, 'cause "the West is the best." And now after two rambling years comes the final and greatest adventure. The climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual pilgrimage. Ten days and nights of freight trains and hitchhiking bring him to the Great White North. No longer to be poisoned by civilization he flees, and walks alone upon the land to become lost in the wild.

Alexander Supertramp
May 1992"

The above were the lines written by Christopher McCandless, a lonely wanderer living off the land in the wilderness of Alasaka. He was an intelligent student coming from a relatively well off background but he grew disgruntled with our modern lifestyles and in a yogic kind of way left it all. Gave up his savings of 20,000 dollars to Oxfam charity and roamed the cities and the wilderness like a tramp. Frst he had a car and then when it broke down,he dumped it and symbolically burned his last 120 $ to live in penury. In his final Odyssey he wanted to live for some months in Alaskan jungles.

He succeeded but then when he tried to rejoin civilization he found his way blocked by a river swollen because of rains. So he went back and some days later ended up mistakenly consuming the pods of wild pea which are poisonous and was unable to hunt or forage for food. Already weakened , he started literally starving to death.

Starvation is not a pleasant way to die. In advanced stages, as the body begins to consume itself, the victim suffers muscle pain, heart disturbances, loss of hair, shortness of breath. Convulsions and hallucinations are not uncommon. Some who have been brought back from the far edge of starvation, though, report that near the end their suffering was replaced by a sublime euphoria, a sense of calm accompanied by transcendent mental clarity. Perhaps, it would be nice to think, McCandless enjoyed a similar rapture.


His body was found inside the abandoned bus where he had set up base camp by hunters some 7 days after his death. And a book named "Into the Wild" and a soon to be made movie ensures that his story has become a legend.

To the enigma that was Christopher McCandless.

Favourite Videos

Maybe Tomorrow Is A Better Day by POETS OF THE FALL

Love this song esp the line " I won't cry for my solitude, lay my head and dream of you"




I'd stay the hand of god, but the war is on your lips
How can I brace myself for razor blades on whips
When everything with meaning is shattered, broken, screaming
And I'm lost inside this darkness and I fear I won't survive

I could pray and trick with a double tongue, but the only fool here's me
I choose the way to go, but the road won't set me free
Cos I wish you'd see me, baby, save me, I'm going crazy
Tryin' to keep us real, keep us alive

This day will die tonight and there ain't no exception
We shouldn't wait for nothing to wait for
Love me in this fable, babe, my heart is in your hand
Our time is waiting right outside your door
And maybe tomorrow is a better day

I do not deal the cards and I play a lousy hand
I celebrate no victories and my promises are sand
Against all this I contrast you, when all is lost the war is through
Hey angel, dare the winds now we can fly

This day will die tonight and there ain't no exception
Why should I wait for nothing to wait for
Let me love you in this fable, hold your heart in my hand
Our time is waiting right outside your door
And maybe tomorrow is a better day

This day will die tonight and there ain't no exception
Why should I wait for nothing to wait for
I won't cry for my solitude, lay my head and dream of you
And hope that you'll come knocking on my door
And maybe tomorrow is a better day
I know tomorrow is a better day

Enjoy

The ten commandments of Democracy

1. We must all separate politics and religion, and we must never place religion above the laws of democracy.
2. We must all respect that all people have equal rights regardless of sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.
3. No person must ever incite to hatred, and we must never allow hatred to enter our hearts.
4. No person must ever use or encourage violence – no matter how frustrated or wronged we feel, or how just our cause.
5. We must all make use of dialogue - always.
6. We must all show respect for the freedom of expression, also of those with whom we disagree the most.
7. No person can claim for themselves or assign to others a place apart, neither as superior persons, as inferior persons or as eternal victims.
8. We must all treat other people’s national and religious symbols as we wish them to treat ours – flag-burning and graffiti on churches, mosques and synagogues are insults that hinder dialogue and increase the repression of the other party.
9. We must all mind our manners in public. Public space is not a stage on which to vent one’s aggressions or to spread fear and hate, but should be a forum for visions and arguments, where the best must win support.
10. We must all stand up for our opponent if he or she is subjected to spiteful treatment.

The commandments were first voiced in a speech by Naser Khader in 2002.He is a Danish muslim politician who tried to encourage dialogue and promote the acceptance of freedom of expression as an inalienable right after the cartoons controversy.

