Learn’t from the papers that the North Korea or as they would like to call themselves the DPRK threatened to wage a “sacred war” against the imperialist US and its so called the “puppet force” and a distant cousin. Saw a great AFP photo where a North Korean soldier peeps through the window trying to make out what Hillary Clinton might be saying at the demilitarised zone (DMZ) or what her husband and former US president Bill Clinton called “the world’s most scariest place.” Tipped as the world’s most secretive diplomatic zone where every action is watched and every “comment” analysed.

I wonder how will one of the and off course world’s very few centrally planned economy and it’s people will be able to achieve amid of sanctions (past and upcoming). It is despite the fact that the North Korean economy did well in comparison to its capitalist neighbor South Korea. As the Chinese manufacturing companies spread deep inside the Western world, the government’s open support to the North Korean regime is no secret at all. The Chinese finds a strong ally in it’s North-East region. Now how much is the Chinese economic and military support to the Dictator regime will only be clear in the next 2 weeks or months. In wake of the US-S.Korea joint naval exercise on the Sea of Japan, this time it could be worser than the 1950-53 Korean war. A slight mis-judgement can risk lives of 10’s of million people in Seoul and Kim Jong-2’s comrades do have the muscle indeed.

In the past six months there have been cautious exchanges of peace process from both the ends, sans the North Korea alter their nuclear programme. Lifting UN sanctions against North Korea should be talked as the world should be a freer and a better place. While there should be no harm in the naval exercise which the US and South Korea are starting today i:e 25th July, the six-party talks (which hasn’t happened since Dec - 2008) should resume with constructive agendas in mind.

As the economy sighs a better breath worldwide, it’s no time for animosity instead bringing back meaningful diplomacy right back in place and if it wasn’t then reinstate .

Hurting religious sentiments is certainly is an unpardonable act especially when it comes to poisoning young children’s minds. So, here is that all started. After airing the 200th episode of Comedy central’s South Park, a warning was posted on an Islamic website telling Tery Parker and Matt Stone(Show Creators) to stop their portrayals of the Prophet Mohammad (where Mohammed appeared in a bear guise) or they would face some serious consequences down the line.

Therefore in 201^st episode ,there were useless beeps throughout the episode. Whenever a character referred to Muhammad he got bleeped out. It is believed that it was Comedy Central’s way of showing how ridiculous this whole thing is.

It is believed that “EVERYBODY DRAW MOHAMMAD DAY” is the public reaction against radical Islamists who warned the show creators of death consequences.

The Muslims around the world got outraged by the move and therefore demanded a ban on the event fueled by the popular networking site facebook. It is alleged by the by and large Muslims populace that FB had reservations against the minority. They have reasons for it, the anti-holocaust page was removed within 20 minutes of reporting whereas the anti-Muhammad event page still persisted and moreover garnered popularity by leaps and bounds.  Not to forget that the David Headley is an accomplice, who had rock solid plans to eliminate the Danish cartoonist.

These chain of events have eventually led to banning/restricting modes of communication which in Pakistan is anyway limited. The world’s most popular sites i.e Twitter, FB and YouTube all are now under Pakistani government’s scanner.

We all know position ,the Prophet Mohammad acquires in Islam . Sketches, paintings or any other visual of Prophet Mohammad are considered to be act of blasphemy by Muslims. First, someone makes an offensive program and when the Muslims around the world protest against it then such kind of “event” is promoted on FB to take revenge. What if the same thing would have happened to your religion? There were had PILs filed , when Cricketer harbhajan singh and actress mona singh danced in a reality show by playing the character of Ravan & Sita respectively. Many Hindu groups protested against M.F Husain over nude paintings of Hindu Deities and mother India. No one has got the right to hurt any religious sentiments under the “Right of speech & Expression”.

Ayush is a student of Amity and pursuing his summer internship with Veda Informatics

Just few days back I came across this wonderful story from Mahabharata; this story was told by Bhishma to Yudhishtira. This story is an example of amazing loyalty and compassion which we find missing in today’s world. I was not able to find anything to write for blogging contest this time but when I read this story I thought of sharing this with everyone in Veda Family. Here the story goes….

