Reading - had been waiting for this day

Couple of days back my daughter brought a book home and insisted I read it. She said "its a very good book, Try reading one chapter a day if you dont have enough time". Its a text for 8-10 years old. So I hesitated - but again it has been a while and I wanted to get back in the habit of reading. So why not The adventures of Edward Tulane - a china rabbit with furry ears and whiskers and a furry tail made with utmost care and artistry for a 5 year old girl. His journey begins with Abilene and takes him through different households and even a hobo and his dog. Along the way Edward learns the meaning of true love and care and destiny takes him back to his first owner's doorsteps after several years. The illustrations where beautiful and I felt touched whenever by no fault of his Edward gets catapulted from his owners. It takes him from hitting the seabed(rock bottom) and also being in the trash for several months, to realize his loss. The moral of the story being - 'dont ever take anything for granted. Count your Blessings! be happy and glad for what is so dearly your own'.

My happiness arises from the fact that my daughter, who hasnt developed a knack for reading herself yet, coaxed me to read a book and finally got me in the long lost habit of reading again.

Only son sydrome who is a genius

This is a new term - I hope some psychologist comes upon this soon before its too late. Cant go into the gory details of it. Its not a general widespread disease. its opposite of ADHD but only people who have been affected by it can understand the tremendous impact of it. We need a treatment for this soon. Cause I believe a boost in self confidence and assistance with channalizing the arrogance factor of the person effected with it into something positive instead of self contentment will help some.. But I aint a doc.. so I rest my case here.. this is for those who have been victimized by it. reach out to someone who can help. dont submit to misery. I know some cases and am shocked and alarmed.

From one day to the next

Have been here several times thru the month .. dint feel like leaving even a scrap.. sometimes u tend to run out of ideas or even philosophies to jot down.. of late my mad scientist project is just living life 'as is' and grabbing a chance @ every little happiness that comes my way.. you might think - 'Duh!!! everyone does that normally.. whats the mad scientist got to do with that?'.. true!! yet sometimes in our rush we do forget to enjoy the little things in life and always crave for a bigger event or big blast completely ignoring what we have in the present, what we have to ourselves.. for example - my child is honest, he is always truthful to me.. thats great.. we cant take things like that for granted.. it needs extra effort.. its appreciable in a child ven he probably cud get away by telling a lie.. things like these never take precedence in our day to day life.. when it shud.
Thats just an example - whilst it has potential to open up a pandoras box..
For Heaven sake science has evolved and has invented devices like a lie detector to catch criminal minds and even regular people and we are talking about honest kids?
See thats where the mad scientist link comes to play..

My daughter loves me and is concerned about my Well being - thats another fact and I cant take that for granted either.. heres the link - the other day she was sleeping over @ her friends house and I was home by myself. They heard Tornado sirens and saw Newz flashes on TV about Storm and Tornado watches.. her friends and family took cover in the ground floor closet and I got a franctic call from my daughter warning me about the weather and saying - 'Ma please take shelter in the ground floor closet'.. I was so touched by her concern.. I know she loves me but during times like these that love just gets manifested.. I am so Blessed!

heres to numerous such deeds that seem so normal but has a tremendous impact on our everyday lives..

Delhi6 - Sasural Genda Phool

Am hooked on to this number. A very sweet song and so earthy. The mere mention of 'Bush-shirt pehine khaike bida paan' - this is from the Chattisgarh region in Raipur. Rekha Bhadarwaj rendered it very beautifully. Please listen to the full song in youtube.

The movie in itself is live 'Ram Leela'. Didnt like it @ all. Besides the Genda phool I do enjoy listening to Masakali sung by Mohit Chauhan and Rehna Tu by Rehman himself. Both are unique in their rendition too. Hats off to Rehman.

Nashville - confuses me!

Am residing here for a good 3yrs now. Every year I seem to learn something new about the city and particularly about its people. This being a capital city has its mix and match of good and bad. It has surprised me, amused me, frustrated me, entertained me, outright shocked me. I want to have a birds eye view of the city from a copter maybe and see how it looks from the top, cause I am too entertwined with its soul down here. Have learnt very quickly how to keep an eye out for what will grab or attack you next. Just like weather changes here every 15 minutes, people's wavering mind do too. Whenever I try to take yet another shocking change in stride, another one comes knocking @ the door. Is it me? I dont think so!! cause I have moved from California to Oklahoma to Tennessee and have never experienced such frequent changes. Maybe something in the air and water or maybe too much allergens hovering around which downright clouds normal thinking. Whatever - still waiting to see whats due next.

In Orissa - My hometown Rourkela

People are so unaware.. India just doesnt comprise of these metros - Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai.. diversity has made India culturally rich but it leads to no ground for Indians to debate about which region is the best in modern times.. its vastness lies in its numerous villages and also smaller cities and township not just the metros.. one such township is my hometown Rourkela, Orissa.. Orissa has been put in the map of history mainly cause of the Kalinga war during King Ashoka's reign.. the aftermath of the war simply changed Ashokas course in life.. he sacrificied his luxurious and kingly life and embraced the path of non-violence and set out in search of 'nirwana' following the footsteps of Lord Buddha..

Orissa is made famous by its 'filigri' work on silver jewellry.. applique work called 'pipli' on wall hangings.. did you know the Sun temple @ Konark rivaled the splendor of the Taj Mahal @ one time.. its largely in ruins now cause of lack of funding for its upkeeps.. but every year it is the center stage of India's largest classical dance festival - Konark Dance Festival (http://dances.iloveindia.com/dance-festivals/konark-dance-festival.html) .. its an experience in itself.. the Shiva temple -'Lingaraja' @ Bhubaneswar is yet another mark of beautiful temple architecture.. and the Jagannath Temple @ Puri and the world famous Rath yatra 'car festival' is celebrated with all pomp and show here..