Let me know what u think. Because in this age more than any we have to decide where we stand

Personally I believe we need more such Khaders

The ten commandments of Democracy

1. We must all separate politics and religion, and we must never place religion above the laws of democracy.
2. We must all respect that all people have equal rights regardless of sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.
3. No person must ever incite to hatred, and we must never allow hatred to enter our hearts.
4. No person must ever use or encourage violence – no matter how frustrated or wronged we feel, or how just our cause.
5. We must all make use of dialogue - always.
6. We must all show respect for the freedom of expression, also of those with whom we disagree the most.
7. No person can claim for themselves or assign to others a place apart, neither as superior persons, as inferior persons or as eternal victims.
8. We must all treat other people’s national and religious symbols as we wish them to treat ours – flag-burning and graffiti on churches, mosques and synagogues are insults that hinder dialogue and increase the repression of the other party.
9. We must all mind our manners in public. Public space is not a stage on which to vent one’s aggressions or to spread fear and hate, but should be a forum for visions and arguments, where the best must win support.
10. We must all stand up for our opponent if he or she is subjected to spiteful treatment.

The commandments were first voiced in a speech by Naser Khader in 2002.He is a Danish muslim politician who tried to encourage dialogue and promote the acceptance of freedom of expression as an inalienable right after the cartoons controversy.

Let me know what u think. Because in this age more than any we have to decide where we stand

Personally I believe we need more such Khaders.

Something to think about!!!!!!!!!!!

Iraq- the tragedy

I came across this video today while just browsing the net. Its a speech by Dr. Dahlia Wasfi, a doctor but now a full time anti-war activist. Its about Iraq ,the mess it is now in and how thousands are dying there at the hands of violence.

Do watch it and u could also see the doctors website at liberatethis.com


Also check this related video out.

Found this site http://keepmeinsuspense.blogspot.com/ the other day while browsing on the net. Really interesting site. Lots of tips for writers etc. So good in that sense.

Moving on today was a holiday so had a movie day

Started with Man on Fire a 2004 release starring Denzel Washington. Its a nice movie about a retired assassin played by Denzel Washingtonwho is now employed as a bodyguard for a little girl Pita played by Dakota Fanning. In the course of the movie Pita is kidnapped and everyone assumes later killed by the kidnappers. Denzel who had been shot during the kidnapping, recovers and goes after the kidnappers meting out his own justice. The movie was very interesting and fun to watch though the attempt to portray it as a real story in the end left a bad taste in my mouth. I had to go on to the net and double check.

Next I shifted to The Simpsons which was again a rather enjoyable movie. The antics
of the Simpson Family have foreven been bizarrely hillarious and the trend continues. Watch it only if u are interested.

Finally I decided to watch 'The Bourne Ultimatum'. The final of the trilogy, the movie was as fast paced and enjoyable as the rest though I think a glitch occurred
when it is shown in the movie that an agent who is supposed to kill Bourne leaves him untouched after Bourne is knocked out by a car explosion intended to kill someone else. I dont really get the scene. SUm1 explain it if possible.

MUSINGS -yet again

MUSINGS
The most wonderful sight to me is a little child frolicking about his or her mother. For the child there is no past, there is no future. He lives in the present. And the best part is if he is happy then joy fills his whole existence and the happiness is quite absolute.

The tragic part is he is unknowing of the ravages that time shall inflict on him as it passes by. Growing up is a traumatic experience. We loose the sense of absoluteness. Everything becomes conditional. Nothing , absolutely nothing can satisfy. And even in the zenith of our times we cant find the absolute joy a child enjoys. That’s the paradox. The child playing with a cardboard box is happier than us by a long margin.

Go back to the earliest memories that you have of yourself. I am sure if you were to look deep enough you would be unable to recognize yourself and feel like an impostor peeping into a forbidden window of foreign memories.

‘Truth or dare’ and the other games that we play as adults to have fun are far more complicated than our earlier childhood games. The innocence of childhood on departure took away the innocence of our games. These games of adulthood are all silent battles where everyone is testing the other. What we seek evidences of weaknesses in others and holes in their armour. This is what gives us the high in such games.

And the thing is as children we desperately want to grow up and be adults while once we grow up most of us would do anything to return to that age of innoncence which by now has long gone, never to return, ever.

Interesting

Domination by either gender is still dominatioon

Falling in love can really hurt you

Falling in love can really hurt you

Guess what I long suspected has finally turned out to be true. Love can be dangerous. Quoting from a paper

It’s official now. According to scientists, love really hurts.
Researchers at
Imperial College London have revealed that the range of physical effects caused
by the ups and downs of romance can cause serious long-term damage to the human
body.
"Our bodies are constantly going through a roller coaster of emotions
and love has some very obvious physical effects," said Prof. Martin Cowie of
Imperial College.
"Pupils dilate, palms become sweaty and the heart rate
increases. Large amounts of adrenaline are running through our system which does
cause problems," he added.
He said that stress-related illnesses at work
arise from similar physical conditions. Prof. Cowie, who has been studying the
effect of emotions on humans, said there is evidence that bereavement can
increase the risk of heart problems and death.
He said that inability to
acknowledge the effects of emotion on health makes things worse.

