Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 28,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 10 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

In Deepa Mehta’s movie ‘1947: Earth’ (1998), a Muslim Character tells his Hindu Friend:

“अरे तुम हिन्दू इतनी फलियाँ और गोबी खाते हो, कोई हैरानी की बात नहीं कि तुम्हारे योगी हवा में उड़ते हैं. किसी दिन पादते-पादते कहीं जन्नत ही ना पहुँच जाएँ “

“Are tum Hindu Itni faliyan aur gobi Khate ho, koi hairani ki baat nahi ki tumhare Yogi hawa me udte hain. Kisi din paadte-paadte kahin jannat hi na pahunch jayen ……(You Hindus eat so many beans and cabbage, it’s not surprising your Yogis levitate; they will probably fart away to heaven).

In many societies, flatulence (breaking wind or more commonly known as farting) in public is regarded as embarrassing but, depending on context, can also be considered humorous. In many cultures, people will often strain to hold in the passing of gas when in polite company, or position themselves to conceal the noise and odor. In some other cultures, it may be no more embarrassing than coughing. The social acceptability of flatulence-based humor varies over the course of time and between cultures. For Example in Japan, farting is included in human nature; and during early years of marriage most married men and women engage in flatulence in front of their spouses in order to reinforce their relationships. In ancient Japan, public contests were held to see who in a town could fart the loudest and longest. The Winners of the contest were awarded many prizes and received great recognition. Donald Richie notes in ‘Discover Japan vol.2 Words, Customs and Concepts’, Kodansha, 1983, p.192-193) that the fart (he or onara) – is omnipresent in Japanese literature and the arts: From Edo-period scroll paintings to Ozu Yasujiro’s Ohayou (1959). It is not at all embarrassing.

In some Arab societies, flatulence by the guest after a good meal is considered a sign of fulfillment and gratitude.

On the contrary, in Baluchistan and Pashtunistan (the region encompassing Afghanistan and Pakistan), flatulence is considered quite a bad habit. There were folk-tales where people had to leave their villages because they farted in public. Two brothers were so embarrassed after farting during the game of volley-ball, that they committed suicide.  On a different note, US marines stationed in Afghanistan are advised by their commander to refrain from engaging in bodily acts of flatulence in public.

In an Interesting fable from Akbar-Birbal Series, there is an instance of social outcasting after engaging in the act of flatulence in public. Once Birbal farted loudly in the the court of emperor Akbar. According to prevalent practice, Birbal was asked to leave the capital for engaging in this embarrassing act.  Birbal went away to countryside. Since Birbal was a great friend and a counsel to Akbar, he missed him dearly. So after a few months, he asked Birbal to come back to capital. When Birbal returned, Akbar asked him  for his work during last  few months. Birbal told him that he was growing pearls in the field. Akbar was surprised. He asked him to the show his crop of pearls. So Birbal took him to his fields, and when asked to show the pearls. Birbal said, only that person can pluck the pearls from the plants who has never farted in his life, or the pearls will turn into water. Akbar queried all present to say whether anybody is there who has never farted.  There was no one who had never farted. Akbar realized his mistake and said sorry to his friend Birbal.

In a little know African country named Malawi, the government had proposed a bill prohibiting farting in public, which led to huge public ‘backlash’ and the government had to roll back the bill.

There is a story of a man in Iran regarding his flatulence in public. He was so much tormented for being called a padela (a farter), that he decided to leave the country. Similarly farting is considered a serious incivility by Russians and in some cases, it has resulted in divorces and fighting among the couples.

Flatulence in general by children is usually considered an object of amusement and is joked upon in many cultures including India, Mongolia and America.   

In the translated version of Penguin’s 1001 Arabian Nights Tales, a story entitled “The Historic Fart” tells of a man who flees his country from the sheer embarrassment of farting at his wedding, only to return ten years later to discover that his fart had become so famous, that people used the anniversary of its occurrence to date other events. Upon learning this he exclaimed, “Verily, my fart has become a date! I shall be remembered forever and ever.”

It is not surprising that flatulence has evoked varied interests in people leading to creation of various flatulence related humor shows on TV and literature. But there is more than what goes with the wind…:-)

Life is a gift of God!
Life is wonderful and all the people who live in it, make it more beautiful and livable. There is no better intoxication than the life itself. We never realize the importance of anything till It starts drifting away. We all feel the same about life too, when its starts sinking away.