Orissa's greatest contribution to Indias musical and dance scene is the graceful Odissi dance and Odissi vocal.. in the world of sarees - 'Bomkai' reigns supreme.. then theres Sambalpuri silk.. Ved Vyas was born in the confluence of 3 rivers - Sankh, Saraswati and Koel river.. it is lined by several caves where he once is said to have split the vedas in to 4 and authored Mahabharata.. (http://www.world66.com/asia/southasia/india/orissa/rourkela/sights/vedavyas)

the 'Chillika' lake also a bird sanctuary for several migratory birds has breathtaking views.. among modern architectural structures are the Hirakud Dam which is among worlds largest Dam.. Paradip port handles tones of cargo every year - (http://www.paradipport.gov.in/)


The Rourkela Steel plant(part of Steel Authority of India Limited(SAIL)and a Public sector organization) itself is an indo-German collaboration.. Rourkela is a very well planned and green town with the famous Ring road which in a way connects the whole township.. The city itself is flanked by hills on all sides.. City has its own Aerodrome :) and many beautiful parks like Indira Gandhi Park, Jubilee Park,etc and every year winter marks the time for its annual Flower and garden show.. Its the home of 'Hamuman Vatika' - (http://www.rourkela.com/hanuman.html) where the tallest Hanuman statue of 75 feets overlooks the entire vicinity.. home of one of the famous National Engineering College(National Institue of Technology(NIT) - Formerly REC Rourkela).. thats just one among several such educational institution..

Rourkela has its own local TV Channel .. my sister used to be an anchor and news reader and I have performed several times on local TV myself.. highlights of the year used to be the Sangeet Utsav when judges were invited from all across the country.. I actively participated almost every year until it was time to go off to college.. we had several picnic areas in and around Rourkela - Jhilpani, Khadahar, Blue Stone, etc

I can go on and on.. when people scorn me for my being a Rourkellite this is my answer to them.. can you match this kinda contribution of my homestate to any others.. this is just a few.. theres more to where I come from..

Bangali A to Z - My 2 cents

A - "Appayon"(hospitality)

B - "Bhaja" - deep fried version of fish / chicken to saag or any kind of non-vheegis or vheeggies... "Bibaho" - marriage....a year long festivity.. noone can beat that.. starting from "meye dekha"(seeking a bride) ->Ashirbaad and culiminating in Bou Bhaat...O!!!! Honeymooning in the one infamous beach "Digha"..... "Boktovyo" - I have an argument...dont start an argument with a Bangali.. u will never win

C - "Chappal" - flip flops - universal footwear to any attire - "Dressed to Kill" is an understatement..."Cha"(Tea) - favorite beverage of every Bangali - no Adda starts without that...

D - Dada(elder bro.. any man is a Dada in Kolkata).... Didi(same for women) Daroon(awesome)... Dadu(any man with grey hair is Dadu).. Dida(same for women)... "Dhuti".. now mostly worn by men on festive occasions - putting it on is an art in itself...

E - "Engraji"(english for english) - Ha!!!! Go figure... "Eije!!! Shuncho" (Honey!!! r u listening?)

F - "Fhameli" - greatest treasure of any Bangali

G - "Guru!!!!!! ki deyecho" - an exclamation.. "Ganguly, Saurav"...

H - "Hirok Rajar deshe"(in the kingdom of King Hirok)...famous children's movie directed by Satyajit Ray...every Bangali kid has seen it.. "Hooogly" - the river..

I - "AMI" - me - period

J - "Jhol"... Bengali form of Curry.. dimer(Egg) jhol... mangshor(meat) jhol.."Jilipi" - mouth watering, crunchy Indian sweet(snack) - usually eaten for breakfast.."Jam" - Traffic Jam.

K - "Kali"(Ma) - Bangali Goddess of Strength.."Khoborer Kagoj" - the Bangali newspaper - a Bangali cannot go thru the day without reading one...

L - "Load Shedding" - Power failure .. loochi(suggested by a friend)

M - "Maidan" - the race course.. "Metro" - pataal rail.. Mairii!!!(I swear - an exclamation)... "Mukhe Bhaat"(Annaprashan) - first time a child eats solid Bangali khabar(food)

N - Netaji(Subhash Chandra Bose)

O - "OOO!!!!!!" struck with realization or Awe

P - "Payesh"(rice pudding) - the ultimate dessert for every occasion.."Prem" - ajoshro - for everyone

Q - Queue - unending queue to get gasoline, to buy ticket, etc...

R - "Rock e boshe adda" - the corner stone of every lane in Kolkata made famous by the younger generation

S - "Shordi Kashi" - cough and cold.. year around.. no matter what the weather is..."Shonar goina"(gold ornament) - a Bangali tradition...

T - "Taanter saree" - arduously starched and ironed cotton saree that brings out the beauty of every Bangali meye(girl) .. "titkiri" - teasing girls

U - Uphoria... music band made famous by Palash Sen...

V - Vivekananda(Swami) - need I say more?

W - Weather of Kol - mostly hot and Humid

X - X - who knows...

Y - Yoodling by KishoreDa - Kishore Kumar(can u name one other Indian singer who can do that?)

Z - Zoo(Alipore)

Notes - "Bhision"... optical vision - short sighted - almost all Bangali - literary vision, scientific vision, philosophical vision, any vision beside optical is profound - uncontested..
--