Man Created God

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India is a country with diverse culture. But if there is something that brings people together, especially the youth, that is Ganesha Chaturthi festival. Ganesha Chaturthi is widely celebrated across India with much joy and fervour.

The idols of Ganesha come in different forms, sizes and colors. He is linked with anything and everything. If there are idols of Ganesha with gods, goddesses, devils, rats, snakes, swans, peacocks, tigers, lions, cows, etc, there are also idols of Ganesha associated with current affairs. I was dumb struck to see an idol of Ganesha as the coach of the football winning Spanish team with the players and guess what – Paul the Octopus. The talking point around the world of the year gone by, stirs the creative juices of the idol makers. Some of the notable Ganesha idols of the past have been the Titanic Ganesha (saving people from the drowning ship), Military Ganesha (killing Veerappan), Kaun banega crorepati Ganesha (as Amitabh Bachan), Vodafone Zoo Zoo Ganesha (seen with the Zoo zoos). The idols are made so sumptuously that people looking at them can only drop their jaws and admire them. The artistic minds seem to be at its imaginative best.

Lord Ganesha, considered to be the first god to be prayed, is also the one who is omnipresent – literally. Many unheard Ganesha festival organizations, groups and committees crop up suddenly before the festival. These groups work enthusiastically to install the idols in their streets. The more the money they collect the grander the celebrations will be. Since the festival, which usually, lasts for about 3-5 days, different programs and events are organized on each day. Cultural artists such as singers, dancers, drama actors are in huge demand during this festival. It is not just celebrated as any other religious festival. There is competition all around. It is the competition of the creative minds. It is the competition between these organizations and committees to make the celebrations better than the other.

Wait a minute. If you are walking by the streets and are amazed seeing eye-catching different Ganeshas and decorations, you must be paying a visit to kolkata during Durga pooja. It is worth mentioning it here, for you get what you can’t even imagine. If the preparation here for Ganesha festival starts about 15 days in advance, the preparation for the Durga pooja starts 2-3 months prior to the festival. The Pandals as they are called as are the tents which are erected where the goddess Durga is installed along with Lakshmi, Saraswati, Ganesha and karthikeyan (Ganesha’s brother). Most of the Pandals are huge and the amount of decorative work that is done on them is indescribable. The money spent on celebrating these festivals runs into millions of rupees. If the common man celebrates the festival to seek the blessings of the gods and goddesses, there are people who bless themselves making huge profits by supplying the products and services required for these extravangant hoopla.

Did God create Man? I don’t know, but I am certain that Man is creating God and for good reasons.

The Cave Experience

It was a day’s experience but will surely remain in our memories for years to come. It was Bharathi who asked for the party and it was Basappa who asked for the party in a resort. Thanks to our international and local bosses for obliging to the requests of both Bharathi and Basappa.

We (The EC committee) had one and a half day to decide and fix for the day’s outing. The EC met as usual to come up with the plan to carry out the outing. The time on hand was little but we were determined not to let this opportunity go. Outing on a week end is common. But outing (that too sponsored by the boss) on a week day is certainly not a chance that comes too often. We decided on Guhantara Cave Resort. We also planned for quite a few activities (This is a warning. If you are going to a resort and are planning to execute activities from your side, don’t do that, especially when there is a lot to do in the resort).

I had mentioned it as “8:30 AM – Strictly IST” in my invitation mail for all of them to gather in the office. Most of us, including me, duly came 15-30 mins late. Does IST carry any meaning at all? I was better. Some of them came an hour late – Traffic problem man, what to do? We started the journey to the resort on the bus with some of them looking sad (God knows why people should look sad while going for an outing) in the gloomy weather. The back benchers in the bus started the noise with some naughty quiz competition, Vijay
being the host. The front benchers started “Anthaakshari”. Some of them slept listening to their songs – Few of them sounded like lullabies. The middle benchers played “Dumb Charades”, not a easy game to play (If you want to win, try some Telugu movie titles). We finally reached after quite a long journey.

