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FRAGRANCE
December Edition
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Dear friends,
Welcome to December edition of “Fragrance”.
Life is a very complicated process which prompts several odd situations to tackle. Sometimes it brings loads of joy that smears our life with happiness and love, sometimes it takes away our most cherished dreams, friends, and loved ones and throws us in the verge of nervous breakdown. But the person who keeps his cool and tackles both the situations with equal spirit, the world bows down before him. He becomes unbeatable.
With this thought presenting you this December issue of “Fragrance” In this issue Vichnu Ch has contributed a romantic love story, Swayamprava shares her indulgence in Book, Travel to holy Godavari and Film review of much hyped Movie “Avatar”, Minaz has written a poem reflecting the adversaries of life, Capt Panda on “Victimization of Indian Sailors in Foreign waters. Watch keeping in the Age of Zero tolerance from BIMCO, Intact Stability (IS) code, 2008, a joke contributed by Nikhil.
The contest is still on. Keep posting your entries in www.writersadda.com your participation will make this place a true meeting place for writers …
Thanks & Regards
Editor
Writersadda.com
Book World
An Odyssey to book world
by
Swayamprava
http://www.writersadda.com/blog.php?user=Swayam&blogentry_id=408
Books are always a matter of fascination for me. From my childhood days to the present day I have changed my hobbies several times. But this single hobby of reading a novel or a fiction, has never changed and has always topped the chart in my hobbies list. And very passionately and with the grace of god I am still retaining this passion in me even today.
My passion for books got a great impetus, when certain website started giving us reward points. With my reward points I bought about 13-14 books. I added up my old collection to it, like Namesake, God of small things, the monk who sold his Ferrari (only self help book which I liked a lot and bring into practice in my day to day life, even today), Inheritance of loss, My Mills and Boons collection which are about 15books, collective novels complied by India Today group (about eight novels in two big books), short story collection from classic authors, Sahitya Academy published English magazines (they are as good as books) and of course my cook book collections, Dream books where I can decipher my dreams, Vastu books, Drawing books, Yoga books, classics like the Great expectation, Thomas Hardy collection , Hard times, Wuthering Heights…so on and so forth…
But the entire scenario got a face lift when The Odyssey opened its book store in the Galleria Mall. For me it was the first book shop after our Vani Vihar library*, where I got a glance of so many books in one place….. The very first day, when I explored it, I was like a kid roamed randomly from one corner to the other. I spent almost three hours, standing and reading, completely forgetting the world around, landed up with aching limbs till next morning! So many books and so many authors……Every book holds a different story, every book opens a new window to a different world………….. You can see this earth, its people and their thoughts from the writer’s prospective…..Isn’t it fascinating? The same earth and after reading a book, it will look bit different…You will think, Aha! I had never explored this part of human sentiment! Or …You will land up in a conclusion, how vast this earth is! And see we have not explored even a 1% of it! You can’t see Somu as a waiter , (my story the-waiter), or Faqir , Amitabh Ghosh’s Boatman,the hero of the novel, as an illiterate boatman…. Even Ashita and Goggle in Namesake will make you think, is it really worth to migrate to that foreign country, and you can spin a love story taking a father figure …huh…. And You will think looking at your Mom, Has she also got a past too or is it possible that she can fall in love…..crazy,,,,,, !!! Like JhumpaLahiri did in Unaccustomed Earth…And in Kerala, Don’t they have any other work or what. …..After reading God Of small things……! And you will think finally what is there store in future, is it really the whole world is taking initiative to fulfill my dream, like in Alchemist…But these two books I couldn’t complete, I really got fed up of the sheep, sand and oh! God never ending saga of dreams…And the former with too much on too little things….I didn’tI didn’t like it.
And every week, in my every visit I am adding one or two books to my mini library….. I do possess books from Chetan Bhagat , Ayn Rand, Tagore, Amitabh Ghosh, Karan Bajaj, Jeffery Archer, Wodehouse….titles like The voyage, Waiting, Hundred years of solitude, Mistress of Spices, English August….There are about 40-45 books……And I am so possessive about them that I will never give it to anybody and don’t even allow anybody to touch my books…huh…..
India Smiles ………Belts, Boots and Berets by Tanushree are now on display in the store. And I have got both of them……When I saw these two books I became very emotional and when you see the book written by known people , the feeling is just awesome……..out of the world…….
Getting selected by Penguin or Harper Collins, it self is a big thing and for that, apart from talent I feel luck plays a vital role….It came to my mind when I saw thousands of books from these publishers on the self…… I could feel the struggle, the emotion and the effort of the writer’s who made their way to fulfill their dreams and bring their dreams to reality through their books. And I really astonished when I saw so many are dreaming to publish aI didn’t like it.
