An Update: Mayawati's Mega-garland

Rumour:
EACH  thousand-rupee note, blessed to have been chosen for the mega-garland adorning Mayawati's substantial neck, is supposedly being purchased for twenty to fifty thousand rupees by the loyal workers of her party.

Hundred-year-old Kim finally met her daughter after more than sixty years

“It's been 60 years, and I've been missing you even in my dreams,”  said the North Korean daughter Ri Hae Kyung, wiping her 100-year-old South Korean mother Kim Yu-jung's tears during their reunion in North Korea.

The timeless poignancy of this Sept. 2009 story 

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/korea/2009/09/30/226711/N.-Korean.htm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8275648.stm

Bird-Brained? An Urbanized Smart Crow

Video Clip by Sir David Attenborough (1926 -)


Britain's best-known natural history film-maker with several landmark BBC series.
His career as a naturalist and broadcaster has spanned nearly five decades and there are very few places on the globe that he has not visited.


Lord Richard  Attenborough (1923 -), maker of the film Gandhi, is his elder brother.


 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGPGknpq3e0

Bihar's Shotgun Weddings

The practice of prospective in-laws abducting young boys/men for marriage is an established custom in Bihar as "Pakaraua Vivah" (= catpure & marry off).

Lalbabu Prasad, 16, was abducted at gunpoint in May '09 and was forced to marry 13-year-old  Babita.

His friend, Praveen, tried to come to his rescue, but died when kidnappers fired guns to scare him away.

Hours later, when police rescued L Prasad, he was already married.

The family of 13-year-old Rajesh Rai of Patna has now agreed to accept the bride Vinita with whom he was forced in a gunpoint marriage.

He was kidnapped when he went out to sell milk.

Rahul,18,  was kidnapped & forced to marry Banti,16, in Rampur village where he had gone due to a relative's death. 

Both Banti's and Rahul's elder brothers have been married the same way.

A good number of boys are kidnapped and married off during matriculation exam when they come to a town exam centre from villages nearby.

Almost 90% marriages in villages have been solemnized by kidnapping bridegrooms; because it is easier & cheaper than paying the standard dowry. 

In almost all such cases, the entire village extends full support to the girl's family. 
The ceremony is videotaped as evidence.
 Priests of village temples issue a certificate of marriage.
Most of these marriages survive.


Though forced marriages have traditionally been prevalent among the so-called upper castes in Bihar, the practice is picking up even among the middle castes where the demand for dowry has skyrocketed over the years. 

... India Today, April 5, '10

What guts, Hissa Hilal.


On second thoughts, is the risk worth it ? 
Are you being fair to your young children and husband?

“The 70th Anniversary of her 30th Birthday”

Idiosyncrasies of a New Yorker

According to her birth certificate, she will turn 102 on May 16, this year.
Feisty Mrs. Bishop has steadfastly refused to acknowledge that she has lived a century.


Accepting it as vanity, the family decided to respect Mrs. Bishop’s sensitivities by sending invitations  referring to “the 70th anniversary of her 30th birthday” to a party celebrating her 100th birthday in 2008.


Mrs. Bishop did quick work on the greeting cards she received that mentioned a 100th birthday, tearing out the offending number and leaving the rest of each card intact. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/nyregion/27barbados.html?hp

"आपल्या सर्व संस्थांचे व्यवहार मराठीत चालले पाहिजेत.
साम्प्रत, पुण्यासारख्या मराठीच्या माहेरघरी रस्त्यांतून सहज हिंडले तरी जिकडे तिकडे फर्म्स, स्टोअर्स, डीलर्स, आणि मर्चंट्स दिसतात.
तो लज्जास्पद देखावाच मोडून काढला पाहिजे.
प्रत्येक व्यक्तिपावेतो हे मराठीच्या अभिमानाचे लोण पोचविले पाहिजे."

                             ... १९३९ मध्ये अहमदनगर मध्ये झालेल्या अखिल भारतीय मराठी साहित्य संमेलनाच्या  अध्यक्षीय भाषणात, महामहोपाध्याय दत्तो वामन पोतदार.

