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. 

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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.

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@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.

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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.

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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".

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'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.  

Kartik Purnima.

Yesterday was Kartik Purnima and most of us lit up our homes with bright, earthenware 'diyas'. Today, we shall talk about its significance.

1. The full moon Purnima day of the Shukla Paksha (waxing moon) of the Kartik month is considered very auspicious.

2. It marks the end of Kartik month and the start of Margshirsha.

3. It also ends Sharad Ritu and marks the start of Hemant Ritu. As per ayurveda, 'pitta' gets aggravated in Sharad Ritu and 'kapha' in Hemant Ritu.

4. With it also starts the winter.

5. It is also called Diwali of the Gods and Tripuri Purnima. The day marks the victory of Lord Shiva over the demon Tripuri. Tripuri Purnima is one of the most propitious days for worshipping  Shiva, next only to the Maha Shivaratri.

6. Kartik bath at the Ganga is considered one of the mashes sans (holy baths) of the year. It gives the requiredvitamin D. As it marks the start of winter, it is also the last day to take 'Ganga Snana'.

7. With it also starts the marriage season. Maximum marriages take place on this day.

8. The whole month of 'Kartika' is considered sacred among all the twelve months of the year with a festival almost every third day. The last five days are considered more sacred (Panchaka) and end up with Kartik Purnima. The five days are devoted to worship Tulsi, Awala, Shiva and sun bath.

9. Jains celebrate the Purnima as Deva Diwali with the worship of Lord Mahavira.

10. Lord Vishnu is worshipped on this day for his birth of the Matsya (fish) avatar.

11. It's also the birthday of Vrinda, the epitome of the Tulsi plant and of Lord Kartikeya, who is the chief of all gods and is the last day to perform 'Tulsi Vivah'.

12. Kartik Purnima is also dedicated to the dead ancestors.

13. The Kartik Purnima festival also coincides with Guru Nanak's birthday.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by 10. Washing machinex of bed linen.

Rema, Padmakumar and Achu had fetched up by 1330 hrs from Thrippunithura. It was a boisterous lunch and Lekha had provided us with a great spread. They returned at 1820 hrs.

A journey from death to life!

Life was a dream for Amit Vaidya, who soared high financially and professionally till he was diagnosed with cancer when he was 27.

Amit Vaidya lived the American dream.

A Gujarati, born and brought up in the US, with a PhD in economics, he worked in the entertainment industry's business department. "It was an active but not a healthy lifestyle as I was an overachiever", says Amit. 

His dreams "were shattered" when a few months after his father's death he was diagnosed with first stage gastric cancer. "The fall was great as I had risen to great heights when I was 27". Opting not to do surgery, he went in for "aggressive chemo radiation" in New York.

Two years later, he went into remission. Within two months of his recovery, his mother was diagnosed with grade three brain tumour.

"Nothing worked and I lost her too. 

Away in a foreign land, being the only child, I felt lonely and a scan showed my cancer had returned after 18 months. This time it showed up in my liver. Nine months later, in 2011, reports showed I was not responding to treatment and the cancer had spread to my lungs too", he says emotionally.

Doctors told Amit that his life was just a matter of time. "Not wanting to burden my friends, I started planning my funeral".

Soon he planned a trip to India. An aunt also told me about an Ayurvedic hospital in Gujarat that claims to cure cancer in 11 days for just a rupee!

"Having nothing to lose I wanted to give it a shot".

So off he went and explains that the treatment was disciplined with yoga, meditation and he was made to drink a mix of "desi cow milk, curd, ghee and gobar, gau-mutra. I was to drink it on an empty stomach.

For years everything tasted like saw dust because of the chemo. 

It was easy to drink something that smelled and tasted as it should. Others there were traumatised by this.

I kept faith and did it diligently.

I saw no change but felt no worse either".

Scans showed that the cancer "had not spread".

Amit, then, went back to the hospital and lived there for another 40 days. 

Reports showed the cancer had decreased. "Wanting to continue the therapy", Amit stayed with a farmer, who opened his house to Amit. "He offered me a tiny shack on his farm, a cot, a gaushala with desi cows, a well and a toilet. I continued the therapy and after months was able to walk. Over time, walks became jogs, jogs became runs and I started finding joy in my mind. The villagers had time for me, which was the best gift I got, especially when I needed time to heal".

After 18 months Amit claims he is cancer free and decided "on planning to live his life instead of planning a funeral.

I now talk to people about my journey and that healing is possible. I make time to spend with cancer patients. It is all free. I have started an NGO called Healing Vaidya".

He does not plan on going back to the US as "this country has given me much. I have learnt that people here don't value what it can offer". Amit has written "Holy Cancer - How A Cow Saved My Life" (Aditya Prakashan, Rs.495/-) which was launched in the city recently. The book is available in book stores.

For more log on to healingvaidya.org

Also available with Amazon and Flipkart

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/a-journey-from-death-to-life/article7558731.ece

Vaidya is referring to RM Dhariwal Cancer Hospital at Valsad - Gujarat where Panchagavya is the treatment and the charges are Re.1/- only.

Tailpiece.

Got up around a quarter past 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. Video called my sisters and their families and caught up with them.

Lit up our balcony and the compound wall with 'diyas', soon after sunset, on account of 'Kartik Purnima".

'Permission to bite the bullet'.

Navy pilot's marriage invite becomes a hit on social media. A letter written by a Naval pilot to his senior, seeking permission to "bite the bullet" and the latter's response saying "welcome to hell" have gone viral on social media. To be sure, it was a marriage invite by Lt Cdr Nishant Singh to his Commanding Officer of INAS 300 (Naval Air Squadron) of INS Hansa, the Indian Navy's air base in Goa.

But Nishant Singh decided to be a bit unconventional and the Commanding Officer decided to match the tone. The letter, dated 09 May 2020, is reproduced below :-

       "Permission to Bite the Bullet"

1. "I regret to be dropping this bomb on you at such a short notice, but as you would agree, I intend to drop a nuclear one on myself and I realise that just like all the split second decisions we take up in the airin the heat of combat, I cannot afford to allow myself the luxury of time to re-evaluate my decision", Singh said, disclosing that he was going to marry.

2."In view of the above, I officially seek your approval to willingly sacrifice myself in absolute peace time, completely outside the line of duty and follow up many other brave men into this graveyard spiral of matrimony", the MiG pilot said.

3. "I promise to never repeat such a performance in air or teach it to my trainee pilots", he added, inviting the senior officer to the wedding.

In his handwritten reply in red ink, the Commanding Officer reminded Nishant Singh that "I was your instructor in pre-solo phase, cleared your solo-check, saw your landing for the first time on MiGs as ACP made me really proud".

"Saw the spark in you and always believed you to be different. When you became QFI, cleared you for instruction flying on MiGs......But all the good things have to finally come to an end", the reply said.

"Welcome to Hell", the CO signed off.

A senior naval official said it was a private communication between the two.

"Finally, the couple has got married", he added.

Source. The Tribune.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. 

Participated in the 'Aazhchakkoottam' : "Graam Sabhas and the Panchayati Raj System" by Dr. SM Vijayanand, IAS, Former Chief Secretary to the Government of Kerala, from 1600 - 1700 hrs. It was a nice interaction.