Apotheosis

What is god? Who is god? Where is god?...

I am sure these questions have crossed your minds more than a few times. There are different theories. I am not sure the answer has been found, but we are very close to it.

Scientist are behind this fact from a long time. The recent experiment at the CERN proves that now, after exponential growth of technology, the scientist are after the mysteries which continue to haunt the basics of science. God, life after death, supernatural powers etc. After reading The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown, you might also feel intrigued by this earth shattering thought. Mayan prophesies, 21 Dec 2012, Nostradamus and so on...are they for real?

Ancient mysteries as Dan Brown calls it, are nothing but all the far-fetched things we see in mythology. These include men flying, healing with hand, sadhus having their own network through mind etc. Don't you think technology is approaching towards it? We can already fly, we have our network through social networking sites etc. When I say technology has increased exponentially, I predict that it will increase with infinite speed, refer to the graph of exponential. So, we are doing things that were thought of in the past, the things only gods could do...isn't that strange? I'll describe you how it is not.

Seen this before? Its featured on the roof of Rotunda of US Capitol Hill. The image is called Apotheosis literally meaning "Conversion of man to man to god". Guess who is becoming god here...George Washington, father of America. Surprised? You should be. The image also show different gods giving powers to men which include laying telephone line, building steam engines, healing etc. This brings us to the "Quote of the Week"!

"Thy not know, that thy is god?" -The Bible

This is a strong thought and I know that it will take some time to sink in. It took me a lot. There are others spread across various literature made in past. "Kingdom of God resides within you", "Lead To Gold" etc. Have you ever noticed a player in football, after scoring a goal raises his hand, index finger and thumb pointing towards sky, rest closed? That is symbol of power used my society called masons. Player expresses his gratitude to nature for presenting him with "god like powers" for that particular moment. Nowadays players don't really know about its meaning. It was used by gladiators when they would be only one to stand.

21st Dec 2012 is predicted as the end of this world as we know it. If u actually search this on wikipedia, it shows that there are thousands, yes thousands of theories about the meaning of this line. One of these is Apotheosis. There will be a change in thinking of man on this day. Enlightenment, atonement(at-one-ment), man becoming god.....end of the world as we know it.

Where is heaven? It is in Kashmir!

Before this trip Manali was my favorite holiday destination but, after this trip Kashmir has easily replaced Manali. This one week trip to Kashmir valley was best I've ever had. It was good to the extent of life changing experience. This is the fact that I've been forced to write this post and change my plans for this blog. Please read this till the end because, it was kind of a climax and best part is the ending. And one more thing, please please leave comments with your name.

Our journey to heaven started on 31st may, from Delhi to Srinagar by air. From Srinagar, we directly departed to Gulmarg as per scheduled. Now, as you know, Kashmir is a valley. Generally, while going from plains to mountains you witness smaller mountains first and gradually they increase in size. In Kashmir, nature had done away with small mountains. Gigantic snow covered mountains come into sight straight away from Srinagar. Journey to Gulmarg was quite exciting. The weather was cloudy and it started drizzling a bit. We thought that if it was raining in lower reaches, than it would be snowing in Gulmarg and Gulmarg is known for snow. Gulmarg is covered in more than 15 feet snow in winters. Nope it wasn't to happen in June. It was drizzling in Gulmarg too.

We weren't disappointed at all. The view that Gulmarg provides is simply awesome. Huge snow mountains in view 24x7. 25 degree C temperature in june, who wouldn't want that. We reached heaven and weren't dead.

Next day in Gulmarg was reserved for Gondola. It is the highest cable car in the world. Up we went to section 1 of that. Section 2 was closed because of some technical problem. Section 2 is the place to be, because it takes you to top of snow mountain referred earlier and to the frozen lake. We, were not lucky this time (read till end of this post). So, section 1 was what we had to be content with. We took a pony ride from section 1 to Khilanmarg. There was snow in Khilanmarg.
We enjoyed a lot there. Sledging was an amazing experience. Snow was not as white and young as you want it to be, but we were content with what we got. Gulmarg looks like a bowl from Khilanmarg.

