English and Mathematics.

Nutty language this English......

  1. When you say "a, e, i, o, u" your mouth gets smaller with each vowel you say.

  2. You don't really wash your hands.....they wash each other while you stand there and watch......

  3. Things are not on fire.......fire is on things!

  4. When you say 'forward' or 'backward'....your lips move in those directions! (Yes...just like that!)

  5. The word 'Australia' has three As.....all of which look the same, but are pronounced differently! (Surprised??).

  6. If you rip a hole in a net, there are actually fewer holes in it than before!

  7. The sentence "All the faith he had had had had no effect on the outcome of his life"...is actually correct! (Getting too much??) 

  8. Sometimes you have to sing the whole alphabet in your head.....just to find the next letter!

  9. "Dammit I'm Mad" backwards is still "Dammit I'm Mad". (And that's the condition you have almost reached).

 10. Nothing is behind your back. It is always in front of your back!! (Now that's stretching it a little bit too far!!)

 11. Most of the time the people who tell you to calm down are the same people that made you angry in the first place! (Yeah....you got that right!)

 12. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is not fun to say but ironically, this is the medical term for the fear of long words! (Nailed it?...Right?)

  *         *          *

Basics of Mathematics

One of the basics of Mathematics is knowing whether the number is even or odd, divisible by 2 and by the sum of its numbers.....but look at this strange number....

The number 2520 looks like a normal number like other numbers but it is not like that. It is a strange number and is rarely found between numbers and has puzzled Mathematics geniuses to this day......!

The strange thing is that it is divisible by numbers from 1 to 10, whether these numbers are odd or even!

It is known that it is difficult or even impossible to find a number that does that!

And when we say the division is accepted, we mean without any fractions remaining after the division process......!

Follow the practical application :

2520 divide by 1 = 2520 * 2520 divided by 2 = 1260 * 2520 divided by 3 = 840 * 2520 divided by 4 = 630 * 2520 divided by 5 = 504 * 2520 divided by 6 = 420 * 2520 divided by 7 = 360 * 2520 divided by 8 = 315 * 2520 divided by 9 = 280 * 2520 divided by 10 = 252.

And after mathematicians were confused about finding a convincing mathematical relationship that would make one number divisible in this strange way, they discovered that this number is the product of the numbers : 7x30x12 that may appear at first glance to be random numbers but it is not!

So the surprise that made them more confused than their first was that this number 2520 is a multiplication of days in a week 7 x days in a month 30 x months in a year 12.

Tailpiece.

Got up a trifle late, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. It was a quiet Monday.

The LDF candidate had come by for seeking our votes.

An eye opener about the farmers' agitation.

Background

I am still not clear about the issues involved in the farmers' agitation. So, I asked a friend of mine, who besides being an engineer, professionally, is a farmer from Abohar-Fazilka region of Punjab. Now, after retirement, he is a full time farmer. 

This is what he told me. "I have been actively farming for almost two decades now and I have witnessed many things happen at the APMCs.

I have seen classifications of C grade grain miraculously change to B grade grain.

Similarly, I have also witnessed the weighbridge weigh in an empty truck at 39 tons and the full truck at 55 tons and later found that the unloaded truck weighed 43 tons at another weighbridge.

Yes I know, you know what I know. Yet let me tell you more about what you may already know.

There are 30,000 registered 'adtiyas' in Punjab.

These 30,000 employ another 30,000 sub agents or sidekicks or people who wouldn't have made it into doing anything any place were it not for the patronage network of these 30,000.

There are only 1,500 farming villages in Punjab.

3,30,000/1,500 is about 220 people on an average per village doing the work of middlemen.

Why is this case?

The Actual Drama

It's a long story but someone needs to begin talking about this at some time.And so, here we go..

We had a food shortage and a ship to mouth existence till the 1970s. Norman Borlaugh pioneered a variety of wheat which gave 10 times the yield but needed 3 times the fertiliser. The Punjab was chosen as the battleground against hunger. Enterprising Sikh farmers worked hard to create what we know as the green revolution.