Largesses to Pilgrimages in Maharashtra State Budget 10-11

Provisions for maintenance of pilgrim centres in the Annual State Budget 
 (Revenue Deficit - Rs 8000 Crore, Public Debt - Rs. 2 Lac Crore):

• Shegaon, Buldana: Rs 360 crore
• Tuljapur                   : Rs 315 crore
• Dehu                       : Rs 280 crore
• Paithan                   : Rs 200 crore
• Lote Parshuram     : Rs   10 crore
• Jejuri                        : Rs     5 crore
• Malwan                    : Rs     2 crore

***
The Finance Minister also has offered to reduce tax on hair pins.
***
Times of India, March 26, '10

पुण्यात सुरु झालेल्या ८३ व्या अखिल भारतीय मराठी साहित्य संमेलनाच्या निमित्ताने

जैसी पुष्पामांजि पुष्प मोगरि 
कि परीमळानमाजि   कस्तुरि 
तैसी    भाषान्माजि   साजिरि
मराठिया 
           ....फादर स्टीफन थॉमस, जेसुईट धर्मंगुरु  (1549 इंग्लंड -1619 गोवा )

A group of camel-breeders worship a British officer killed during the 1857 upsurge.

They offer flowers, coconuts;  light incense;  and worship with folded hands at his grave in Auwa, Rajasthan.

Capt. G.H.M. Mason of the Bengal Native Infantry, also a political agent of Jodhpur was beheaded in Sept 1857; and his head displayed at the fort's gate during a battle.


Karl Marx had then written about this episode in the New York Tribune.


The Rabadees sing songs lauding the British.
One says,"The British brought an iron cart that could run on rails without bullocks. 
Oh Britons, your skills were too great!"


,,, 'Faith Accompli',  India Today, March 29, '10

This is a beautiful story

The Ex-Husband Who Never Left



http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21/fashion/21LOVE.html?ref=fashion

मोजून मापून कोकणस्थ - सुधीर गाडगीळ

I have yet to read such an observant, impartial yet humourous piece on one's own community.

http://sanskritdocuments.org/marathi/misc/mojUnmApunkokaNastha.doc

Video Recipes

*Indian Dishes in Microwave - by Sudha Kulkarni

http://aaiskitchen.blogspot.com/

कॉपी करू देण्याच्या मागणी साठी बहिष्कार: बी. एससी. विद्यार्थी, डॉ. आम्बेडकर मराठवाडा विद्यापीठ

परीक्षेत कॉपी करू द्या ह्या मागणीसाठी, डॉ. आंबेडकर मराठवाडा विद्यापीठ,  बी.एससी. (रसायनशास्त्र) पदवीच्या ८० विद्यार्थ्यानी महाविद्यालयात, वर्गाबाहेर ठिय्या मारून बहिष्कार घातला.

अन्य महाविद्यालयातील केंद्रांवर बिनदिक्कतपणे कॉपी सुरू असतांना आम्हाला कॉपी करण्यापासून रोखले जाणे हा आम्हांवर अन्याय आहे. 
तसेच कॉपी मुक्त अभियानाच्या कठोर अम्मल बजावणीमुळे आम्हा विद्यार्थ्यांचे शैक्षणिक नुकसान होत आहे अशी आड़मुठी भूमिका त्यानी घेतली   आहे.


ह्या बहिष्काराची बातमी प्रसार माध्यमांपर्यंत पोहोचवण्याचीही  खबरदारी सम्बंधित  विद्यार्थ्यांनी घेतली. 


http://72.78.249.125/Sakal/20Mar2010/Normal/PuneCity/page2.htm
***

Mayawati recieves multi-crore garland at Maha rally in Lucknow

This is a garland made of pink thousand-rupee notes.
Corruption is not an issue; it's as normal as breathing.
But, why deface the currency notes?

No wonder, USA is the auto capital of the world

The limit of their obsession with cars.

http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/galleries/the_worlds_largest_roadside_attractions/the_worlds_largest_roadside_attractions.html

Indian version of 'The Onion'

www.fakingnews.com

Gods keep up with human progress: now Visa-Special Mandirs

http://www.desihotmasala.com/2010/01/visa-hanuman-temple-delhi-and-ahmedabad.html
More Visa Mandirs In India:http://www.garamchai.com/HyderabadVisaGod.htm The day of country-specific visa mandirs cannot be not too far off.

For India’s Newly Rich Farmers, Limos Won’t Do

NOIDA, India — BhishamSingh Yadav, recently earned about  $109,000 selling only 3 acres of his ancestral land.

But, as the father of a 19-year groom, he is stressed this morning.

• His rented  Lexus got stuck behind a bullock cart.
• He has hired a truck to blast Hindi pop, but it is too big to maneuver through his village.
• At least his grandest gesture, evidence of his upward mobility, is circling overhead ---

The helicopter has arrived!