And every week, in my every visit I am adding one or two books to my mini library….. I do possess books from Chetan Bhagat , Ayn Rand, Tagore, Amitabh Ghosh, Karan Bajaj, Jeffery Archer, Wodehouse….titles like The voyage, Waiting, Hundred years of solitude, Mistress of Spices, English August….There are about 40-45 books……And I am so possessive about them that I will never give it to anybody and don’t even allow anybody to touch my books…huh…..
India Smiles from Penguin………Belts, Boots and Berets by Tanushree are now on display in the store. And I have got both of them……When I saw these two books I became very emotional and when you see the book written by known people , the feeling is just awesome……..out of the world…….
Getting selected by Penguin or Harper Collins, it self is a big thing and for that, apart from talent I feel luck plays a vital role….It came to my mind when I saw thousands of books from these publishers on the self…… I could feel the struggle, the emotion and the effort of the writer’s who made their way to fulfill their dreams and bring their dreams to reality through their books. And I really astonished when I saw so many are dreaming to publish abook….. In fact, wannabe writers are flooding, in the writers’ world………. “Anybody can write a book as everybody has a story to tell” I read this quote on a bookmark and I felt how true it is! That is why the same emotion looks so different when it is written by different writers…….
And I even stunned how these publishers making business that to selling nothing but creativity……Unproductive raw material but how productive the business is! For the mad people like me, the business is flourishing in many folds I felt….
In my Odyssey to book reading, I happened to read many nice goods books and I am exploring the world of books every day. I don’t know much about business or how to catch public attention through marketing gimmick. While buying a book I always see the presentation, the theme and the author’s insight into the subject. In case of multiple books by same author I usually buy one and after reading it I go for the second or third one……While roaming in the world of books I found that these books not only capturing my imagination, but also has given me a vivid imagery to see life differently and made me understand people and their sentiment, and different situations of life……….. I feel this is my unconventional way of learning and I will treasure it through out my life…
Poetry Of Life
Living With Pain
http://www.writersadda.com/blog.php?user=Minaz&blogentry_id=869
I have come in life to such a point,
I see my life from here disjoint.
Hatred is filling up my soul,
When I see him I see life cold.
These chills and boils are difficult to handle,
Wish I had never left my cradle.
I tried aplenty to make things nice,
But life’s cruel truths led me to think otherwise.
After seeing the mountain of difficulties, I didn’t loose hope,
But when I reached the top saw the truth my heart couldn’t cope.
I gave my life for this mean man,
Who my feelings could never understand.
On my heart he has stamped again n again,
Giving me more and more pain.
He has mentally tortured me so so much,
Brought me close to deaths touch.
Suicide is what I wanted to do,
But for such a man wasting gods life wont be through.
I am alive only because I am a believer,
My lord is my reliever.
I trust my lord, he will give me the best,
In life this for me is a huge test.
Minaz
Oct 09
Traveller in Me
My Spiritual sojourn – Godavari
By
Swayamprava
http://www.writersadda.com/blog.php?user=Swayam&blogentry_id=862
For previous part see http://www.writersadda.com/blog.php?user=Swayam&blogentry_id=719
After Trimbakeshwar, our next destination was Godavari. The Godavari River is a major waterway in central India, originating in the Western Ghats Trimbakeshwar, in the Nashik Subdivision or District Of Maharashtra and flowing eastwardly across the Deccan Plateau through the state of Maharashtra. It is the second largest river in India. It is known as dakshin ganga. It enters Andhra pradhesh at Kandhakurthi in Nizamabad District, crosses the Deccan Plateau and then turns to flow in a southeast direction until it empties into the Bay of Bengal through two mouths.
As we reached the Godavari River, we were quite enthusiast to see the river. Mom was in a mind set to take holy dip in it. We too all were thinking in the same line. But when we really reached there all our enthusiasm just faded away. I am not new to Godavari, as few years back, on our way back from Tirupati , we stopped near Rajamundry to take a dip in Godavari. In that place Godavari was so vast that from one shore one can’t see the other side. The river was not only vast but also its current was quite high. Even a few steps away from shore is good enough to flow along with the flowing water. A few brahmins , came in with huge half torn, yellowish stained book to find out the record of our ancestors who previously came there for holy dip. So we all are in a mind set that we were again going to see the same Godavari in Traimbakewshar too. But to our astonishment what we saw is a thin canal resembles like a drain with dark black smelly water. For a while we thought we had come to a wrong place, but when I saw the Kubha mela photos, near by we could recognize it as Godavari. God fearing my mom dared to dip her finger in that water. In spite of my urge to touch the holy water, I couldn’t stop my reflex action which again and again warned me that it was not Godavari but a very dirty drain, so dare not to touch! Anyway, may be due to short rainfall it resembled like a canal , but during the time of Kubha mela it must be very attractive with lots of water in it… Every twelve years, Pushkaram fair is held on its banks of the river. Thousands of people have a holy dip in the sacred waters of the river to purify themselves of all their sins. The Godavari River is considered as very sacred to Hindus and has several pilgrimage centers on its banks. It has been held as a special place of pilgrimage for many thousands of years. Many famous personalities, including Baladeva (5000 years ago) and more recently Chaitanya Mahaprabhu(500 years ago) have bathed in her waters as an act of worship.
