Friday, January 30, 2009

The U.S. presidential race has given us this iconic poster of Obama.This poster is everywhere and become very popular.
So this foto friday let us look at other iconic and a few not so political posters.

Here is one of Nelson Mandela. His power shows through the poster. Very inspiring.

It is also very similar to this poster of Hitler. The eagle in the background is supposed to represent progress and the fist a call to arms.

This poster of Che Guevara has to be the most iconic political poster. Che is one of my inspirations. The original photograph from which this poster is inspired is even more powerful. A personal fave. Sadly this image has now been commercialized to such a large extent that its significance is lost.

Here you can see how Chairman Mao is depicted as almost a Godly figure, with the sun behind him forming a halo and the people bowing before him.


And now for some not so iconic posters.

If Chairman Mao can be depicted as God, then why cant Sonia Gandhi??This poster simply cracks me up.Its more like a case of " Photoshop Gone Wild"..lolThese two election poster of the two main political parties of India are simply uninspiring. Its so boring and not creative. Both fail to inspire anything in me.

The fathers of our nation fared better when it came to inspiring confidence. Both these posters are iconic.They portray our leaders very well.


Thursday, January 29, 2009

Sai Satcharitra - Ch 2

Aum Raajaadhiraaja Yogiraaja ParaBrahma Sainaath Maharaaj
Shri Satchitaanand Sadguru Sainaath Maharaaj ki Jai!


Hemadpant thought that he was not a fit person to undertake the work of writing Baba's Biography. He said, "I do not know the life of my intimate friend nor do I know my own mind, then how can I write about the life of a saint or describe the nature of His Incarnations, which even the Vedas were unable to do? One must be a saint himself, before he can know other saints. Then how can I describe Baba's glory? To write about the life of a saint is the most difficult thing. One may as well measure the depth of the water of the seven seas or enclose the sky with cloth-trappings. I knew, that this was the most venturous undertaking, which might expose me to ridicule. I, therefore, invoked Sai Baba’s grace.

The premier poet-saint of Maharashtra, Shri Jnaneshwar Maharaj, has stated that the Lord loves those who write the lives of saints; and the saints also have a peculiar method of their own of getting the service, which the devotees long for, successfully accomplished. The saints inspire the work; the devotee becomes only an indirect cause or instrument to achieve the end.

The life of Sai Baba is as wide and deep as the infinite ocean; and all can dive deep into the same and take out precious gems (of knowledge and Bhakti), and distribute them to the aspiring public. The stories, parables, and teachings of Sai Baba are very wonderful. They will give peace and happiness to the people, who are afflicted with sorrows and heavily loaded with miseries of this worldly existence, and also bestow knowledge and wisdom, both in the worldly and in spiritual domains. If these teachings of Sai Baba, which are as interesting and instructive as the Vedic lore, are listened to and meditated upon, the devotees will get, what they long for, viz., union with Brahman, mastery in eight-fold Yoga, Bliss of meditation etc. So I thought, that I should call these stories together that would be my best Upasana. This collection would be most delightful to those simple souls, whose eyes were not blessed with Sai Baba’s darshana. So, I set about collecting Sai Baba’s teachings and expressions - the outcome of His boundless and natural self-realization. It was Sai Baba, who inspired me in this matter; in fact, I surrendered my ego at His feet, and thought that my path was clear; and that He would make me quite happy here, and in the next world.


I could not myself ask Sai Baba to give me permission for this work; so I requested Mr. Madhavrao Deshpande alias Shama, Baba’s most intimate devotee, to speak to Him for me. He pleaded for my cause and said to Sai Baba, "This Annasaheb wishes to write Your biography, don’t say that You are a poor begging Fakir, and there is no necessity to write it, but if You agree and help him, he will write or rather, Your feet (grace) will accomplish the work. Without Your consent and blessing, nothing can be done successfully." When Sai Baba heard this request, He was moved and blessed me by giving me His Udi (sacred ashes) and placing His boon-bestowing hand on my head said :- "Let him make a collection of stories and experiences, keep notes and memos; I will help him. He is only an outward instrument. I should write Myself My autobiography and satisfy the wishes of My devotees. He should get rid of his ego, place (or surrender) it at My feet. He who acts like this in life, him I help the most. What of My life-stories? I serve him in his house in all possible ways. When his ego is completely annihilated and there is left no trace of it, I Myself shall enter into him and shall Myself write My own life. Hearing my stories and teachings will create faith in devotees’ hearts and they will easily get self - realization and Bliss; let there be no insistence on establishing one’s own view, no attempt to refute other’s opinions, no discussions of pros and cons of any subject."