Next was the local sight seeing on that day. Nothing special, there was Maharaja Hari Singh's house, a typical bhootiya haveli, View Point, which provides a spectacular view of valley, children park etc. Next day, we were going to Tangmarg and back.

A place called Dhrung in Tangmarg provides a serene view of Ferozpur Nala (water flowing through this nala is cleanest, its like a river). A little trek up from here takes you to wildlife sanctuary which is a jungle. Air here is so filled with oxygen that it makes you feel energized. This due to trees of pine, fur, deodar etc.(they are very tall indeed). Then there was Baba Reshi shrine, and fruit gardens. We saw some infant pears, apples and cherries. None was to be eaten.

Next day we departed to Pahalgam at 4:30 in the morning. This early departure was due to the general strike going on in Srinagar, to avoid stone pelting in Srinagar. This trip was going to be exciting I thought. We were going to see some riots and war like scenes. We crossed Srinagar with no hassles whatsoever. There weren't any riots. People were jogging on the roads as if nothing was wrong. Although, there was heavy military presence.

Pahalgam is the main hill station of Kashmir. Like any other place in Kashmir it provides some breathtaking views. Every variety of food was available there, whereas in Gulmarg there was not much variety. From Pahalgam there are three places to go namely, Chandanwari, Aru, and Betaab Valley. We went to Chandanwari and Betaab valley first.

Chandanwari is the base for Amarnath Yatra. There was a glacier here and dirtiest of snow. This glacier was huge in size. I managed to climb it, which was no easy job. Coming down from it was even harder. Some climbed and came down slipping, wetting themselves. I managed to come down, though slipping 4 or 5 times but, safely. We enjoyed to the fullest. Betaab valley named after Sunny Deol film Betaab is a beautiful park of sort with river flowing through it. Next day we went to Aru it is a very very beautiful place. Take a nice pony ride from here. It will take you to around the mountain. Then come back to Pahalgam and laze around in the market.

Next we went to Srinagar. Again no visible violence. We took a shikara to our house boat, which was situated quite far from shore. After getting fresh we went for a shikara ride. Weather was cloudy again and that made Dal lake look like (again) heaven. Everything in Dal lake is floating-people, markets, restaurants, even grass. After some adventurous outings through Nehru Park, we went to Mughal Gardens to view some beautiful flowers.

Strike was quite evident in Srinagar. Markets were closed, no newspapers, no basic supplies. There was an uneasy calm near the Dal lake. Markets opened in the evening though. It started raining again. This time hell broke loose. We thought to run to our house boat but, we could not. The boat was in water, you had to take a shikara. We got wet while reaching to our house boat. Lightning was ablaze in the sky. Several bomb blast like sounds were heard and the end part of this post begins.

Next day, it was still raining. We were supposed to go to Sonmarg-The meadow of gold. Will we be able to go there, will roads be all right, will luck shine upon us? Luckily(mark this), we had made prearrangement for for our trip to Sonmarg. We took of from Srinagar, it was still raining. All the roads were fine but, what we got to see was stunning. Fresh snow had landed upon the mountains in front of us. All the mountains in front of our eyes white from the top. 88 kms away laid Sonmarg. It was evident that there will be snow in Thajuriwas glacier which is a 2.5 kms pony ride from Sonmarg. Luck shone upon us like the falling rain. Sonmarg turned Snowmarg. And what we got to see in Thajuriwas Glacier was amazing. A proper snowfall in the month of June. It was the first time in Kashmir. It was -5 degrees there. Next day we came back to Delhi, to 40 degrees. A 45 degree C change.
"Oi don't switch off the AC!"

Operation Covert

"I say we nuke 'em", said Colonel Baxter, pride on his face.

"Of all the things, you americans can only think of nuclear bombs", said Niel Arora, disgust on his face.

"We ain't carried 1330 nuclear test for nothing. These are ailens, world at war, and you say we wait and swing our bunnies 'round. Nuke 'em, we shall".

"You know Baxter, congress will never approve of it." said General Kramer. "And besides that the authority lies with the President".

"Do you have a heart or not? Millions are gonna die. The solution lies in ancient Indian ayurvedic methodologies. These things are only eating our food, lets poison them!", said Neil.