Then we realize how good it is. How beautiful is to wake up one lazy morning with your loved ones. Smile softly and blink with misty eyes. Make some Green tea or coffee and talk tit-bits between the sips. May be some biscuits or some left over Walnut cake from the last night will make it more interesting. Get up and go for a walk together on the small hills nearby. On the way slowly climbing the high rising stairs. Stopping a bit for taking a gush of air and smiling at each other.With red ears…say it loud, OH we did climb it….:-) Later taking big strides on the small  sparsely crowded road and thinking of which vegetables to buy. Looking at other people doing their chores. Basking in the sun. Making some small talk over surroundings. Staring at the distant mountains and while coming back buying banana cup cakes. Climbing down to home and making  some nice healthy breakfast of Brown bread Egg-cucumber sandwich with some cheese. ‘Dark honey laced non-milk Tea’ to give the company. Sitting lazily in the courtyard under the winter sun. Mules walking in a single row far away. Somewhere near a small stream is flowing away past the tall pine trees. Two Mongoose playing hide and seek with us while nibbling at the bread thrown for them.Thinking that life is indeed GOOD.This nonetheless looks trivial but believe me, we will all realize that this is a royalty which you would never want to lose. This is an eternal truth that:

We all will grow old one day, and we will not be able to DO even simpler things, what we can do now without much pain.

But God gives us a superb chance to live it out once. 

God blesses us with  his/her wonderful gift called LIFE and a wonderful bio-machine called body. All this is made possible by a good and healthy body.
Wondering, why I have become such a big fan of life?
Here is the secret………….. I have realized that there is nothing more precious than Life and is incomparable to any other worldly thing. Life is great with a healthy body and mind.

Today (19/11/2011), I received another great message from the Almighty to celebrate the best things he has given to us.  I am lucky and happy that my 7th judgment Day came and went like super blessing by GOD. God really you are GOOD ALL THE TIME. I pray and wish all who are facing judgment days in their lives (like my Uncle…he is a great survivor, Steve…Guy who made me cope with it, and all out there fighting back with vigor)…May God bless them with life and we will bask in his/her glory. May Lord Ganesha showers them all with his love and care like he does to me.
Thanking people who love you, is like giving pennies when you should be giving the diamonds. But nevertheless. I would like to thank in manifolds to Dear GOD for all his care for me, papa-mummi for their love and impeccable devotion to GOD, Dr MSA, Dr AA, Dr Verma for their super extraordinary skills and concern, Mrs Mary for keeping me in her mind and prayers, Suresh & Girdhar for standing by my side, KL for concern, Aps for still calling and believing my old talk, RVS for ignoring , KKK for absolute faith in me and your vegetarianism  and last but not the least ‘YOU’. You are the fuel which keeps the flame of my life burning.

Thank you all!……Love you all!

Good  advice:

Drink Plenty of water

Try to Be a Vegetarian as much as possible

Drink plenty of Tulsi-Green Tea

Cut on  Sugar and take Honey instead

Eat Colorful fruits and vegetables (more colors are more better)

Avoid fatty food  and junk food

Do some yoga or any other exercise everyday

Eat food prepared by someone who loves you or make it yourself…:-)

सचमुच वर्ष 2011 के लंदन के दंगे निन्दनीय हैं। लूटपाट और हिंसा को कभी भी सही नहीं ठहराया जा सकता है परन्तु पूरे प्रकरण को आपराधिक अवसरवादिता करार देने से मुझे इनकार है। लंदन के दंगों से जुड़े कुछ पहलू पेश हैं:

 १. अप्रैल 2011 में अश्वेत रैप गायक स्माइली कल्चर की पुलिस के हाथों मौत के बाद 2000 से अधिक अश्वेत लोगों की हिस्सेदारी में एक बहुत बड़ा अहिंसक और शांतिपूर्ण प्रदर्शन स्कॉटलैंड यार्ड में आयोजित किया गया था पर जिसे शायद ही किसी ने गंभीरता से लिया था। यहाँ देखें http://tinyurl.com/3qptxkj

 २. दक्षिणी लंदन की अश्वेत जनता IPCC (Independent Police Complaint Commission) पर भरोसा नहीं करती और पुलिस के स्टॉप एण्ड सर्च कार्यक्रमों से नाखुश है। यहा देखें http://tinyurl.com/3vw7ds3