Monday, January 26, 2009

You

The best way to think of the pronoun 'you' is to equate it with its counterpart in Hindi

तू -
आप -
usted

But in Spanish there are two more forms of you which are used for the plural form.

तुम लोग - vosotros
आप लोग -
ustedes

Thus it is evident that is used in informal setting while usted is more formal.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Works Of Antoni Gaudi

Last Saturday I had written about La Sagrada Familia and a bit about Gaudi. While La Sagrada Familia is the crown jewel amongst his creations, his other buildings are remarkably beautiful as well. Here is a look at few of them.



Casa Milà Barcelona, or La Pedrera


Casa Milà Barcelona is an apartment building with a fanciful aura. Wavy walls made of rough-chipped stone suggest fossilized ocean waves. Doors and windows look like they are dug out of sand. A comical array of chimney stacks dances across the roof.

Front Facade

Atrium


Colegio de las Teresianas, or Colegio Teresiano

Antoni Gaudí's Colegio Teresiano is a school for the Teresian order of nuns.Colegio Teresiano was one of Antoni Gaudí's first commissions and stands in sharp contrast to much of Gaudi's other work. The exterior of the building is relatively simple. Colegio de las Teresianas does not have the bold colors or playful mosaics found in other buildings by Gaudi. Gaudi was clearly inspired by Gothic architecture, but instead of using pointed Gothic arches, Gaudi gave the arches a unique parabola shape.




Casa Josep Batlló

Casa Batlló by Antoni Gaudí is decorated with colored glass fragments, ceramic circles, and mask-shaped balconies.The stone façade is decorated with colored glass fragments, ceramic circles, and mask-shaped balconies. The undulating, scaled roof suggests a dragon's back.



Thursday, January 22, 2009

Sai Satcharitra - Ch 1

Starting from this week, I will be posting stories from Sai Satcharitra every Thursday.I hope that this will give readers of this blog something to think upon.I have made corrected some grammatical errors in an effort to make it more readable and also added my own thoughts.


Shri Satchitaanand Sadguru Sainaath Maharaaj ki Jai


This is the first story in Sai Satcharitra. Hemadpant writes, "It was sometime after 1910 A.D. that I went, one fine morning, to the Masjid in Shirdi for getting a darshan of Sai Baba. I was wonder-struck to see the following phenomenon. After washing His mouth and face, Sai Baba began to make preparations for grinding wheat. He spread a sack on the floor; and thereon set a hand-mill. He took some quantity of wheat in a winnowing fan, and then drawing up the sleeves of His Kafni (robe); and taking hold of the peg of the hand-mill, started grinding the wheat by putting a few handfuls of wheat in the upper opening of the mill and rotating it. I thought ‘what business does Baba have grinding wheat, when He possessed nothing and stored nothing, as He lived on alms!’ Some people who had come there thought likewise, but none had the courage to ask Baba what He was doing. Immediately, the news of Baba grinding wheat spread throught the village, and at once men and women ran to the Masjid and flocked there to see Baba's act. Four bold women, from the crowd, forced their way up and pushing Baba aside, forcibly took the peg into their hands, and singing Baba's Leelas, started grinding. At first Baba was enraged, but on seeing the women's love and devotion, He was pleased and began to smile. While they were grinding, they began to think that as Baba had no house, nor property, nor children, and none to look after, and as He lived on alms, He did not require any wheat-flour for making bread or roti.They wondered what He will do with this big quantity of flour? they thought that perhaps as Baba is very kind, He will distribute the flour amongst us. Thinking in this way, they finished the grinding and after putting the hand-mill aside, divided the flour into four portions and began to remove them one per head. Baba, Who had been and quiet up till then, got wild and started abusing them saying, "Ladies, are you gone mad? Whose father's property are you looting away? Have I borrowed any wheat from you, so that you can safely take the flour? Now please do this. Take the flour and throw it on the village border limits." On hearing this, the women felt abashed and whispering amongst themselves, went away to the outskirts of the village and spread the flour as directed by Baba.

