Who killed 'Planet' Pluto?

The sudden out cry by Astronauts and the space watch keepers on PLUTO, which they claim not be a Planet...I meant they claim it now to be a "DWARF PLANET".
"Pluto's out," said Michael Brown, the California Institute of Technology astronomer whose discovery last year of a planet-like object called 2003 UB313 reignited the long-running debate over whether Pluto should be considered a planet. "People are going to be unhappy, but it's the right thing to do. This is a great moment in science."

If I think about the school days, I was very fascinated when I read about the Universe, Galaxy, heavenly bodies, Comets, and other things about space used keep looking at the sky whenever I got time and was involved in building a telescope which never saw daylight till now remember asking myself and my folks so many questions about the existence of space and how it got formed. I was also on crossroads with what I study in science and what my religion thought. Yes, it was a conflict in my head with two philosophies of Evolution and the Creation.
I think I’m drifting away from what I wanted to say. Pluto as a planet was always my favorite cause this was the last planet which I need to remember and write during exams or tests & I had also learnt a secret phrase to remember all the 9 nine planets and I really felt good about it as my classmates tried so hard to re-call these 9 planets in order.
Well, im no longer in school so I can tell you this secret which can earn you 10 direct marks. it goes like this:

MY =Mars
VERY =Venus
EDUCATED =Earth
MOTHER =Mercury
JUST =Jupiter
SHOW =Saturn
US =Uranus
NINE =Neptune
PLANETS =Pluto

Now with demotion of Pluto, I know many Pluto lovers, astrologers are upset but I guess for sometime atleast Pluto will be in everyone’s mind.Hope next time when someone talks about Pluto it won't be Walt Disney's Character “Pluto” Mickey’s best pal!!!!

Spritual SCAN

Spirtuality unlimited!This is wat I can re-call after reading this article.I seriously do believe in miracles and this may or may not be "THE SIGN",which millions are waiting for.
But I do belive in God and shall wait for his coming back...
After seeing the spiritual scan, the would-be parents have decided to give their son the biblical name JOSHUA.

Look, Jesus’ face in baby scan
THE DAILY MAIL
Worcestershire: When mum-to-be Laurna Turner went to hospital for an ultrasound of her unborn son, the scan delivered a startling view – the face of Jesus hovering above her baby.
The 20-year-old from Worcestershire told the Sun: “I was thrilled with the scan that showed Joshua sucking his thumb. Then someone pointed out the face and I nearly fainted. It’s kind of spooky but beautiful and we will always treasure it. I think someone is watching over us.”
Partner Dave Meikle, 20, said: “It’s fantastic. With a microscope it looks just like Jesus in a shroud.”
The Turners' spiritual scan shows the face of Jesus hovering above their baby in the womb

After seeing the spiritual scan, Laurna and Dave have decided to give their son the biblical name Joshua. They are not, however, expecting him to be born on Christmas Day.
The couple’s anticipated divine delivery is the latest in a spate of spiritual sightings around the world. Last week a blob of dried chocolate which dribbled from a factory vat in California was turned into a shrine — because workers believe it looks like the Virgin Mary.
The holy figure, which supposedly shows Mary holding the Baby Jesus, has been put in a special case and is worshipped by workers.
And a small piece of cloth bearing an eerily detailed image of a bearded man with a bruised face is to be the subject of a papal pilgrimage next week.
Miss Turner said she and her partner David Meikle, 31, had endured weeks of uncertainty after doctors told them that the baby, their first, might be born with Down's syndrome.
“The pregnancy has been fairly difficult so to see a likeness of Jesus in the picture gives me a lot of comfort.
“It’s as if someone is watching over Joshua. It’s helped make us feel more at ease and although I’m not very religious, seeing the picture does reassure me that things are going to turn out okay and that Joshua will be our little miracle,” she said.