 ३. टॉटनहम जहाँ दंगों की शुरूवात हुई थी, वहाँ बाल गरीबी के आँकड़े पूरे लंदन में चौथे स्थान पर हैं और वयस्क बेरोजगारी राष्ट्रीय औसत से दोगुनी है। देखें यहाँ http://tinyurl.com/3khht7g

 ४. OECD के अनुसार यू.के. में सामाजिक गतिशीलता अन्य समृद्ध विकसित देशों के मुकाबले कम है यानी गरीब घरों के बच्चे आमतौर पर अंतत: गरीब ही रह जाते हैं। देखें यहाँ रिपोर्ट http://tinyurl.com/y9ojpab

 ५. उपभोक्तावादी संस्कृति के प्रभाव से लूट्पाट का मुख्य निशाना मुख्य रूप से बड़े स्टोर थे और लूटपाट को अंजाम देने वालों वयस्कों और किशोरों का सारा ध्यान महंगे फैशनेबल कपड़ों, जूतों, स्मार्टफोन, लैपटॉप, फ्लैटस्क्रीन टी.वी. आदि पर था। उनके लूटपाट का मकसद पेट भरना या पैसे कमाना न हो कर हर कीमत पर ब्रांडेड उपभोक्ता उत्पादों को हासिल कर उच्चतर प्रतिष्ठा प्राप्त करना था। देखें यह खबर http://tinyurl.com/3mazhep

 ६. भविष्य के प्रति निराशावादिता और अपने हमउम्रों के सामने इज्जत पाने की होड़ में कई युवा और किशोर दंगों में शामिल हुए थे। देखे http://tinyurl.com/43lxn6k

 कुल मिलाकर कहा जाए तो लंदन में दंगे क्यूँ हुए इसका जवाब इतना सरल नहीं है जैसा कि यूके के प्रधानमंत्री डेविड केमरोन कह रहें हैं। गौर करने की बात यह है कि भारत में भी दंगे मूलत: आर्थिक कारणों से ही होते है, नाम चाहे धर्म का हॊ।

Clock Room / Left Luggage Counter New Delhi Airport

Rate List Left Luggage Counter New Delhi Airport

The second good news for travelers is that Delhi Metro and Reliance have collaborated to bring Delhi Airport Express Line from New Delhi Railway Station to New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport! Service is also available from New Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport to New Delhi Railway Station.

Route Map of Delhi Airport Metro Express

Some Pictures

The Train - Delhi Airport Express

Station Delhi AIrport Express

Inside the Train Delhi Airport Metro Express

Dhauladhar Mountains of Himalaya

Dhauladhar Mountains of Himalaya -2

Dhauladhar Mount

Parks of Mysore

Parks of Mysore- 1

Lodhi Gardens

Lodhi Gardens - 2

Shimla Valley

Shimla City

On The Mall Road Shimla UMS

Shimla Valley

Municipal Building Shimla

Near Rashtrapati Bhawan Delhi

In our life we, all know how important are some special days when we wait anxiously to know the results. We pray to each and every God to do good to us. We think of our near and dear ones for their care, love and support. We remember our parents who brought us into this world and took pain to see that we always get what we want. We all do this several times in our life to make sure we are happy and safe. I prefer calling these days small judgment days (from the Day of Judgement in Gospel Of Matthews in Holy Bible). It’s the GOD (one who is Jesus, Krsna, Shiva, Durga , Allah, Buddha or any other form) who listens to our prayers and takes care of all our worries. God helps us overcome the problems and understand the true meaning of life and death, of love. of wealth and satisfaction. May be we do not see it from our eyes but HE IS GOOD ALL THE TIME (thanks to Don Moen for creating this wonderful song)

I had my 6th Judgement Day Today and God was good to me again! It’s wonderful to feel his love for me, for taking care of me always, for giving me happiness, for giving me SUPER wonderful people around me (my parents, Suresh- my brother, Bhaiya, My sisters, Mrs Mary – Shillong- for sending thousands of prayers to God for me, and many caregivers RVS, Aps, Khonoma Lilly and especially GDCK-UMS- for innocence and care, Dr MSA – for his extraordinary skills and smile,  Dr AA – for his fantastic knowledge and coolness, My staff at KHS – for keeping faith in me, Narayan -for keeping his doors open for me day n night, and all who love me).