I asked the people of Shirdi - "What was this that Baba did?" They replied that as the Cholera Epidemic was spreading in the village,this was Baba's remedy against the same.It was not wheat that was ground but the Cholera itself was ground to pieces and pushed out of the village. From then on, the Cholera Epidemic subsided and the people of the village were happy. I was much pleased to witness all this; but at the same time my curiosity was also aroused. I began to ask myself - 'What earthly connection was there between wheat flour and Cholera? What was the causal relation between the two? And how to reconcile them? The incident seems to be inexplicable. I should write something on this and sing to my heart's content Baba's sweet Leelas'. Thinking about this Leela, my heart was filled with joy and I was thus inspired to write Baba's Life - The Satcharitra.

And as we know, with Baba's grace and blessing this work was successfully accomplished.

Philosophical Significance of Grinding
Apart from the meaning that the people of Shirdi put on this incident of grinding wheat, there is, we think, a philosophical significance too. Sai Baba lived in Shirdi for about sixty years and during this long period, He did the business of grinding almost every day - not, however, of the wheat alone but also the sins, the mental and physical afflictions and the miseries of His innumerable devotees. The two stones of His mill consisted of Karma and Bhakti, the former being the lower and the latter the upper one. The handle with which Baba worked the mill consisted of Jnana. It was the firm conviction of Baba that Knowledge or Self-realization is not possible, unless there is the prior act of grinding away of all our impulses, desires, sins and of the three gunas, viz. Sattva, Raja and Tama; and the Ahamkara, which is so subtle and therefore so difficult to be got rid of.

This reminds us of a similar story of Kabir who seeing a woman grinding corn said to his Guru, Nipathiranjana, "I am weeping because I feel the agony of being crushed in this wheel of worldly existence like the corn in the hand-mill." Nipathiranjana replied, "Do not be afraid; hold fast to the handle of knowledge of this mill, as I do, and do not wander far away from the same but turn inward to the Center, and you are sure to be saved."

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Obamania : Inauguration of Obama




Today marked an important day in American Political history.It inaugurated it's first non white president. Yes Barack Obama was finally sworn in as the 44th President of the United States Of America.Being a strong opponent of G.W.Bush, I am happy that the Democrats are now in power.Hopefully the months to come will bring a change in the way the war on terror is handled. There are fears in India that Obama will bring in more protectionist legislatures to boost the fagging U.S. economy. But that I think is expected. He will do what he thinks is good for U.S. first. The question arises whether he thinks of the world after that. This is what was missing from the Bush administration.They didn't give a damn about the rest of the world.

But the Obama administration is already showing signs of thinking of not only the U.S. but about the entire world.Obama's message was clear "America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity".I also appreciate the fact that he mentioned Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers as well in his speech.

And though I respect Obama, the fact is I still America has a long way to go before laying claim as "leader of the world". In fact I think the time when the world was led by a few countries. Each nation should now walk together as one world.


Sunday, January 18, 2009

Stress in Spanish

One of the things that sets Spanish apart from English is the use of stress and accent marks. Spanish being more of a phonetic language, the accent marks become necessary.

BASIC RULES:

  • If a word ends in a vowel, n or s, the stress is on the penultimate (next to last) syllable. For example, toro, computadora, joven and zapatos all have their accent on the next-to-last syllable. Most words fit this category.
  • Words than end in other letters have the stress on the last syllable. For example, hotel, hablar, madador and virtud all have the accent on the final syllable.
  • If a word isn't pronounced according to the above two rules, an accent is placed over the vowel of the syllable that gets the stress. For example, común, piz, dico, inglés, and oja all have the stress on the indicated syllable.
You should be aware that sometimes accent marks are used only to distinguish two similar words, and they don't affect pronunciation (because the marks are already on a syllable that is being stressed). For example, el and él are both pronounced the same way, even though they have quite different meanings. Similarly, some words, such as que and quien, use accent marks when they appear in questions, but usually not otherwise. Accents that don't affect pronunciation are known as orthographic accent

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Oh My Gaudi!!

One of my favourite architect has to be Antoni Gaudi.His creations(calling them mere buildings would be an insult) are one of the reasons that Barcelona figures on my places to visit list.

One of his most iconic buildings is the La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.It is an enormous church and it is still unfinished.It is a structure unlike any other and the best among all the great works of Gaudi.

