Slumdog success - a Defeat for India & Indians

It immensely pained me to see this movie…

Within just 30 minutes into the film, I wanted to turn away.

But I sat through till the end to see what it offers.

It did not offer any solace or justice for why we should see this film

or why we should acclaim this film..

But for the Golden Globe and Oscar nominations,

this film would not run in our theaters even for a week.

But for these international awards, we would not be talking about this film.

This is the fact that makes us think

whether the film does justice to the Indians to be proud.

We have a few instances of international fame for Indians.

When Abinav Bindra won the Olympic gold,

the one billion Indians were happy about.

It was after all a recognition for a single person’s hard work and talent.

But we all felt as though it was a recognition for all of us.

Bindra’s success did us all proud.

Similarly every time Vishwanathan Anand clinches a Title in Chess,

we feel as though we have won the title.

But this movie does not make us think in similar lines.

The success of the movie in the international arena

is not a success for India!

What ever awards are given for this movie

are not the awards for the Indians at large.

The image of India portrayed in the movie may be real.

But certainly no Indian can feel proud about getting applause for this image.

It is like washing the dirty linen in public.

Would any sane person do it (which is about himself)

and feel happy if he is praised for it?

It is argued that films like this had already been made in India.

Possible.

Films dealing only with the harsh side of India may have been made.

But there would have certainly been a note of hope –

a desire to see India rise up from those harsh facets.

That note is missing in this film.

This film has given hope to Jamal and Latika

but sends a signal that India continues to remain as harsh and rude as portrayed!

Jamal's victory was something he himself was not keen on getting,

once he came to know that Latika was back and safe.

Because Jamal knew what he wanted.

Once he got it, he just did not care about the money, did not bother about winning.

If at all there is something for the Indian audience in this film,

it is this –

that we must also know what we want.

We want an India to be showcased well for the international audience?

Or we want Indians to win global acclaim at the expense of India?

Jamal handled the dilemma in the best way.

He did not reveal the background from where he learnt the answers

He just delivered the answers and rose up.

The Entire India that watched the Millionaire show

knew only Jamal's performance,

but not the painful way by which he learnt the answers.

Shouldn't we do the same?

Shouldn't we showcase our performance without showing

the pains and thorns in our backyard?

No facet of India is left unscathed by this film.

Even Anil kapoor – the la Big B of Crorepathy

was portrayed badly.

The outcome we can expect from this film is that

from now on the westerners will change their opinion about India -

from being a land of snake charmers to

a land of hellish slums and heartless exploiters.

India stinks behind the victory of Slumdog.

This is not the film I would like my fellow Indians to be acclaimed for their talents.

-jayasree.

********************************************

From Editorial of Newstodaynet.com

Gutter inspectors

'Slumdog Millionaire', a film made by British director Danny Boyle based on the novel 'Q & A' authored by Indian diplomat Vikas Swarup, won four top awards this year at the Golden Globe Awards ceremony in Beverly Hills, California.

.

The film has won Best Dramatic Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Director and Best Original Music Score awards and India has gone berserk over A R Rahman's win.

Rahman has become the first Indian to bag the 'prestigious' Golden Globe Award! Though Vikas Swarup is an 'Indian' diplomat, he seemed to have no hesitation in 'selling' India for his self-interests.

No doubt Rahman's musical track record has been phenomenal and he has been tasting only successes right from his first film 'Roja' in 1992 and he has never looked back since then. India has a great tradition of music and it has produced great musicians of all sorts since time immemorial.

Indian history has enough evidence to highlight its grand musical tradition, which has evolved with its magnificent cultural heritage.

Even in the present contemporary music, India has stalwarts in the industry and Rahman is one among them. It is rather unfortunate that the Golden Globe authorities have taken so many years to recognise an Indian Composer.

While wholeheartedly appreciating Rehman for his achievement, it is imperative to view the issue in a different perspective and analyse the 'western attitude' in awarding people, who denigrate India.

The fact of the matter is that, the award has been given to Rehman for scoring the music for a film, which has shown the 'ugly' side of India in an 'exaggerated' manner.

Had Rehman scored music for a movie, which has shown India's brighter side, he might not have got the award at all! The film has denigrated India right through from the 'title', picturising as if India is poverty-stricken and violence-prone.

The word 'slumdog' itself seems to be intended to insult the children living in Indian slums and the film is supposed to have projected them in an insulting manner.

The history of awards and accolades given to India by the western world, particularly in the literary and entertainment arena, shows that the projects, which have attempted to denigrate India's time-tested civilization and culture and tried to project the poverty and illiteracy, have won the awards and accolades.

The recent example has been the awarding of 'Man Booker Prize' to Arvind Adiga for his book 'White Tiger'. Here again, the book has depicted India in a very poor light and all nationalistic Indians have condemned the author for his 'attitude'.

Also the 'secular' media in India too follow this tradition set by western 'worthies', as evidenced by NDTV awarding 'Indian of the year award' to M F Hussain, who portrayed Indian Gods and Goddesses and Bharat Matha in the nude!

Similarly film maker Deepa Mehta has always projected India and her culture in a very bad light and her films like 'Fire' and 'Water' are worst examples.

She never bothers about the Indian people and their sensibilities and sentiments, but mainly focuses on western audience and their accolades, apart from making money, and for that she never minds defaming her own mother nation.

Likewise Mira Nair is another example and her films like 'Salaam Bombay' and 'Kama Sutra' belong to those categories of 'selling' India.

The most disgusting fact is that, all these film makers and authors, who portray India as the worst third world country, are 'Indians'! And the government of the day never bothers to restrain them from spreading falsehoods about India by distorting history and concocting stories.

And most of these 'intellectuals', who wax eloquent on the so-called freedom of speech and freedom of expression, never speak about 'nationalism', for they are married and have western spouses and are mostly settled outside India.


They simply follow the trend set by Katherine Mayo, who depicted India in the worst possible manner in her book 'Mother India', but was rightly snubbed by Gandhiji as 'gutter inspector'.