I believe we should cherish and enjoy whatever God gives us. There is always a ray of light even in the darkest of the tunnels. Do good and be compassionate to everyone who live around you. Life is a gift of God to us. For all of you who face  judgment days, here are the words of the wonderful song Don Moen wrote:

“God is good all the time
He put a song of praise in this heart of mine
God is good all the time
Through the darkest night, His light will shine
God is good, God is good all the time

If you’re walking through the valley
And there are shadows all around
Do not fear, He will guide you
He will keep you safe and sound
‘Cause He’s promised to never leave you
Nor forsake you and His Word is true

We were sinners – so unworthy
Still for us He chose to die
Filled us with His Holy Spirit
Now we can stand and testify
That His love is everlasting
And His mercies – they will never end”

Music is a gift of heaven to ears. It makes you slip away in timelessness, living away in the land of clouds and mist. It is not surprising that one holds on to that world for a long time. I do it often (though it does not make any sense most of the time). Living the unreal is joy unexplained. Wondering why this post’s is titled Moon’s peak and Black Coffee”? Drank some black coffee and got introduced to some wonderful music at this warm and cosy coffee-house named Moonspeak Cafe at Mcleodganj (Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh). It was a wintry morning of late December with no sight of the sun and frozen winds of the Himalaya country blowing outside. We had just arrived in Mcleodganj in the morning from Delhi and happened to be in that cafe for some late morning brunch and coffee. A young Tibetan guy (with Beatles styled long hairs) who was looking over the cafe, after serving us our coffees, started playing some wonderful music on the cafe’s music player. It made me look and persistently smile to my friend  (Undrushka) like a baby who has recently learnt to smile (and does not know what it actually means and reacts to everything either with a smile or a cry).Upon inquiry, I realized it’s from Noble Beast (I have never come across a Beast who is so sweet). Noble Beast is an album composed by Andrew Bird. But the song which went to the ears like a gush of cool winds on a hot summer day was Effigy. The song is wonderfully sung by Andrew Bird and the words flow like a lucid narrative from his mouth. He sings like we all will say an internal conversation to ourselves naturally. Beautiful lyrics and wonderful music. Thanks to the unnamed hosts at Moonspeak cafe, Mcleodganj. Each time  we visited that place, they obliged me by playing it again….. Here are the lyrics…………Enjoy

If you come to find me affable

And build a replica for me

Would the idea to you be laughable

Of a pale facsimile
So when you come to burn an effigy

It should keep the flies away

When you learn to burn this effigy

It should be For the hours that slip away
It could be you, it could be me

Working the door, drinking for free

Carrying on with your conspiracies

Filling the room with a sense of unease

Fake conversations on a nonexistent telephone

Like the words of a man who’s spent a little too much time alone

When one has spent too much time alone…
So if you come to burn my effigy

It should keep the flies away

When you long to burn an effigy

it should be Of a man whose lost his way, slips away

Listen to the Music here

If you are still listening to Waka waka (theme song of 2010 South Africa World Cup) by Shakira, get ready to tune into the theme song  ’O yaron’ of Commonwealth games 2010 Delhi  by Oscar winner music composer A R Rahman. The song follows the current Indian linguistic trend of code mixing and code switching i.e it has Hindi as well as English constructions. The song welcomes the world to come to India as friends and participate and win in the games….Enjoy the music…it is good!

Download or listen the song here

http://www.rahmanism.com/2010/08/download-commonwealth-game-song-cwg-mp3.html

Here are the lyrics

In Devanagri

ओ यारों ये इंडिया बुला लिया

दीवानों ये इंडिया बुला लिया

ये तो खेल है, बड़ा मेल है

मिला दिया..

मिला दिया………….

ये तो खेल है, बड़ा मेल है

मिला दिया..

रूकना रूकना रूकना रूकना रूकना नहीं

हारना हारना हारना हारना हारना नहीं

चलो न सिर्फ

करो न सिर्फ

मैदान मारो !!

Lets go

Lets go

जियो, उठो, बढ़ो, जीतो

जियो, उठो, बढ़ो, जीतो…..

ओ यारों ये इंडिया बुला लिया

दीवानों ये इंडिया बुला लिया

पर्वत सा ऊँचा हो दिल तो ये

दुनिया सलामी दे

सर्द इरादे न हो जाए कहीं

दिल को वो सूरज दे

जियो, उठो, बढ़ो, करो, जीतो

जियो, उठो, बढ़ो, करो जीतो…..