Book Review

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Well the final edition of the Harry Potter series is out and we now know once and for all, the boy who once survived a death spell survived again.

And Harry, with the unerring skill of the Seeker, caught the wand
in his free hand as Voldemort fell backward, arms splayed, the slit pupils of
the scarlet eyes rolling upward. Tom Riddle hit the floor with a mundane
finality, his body feeble and shrunken, the white hands empty, the snakelike
face vacant and unknowing. Voldemort was dead, killed by his own rebounding
curse, and Harry stood with two wands in his hand, staring down at his enemy’s
shell.

Anyway I am not a Harry Potter fan but still I find the books a good read.

The final book is interesting. As the finale author J K Rowling has actually used the pen as a brush and the result is a heady mix of emotions. Harry Potter journeys along with his friends destroying horcruxes an escapes disaster so many times, so easily that frankly it becomes a big joke. I think the authoress fails here in this context.

Beyond this the book is generally well written. The final character of both Snape and Dumbledore is surprising. Severus Snape; the vile, hated master of potions and killer of Albus Dumbledore turns out to have never really been working for Voldermort. His love for Lilly, Harry's mother as revealed in the last few pages is indeed touching.

"Snape's Patronus was a doe," said Harry, "the same as my mother's, because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from the time when they were children. You should have realized," he said as he saw
Voldemort's nostrils flare, "he asked you to spare her life, didn't he?"
"He desired her, that was all," sneered Voldemort, "but when she had gone, he agreed that there were other women, and of purer blood, worthier of him - "
"Of course he told you that," said Harry, "but he was Dumbledore's spy from the moment you threatened her, and he's been working against you ever since! Dumbledore was already dying when Snape finished him!"

Dumbledore was forever and still remains a hero but now at times there are dark shades attached to him.In a way its perhaps this complexity and depth of stories that set the books apart.

Also all rumors of another book could probably be laid to rest as the last chapter sees 19 years after Voldermort is dead with Harry having married Ginny and Ron being hitched with Hermoine. Sad I always thought Harry and HErmoine would be perfect. Anyway Harry and Ginny have already had three children and another lovely paragraph is the explanation of harry to his son about his name-

"Ablus Severus," Harry said quietly, so that nobody but Ginny could
hear, and she was tactful enough to pretend to be waving to rose, who was now on the train, "you were named for two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin and he was probably the bravest man I ever knew."

Would I recommend this book. Sure I would. Go ahead and read this but take my word for it that there are better books also

What more can I say!!!!!!!!

My heart is crying out loud tonight
Coz I just want to hold you close,
And time is flying away too fast

Am stumbling through a jungle,
Cant really see through the haze,
And I am running in circles for you.

Suddenly my poetry rhymes,
Don’t know what magic you did,
For I just cant get over you.

The world can feel my love,
Everyone asks me your name,
I just wish you had a face.

P.S. this is poetry I wrote recently in June. Its quite rare I indulge such fantasies of mine knowing how morose poetry sounds to most people. Its because of this only that I have shifted to small paras

PLACED FINALLY

What does one feel when one gets two jobe offers in about 36 hours?

Elation, the feeling of being on CLOUD NINE to put it mildly.

Yes, yours sincerely is now placed in two companies.

A job was a dream but two offers is unbeleivable.

So in 08 when I graduate I have two places to choose

Of course how and why I got two posts is another post and it shall wait

UPDATES:-

Well I am back. Exams are over and good imes are back again. The hallmark of engineering survives. As each sem passes the fear of exams thins only to be replaced by diffidence.

Well hopefully I shall clear all. If not then maybe next time. This time I am not going home after exams. So am staying put in nearly desolate hostels. Its fun, I have never found the hostels emptier. Just to give you a feel of it, out of 18 people in my flank only 3 remain. Thats of course not counting the final year students who will leave after their projects are over.

So how does life pass. Well it rambles along like a river running slowly through a forest in no great hurry to get along.

Moving on placements shall atraert from second of july

We first have infosys coming along followed by Tata Consultancy services, then HSBC software, followed by Cognizant and a host of other companies .

Hopefully yours faithfully shall also get a job offer, though his mind is still not made up as to which company to sit for. Any ideas????????

S.M.S. lingo

Another of the Srijna articles. I have had people come and say the magazine is absolutely amazing. Will try to upload a pdf someday. Enjoy

S.M.S. lingo

160 characters can feel like a lifetime. Especially when keyboard is a ten digit number pad. Yes, the 160 characters is nothing more than the length of an S.M.S.(short messaging service).

Historically the earliest S.M.S. service was just added as a side kick to the first mobile phones. Many manufacturers left them out. Guess the never knew, that one day how indispensable it would become.