Indians must follow Gandhiji in this particular regard and condemn people like Vikas Swarup, Arvind Adiga, Deepa Mehta, et al and that is what Amitabh Bachchan has done! He has protested the bad depiction of Bombay in the book 'Q and A' and the government must ban such books and movies, so that, India is not insulted in future.

http://newstodaynet.com/newsindex.php?id=13969%20&%20section=13

http://indianrealist.wordpress.com/2009/01/23/flush-white-mans-awards-down-the-toilet/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/jan/14/amitabh-bachchan-rubbishes-slumdog-millionaire

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-india-slumdog24-2009jan24,0,4412918.story

The enslaved Hindus of the Muslim era.

 

From

Sindh and Bengal : Our lost limbs

By Sanjay Choudhry

Complete article can be read at

http://indianrealist.wordpress.com/2009/01/22/sindh-and-bengal/

 

"My friend Kosla Vepa (who organised the International Conference on Indian History recently at Delhi) says that there was a substantial slave trade in India that dealt in captured Hindu men, women and children. Millions were taken in chains to Aghanistan and Arabia and sold off in the markets there. But while the slave trade of Africa is well documented, nobody has bothered to do any research about the Hindu slave trade that flourished in India for 550 years (1200 to 1750). What happened to those people? How were they treated? Where did millions  of Hindus dissappear in Arabia? Do their descendants still live there?

Nobody is even willing to talk about the Hindu slave trade that was orchestrated by Muslims. Why? Because we are "secular," that is why. Shame on us Hindus that even after 60 years of our independence, we dishonour the memory of our ancestors by forgetting what happened to them and how they paid the price with their blood and freedom. It is because of them that we still carry our foreskins."

 

Moola, Aslesha, Jyeshta & Vishaka – are they dreadful??

There are some popular beliefs and adages connected to 4 stars in particular –Moola, Aslesha, Jyeshta & Vishaka. All these beliefs talk unkindly on the nature and the future of the persons born in these stars. The disturbing part of it is that these are applied to women only..

For instance, the popular saying on Moola star is

"AaN moolam arasaaLum, peN moolam nirmoolam"

This means the man born in Moola star will rule the land whereas a woman born in this star will be a destroyer.

Similarly, girls born in any of the four stars – Moola, Aslesha, Jyeshta & Vishaka are supposed to bring some kind of ill-luck to her husband's family. Even now, marriage prospects of girls born in these stars are a question mark, unless remedied – which is done by the selective choice of the groom on respective issues.

But this kind of stigma is not attached to the man born in these stars. This post seeks to analyze these issues in a rational perspective.

Before analyzing the issues raised above, it must be made clear that no star is bad. Every star has some attributes and significances. Those attributes and significances are supposed to be found in the person born in a particular star.

For instance, the star BharaNi is regarded like this:-

"BharaNi dharaNi aaLum"

Those born in BharaNi are capable of ruling the world. Why and how? This is explained on the basis of the following reasons.

The Ati-devatha of BharaNi is Yama.

Yama is known for exact justice.

But that would make one a good judge, or a lawyer, not a ruler.

Here we have to see other attributes too.

BharaNi is lorded by Venus, the planet for comforts, riches, prosperity. So a BharaNi –born must be both a just person (having a good sense of discrimination of what is right and what is wrong) and also a rich person, having worldly riches in his command.

But can these two make one a Ruler? It is here you have to see in which sign, BharaNi is placed.

It is in the Aries, ruled by Mars. Mars signifies warrior tendencies and prowess at fighting a war. A person with warring or fighting instincts will not see right or wrong. He would just plunge into his target and smash it mercilessly. But if such a person (who is capable of winning territories) is endowed with the sense of Justice like Yama and is in command of vast riches bestowed by Venus (Mars also gives him command over lands), then he will definitely be a king!

That is how a BharaNi-born person rules the world.

The Ati-devatha of the star, the planetary lord of the star and the sign lord (Rasi lord) of the star along with the sign's attributes determine the primary nature of the person born in that star.

This is like an advantage that the star is giving to a person. But this must be supported by the rest of the natal chart. If it does not, it must be understood that the person will not achieve the final result. He would anyway possess the primary attributes, but they can not help him in getting the maximum result even if they were to work at their maximum potential! That is why, not all those born in BharaNi can rule the world. But they would exhibit the attributes of fighting against odds and being noticed wherever they are or ruling / commanding the area / group where they are.

It is with this rationale we must look into the working of any star. Apart from the three factors mentioned above (ati-devatha, planetary Lord and Sign lord) there are numerous other factors which make a star exhibit different profiles. With this background, let us examine the controversies related to the 4 stars.

The sandhi-stars!

The General rule is that the 'sandhi' or the meeting point between any two major units denotes neither this nor that. It is a period of difficulty, as transition will be taking place there.

There are 3 major places in the zodiac indicating Sandhi.

These are called as 'Gandaantham' – the end points of 'gandam' or trouble.

There are gandaamtham for everything. It is there for stars (nakshthra gandaantham), for thithis (thithi gandaantham) and for lagans (lagna gandaantham). These are the sandhis or meeting points of stars, thithis and lagans. These areas do not give clarity. They indicate troubles and therefore are to be avoided.

In the same way, Rasi gandaantham happens after every 4 signs (rasi). Starting from Aries, the stars keep entering the consecutive signs until Aslesha. In Aslesha or cancer, the stars end up and the next star begins in Leo.

In this way, gandaantham occurs in

Aslesha- Makha,

Jyeshta – Moola and

Revathy- Ashwini.

Usually if a woman is experiencing labour pain in these gandaanthas, there is a likely-hood of complications. The child in most cases will not survive the gandaanthas, that is, the child will not cross the sandhi and be born in the next star.

If it does, it will be a "Bhoopathy" (ruler or / Great person), says 'Brahma Rishi vakhyam'. Such sandhi occurs everyday in sun's sojourn. Birth at morning or evening sandhi, or at noon or at mid-night will see complications or even death of the baby. But if the child survives, it would lead a great life.

Popular examples are Sri Rama (born at noon)

Sri Krishna ( at mid night)

Ravana ( at evening sandhi).

The related information is that the mothers of these persons had a terrible time!