Since there were huge shortages, laws were made which didn't allow for stockholding or selling at farm gates. Essential Commodities Act, APMC Act (farmers were compelled to sell only at APMCs to licensed traders - remember licence permit quota raj?) As an assurance to the farmer for his hard work, minimum support prices were guaranteed. 

No matter what the quantum, 'sarkar' would pick it up and provide the farmers with a minimum amount as compensation per quintal or ton as the case maybe. Getting money out of the sarkari treasury is a muck filled process. Thus was born the breed of middle men who walked the corridors of bureaucracy, government and worked up corrupt sarkari babus.

Political patronage networks flourished.

220 : 1 is the ration of middlemen to a single village in Punjab today. 

This business got integrated backwards. Corruption was professionalised. For instance, I have in my circle of influence or immediate family, folks who own very large tracts of land (100 acre plus holding).

The thekedar comes and takes the theka of growing on the land. For those unfamiliar with the woed, theka is also referred to as contract. i know there are grumblings about corporates contracting with farmers directly now. I also know why. You should too.

Anyways, to cut a long story short, plenty of farmers do not expect to receive much as their rightful dues at the end of each crop season.

* What is grown? * What grade or quality? * For how much is it sold? * Would it have fetched a similar price in open market? * Where is it sold? * How is it sold? * Who's the end beneficiary? * Does anybody consume it or does it go waste? * Was there a better way to do what's being done?

As long as you receive your cheque, why do you care?

The Jamkhedkar Committee, meanwhile reports that over 40% of the grain acquired under MSP by the FCI is either unfit for consumption or is simply wasted.

All told, one out of every two kilos acquired is wasted.

Years of perfidy have, today, given birth to this situation. MSP has ensured that there is no necessity to seek profitable enterprise. It has also given birth to the patronage networks which survive off the sarkari teat and refuse to break away.

It has given rise to a political class which thrives and survives on being Specialist Corrupt Thugs.

There was no sunset clause on this. Nobody foresaw a time of surplus production of foodgrains.

Result : all other states such as Haryana, UP, Bihar, Rajasthan and MP all produce surfeits of grain. They also have their own MSP mechanisms which have proliferated and created similar political patronage networks. 

More is acquired at Mandis in Punjab. Remember the central government's promise. Grain from UP and Bihar also finds its way into the mandi system of Punjab! 

The trucks being underweight and overpaid for and grades changing are common practices, you can go for a few days to the mandi and figure out how to make a killing by doing this. I don't advise it, this is what the system is in the current day. I advise, try doing truthful clean work. It's more fulfilling.

Soon enough, you will also be one of those 'know alls' in the mandi who doesn't talk to others. After all information is power.

All this is paid for by you, dear tax payer.

The annual bill for this is approximately Rs. 8 lakh crores.

Why doesn't the farmer grow something else? Something more profitable?

If I'm being paid for doing precisely nothing, why bother with competing? Where's the incentive to compete? 

I would rather go and picket the roads leading into Delhi to ensure that the existing system isn't threatened.

Epilogue

These, then in a nutshell, are the hard facts of the farmers' agitation. What a shame? And the entire lot of opposition is trying to board the bandwagon with their one point-agenda of showing Modi in bad light! The paradox is that all of them - without exception - have batted for this bill earlier but couldn't/wouldn't bring it up for legislation!!

And to recapitulate, let's run through the farm bills yet again....

* Bill on Agri market ( Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce - promotion and facilitation Bill) 

- To create an ecosystem where farmers and traders enjoy the freedom to sell and purchase farm produce outside registered 'mandis' under states' APMCs - To promote barrier-free inter-state and intra-state trade of farmers' produce - to reduce marketing/transportation costs and help farmers in getting better prices - To provide a facilitative framework for electronic trading.