Find God in EVERYTHING

Woke up quite early today even thought for many other’s it was a lazy Sunday.
The regular routine of reading paper in the morning and chilling out with music. I found very relevant article in the Newspaper (Times of India, or rather Sunday Times) which was very thoughtful and made me think, thought will bring it forward here….

In the midst of confusion, it is possible to find simple ways to God, says Mary Jo Fraser

Is it just my age, or is it the age we live in? Lately I have felt besieged by all the passwords, personal identification numbers and codes that I am supposed to remember just to get through the day. There is one for the bank, another for my computer, a different one for the long distance phone company. How can we remember all these requirements? There are limits to what our overloaded minds can safely retain.
Fortunately our all-knowing God anticipated this memory challenge and sent the Holy Spirit into our lives to remind us of everything that God said and taught. We have the gift of an ever-present companion, the Spirit of God who will help and guide us along the confusing twists and turns of life. In the midst of all this confusion, it is possible for us to find simple ways to God. Among them, these three stand out: Delighting in the Ordinary, Being Available, and Experiencing God.
Each of us is called to Delight in the Ordinary. We are called to set aside our distractions and worries and listen carefully to the word of God. In this way, we choose the ways that bring us closer to Him. There is an awesome responsibility that comes with being ordinary. Each day we must make choices and decisions.
The ordinary can also be extraordinary. We are partners on our mission. We are walking the same faith journey. We find strength in the support of our companions. God calls all of us to labour in the vineyard, to bring peace and healing daily wherever we are. We cannot underestimate the importance of ministering together. God gives us one another so that together we can do ordinary and extraordinary things to help one another. Have you ever been hesitant to ask for help or to tell someone what you really needed? It can be difficult. It means recognising our human limitations, our ordinariness.
We sometimes fear rejection when we express our needs to others. However, we have the promise from
God that, when we ask, our needs will be heard. We will not be rejected. Everyone who asks, receives. Whoever searches finds, and those who knock have the door opened to them. We are often fearful that our prayers will not be heard or that they will not be answered in the ways we hope.
Let us give thanks for the gift of the Holy Spirit and pray for the courage to express our needs and be willing to accept the answers to our prayers. The challenge is to be more aware of our needs and unafraid to ask for help. We can even pray to ask with boldness. Thus we learn to delight in the ordinary. We recognise our roles of being both prophets and partners. When we can do that, we will treat ourselves with more kindness, laugh more, play more, breathe more deeply, rest more soundly and hold hurts more loosely.
Another way to find God is through the gift of presence we bring to one another. We need compassion for others to help bring out the love that is within us. Still, it is not always easy to be with others and so we need to strike a balance between the time we need for personal quiet and reflection and the time we are available to others. Only then can we live gentle, compassionate lives.
One day a woman’s little girl arrived home late after school. The mother was so angry that she started to yell at her. After a few minutes, the mother stopped yelling and asked her daughter, “Why are you so late anyway?” The daughter replied, “Because I had to help another girl who was in trouble.” “Well, what did you do to help her?” The daughter replied, “Oh, I sat down next to her and helped her cry.” The value of our presence to another should never be minimised.
Listening to others is another way of being available. That is why speaking with a family member or companion is usually good for all concerned. However, so many people have had difficult things happen to them in their lives that they can only meet each day with hurts and needs that keep surfacing.
A third way to find God is to experience the Blessings of God all around us. Blessings come in the warmth of God’s love each day. Think of the blessing of a rainbow. We don’t make rainbows. They are pure gifts. God blesses us with rainbows and gives us unexpected beauty to hearten our way. Every moment God looks at sky and trees, flowers and birds, women and men and says, “How good! This is my gift, my blessing to you.”
There is a way to count our blessings in these days when so many are counting one disaster after another. We have to remember that we can find good even in difficult times. Sometimes things get so bad that we just feel helpless. However, even in such times there is a way to see blessings. We need to understand that it is okay to be flawed because we are totally loved by God.

Stranded,still Normal!