It is a known fact that Rama's and Krishna's mothers were not happy despite having the greatness of being mothers of Avataras of Vishnu! This is how the stigma comes to be attached to stars or births at sandhis!! The stigmas that hurt us in the present times are those connected with gandaantha stars. Let us examine them.

Moola for men and women.

Moola is a star in the beginning of a group. It is better known for certain attributes. Moola is ruled by the ati-devatha called 'Nirurithi'. Readers having knowledge of Vaastu know how Nirurithi is a dreaded devatha. Nirurithi stands for dreadfulness and destruction. It is always associated with wars.

If Nirurithi or the Moola star is in a favorable position for a person while going on a war, chances are that he would win. This star's utility is best exploited in waging wars! So a man who is born in this star is supposed to have the acumen and potential to go on war and become victorious too. 

Hence, 'aaN moolam arasaaLum'. The man of the Moola star would reign the country as this star makes him capable of inflicting defeat on his opponents.

Suppose a woman is born in this star.

Is such a woman cut-out for becoming a soldier?

Would she go on a war?

What this Nirurithi would make her or do with her?

If these questions are asked, we would understand why it was said 'peN moolam nirmoolam'.

The area of operation or reign of a woman is her family. Whether one agrees or not, the woman plays an important role in child-bearing and up-bringing. Her influence in the family can not be disputed. The family or home is her area of operation. (gemba). If the Nirurithi tendency rules a woman, her family itself would become a battle field.

This means her family would have to bear the brunt of nirurithi. That is how she can bring destruction (nirmoolam).

But as said in the beginning, the tendency given by a star is just one of the many factors. Not all men born in Moola become rulers. Similarly, not all women born in Moola cause destruction. The natal chart also must support such tendencies. In the case of Moola, only the ati-devatha has negative connotations.

The other factors are neutral or good. The family in today's world is nuclear and not like the one of olden days. So there is no need to worry about a Moola woman.

In this regard, my opinion is that any one born in Moola will be good fighters.

In this age of working women, Moola - woman has an advantage in outwitting her rivals. She would be an asset to the company if she is placed in fire-fighting areas of competitive business.

I hope the so-called stigma attached to Moola woman is understood in right perspective and applied in right contexts as to derive maximum advantage, to everyone's satisfaction.

Marriage afflictions of Moola, Aslesha, Jyeshta & Vishaka

Now let us see the 'Moola' stigma connected to woman in affecting marriage prospects. Moola as said earlier comes immediately after the sandhi. In the sky it is seen at the tail of the Scorpio. It is Lambda Scorpii of the constellation of Scorpio. It is known as "Shaula" in Arabic, which means 'the stinger'.

In the picture below, the delta sign at the head of the constellation is Anuradha. The alpha sign (Antares) in the body is Jyeshta. The lambda sign at the tail (bigger star in the twin stars) is Moola.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpius

The first pada (3-2 degress) duration in the beginning is said to afflict the father-in-law. This is applicable to the girl only and not to the boy born in moola-1

According to Brahma Rishi vakhyam, if the 3^rd house of the girl born in Moola-1 has benefic combination, there is no affliction. This is arrived by looking at the 9^th house (for father) for the husband.

The 9^th house for the 7^th (kalathra) is the 3^rd house. If the 3^rd house has good connection, there will be no problem to husband's father.

This prediction and remedy had been given by many olden texts. But the exception shows how this operates. The exception is that this is not applicable to boys. In the Indian system, boys do not come to live in the girls' house. If the boy comes to live in the girl's house or get connected with the everyday life of the girl's family, his moola will afflict his wife's father!! That is the meaning of this affliction.

So Moola -1 for anyone will afflict the father of the spouse. It is not just for the girl. In today's world of nuclear families, this affliction loses its relevance. The couples live separately from their parents. And in addition, if the 3^rd house is looked into, in both the cases (boy and the girl whomever having moola -1), there is absolutely no need to worry.

The same rationale applies to other stars too. The stigma attached to Jyeshta (kEttai) is that it would harm the elder brother of the husband.

Jyeshta known as Antares (Alpha Scorpii) is by itself the oldest star, in its last period of star-life. It is a red giant seen in the middle of the Scorpion body.

Scorpion image of the Constellation.

Antares means ' the rival of Mars'.

The star seems to compete with Mars in its colour which is red. Mars stands for brothers. Jyeshta in Sanskrit means the elder brother. The Jyeshta is the last star of Scorpio while

Vishaka pada-4 forms the first part of the Scorpio. These two are said to cause some trouble – Jyeshta for the elder brother and Vishaka (Beta Librae) for younger brother.

In the picture below, the constellation to the left of Libra is Scorpio, the star Anuradha (delta Scorpii) can be seen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libra_(constellation)

We can guess the remedies.

11^th sign is the house for elder brother and 3^rd is for younger brother. The 11^th from 7^th is the sign for husband's (spouse's) elder brother. The 3^rd from the 7^th is for the younger brother of the spouse.

This applies to both men and women born in Jyeshta -1 and Vishaka-4. While matching the horoscopes, the respective houses, that is, 5^th house for Jyeshta -1 born and 9^th house for Vishaka-4 born must be checked for benefic combination.

Aayilyam or Aslesha (Alpha Cancri) is known as "Acubens" in Arabic. It means 'the claws' of the crab. This is a faint constellation as seen with naked eye.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_(constellation)

The atidevatha is 'sarpa'.

The star is said to afflict the mother – since it is placed in the natural 4^th house of the zodiac, which signifies mother. One's own mother is also meant by this. But in the Indian system, the girl moves to her husband's house and treats the mother in law as mother. So the affliction is directed at her.

This is applicable to both men and women and as said earlier, in today's nuclear families,

this affliction has no relevance. However it is enough to just check the 4^th house of the spouse (for benefic combination) which is the 10^th house.

The injunction was laid to women, because women were married quite young in those days and they completely merged with the husband's family.. Nothing could be done about the boy who was born in any of these stars, for, he had to continue in the family. So the affliction of these stars was not exaggerated in man's case. But when it comes to finding his wife, the people had a choice. That is why they made these injunctions for brides.