We had to go through the cave (After all they call it as the Cave Resort) to reach the Atrium, the central point cavaedium. The artificial water falls welcomed us and attracted most of them to capture pictures of it. The bosses, who were coming by car, were on their way and so we had to wait for them to start off the outing officially. In the meantime the captain of the resort took us around and showed the facilities – there are a number of them. The EC had planned some activities (See my earlier warning) and so we gathered in the cave conference room to execute one of the activity. I announced that we would play “Simon Says” untill the bosses joined us. All of them were reluctant especially after going around the resort and realizing what all they can do – Some of them were very reluctant, they found where the bar was. I threatened them with dire consequences and forced them to play the game. Chaitra was the last person standing and so the winner. The bosses were also following the “IST” and so we had to wait for a little more time (read as more than an hour since they said that they will be there in 10 mins). This gave us a opportunity to rag people who had joined us in the last 3 months. The next on line was the dancing, interrupted frequently by the malfunctioning music system. The music stopped everytime Vijay stepped on the stage. It’s difficult to keep him in one place when it’s a dance party. If there was hidden talent in our friends, it came to light. Manasa, Pradeep (the other one) and Krupa showed how well they dance. Trust me, these guys can participate and win in most of the dance competitions conducted by various TV channels. Srikanth and Naveen to tried to match them, but failed. We decided to have our lunch but the ladies had other plans. They wanted all the guys to move out so that they could dance in privacy. They were a little unlucky as the bosses eventually joined us. Let me end this section here, nothing much happened after that except few more tapping of legs.

Some of the bibbers had a round of beverages with a bit of spirit in it. Lunch was satisfactory – the menu as usual in most of the resorts. After the lunch, people dispersed to try their hands at different games – Billiards, Carrom, TT, Cricket, Beach Volleyball, Kite flying and Shuttle Badminton. Some of them tried the swing and some cycle. Lakshmi showed how good a volleyball player she is. Cricket is called an uncertain game and both Vijay and Pradeep (The other one. This guy is versatile) proved us why. It was the international boss team v/s the local boss team. The international boss team needed 26 runs of the last over. Vijay bowled, Pradeep hit, and we lost.

Some of the can-be-professional dancers

The real party was about to start, the rain dance. I had written in one of my earlier blogs that rain can bring about the child in anyone. It certain did in the cave as well. The artificial rain combined by the music played by the tiny DJ was enough to get everyone swaying. The can-be-professional-dancers of our company were unstoppable. But it was the dance of don’t-know-anything-innocent-looking-people that was surprising. Some of them danced more because of the water inside them rather than the water that was falling like rain. Nothing can match the fun when rain, music and dance combines. All those who were dacing were having a gala of a time. I asked the resort captain to stop the rain so that those who were not carrying extra clothes can dance with us. The dance went on till it was time for the DJ to go home. While we gave sometime for people to change and gather in the conference room, some went out for swimming. The pool wasn’t big enough but it was able to fit Pramod, Keerthi, Srikanth, Vijay, Abhilash, Pradeep and Manohar all together (Was the pool that big?). We gathered in the conference room to finish some unfinished activities. The birthday boys, Preetham and Mutturaj, cut the cake and as usual the distribution process was carried out by Manohar. It was time to give away the prizes for the winners of quiz competition (not the one conducted by Vijay in bus, but the one conducted in office a week earlier). The runners-up Sapna and Pramod were a little disappointed, but they were not too far from winning. The winners Shalini and Sudheer were ecstatic. While, as usual, Sudheer gave diplomatic answers to some of the question put to him in the interview, Shalini was as frank as one could be. This concluded our experience in the cave and it was quite an experience.

The dance with the bosses

The right one for the right person

The gang

Life’s “Returns”

We live this life for a purpose. Whatever we do in life we expect something in return. The returns may not be materialistic but still we do things to get something back. Let’s look at some of the things we do in life expecting something in return:

• God sends to earth so that we act according to him and entertain him in return.
• Parents give birth to babies so that in return the children take care of them when they are old.
• People spend a good amount of their early life in schools and colleges so that they get knowledge in return.
• People work using their knowledge and skills to earn money in return.
• People spend time and money to make and maintain friends so that in return they get support when they need.
• People eat food and drink water so that in return it keeps them alive.
• People buy bikes and cars so that in return it takes them places.
• People go to movies or watch TV to get knowledge or pass time in return.
• People play sports and games so that it keeps them healthy in return.
• People go on a picnic or a trip to get relaxed in return.
• People pray to god by offering anything and everything to get some favour in return.
• People fall in love expecting pleasures (which more often than not ends in troubles) in return.
• People spend lots of money and time to select dresses to impress others and get compliments in return.
• People change jobs to get more salary (more often than not the reason for changing job) in return.
• People drink alcohol to get high and forget their sorrows (their usual excuse) in return.
• I am writing this blog to get your opinion about my writing in return.