Long time ago in a forest near Kasi (known as Varanasi now) lived a giant tree.  Its branches were spread for miles around. This gaint tree gave shelter to many birds and animals like monkeys, squirrels etc. All types of birds had nests on this tree. Even snakes and lizards crawled beneath the tree seeking shade in hot days. All these living creatures were secure and happy under this tree. One day a hunter launched a poisoned arrow into trunk of tree while chasing its prey. Due to the harmful effects of the poison the leaves started falling from the tree and the branches started to tremor. All the inhabitants of the tree started running away from tree after they recognized the trouble. There was just one parrot who refused to leave the tree- its shelter in such condition. Everyone tried to persuade him to leave for his well being but he was just not ready to leave his home.

God was amazed by such conduct; he was surprised that how such a small creature can have such traits when humans don’t have it. He appeared in front of bird in guise of a priest and advised it to leave the tree.  He asked the bird that there are many other trees in the forest that are laden with green leaves and fruits then why you don’t want to leave this tree and go to one of them. The bird replied:  This is the place where I was born, here in this tree I gained all the good traits of my character and here I took shelter from all my enemies and natural hazards. Should I now abandon the one who has always been my support?  The Vedas themselves teach –Matr Devo Bhav, Pitr Devo Bhav, guru devo bhav (means honor your mother, father and guru like God). This tree has been all to me. Should I abandon it now?  Pleased by the bird’s conduct God revealed his identity and offered the parrot a wish. The parrot pleaded the God to save the tree; God saved the tree by showering nectar on it. The tree was saved just because of a small bird because that bird had sense of gratitude towards its benefactor.

This story teaches us to always be loyal to those who have offered shelter to us and who has been our support in bad times. We should never forget the people who have been compassionate towards us. If we are unable to see God in one who has been our help then we can-not see God anywhere. Whatever virtues, qualities we may have but without loyalty and compassion they are worthless. Being ungrateful is the worst thing that one can ever do.

The prime cause behind sharing this story with all of you is Veda. Through this story I wanted to give a message that I would have not been able to give otherwise.  By the God’s grace Veda is in no such state, instead we have started our journey towards a bigger goal and we all know that the path to that goal is not going to be a piece of cake. There will be ups and downs for sure. What I expect from all of us to have loyalty and compassion that a little bird had shown towards the tree. Veda has always been shelter to fresh talent and welcomed it with open arms. Most of the people who are currently part of Veda family; had joined here as a fresher. When the world was not ready to accept us and give a chance to our talent, Veda did. We have gained all our knowledge and experience from this place and now is the time to hold our hands together and support our own nest. Whatever we are today worth of that’s all because of this wonderful company and now it’s our chance to give something back to it by supporting it up with our knowledge, experience and hard work.  I believe that all of us feel the same but still I wanted to say this to everyone at Veda. I have full faith that we will fare through this very well and will become a much more successful company tomorrow. Today we are proud of this company which is an integral part of our lives and tomorrow also when we will look back I am sure we will be prouder.

“The greater the loyalty of a group towards the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group, and the greater the probability that the group will achieve its goals.”

April 23, 2009. Match #10 of IPL 2009 - Kolkata Knight Riders vs Rajasthan Royals. Tie. Who will bowl the Super Over? Warne goes ahead and gives the ball to Kamran Khan, a fast bowler with no international cricket experience. As young Kamran bowled, I started identifying with him. And, I realized that Priya has been like Shane Warne to the Content Team.

Shane Warne is the greatest cricketer I have ever watched. This respect stems from the faith he shows in his team and his team mates show in him, thereby delivering excellent performance as a team. Over two years, I have seen writers showing the same kind of faith in Priya. We believe that we, as writers, and our articles are in safe hands.

Both Warne and Priya are masters of difficult arts. Spin bowling and financial content are not something that anybody can execute with perfection. They know about the pitch so well, that it shows in the accuracy of what they deliver. They are incredible in what they do. While one has the ability to turn the ball more than the wicket allows, the other has the rare quality of knowing more than what clients actually tell.

It is said that Warne invented a style of bowling – something that was his original style. Of what I have learned about content writing from Priya, if we just spin the content, adding our own understanding to it can take content to the level of originality. The best example, of course, is her extraordinary article on fixed income bonds, which she linked to James Bond movies.

