How does a story capture us !!

I have been watching the highly popular TV show Lost for the last few weeks. Currently I am watching the season 5 and truly I found the story line fascinating.
The concept of the show where people from different backgrounds crash in to an island and then how they learn to survive, live together, fight, love and also learn a lot about themselves.
Each character has been so beautifully created ,every viewer will find someone in the show to relate to and I believe that's something that has made LOST one of the most watched shows of all time.

Apart from this, the supernatural elements in the episodes time travel, unknown forces affecting the turn of events are other reasons why people were drawn to the tale of  LOST oceanic 815.
Although its been 5 years since the show ended its still a great story by any means , I am not sure if anyone disagrees.

The Curious incident of the Dog at Night time ... a reader Review

I was just reading one of the chapters in this book this morning and realized why does the author have these educative logical bits in between the chapters numbered in a prime number sequence. One reason I could think of is that he wanted mix his fictional  storyline about a boy with special abilities with that of some non fictional anecdotes from math and logic.

Sometimes there's flashbacks which is fine but at times too much of thoughts about logical problems  presented in detail in different parts of the book makes it a disruptive reading I feel and really deviates from the actual plotline.

I have finished only half of the book and already the killer of the dog has been revealed....I do not want to give out any spoilers(...err I guess there are few), so I believe why the title is so (refer the blogs title ), it seems to be misleading now the story has moved to entirely different path and the dog is no more at the center .

 I realize I might be not so good at writing reviews but I might say the same about the author too unless he (Mark Haddon )surprises me in the last portion of the book. That makes my review even premature considering that I haven't finished it yet but I am not too hopeful based on my experience of other books that I have read till day.

I picked the book after reading the reviews which were mostly positive but now I am little skeptical it may not be  a bad book considering all the good acclaim that it received  and even plays being done on the adaptation.
But I felt a bit tedious to go through all the unnecessary  passages in the book. But if you feel otherwise kindly do comment.

The Haunting of Indian Ocean Subcontinent ....

Few days back I read about the killing of 20 military personals by ULFA militants in the Manipur region. It really shook me to think how much risk the forces are living with, putting their lives at stake everyday to maintain order and peace in the region. Every moment they are living under the shadow of death hovering around in the jungles of north east.

They military vehicle was ambushed and  blown up using an RPG and when it was recovered, strangely  it was found that a US made Rocket launcher was used(and not a Chinese one !! ). It has become something like a routine for the security forces in the country to play hide and seek with the militants in different corners of the country, be it the north east, Kashmir, or the extremists infested eastern states. The military keeps fighting a never ending  war  with the enemies both domestic and foreign day in and day out, the rules of which are being set by the people sitting at the top who never get down to the warzone.

This entire scheme of things has spawned over decades of political interests and desire for power by creating independent states, never in any point of history such malevolent and narrow minded  intentions  has proved any good for either side whether its the center state or the rebels both sides have only suffered losses and setbacks.

The bigger question is who has funded and supported these battles of division and hatred !!, there has to be some one playing the big brother  out there that has been fuelling and refueling such conflicts in the region clearly its a power benefiting politically and gaining control  regionally and economically by triggering disturbances. India has one of the most porous border with her not so friendly neighbors Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal.
 Role of Pakistan in the innumerable  cross border infiltration does not need to written about whatever has been said and written about it will turn out to be an under statement. But China here is the one operating behind the curtain because the power hungry China will do anything, fall to any low to gain supremacy in the region. Time and again it has used its economic and military might to silent the protests made against its self centered and cheap  ways of sustaining super power status.

Can Read more here :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93India_relations

Not a long time ago Indian paramilitary crack Unit infiltrated into the border region of Myanmar  on the trail of those  ULFA militants  who has been hiding in the jungles of border villages after ambushing and killing the security forces convoy. . The special unit targeted 2 different camps on both sides of the border killed  a few and others escaped. It was ok till this, its something most of the special forces do this in different parts of the world, but then began the mayhem when the media, top officials, politicians started blowing this event out of proportions which was seriously unnecessary and  immature on their part . This also resulted in  the Myanmar authorities getting furious as they had given all possible support to the Indian forces

Evolution of Music in India

India is as much about music as it is about food, languages, politics, communalism, 1000 years old civilization, the Himalayas, Kashmir and so on .
Over the past centuries this vast country has seen numerous phases invading kings, Alexanders ,Mughals,  Portugese, Britishers ,partitions, immigrants, preachers,  scholars belonging to cultures which are as diverse as they come... It is said that Wars have influenced the culinary of the world but in India it holds true for many other things as well, music is very much one of them. 



India might be the only country in world to have so many different forms of music in its purest state.
Indian classical from the north , Carnatic from the south , Ghazal introduced through Mughal's Urdu language influence. Its  Not just about composition its also about the wide range of instruments used for making music that makes it one of  its kind.

Fast forward a few centuries and what we see is music evolved  to a point of  no return but trend is a circle it always goes back to where it began... :) . Bollywood the biggest movie churning industry in the world has transformed the  music from semi classical in the early days to the western fusion, stimulating sufi  waves, regional folk touch, taking over in the last decades.
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This Link is  a good starting point for all those unaware of the music scene in Indian movies ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YcJGycVxiQ
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Timeless Indian music instruments

 Music scene changing in India is a testimony of how various cultures have found solace in India not just socially but also in terms of expressing their traditions and beliefs through the use  art forms, especially music that connects on a universal level.

Students Performing music with instruments on stage

Natures alarm bell in Himalayan region how prepeared are we !!