* Bill on Contract Farming ( Farmers' Empowerment and Protection - agreement of price assurance and farm services Bill)

- Farmers can enter into a contract with agri-business firms - processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers for sale of future farming produce at a pre-agreed price - Marginal and small farmers, with land less than five hectares to gain via aggregation and contract (these, incidentally, account for 86% of the total farmers in India) - To transfer the risk of market unpredictability from farmers to sponsors - To enable farmers to access modern technology and get better inputs - To reduce cost of marketing and boost farmers' income - Farmers can engage in direct marketing by eliminating intermediaries for full price realisation - Effective dispute resolution mechanism with redressal timelines

* Bill Relating to Commodities (The Essential Commodities - amendment Bill)

- To remove commodities like cereals, pulses, oil seeds, onions and potatoes from the list of essential commodities. It will do away with the imposition of stock holding limits on such items except under "extraordinary circumstances" of private investors of excessive regulatory interference in business operations - To bring investment for farm infrastructure like cold storages, and modernising food supply chain - To help both farmers and consumers while bringing in latest technology.

My take.

A comprehensive and exhaustive set of laws that defang the middlemen completely. And note that it's the farmers of Punjab who've raked up the defiance against the laws as the corrupt system loses out entirely. 

And under the pretext of carrying out a peaceful agitation, they seem to desperately want anarchy, otherwise, why should they choke the ingress/egress in and out of Delhi?    

 

Tailpiece.

Got up at a half past 6, being a Sunday, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. Today's Rangoli had good songs!

Videocalled my sisters and had our weekly chat.

 

The Church That Came Out Of A Story Book.

Saint Basil's Cathedral of Vasily the Blessed has been a symbol of Moscow for many centuries. The cathedral is famous for its fairy tale like appearance, with bright red walls and onion shaped domes. Let's take a closer look at the classic example of medieval Russian architecture.

Who Built It?

It was built by Ivan Vasilyevich, popularly called Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584), the first Tsar of Russia to commemorate the victories over Khanate of Kazan and Asrakhan.

Asian or European?

* The church is unique owing to the lack of analogue - preceding, contemporary or later architecture of Muscovy and Byzantine * Some researchers reject European roots for the cathedral, saying that its corbel arches were Byzantine and hence Asian * Another theory states that the cathedral may be a recreation Qolsarif Mosque Which was destroyed by the Russians after capturing Kazan.

Asymmetric

* The cathedral is not in perfect symmetry even if the side churches are arranged in perfect symmetry * The larger central church was deliberately offset to the west from the geometric centre of the side churches to accommodate its larger apse (semicircular recess) on the eastern side * As a result of this, the view from the north and the south is complex with multi-axial shapes. The view from the west, facing the Kremlin, appears to be symmetric and monolithic.

1555 - '61 

Years the cathedral was built. Architects were Postnik Yakovlev and Ivan Barma.

Originally White

The church may be known for its bright colours but the vibrant exterior we know today was added only 200 years after the structure was completed. Historians are of the opinion that the cathedral was originally painted with golden domes.

Biblical Inspiration

17th century-Russia saw architectural styles incorporating whimsical colour schemes. The cathedral took inspiration from the Heavenly City that was described in the Book of Revelations.

Made Up Of 10 Churches

The layout of the cathedral is based around one massive central church called the Intercession.

Four other churches surround the Intercession like compass points with four smaller churches diagonally placed. 

1558

A tenth chapel was later added.

Under Communist USSR - 1928

* The church was confiscated from the Russian Orthodox Church during the Soviet Union's anti religious campaigns * It then operated as a division of the State Historical Museum and was secularised a year later.

UNESCO Site - 1990

The cathedral was added to UNESCO's World Heritage Site along with the Kremlin and Red Square.

Open for Prayers - 1997

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, weekly church services with prayers to Saint Basil have been restored.

Courtesy. The NIE

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. The BJP candidate came on a house visit, soliciting for votes.

