India, Sri Lanka joint-winners as rain plays spoilsport again

Details

—Kalyan

Rain spoils cricket...

Oh no! Rain again. I guess we have to share the cup after all!

Love this song:

U and Me, were meant to be
to always live in harmony
one fine day, we’ll fly away
after all Rome wasnt built in a day
Hey, hey, hey

Unfortunately, dont remember the artist’s name

—Geetha

Mavericks news

(Photo Courtesy Dallas Morning News)

Well, looks like the Mavs are tying to start off on the right foot this time around - Let’s hope their new resolution holds! (BTW, to the uninitiated, the Dallas Mavericks had an excellent season last time around, but lost woefully to the Sacramento Kings in the second round of play-offs, 1-4. This was the same team that the Mavs beat 3 out of 4 times in the regular season, once even without Dirk Nowitzki, Mavs’ star-player. The picture shows Adrian Griffin on the practice fiesld in American Airlines Stadium under a banner needling the Mavs about their biggest failure post season.

Cricket stuff

So bad we have to play all over again! Why cant they start from where they finished. I think the lankans are being partial because they scored so less 244! And on top of that they can make changes to their teams. I hope the Indians keep up their good work today also.

And I also hope the cricket correspondent gets over his hangover and keeps us posted on the details and some insights on todays match :-)

One author to another back

I am glad you liked the post, sister dear! ;-) (still under the “nasty little women” influence) - I liked your post too - It was very interesting and informative.

I guess we cannot expect any dispatches from our cricket correspondent because of the match being post-poned and what-not. He is right now lying down and getting over a major hangover - he spent the whole of last night awake with his friends ….

One author to another

Loved your post regarding Little Women was funny!

Are you going the right

I’ve come across quite a few people who look from the outside as if,they have everything going for them- a good career, good family etc.But still they are unhappy over something or the other. They feel life is dreary. They have an empty unsatisfactory void inside them, they dont seem to like many people, are depressed and moody and have a general perception that the world is going to the dogs.While some sleepwalk through life with this attitude, others try to fill that void with external materialistic things. Its true such things give short term happiness (and leave people leaving feeling worse afterwards) but are not long-term solutions. The solution is to look inside you, maybe you are going against your blueprint.

Every human has a natural tendency to love others and live in harmony and peace. This is called his higher nature. But he also has an animalistic tendency (Ego) that exists deep within which is the lower nature. This ego is the main culprit of all our sorrows, its makes us do things that we dont like to do and makes us say harsh words that hurt our loved ones that sometimes even ruin relationships. All the other evils like anger, desire for social status, insecurity, jealousy, self-pity, selfishness- all stem from this root cause. When people become slaves to their lower nature or ego, they find themselves always in a state of one-upmanship, constantly competing and comapring themselves with others, can only see from their point of view and are usually trying to mould others to their own will by sheer force. This attitude not only makes others unhappy but also makes the person it governs miserable and can never truly bing happiness.

We humans have a ray of God inside us and a natural character which is naturally inclined to be loving and kind (sadistic people excluded).This is also known as your personal blueprint.Whenever we act in a way contrary to our blueprint we are consumed with guilt and unhappiness, while acting according to it brings us joy. When was the last time you helped out someone going through a bad phase and felt that surging joy in your heart. It could be as simple as lending a sympathetic ear to your loved ones woes and really try to understand what they are going through or giving a much needed lift to a stranger.

What is your blue print?

Ok, so coming to the point. How do you find out what your blue print is? Here is a simple way to find out (courtesy: 7 habits of living, by Stephen Covey)

Clear your mind of everything and focus completely on this. In your mind’s eye see yourself going to someone’s funeral.Picture yourself driving to a house. Park your car and enter into the house. You see many people there. You see all your loved ones including family and friends there. Some are crying softly while some are just standing still. You go further, and suddenly come face to face with you body. It is your funeral.All these people have come to honor you, to express feelings of love and appreciation for your life.

First your parents are given an opportunity to speak about you, next your spouse. Then your siblings, children and friends are given a chance to speak. Think deeply, what would you like them to say? What kind of husband, wife, father, mother would you like their words to reflect? What kind of friend? What kind of son or daughter or cousin? What kind of working associate?What characterwould you like them to see in you?What contributions, what achievements would you want them to remember?Look carefully at the people around you. What difference would you have liked to make in their lives?Jot down your impressions for a few minutes, this is your personal blue print of your character.

