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Welcome to KHOJ: The search to know our roots and understand the meaning of our existence.
Prejudice is the biggest problem in the society. It can be it in terms of religion, cast, sex, skin-colour, status etc. Prejudice can also be in form of the feeling that human beings are the greatest creation, or even patriotism about artificially created borders. The motto of KHOJ is to gain knowledge and break that prejudice. But there is a word of caution for the readers. To break the prejudice KHOJ might throw upon you the concepts it believes in. If the reader believes on KHOJ’s perception without question, then KHOJ itself might incept a prejudice in the readers mind thus failing in it own motto. KHOJ is trying to break its own world of prejudice, but at times that prejudice might get reflected in its writing. Please do challenge them.
Another disgraceful assault on the countries financial capital, bloods of innocents shed. But the citizens had some consoling speech from the inspirational ministers. This will make the souls of the victims rest in pieces…uh…I mean peace. Did someone say that there are more people dying from lightening strike than terrorism? Like Mr Chidambaram says, it is a blast in Mumbai after a gap of 31 months. Government has kept the people safe for such a long duration is actually an intelligence success, not failure. That really comforts me; since the most eligible bachelor…err…PM has already said that it is impossible to stop terrorist attacks. Should I say thank you? What is also impossible to stop is giving people like Advani and Arun Jaitely the chance to promote themselves in their otherwise silent era.
Wikipedia tries to define death as the termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism [1]. The definition of death is fuzzy, but defining death is not the purpose of this post. This post aims at killing the fear of death itself, because ‘daar ke age jeet hai’. Let us challenge the authority of Yamraj. Death brings fear, fear brings grief, and grief brings misery. Each and every moment we are struggling not to die, we are forgetting how to live. One day we will grow old and look back at the road traveled and repent all the opportunities missed.
Dated: 8th July 2011
To all WOMEN,
[SUB: Women, Shut Up!]
Dear Fairer Sex,
Hope you all are in good health. Today being my mother’s birthday, I thought it was the right time to write this letter. This letter is dedicated to all you beauties out there. So first shut up (my apologies for using this word to attract your attention) and listen, with an open mind. When I tell you to shut up, all I mean is to stop blaming the ‘man’-kind for all your troubles. I understand that there are lots of problems that a woman has to face in her daily lives, but I believe that there is a solution to all problems, and complaining is not one of them. One needs to go back and look at the fundamental cause of the problem. We are partly to be blamed for the male dominated society that we have selfishly build. I have mentioned that already in the post 'huntress to seductress'. But this post is about the other side of the coin.
Manali is wrongly called ‘The Switzerland of India’. Situated at 1,950m altitude in the lap of the majestic Himalayas, near the northern end of Kullu Valley, it has its own unique beauty. The gorgeous Beas rushes along its rocky course; gurgling, burbling and splashing as it moves through the lush green grassy meadows. Surrounding it is the panoramic view of the snow-capped mountains that gently touch the blue sky. The nearby hills are surrounded by deodar and pine trees along with fruit orchids (esp. apple) and in between you will find the tiny fields and the wild flowers. Manali also has a colorful market crowded with Tibetan shops. Nearby is the breath taking Rotang Pass (closed during winters), Dassaur Lake and Beas Kund. The road to Rohtang Pass is closed off at Manali Bridge, on all Tuesdays between 0900-1800 hrs for carrying out road widening work & repairs. Plan accordingly.
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| Panoramic view |
MIND OF GOD DECODED
4] WHAT’S ‘THE TIME’, MR WOLF?
The moment Harish Bhimani’s voice used to boom out of the television set, “MAIN SAMAY HOON” [I am time], we used to rush towards the TV room. As the wheel of time revolved, we got glued to the television set. Time is something we are so familiar with. We get angry when it is wasted, we curse ourselves for not having enough of it; there are good times, there are bad times; time is money and it flies. Time is priceless and free. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keep it, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it you can never get it back. We all have an opinion about time, but, if we pause for a moment and ponder, we realize how little we actually know about it. What is time? Does it have a beginning or an end? Is it a fundamental entity? Why do we only remember the past?
The first post of Mind of God (MOG) series dealt with the illusion of our existence. In the second post we realized that the line of difference between living and non-living is thinner than we think. Conscience is energy and it is inter-convertible with matter (e=mc^2). This post is meant to challenge the human biasness towards thinking that we are the ultimate species. This post is meant to humble us.