Had a nice chat with Gavvy and Smita from Paris. Damn sweet of them to call us!

Participated in the Azhchakkoottam between 1600-1700 hrs. "The Reading Experience during the Online Period" by Ms. Suja Suresh, Librarian, Kerala University.

  

Today's Navy Day.

Navy Day is celebrated on 04 Dec, every year, to recognise the achievements and the role of the Indian Navy towards the country. It was on this day in 1971, during Operation Trident, the Indian Navy sank four Pakistani vessels including PNS Khaibar, killing hundreds of of Pakistani Naval personnel. On this day, those who martyred in the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 are also remembered. 

     *              *              *

Sailor

Noun, pronounced 'sey-ler'.

Definition : An organised group of war fighting, beer drinking, country serving, highly trained, sharply dressed, one of a kind, defenders of freedom.

     *               *              *

@KanchanGupta Tweet

Good Economics makes bad politics!

.......if you don't have integrity, nothing else matters. Warren Buffet once said, "You're looking for three things, generally in a person : intelligence, energy and integrity. And if they don't have the last one, don't even bother with the first two".

And the classic examples that come to my mind always when I read that quote from Warren Buffet are Dr. Manmohan Singh and even more importantly, Raghuram Rajan. A combination of Manmohan Singh, Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Raghuram Rajan should have been India's greatest ever economic team. On the other hand, this trio was responsible for a loot that was unprecedented. Financial markets were a basket case.

The insurance companies were ripping people's savings. And for 8 long years, the farmers kept dying every day!

The designated mandis - or Agriculture Produce Marketing  Committees (APMCs) are part of the cruelest set up that any Agricultural economy can imagine. But just watch this guy who was being considered for a Nobel Prize, not so long ago.

This same guy in 2014, was advocating the exact opposite :-

Raghuram Rajan said : * APMC Act should be amended * Food prices should be determined by market * MSP only for lower level support * End monopoly of middlemen * Slower increase in MSPs

Even one extra day that the APMCs get to be the monopoly on a farmer's produce in India is a crime against humanity!

And, this guy - like Maunmohan Singh, who oversaw the worst plunder of India after Robert Clive and the East India Company (In fact, he helped hoist the Telecom Secreatary during 2G scam as the Central Vigilance Commissioner, which the Supreme Court shot down!) - has the nerve to add an indefinite delay, by having discussions with people who are in the mode for kick-starting another wave of terrorism.

That is why this so-called farmers' protest has started and come from Punjab. 

It is not intellectual dishonesty. It is intellectual deceit!

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. 

My new Driving Licence reached me as Sanoj, the Postman, handed over the registered letter around a quarter past 11 to me, exactly on the third Friday after I'd dropped my application for renewal at the Sub RTO's office.

Why does a week have seven days?

It is funny how the whole world believes that the 7 day week is a western concept! It is not a concept borrowed from Romans as it is generally believed.

The 7 day week is not really based on western calendar. Firstly, let's look at how classic predictions (Jyothisha Shastra) of the Vedas for answers to these questions :

* Why do we have only 7 days in a week? Why can't we have 8 or 9? * What is an hour? * Why do we have only 24 hours in a day? Why can't we have 30 or 40 units and call it an hour?

Ancient Indians were so well versed that they often used 4 to 5 different units of time. If you ask your Indian grandmother, she might have told you that during her days, people measured time in a weird unit called ghati/ghadiya (1 ghati = 24 minutes).

1 day is the time lapsed between two sunrises. Sandhi, in Sankrit, means knot or junction and hence the junction points are named as pratah sandhya (Early morning) and sayam sandhya (Evening) which divide the standard day into two halves i.e from sunrise to sunset and sunset to sunrise.

Since there are 12 Zodiac constellations, each constellation is assigned a part of the half a day unit and hence 12 parts in half a day each, together 12+12=24 units. This is the concept of hora or hour. (Yes, hora is the standard hour. English unit of time and Sanskrit unit of time named similarly. Strange coincidence, don't you think so?)