There are many more things we do expecting the returns. Is there anything in this world that we do without expecting anything in return?

Goddess On Earth

Festivals are always a joyous reprieve that diverts our attention from the routines of our daily hectic life. It is debatable whether the festivals are divine requirements or the man made Get-Together-Cook-Eat-and-Enjoy parties (You can pray and meditate if you want. No compulsions). Whatever the conclusion is, I certainly enjoy these festivals and definitely take it as a blessing from the heavens.

Festivals are something I always look forward to and one such festival is the Karaga festival that takes place in my native Bangarpet. As the legend goes, the Karaga festival is about the annual visit of the goddess Draupadi to earth and it is always a splendid feeling to come face to face with the goddess.

Let me touch upon the back ground of this festival: After the Mahabaratha war, the Pandavas were on their way to the Kailasa. During the journey Draupadi was lagging far behind her husbands, the Pandavas. A demon by name Timarasura takes advantage of this and offends Draupadi. Draupadi becomes furious and creates warriors (Veerakumaras) from her body who kill this demon. Since these Veerakumaras were created by Draupadi out of her body, they become her sons. After the death of the demon, Draupadi thank the Veerakumaras and starts to proceed towards Kailasa. The Veerakumaras plead Draupadi to stay back and not leave them orphaned. To this Draupadi says that she has to go back to heaven as her duty on earth has been accomplished and she cannot stay back. The Veerakumaras start hitting themselves with sword to convince her. Persuaded by this, Draupadi promises them to visit the earth every year.

The festival that takes place in my place is a little unique compared to the Karaga festival that takes place in Bangalore and some of the surrounding districts. The specialty of this festival is that a person (Karaga poojari), on whom Draupadi is supposed to have converged, carries a pot decorated with flowers (Karaga) and which weighs about 25-30 Kgs on his head for close to 24 hours without touching it or dropping it. He goes around the entire town (covering about 30 kms) carrying the pot on his head accepting the offers of the devotees. The Veerakumaras (people from Tigala community) carry swords and protect people from getting too close to the Karaga poojari. It is also said that these Veerakumaras have the privilege to chop the head of this Karaga poojari in case he drops the Karaga. Platforms are erected around prominent places in the town for this Karaga to dance. People gather around these platforms in huge numbers to witness a spectacular and graceful display of dance and balancing skills. It is sure to make the people watching this for the first time to drop their jaws and admire this performance in awe. This festival is an attribute to the strength, stamina, determination and skill of this person carrying the Karaga. The Karaga is brought down after this person walks on burning coal to affirm the faith of people that this spectacle is possible only because of the blessing of god.

Gods and goddesses from the many temples in the town are carried in chariots going all around creating a sense of oomph, excitement and enthusiasm among people. The town will be abuzz with music generated by different traditional bands accompanying these chariots. The shops, the guests, the food, the drinks, the lightings, all add color and fervor. People roam around the town enjoying themselves all night.

Gods and goddesses come to meet us on earth every year but when we go to meet them in heaven, there is no frequency.

What’s in a name?

I am sure most of you would have gone through the dilemma as I of selecting the food based on the names given in the menu. Many restaurants have started cropping up in cities and so is the list of food items in the menu. The food items are not just strange but also some of them are difficult to pronounce. Some are funny. I wonder who takes the decision to name these food items.

Some restaurants mostly Chinese are famous all around the food. More so for their tasty food than for the names. I enjoy reading these names as much as the food. Let’s look at some of them.