Despite its shortness the S.M.S. service has spawned its own lingo which has made their entry into everyone's everyday dictionary. And a whole new debate has taken birth. Because 160 words and a rather tough keypad ensures that the average S.M.S. user is a great gobbler of character hungrily devouring poor alphabets. And student go back and use the language in their papers. Is it right?

I do not know because its tough to judge. I simply do not get it at this. Like “tc”. For a long time I thought tc meant turbo C and i used to think “oh! Sak*** (name changed to protect identity on request. P.S. Please guess) must really like C language.” Of course having a premonition that i was walking to a fool's paradise I fished around for answers. I guardedly asked my good-friend Varun as to what Tc would mean in a sms and pat came the reply 'Turbo C yaar' . True Compies to the blood I guess. Anyway two is always better than one on a journey to inevitable embarrassment.

It was only much later that I realised Tc meant take care, but the joke stayed.

I think S.M.S. lingo is like compression algorithm. The optimal the algorithm, the tougher is the message to decode. Someone i know writes S.M.S.'s which I have to read at least thrice to figure out.I for one am very poor at such stuff. My S.M.S.'s for the good or the bad are long drawn out affairs stretching to three even four S.M.S. lengths. In retrospection I think it has more to do with the thing that I am hopelessly addicted to long eloquent sentences I can never shorten a word especially not so common ones as I always fear the reciever might misunderstand. But still I could try.

Btw i 4got 2 mentn dat smss cud b adictiv. I dnt kno if u wud aprciate dis but es fun.I herd 1 S.M.S. contst is goin to b hld. Wndr e I cud mk da cut...

Thot i wud brb bt 2 mch hs bin riten.

G2g,cya n Tc++. ;)

THE CALM

Frankly the poet learnt he could write prose and forgot about verse.
Thats me.
Now this is a new poem that I have penned.

In fact its quite rare me writing and completing a poetry in the last couple of years. TO put it in the right perspective I wrote 80+ poems when I first started penning poetry and have written just four-five in the next six years.

So enjoy it and let me know.

THE CALM

I look inside and I find darkness,
I look outside only to find the aftermath of a storm,
Deserted flotsam littered shores, an eerie calm in my heart

Written on the spur of the moment,
This is poetry unplugged,
Lines penned before the night takes them away forever.

I wake up to find it all lost,
Broken hazy visions of a long night,
Only some holes patched by the written words.

The fever plagues me now,
De-addiction symptoms from her or maladies unknown,
Can’t really step across the line and let you know!

Seldom does poetry not rhyme,
Broken verse seldom makes a song,
A banshee’s wail shatters the uneasy calm.

Syed Ashraf Husain

And spring turns to a dry summer

OK its a panic situation now. Semester ended two weeks ago but still have not studied a bit.

For the past two weeks I have been indulging in my favourite passion-sleep. Life it seems is one big seldom interrupted nap.


Have pracs/orals on 3rd,5th and 11th.

So there is a valid reason to study.

Lets see if I can pick up the pace!!!

BTW my internet connection will be disconnected in a few days(its not that I am broke but net is addictive), so I will be online very sporadically.

Anyway life goes on.

Scrapped Literally

This is another of the articles I wrote for Srijna.

SCRAPPED LITERALLY

There was a time when a scrap automatically brought visions of waste. But then occurred a revolution and they called it 'Orkut'. After that a 'scrap', it seemed had a whole new meaning for the masses.
Yes I am talking about the website www.orkut.com. There seem to be various descriptions for it include a networking site, a community website, a social site, etc. But we are not going to clinically analyze 'Orkut', because we are simply not here for this.
My first introduction to Orkut were the unsure steps I took when a good friend of mine, Arjun sent me an invitaion and literally forced me to register. Of course back then Orkut was totally unknown and I was confident that I would never go back to check on the site again.
Time it seems has proved me wrong.
First came Internet in the hostels, then came 'Orkut mania'. The first signs were long hours on Orkut waiting in desperation for new scraps. As one of the first victims, I remember checking for scraps every hour and getting gloomy if I did not find new ones.
Of course suddenly the number of scraps became linked to popularity on Orkut and it seemed no number was big enough and no means mean enough. One afternoon, I remember this conversation between two seniors using scraps.
Gujral- “Oye Akshat, tu to id ka chaand ho gaya hai!Dikhta hi nahi”
Akshat- “Hi Gujral! Kya karun kaafi busy chal raha hoon.Tum batao.”
.
.
some 20 smaller scraps...
.
.
Gujral- “Oye tum kahan baithe ho?Main Minocha ke comp pe baitha hoon.”
Akshat- “Yaar main Ashraf ke comp pe baitha hoon.”