Indian Met Department still believes that this year's Monsoon is pretty 'Normal'.
What do you call such kind of vague and unbased statements made by the Met Department.The weather is changing and they donot think that Global Warming is the cause for that? The whole world's is concerned about Global Temperature and strange wether phenomena and our Met department are still trying to figure out what global warming means i guess??
This years monsoon was predicted Normal and there was no Caution given to areas which are flooded now like Gujrat and places like North-East of India which are normally flooded due to rains are experiencing heat waves (it caused 7 deaths in Assam)We, are not even technically equipped to predict the Monsoon??
Hasn't the Govt spent money over launching number of satellites to monitor the weather changes??
If they have, what's the outcome of the whole purpose??? who's answerable???
Evey year crores of Rupees are lost in floods,famine and other natural calamaties plus another crores of Rupees are spent on trying to compensate this situation.
It is very well understood that no one has a control over the weather and its totally unpredictable, we arent asking for accuracy but for some kind of impactful work which will be commendable by every one.hope someone's listening to this.....

A Goan Monsoon

Every time I have gone to goa I have found goa differently…there is some wild magic in its air which always attracted me to come back again and again to this place.Im back from yet another goan vacation chilled up and relaxed. Exactly last week at this time I was having lunch at a resto near the Baga Beach, (fish curry rice).
I won’t write about my trip a lot this time as I don’t remember and made a conscious effort not to strain my brain about it. I usually write a travelogue at the end of the day whenever im traveling but this time I was too carried away by the parties and some real good time with some special people.

13th night was one memorable night coz of many things and it was really unplanned. Most of the beautiful things occur in a flash and can not be planned.
Wanted to go to Tito’s that night but don’t know why even last time tito’s was closed down and long back I had read about this place down the tito’s lane called Mambo or Mambo Nite’s. Since was royally disappointed coz of Tito’s thought to give a try to this place. The entry for couple cost 300 INR and that that’s inclusive of nothing on it. A shot of 30ml Bacardi Reserva costs 100 INR. The place was dull with few couples and families and some foreigners dinning. Little did I know that this place will rock as the night grew old.
The crowd here was awesome and hot! It was special because I danced the night away after a long time, with someone really Special.
Guess, last time I danced was in The Club in Bangalore, before I left to Pune that was around 2 years back…sad!
Goa and Goan people are very friendly and always welcoming. Last day of my trip I had to go to Panjim to buy cashews and other stuff and on the way, it started pouring madly and there was this lady selling some fruits, some wild fruits and cucumbers saw us getting drenched and offered an spare umbrella which she had…this kind of generosity I had never come across, was touched.
This time didn’t get much time to move around as the rains were playing hide n seek
But got time to catch up on a Hindi movie in Inox, Panjim.
Left Goa at Wednesday Night and was back on Thursday morning with a bad cold.

Looking forward to come back again…maybe in Nov-Dec.

The search for the Zahir

The idea of the Zahir comes from Islamic tradition and is thought to havearisen at some point in the 18th Century. Zahir, in arabic, meams visible, present, incapable of going unnoticed. it is someone or something which, once we have come into contact with tthem or it, gradually occupies our every thought, until we can think of nothing else. this can be considered either a state of holiness or of madness.
Faubourg Saint-Peres,
Encyclopedia of the Fantastic (1953)