I belong to a generation that has grown up watching Shane Warne. Unfortunately, the next generation will not see much of Warnie’s magic tricks on the field. Similarly, at Veda, I belong to the generation of writers who have grown in Priya’s custody. People like Ranjit and I believe that the next generation of writers won’t be as lucky as us, since Priya will become less and less available for training and answering queries.

Here’s hoping that their journey towards perfection continues and they keep spreading what they have gained, while learning the ultimate lesson of sharing.

NEWS : Now Entertainment With Special-effects

“The characters in this blog are fictitious and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.”

Aliens do not drink cow’s milk but they use it to prepare tea and coffee when they are tired. After traveling from such a long distance to Earth anyone would feel tired. Let’s talk to Hrithik Roshan to ask Jadoo to recommend them a Georgia coffee machine so that our cows are safer.

Please dial MTNL toll free number 1504 to suggest him some ideas to elude cold. I called on this number and told him that it is just because of your height, i suggested him to not to stand tall as air on higher altitude is rare and temperature in substantially low.

Correspondent: Ab aap chhajje se kood chuki hain, aap ko kaisa mehsoos ho raha hai?
Billi: In sawalo ki hata aur pehle ye bata ki dhakka kisne maara tha?
Correspondent: Aap 6 ghante se waha fasi rahi aapko darr nahi laga?
Billi: Ye mere roj ka kaam hai jiska tum logo ne tamasha bana diya.
Correspondent: Kya aap janti hain poora desh aapko Billo Rani bula raha hai?
Billi: Lagta hai ab Bipasha ke pet pe laat padne wali hai ….
Correspondent: Ye thi hamari apni Billo Rani jo 6ghante tak chhajje me fase rehne ke baad kood padee…. 26 January ko inhe bahaduri medal se sammanit kiya jayega. Cameraman Vinod ke sath mai Deepak Rangrasia, Akaal Tak.

Abhi abhi hamare vishwasneeya sutron se pata chala hai ki Commissioner sahab bhi  kutte ke sath lapata ho gaye hain. Unki wife ko abhi abhi Shashtri Nagar police station me jate huye dekha gaya hai:

Wife: I lost my Husband
Inspector: What is his height
Wife: I never noticed
Inspector: Slim or healthy
Wife: Not slim can be healthy
Inspector: Color of eyes
Wife: Never noticed
Inspector: Color of hair
Wife: Changes according to season
Inspector: What was he wearing
Wife: suit/casuals I don’t remember exactly
Inspector: Was somebody with him?
Wife: I think my Labrador dog, Calvin, tied with a golden chain, height 30 inches, healthy, blue eyes, blackish brown hair, his left foot thumb nail is slightly broken, he never barks, wearing a golden belt studded with blue balls, he likes non veg food, we eat together, we jog together…. And the Wife started crying…..
Inspector: Let’s search for the dog first!!!!!!!

Himesh is scared now. He has started wearing Burkha so that aliens do not see him. Aliens now singing: jhalak dikhlaja - jhalak dikhlaja, ek baar aaja aaja aaja aaja aaaajaaa

Correspondent: You named your dogs ‘James’ and ‘Bond’ and you call yourself ‘Marathi hridaysamrat’.
Khaj Thakrey: Tula maiti kaye….?  Maajhe kutreya che nav ‘Bondhisatva’ aani ‘Jamitra’ aahe. (What do you know? My dogs’ names are ‘Bondhisatva’ and ‘Jamitra’).
Correspondent: Aapne apne kutto ko marathi naam diye hain… kya ye marathi manooooooooooooos ka apmaan nahi hai?
Khaj Thakrey: Me tula phodun takel, me tula kapun takel….. ki paaije tula…. (I will crush you….. I will cut you….. What do you want?)
JAI MARATHI MANOOOOOOOOS……… JAI MAHARASHTRA…..
Correspondent (Running): Aur ye the Khaj Thakrey jinhone apne kutto ka naam Marathi me rakha hai aur unhe angreji me bulate hain…… Bhagte huye Cameraman Sharad Talwar ke sath mai Rajeev Thukla bhagunga Ghar Tak.