There are a few lovely stories associated with Godavari’s origin and Kubha mela. According to Legend, Sage Gautama lived on the Brahmagiri Hills at Triambakeshwar with his wife Ahalya. The rishi used to keep his stock of rice in a granary. Once, a cow entered his granary and ate up the rice. When the rishi tried to ward the cow away with Durbha grass, it fell dead. The rishi wanted to relieve himself of the sin of ‘Gohatya’. He worshipped Lord Shiva and requested him to bring Ganga to purify his hermitage. Lord Shiva pleased with the rishi appeared as Triambaka and brought along river Ganga. Since Ganga was brought down to Triambakeshwar by Sage Gautama, she is known here as Gautami. She is also known as Godavari because the river helped Sage Gautama to relieve his sins.
The observance of Kumbh Mela dates back many centuries in Ancient India, to the Vedic period, where the river festivals first started getting organised. In Hindu mythology, its origin is found the one of the popular creation myths and the Hindu theories on evolution, the Samudra manthanepisode (Churning of the ocean of milk), which finds mention in theBhagavata Purana, Vishnu Purana, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
The Gods had lost their strength, and to regain it, they thought of churning the Ksheera Sagara (primordial ocean of milk) for amrit (the nectar of immortality), this required them to make a temporary agreement with their arch enemies, the demons or Asuras to work together, with a promise of sharing the nectar equally thereafter. However, when the Kumbha (urn) containing the amrita appeared, a fight ensued. For twelve days and twelve nights (equivalent to twelve human years) the gods and demons fought in the sky for the pot of amrita. It is believed that during the battle, the celestial bird, Garuda the vehicle of Vishnu flew away with the Kumbha of elixir, and that is when drops of amrita fell at four places on earth: Prayag, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik, and that is where the Kumbh Mela is observed every twelve years.
First written evidence of the Kumbha Mela can be found in the accounts of Chinese traveller, Huan Tsang or Xuanzang (602 – 664 A.D.) who visited India in 629 -645 CE, during the reign of King Harshavardha
Since we couldn’t took bath there, we made it short and without any delay we proceed to the nearby temple resembled exactly that of Trimbakeswar temple. It was a Siva temple. From there we went to Panchavati. In Panchavati, there were several temples of Rama, Laxman Site, Hanuman, and Laxmi. That place resembled more or less like Puri and the areas adjacent to Jagannath temple. Here we offered oil to Hanuman, which was quite a new way of worshipping for us. From there we preceded to Sita Gupha i.e Sita’s cave. It was a small narrow tunnel through which only one person can go partially titling forward. One can’t stand inside that tunnel upright. After passing the tunnel one can go to the cave, which was small chamber. There one more tunnel to come out of that cave. The most striking part here was to enter into any temple one has to stand in queue for hours. We too stood there for an hour or more and finally when we reached near the tunnel, I got scared. Looking at the narrow tunnel, I felt suffocated. As I stopped, my papa too stopped going inside,. But mom was so enthusiastic that in front of us she nicely slide through the tunnel and emerged from the other end completely drenched in a pool of sweat. My hubby and son neither stood in a line nor saw what was there, the nicely enjoyed the freshly plucked guavas sitting below the panchavati i.e five holy trees like banyan, aswatha , amla, deodar, . For a while I thought of my position and amused to see how I am joining two completely different thought levels and maintaining the balance…The most interesting part is they all part of me only…
After Sita Gumpha (cave), we said goodbye to Nashik and proceeded to Siridi… On our way we had a lovely lunch in one road side Dhabba , (restaurant) by a fellow Oriya… We reached Siridi by 6 o’clock
Story Of the Month
Short Love story
By
Vishnu
http://www.writersadda.com/blog.php?user=Vichu&blogentry_id=812
Is she the one? Is she the one I am looking for? These are the thoughts which went through my mind when I met someone .. someone who is so special to me.
There was so much of coincidence between what I wanted from a girl and what she was. I felt happy that I found her and very happy when she used to spend time with me. She looks amazing in the way she talks, the way she behaves, the way she looks (and the list just doesn’t end).
Suddenly, life became so colorful and happening. There was a change in the way I was living, such a change that I was doing nothing but thinking about her. Things were looking very different than before. I was dreaming, and dreaming all day and night. She just became an integral part of my thought process. Whatever I thought or planned, she was part of it. “Kuda jaane ki mein fida hoon ..” kind of songs all over in the mind. Career ka tho pata hi nahin .. I used to tell to all my friends about my girl.. And tell that so happily! This is what I call is the “The Beginning” .. the “Beginning” of my journey to LOVE.