When I started reading this book, it was more because I didn’t have anything to read and whatever books I had I didn’t feel like reading them.
I was unable to complete this book due to I couldn’t get time been reading since two months in bits and pieces.
This the third book of Paulo Coelho which I completed after Eleven minutes and the alchemist. There is always a message and a philosophical angle in his books. The jacket of the book has a picture of a lady, with a dead and orangish background and I used to wonder why that picture? And what’s its relevance? I could connect that image to the story only in last few pages of The Zahir…
The story of zahir is about a famous author who goes in search of his wife who goes missing while reporting from the war zone.
It’s also a story of re-discovering himself and his love for his wife and the mistakes he committed while he was high on his success.
The Zahir has few important characters, which makes reading easier as their names are also easier to remember.
The Author’s name in the novel hasn’t been disclosed anywhere. His wife’s names Esther and Mikhail, one who’s a link between the author and his wife. There’s author’s girlfriend (Marie).
The author search ends somewhere in a remote steep village in Kazakhstan, Asia, bordering Russia, where his wife is waiting for him to come and find her.
There’s beautiful narration of story of Ulysses and Penelope, (I remember I read about adventures of Ulysses in school) and it’s been compared to the author’s search for Esther.
Now, I’m taking a break for a week before I start reading another novel. The next book will be Memories of Geisha.

ABOUT the book.
Author : Paulo Coelho
ISBN : 8172236298
Edition / Publisher : 2005, Paperback, Harper Collins
Pages : 342

The watch...

the Countdown has begin to go for yet another holiday...the adventure is about to begin...keep watching this place..

System Drowned

I feel like I’m staying in some water world.
It been like one of the English movies where a drastic calamity occurs and you run to save your life, to be precise it would be movies like Hard Rain and The Day After Tomorrow…but only difference here in pune is that you have to run from bad roads, bad infrastructure and lack of any civic sense among the people. The roads look like they were ploughed before the monsoon. The traffic signals work as if they are doing a favor. The traffic cops work only on the month ends or when some VIP is in the town.
And the Buses try to squeeze into any narrow thinking they are small cars. One ways are illogically planned. Everything Sucks!!!Frustrating…..
It’s been two days that it’s being pouring terribly hard and the city is not even equipped to tackle any for of adversities. It’s the most horrifying season to be in Pune.
For all the people who love this place need to think and voice an single opinion to make this place a better City if they are planning to attract world attention as they claim that they are competing with Bangalore.
Try hard or die tryin……

Water

Last week got a chance to watch Deepa Mehta’s WATER, an period movie, well it was more like a documentary with some love story into it. It gives a plight of widows in India in 1930’s. Everyone knows that Indian social structure has stood on numerous sad beliefs throughout generations. We, have been following ill-logical ceremonies like child marriage, sati system, class system, social de-gradation of Widows etc. sometimes I feel the best thing that happened to India, was that it was under the empire, the British along with them brought new ideas and the best thing the Education system was introduced and look at India now, we have reached an level where we are talking about being in league of developed countries for mutual co-operation.
Water as a movie made me realize the fact that we are much fortunate to live in an open society where social evils don’t exist. I haven’t seen her previous movies like 1947 Earth; Fire….but Water is a well made movie with a social message into it. I totally don’t deny the fact that India is done with treating woman equally or things like that…I still feel we have a long way…especially at the village level where majority of our country lives.
Water is a story about questioning once own beliefs and the evolution of new age thinking which started during the Gandhian era.
John Abraham doesn’t fit into the role, but a very decent performance indeed. Lisa Ray still looks gorgeous and appreciate the fact that Directors are bold enough to explore a story into very sensitive religious annals. There was a controversy surrounded with this movie too and it was later on completed secretly in Srilanka, Varanasi being the first choice to shot the movie. Some real classical Music by AR Rahman. I don’t think the movie will make it to the Indian theatres, so Cd’s and DVD’s will be available in the loose.

Preview
Deepa Mehta's 'Water' finally sees the light of the day. As an opening film of the 30th annual Toronto International Film, it is back in news after it was stopped from being shot in India years back. Third in the trilogy after Fire and Earth, Water is director Deepa Mehta's long cherished dream that is finally realized after a wait for number of years. Produced by David Hamilton, Water was secretly shot in Sri Lanka under the fake title of 'Full Moon' to avoid any further controversy that could have hampered the completion of the movie.