In today's world, family means only the husband and wife. These injunctions pertaining to the relatives of the spouse have no relevance in these days.

Some astro notes on Swathi (Arcturus).

Today moon is crossing the constellation of Swathi.
This day was watched by sages and astrologers in ancient times.
The local atmospheric conditions noted in this day were used for
predicting rains in the rainy season.


Swathi is known as Arcturus, in the constellation of Bootes near Virgo.
In the summer months, Swathi presents a beautiful feast to the eyes
by lining up in the form of an arc
with the handle star of the Big Dipper in the North and
with Spica (chitthra star) in the south.






The arc sweeps the entire sky from North to south by ending with Alpha Centauri (proxima Centauri) the nearest star to out solar system.
The beauty of this arc can only be matched by another sweeping constellation,
the Orion, which we can see nowadays after sunset.


Comparison of Swathi with the Sun.





Generally Swathi is regarded as an auspicious star by many people.
But it is not exactly so. It afflicts in three ways.

(1) Swathi is one among 12 stars that must be avoided for undertaking a long journey.

(2) Money should no be given or lent on Swathi day.
If lent, one can forget about it, because it may not be returned.

(3) If one falls sick on this day, the recovery will be difficult.
Particularly, if an ailing old person develops some complication on Swathi day,
the chances of his recovery are remote.



This is all because Swathi is ruled by Vayu, the Wind God.
The nature of Wind can be seen in the persons born in Swathi.
They will be restless and find it difficult to stay in one place.
They will find things unstable and easy to lose.
They may be fierce sometimes like a storm and may be breezy at times.
Things, moods and emotions just don’t stay with them for long.


As a result, most Swathi people would have got tired of fluctuations in mundane life and have developed a state of mind
for non-materialistic or spiritual or religious things.
Most pious persons are born in Swathi.
The avathara of Lord Narasimha was said to have taken place on Swathi nakshathra.
The sudden, stormy and violent disposition is something
that catches one if he is born in Swathi.


It is because of this nature of this day,
sages had watched this day for meteorological changes.
They used to look for a smooth breeze
whenever the ‘garbottam’ (embryo of rains) was in progress
and enough windiness in the times when rains were fructifying.


Swathi rains are rare, for,
the wind lord of this star used to shatter any gathering clouds.
But it must rain on Swathi in the month of Aashada (shukla paksha).
This is the only exceptional day.
This day correlates to Krishna paksha Maargazhi, when ‘garbottam’ happens.

(read http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.com/2008/12/connection-between-paavai-nonbu-and.html)



It must rain on Swathi only in Sukla paksha Aashada.
On this day, the day time is divided into 3 parts and
night time also divided into 3 parts (praharas)
and was observed if it rained at any prahara or on all praharas or none at all.
Depending on this, the kind of rainfall for the following rainy season was predicted.
That helped the people in deciding the crop pattern for the ensuing agricultural season.


Just a month prior to the Sukla Aashada Swathi,
it should not have rained in Sukla Jyeshta Swathi.
If it rains in Jyeshta Swathi, the rest of the year will be dry.
The sukla paksha of Jyeshta starting from Swathi till Jyeshta
is known as the ‘Retention’ period of the fetus of Rains!
This is the vulnerable period for ‘abortion’ of the rain-fetus,
for, the winds may bring rain clouds.
If it rains on all or any of these 4 days starting from Swathi in Jyeshta month,
the rainfall in the ensuing season will be much less.


Swathi is watched right from the month of Maaga (Maasi).
The wind god can be in his natural self on the months starting from Maaga.
Windiness, dust storms, thunderous clouds, sun and the moon hidden by clouds
and such other things of Wind’s play can happen and must happen on Swathi days.

If we notice, sudden dust storms happen mostly on Swathi or the 3 days after that.
The winds also bring a mild drizzle on the Swathi day, though such drizzles are rare.
It is said that oysters surface on the sea on Swathi days
as some undetected mechanism propels them to the surface on Swathi.
The rain droplets caught by them on Swathi become the best pearls!


Our ancients have watched and recorded these information
and have passed on the information for posterity.
This kind of knowledge had survived with the masses
who always looked at the sky and the atmosphere to decide
about their cultivation pattern.


For instance if it rained in the 3rd prahara of the night in sukla paksha Aashada Swathi,
cultivation of paddy was taken in the summer.
If it rained so in the 1st prahara, cultivation of paddy was done in autumn!
If cultivation is reversed, it had ended up in losses.
Similarly a number of other parameters were observed in Nature,
(which will be written from time to time in this blog)
based on which cultivation of specific crops in specific seasons were carried out.
This helped them to be always successful in their agricultural operations.

But today, this country with such rich knowledge is suffering on the agricultural front
for having forgotten these secrets of Nature!.

How astrology works?

The following link beautifully explains how astrology 'works' by means of using various inter-connected components of the Universe.
On the basis of such inter-connection, the writer Mr Vamsee A R K has explained how convincing answers can be found to many a question on astrology, besides establishing its dependability.


The only place I wish to note here  is why we don't use outer planets such as Uranus, Neptune etc in Vedic astrology. The reason is that we can not see them as we dont see their light. Sage Parashara has explained this issue saying that we can not consider those entities whose light do not reach us. Jyothisha, by its very name is about knowledge of Light. Those entities whose light do not reach the earth are not part of the inter-connecting mechanism with life on earth.


Mr Vamsee has explained this in different trerms such as this:-

"One question that people generally ask is that why does not vedic astrology use planets like pluto, uranus etc? Is it because they were not discovered during vedic times? Can we do any better if we use them? The answer is too obvious once we understand the basic theory of astrology. The answer is that they are not needed. To say this mathematically, if it is sufficient to use variables x1 to xn to describe a system completely why should one use more variables? They are just redundant i.e they do not give any extra information. Even if one tries to use lets say pluto's longitude (call it 'u') we will end up getting a relation like z = 2cos(x)+3sin(y)-0tan(u). As the coefficient is zero, one does not need 'u' to find the value of 'z'!"