Even though you cannot perceive ‘it’, it is all around you; it is within you, watching your every move, all the time. From the bright sky to the dark depths, ‘it’ is everywhere. You are here because of ‘it’, and it is ‘it’ that will turn you to dust. ‘It’ was there long before you were born, and ‘it’ will be here long after your race perishes. It is more intelligent than you think; it is more advanced than humans. Welcome to the world of the invisible invincibles.
It was 22nd May 2011, the world just survived the doom’s day, when I was driving from Gurgaon to Delhi. Sheila’s Delhi was hotter than ‘Sheila ki jawani’ a couple of days earlier. The rainfall, though not as deadly as the great flood 7000years ago, was enough to cool down the sizzling capital. It meant that all the Delhites were out of their house after a long time to enjoy the pleasant weather. If this is how doomsday looks, I want it every Saturday!
In the last post THE ILLUSION we have seen how lucky you are that you exist. However, from the quantum perspective, all possibilities exist at the same time, and hence it is not a miracle that you are here and reading this post, because in one of those possibilities you had to. So, next time when you are sad, just remember that there is another you somewhere, who is very very happy at that same time. We also saw that we do not know what is real, but we do know that what we think is real is not real! And, like all frequencies adds up to zero, all possible you (including all the you(s) made of antimatter), and all possible universes, adds up to no you and no universe at all. So, nothing exists, and all that exits in just an illusion.
Staying within the realm of illusion we can clearly distinguish between two things, one that we think are non-living, and the others whom we call as living. The distinction is so clear that even a child can recognise it. But, remember, when we call something as non-living, it is an interpretation of the data gathered through our senses. We know that are senses are incomplete and flawed. So, any interpretation of a flawed data is bound to be flawed.
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| Through the microscope (left) and telescope (right) |
Homo sapiens’s quest to decode the mind of god is as old as Homo sapiens themselves. Since the dawn of time they have tried to unravel the mysteries of nature. Their existence in itself is nothing short of a miracle. What are the odds that billions of tiny, apparently mindless strings, vibrating in their own unique frequencies, totally unaware of you, combine in the perfect formation to form the complex you? Very, very less! Isn’t it a lucky coincidence that you exist and is here right now, reading this blog? Khoj welcomes the lucky you in this journey to the centre of god’s mind through a series of post “Mind of God Decoded”. This is the first in the series where we are going to deal with the illusion of our existence. Are we unique? Do we really exist? Or is it just a cosmic illusion called Maya?
The first thing that comes to mind when one talks of Bhopal is the disaster that occurred in the winter of ’84. It was one of the worst industrial disasters in history. But Bhopal, situated in the northwestern part of Madhya Pradesh at the heart of India, is about more than just the disaster. It is a charming city that will remind you of the glamorous lifestyle led by the Nawabs and Begums.
-BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY: JUSTICE NOT ONLY DELAYED BUT DENIED-
– Written by an unrepentant oil geologist
He wore his favourite dress, sprayed his favourite perfume, today was a good day. The candle light dinner he had last night with the girl of his dream was still lingering in his mind. But that can wait, today he have to focus on the seminar he was about to give. He knew that it was the golden opportunity he was waiting for. It was time to bring his life back on track.
This is not the story of partition but the story of the legend of a river, of the immoral saint who guided Alexander the great in the latter’s quest for immortality. It is the story, probably of the first seed, that ultimately resulted in the partition of India and Pakistan. Being over thousand years, the story has evolved. A hero became legend and legend turned into myth. There are many versions to the story, what I have written here is a compilation from some of those tales.
“Mirror mirror on the wall, tell me who is the slimmest?” That is what a modern girl asks her mirror. Yes, thin is in, at least for the people with money. The trend fortunately has not caught up with the less fortunate ones. If you ask your maid they will still say, just like your mom, that thin makes you look sick. But that is not how most teenagers think. It is size zero that makes them look sexy, just like their fashion icons. There are many successful models whose body fat is much below the healthy 22-26%. The craze of size zero made models Luisel Ramos and Ana Carolina Reston starve themselves to death (heard of Anorexia nervosa?). The craze also got into actresses like Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie, Keira Knightly, Mischa Barton, Kareena Kapoor and now Katrina Kaif. But girls, really, is it worth it?