Correspondent: Takhi ji kya wajah thi jo aapne Abhishek ko thappad laga diya?
Takhi: Sir, kya batau sir, hum dono Lonavala gaye the sir ghoomne ke liye sir aur usme mujhe waha ek Kiss kar diya sir.
Correspondent: Ek kiss ki itni badi saja?
Takhi: Nahi sir maine use bola ki aur kiss karo sir to usne mana kar diya sir isliye mai use thappad laga ke MIKA ke paas aa gayee sir.
Correspondent: Aur ye thi meri, aapki aur poore desh ki NAARI Takhi Swayamwant, jo Abhishek ko Thappad laga ke MIKA ke paas aa gayee hain ( Nahi Nahi Abhishek Bachpan nahi Abhishek Jabarjasti). Ab dekhne wali baat ye hogi ki agar MIKA inke dance partner rahenge to Stage ka kya hoga?…. Cameraman Elesh Purujanwala ke sath mai Bhajat Karma, Aakhir Kab Tak.

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Is this how NEWS should be?
There are several incidences daily which remain uncovered because media people are too busy creating NEWS. I understand that if there is no NEWS then what do they do? Where do they arrange funds from to sustain? But, compromising on the quality of the NEWS just for TRP raises a question in my mind: A cop lying in front of a camera with one of his legs completely detached from his body, seeking for help and the journalist is not ready to help him because the person behind the camera is a journalist first. If they are choosing professionalism over humanity then after being a professional journalist why do they choose entertainment over real NEWS?

This is what you would like to see?
I would rather go and watch Doordarshan at 8.30 to 9.30pm than watching this crap.

Is there anything that can be done?
End of the day it is all about TRP. If we all stop giving importance to this kind of stuff i believe they will move to some real NEWS.

I know and i agree that i know very little about journalism but i surely know that “these channels are not BREAKING NEWS they are MAKING NEWS, i am not sure if they are also FAKING NEWS”.

Dear Vanadium,

When I first saw you in the nuclear power station my Heart was oxidized by the cathode of your face. The alpha rays of your eyes were deflected by the nucleus of my eyes towards my Heart. Love of my Heart was attracted towards you to form 1-hearto 2-eyeso-Lovate and the electrons of my eyes started rotating very fast.

When i approached you with a catalyst you acted like a moderator and slowed down the speed of my Heart beat. Beaker of my eyes was filled with tears when this reaction occurred.

Tell me, why the burner of your eyes broke the test tube of my Heart?

Even now my Heart is saturated with your love and will remain saturated forever.

I hope you can understand the organic situation of my Heart.

Waiting for the reaction.

Yours,
Uranium (|_|)

If you are suffering from a midlife crisis visit Rishikesh, I don’t say this infact the Lonely Planet declares. My midlife is far and crisis hasn’t arrived as of now, touch wood. By the way, it was a tough choice between choosing an office outing that happened after a long time and the other place in subject. Cherry and I had zeroed in the time and spot long time back. Going by the plan, we’d be pushing one day early to the promised destination.

Googling in Office

Not sure about where to stay, I did some google search. A tip free for travelers hunting an affordable stay. Step one - Type in your destination’s name, hotel and currency you are comfortable with like for instance ¥, Rs, $, ₤ etc. Your search becomes easier after this exercise. Yes, I spoke to the manager who also happens to be a Bengali, got me a place where I intended to stay, a Ganga facing “view”. Cherry was naturally more excited than me. We had 2 nights and 2 days in hand. Step two - remember, always do some research about any place you visit. Things like local fooding, culture, weather and things to do and other things. Plan your outing and think like a tour operator. You should have a flow chart ready.

Bus Adda

We moved as per the plan and boarded out bus as per the plan from Kashmere gate at 3 PM. The journey was shaky but the excitement was palpable. We reached Rishikesh only after 11 PM. Pretty late and we were wondering if the hotel was shut for us. There were cops for obvious reasons. To my surprise the manager was awake and waiting. After completing registration formalities we were guided to our Ganga ‘facing’ room. I was dead tired and very soon crashed on my bed.

Day One

The morning next day was refreshing and the first cup of cardamom tea was very soothing. A fresh wisp of air was constantly beating my face. Smell of incense sticks, sounds of mandir bells together was making the moment more heavenly. Rishikesh is a peaceful place with lot less noise made by piligrims. Atleast much less than its cousin Haridwar. Can you believe it the CM of Uttarakhand intends to run for a nobel prize for organizing a record shattering Kumbh mela this year? At least I know what does it takes when you submit yourself to the state transport department for traveling purposes during this time of the year.