The complete article can be read at

http://arkvamsee.blogspot.com/2008/07/astrology-and-advaita-divine-connection.html

Some excerpts:-

"When a stone is thrown into a lake, ripples get created in the lake. The stone is the cause and the ripples are the effect. When an intelligent person standing at the shore of the lake sees ripples coming, he can safely infer that a disturbance was caused ( a stone thrown etc.) to the lake. Similarly, to understand the state of an element in a completely interconnected system, it is sufficient if one has enough information about few other components of the system. The amount of information needed about other components is dependent on 1) what information we seek from the component under analysis and 2) the nature of interconnections between the various components of the system. For a system like this universe ( which is completely connected through consciousness), it is sufficient if we have enough information about few components to understand any other component. This is applicable to all the elements of this universe. And this is the very basis of spiritual powers, which are exhibited by great siddhas and others. So what has this got to do with astrology?

What does one need to predict a person's future? The sum total of all the past impressions on his/her soul. If these impressions can be found somehow, then any one can predict the future of a person based on these. But getting the spectrum of impressions is beyond a normal human being's mental powers! But the theory about an interconnected system mentioned in the previous paragraph comes to our rescue. One can get the spectrum of impressions of a new born, by taking enough information from some of the other components of this system, the universe. Astrology is based on getting this spectrum by observing the planetary positions at a person's birth ( please note that planets are just another component of this interconnected system). The tough problem of getting impressions of a person is solved now. Now the next step is to use the planetary positions as a proxy for the impression spectrum and just decipher this based on the nature of the interconnection between these two components of the system (planetary positions and impression spectrum). An example for this is like if z=2cos(x)+3sin(y), where x, y and z are longitude of Sun, longitude of Moon and sum total of impressions, one can easily find out z if x and y are known. But knowing this relation is dependent on the nature of interconnections between various components of the system. Thanks to the ancient rishis, who understood the nature of interconnections and formulated the rules of astrology. Thus a combination of advaita, karma theory and theory of interconnected systems resulted in the discovery of a divine science "Astrology". Understanding this basis of astrology, solves many questions that are posed by researchers about Vedic astrology. "

Un-quotable quotes of Bush!

The outgoing President Bush’s penchant for usage of peculiar words and phrases has already been introduced to us by Kamal Hassan in Dasavatharam.
Called as Bushism, this has even found a place in wikipedia!


At this time of his leaving office,
let us savor some more of it, as recalled by Sarah Baxter in

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5536383.ece


My Best Choice is



“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”


Here are other quotes:-

“Sometimes you misunderesti-mated me,” he told reporters last week, echoing one of his malapropisms from the 2000 election campaign. For good measure, he threw in a new Bushism even as he said good-bye. “My view is – is that most people around the world, they respect America. And some of them doesn’t like me. I understand that.”


And the Bushisms flowed out.
"The problem with the French is that they don’t have a word for entrepreneur.”

“If you say you’re going to do something and don’t do it, that’s trustworthiness.”

“Justice ought to be fair.” “I know how hard it is to put food on your family.”

“The important question is: how many hands have I shaked?”

“September 4, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the Twin Towers. It’s a day I will never forget.”

“Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream.”

“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”


Bush took all the ridicule in his stride, just as he was relaxed about the job he was doing.

“I believe the phrase ‘burdens of the office’ is overstated,” he reflected last week. “You know, it’s kind of like, why me? Oh, the burdens – you know. Why did the financial collapse have to happen on my watch? It’s just – it’s pathetic, isn’t it, self-pity.”


A little more reflection might have been in order. American commentators have noted how detached from his decision-making he seems, as if, to paraphrase the former defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld, it was merely the case that “stuff happened” on his watch.


Dana Milbank of The Washington Post observed: “In his own way, the outgoing president acknowledged that the past five years have, by many measures, been one long prat-fall. But he spoke as though he were an innocent bystander, watching the mishaps rather than having any culpability for them.” Whether it was conditions at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, his failure to pass immigration or social security reform – “to Bush, they were not mistakes, just disappointments”, Milbank wrote.


As he makes way at the White House for Obama, at least one set of Americans is in mourning. Comedians are at a loss. Bush was the gift that kept giving – from the inherently comic “hanging chads” during the epic Florida recount battle against Gore in 2000 to his cheery “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job”, when he congratulated his ineffectual and soon-to-be-sacked disaster relief chief in the wake of Katrina.


Bush burblings



"Will the highways on the internet become more few?"

"It’s a time of sorrow and sadness when we lose a loss of life"

"I appreciate the fact that you really snatched defeat out of the jaws of those who are trying to defeat us in Iraq"

"I remember meeting a mother of a child who was abducted by the North Koreans right here in the Oval Office"

"We’re concerned about Aids inside our White House – make no mistake about it"

"I’m honoured to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein"

"I’ve coined new words, like “misunderstanding”

"I recently met with the finance minister of the Palestinian Authority, was very impressed by his grasp of finances"

"It’s in our country’s interests to find those who would do harm to us and get them out of harm's way"

"One year ago today, the time for excuse-making has come to an end"

"I promise you I will listen to what has been said here, even though I wasn’t here"

"You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test"

"I don’t particularly like it when people put words in my mouth, either, by the way, unless I say it

"[The Taliban] have no disregard for human life"

"When the governor calls, I answer his phone"

"Those who enter the country illegally violate the law"

"Too many obstetricians and gynaecologists aren’t able to practise their love with women all across the country"

"America stands for liberty, for the pursuit of happiness and for the unalienalienable right of life"

"One has a stronger hand when there’s more people playing your same cards"

"One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures"

"My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions"

"I think we agree, the past is over"



More on

http://www.slate.com/id/76886/

http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushisms.htm

Absurdity of தை as Tamil New Year!

Much has been written in this blog about how the 1st day of தை can not be considered as the New year.
The present post is about establishing this fact from inputs from Sangam texts.


The oft quoted பாரதிதாசனார் poem on தை as the first month has no textual basis.
The other pet subject often circulated is the date of திருவள்ளுவர் as the beginning of Tamil Year.
This date as coinciding with St Thomas's date looks like an attempt to further the claims of Christian influence on திருவள்ளுவர் and not based on any love of Tamil or understanding of Tamil culture whose roots date back to 10,000 years ago.



