Sunday, May 28, 2006

The Nuances of a Godly life

Do you believe in God ? Well whatever might be your answer to the question,do read on.
How did the whole hierarchy of Gods come together ?
Who decided that any particular individual would be a god ?
Was there politics involved ?
Were Shiva,Vishnu & Brahma the leaders of the coalition government ?
Who decided that Vayu, was the God of the Wind & Surya, the Sun God ?
Did the people actually believe in these leaders ?
Did a democracy exist or was it a totalitarian state (from the looks of it was the latter, coz this government still stands) ?
Did the Gods order Dronacharya to teach Ekalavya just coz he was ST rather than the Pandavas who were obviously OC or back then was there any reservation at all ?
Was Lord Krishna, a Pg 3 regular ?
Did Krishna & Sudhama own a chariot with a side carriage & sing, "Yeh dosti hum nahi chodenge" ?
Did the opposition of the Rakshasas actually win any seats in the House Of the Gods ?
Did Vishnu command the most powerful army in the world ? (The Narayani Sena)
Did Kings play the role of modern Sarpanches ?
Did Taxila & Nalanda universities have attendance compulsions ?
Did these places call for decent clothes ?
Did the students protest ?
Was Arjuna given the status of Tendulkar & Yudhishtir the place of Ganguly ?
Was chariot racing dominated by a certain German ?
Did the subjects allow plays hurting a religion's sentiments to be performed or were they met with oppostion like the Da Vinci Code ?
Did the students have 2 options after their primary education like either Advanced Weaponry or Kingdom Management ala the modern MS & MBA ?
Do I know the answers to all these questions ?
Does anyone know the answers to all these questions ?
DISCLAIMER: THIS WAS A FIGMENT OF MY IMAGINATION ABOUT WHAT WOULD LIFE IN THE ANCIENT WORLD BE LIKE. NO RELIGIOUS SENTIMENTS WERE MEANT TO BE HURT.

Saturday, May 20, 2006

The Peacock Seekers


There was something in the moisture laden wind that brushed up against me that said , "Son ! Adventure beckons". Shiva, my partner in crime was the guide for the day as it was his ILAAKA. So we picked up the equipment ie. a camera & a helmet, and made for the Gachi Pass. At the foothills there was smoke from the garbage that was being burnt, we were forced off our transportation. My Splendor had made a laudable effort acting as a dirt-bike for most of the journey. Thank you my dear faithful stallion. Then after we had reached the farthest position on the hill after which we couldn't use the bike any further, we set out on foot. This was our base camp. Armed with our weapon of choice, a SONY CYBERSHOT 5.1 MP we made our way towards the unbelievable rock formations that stood like Goliaths.
We made our way cautiously towards a formation called "the couch". After this we passed "the triplets". This was when MR.NATIONAL BIRD, sensed us approaching & made for safety, we could see his fluttering tail a few feet above the ground disappear into the valley. Before either of us could make any move, he was safely out of view. We followed the trail. But all we found were squirrels, white-striped sparrows & orangeback rock lizards.
It is amazing how there is so much unity among all species of fauna existing at this habitat. If one sparrow knows we're around, the bugger squeals & announces to every little creature, "Watchful brethren, here there be monstrous humans !!". So much for nature loving humans..hmph !
With such a resistance put all we could do is click some pictures of the flora who didn't seem to mind out presence there. The scenic beauty was tantalizing. But we could not afford to rest. Our multicolour-winged friend was growing in confidence, because sunset was almost upon us. We started scurrying around pell-mell looking for a trail. Suddenly there was a swish of wings & the creature flew majestically away from the approaching humans ie. Us. It wasn't Sir Peacock, but one of his trusted generals, Sir Eagle. Bright brown & vigilantly checking around for intruders he went & perched himself on a rock about a 200 metres away. There was no way we could reach him. So we retreated for safety before he could launch any counter measures. Vanquished and tired, we took a different route back to base camp. This was when Shiva pointed towards some good news. A thick green foliage amongst the rocks.
We had found Sir Peacock's fortress. It was deserted now & we uncovered some of his plumage which had probably fallen off druing his emergency take-off. But there was another startling discovery that we came across. There was also some skin which was shed by a snake. What was this, was Sir Peacock forging alliances with Lady Snake of Reptilia ?? We were forced to return as the sun was fast vanishing beneath the horizon rendering the sky into a flaming orange.
On our way back we unearthed sand, which we thought was strange since it was rocky hill. We had stumbled upon various findings on this day, but Sir Peacock had 'flown the coop'. But we Humans are made of stronger stuff than that, we will return. We are not at war. All we ask for is their friendship & a few photographs.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Ironically... a week later

It seems ironic that exactly one week after my exams ended I had to go for the first movie of my summer vacations. Poseidon seemed like the best way to start of this run of movies which will last throughout the summer. It can never measure up to the original but it was fast & had you at the edge of your seat. Other movies coming up this summer are 1.The Da Vinci Code 2. X-Men 3:The Last Stand 3.MI- III Atleast these are the ones I'll be eagerly waiting for. The holidays can be fun & frustrating simultaneously. You have time to do everything you ever wanted to, but you might not have the company. Treks, Drives, Parties, Movies, Financial management yada yada yada.,lots of activities ahead. Watch this space for further developments. PS:HOPE YOU'RE HAVING FUN TOO

Saturday, May 06, 2006

Blog Politics

Why do we blog ? Some would say for creative expression, some would say for fun, some would say to for uncurbed freedom. The last category of bloggers have recently caught my eye.
Recently in fiery political background of Tamilnadu, we have seen the what is being termed as "vendetta politics" or "populistic politics". I am no experienced political observer but the very thought of giving away colour tvs for free was a little unnerving. In a show on a news channel, I heard some very interesting facts about the state & that it was no. 2 or 3 in the index of every social & economic indicator. In a state where the civil society has gone way ahead of the political scenario, it is saddening to see such gimmicks being enacted for the rural society. Obviously since the urban populace is predominantly ignorant to such things (my parents don't even vote !! sheesh). When AP goes to the polls, it will be the first time so I'm rubbing my hands & excited to get my nail blackened with that li'l mark. Getting to the point, a new breed of bloggers have emerged in this scenario. These bloggers have analysed the recent happenings in the state, poked fun at the political bigwigs, given serious propositions & have given birth to a whole new genre of propaganda. It is said that these blogs get thousands of hits everyday. So I'm predicting that the internet will play a very important role in deciding the power sway with internet penetration by rural societies increasing by the day. So I thought why not hop on to the bandwagon & help these guys out. My small way of saluting these gentlemen & playing a part in paving the way to the nation's future.
PS:That last part of the last dialogue was under the influence of watching a very patriotic movie.