Last words

Every person who lives must die someday. Nobody knows when and where we will meet death, but we will someday. And when it does come you should be happy and satisfied that you lived life to the fullest by being a good parent, child, sibling and friend. Because in the end, you cannot take a single cent or even a chink of your current social status beyond this life-but only your deeds and the love and kindness you impart to others.So, go ahead appreciate your loved ones, be kind to others and make
your own life fuller with each enriching experience!

—Geetha

Old Songs and Old Books

Childhood is a strange thing. It makes us think crazy stuff is cool and makes us like things because the "cool" kids like them. Then it totally drops a heavy veil over the memories, so that all you remember once you are grown (I admit many people I know don't give me that credit, yet), all you remember is how great something was, how much fun you had doing that thing or some such. You do not for the life of you, remember all the trials and tribuations you faced to get the nice things - All you remember are the nice parts. The bad memories are conveniently blotted over and there are none but the jolly ones left. All this is convenient and perfect till you happen to confront by coincidence or by choice one of your childhood icons and lo, the fairy was really a witch, after all.

What I really mean to say by all the above is that "Little Women" was one of my favorite books when I was young. All I remembered about the book was how much I loved the characters, the story - how it was made into a successful Hindi serial (Kachhi Dhoop) and how I wanted to be Alka/Meg/Bhagyashree all my life. I just read the book again - I am glad my wish was not granted. The girls in the book are wimps marrying old coots (for love, not money, my Dear) and settling for lives of cooking, cleaning and raising kids. The supposedly independent Jo is ultimately "cured" of her independence and marries a man old enough to be her father, because she is lonely and would love for her father to have a peer to talk to...Pardon me while I go throw up. This is crap. Meg, my idol, "falls in love" with a man, just because he happened to be the first older (by older, I mean really older) man to look at her "lovingly" and because she was "teased" about him being in love with her. She was seventeen when she made up her mind, for God's sake.

Overall, the book was a colossal disappointment. The author is carelessly racist about Irish and Black people - obsequiously in love with the Europeans and a preacher to boot. Every other paragraph in the book is a speech made by one of the girls or Marmee (as their mom is called) - sermonizing about "womanliness" and "properness" and all that crap. I have read some other books that I liked as a kid - the first example that comes to mind is, of course, Agatha Christie (thanks, Anne, I am forever greatful to you for introducing her to me), and she still rocks. I still read her books and enjoy them immensely. I guess romances are not meant to age....

Ok, and about the old songs, I also love old songs because I can listen them regardless of how many times I have already heard them, because they are beautiful. These songs have really withstood the test of time and still tug at the heartstrings and calm the mind and make you fell good. It doesn't matter if I am sad, mad or happy - these songs enhance my happiness and halve my sorrows. What a contrast to what disappointment so many old books bring upon us!

Some reasons why meditation is useful

Meditation has been an important part of people’s lives especially in Asia since centuries. While most people exercise their bodies, they neglect their minds which work non-stop 24 hrs (even during the time they sleep). It is a process to still the mind and as result gives intense relaxation and peace to the mind.
Check out this link to know more about meditation Meditation FAQ

Who is a Hindu?

Another thing that surprises me is that most Indians (hindus in particular) boast of their rich culture to everybody but do not bother to even glean a part of the excellent spiritual knowledge bestowed to us. While Bhagwad Gita, Vedas and the Upanishads are proper textbooks at hundreds of western universities in the fields of theosophy, metaphysics etc. I really wonder how much percent do really read any of the holy scriptures or try to absorb the meaning. If even at least 30% of the Indians followed the spiritual precepts, India would be a much richer and greater country. Hinduism does not mean doing poojas and asking for wishes or carrying trishuls(in the case of VHP) or putting loud songs on Ganesh Chaturdhi, it teaches how a man should conduct his life according to the law of karma and grow spiritually with each experience in his life

P.S. This is my opinion only, please feel welcome to post u’r own comments

—Geetha

Salman back in news....

Salman back in news….

For those who keep accusing

US concedes India’s right to take pre-emptive strikes

Road "Rage" ?