The architectural style of Sagrada Familia has been called "warped Gothic," and it's easy to see why. The rippling contours of the stone façade make it look as though Sagrada Familia is melting in the sun, while the towers are topped with brightly-colored mosaics which look like bowls of fruit. Gaudí believed that color is life, and, knowing that he would not live to see completion of his masterpiece, left colored drawings of his vision for future architects to follow.

Learn more about Antonio Gaudi.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Kahan Se Aaye Badaraa


This an amazing song. Its from the movie Chashme Badoor.Yesudas has sung the song so beautifully.

Movie Name: Chashme Buddoor (1981)
Singer: Haimanti Shukla, Yesudas KJ
Music Director: Rajkamal
Lyrics: Indu Jain
Year: 1981
Producer: Anand
Director: Sai Paranjape
Actors: Deepti Naval, Farooq Sheikh, Rakesh Bedi, Ravi Baswani, Rekha, Saeed Jaffrey

Kahaa.N Se Aae Badaraa
Ghulataa Jaae Kajaraa
Kahaa.N Se Aae Badaraa
Ghulataa Jaae Kajaraa

Palako.N Ke Satara.Nge Diipak
Ban Baithe Aa.Nsuu Ki Jhalar
Motii Kaa Anamolak Hiiraa
Mittii Me Jaa Phisalaa
Kahaa.N Se Aae Badaraa ...

Nii.Nd Piyaa Ke Sa.Ng Sidhaarii
Sapano.N Ki Suukhii Phulavaarii
Amr^It Hotho.N Tak Aate Hii
Jaise Vishh Me.N Badalaa
Kahaa.N Se Aae Badaraa ...

Utare Megh Yaa Phir Chhaaye
Nirday Jho.Nke Agana Ba.Dhaaye
Barase Hai.N Ab Tose Saavan
Roe Man Hai Pagalaa
Kahaa.N Se Aaye Badaraa ...

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Subject Pronouns

Here are the subject pronouns in Spanish with their English equivalents:

  • yo — I
  • — you (informal or familiar singular)
  • usted — you (formal singular)
  • él, ella — he, she
  • nosotros, nosotras — we (the first form refers to a group of males or males and females, while the second form refers to females only)
  • vosotros, vosotras — you (informal or familiar plural; the first form refers to a group of males or males and females, while the second form refers to females only; this pronoun is seldom used in most parts of Latin America)
  • ustedes — you (formal plural)
  • ellos, ellas — they (the first form refers to a group of males or males and females, while the second form refers to females only)
An important thing to remember is that the subject pronouns are not required everywhere since in Spanish the verb forms often make subject pronouns unnecessary.

Here is a sampling of sentences where pronouns are unnecessary:

  • Voy al supermercado. I am going to the supermarket. (The verb voy can refer only to the person speaking.)
  • ¿Dónde vas? Where are you going? (The verb vas necessarily refers to the person being spoken to.)
  • Roberto no está en casa. ¿Fue al supermercado? Roberto isn't at home. Did he go to the supermarket? (Standing alone, the second sentence might be unclear about who the subject is. But in context, it is obvious that Roberto is being referred to.)
  • Nieva. It is snowing. (Nevar, the verb for "to snow," is used in the third-person singular form and doesn't need an accompanying subject.)

When to use subject pronouns

Subject pronouns are used in the following instances:

To avoid ambiguity: Context doesn't always make clear who the subject is, and some verb forms are ambiguous. Yo tenía un coche. I had a car. (Out of context, tenía could mean "I had," "you had," "he had" or "she had." If the context makes the subjects clear, the pronouns normally wouldn't be used.) Juan y María son alumnos. Él estudia mucho. John and Mary are students. He studies a lot. (Without the pronoun, it is impossible to tell whom the second sentence refers to.)

For emphasis: In English, unlike Spanish, we often use verbal stress to emphasize a pronoun. For example, if a strong emphasis is placed on the "I" in "I am going to the supermarket," the understood meaning of the sentence might be "I (and not somebody else) am going to the supermarket" or possibly "I am going to the supermarket (and I'm proud of myself)." In Spanish, one could similarly add an emphasis by using the grammatically unnecessary pronoun: Yo voy al supermercado. Similarly, haz tú lo que tú quieres could be understood as "you do what you want (and see if I care)."