Of course they conveniently forgot to mention Ashraf and Minocha were room-mates. The two were basically sitting back to back using Orkut to convey their thoughts, the increase in number of scraps as a by-product. I heard that one afternoon Akshat sirs rating jumped by 20 percent.
Beyond the addiction there are many benefits of Orkut. Somehow, I personally have never seen any. For example out of my class of 60, 56 are registered members of AIT COMP 08 Community. What is discussed there?Nothing close to academics. However it is not to imply that Orkut is harmful and should be banned as many say. Because, however long I have known Orkut it has been fun. And claps requires two hands we can just refuse to give ours.
I am now beyond Orkut having left the temptation behind. But you like this article please ,please let me know by scrapping me. My Orkut ratings are still at 80 percent. The scraps may just help.

Disjointed Verses

These are broken verses for a new ghazal that I might pen one day. Broken verses personified. Btw I use the takhallus daag

Yun baat na karo zamaane se nayi duniya ki daag,
Har shaks ko ek naye khursheed ka intezar nahin.



Woh wafaa ke jo vaade usne phir dohraaye,
Bewafaai ka iraada uski awaaz mein mujhje kya khoob sunaai diya



Darte honge duniya se aur koi,
Humne seekha nahin hujoomon ke saamne sar jhukhaana


Hum yun bichde ke afsaana ban gaya,
Shamma to bujh gayi lekin mujh jaisa deewaana bach gaya

New sher

This is a parody of the famous ghaalib sher by a famous humorous shaayar

Ab ishq nahin mushkil, bas itna samajh lijiye ,kahan aag ka dariya hai kahaan doob ke jaana hai,
Mayoos na ho aashiq ,mil jaayegi mehbooba , bas mobile uthaane ke deri hai

Do sher

Jisne humko chaaha usko hum chah na sake,
Jis ko hum chahate the usse hum paa na sake.

Yeh samajh lo ki dil ke tootne ka khel hai,
Kisi ka toda aur apna bhee bachaa na sake.


http://www.orkut.com/Profile.aspx?uid=5578578773749868883&pcy=0&t=0

Thats my orkut profile.

If u want an invitation letme know

The semester ends

Another semester ends in a way I never hoped it would. From a high I ended up in a low low position.

'Srijna', the college magazine is out but I wonder if it took too much while coming out. 40 days of labour with only one thing on my mind was cumbersome. Feel exhausted, empty like a burnt out candle sputtering in the wind for a lack of wax. That's me. Of course a big lesson that I learnt is that one cant please everybody. After having done a superb job of a magazine and published an issue which has to be the best as compared to the last few years ,some people still have the chutzpah to trash the magazine. Of course it just one class which has a problem and that also is created by them as they only gave crappy one-liners for each other. Does not really bother me much but I could have done without it.

On a more sadder tone, events with sum1 special came to a head and when the time came to ask the big question got the weirdest answer possible. If it was a no,I could have handled it but it was something like-I think of u differently. The more vexing problem is I know she liked me. Maybe I waited too long. Maybe it was just not meant to be. So in another miserable effort to console myself, I must state it saved me a lot of future trouble.


So its back to single and not ready to mingle for me. Some things are just too painful, some ends just too raw.


Also 'Imagine Cup' for which I worked rather hard these last couple of months also ended
at a dead end when it all came to a naught after I failed to clear round 2.

I think its the cascading effect of all the above events which make this all so dark for me. Dont really care more.

The conflicts with the 4th year students where I was not even involved , the Srijna hater lot leave a bad taste in my mouth. This place is getting to me. Need a break. But I cant.

Interesting try iy

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

One turn too fast

As the Magazine Board Secretary of my college I am responsible for the college magaine 'Srijan'. This is a sneak preview for my blog readers of my main article for the magazine

One turn too fast

One error of judgment, one stroke of misfortune , a momentarily loss of control, one turn too fast.

And it’s all over!

Yes it just takes one moment on the road to change everything. It takes just one moment to turn a pleasure ride into a horror journey to a hell of pain and suffering. Death is sometimes a relief.

40,000 people die in road accidents in India each year. Maybe you might be laughing at the statistic but it means every five minutes a life is cut short on just another indistinguishable stretch of road. Each of those 40,000 people had to die a personal ,painful death. And yet the horror never hits us. The day we hear about an acquaintance or a close friend being killed or injured in a road accident I am sure most of us slow down a bit except a fool or an optimist of the top grade. I know because I vividly remember the day in 12^th class when a class mate was crushed by a bus while on his scooter. I never knew the guy even remotely but I can assure you that day I just pushed my scooter a little less hard and so did the rest of us.

You could wonder why the moral lecture? What has another death forgotten in the sands of time got to do with you? I say everything! Because YOU would probably be driving today or tomorrow. And when you get behind the wheel you ought to know the mortal danger you are in.

People talk of speeds as if it is a joke. They swap stories of 100 km/h and even faster escapades. But 100 km/h is 28 m/sec and its an obscenely high speed. 28 metres! Measure it and walk down the distance. Then try to imagine covering the distance in a second on foot. You cant. Its an impossible feat. And yet behind an engine burning fuel at a searing 700 degree centigrade we seldom think twice before using the accelerator.