சங்கத் தமிழ் நூல்களில் 'தை' என்பது திருநாளாக சொல்லப்படவில்லை.
அது ஒரு விழாவும் அல்ல.
அதே போல் புத்தாண்டும் ஒரு விழா அல்ல.
ஆண்டுத் துவக்கத்தை வழி பாடுகள் மூலம், வரும் ஆண்டு நல்ல ஆண்டாக இருக்க வேண்டும் என்றே வரவேற்றிருக்கிறார்கள்.



சங்க காலத்தில், பல விழாக்கள் இருந்திருக்கின்றன.
"அழியா விழவு" என்று பதிற்றுப்பத்து (29) கூறுகிறது.
டாக்டர் உ. வே. ச. அவர்கள் கண்டெடுத்த பழைய உரையில், இதைப்பற்றி சொல்கையில், அந்நாளைய தமிழகம் என்றென்றும் விழாக்கோலம் பூண்டிருந்தது என்பர்.
நாள்தொறும் மணவிழா மற்றும் பிற விழாக்கள் நடை பெற்றுக் கொண்டிருந்தன.



விழாக்களைப் பற்றிச் சொல்கையில், நீர் வரவு பற்றியே அவ்விழாகள் நிகழ்திருக்கின்றன.
அதே போல் எல்லா விழாக்களிலும் மலர்களும், கரும்பும் உண்டு!
இன்று நாம் நினைப்பது போல, கரும்பு என்பது பொங்கல் விழா ஒன்றை பற்றியது மட்டுமல்ல.



பதிற்றுப்பத்து 30 சொல்கிறது,
"காலமன்றியும் கரும்பருத்தொழியாது அரிகால வித்துப் பல பூ விழவில்"

நீர் வளம் இடையறாது இருந்தமையால், காலமில்லாத காலத்தும், கரும்பு முற்றி விளைவதும், அறுக்கப்படுவதும் உண்டென்று உரை கூறுகிறது.


கரும்புப்பாத்தியில், பல் வகை மலர்ச் செடிகளும் வளர்க்கப்பட்டன.

இதனை
"வயலே நெல்லின் வேலி நீடிய கரும்பின், பாத்திப் பன்மலர்ப் பூத்ததும்பின "
என்று புற நானுறு (386 ) கூறுகிறது.

கரும்பும், பல வகை மலர்களும், எந்த ஒரு விழாவிலும் முக்கிய அங்கம் வகித்தன.


"இந்திரவிழாவில் பூவினன்ன " என்று ஐம்குறு நூறு (62) கூறுவதைக் காண்க.

புனலும், பூவும், கரும்பும் எந்த ஒரு விழாவிலும், முக்கிய செய்திகளாக இருந்தன.
இன்றைய காலம் போல் தை மாதம் மட்டிலுமே கரும்பு என்ற கதை அன்று இல்லை.




மேலும், புனல் இல்லாமல் எந்த கொண்டாட்டமும் அந்நாளில் இல்லை.
புனல் என்றால், இள வேனிலில் அதிர்ந்து ஓடி வரும் முதல் மழை நீர் முதல்,
வேனில் காலத்தில் குளுமையைத் தரும் கோடைபுனலும் சேர்த்து,
கார் துவங்கும் வேளையில் நிறைந்த ஆறுகள் வரை,
இவ்வெல்லாக்காலங்களும், விழவில் முழங்கும் காலங்கள்.
புனலோடு கூடியே விழாக்கள் வந்திருக்கின்றன.



'தீநீர் நீர் விழவு' என்னும் வேனில் விழா புது நீர் ஓடி வரும் போது, கொண்டாடப்பட்டது.
பதிற்றுப்பத்து (48) சொல்கிறது, தீ போன்ற வெம்மை நீக்கி, தண்மை தரும்படி
மழை நீர் வந்ததால் கொண்டாடப்படுவது என்று.


சித்திரை பவுர்ணமியில் ஆரம்பிக்கும் இந்திர விழாவிலும்,
புனலாடலும், பூக்கள் சொரிதலும் உண்டு.
இது கோடை மழையின் போது கொண்டாடப்படுவது.
இந்த் விழாவைக் காண இமய புலத்திநின்று மக்கள் வந்தனர் என்று சிலப்பதிகாரம் சொல்கிறது.


'பறை' போல ஒலி எழுப்பும் விழவுகள், பறை ஒலி போல புனல் நீர் வருவதைப்பற்றியே
என்று கலித் தொகையும் சொல்கிறது. (22 & 92)


இவை எல்லாம் கோடையில் அல்லது, சூரியனின் வடக்கு அயனத்தில் மழை பொழியும் காலத்தில் எல்லாம் நிகழ்ந்தவை.



கார் காலம் முழுவதும், வீட்டு விரதங்களும், வீட்டு வழிபாடுகளுமே நடை பெற்றன.


கார் முடிந்து, வெள்ளம் பெருக்கெடுத்து எங்கும் வெள்ளக் காடாய் இருக்கும் காலம் மார்கழி.
ஆற்றில் ஓடும் நீரும் கலங்கி இருக்கும்.
எங்கும் குளம் போலத் தேங்கி இருக்கும்.
ஆகவே மார்கழி மாதம் 'குளம்' எனப்பட்டது.


பரிபாடல் ௧௧ (வைகை) மூலம் மார்கழி மற்றும் தை மாத நீர் பற்றி தெரிந்து கொள்ளலாம்.

மழை நின்றவுடம், மக்கள் மீண்டும் வெளியே வந்து விடுவர்.
ஆனால் குளிரும், பனியும் கூர் வேலாகக் குத்தும் மாதங்கள் இவை.



"தையும் மாசியும் வையகத்து உறங்கு" என்று பதிற்றுப்பத்து உரை-காரர் கூறுகிறார்.

வையகம் உறங்கும் தை எவ்வாறு ஆண்டுத் துவக்கமாக இருக்க முடியும்?


தை- மாசியின் கொடுமையை, பதிற்றுப்பத்து (59) "மாகூர் திங்கள்"
வாயிலாகத் தெரிந்து கொள்கிறோம்.