I just forgot everything else other than her. I started doing things which I never used to do, but just do them because she likes it. It’s very strange how it happens but it just happens. You just get ready for anything for her. All this was the first stage before these thoughts come to the mind .. ”Is she also thinking in the same way? Am I the guy for her? Does the closeness between us mean that?” That’s when I started thinking of the proposing her .. ! “If I propose will this ruin our friendship? Am I taking the right step? When is the right time to propose?” Amidst all the nice time I am spending with her.. these thoughts just disturb my mind.
I thought, thought again and again, and finally the day came when I concluded to propose.
It was the day, the day I decided to propose her!
My mind was not in my control. At one side I was worried that this might hurt our friendship and on the other side I was afraid that I might loose her if I don’t tell her for ever. Many people who fall in love face this .. ! They have to take that decision, a decision which changes everything.
In a corner of my heart, I had a feeling that even she is waiting for me to take the first step. This little feeling was the confidence, which gave me the power to go ahead.
Now that I decided that I will tell her, how do I tell her? Should I take her for a long drive to a scenic location and propose there? But what if she reacts other way and we end up being in a position that we can’t come back together? Should I take her to a candle light dinner and tell her with a rose and a love card amidst of lovely music? Or should I propose her in a filmy way? Lying on the knees with a flower and say “I love u”?
The answer is a straight ‘No’. My girl is not that kind, these filmy stints doesn’t impress her. She loves everything to be natural. Though she talks a lot and does few modern day stuff, she is a traditional girl by nature. The words “I want to marry you” will be better than saying ‘I love you’. I just wanted toTring tring .. tring tring .. she picked up the call. Ahh .. ab kya hone wala hain ..
I kept my cool and started as any other call. Did some routine chit chat for a while (good morning .. wat doing .. etc, etc) and then I alerted her that I am going to say something .. something which I wanted to say since few days but was waiting for the right time.
I brought her attention and just said what was in my mind .. “I love you a lot and I want to marry you”. As I thought, she expected this and handled it well. She was silent for few seconds and asked me why I felt like that .. if it was her behavior that made me think like that. I just managed telling something. I then somehow convinced her to come out and talk. I disconnected the call and said to myself “Ahhh .. fufffff .. bol diya .. jo bolna tha bol diya .. ”.
It’s a once in a lifetime experience. Those who face it, know it .. I just did something which I only heard and only saw in movies. I smiled for a while and drove to the place we were going to meet (a lakeside restaurant).
On the drive I was little afraid if she gives me a bang .. “no no, why would she? she won’t .. ” I just convinced myself. I was eagerly waiting at the gate for her to come. Tension .. tension .. what is that she is going to say? will she accept? will she ask me to wait or will she ask me to talk to her parents? “ah .. come quickly dear .. “ I thought. I was looking at every auto that was stopping there ..
After a while, she came (hammaya came alone .. mujhe marne ke liye kisiko nahin laayi .. ). She looked at my tensed eyes and made me cool down. She chit chatted for a while and then asked me why I felt like that and the discussion went on .. she said she was not ready for marriage yet and would leave any such decision to her parents. I said I will wait for her and she asked me not to wait and so on .. at the end of it, I understood that she is ok for me but not fully yet. Her parents are also going to play a role in her decision.
We went back to the campus. With a little yes and no in mind, I started the standard chat and she replied as usual. “Hammaya .. ok ok ..” I thought
Few months passed after my proposal, it was the period when my heart was just filled with love and nothing else! We were just passing time as we were before, in fact more than before We were getting closer day by day. There wasn’t a count to the phone calls and messages we exchanged.
Then came the day on which every lover runs around to get wonderful gifts and beautiful cards for their lover. Even I was roaming around, jumping into every decent gift shop that I see. What’s that day? I think u got it already .. yeah it was Valentine’s day! I was so excited that day. It was the first time in my life when I had a girl friend on V-day. I finally got few interesting gifts. For some reason, she was busy that day and just took them. She felt very happy looking at them but we couldn’t go out. Hmm .. plan flop.
Though she did not commit to me, I was confident that she loves me. I got another chance to make her feel special. This time it was her birthday! It was good that it came in a time when we were so close. I wanted to make her day so special that she shouldn’t forget in her lifetime. Ab kya karoon mein? What will make her feel special? How should I impress her? Buy a good gift and card? Wish her with a song? Wish her with candles? “Chass saale ! Movies se copy math kar ..” I just said to myself . Then I thought of something. Haan .. this might work!
It was the day before night 11:59:50 PM. Few more seconds .. tik, tik, tik, .. and it was 12. I was just in front of her. Surprise! She just couldn’t believe that.
She: Hi .. Tum yahan pe?
Me: Isiko surprise kahte hain ..
She was all smiles ..
Me: Happy b’day Shalini !!