Anyways, I decided to make a move to Neelkantha. We were lucky to get a jeep in this off season. The journey to Neelkantha was equally fascinating. The serpentine route and my trekker (the jeep) were racing against the young and furious Ganges coming from badri almost moving parallel. Phenomenal.

While returning back, we decided to offload ourself from that jeep and take a 12 kilometer trek back to Rishikesh town. Now, that was a sort of an adventure. We saw things like the purple coloured butterfly, that rare small bird, tasteless wild berries, the unnamed brook (which quenched my thirst), the friendly tea shack wala and the breeze. Another highlight of that small trek was that the road was much less traveled and that proved good for us, no unwanted glances or stares. We were given friendly smiles from absolute strangers, mostly foreigners and that little girl- Lata.

We somehow managed to come back to our hotel. Nonetheless, our legs were aching and stomach empty. We had a hearty lunch from a Vaishnav bhojanalya. It was 5 PM by now and we decided to spend the evening near the ghat. Rishikesh is replete with its temples and innumerous ghats making it a peaceful and spiritual place of interest.

Day Two

I and Cherry Window shopped and she wanted the pick of the day one ‘Afghani pyjama’. According to her it’s the “in” thing. We straddled between the shops checked out the pearls and metal jewellery. I was looking for fancy bags and artifacts. You will find a lot of junk lined on the streets. I sometimes wonder what pulls a lot of Israeli tourists here in Rishikesh? Anyways, out of question and my imagination.

In the evening I prefer hanging out in ‘Devraj German Bakery’, apart from the best view of ‘Laxman Jhoola’ they have an exiting menu on the platter spicy grilled vegetable pasta, potatoe cakes, salad, apple struddle (never tried and don’t know what that means), . cinnamon roll, Italian pizza, croissants, German brown bread with peanut butter, hold on you can have Yak cheese for Rs 30 and most of the dishes I have mentioned are hand picked whatever I could remember from an eight paged menu chart. Much to choose from here. I had this opportunity to have one of the best French onion soups ever @Rs25. What else? The evening was spent near the Parmarth Ashram. The arti along the ghats are magical and surely transcends you to a different world. The night dropped and thought crept slowly. We had to leave tomorrow. Sad but worth it – our trip that was. It was Holi-the festival of colours. Some people were having fun along the bonfire near the ghat, till late night.

Day Three

The next day morning, the manager asked us if we liked their services, I agreed with him
and also told him that I’d recommend my friends who would plan a visit to Rishikesh.
There is a lot more than I can mention in this piece to do in Rishikesh. The stays was relaxing and believe me, you’ll come out a different person from Rishikesh.

I was surprised to see how locals as well as our foreign guests were playing holi without any inhibitions. They mingled with each other freely.

It feels good. Rishikesh has definitely changed since the Beatles arrived and it’s not the hippie and yoga happy yappie destination anymore. It’s more than what you think, not just spiritual but developing a premier adventure sport destination count in the river rafting and bungee jumping. Laying my eyes on the river ganges and the untold changes I undergo is something that pulls me again and again to this mystical place. Inspite of sights like the hungry cow or the snappy monkey or for that matter every make-you-believe ‘guide’ appears to be a yoga expert and guarantees you how to attain nirvana, Rishikesh will remain close to me and I will keep coming time to time, irrespective of any time and space I am in.

More than 25 dead Olive Ridley turtles were sighted near Prayagi and Arjipalli this week. One of the main reasons for their untimely deaths has been attributed to an oil spill from a ship near Gopalpur port, Orissa. Over seven thousand litres of commercial oil had spilt from the MV Malabika an Essar-owned vessel on Tuesday evening. Worse, that there has been no official word of the vessel owners.
To begin with, the Olive Ridley’s are one of rarest species and are endangered ones and also listed in the US Endangered Species Act.