Year - 1938 Era Pre-independence India, when it was under the colonial rule of British
This was the time when child marriage in certain sections of society was a bitter reality. An age old reality about young girls being married to much older men.
And what happened when these men died? Their wives were forced to spend the rest of their lives in 'ashrams' [institutions] meant for widows.
The same reality struck with Chuyia [Sarala], a 8 year old girl, who was married only to find herself being sent to a widow's ashram due to her husband's death. The reason for being sent to the 'ashram'? To make amends for the sins from her previous life that would have been the cause of her husband's death.
This is where Chuyia meets three women from different age groups who form an integral part of WATER - 20-year-old Kalyani [Lisa Ray], 35-year-old Shakuntala [Seema Biswas] and an 80-year-old woman Madhumati who is counting her last days.
Madhumati is the senior most of all and heads the women in the 'ashram'. She is a character in herself as she loves passing orders all around to the other widows while behind closed doors she loves smoking 'ganja' and passing time while hearing gossips from her only friend Gulabi, a eunuch and a pimp.
Shakuntala is the mystery woman amongst all the widows as she s quite and reserved, Though she is intelligent and educated, she has been caught in a situation where on one side she is unhappy about the shape her life has taken versus her respect for the Hindu religion and culture.
Kalyani is the most beautiful of all and has a simple outlook towards life. Sweet, simple and almost like a child, she has been forced into a profession where pimp Gulabi is required to escort her for the services to the rich. As a bread earner for the ashram and a devotee of Lord Krishna, she takes all this in her stride peacefully attributing it to her 'karma'.
Since Chuyia, a new entrant to this ashram, is an adolescent girl, she can afford to be spirited and full of life. Not one to sit back and take things as they come, her aggressive attitude set the other women in the 'ashram' also thinking. The biggest difference comes in the life of Kalyani, who inspite of being a widow falls in love with Narayan [John Abraham], who is a young'ncharming upper-class Gandhian idealist. A follower of Gandhi's 'Quit India Movement', he also believes in social justice for women and decides to bend the rules of that era by marrying Kalyani.
While remarriage was a taboo in the society, Kalyani (with support from Narayan) challenges the system and forces other widows to think about right versus wrong, present versus future!
Giles Nuttgens is the cinematographer of the movie [he also shot Fire and Earth] and Colin Monie is the movie's editor. Background score for the film is done by Mychael Danna while songs are composed by A.R.Rehman. Others in the starcast include Kulbhushan Kharbanda, Waheeda Rehman, Raghuvir Yadav, Vinay Pathak and Rishma Malik.
While 'Water' would soon see an international release in countries across globe, the talks are still in progress for the movie's screening in India. Ironically so for a movie that has its roots in India !
source:http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/preview/7791.html

A Friend in need...

"Even if we never talk again after tonight, please remember that I am forever changed by who you are and what you meant to me"
-Chasing Amy
Today world wide its been celebrated as International Friendship Day, i dont know the reason why they chose the first sunday of August also. But i take this as an oppurtunity to Wish all the friends in my life who i have walked along with.Without you people i wouldnt have reached where i am now.Each of my friends have been special to me and have contributed in a special way.You have thought me to smile in sadness and helped me to realize my Goals.Also to people whom i have lost..

I got many mails and SMS's today but one mail from my dear friend from college meant alot for me..this what shilpa wrote to me:

hey buddy happy friendship's day .how u doing.hey just want to say i'm so glad that i met u n know u ,u'r a real sweet n nice guy thanks for keeping in touch n i'll always remember u .believe it or not but i'm really waiting to see u and catch up on so many things .but dont worry we'll meet along the road .have a wonderful day . hey n i mean everything i say .cheers

Thankx alot Everyone..and remember,you dont need a special day to show your friends that you care for them, Everyday can be one...Have a great Friendship Day...and make many more this year.