Now this was a movie that I really wanted to watch - Don’t! says rediff.com - The Rediff Review: Road

Hooray for our cricket correspondent

That was the first dispatch from our cricket correspondent. Let us hope there will be many more like that in our future.

Lanka cruise into the finals

More…

—Kalyan

Will we or won't we

Well, we are currently in discussions with a cricket correspondent and a medical correspondent for our blog. Hopefully, we will lure them in soon (fingers crossed). If things work out well, we are hoping to offer in the future a veterinary consultant and a philosophical correspondent for your entertainment and enlightenment purposes.

—Geetha

So what's a Geetha like?

About myself?!! well, I’m a nearly 24 yr old woman trying to find make some sense of this mad mad world. Now, did i just sound like a nut, well I am a bit [sometimes]. I like music, movies, books and am also into spiritual stuff. I love animals and nature and am the proud owner of a black dog who was a circus horse (???) in its past life and a brown cat which was a monkey.Well it at least behaves more like a monkey than a cat

—Geetha

Hello world

this is my first post
sorry about the above greeting, have been learning too many new languages of late :-)

—Geetha

We have guest bloggers

Welcome to guest blogger and spiritual specialist Geetha Mangaala - she will be enlightening us regularly about issues like Yoga, Reiki and some local news from India.

All you wanted to know

Ayodhya and After

Men and Women

Let’s say a guy named Fred is attracted to a woman named Martha. He asks her out to a movie; she accepts; they have a pretty good time. A few nights later he asks her out to dinner, and again they enjoy themselves. They continue to see each other regularly, and after a while neither one of them is seeing anybody else.

And then, one evening when they’re driving home, a thought occurs to Martha, and, without really thinking, she says it aloud: “Do you realize that, as of tonight, we’ve been seeing each other for exactly six months?”

And then, there is silence in the car.

To Martha, it seems like a very loud silence. She thinks to herself: I wonder if it bothers him that I said that. Maybe he’s been feeling confined by our relationship; maybe he thinks I’m trying to push him into some kind of obligation that he doesn’t want, or isn’t sure of.

And Fred is thinking: Gosh. Six months.

And Martha is thinking: But, hey, I’m not so sure I want this kind of relationship either. Sometimes I wish I had a little more space, so I’d have time to think about whether I really want us to keep going the way we are, moving steadily towards, I mean, where are we going? Are we just going to keep seeing each other at this level of intimacy? Are we heading toward marriage? Toward children? Toward a lifetime together?
Am I ready for that level of commitment? Do I really even know this person?

And Fred is thinking: …so that means it was…let’s see…February when we started going out, which was right after I had the car at the dealer’s, which means…lemme check the odometer…Whoa! I am way overdue for an oil change here.

And Martha is thinking: He’s upset. I can see it on his face. Maybe I’m reading this completely wrong. Maybe he wants more from our relationship, more intimacy, more commitment; maybe he has sensed - even before I sensed it - that I was feeling some reservations. Yes, I bet that’s it. That’s why he’s so reluctant to say anything about his own feelings. He’s afraid of being rejected.

And Fred is thinking: And I’m gonna have them look at the transmission again. I don’t care what those morons say, it’s still not shifting right. And they better not try to blame it on the cold weather this time. What cold weather? It’s 87 degrees out, and this thing is shifting like a garbage truck, and I paid those incompetent thieves $600.

And Martha is thinking: He’s angry. And I don’t blame him. I’d be angry, too. I feel so guilty, putting him through this, but I can’t help the way I feel. I’m just not sure.

And Fred is thinking: They’ll probably say it’s only a 90-day warranty…scumballs.

And Martha is thinking: Maybe I’m just too idealistic, waiting for a knight to come riding up on his white horse, when I’m sitting right next to a perfectly good person, a person I enjoy being with, a person I truly do care about, a person who seems to truly care about me. A person who is in pain because of my self-centered, schoolgirl romantic fantasy.

And Fred is thinking: Warranty? They want a warranty? I’ll give them a warranty. I’ll take their warranty and stick it right up their…

“Fred,” Martha says aloud.

“What?” says Fred, startled.

“Please don’t torture yourself like this,” she says, her eyes beginning to brim with tears. “Maybe I should never have…oh dear, I feel so…”(She breaks down, sobbing.)

“What?” says Fred.