We are fortunate that in India, we have an opportunity to nurture them. According to trusted sources over 1,50,000 Olive Turtles were either killed in the last one decade. These poor creatures are either killed for their meat, skin or their shell. All of us, should take responsibilities of our actions. The organization in question is the entity owning that vessel. If the reported incident and the people responsible for the mishap is true then I fear that the consequences are far more frightening. The spill can cause cutaneous toxic reactions and extreme suffocation for the marine turtles. Some marine scientists have also slated that the planktons and smaller sea animals near the beach will be affected through the spill.

“Tea is a Cup of Life” - Unknown

Historically serving Tea has always been associated with get together, meetings, parties, house warming sessions and many other social events. Throughout the world people have been drinking tea in innumerous ways and methods, some of them having respective meanings and connotations.

That’s all right but why do I drink tea?

# I want my day to start with a cup of hot tea, why?? I do not know, maybe my body clock needs that beverage.

# I have a cup of tea in the middle of the day as well as night to re-energize my system.

# A cup of tea can be consumed among old and rekindle old memories associated with tea at the same time rekindle new friendship and association with new ones, I have done it

# Nothing beats a cup of tea, when you are traveling in the mountains and stop for a break, I do it.

# In a wintry evening, mid-monsoon or even the evening office snacks - tea and samosa (a stuffed pattie -an original Indian snack,) go pretty well.

Reference of tea has been clearly mentioned in Ramayana as Sanjeevani buti, however commercial consumption and distribution of tea expatiated after the British East India company. Going by the history, Tea perhaps was mentioned first in the Gilgamesh epic, during 3000 BC or something. Other important story dates back at around 2737 BC, in China. Shen Nung, the second emperor who also happened to be a creative scientist. Nung had a habit of boiling his drinking water. During this process some tea leaves accidentally fell in his tea pot. The rest is history. Today, tea is the most-popular beverage in the world. India and China are the biggest market for tea.

Below are some great tea facts (or tea trivia) to read through while enjoying a cup of tea.

• A cup of black tea has half the amount of caffeine than a cup of coffee.

• Drinking milk may mean stronger bones, but the same goes for a cup of tea!

• In a single day, an experienced tea picker collects around 70 pounds of tea, which is equivalent to create 14000 cups.

• There are four types of tea: white, green, oolong, and black. Interestingly these four types can turn into thousands of varieties depending on the influence of culture and usability.

• Tea plants come from a common plant, Camellia Sinensis.

• If left to grow unchecked this evergreen plant can reach a height of over 30 feet.

• Tea drinking can abate your appetite.

• It takes three to five years for a tea bush to grow and ready for harvesting.

• According to recent studies one cup of tea daily can fulfill over 15% of minimum daily requirement of calcium, 10% of folic acid and almost 45% of manganese.

• Used tea leaves also double their usability as manure and it improves garden soil considerably.

As I have expressed before, a cup of tea is not what it looks like in its physical form. It is my source of adda, my thoughts are laced in that one whole cup.  Well, if you still think what is so special about this drink, worse if you have never tried. Try a cuppa “T “and let me know what do you think after …..that.

Chay ya phir thanda????

As soulful Malayalam songs play on in the background, I’m inspired to write this piece. As a matter of fact, I’ve always been intrigued by the power of music to transform people, however transiently, to calm, soothe and uplift them; whenever, wherever. Great music can transport people into imaginary lands, evoke nostalgia, throw open floodgates of memory, and as the great musician Tansen would have done, lighted fires, brought the rain and cured diseases…

So, what makes the sound of music so magical? Why is great music inspiring every time you listen to them, no matter how often you do? Why does great music always grow on you, rather than you growing tired of it? Well, as I still am clueless about the answers, I thank the Almighty for the great gift of music and His blessed musicians. (Wish writings too had the instant connect and mass reach that music enjoys!).

Speaking of musicians, my long-time favorites are maestros A.R. Rahman, Illayaraja (of “Pa” fame) and the late Malayalam composer Ravindran. For me, their soul’s divinity is reflected in their music, which is an unmistakable connection with God. So, if someone were to ask me what divinity and complete bliss are, I’d, without a grain of doubt, answer: it is in the music that moves, in their golden renderings, in soulful poetry, in nature’s magnanimity and, eventually, in mothers’ care. So, as a parting note and a tribute, I pray to the Almighty to endow His gifted children with more talent, passion, love and humility, which fuel their sublime creativity and enable them to touch lives for ages to come.