Main Course

“Buddha’s delight” is a main course served in one of the renowned Chinese restaurant. Did Buddha eat this main course and get delighted? “Fish fingers” is also another main course. Did the fins of fishes started get evolved into fingers? I am really scared to order this. I don’t want to take chance ordering this. You never know with these Chinese. They are known for some of the inventions. You order this and you might really get a fish with fingers. The next one is the “Drunken chicken wings”. Just when I had my finger on this name, the waiter informed that they use wine to prepare this dish as if reading my mind. I felt drunk.

Salads

As far as my understanding about salads goes, they are the vegetables and greens cut and served raw to help in digestion. “Glass Noodle salad”- is this noodles mistakenly mentioned under salad section? No said the waiter promptly. It’s up to you to imagine what you would get if you order.

Noodles

After getting tangled like noodles after reading “Glass Noodle salad”, I wanted to know what all was available under the noodles section. Some names were strange and some similar to the Indian food items. “Cantonese Noodles” and “Mandarin Noodles”. Cantonese and Mandarin are the names of languages in China. Imagine some of the food in India is named after languages. How would it sound? Telugu dosa, Tamil idli, Hindi roti, Marathi sabbji, Malayalam omelet. There was some similarity to the Indian food name about the basis on which the next type of noodles was named. It was called as “Peking Noodles”. “Peking” is the traditional customary name for Chinese capital Beijing. We have Hyderabadi biriyani named after the city. Some names sound like this – “Nam Prik Pao” and “Kai Himaphan”. The best way to order these is to call the waiter and place your finger against these names and say you want them.

Non-Veg

In the non-veg section, you can find “Crispy devil’s lamb”. Hmmm… do you feel hungry at this or do you lose your appetite? Crispy devil’s lamb? Do you have “Soft angel’s goat” and “Hard man’s egg” as well? What made them come up with a name like this? Just when I was wondering this, my eyes fell on the strangest of them all – “Ant climbing trees”. This is a pork dish. Where in the hell is the connection between the dish and the name?

Desserts

Desserts are the best of the menu items. The names send a chill through your spine than the desserts themselves. “Traffic jam”- does this create a traffic jam inside your stomach? “Gud bud” – In hindi, this means mistake. Will it be a mistake to eat this? “Gold rush” is the next one. I only hope I would not have to rush back home because I can’t hold it back any more.

What’s in a name? A lot more than they suggest.

The Idiotic Box

India is an unprecedented country and the only one which has so much diversity in everything it has. The religions, the castes, the languages, the food, the behaviors, the attitudes, the interests, and so on and so forth. Speaking about interests, watching TV is an interesting hobby or a pleasurable pastime. For some, it is the only thing they do. Living beings cannot live without air, water and food. Some Indians cannot survive without TVs. Programs are supposed to increase your knowledge. But our people are misusing it. The number of channels and programs that are broadcasted are the evidence of this catastrophe, as I call it as. A couple of programs which has had a lot of influence on Indians in the recent past are the mega serials and the reality shows (I am not sure how real these shows are). Speaking about mega serials or family sops, the first one who comes to my mind is my aunt. There are a few ways of determining the time of day. Like by looking at your watch or watching the position of the sun. My aunt can tell the time by seeing the serials which is broadcasted. So obsessed is she with serials that she envies her neighbor who is able to watch 10 serials in a day and she only 7 (Her neighbor is rich and can afford a cook and so she can spend a little more time watching the sops). We need to admire her ability to watch so many serials on a daily basis and still remember the characters and the story. Coming to story, the serials run for years (I’ll not be surprised if some serial runs for even decades. It might, as long as there are people like my aunt). The pace at which the story moves is absurd. Let me touch on a piece of this story. A villain enters the house of a lady who is a divorcee (end of episode). Knowing that she is alone he enters and finds her in the bedroom (end of another episode). The motive of the villain is to seduce this woman and he lets her know his intentions (end of another episode). The lady pleads with him and tells that she is a mother of a girl and so should be spared (A lot of women including my aunt would have prayed to god that nothing should happen to her and that they offer some vows to fulfill if the lady in the serial comes out safe). The lady is seduced (Action not shown because of censor board. Another reason why guys don’t like watching these serials. Sorry guys, stick to your English movies. End of another episode). The lady gathers herself, folds her legs puts her head down and starts sobbing (End of another episode). Let me end my narration of the story here. An incident which would have otherwise taken few minutes is telecasted across six episodes in a week (Thankfully no serials on Sundays.) Give me a break.