Just as there are constellations associated with each hora, each graha is assigned rulership of individual hora. The order of the planetary rulership of horas is as follows:-

 * Surya (Sun/SUN-DAY) followed by

 * Shukra (Venus/FRI-DAY) followed by

 * Budha (Mercury/WEDNES-DAY) followed by

 * Soma (Moon/MON-DAY) followed by

 * Shani (Saturn/SATUR-DAY) followed by

 * Guru (Jupiter/THURS-DAY) followed by

 * Mangala (Mars/TUES-DAY).

In Indian Prediction science (jyothisha shastra), the rising sign at the time of sunrise is noted down and is considered very important to make any astronomical/astrological calculations regarding a chart, especially to find out the janma lagna (Birth time), it is very essential. So, the rising sign is very important. Likewise, the planetary rulership of the hora during the time of sunrise is noted down. The planet that rules the hora at the time of sunrise is assigned the rulership of the whole day.

And hence,

the day Ravi-vara (or Sun-day) is named after Ravi/Sun who is assigned lordship of the day because he rules the hora at the time of sunrise of that day. Now, following Sun, the next hour after sunrise is ruled by Shukra followed by the rest. In the above mentioned order of rulership of horas, calculate the next ruling planet that comes after 24 horas i.e

* Ist hour by Ravi * 2nd hour by Shukra * 3rd hour by Budha * 4th hour by Soma * 5th hour by Shani * 6th hour by Guru * 7th hour by Mangala * 8th hour by Ravi * 9th hour by Shukra * 10th hour by Budha * 11th hour by Soma * 12th hour by Shani * 13th hour by Guru * 14th hour by Mangala * 15th hour by Ravi * 16th hour by Shukra * 17th hour by Budha * 18th hour by Soma * 19th hour by Shani * 20th hour by Guru * 21st hour by Mangala * 22nd hour by Ravi * 23rd hour by Shukra * 24th hour by Budha..........* End of a day * 25th hour by Soma (Moon/Monday)

As you see it turns out that Soma is the ruler of the next day's sunrise. And hence, the next day Soma-vara (or Mon-day) is named after Chandra/Moon who is assigned lordship of the day because he rules the hora at the time of that day's sunrise.

In the same order, Mangala-vara (Tuesday) for Mangala/Mars being the hora ruler at sunrise,

Budha-vara (Wednesday) for Budha/Mercury being the hora ruler at sunrise,

Guru-vara (Thursday) for Deva Guru Brihaspati/Jupiter being the hora ruler at sunrise,

Shukra-vara (Friday) for Shukra/Venus being the hora ruler at sunrise,

Shani-vara (Saturday) for Shani/Saturn being the hora ruler at sunrise,

Now, after Saturday, the cycle reverts to :

(a) With Surya being the ruler of the hora at the time of next day's sunrise. This is the reason why there are only 7 days in a week based on these calculations of hora and their planetary rulership as mentioned in the vedic texts.

(b) One may be a Christian, Muslim, Sikh or Jew, knowingly or unknowingly, they follow the methods of the ancient Rishis.

(c) This is the reason why Hindu dharma is called Ancient Indian Civilisation Principles - called as Sanatana dharma (eternal and expansive in its very nature).

It is funny how the whole world believes that the 7 day week is a western concept!

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by 10. 

The trip to Pulinkkunnu Sub Registrar's office tomorrow has been postponed on account of two reasons - my cousin, Sindhu's cough and cold and the scare of the Burevi cyclone. The districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta and Alappuzha are on Red alert on account of the impending heavy rain. Informed Mini, first thing in the morning, so that she could stand down on her departure plans from Bangalore.

From here and there!

English Is Full Of Contradictions

Here are some funny ones :-

* Found Missing * Open Secret * Small Crowd * Act Naturally * Clearly Misunderstood * Fully Empty * Pretty Ugly * Seriously Funny * Only Choice * Original Copies * Exact Estimate * Tragic Comedy * Foolish Wisdom * Liquid Gas and the latest * Social Distancing.