I just said that and opened the cake. It was easy for me as she was with her friends in a flat .. We celebrated her b’day there. She was so happy that there were gentle tears coming out from her eyes.
She said “Thanks Suraj ..” with an emotional look. “Bas hain, this is enough After so much of effort convincing ur friends, itna sa effect bahut hain ..;-)” I just said to myself.
She invited me for a treat next evening .
We went to dinner on her b’day. It was on the terrace of a restaurant with just a small candle and no other light around. The place was so beautiful. It reminded both of us of our childhood days. She was talking about those days when her family used to eat on the terrace of their house in their village. At that time, when she smiled, I saw her face glowing more than anything else around Ahh .. wat a evening!
I asked for a drive and she said ok. We were going in my car .. cold breeze added to the moment. We went outside of the city. I suddenly stopped my car.
She just looked at me and said .. “What happened?”
I looked into her eyes. I slowly moved my head towards her. She (with shy) moved away. I moved forward further and .. I kissed her ! After a minute, while I was moving away, she opened her eyes slowly and (with smile) said .. “I love you too Suraj”. Ahh .. this is the day I was waiting for !
I just said “I know it .. ”
We started back to her room. It was just silence for few minutes during the drive and then she was just explaining how much she had it inside ..
“Suraj, when u proposed, I was just thinking .. whether u r the one for me. I knew you love me but didn’t expect you will propose within 2 months after you came to know about me. But yesterday night, I felt your love to the fullest. I just didn’t sleep the whole night. It’s 6 months now that you proposed. There are so many moments between us. I was just thinking about you. There was nothing else in my mind. I just couldn’t wait .. and you have my reply ..”
Me: So did you decide that you will tell me today? I was dying for this reply.
Shalini: Yeah .. but I actually wanted to tell that at the end of the drive. Thoda jaldi bol dhi ..
We reached her room. She gave me a hug and got down. While, she was walking, she was again and again looking back. I was just smiling there .. I was so happy !
After I dropped her, I went to my friend’s house (remember the fellow who helped me on the day before I proposed her .. ).
Me (running into his house): Navin, Navin, ..
Navin: Kya huan bey? Kyun chilla rahan hain.
I jumped on him and said .. abbey she accepted. She has finally committed ..
Navin: Kya? Masth hain yaar. Congratulations ..
We then went to a bar and had enough drinks .. enough for a hangover the next day.
The next morning when she called me, I told her what happened the day before night. Haan .. Little after .. I realized I did a wrong thing telling her. You know why? Hmm .. let me tell. Thode ladkiyon ke baare mein aap tho jante hee hain. As soon as they commit, possessive ho jaathe hain. Conditions shuru ..
“Drink only once. Only two pegs in a week. Non-veg bhi only once.”
“Shadi se pehle hi itna tho baadh mein kya hoga?” I just said her.
Shalini: This is just the beginning ..
“Baap re” I just said to myself.
We were moving around much more closely. Every weekend ek naye place ko jaathe the. Bahut masthi karte thhe (bowling alley, resort, theatres, go-karting, etc).
One day, (about 3 months later), she asked me to meet her cousin.
Shalini: Hey, my cousin wants to meet you.
Me: Cousin .. (surprisingly) .. usey kyun?
Shalini: Just aise he. I told him about you and he just wants to see you once.
I said ok and we met in a restaurant. World looked much smaller to us on that day. Her cousin actually recognized me from my face! He knows our family (my elder brother was his brother’s roommate). What a surprising fact for us !! I felt much happier as there is some link between our families and it would be easier for their parents to get convinced.
I felt she had a reason why she wanted to meet him. But anyways, all looked fine to me and was not worried ..
While we were moving around happily, it was time for the final exams .. the last semester !
We finished our exams. It was the last day in college .. we just wanted to spend some time before we leave home.
Shalini: Suraj, mujhe pata nahin ki mein tumhare bin kaise rah paungi. Mein ghar mein bol doongi. Lets get married.
Me: Yeah .. I have the same feeling. Even I will tell about this in my house. I have told this to my brother already. He was very happy that you are his friend’s cousin.
Shalini: Pehle tho I wanted to wait till we get into work and tell this in my house when they bring the topic of marriage. But I just can’t wait .. can’t stay without you ..
Me: Me too sweetheart ..
I gave her a big hug and we left.
A month passed but she was still saying she did not ask in her house. I had already talked and got a go ahead in my house.
Suddenly, she messaged me saying she can’t talk to me anymore. I knew something would have happened in her house. But had no idea as I couldn’t see any problem. I tried talking to her but she didn’t pick up the call. I even tried to get something from my brother but was unsuccessful. Even his friend was not commenting.
I was really worried and asked my friends who stay in her town to have a close watch just so that nothing goes out of my hands. I waited for 2 months till she joined in her company where she got placed. It was really different
days in my life .. I never waited so much and was never so tensed !