.http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/19/world/asia/19india.html?hp

Georgia Tech Invites Its Faculty To India

*  Foreign univs will poach lowly-paid Indian profs
In 2008, when Atlanta-based Georgia Tech University bought 250 acres of land in Hyderabad it left many gaping.
 It did something even more astonishing shortly afterwards: it invited its own faculty members to quit their jobs and consider moving to India. 
    A professor in the computer science department of the university told TOI: “Each one of us got a formal note. Even more amazingly, he added, all of us were offered the same salary that we were getting in Georgia.
 It was clearly an offer very few would even think of refusing; given the cost of living in India, it would straightaway translate into a fortune, if not a killing.” 
    The note read, “Those who take a transfer to Hyderabad, or are recruited for the India campus, will be offered the same dollar salary compensation that is paid in Georgia.” 


http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIPU/2010/03/16&PageLabel=9&EntityId=Ar00901&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

* "Besides dentists and lawyers, cabbies have the hardest jobs, because everyone hates them," Lee said.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/fare_minded_hero_rider_bared_scam_XA0PYoOybKeihknphWsyMN

* Police Pack Human Cargo In Japanese train : a video clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk2R_mqV4ts

2001 Census India: interesting statistics just out; it already is 2010, remember?

• 2.29 crore women have 7 or more children
• 1.51    "          "       "      6                 "
• 2.33    "          "       "      5                 "
• 20.87  "          "       "      4 / less        "    

***

• Bhanwar Lal Gujjar, 40 & wife Mana, 35, already have 11 children and are expecting their 12th. They have 4 grand children, all older than their youngest child. Work on National Rural Employment Guarantee Act.
• Sharda Kanjar, 35 & husband Premchand, have 9 daughters and 3 sons. Last born, Sania, named after the tennis star, is younger than their 4 grand children.  They are very happy with their brood. When asked about the number, Sharda asked the India Today journalist," What is your problem when we are happy with so many kids?"
• Hema Ram Gracia, 43, has 11 children; the school going ones avail of free education and hostel. 'Big family is a necessity to be powerful in a village,' says Hema Ram.

---  an aticle in India Today, 15 March, 2010

Men with palanquin walk over prostrate women

* Bizarre religious rituals find a lot of takers

Women in Karnataka’s Bijapur district lie prostrate as men walk over them with a palanquin carrying the village deity.  

The ritual, it is believed, brings good luck to women who are walked over as the palanquin carries the village deity.

An interesting aspect of the ritual is that liquor is considered teertha (holy water) and is offered to the gods. Young men carrying the palanquin consume the liquor and walk 70 km from the temple in Sindagi taluk to another temple on the banks of Krishna. 

Even children are given liquor as teertha.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIPU/2010/03/15&PageLabel=11&EntityId=Ar01100&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

I take offence: The Know-All Maharashtrians, especially from Pune, did not merit even a mention?

* Why all us Indians are superior to all us Indians 

Do you think you’re smarter, more good looking, better at your job, and make a much nicer pizza than your neighbours? 
In exactly the same way as your neighbours think of you: that they are much smarter, more good looking, better at their jobs, and make a much nicer pizza than you.  

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIPU/2010/03/12&PageLabel=24&EntityId=Ar02401&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T

मे.भा.म. : चुकीच्या घरी मृतदेह दिला.

मुलाचा दफ़न विधी केला आणि रात्री मुलगा - रियाज़  स्वतःच  घरी परतला.
(रियाज़ घरी परतल्याने दफ़न केलेला मृतदेह खरा कोणाचा असा प्रश्न उभा राहिला आहे.)
         --- दै. सकाळ, १० मार्च १०

मेरा भारत महान = मे.भा.म.

* मामाने आणलेला डबा घेतला म्हणून चिडलेल्या सोलापुर जिल्हा पोलिस अधीक्षक डॉ. सुरेशकुमार मेखला ह्यांनी पोलिस भरती साठी उपाशीपोटी आलेल्या उमेदवाराच्या कानाखाली लगावली.
तसेच त्याला स्वतःच्या मामाला लाथा मारायला भाग पाडले.
                                      ---    दै. सकाळ, १० मार्च 10  

http://72.78.249.125/Sakal/11Mar2010/Normal/PuneCity/page11.htm

MBM aka Meraa Bhaarat Mahaaaan

* Indian Railways minister Mamata Bannerji, a woman herself,  threatens to resign if the Women's Quota Bill, cleared by Rajya Sabha, gets passed in Lok Sabha.
She wants a quota for Muslims.

* Internet: humour: In the dark cyber alley, Indian satirist gangs poke fun at the passing world

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?264510

* For more than 25 years, from the age of 27, I’ve worn a pouch on my lower right abdomen.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/02/life-with-a-pouch-on-the-side/