Ha, breaks aren’t great as well. You get to see some crazy advertisements during the breaks. Like the recent cement ad in which a young beautiful lady is shown coming out wet of a swimming pool clad in a swim suit. Now please help me understand the relevance of the product (Cement in this case) and the young lady. Are the promoters of the ad trying to tell that that the cement is going to be as soft and tender as the young lady? Or are they telling us that the walls will be as wet as she is when it rains? Or will the cement fall off and expose the bricks beneath like the skin exposed by the lady? I just cannot comprehend this.

Let’s move on to reality shows. These are the ones which I am really worried about. The kids are being forced to showcase their skills in these reality shows by non other than their own parents. These kids start singing or dancing even if they don’t like it because their parents want them to do it. The reason? Because they want to shoot to limelight of being the parents of a celebrity kid who has won the program. How much do the kids enjoy participating in these events is something I am not sure about. Just like one of my friend who was not sure about the career she wanted to make and achieved nothing so far. She wanted to be a dancer and her parents wanted her to be an engineer. The result, she is good at nothing. She spends most of her time watching these reality shows and dreams about being there someday. Unfortunately she has put on so much weight that, forget about her dancing, she can’t even walk. How can she? She can munch on a kilo and sometimes even kilo and a half of wafers and leave an empty wrapper by the time a one hour program starts and ends. She blames the god for her fate. Oh really? I only wish her good luck. This post has been going on a mega serial. Before it becomes mega boring I’ll end it here.

Chose the programs you watch careful, even if it is for time pass.

The Face you want to face

There is a saying that says “Face is the index of mind”. There is also another one which says “Faces can be deceiving”. Now how do we determine what kind of a face are we facing? Certainly, we come across so many types of faces in our daily life that it is difficult to make out what’s hidden and what’s apparent. Below are some of the types of faces I have noticed in my life.

The Smiling face – This is the best face and you want to see it always. A smile can stop a war in a hostile zone and can definitely brighten your day in a more civilized environment. The smile does not only make your face look beautiful than it really is, but also makes it congenial.

The Innocent-looking face – Aha, this is one of the deceiving faces. Not that they try to cheat you, but they certainly can fool you. Behind the innocent looking beautiful face can be the naughtiest thoughts. These are easy going people with the objective being fun. If you are the victim and are being targeted, they will make you feel look very awkward.

The Betraying/Cheating face – This is a face you want to avoid. These can be deceiving and can inflict danger and damage. Not easy to identify this face, as there could be a smile which can mislead you to believe that they are trustworthy.

The Opportunist face – These always approach you with a smile and get their things done by you. It’s difficult to realize their motive and once they accomplish their motive with your help, you will be ignored or neglected. Their friendly smile and approach can be only for a limited time. There are plenty of them around.

The Stoic face – This is the most difficult face to understand and also to have one. They show very little emotions or feeling. They treat their pains and pleasure indifferently and with equal panache.

The Wane face – This is one of the boring faces. Their looks make you feel sick. Also, they have a gave-up-long-ago attitude. These are pessimistic and lose easily. They can never be team players, and you have one such in your team, you would well end up on the losing side.

The Confused face – These are a little easy to identify as they tend to be very restless. They are never sure about their goals if they have one. These too can more often than not end up on the losing side.

The Intelligent face – This is one of my favorite. Intelligence is written all over their face. They are usually very calm and composed and speak sense. They are confident and rational in life and will be successful.

The Comical face – The name says it all. You just have to look at them and you will start laughing. They don’t intend to be funny but still you feel like bursting with laughter. You have to be a little careful with these kinds of people as they get irritated easily.

The Inquisitive face – There is always a question up their sleeve. They are curious to know things even if it is of no use to them. You interact with them and you will feel like a school teacher clarifying queries.

The Baby face – Age is something you can’t say of these people. You can’t determine how old they are by looking just at their face. Not that they look young but they look like babies.

The Scary face – Again there might be no intention behind this face to scare you, but you still get scared because of their devilish looks. You feel pity for these people as very few want to be friends. You always try to be away from them and maintain no relationship unless you want to use them for unruly purposes.

Now which Face do you want to face?