Here are few lessons from the past and few tips to make your Buddy feel Special:

History:
Friendship is not about leading or following, it is simply being with each other to share each and every single moment of our lives. These simple words contain in themselves the entire beauty of friendship.
Though the Friendship Day is celebrated with great pomp and show in all over the world but not much is known about how this celebration started. However many folktales and mythological stories reveal the fact that friendship has been valued as a relationship since the commencement of the civilized world. As far as the history of the Friendship day is concerned it is said that in 1935 the first Sunday of August was proclaimed as the Friendship Day. Since then the celebration of the Friendship Day became an annual event in United Sates. Slowly this tradition spread to other countries too and they also started celebrating this day with much excitement.
Winnie – the Pooh was appointed as the Friendship’s world ambassador by the United States in 1997. Friendship Day has been dedicated to those friends who make our lives merrier and give a meaningful direction to the path of our lives. On Friendship Day people try their best to thank all those special angels called friends in their lives from the bottom of their hearts. There are some people who believe that friendship is so strong a relationship that it needs no special day for celebration. But then also it is a tried and tested fact that every relationship, no matter how strong needs some recognition and the Friendship Day enables you to do just the same that is it allows you to give due recognition to the beautiful bond of friendship which you share with your friend.

At times we get so busy with our lives that we just start taking our friends for granted and just start neglecting them. On such occasions this Friendship Day reminds us of the importance of the friends in our lives so that we can never ever ignore the special beings sent on this earth by the supreme power just for us.

Thus take some extra time out of your busy life and try to spend some valuable time with your friends on this Friendship Day as you never know when the time will lapse and you wont even get the slightest time to say a simple thanks to your friend.
August 6 is International Friendship Day for 2006, time to recognise your friends and their contribution to your life. Friendship helps to bring peace and positivity to the globe - a great reason to celebrate!
Friendship Day occours on the first Sunday of August - only once a year - so make the most of it! :) Friends come in many shapes, sizes and guises: school friends, work colleagues, siblings, partners, parents, pets and neighbours.

Celebration Ideas
Need some suggestions on how to celebrate Friendship Day and show your friends they are special? Read on below for some suggestions...

Write a nice card for your friend telling them how much you appreciate their friendship. Spill out your heart to them as though there is no tomorrow.

Buy or make them a small present - flowers, chocolates, friendship bands, a cake, a dreamcatcher, friendship journal or anything that catches your imagination! Consider leaving the gift anonymously for added intrigue!

Hug someone, preferably your friend!

Make a point to call every one of your friends on Friendship Day to let them know you care.

Longtime Friends
Best Friends Make your friend a mixed CD of all the songs that define your friendship (or ones that you just happen to mutually like!)

Submit a Friendship Tribute to your friend to be posted on the web.

Call all those old friends you haven't spoken to in ages.. remember the girl scout motto: "Make new friends and keep the old, one is silver and the other gold"!
Send your friend a Happy Friendship Day greeting online to brighten their day.
Make a special friendship book for your best friend. Include photos, quotes and poetry telling your friends how special they are.

Invite your closest buddies over for a sleepover! Rent some movies and pig out on popcorn, chocolate and all forms of unhealthy food! Bring some blankets outside and watch the stars.

Plan a special day with your best friend or friendship group. A picnic is always a fun idea, and great for all ages. If you're physically-inclined, try an activity such as bowling, golf, rollerblading, cricket or going to the beach.

If you're all busy during the day, plan to go out to dinner with your friend(s). Dress up in your finest and have a fun night that's different from the norm.
Host a Friendship Dinner Party!

Have a sleepover!

Married friends Write your friend a webpage to express your friendship online
Ring up a radio station and dedicate a song to Friendship Day and your friends!

Make some new friends by becoming a doer of RAOK - Random Acts of Kindness

Buy your friend a ticket to the theatre so you can enjoy a great show together. If you can't afford this, downscale to the movies!

Give your friend a Friendship Bracelet (made or bought) to symbolise your friendship
Grab a camera or visit a photo machine and take some photos of you & your friends enjoying yourselves!