After she was done with the first day, she was coming out. It was 3 months since I saw her .. she was in a blue salwar in which she always looks beautiful.
Just when she came out of the gate, she slowed down .. she saw me ! I could see in her eyes .. her feelings .. some worry as soon as she saw me. I was just a few feet away from her !
She looked down and started going away from me. I took few quick steps and caught hold of her hand from behind .. She looked around and I saw small tears coming out of her eyes .. I asked her to come with me.
Me: Shalini, please mere saath aao. I want to talk to you. Please, and we need to talk right now. I can’t wait anymore .. agar kuch hain tho I am sure we can solve. But we just can’t be like this.
She silently walked along with me. We got into the car and while we were on the drive, I asked her.
“Hey what happened? What happened suddenly? Why are you not talking? Tumhare ghar mein kya huan?”
She started talking in a low voice .. “Unhe ye rishta pasand nahin hain. They don’t want this to happen. My mom is completely upset with me. Please, please stop the car Suraj.”
Me: Aisa kyun kah rahi ho. I will come and talk in your house.
She: It’s not going to happen. Forget this .. they are serious.
Me: I think I can talk to them. Have some confidence on me ..
She: No Suraj. I can’t tell you everything but I know .. they are not even nearer to acceptance.
Me: Do we need their acceptance? Tum mere saath aajao mere ghar. My parents will welcome you. There is no problem in my house ..
She: I can’t do that. Agar ye hoga, tho mere ghar walo ki marji se hi hoga. Now, please, please stop. I have to go.
I stopped the car.
She said “Bye Suraj” and got down from the car. While she was walking I was just looking at her .. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t take my eyes of her until she got into a taxi and left ..
Few days after that I got the news that she is getting married .. just a week to go for the wedding day ..
I just couldn’t bear the news. As soon as I heard that she was getting married, I almost went dumb .. I didn’t knew what to say. It took a day for me to recover from dumbness. I was thinking and thinking .. what should I do now? should I go and bring her out? “Ah God .. give me the strength !” I said to myself.
I went to her town and was talking to a friend on who she is getting married to.
And then came her day of wedding .. She was in a saree. Cream colored, full of chamki’s and hand made work. Necklace around her neck, ek ek haath pe dus chudiyan .. She was like a queen ! She was slowly walking towards the mandap.
She got into it. And everyone was waiting for the groom. Then he came .. sherwani mein (not much to describe about a guy’s dress .. ).
Her mom and dad had a smile. She saw them and turned her face around to see the groom. And that was me !
She wide opened her eyes and was surprised. Then she was half-smiling and confused as to what was happening.
Everyone including me said .. “Surprise !”.
Her face had so many expressions .. happiness (he did it), confusion (but how !) and then anger (saala last minute thak mujhe nahin bathaya).
She couldn’t believe it. She gave herself some tests to prove it was not a dream. She asked me in lunch, she asked me almost 10 times that day .. “What did u do? How did u turn this around?” I just said “That’s the power of love .. ”
And her parents were saying “That’s Suraj .. ”.
Only in the nite I told her how it happened ..
The initial groom (whom their parents chose) was my friend. When I asked my friends about the groom .. I was surprised that he was my school friend. We didn’t meet for couple of years and were out of touch. I met him and told everything. And then, he and his parents helped me in convincing her parents.
And then .. the routine pati aur patni ka pyar aur jagde ..
Nothing more to say ..
thanks all for reading this and your encouragement ..
Today I went to watch the much hyped film “Avatar” My initial impression was , as if I was in a mission in my son’s play station games . There was a planet called “pandora” far from earth but somewhat like earth with lush green as well as blue, violent pink tinted vegetation which has the capacity to illuminate at night too. The second impression was it was like a dream world with unusual creatures…In my dreams I must have gone to such planets several times… Any way it was neither my dream world nor was a play station game…It was about a story of a handicapped soldier, Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), confined to a wheelchair and without any use of his legs, is stationed on the far-distant planet Pandora where “everything wants to eat you or kill you”, from the vegetation to the wildlife to the natives. He eventually posted on a mission to befriend with this aliens in “Pandora” and learn about their way of living and study the rich vegetation.
From a space station a challenger like space ship took these soldiers to “Pandora” Planet. In that planet there was another huge lab where scientists were in a mission to study the flora and fauna of this jungle like planet and to throw away the natives to acquire their land. There were huge trees which was supposed to have lots of medicinal properties from which number of nerve like florocent ropes dangling. Below these tree the natives could take away the soul from one body and place it in a different body…I mean they one alive by so….
In that lab two aliens were grown in test tubes probably injecting DNA of the native’s of Pandora in human being… One such body was created out of this wheel chaired soldier’s brother and the female body was of that of the lady scientist who was mission in charge. The soldier has to go into a incubator or one can say scanner .From where he went into deep sleep to a dream like world. His soul got detached from his body and entered into that test tube body .Thus he resembled same like the natives of Pandora and could survive in that extreme condition, where humans can without the oxygen mask on.