“I’m such a fool,” Martha sobs. “I mean, I know there’s no knight. I really know that. It’s silly. There’s no knight, and there’s no horse.”

“There’s no horse?” says Fred.

“You think I’m a fool, don’t you?” Martha says.

“No!” says Fred, glad to finally know the correct answer.

“It’s just that…it’s that I…I need some time,” Martha says. (There is a 15-second pause while Fred, thinking as fast as he can, tries to come up with a safe response. Finally he comes up with one that he thinks might work.)

“Yes,” he says. (Martha, deeply moved, touches his hand.)

“Oh, Fred, do you really feel that way?” she says.

“What way?” says Fred.

“That way about time,” says Martha.

“Oh,” says Fred. “Yes.” (Martha turns to face him and gazes deeply into his eyes, causing him to become very nervous about what she might say next, especially if it involves a horse. At last she speaks.)

“Thank you, Fred,” she says.

“Thank you,” says Fred.

Then he takes her home, and she lies on her bed, a conflicted, tortured soul, and weeps until dawn, whereas when Fred gets back to his place, he opens a bag of Doritos, turns on the TV, and immediately becomes deeply involved in a rerun of a college basketball game between two South Dakota junior colleges that he has never heard of. A tiny voice in the far recesses of his mind tells him that something major was going on back there in the car, but he is pretty sure there is no way he would ever understand what, and so he figures it’s better if he doesn’t think about it.

The next day Martha will call her closest friend, or perhaps two of them, and they will talk about this situation for six straight hours.
In painstaking detail, they will analyze everything she said and everything he said, going over it time and time again, exploring every word, expression, and gesture for nuances of meaning, considering every possible ramification. They will continue to discuss this subject, off and on, for weeks, maybe months, never reaching any definite conclusions, but never getting bored with it either.

Meanwhile, Fred, while playing racquetball one day with a mutual friend of his and Martha’s, will pause just before serving, frown, and say: “Norm, did Martha ever own a horse?”

And that’s the difference between men and women.

(courtesy Crosswalk)

Akshardham Temple

An excellent article about the Akshardham temple massacre by Varsha Bhosle - Passivity does not a nation protect. She might sound too “coulterish” for some, but I think she makes some excellent points with regards to the Indian Government’s response to various Pakistani-sponsored terror activities in India. The Gandhi-Nehru family (excluding Mohandas Gandhi, of course) screwed the country over with their over-reliance on UN resolutions and the lack of backbone to stand up to terrorists and thier concern for the Muslim “votebank”. The current administration of “Hindu Nationalists” as the media loves calling them are no better in this respect as she points out here —-

Then 9/11 happened, so did the attack on Parliament — and we stayed put… Despite urging from the Indian Army, we did not clean out the terror camps in the Indian territory usurped by the US’ vassal state. Instead, we simply mobilised the army at the frontiers; they’ve been there for nine months now. Result? “Stressed-out jawan kills CO after combat orders.” And, of course, after “India gives Pakistan two weeks to end terror,” we stopped train/bus services, overflights and the such. Last status of such threats:
4Opening of Pakistani airspace for India was not subject to the withdrawal of the forces, [Pakistan’s] secretary defence said. ‘It was a foolish act of India but a blessing in disguise for Pakistan. We will decide to open the airspace for India at our own schedule’… To correct its mistake, the Indian government announced on June 9 the restoration of airspace for the Pakistani planes. (Pak News.com, September 20)
4The Centre is no longer talking about the ‘list of 20’ to be returned, as one of the pre-conditions for talks. The Centre does not want to make this an issue right now, due to US pressure. Pakistan has reportedly convinced the US of the pitfalls of handing over Dawood Ibrahim, who figures in the list. (The Times of India, September 21)
4The Indian army has withdrawn three strike divisions from the Pakistan frontier, reducing its war readiness on the border as militant infiltrations decline, high-ranking army and government officials said on Tuesday. (Hindustan Times, July 16)

and here —

Next, we tried to send “secular” newspaper editors and a perpetually disgruntled former Union minister to talk to separatists in J&K and PoK. Last I heard about that:
4Srinagar observed a complete shutdown on Tuesday as the valley voted in the second phase of assembly election in J&K… the abysmally low voter turnout in Srinagar could easily be blamed on the Hurriyat Conference’s bandh call. (rediff.com, September 24)
4Soon after the Kashmir Committee proposed talks with Pakistan’s National Kashmir Committee, its leader [Abdul Qayyum] said time was not ‘conducive’ for dialogue. (The Pioneer, September 9)
4[Pakistan’s] Foreign Minister Innam-ul Haq and Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar have received instructions that no retired Indian army general, NGO activist or Indian intellectual will be entertained in future as the ‘messenger of peace.’ Only the Foreign Office will call the shots because of prevailing consensus that back-door diplomacy channels are always used to create misunderstanding between Pakistan and Kashmiris (The Weekly Independent, September 19)