Maybe some of that callousness would disappear if you were to see the results of rash driving first-hand. Because no description can fully describe the horror of being there. That one moment which seems to just go on, the sound of metal twisting, the wails of the wounded , the moans of the barely conscious, the horror of the onlookers and pain that is unimaginable. Of course there are people who can boast about walking away unhurt from the wreckage of vehicles unhurt. But they were just lucky. Death was just enjoying being irrational. Think about it is the five year old kid who survived unhurt in an accident which killed both his parent really lucky. Ask around and you will hear tales that will make your heart go cold.

Lets go through a scenario of an accident. Some one is driving, and suddenly he collides with another vehicle at high speeds. Maybe it was not his fault. Maybe the other driver was rash and drunk. But maybe he could have gone a little slower.

And now suppose that person is you. After that one moment you wake up to find your leg bent at an impossible angle. But your mind is too addled to comprehend that both your feet are broken and you just wonder what has come to pass. With the impact to your chest maybe your ribs have cracked ,impacting your lungs which are now filling up with blood. You are literally drowning in your own blood and there is nothing you can do. I wonder if anyone would like a scenario like this,' to wake up from an accident only to realize you are dying'. There are injuries that doctors can do nothing about other than just move on to the next patient who could probably saved . Also this is India, where you would probably be bundled by bystanders in a rickshaw and sent to a hospital which will probably refuse to accept you for the fear of a police case. Or you could be like my friend who was hit by a truck six in the wee hours on a national highway.

No one stopped to help and she lay there in a ditch, for over two hours, dying just 200 meters from the comfort of her home on a chilly morning. It turned out to be a beautiful December day. It was just not so bright for her.

Of course initially ,because of shock you will not feel any pain. You can stare at your mangled hands with indifference. But then if you can just survive for some time ,then the shock will wear out and you will start feeling pain that you never knew was possible . God forbid,if you had been driving recklessly before the accident then at that moment you are lying there hating yourself. You would probably do anything to go back and set it right. But this is life my friend, whats done can never be undone.

Of course if you are banking on surviving you could be in for a shock. A compound fracture could have you restrained on a bed for two months. In case skin and flesh got damage I can assure its another long long stay at the hospital. And a damaged spine could doom you to a life of dependency on others.

But if you can have the chutzpah to drive fast ,you should also have the ability to take the cure if and when the times come. Is not that only fair? But the cure could be anything -from long lonely months of recuperation, the guilt of having caused the death of innocents, a crippled life ,or even death.

So was my intention only to scare you? No, there is a message and its about driving safe. There are only two self -evident truths which I know of and they are that mixing drinking with driving kills and helmets save lives. Only a fool can deny these. So drive knowing the risks. Because the problem is not driving but bad driving. Bike bans are an unpractical solution to a never ending problem. The truth is that in this modern world we cannot eschew automobiles, because if we are not driving ,we are being driven. Because tragically a crash does not discriminate between the driver and the passengers. Being in a bus or riding a bike , hitting a vehicle or getting hit by another vehicle is not really different. The injuries pain equally bad. The tolls are tragically equally high both sides of the line.

There is a simple reason why I wrote this article, the way it is. Because if you can imagine the pain after a crash or even better see yourself lying unattended on a stretcher still, very still; then maybe you will just be a little easy on the accelerator next time.

Syed Ashraf Husain

T.E. Computers

Love this song, especially the part where she says why she fell for him. Has that classic feel.

Hands Clean by ALANIS MORISSETTE

If it weren't for your maturity none of this would have happened
If you weren't so wise beyond your years I would've been able to control myself
If it weren't for my attention you wouldn't have been successful and
If it weren't for me you would never have amounted to very much

Ooh this could be messy
But you don't seem to mind
Ooh don't go telling everybody
And overlook this supposed crime

We'll fast forward to a few years later
And no one knows except the both of us
And I have honored your request for silence
And you've washed your hands clean of this

You're essentially an employee and I like you having to depend on me
You're kind of my prot¨¦g¨¦ and one day you'll say you learned all you know from me
I know you depend on me like a young thing would to a guardian
I know you sexualize me like a young thing would and I think I like it

Ooh this could get messy
But you don't seem to mind
Ooh don't go telling everybody
And overlook this supposed crime

We'll fast forward to a few years later
And no one knows except the both of us
And I have honored your request for silence
And you've washed your hands clean of this

what part of our history's reinvented and under rug swept?
what part of your memory is selective and tends to forget?
what with this distance it seems so obvious?