Change of subject: When contrasting two subjects, the pronouns are frequently used. Yo estudio y él escucha el estéreo. I'm studying and he's listening to the stereo. Nosotros somos pobres, pero él es rico. We're poor, but he's rich. Note that in English you might use intonation — putting stress on "we're" and "he's" — to add emphasis. But such stress in Spanish would be unnecessary, as using the pronouns takes care of adding the emphasis.

Usted and ustedes: Even where not strictly necessary, usted and ustedes are sometimes included and can add a degree of politeness. ¿Cómo está (usted)? How are you? Espero que (ustedes) vayan al cine. I hope you are going to the movies.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Ajanta & Ellora

Mom & Dad had been to Ajanta Ellora for the New Years. They took some beautiful shots of these historical sites.

Ellora is an archaeological site, 30 km from the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra built by the Rashtrakuta Dynasty. Famous for its monumental caves, Ellora is a World Heritage Site.

Ellora represents the epitome of Indian rock-cut architecture.The 34 "caves" – actually structures excavated out of the vertical face of the Charanandri hills – being Buddhist, Hindu and Jain cave temples and monasteries, were built between the 5th century and 10th century.

Ajanta Caves are rock-cut cave monuments dating from the second century BCE, containing paintings and sculpture considered to be masterpieces of both "Buddhist religious art" and "universal pictorial art"






Wednesday, January 7, 2009

HOW TO: Gift Wrap

I am the resident gift wrapper of my house. With Mom's birthday coming up next week, I thought that it was time to see how the pros wrap their presents

Article courtesy www.ehow.com

Step 1

To wrap a gift, first gather your materials and lay them out on a clean, flat work surface. Remember to remove the price tag from the gift before wrapping it.


Step 2

Place the box containing the gift along the length of wrapping paper and unroll enough paper to wrap it around the box, leaving at least a 2-inch overlap. Make sure there is enough wrapping paper at each end of the box to cover the ends completely when folded over them.



Step 3


Use a pencil to mark where this overlap ends and cut the wrapping paper in a straight line at this point. Fold the paper or use a yardstick to guide you in cutting a straight line.



Step 4

Eyeball the wrapping paper at the ends of the box. Trim away any extra paper so that the remaining flaps are long enough to cover the box but short enough to fold over smoothly into flaps.



Step 5


Open the paper you've just cut and lay the box in the center of the unprinted side, top down.



Step 6


Bring one lengthwise edge of the wrapping paper to the center of the box and secure it with tape. Turn the opposite edge of the paper under approximately 1 inch and bring this to the center of the box as well so that it overlaps the first edge, and tape it down.



Step 7


Position the gift box so that one short end is facing you. Grasp the left and right edges of the wrapping paper and push the sides in so that top and bottom flaps are formed. Make sure the edges are pushed in as far as they will go without ripping the paper. Tape the edges to the box.



Step 8
Bring the upper flap down against the side of the box, making sure the flap is sharply creased at its folds. Tape the flap to the box.



Step 9


Bring the lower flap up against the side of the box. Crease and secure it as you did the upper flap.



Step 10

Repeat for the opposite end of the box.



Step 11

Position the package so the seamless side is facing down.



Step 12

Wrap a long piece of ribbon around the gift box lengthwise, then twist the ribbon at the lengthwise seam to wrap it around the box width-wise.



Step 13

Turn the box over so that the seamless side is facing up and tie the ribbon into a bow on top of the present where the ribbons cross.



Step 14

If you have a card, slide it under the ribbon and secure it with tape on the underside. If you have a gift tag, use the loose ends of the ribbon to secure the gift tag (if it has a hole in it), or adhere it directly to the gift (if it has adhesive on it.)

Monday, January 5, 2009

The Year 2009 !!!


Year 2009 Calendar


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Thursday, January 1, 2009

New Beginnings


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

In this new year, as I had promised, I will be introducing new stuff and adding more spice to the blog. I started blogging not to vent my ire or force my opinions on people. I think there are more than enough blogs written by guys talking about what they think of everything.As I had said before, I dont solicit people to read my blog or listen to what I say. These pages have been made keeping in mind one person only, and that is ME. This blog is an attempt from my part to collect things that I like -to do, to see, to listen and to read; at one place. So in keeping with that, I will be posting on other things that interest me.

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