Every time he to activate his Avatar body in the Pandora planet, he had to go into that incubator and had to go to deep sleep. Infact his body was kept in a preserved state so that his soul can re-enter into it. Few years back my mom used to tell me about this sort of Yoga, where the Yogi, leave his body in care of his students or Sishyas and enter into other animal or human body to accomplish certain job or cure or something good for all. Even the Buddhist monks practise this practice to leave one body and enter into the other… Anyway, where he may have taken this theory, it was presented nicely.
So Our hero Sully in his Avatar, strayed away from his group and got attacked by several unusual looking animals resembling somewhat like dogs, rhinos etc. He somehow fights back and encounters with beautiful local alien called Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). She “adopts” him as she found some heavenly blessings in form of a typical looking flower shower. Love blossomed between them. Where their norm was to attack these false military avatars and kill them as soon as they show up on Pandora. She led him through a variety of coming-of-age rituals in her culture that were part of the popular “going native” and made him like one of them. In one such occasion Sully was made to fight a pterodactyl-like creature and force it to succumb to his will and thereby he could mount it and later on it became his means of air travel on the planet. Since this planet has some unusual feature like huge mountains and landscapes were dangling in air conjoining each other in by the huge strong roots of giant trees defying all the gravitational laws. So to move from one island to the other this bird/pterodactyl- like creatures were of great help. She taught Sully how to connect with the deadliest of the animals by bonding with them through his antenna like tail. Through this she made him to get vibes from heaven and energy from the nature too…
As the story goes on Sully became more concern for these natives forgetting his own mission. The other scientists couldn’t take it and took him out of his avatar body drastically .It created lots of confusion among the natives… The story conceptualizes the conflicts and incorporated it in the story. Sully not only got over from this but also helped the natives to get back their land from the human intrusion. There were lots of air strike, modern vs primitive warfare and few scenes resembled like Rama Ravana war where animals and bird took lots of responsibility in the war…
In the end Sully stayed back in Pandora forever taking his avatar body. This transition was quite a scene to watch…
You must be thinking instead of a short review why I gave you the entire story! There is reason to it. First of all the American English is too ambiguous to understand. Secondly in the first half the story tries to accommodate many a things which makes it very complicated. So it is better to know the story beforehand to enjoy it more. And believe me even after knowing the story, the thrill will not curtail down. The cinematography, the concept and the amazing set of creating a dream like planet will enthrall you through out… Watch it in a big screen and if you get a ticket to watch in 3D format then you will experience the Pandora journey very much…
For Theme song of Avaatar Visit below link posted by Fragrance
http://www.writersadda.com/blog.php?user=Fragrance&blogentry_id=915
Recipe of the Month
Kadhai Paneer
Kadhi Paneer is a great main dish for any special occasion. Paneer and colorful bell peppers are sauteed in spicy tomato gravy.
Recipe serves 4.
Ingredients:
1/2 pound paneer
1 medium red bell pepper (shimla mirch, capsicum)
1 medium green bell pepper (shimla mirch, capsicum)
3 tablespoons oil
3 medium tomatoes
About 1/4 inch piece of ginger
1 green chili
Pinch of asafetida (hing)
1 teaspoon cumin seed (jeera)
1 and 1/2 tablespoons coriander powder (dhania)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fenugreek leaves (methi) or dry fenugreek leaves (kastoori methi)
3/4 teaspoon salt, adjust to taste
Method
Cut paneer and bell peppers into ½ inch cubes.
Blend the tomatoes, ginger, and green chili to make a puree.
Heat the oil in frying pan on medium heat and stir fry paneer for about 2 minutes – take them out before paneer starts changing color.
Next stir-fry bell pepper until they are tender. Do not over cook the bell pepper. Take them out and drain on a paper towel.
Using the same frying pan, Test the oil by adding one cumin seed to the oil; if seed cracks right away oil is ready.
Add the asafetida and cumin seeds.
After the cumin seeds crack, add the tomato puree, coriander powder, turmeric, fenugreek leaves and cayenne pepper.
Cook for about 4 minutes on medium heat.
Tomato mixture will reduce to about half in volume.
Add about 2 spoons of water, and the salt.
Wait till gravy comes to boil add paneer and bell pepper and let it simmer for about five minutes on low medium heat.
Now it is ready to serve
Shipping Section
Visit :- www.blog.shippingtutorials.com
Watchkeeper: An age of zero tolerance
Life in 2009 is as risky as it has ever been. Why would it not be, when we demand to travel at great speed, when impatience is a characteristic of the age and when we are trying to push our limits all the time? But at the same time, there has never been a period when we are so intolerant of accident, and yet nobody seems to see any connection!