Just make sure you don't tell on me especially to members of your family
We best keep this to ourselves and not tell any members of our inner posse
I wish I could tell the world cuz you're such a pretty thing when you're done up properly
I might want to marry you one day if you watch that weight and keep your firm body

Ooh this could be messy and
Ooh I don't seem to mind
Ooh don't go telling everybody
And overlook this supposed crime

Happy Holi

Happy Holi to everyone.

Hey everyone happy holi. Hope u got drenched in colours. As for me I got drenched in freezing water at two at night. Brrrr

Anyway sadly I don't much like the colour business especially the hidden dark layer where guys rub colour on girls mostly as to 'feel' them. And I assure you this is true. To me the whole act is far too perverted for comfort and the whole day I remained in my hostel room and consciously did not go to the basketball field where many of my college gals did come for holi in the morning.

The act has been more of a moral quandry than anything else. An acquaintance gave me an interesting perspective 'the gals also enjoy it, else why would they come'. I am not sure where I stand. I only know one thing that I choose not to go today.

Women may have invented weapons

THE survival techniques of West African chimpanzees have revealed that the first human weapons may have been developed by women.

The use of spears and axes to hunt and kill is commonly thought to have been pioneered among humanity's ancestors by males, but research has indicated weapons may have been a female invention that compensated for their lesser size and strength.

The findings are the first evidence of the systematic use of weapons in a species other than humans - and they are intriguing because all but one of the chimps using the spears were females or immature males.

This gender imbalance has led scientists to theorize that female chimps pioneered hunting with weapons as the only way in which they could compete with the physically stronger males to add animal protein to their diets.

While males can hunt with their bare hands, females need weapons to help them.

"Females have to come up with creative ways at getting at a problem, whereas males have brawn," said Jill Pruetz, of Iowa State University, who led the research.

Chimps have long been known to use tools such as stones, to crack nuts, but this is the first evidence for the systematic use of tools as weapons.

In other regions, male chimps hunt red colobus monkeys and tend to share any meat with females, often in return for sex.

The Fongoli males, however, kept bushbaby meat for themselves, because it was scarce. This may have led the females and immature males to adopt weapons as a way of obtaining meat.

There is only one other observed instance of any animal using a tool to hunt - a female chimp that used a stick to rouse a squirrel from a branch.

INTERESTING IDEA AIN'T IT?

Egg Halwa

One of the myths about men is that they do not like to cook,considering it unmanly especially in the Indian scenario. I dont know about others but I personally have a great fascination for cooking. My dad of course is also a good cook too.
Below is one of my favourite recipes. Learnt to cook it this december. Now before I begin let me warn you this aint low fat.

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 cup(medium sized) sugar
3 elaichi's grounded
1 cup khoya
1/2 cup pure desi ghee
A mixture of various dry-fruits finely chopped(esp raisins,cashew-nuts)

How To-
Crack the eggs,pour them into a bowl ,mix together with all the ingredients except ghee and beat them together well.
Now once its all finely beat, pour the ghee in a pan(kadhai to be more precise) and put it on a flame. Once the ghee has melted, pour the whole mixture and cook over slow flame.
Keep stirring for about ten minutes by which time, the whole mixture would have turned solid. Because of constant stirring the whole thing would be in small lumps. Also a lovely aroma should be filling the whole kitchen.

The egg-halwa tastes like magic. It melts in our mouths. Thats why maybe I like it so much. Enjoy it and in case someone tries it lemme know what you think

VOICE OF THE PRINCE TURNED PAUPER

VOICE OF THE PRINCE TURNED PAUPER

A thousand lights, a thousands hues
I saw my shadows through a hazy light
I questioned things as they were,
I took on life as it came.

Now all that is enshrined in the past,
The lights have long burnt out ,
The hues have all merged with the mud,
But I still think of those times.

It was a beautiful time ,
And I was the king of my Castle,
As i had nothing to look up to,
For the stars had descended from the skies.

No one knows what fun I had,
No one knows what luck I had,
All they see is the way I live,
Not realising how I once lived.

The past is stuffed to the brim,
With things that have long been dead,
And now I am the beggar in my castle,
For I have lived with things that never changed.

I am a stranger to all those around ,
A mystery to all those close to me,
But in my dreams, all through the night ,
I see a thousand lights, a thousand hues .

BY- SYED ASHRAF HUSAIN

This is another of my poems from the past. Its pretty dated so dont jump to conclusions....

50 OF THE MOST ROMANTIC THINGS POSSIBLE

Despite having had my heart broken numerous times, I guess the poet in me still refuses to learn. He still searches for that fabled land called true love not knowing that the age of fairytales is long over.

These are not original but then again I thought more people ought to enjoy this list. I love em all ,but the ones I consider best are in bold. Of course its easy way to pen a post.So ladies and gentlemen, here it goes.