"You are saying, that ayurvedic medicines are poisons Mr. Niel?", said Kramer.

"Well they surely taste like them", said Baxter. "You know General, my grandfather once went to India. He accidentally tripped and got a cut. He was bleedin' like hell. Now here comes an old hag. She applies a green lep or buttee or something like that on his leg and says god will bless him. My grandad, healed, came back from India in all praise for the ayurveda. Next thing you know that, he has got foot and mouth, the damn thing was made of cow dung. He sued that hag. After 20 years, the case is still pending in their courts".

"I fully agree with you Baxter, you know my uncle.....".

"Excuse me "aliens" "world at war"?, said Niel

Enter the President of United states of America with his men in black.

"General Kramer, Col. Baxter....", says President.

"Sir..Sir....", said col. and General bowing there heads. "This gentleman here has a plan, he....".

"I am not here to listen to any plan. What I say, what I believe, you listen to that because change has come to America. You think you can do that?"

"Yes we can", chanted all in unison.

"One rule, one policy, one democracy, yes we can".

"We can resurrect our economy, rebuilt our infrastructure and change the world...."

"Yes we can....".

"Our monotony can change and...."

"Sir, your plan.....policy?", interrupted Niel.

"Yes yes, i propose a nuclear explosion in downtown Manhattan......"

"Ah, what did I expect....." thought Niel.

".......This nuclear explosion is different. It will NOT harm humans.", said the President.

"What!", somebody shouted.

"Yes, due to the brilliant work done by our scientist......."

"Indian scientists in America", said Niel.

"Yes yes exactly, they have developed a nuke bomb which will destroy any extraterrestrial being, but not humans, and it does not cause harm and it will not detonate too, so no harm to any property. World leaders have been told about this. It called Operation Covert.", said The President.

"But, if the world knows about it then why the hell its called covert?", slapped Niel.

"American terminology my boy", said Baxter.

"We can save the world......come on....."

"YES WE CAN".

No idea so no post

Its been a long time since I've posted. Nothing interesting going on at the moment, so no new thoughts in my mind. My mind is shadowed by exams right now. So, new post when exams are over, that's may end. So, you all can linger on a little more time. Hope to post again soon.

Long live our Earth

"I have dreamt of a future not of gloom, desperateness or cannibalism, but of accordance and harmony with the environment, giving back while taking from it" - Pranay Pasricha during a classroom presentation.

That is the quote that goes best with this week's topic that is Environment. This QW (Quote of the week), which I personally feel is one of the finest word I have ever spoken in public, perfectly explains the state of the environment presently and the future we want to see.

The present is very dark and gloomy. We are polluting mother earth at such rate that every hour we live, a year is decreased from the life of the earth which is about 5 billion years. This rate is so alarming that it makes my hair stand up. The main cause of this pollution is increased amount of automobiles on roads. 2008 Beijing Olympics highlighted this fact. Another fact I gathered that US carried out 1030 nuclear tests between 1945 to 1994. India has only carried out 2 namely, Pokhran I & II, and there is still a huge cry over that.

As they say "umeed par duniya kayam hai", there is still hope left and you will be surprised to read who are leading the way. This week the Earth Hour was observed by many across the world (I followed it sincerely). In Delhi alone we saved about 600 MW of energy. That means we added another day to our lives. Those who followed it, I thank you very much and those who didn't go and switch of those lights just now for an hour! This effort certainly cumilates to many days in our lives. Now the surprise element. Do you know there exists an Spanish island by the name of Al Hierro. You probably won't.
- This island has 98% self sufficiency to meet its energy demands.
- 80% of the island's energy comes from wind power.
- Cars run on hydrogen and air.
- There is a plan of completely banning oil on the island by the end of 2009.
- 20 years ago this island consumed oil about same amount as new york.

This small island has set an example for the world to follow and contemplate that it can be done. By this example we can expect "umeed se dugna". Hope 70 years from today, there is a cleaner and greener environment...

On the ending note I would ask you to do a favour. If you like this blog, then please invite your friends and family to view it once a week. I would also like to add that my exams are going to start so there will be lesser posts for about a month now (1 or 2 at max), but I assure you that I will be back with a bang. Dasvidaniya for now...