ஆடு கோட் பாட்டுச் சேரலாதனை பாடும் 'காக்கைப் பாடினியார்',
பாணர்கள் பரிசில் தேடி வீட்டை விட்டு வெளியே வர முடியாமல்,
மாசித் திங்கள் எவ்வளவு கடினமாக இருக்கிறது என்கிறார்.


மாசி என்றால் மேகம் என்பது பொருள்.
மாசி மாதத்தில் மேகமே இறங்கி வந்தாற்போல், பின் பனி மூடி இருக்கும்.
ஆகவே இம் மாதம், மாசி எனப்பட்டது.
இது 'மாகூர் மாசி' என்கிறார் காக்கைப் பாடினியார்.


மாக்கள், குளிர் மிகுதியாள் இறை தேடச் செல்லாது,
பசி மிக்கு, உடல் சுருங்கி, ஒடுங்கிக் கிடப்பது குறித்து,
"மாகூர் திங்கள் மாசி' என்றார் என்று உரை கூறுகிறது.


இச் செய்தியை நெடு நாள் வாடையும், (6) " மாமேயல் மறப்ப, மந்தி கூற" என்று கூறுகிறது.
ஆடு-மாடுகள் மேயச் செல்வதில்லை.
மந்தி உடல் குறுகி ஒடுங்கி நிற்கும் மாதம் மாசி மாதம் ஆகும்.

இப்படிப்பட்ட மாசியில், பாணர்கள்,
எப்பொழுது பனி விலகி, கதிர் உதயம் ஆகும் என்று காத்திருப்பார்,
என்கிறார் காக்கைப் பாடினியார்.


கோடையில், கதிர் உதயம் ஆவதற்குள் பாணர்கள் கிளம்பி விடுவர்.
வெயில் வருவதக்ற்குள் அரசனை வந்து பார்ப்பர்.


ஆனால் மாசியில், வெயில் வராதா என்று காத்திருப்பார்.
எப்பொழுது குளிர் விலகும் என்று பார்த்திருப்பார்.

இப்படி இயல்பு வாழ்க்கை பாதிக்கப்படும் மாசி தொடரும், தைத் திங்களா ஆண்டு முதலாக இருந்திருக்கும்??


எல்லாவிதத்திலும் முடக்கிப் போடும் தை - மாசி ஆகிய பனிக் காலம் ஒரு விழாக் காலம் அல்ல.


"பனி நீர் தோய்தலும் பாவை ஆடலும்" (பிங்கலந்தை நிகண்டு - சூ- 1369)
என்று மார்கழி மாதம் முழுவதும், கன்னியர் ஆற்றுத் துறையில், நோன்பு நூற்பர்
மழை வேண்டி செய்யப்படும் நோன்பு இது. (முன்பே எழுதி உள்ளோம்

http://jayasreesaranathan.blogspot.com/2008/12/paavai-nonbu-how-it-was-done.html

மார்கழி நீர் கலங்கிய நீர்.
கார் காலம் ஓய்ந்து காட்டாறு அடங்கி, கலங்கி ஓடியும், குளமாகத் தேங்கியும் இருக்கும் காலம் இது.
இந்தக் காலத்தில், மழை நோன்பு நோற்றால், அடுத்த கார் காலம் வளமான மழை பொழியும்.


கலங்கிய நீர் குறித்து, எந்த விழவுகளும் நடத்த முடியாது.

ஆனால் மார்கழி முடிந்து வரும் தை தெள்ளிய நீர் ஓடும் காலம்.
அன்ன நடை, அழகு நடையுடன் வரும் ஆற்றுக் கன்னி,
மக்கள் எண்ணங்களை தைத்துக் கொள்கிறாள்.
தை-இ என்னும் சொல் சங்க நூல்களில் பல இடங்களிலும் வருகிறது.
தை என்றால், தைத்தல் என்று பொருள்.
தைத்தல், பின்னுதல், பொருத்துதல், சேர்த்தல் என்னும் பொருளிலேயே வருகிறது.


இதன் பொருளை நன்கு உணர்த்துவது போல, பரிபாடல் (11) கூறிகிறது.

"நீ தக்காய் தைந்நீர்"


கார் கால நீர் போலன்றி, தெளிவாக இருக்கும் தை மாத நீர்,
மக்கள் தம் எண்ணங்களைத் தைத்துக் கொள்ளும் பளிங்கு போல இருக்கிறது.
இந்த மாதத்திற்கு நேர் எதிரில் இருக்கும் மாதம்,
தைக்கப்பட்ட எண்ணங்களை பிரதி பலிக்கச் செய்தார் போல கண்ணாடி போல் இருக்கவே
அது "ஆடி" மாத்ம் என்றாயிற்று.
தையில், நீரில் கண்ட பிம்பம், ஆடியில் - கண்ணாடியில் நேர் முகமாகத் தெரிய வேண்டும்.

தையில் உள் வாங்கிய வேண்டுதல்கள், ஆடிக்குள் நிகழ்ந்து விட வேண்டும்.
எண்ணங்கள் நிகழும் காலம் புனல் ஓடும் விழாக் காலங்கள் ஆகும்.
இதுவே சூரியனின் வடக்கு ஊர்வலத்தின் கோலாகலம் ஆகும்.


இதன் உச்சிக் காலம், சூரியன் தலை மேல் சஞ்சரிக்கும் காலமான, சித்திரை.
அதுவே இந்திர விழாவின் காலம்.
மன்மதனின் காலம்.
இதை இந்திர விழா பற்றிய காதையில், சிலம்பில் படிக்கலாம்.
இதுவே ஆண்டு முதலாகக் கொண்டாடப் பட்டிருக்க வேண்டும்.
கோலாகலமான ப்ரமோத்சவம் போல இந்திர விழாவை சிலம்பு விவரிக்கின்றது.
ஆடல் பாடல் முதல், கடவுள் வழிபாடு வரை, மேலும் தெய்வ சொற்பொழிவுகள் வரை
சித்திரை பௌர்ணமியில், இந்திர விழவில் நடந்திருக்கின்றது என்பதற்கு ,
சிலப்பதிகாரமே ஆதாரம்.