नया नया जहाँ

लेट्स गो

कैसी सजी सजी है देखो माटी अपनी

बनी रश्के जहाँ यारां हो

कई रंग हैं, बोली हैं, देश हैं मगर

जैसे जग है समाया हो

लागी रे अब लागी लगन

ओ ओ

जागी रे मन अब जीत की अगन

उठी रे अब इरादों में तपन

ओ ओ

चली रे चली रे अब डोली बन ठन

ओ यारों ये इंडिया बुला लिया

दीवानों ये इंडिया बुला लिया !

In Roman

o yarom ye indiya bula liya
divanom ye indiya bula liya
ye to khela hai, baड़ा mela hai
mila diya..
mila diya………….
ye to khela hai, baड़ा mela hai
mila diya..
rukana rukana rukana rukana rukana nahin
harana harana harana harana harana nahin
chalo na sirpha
karo na sirpha
maidana maro !!
lets go
lets go
jiyo, utho, baढ़ो, jito
jiyo, utho, baढ़ो, jito…..
o yarom ye indiya bula liya
divanom ye indiya bula liya
parvata sa u~cha ho dila to ye
duniya salami de
sarda irade na ho jae kahin
dila ko vo suraja de
jiyo, utho, baढ़ो, karo, jito
jiyo, utho, baढ़ो, karo jito…..
naya naya jaha~
lets go
kaisi saji saji hai dekho mati apani
bani rashke jaha~ yaram ho
kai ranga hain, boli hain, desha haim magara
jaise jaga hai samaya ho
lagi re aba lagi lagana
o o
jagi re mana aba jita ki agana
uthi re aba iradom mem tapana
o o
chali re chali re aba doli bana thana
o yarom ye indiya bula liya
divanom ye indiya bula liya !

Hindi Lok Shabdakosh Pariyojana is an ambitious dictionary making project of Central Institute of Hindi, Agra (an autonomous institute of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, New Delhi) for strengthening and enriching lexical resources of Hindi by conserving and documenting cultural and linguistic repertoire of 48 varieties of Hindi (based on the report ‘Language: India and States’, 1997, Census of India, 1991).The project is housed at Agra headquarters of Central Institute of Hindi.

The project aims to build modern trilingual dictionaries (Variety-Hindi-English) for each of these varieties of Hindi using state of the art techniques of lexicography. In addition to printed editions, to gain wider readership, project plans to publish these digital dictionaries on internet.

In order to achieve these goals, the project employs a tri-layered strategy for making the dictionaries:

1. Data collection by field work in the language area using specially prepared elicitation questionnaires and from published sources
2. Data entry on Indic computing enabled computers in Unicode using modern lexicographic and database software (Currently Flex and Lexique Pro of SIL, USA)
3. Editing, proof-reading, translation  and publication

In the first phase of the project, the project is working on Bhojpuri (dictionary Published in 2009, see pic above), Braj Bhasha, Rajasthani (Marwari), Awadhi, Bundeli, Chattisgarhi, Malwi, Magahi, Kangari, Garhwali and Hariyanvi.

The project was started in the year 2007 under the dynamic leadership of eminent Hindi lexicographer Shri Arvind Kumar (editor and compiler of Hindi’s first thesauruses – Samantar Kosh), who was the chief editor of the project and now an advisor. Bhojpuri-Hindi-English Dictionary was edited with the help of Dr Rajendra Prasad Singh, Sasaram, Bihar (eminent Bhojpuri language expert).

Currently Brajbhasha-Hindi-English Dictionary and Rajasthani (Marwari)-English-Hindi Dictionary is being edited with the help of Dr Ramrajpal Dwivedi, Etah, Uttar Pradesh (famous grammarian and Brajbhasha Expert) and Dr Bhanwar Singh Samaur, Churu, Rajasthan (Eminent Marwari language expert) respectively.

The project has an in-house library of various published books, monographs, Newspapers, magazines and dictionaries of various Hindi varieties. There are around 200 titles currently on the shelf and this library is being constantly updated.

The Project has the following full time staff:

Lexicographers (Koshkarmi) – Dr Digvijay Sharama and Mr Suresh Chand Meena

Data Operators – Mr Rahul Devrani and Mr Girdhar Singh

Project I/c and Coordinating Editor: Mr Abhishek Avtans

The project aims to bring forth the vast linguistic wealth of these varieties of Hindi for general public, Hindi lovers and researches around the globe.