From a Child to a Man in One Day

This week I turned 18. Yes from a teen to an adult....its been a long journey actually, but statistically in one day. It was a nice little birthday party with my family. A quiet lunch at one of the regular malls and then some shopping.......just what I like. The fact that my friends and family was more interested in by birthday than me amuses me. There were about 100 mails and messages, to which I had to reply, it really gets to your head and spoils the moment very marginally. I don't think turning 18 make a much difference as it is made out to be, except that you can get your driving license. Enough of my philosophies, lets move on.

There is this new thing I am starting from this week called the "Quote of the Week" (QW). In this I will quote the most interesting phrase or sentence I have heard over the week. This week's QW is:

"We gotta pull every rabbit out of our hats" - Lalit Modi over shifting IPL to South Africa.

This brings us to the hot topic of this week, the IPL going abroad. Lot of cry over this, that it will destroy the image of India, slanging match between politicians etc. I personally feel that, it is the best to thing to happen. Do hell with the image of India, the quality of matches is going to improve on TV and thats what is wanted.

Now, I want to remind everybody on the "Earth Hour" that is 8:30-9:30 PM on 28th that is coming saturday. Everyone should switch of all electrical appliances during this one hour or at least try to keep electricity usage minimum. Please follow it because, by doing this you can add one year to time till when electricity will be available.

Now you can also suscribe to RSS feeds of this blog (look at right of address bar, the orange icon) to get updated feeds of this blog. Next week environmental special.

Height of Sophistication

Now, before starting this post, I would like to announce that the following views of mine may disturb you a bit. So, I request you to send me whole lot of awful comments and disagreements. This blog is to share my heart with you so, take it in a good way.

"How sophisticated are you?" is the question I am asking you today. Some things I hear about, while going about my daily life disturb and perturb me to the core. I will start with a word which almost all of you say- "gharwale". This word is said in such a way or a direction that defines a situation of need and lethargy to put it mildly. For example "yaar mere gharwalon ne mana kiya hai" or "gharwale karne kahan deten hain" etc. You might not be getting what I am tring to say, so to gather it try to listen into this word and see the relative situation.

I am also surprised to see that large number of people I meet have incredulously low IQ or common sense. Quite a few times I have noticed that a sentence has to be repeated or said in a easy way to understand its difficult meaning. This might change with change in locality, but still there are far too less people who understand quickly.

Another factor which determine the sophistication is kind of movies you like. There are three kind of movies (according to me):
Slapstick- Movies which are unreal, non artistic, mostly commercial, low on quality and high on content
Art- These are the movies which come as big thing in small packages, high on quality and deeply moving.
Entertainers- These are awsome entertainers. They come only once or twice a year and move you to a whole new world.
Now, how sophistication goes with movies : Art>Entertainers>Slapstick

There are hundred more things which can determine the fact that how sophisticated are you. But there is a reason I chose the above three ingredients. The first one tells you about the language you speak, second one about the level of your mind, and the third one about your tastes. By now you should know how sophisticated are you. On the ending note I will like to tell you that this is a weekly blog so, I will only post once a week. Kindly visit it once a week.

Pursuit of Happiness

Some people say somethings that are either accidental or are well thought of. These somethings are so close to the truth of life, that sometimes you are just induced into thinking about them, not at that moment, but certainly afterward. This is one phrase which I heard in a movie titled the same, about which I am still a little a bit surprised to know, how close is this this to our life.

"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness " is one of the most famous in the American declaration of Independence.

The pursuit of happiness written by Thomas Jefferson is the phrase I am talking about.

How did that man managed to put the pursuit part in there? I am sorry if I am directly quoting Will Smith, but isn't it amazing? Pursuit means chase, hunt or search. If you look back in your life haven't you been chasing happiness through your whole life? You might have got there sometimes, but on thing after another, the chase begins sooner than a blink of your eye. Is happiness the ultimate goal of your life or is it only meant to be pursued?

So, something to think about and accept in my first post. Please make it a habit to visit this blog once in a week, and I guarantee you something exciting or mind relaxing or taking you in a different world because its Pranay Ki Duniya yaar.