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Showing posts from 2014

Trek to Gorakhgad

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We wanted to do full night trek but where to? Someone said - Gorakhgad, as he had already done night trek over there. Gorakhgad is located near Murbad taluk in Thane district. From Pune, one can go there via Karjat. It was full moon night, and we were off to Gorakhgad. We started from Pune at 8PM and reach Dehri village by 11:30PM where we parked the vehicles and started our trek towards Gorakhgad. Destination Romantic Posture Rappelling Gang

No Karma and No human body

Punjabi: mwie n hoqI bwpu n hoqw krmu n hoqI kwieAw ]  hm nhI hoqy qum nhI hoqy kvnu khW qy AwieAw ]1]  rwm koie n iks hI kyrw ] jYsy qrvir pMiK bsyrw ]1] cMdu n hoqw sUru n hoqw pwnI pvnu imlwieAw ]  swsqu n hoqw bydu n hoqw krmu khW qy AwieAw ]2] Hindi माइ न होती बाप न होता करम न होती काइआ ॥ हम नही होते तुम नही होते कवन कहां ते आइआ ॥१॥ राम कोइ न किस ही केरा ॥  जैसे तरवरि पंखि बसेरा ॥१॥ चंद न होता सूरु न होता पानी पवन मिलाइआ ॥ सासत न होता बेद न होता करम कहां ते आइआ ॥२॥ English Translation: When there was no mother and no father, no karma and no human body, when I was not and you were not, then who came from where? O Lord, no one belongs to anyone else.  We are like birds perched on a tree. When there was no moon and no sun, then water and air were blended together. When there were no Shaastras and no Vedas, then where did karma come from?

Where did the first writing system emerge?

The earliest known examples of writing were discovered in the Sumerian city of Uruk in Mesopotamia. They are thought to have been produced in about 3000 BC - very early in the history of this advanced civilisation. The famous king Hammurabi - under whose rule the code of Hammurabi was drawn up - did not live until some 1500 years later. The first writing systems seem to have been pictographic. The symbol for eat, for example, clearly depicts a head next to a bowl, but this literal linking of things and symbols vanished over the course of the centuries. As the use of a blunt reed called a stylus to scratch symbols into clay became widespread, writing became wedge-shaped which gave rise to the name cuneiform script (which means wedge shaped). Cuneiform script makes up what is known as logographic writing system, a system in which a single word is represented by one symbol. Over time, the stock of symbols in logographic writing systems tends to become rather large. Chinese, for examp

Weird marriage rituals

1)  Indian men and women born as Mangliks are believed to be cursed. It is believed that Mangalik Dosha negatively impacts married life, causing tension and sometimes the untimely death of one of the partners. To cancel these effects, a Kumbh Vivah can be performed before the wedding. This is a wedding between a Mangalik and either a statue of Vishnu or an earthen pot or peepal or banana tree.   2)  In parts of Germany, a ritual called Polterabend is practiced. It typically starts with profligate feasts and finishes with the entire guest making as much noise as possible. Dishes are damaged, pots are clashed and cookeries are smashed. It is believed that the cacophonous sounds caused by all this represent the inevitable future trouble that the couple will face in their married lives. By breaking the dishes in advance, the community is preparing the pair for the obstacles ahead and at the same time wishing them luck. 3)  In South Korea after the wedding ceremony, the groom has to en

Trip to Amritsar

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Couple of weeks back, i went to Punjab. It's been quite some time that i have been there, and more important reason was, went to see my ailing father. Though he is still on medication but is making good improvement. Coming back to trip, below are things i still remember: Mandatory gurudwara visit There are more Gurudwaras in Punjab than schools Kite flying sessions After diabetes & heart related diseases, latest is Hemorrhoids Marriages in Punjab evolved so much that now in snacks , you will get only Pastries & other bakery products. No Indian sweets. Orchestra in marriages now have female dancing troupe. Throwing money over Orchestra dancers is still in fashion or a priority In any function, if there are 6 dishes, 4 are bound to be of Paneer Indian Railways have funny announcements  Dont buy things from strangers Dont show your ticket to strangers as if we know all the catering & ticket checking staff Shatabdi trains should hav

World of skeptics

We all say/believe that world is full of mean / skeptic people but the fact of the matter is, we only make people mean and skeptical about everyone / everything. If someone is nice, we keep on telling that person, don't be that nice, people will take undue advantage of you. And people generally succumb to peer pressure. No matter what people say on the surface, but when you ask them in private, you will be amazed by their thinking as they will give totally different answer. When i come across such incidents, i often wonder, why people want others to be skeptic? Wouldn't it be nice, if someone approaches you & says, they recognize you from Twitter / FB / Blog / Newspaper, you say thank you with a smile. Wouldn't that make other person happy? Ofcourse, it will. We all agree to this saying - Be the change you want to see in the world. So, if we become and be nice (instead of skeptic), eventually this world will become a better & trustworthy place.