    *         *          * 

For Punsters

* I've always wondered if chickens communicated using fowl language. Maybe only when they're egg-cited.

* An invisible man married an invisible woman. The kids were nothing to look at, you see.

* I didn't think the chiropractor would improve my posture. But I stand corrected.

* I took my new girlfriend out on our first date to the ice rink and entry was half price. She called me a cheap skate.

* Studies show cows produce more milk when the farmer talks to them. It's a case of in one ear and out of the udder.

* I used to date a girl with one leg who worked at a brewery. She was in charge of the hops.

* My cross-eyed wife and I just got a divorce. I found out she was seeing someone on the side.

* My wife claims I'm the cheapest person she's ever met. I'm not buying it.

* Did you know that a raven has 17 rigid feathers called pinions, while a crow has only 16. The difference between a raven and a crow is just a matter of a pinion.

* I told my carpenter I didn't want carpeted steps. He gave me a blank stair.

* What did the surgeon say to the patient who insisted on closing up his own incision? Suture self.

   *          *           *

Just For Fun

From a retired Colonel!

I didn't volunteer in the Army - I was forced to join by my parents. 

So I wasn't going to make life easy for anyone.

During medical tests, the doc asked softly, "Can you read the letters on the wall?"

"What letters?" I said shrewdly.

"Good", he said. "You passed the hearing test.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by 10. Suma was given a day off today, by Lekha, as she complained of pain in the shoulders.

Our going to Neelamperoor to sign on the documents of Puthuvayil Veedu has been worked out to the last mile. Only hope that the weather doesn't play truant!

Assorted.

Woman

When God created woman he was working late on the 6th day.......

An angel came by and asked, "Why spend so much time on her?"

The lord answered, "Have you seen all the specifications I have to meet to shape her?"

"She must function on all kinds of situations * She must be able to embrace several kids at the same time * Have a hug that can heal anything from a bruised knee to a broken heart * She must do all this with only two hands * She cures herself when sick and can work 18 hours a day".  

The Angel was impressed, "Just two hands.......impossible!

And this is the standard model?"

The Angel came closer and touched the woman. "But you have made her so soft Lord". "She is soft", said the Lord, "But I've made her strong. You can't imagine what she can endure and overcome".

"Can she think?" The Angel asked.....The Lord answered, "Not only can she think, she can reason and negotiate".

The Angel touched her cheeks...."Lord, it seems this creation is leaking! You have put too many burdens on her". "She is not leaking.....it is a tear". The Lord corrected the Angel....

"What's it for?" Asked the Angel.....The lord said, "Tears are her way of expressing her grief, her doubts, her love, her loneliness, her suffering and her pride"......

This made a big impression on the Angel, "Lord, you are a genius. You thought of everything. A woman is indeed marvellous".

Lord said, "Indeed she is * She has strength that amazes a man * She can handle trouble and carry heavy burdens *She holds happiness, love and opinions * She smiles when she feels like screaming * She sings when she feels like crying, cries when happy and laughs when afraid *She fights for what she believes in.

Her love is unconditional. Her heart is broken when a next-of-kin or a friend dies but she finds strength to get on with life".

The Angel asked : "So she is a perfect being?"

The Lord replied : "No. She has just one drawback, "She often forgets what she is worth".

      *            *            *

'Aiyoh!'

Is officially in the Oxford Dictionary.

'Aiyoh' is a quintessential word used extensively in South India. It has now officially made it to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).

Aiyoh is a word that expresses a varied range of emotions and is uttered in surprise, awe, sadness, fear, pain, happiness, disgust and glee. And now it has been accepted as a word in the 'Bible of English'.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by 10. To the town to collect the author's copy of a soon-to-be-published-book from the courier and also bought sundries on Lekha's instructions.