The playing cards and the calendar.

Did you know that the traditional deck of the playing cards are a strikingly coherent form of a calendar? 

* There are 52 weeks in the year and so are there 52 playing cards in a deck.
* There are 13 weeks in each season and there are 13 cards in each suit.
* There are 4 seasons in a year and 4 suits in the deck.
* There are 12 months in a year and there are 12 court cards (Those with faces namely Jack, King,
   Queen in each suit).
* The red cards represent the day while the black cards represent the night.
* If you have Jacks = 11, Queens = 12 and the Kings = 13, then add up all the sums of 1+2+3+.....
   ....to 13 = 91. Multiply this by 4 - for the 4 suits, therefore 91 multiplied by 4 equals 364. Add 1,
   to that and you will arrive at the number 365 being the days in a year!

Is that a mere coincidence or a greater intelligence?

* Of interest is the sum of the letters in all the names of the cards, eg : add up the letters in 'one, two,
   three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Jack, King, Queen' = 52!
* The Spades indicates ploughing/working.
* The Heart indicates 'love thy crops'.
* The Clubs indicates flourishing and growth.
* The Diamond indicates reaping the wealth.
* Also, in some card games, 2 Jokers are used, indicating the Leap Year.

There is a deeper philosophy than just merely a game of playing cards. The Mathematical perfection is mind blowing.

      *                        *                         *

Fire in the Amazon Forests

Fire in Amazon Forests brings to my mind a story in the Mahabharatham. Puloma, the attractive wife of Bhrigu Maharshi, was alone in the aasram when Puloman, the raakshasa, passed by. Sexually attracted, Puloman asked the bonfire blazing near the yaagashaala, who the gorgeous girl is. Agni, unaccustomed to being untruthful, told him that she was the wife of Bhrigu, the son of Brahma.

Puloman, who was even earlier attracted to her, immediately took the shape of a pig, grabbed Puloma and stormed away at wind speed. In the quiver of this soaring swiftness, the baby in the womb of Puloma emerged and in the sunny glow of the baby, the raakshasa was turned into ash and the baby and mom reached the aasramam safely. But Bhrigumuni was not quite happy with the whole affair. He was furious with Agni for exposing his wife to the raakshasa. So he cursed Agni. "Hey Agni, may you be Sarvabhakshaka!"

Ages have gone by since this curse but Agni hasn't, so far, attained 'saapamoksha'. It ravages forests year after year.

This year, it's the turn of the Amazon forests!


Tailpiece.

It was a quiet day today but it poured almost the entire day beginning from last night.