ஆனால் தையில், வேண்டுதல்கள் செய்யப்படுகின்றன.
நல்ல கணவன் வேண்டும் என்று கன்னிப் பெண் வேண்டுகிறாள்.
கணவன் நன்கு ஆயுளுடன் இருக்க வேண்டும் என்று மனைவி வேண்டுகிறாள்.
தை என்பது தவத்தின் காலம் ஆகும.


நீரின் கண் நின்றும் செய்யும் தவம், மற்றும்,
நெருப்பின் கண் நின்று (ஹோம குண்டம் சுற்றி) செய்யும் தவம்,
ஆக பாவை நோன்பு முடித்து, "தவத்தை நீராடி" (பரி பாடல் 11) ,
புலனடக்கி, காக்கும் தெய்வமான ஆற்று நீரின் கண்,
தங்கள் வேண்டுதல்களைக் கொட்டி,
செய்யப்படுவதே 'தை- நீராடல்' ஆகும்.


தைத் திங்களில் தவத்தை முடித்த கையுடன்,
வீட்டில் முடங்கிக் கிடக்க வேண்டியவாறு, பனிக் காலம் வந்து விடுகிறது.

பாவை ஆடிய இளம் பெண், அவளைப் பார்த்து ஏங்கும் தலைவனைக் காணாள் இல்லை.
அவளிடம் மனம் பறி கொடுத்த தலைவன் சொல்கிறான்,
"நீ தையில் நீராடிய தவம் தலைப் படுவாயோ?' (கலித் தொகை 59)


இவளோ என்னைப் பார்க்கவே மாட்டேன் என்கிறாள்.
ஆனால், வருடம் தோறும் , தையில் நீராடி,
நல்ல கணவன் வேண்டும் என்று மட்டும் வேண்டிக் கொள்கிறாள்.
என்னைக் காணாது இருக்கையில், தை நீராடி தவம் இருந்து என்ன பயன்? என்று கேட்கிறான்.


தையின் முக்கியத்துவம், நோன்பின் வேண்டுதலைத் தைத்தலே என்று,
ஐம்குறு நூறும் (84) நற்றிணையும் (22) கூறுகின்றன.


இந்த தவத்திற்கு பலன் கிடைக்க, நடத்த ப்படும் வேட்டையே, 'ஏறு தழுவுதல்'.
இது முல்லை நிலத்தில் மட்டுமே, ஆயர் குலத்தில் மட்டுமே நடி பெற்றது.
ஆயர் மகள் தான் வளர்க்கும் காளையை எவன் அடக்குகிறானோ,
அவனே அவளுக்கு ஏற்ற கணவன் என்று முடிவு செய்யப் படுவான்.
இதில், காளையை யாரும் (இந்த நாளில் செய்வது போல) ஆவேசப் படுத்தவோ,
கொடுமைப் படுத்தவோ கூடாது.
அந்தக் காளை அந்தக் கன்னி வளர்ப்பது.
அதற்கு ஒரு தீங்கையும் அவள் பொறுக்க மாட்டாள்.
எவன் அவள் கைத் தலம் பற்ற விரும்புகிறானோ,
அவன, அதை அடக்க முற்படுவான்.
இவ்வாறுதான் மஞ்ச விரட்டு அந்நாளில் நிகழ்த்து.
இந்த வழக்கம், முல்லை நிலம் தவிர வேறு இடங்களில் இல்லை.
முல்லை நிலத்தில் இருந்ததற்கு காரணம்,
ஆயர் மகளை மணப்பவன் அவர்கள் குலத் தொழிலான, மாடு மேய்ப்பதில் ,
காளை அடக்கி மேய்ப்பதில் வல்லவனாக இருக்க வேண்டும் என்பதே.


மற்ற நிலங்களில் இவ்வழக்கம் இல்லை.
மறவர் குடியில், வீரத்தைக் காட்டும் வண்ணம், வீர விளையாட்டில் வெற்றி பெற்று
கன்னியைக் கைப் பிடிக்க வேண்டும்.
சூடாமணி நிகண்டில் 'மற வழி மணம்' பற்றிய குறிப்பின் மூலம் இது தெரிகிறது.


மற்ற படி, மற்ற நிலங்களில் ஏறு தழுவும் வழக்கம் இலலை.
திரு 'டு செ' ஒப் தமிழர் அனைவரின்,
அடையாள விளையாட்டு என்பது போல் இன்று சொல்கிறார்களே அதற்கு என்னவென்று சொல்ல.


தவத்தை நீராடிய, திருமண வயது அடைந்த கன்னிகைக்கு,
தவம் கூடிய விதமாக நல்ல வரன் கூடி வரும் காலமாக இருப்பதனால்,
'தை பிறந்தால் வழி பிறக்கும்" என்னும் மொழி வழக்கில் வந்த்து.
இதனை, புத்தாண்டின் அறிகுறியாக நினைப்பதை என்னவென்று சொல்வது!


தை முடிந்து, மாசி பிறந்தால், "மாசிப் பனியில் மச்சும் குளிரும்".
இந்த நேரமா புத்தாண்டு புகு நேரம்??


ஆனால் மண விழவு, புள் நிமித்தம் பார்த்து , நாள் நேரம் பார்த்து, இள வேனில் காலத்தே ரோதினியுடன் , சந்திரன் கூடிய காலத்தே நிகழ்ந்ததாக, அகம், சிலம்பு மூலம் தெரிகிறது.

ஆக, மணவிழாவுக்கு பிள்ளையார் சுழி போடும் காலம் தை.
கன்னியின் புது வாழ்வு நோக்கி முயற்சிகள் செய்யப்படும் தை,
ஒட்டு மொத்த மக்களின் புத்தாண்டு என்று கூறுவதற்கு வாட் இலலை.
மாகூர் திங்களாய் குறுக வைக்கும் காலம், புத்தாண்டின் துவக்கமாக
இருக்க வேண்டும் என்று நினைப்பதை என்னவென்று சொல்ல!!




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