Sunday, 24th April, was a sad day for the devotees of Satya Sai Baba. He was an enigmatic spiritual leader whose life had its share of controversies and fame. His death shocked many, including Sachin who did not celebrate his birthday which fell on the same day. While the day was sad for some, it was celebration time for many followers of another faith, because it was this day when their spiritual leader was resurrected. It was the time of Easter bunny and her eggs. Eggs and bunnies (female rabbit can conceive while already pregnant and gives birth to lots of litters) are symbols of fertility representing harvest time since antiquity. April is also the harvest time for Indians. Vaisakhi is a harvest festival celebrated throughout India, especially in the North and East. It also represents the first year in Hindu calendar. So it was time for celebration, and what better way to celebrate than spending the long weekend in the Himalayas. Our destination was Kasauli – a welcome break from the heat of Delhi.
It all began more than 30million years ago, ~200kms below the surface, at a temperature of 1500°C, somewhere under the Mountain of Moon. That was where a dangerous force was unleashed that changed the world forever. The heat, 200kms below the earth (geologists calls it magma plume), was slowly tearing Africa apart (rifting). The force that was soon going to change the history was first changing the geography of East Africa. The landscape slowly evolved into The Great African Rift Valley. It created deep lakes like Lake Tanganyika that is 1470m deep, to high mountains like the 5109m tall Mt. Rwenzori within next 20 million years. The high mountains blocked the clouds creating a rain shadow in the eastern part of Africa making it more arid. A kilometer reduction of topography would have meant I would not have been here to write this post, the world would have been lot greener, and no one would have been there to worry about global warming.
That day started like any other day. Seldom did I know that in few hours my uncomplicated life was going to transform forever. The drama that was going to unfold would break my monotonous routine and give my life a brand new meaning. Call it chance or call it fate, but it happened on 24th September 2008, the day I met the" terrorist".
Okay… I am going to land myself into a big time controversy here. I firmly believe that women can never be equal to men. If you think otherwise…think again…I am going to prove all of you wrong in this post. If you are a man…enjoy reading and boost your male ego. If you are a woman…do you really want to read this post and embarrass yourself? If you have the guts then go through it and I challenge you to prove me wrong.
“Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy”
From Poonam Pandey to World Cup to ANNA HAZARE to the Indian YOUTH....A night with ANNA
India is a country of miracles. I am not talking about our democracy that miraculously lasted for over 60yrs. What I am talking about is real miracles, miracles like saints floating in air (surprisingly always in front of a black background) or doing a Jesus by walking on water. It is a country where children are born not by sex but by pouring water (milk even better) over the Shivalinga. It is not the performance of the 11 in the field that won India the World Cup but the miracles, also called ‘desi totkas’, performed by the billion Indians (as if our own miracle boy Rajni’s gracious presence was not enough). One of our office colleague claims to have taken 4 Sri Lankan wickets just by going to toilet! He had to endure the pain of drinking excess water throughout the Sri Lankan innings. Another one sat for two hours on the uncomfortable edge of his comfortable sofa even as his legs became uncomfortably numb. That is just two out of the billion Indians doing their own little miracles for the cup… Sri Lanka had no chance.
2nd April 2011, a day Indians will remember as the day they became the superpower of world cricket, a day they won the World Cup. 1.2 billion Indians all around the globe erupted out of pure ecstasy. The roar could be heard from Hyderabad to Houston. It was one night when Eid, Diwali and Holi were celebrated at the same time. It was a moment when the patriotic emotions overflowed, a moment when entire India became one. The echoes will be heard for days. But alas, it won’t last for long. Soon the energies will subside and India will return to normalcy. The dividers of region, status, caste, creed and sex, which were once drowned under joy, will re-emerge. India will never be able to become a political superpower unless it learns to hold on to that moment of pure bliss when they became the cricket superpower. In our post “ENTER THE DRAGON” we had a look at the magnificent dragon. In the next post “INCREDIBLE INDIA” we saw the multi-faceted elephant. The dragon is miles ahead in the race to become the next superpower. But the race is far from being over yet. The elephant can give the dragon a run for its money, if only it changes few things.
Human beings have always been fascinated about predicting the future. It is the want to know the uncertain future that have given rise to astrology. These bipedal creatures have always been fascinated by Nostradamus and his Les Propheties. Scientists, philosophers and mystics have all tried their luck, but predicting the future is neither a black magic nor a solid science. It is a projection of past history into the future. KHOJ has so far tried to understand the past but have also promised to anticipate the future. This post is an attempt towards that.