“Living with zero tolerance” was the subject of the recent 2nd Lord Kelvin lecture at the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology, last week, given by Vaughan Pomeroy of Lloyd’s Register. Lord Kelvin, who lived from 1824 to 1907, was a Scottish mathematician and physicist, whose work strayed into virtually every area of modern science, but whose eyes saw the most astonishing changes in every type of technology, many of which he would have a part of.
Vaughan Pomeroy, whose career began in aviation and whose work in LR has taken in military ships and merchant vessels alike, is a thoughtful lecturer. He reminded his audience of the age they are living in, when public perception and political pressure are very real realities which thrust themselves into our consciousness with their demands for an accident-free industry.
Is this even slightly realistic? And is there anything very wrong with the trend of losses of ships, which has been steadily going downwards despite the age of the world fleet? But course it is not the trend which is remarked upon after a spectacular accident which provide us with a “shock to the system” and precipitates changes. And for all our regulations and science and engineering, we are human beings and make mistakes! Vaughan Pomeroy points out the basics of a “Universal Learning Curve”, identified by Duffey and Saull, who note that the learning rate is a function of a number of errors and accumulated experience, that the human contribution is part of the risk, which dominates as technology advances. They also suggested that we have both a learning curve and a “forgetting” curve, and that it is possible to derive a formula for the minimum error rate.
And the interesting consequence of this is that while technology changes, year on year, the minimum error rate does not change! In fact the MER has not changed in 200 years, producing for the shipping industry about 75 casualties per annum, which is roughly the same for aircraft crashes and other industrial sectors.
An interesting comparison might be the loss of the Swedish King’s ship Vasa in 1628, with any modern major casualty. This ship, which flooded through her lower gunports and sank in Stockholm, was lost because of a confluence of factors, human element and latent errors. Indeed, if we were to sum up this tragedy in modern terminology, it would be a combination of inadequate training, poor operating and emergency procedures, faulty design, incomplete research and development, insufficient validation, faulty commissioning and non-adherence with procedures which did for the Swedish ship. Does any of this sound familiar?
Do we still need “shocks to the system” to help us improve? Vaughan Pomeroy suggested that we were still very vulnerable, in this age of intolerance, to serious accident. There was, he suggested, too much reliance on complex electronics and systems which were insufficiently reliable and to maintenance failure. We need systems for the average competence, more dependable software, and better automation. We are still reluctant to tell people what happened so that improvements can be made.
We need, he concluded, to gain new skills, to better understand risk and reliability, improve our education and training, and, while there were new lessons to be learned, we need to remain very aware of the lessons of the past! All of which is even more important, in an age of intolerance.
Source: BIMCO
INTACT STABILITY (IS) CODE, 2008
The International Code on Intact Stability 2008,2009 Edition
The International Code on Intact Stability, 2008 (2008 IS Code), presents mandatory and recommendatory stability criteria and other measures for ensuring the safe operation of ships, to minimize the risk to such ships, to the personnel on board and to the environment. The 2008 IS Code (resolution MSC.267(85), adopted on 4 December 2008) will take effect on 1st July 2010 upon the entry into force of the respective amendments to the 1974 SOLAS Convention and 1988 Load Lines Protocol.
The 2008 IS Code features:
• A full update of the previous IS Code (2002 edition; resolution
A.749(18), as amended by MSC.75(69))
• Criteria based on the best state-of-the-art concepts available at the
time they were developed, taking into account sound design and
engineering principles and experience gained from operating ships
• Influences on intact stability such as the dead ship condition, wind on
ships with large windage area, rolling characteristics and severe seas.
This publication also presents Explanatory Notes to the 2008 IS Code, which are intended to provide Administrations and the shipping industry with specific guidance to assist in the uniform interpretation and application of the intact stability requirements of the 2008 IS Code.
The 2008 IS Code, 2009 Edition should be of interest to maritime
administrations, ship manufacturers, shipping companies (owners and
operators), education institutes and others concerned with stability criteria
JOKES
And in the last a small Joke for you (Contributed by Nikhil)
Wrong email id — too good
A man checked into a hotel.
There was a computer in his room,
So he decided to send an e-mail to his wife.
However, he accidentally typed a wrong e-mail address,
and without realizing his error, he sent the e-mail.
Meanwhile… Somewhere in Houston ,
a widow had just returned from her husband’s funeral.
The widow decided to check her e-mail,
expectingcondolence messages from relatives and friends.
After reading the first message, she fainted.
The widow’s son rushed into the room,
found his mother on the floor,
and saw the computer screen which read:
*
*
*
*
*To: My Loving Wife
Subject: I’ve Reached
Date: 28 July 2008
I know you’re surprised to hear from me.
They gave computers here,
and we are allowed to send e-mails to loved ones.
I’ve just reached and have been checked in..
I see that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow.
Looking forward to seeing you TOMORROW!
Keep smiling and wish you all a very happy and prosperous year ahead.
Happy New Year to you all
*******************************
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