In Nepal, there is a popular folklore that there is a major earthquake once in 80 years. This has in fact been backed up by science as well, which shows that a major earthquake takes once in 80 years. After the 1934 earthquake, which resulted in massive destruction, there have been smaller earthquakes that Nepal has witnessed.

The talk about a major earthquake became louder in the year 2011 in which 11 persons had died in Nepal alone. This was an earthquake of a magnitude of 6.9 and when everyone felt that the 80 year syndrome had occurred, many elders believed that this was not the one which was due.

Is there is a science behind it?

 According to science, the earthquake of 1934 was caused by movements within the tectonic plates. The tectonic plates was the reason for giving rise to the Himalayas, the worlds tallest mountain range. According to a study by the Geological Survey US, the Indian plate pushes upwards into the Eurasian plate and this is the reason for the Himalayas raising by one centimeter every year. This build up is what cause excess pressure and it is once in several decades that the pressure is relieved through earthquakes, science would show. Nepal is situated on the Alpine Himalayan belt where the Indian and the Eurasian plates meet. The activity, which occurs causing a centimeter growth of Himalayas is prone to stress and the release of the same is through earthquakes. Hence, it is very active seismically.

Read more at: http://www.oneindia.com/feature/nepal-earthquake-has-the-myth-of-80-years-come-true-1727568.html

The magnitude-7.8 earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday was the result of an ongoing collision between tectonic plates that has caused some of the region’s deadliest temblors, including the 2005 Kashmir quake that killed more than 80,000 people.

Along the southern border of Nepal is the so-called Indus-Yarlung suture zone, where what is now the Indian subcontinent collided 40 million to 50 million years ago with the Eurasian plate, a region that includes most of Europe and Asia.

The collision created the Himalayan mountain range, the peaks of which are still rising by around one centimeter a year as a result.

 

This devastating way of nature is just a very small event from geological perspective but we have witnessed what such a little burp of nature can do to us. It has been seen through out the history of our civilization and how  it renders us helpless only at the mercy of nature  and human grit.

In terms geology of our planet  many researchers have warned that this may not be the one mega quakes waiting to happen around the Himalayan region. Because the pressure built up by 200 years of shifting of the tectonic plates is not going to be released by earthquakes of 5-8  magnitude category.

So do we need to be worried may be so not in near future but definitely we got to be ready for natures interventions that ,we just cant predict, both materially and humanly.

 

 






Latest MIT study on how the Indian peninsula drifted so fast  30 m years ago...
http://www.microfinancemonitor.com/2015/05/05/tracing-gondwanaland-mit-study-shows-how-india-drifted-faster-than-ever-join-eurasia-80-million-years-ago/

Have you found the perfect(..err near perfect ) girl !!

Finding the girl of your dreams or sometimes it could be your family's dream is not an easy task especially in a country like India where marriages are not just tying the knot between 2 people but a lot more than that.
Anyone who has gone through all this will know very well. I am trying not to make this blog another one those preachy articles about how marriages should be interpreted in our society, but at times we all fall prey to the bloggers block as I would put it could be for any reason.

For all those usual stuff you can visit any one of these links -

http://www.askmen.com/top_10/dating/top-10-ways-to-get-your-dream-woman.html

http://www.gregtrimble.com/5-ways-you-know-youve-found-the-right-woman/

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/relationships/man-woman/7-ways-to-choose-the-right-life-partner/articleshow/24741632.cms


I am writing this to tell a story about a guy who goes from one girl to another girl, the reason why he does this is the obvious one its a male tendency to experience multiple partners . So he is called say 'chappy'  yea that is how I would refer him along this story line.
Chappy was an avg guy who started liking few girls in his school one of them was special a punjabi girl who was exactly opposite to him, she was fearless outspoken and very different than other girls but he still liked her.They got lost along the way in different paths.

Now the story moves to  14 years later when chappy is being set up with a girl  for marriage, who is doing sales job. Chappy is not exactly right about this but he still wants to give it a try like he has always been flowing with the current. This new girl is Nilu she is very cynical has a lot of dreams desires expectations from her partner, something that chappy starts to sense once they start talking over the phone and while  chatting on cellphone, but there was a strange feeling that something is not right it seemed like we were dealing each other and not bonding in the real sense.
But still chappy as he usually does he starts loving some one for no real reason,  started accepting her.
There was something else brewing away from his knowledge that was about to unfold.....

Chinese incursions into Ladakh region..

Last few weeks had been tough for Indian government trying hard to talk the Chinese troops out of Indian territory . Chinese were adamant on there claim that there's no incursion. Even after  3 flag meetings between the top military officials of both countries there was no progress.
This is nothing new by the Chinese, they have been doing this  frequently for many years now. Its a part of their strategy to assert their supremacy in the region. There has been many such instances of intrusion into the Indian territory as well as into the air space  of India. There were also air space violation by the Chinese during this whole episode.
But this was the longest stand off since 1962 war with China. It really sent  India's external affairs  into apprehensions regarding chinese plans.

The Indian side did everything in order to avoid a military face off with their super power neighbor. I feel this is the best thing to do in a situation like this.
A top US expert feels that the Chinese incursions in eastern Ladakh are more a tactical move by the Chinese army than a larger strategy by its government.

The alleged incursion of the Red Army into Indian territory set off a diplomatic stand-off between the two countries.
The army is responding to the infrastructure buildup by the Indians on the other side in terms of roads, airstrips, tanks, bridges etc.

 Deepened diplomatic engagement with China finally ended the 21-day border standoff in eastern Ladakh on Sunday, with both armies agreeing to simultaneously pull out of the site and go back to pre-April 15 positions. But there are unconfirmed reports that a deal has been reached at during the meetings that says that India will destroy some of its bunkers in the Chumar region but what really happened is yet not public or official.