50 most romantic things to do with your Girlfriend/Boyfriend
1. Watch the sunset together(i)

2. Whisper to each other.

3. Cook for each other(ps. more precisely cook for her).

4. Walk in the rain.

5. Hold hands.

6. Buy gifts for each other.

7. Roses.

8. Find out their favorite cologne/perfume and wear it every time
you're together.

9. Go for a long walk down the beach at midnight.

10. Write poetry for each other

11. Hugs are the universal medicine.

12. Say I love you, only when you mean it and make sure they know you
mean it.

13. Give random gifts of flowers/candy/poetry etc.

14. Tell her that she's the only girl you ever want. Do not lie.

15. Spend every second possible together .

16. Look into each other's eyes.

17. Very lightly push up her chin, look into her eyes, tell her you
love her, and kiss her lightly.

18. When in public, don't flirt with each other.

19. Put love notes in their pockets when they aren't looking.

20. Buy her a ring.

21. Sing to each other.

22. Always hold her around her hips/sides.

23. Take her to dinner and do the dinner for two deal.

24. Spaghetti? (Ever see Lady and the Tramp?)

25. Hold her hand, stare into her eyes, kiss her hand and then put it
over your heart.

26. Dance together.

27. Let your girl fall asleep with her head in your lap.

(It looks real cute)

28. Do cute things like write I love you in a note so that they have
to look in a mirror to read it.

29. Make excuses to call them every 5 minutes

30. Even if you are really busy doing something, go out of your way to call and say I love you.

31. Call from your vacation spot to tell them you were thinking about them.

32. Remember your dreams and tell her about them.

33. Always tell her how pretty she looks.

34. Tell each other your most sacred secrets/fears.

35. Be Prince Charming to her parents.(Brownie Points)

36. Brush her hair out of her face for her.

37. Hang out with his/her friends. (more brownie points)

38. Go to church/pray/worship together (mosque... not really. The imam would have fits).

39. Take her to see a romantic movie and remember the parts she liked.

40. Learn from each other and don't make the same mistake twice.

41. Describe the joy you feel just to be with him/her.

42. Make sacrifices for each other.

43. Really love each other, or don't stay together.

44. Let there never be a second during any given day that you aren't
thinking about them, and make sure they know it.

45. Love yourself before you love anyone else.

46. Learn to say sweet things in foreign languages.

47. Dedicate songs to them on the radio.

48. Fall asleep on the phone with each other.

49. Stand up for them when someone talks trash.

50. Never forget the kiss goodnight. And always remember to say, "Sweet dreams."

AGE ISSUES

Finally a big mystery has been solved. The other day I did what I seldom do-check my own profile on blogger.

Even though I have seen a lot of strange things on the net ,I was not prepared for what I got. In my age on the profile I was listed as 251 years old. Now first thing on my mind was that this is some joke because the server should see the age as invalid.

But I was in a hurry with no time to search around as to how to correct it, so I let it be. After all if I was 251 year old for some months ,I could probably be 251 years for some more weeks.

However being able to vaguely remember seeing my profile on some now lost date in the past ,I was curious as to when and how did I get such an unbelievable age.

So as the faithful engineering student I put it up on my list of things to do. And procrastination set in.
Finally the other day while I was tinkering around with the blog I decided to correct the error. First of all took me ages to find the correct location. Was wandering around blog settings while profile was a tiny link on the dash-board.

I had initially assumed that perhaps age was a fixed value in the profile but imagine my surprise when I found it was a derived attribute with Date of Birth as source. And ladies and gentlemen I had a d.o.b. of 1 JULY 1756.

Initially I was tempted to let it be. After all I was probably the oldest person in the history of mankind (humankind to be more politically correct) according to blogger and google. But then all those efforts for nothing would have been a waste, so tragically now I am again 21 years old.

On an autopsy of the problem I realized that most probably the error crept in when I switched to blogger beta and since I had never entered my date of birth it was automatically initialized to 1756. But I still think the server should have been intelligent. Anyway thats all for now.

Signing off

MUSINGS: Disjointed Verses

MUSINGS

It’s the tragedy of our times. Being caught in helpless situations, helpless places. It’s a strange feeling to find oneself marooned in a city of people. Maybe there is an inherent contradiction here but I will let it pass.

One wakes up and Finds that his heart is empty. There is emptiness and desolation all around. He/she walk in the desert of life looking at every person around as if in a dream. The darkness around him which turns everything grey, threatens to totally drown him. Its hard to breathe but then life goes. A lifeless sun rises and sets culminating a lifeless day. Day after day after day.

But joy does return. Slowly but surely. And one survives.

We strive so hard to be free and yet the harder we try, the harder we are bound by hidden strings back to unknown things lingering about in our past. Because freedom itself could just be a hallucination. And we just might be too scared to admit the truth.

What can I say ? It seems as someone once said it we are all prisoners of our desires. And we remain prisoners however far and however hard we may run.