What should be done to restore peace to the region? I don’t claim to know. This much I would say - India and Pakistan are two different countries and the Partition happened. You cannot reunite the land anymore than Pakistan and Bangladesh can be reunited. Each side bears scars of the Partition - some from personal experience and others from their relatives and close friends. Kashmir has already been divided into the Indian side, POK, and the Chinese-cotrolled area (Aksai Chin). Let the LOC become the border, and let every country keep whatever it already has and stop quibbling about more.

For this to work, though, it is very important that Pakistan reconsiders it’s raison d’etre. It cannot forever live as an anti-India. It needs to remake it’s identity as Pakistan and concentrate her energy on making her people better than on trying to one-up her neighbour. This all might seem too simplistic for some. But these are my thoughts and if anyone else has any other ideas, please email me and I promise to publish them here.

Elections in the blogosphere

Elections in the blogosphere - It was as I suspected all along - want to know who Al Gore is masquerading as these days? Check out the comments....You will be surprised! Of Course, him being the inventor of the internet and all, it kinda explains the BlogMD project, doesn't it?

Spam the Nigerian spammers

Spam the Nigerian spammers - using this from Brainslug !

(link courtesy InstaPundit)

Panic Room

Just saw “Panic Room” movie starring Jodie Foster - loved it. Jodie’s been my favorite actress for a while, though I feel sorry for her kids who are going to grow up “fatherless” by choice - by their mom’s choice.

APAs and Asian Week

I can’t find links to the magazine “Asia week” online, but I subscribe to it in print. If you dont subscribe to it yet, please don’t even think of it. If you do, cancel it, which is what I am going to do. This magazine is as racist as it gets and purports to represent the whole of the “APA” (Asian-Pacific American) community. Not in my name! The first article in the magazine written by a certain “Emil Amok” is a major rehash of of the tired, old argument of “Why do they hate us” about 9/11. Predictably, he thinks America deserved what she got and shoould listen to him if she wants to avoid getting hurt in the future.

I have one question to ask of all these people - Why are you here?

Let me explain - I am an Indian citizen living in America since 1996. I am neither a US citizen nor a permanent resident. But I do feel a bond, respect and love for this country that took me in and gave me an opportunity to be all I can be. I did not make this country great - neither did most of the people complaining (atleast, most of the Asian population - especially people from the sub-continent). America is and has been a great country before we all got in - heck, that was the reason why we came here in the first place. Now, we forget the hell-hole countries we left behind and try to turn this one into a replica of our home countries. That makes me mad. These people put on such “holier-than-thou” attitudes when they are lecturing the US should be doing and should not be doing. Then they slander the culture of america and finally they say racist things about the white men (I will post the cartoon they had in the magazine as soon as I can get it scanned in).

Grow up people! stop biting the hand that feeds you. Ask not what America has done for you - ask what you have done for America lately!

Cricket News

Hooray for India - was that a great victory or what! It was really a miracle they had pulled it off. I watched the last hour of the match and it was so good to see Sehwag in action. He deserved his man-of-the-match award. Well, I look forward to seeing what happens sunday in the Finals. I hope this is a sign of how things will turn out for the Indian cricket team in the World Cup.

Yay! I have a blog!

Andrew Sullivan’s was the first ever blog that I read. From him I found Glenn, Kaus and Bill Quick …. and of course, the rest is history. I am addicted to blogs almost as much as I am to politics, music and Survivor. I have been meaning to start my own blog for a long time, but nothing motivated me more than my latest copy of the “Asian Week”. It made me so mad that… well, here I am.

I am not a writer, just an extremely opinionated person with lots of time on her hands. Please feel free to e-mail me your suggestions.