Jammi Rao's Blog

Who Knew? Did You?

2011-02-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

(Some interesting explanations for commonly heard expressions)

Credits: Not my original stuff. I received the following recently in a mail (author unknown):
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In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are 'limbs,' therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, 'Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg.' (Artists know hands and arms are more difficult to paint)

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As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and October) Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term 'big wig.' Today we often use the term 'here comes the Big Wig' because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.

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In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used for dining. The 'head of the household' always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the 'chair man.' Today in business, we use the expression or title 'Chairman' or 'Chairman of the Board'.

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Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told, 'mind your own bee's wax.' Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term 'crack a smile'. In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt . . . Therefore, the expression 'losing face.'

*******

Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and dignified woman, as in 'straight laced', wore a tightly tied lace corset, in a proper way.

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Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the 'Ace of Spades.' To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't 'playing with a full
deck.'

*******

Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TVs or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars. They were told to 'go sip some ale' and listen to people's conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. 'You go sip here' and 'You go sip there.' The two words 'go sip' were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term 'gossip'.

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At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in 'pints' and who was drinking in
'quarts,' hence the term minding your 'P's and 'Q's

*******
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. those cannons fired round, iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one problem...how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a 'Monkey' with 16 round indentations.

However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make 'Brass Monkeys.' Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled.

Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was quite literally, 'Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.' (All this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you.)

*****

The Power of Positive Thinking!

2011-02-05T08:30:00.001-07:00

Another inspirational mail I received recently. Dunno who the author of this is but surely he/she knows what they are talking about.

I am personally a strong believer (not necessarily a 100% practitioner) of the art of positive thinking!

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The Power of Positive Talk

I remember my dad teaching me the power of language at a very young age. Not only did my dad understand that specific words affect our mental pictures, but he understood words are a powerful programming factor in lifelong success.

One particularly interesting event occurred when I was eight. As a kid, I was always climbing trees, poles, and literally hanging around upside down from the rafters of our lake house. So, it came to no surprise for my dad to find me at the top of a 30-foot tree swinging back and forth. My little eight-year-old brain didn't realize the tree could break or I could get hurt. I just thought it was fun to be up so high.

My older cousin, Tammy, was also in the same tree. She was hanging on the first big limb, about ten feet below me. Tammy's mother also noticed us at the exact time my dad did. About that time a huge gust of wind came over the tree. I could hear the leaves start to rattle and the tree begin to sway. I remember my dad's voice over the wind yell, "Bart, Hold on tightly." So I did. The next thing I know, I heard Tammy screaming at the top of her lungs, laying flat on the ground. She had fallen out of the tree.

I scampered down the tree to safety. My dad later told me why she fell and I did not. Apparently, when Tammy's mother felt the gust of wind, she yelled out, "Tammy, don't fall!" And Tammy did fall. My dad then explained to me that the mind has a very difficult time processing a negative image.

In fact, people who rely on internal pictures cannot see a negative at all. In order for Tammy to process the command of not falling, her nine-year-old brain had to first imagine falling, then try to tell the brain not to do what it just imagined. Whereas, my eight-year-old brain instantly had an internal image of me hanging on tightly.

This concept is especially useful when you are attempting to break a habit or set a goal. You can't visualize not doing something. The only way to properly visualize not doing something is to actually find a word for what you want to do and visualize that. For example, when I was thirteen years old, I played for my junior high school football team. I tried so hard to be good, but I just couldn't get it together at that age. I remember hearing the words run through my head as I was running out for a pass, "Don't drop it!"

Naturally, I dropped the ball. My coaches were not skilled enough to teach us proper "self-talk." They just thought some kids could catch and others couldn't. I'll never make it pro, but I'm now a pretty good Sunday afternoon football player, because all my internal dialogue is positive and encourages me to win. I wish my dad had coached me playing football instead of just climbing trees. I might have had a longer football career. Here is a very easy demonstration to teach your kids and your friends the power of a toxic vocabulary.

Ask them to hold a pen or pencil. Hand it to them. Now, follow my instructions carefully. Say to them, "Okay, try to drop the pencil." Observe what they do. Most people release their hands and watch the pencil hit the floor. You respond, "You weren't paying attention. I said TRY to drop the pencil. Now please do it again." Most people then pick up the pencil and pretend to be in excruciating pain while their hand tries but fails to drop the pencil.

The point is made. If you tell your brain you will "give it a try," you are actually telling your brain to fail. I have a "no try" rule in my house and with everyone I interact with. Either people will do it or they won't. Either they will be at the party or they won't. I'm brutal when people attempt to lie to me by using the word try. Do they think I don't know they are really telegraphing to the world they have no intention of doing it but they want me to give them brownie points for pretended effort?

You will never hear the words "I'll try" come out of my mouth unless I'm teaching this concept in a seminar. If you "try" and do something, your unconscious mind has permission not to succeed. If I truly can't make a decision I will tell the truth. "Sorry John. I'm not sure if I will be at your party or not. I've got an outstanding commitment. If that falls through, I will be here. Otherwise, I will not. Thanks for the invite."

People respect honesty. So remove the word "try" from your vocabulary.

My dad also told me that psychologists claim it takes seventeen positive statements to offset one negative statement. I have no idea if it is true, but the logic holds true. It might take up to seventeen compliments to offset the emotional damage of one harsh criticism. These are concepts that are especially useful when raising children. Ask yourself how many compliments you give yourself daily versus how many criticisms. Heck, I know you are talking to yourself all day long. We all have internal voices that give us direction. So, are you giving yourself the 17:1 ratio or are you shortchanging yourself with toxic self-talk like, "I'm fat. Nobody will like me. I'll try this diet. I'm not good enough. I'm so stupid. I'm broke, etc. etc."

If our parents can set a lifetime of programming with one wrong statement, imagine the kind of programming you are doing on a daily basis with your own internal dialogue.

Here is a list of Toxic Vocabulary words. Notice when you or other people use them.

But: Negates any words that are stated before it.

Try: Presupposes failure.

If: Presupposes that you may not.

Might: It does nothing definite. It leaves options for your listener..Ø Would Have: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn't actually happen.

Should Have: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn't actually happen (and implies guilt.)

Could Have: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn't actually happen but the person tries to take credit as if it did happen.

Can't/Don't: These words force the listener to focus on exactly the opposite of what you want. This is a classic mistake that parents and coaches make without knowing the damage of this linguistic error.

Examples:

Toxic phrase: "Don't drop the ball!"

Likely result: Drops the ball

Better language: "Catch the ball!"

Toxic phrase: "You shouldn't watch so much television."

Likely result: Watches more television.

Better language: "I read too much television makes people slow."

You might find yourself turning that TV off and picking up one of those books more often!

Author - unknown

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India's Greats!!! -- No Does not Include Cricketers or Filmstars!

2010-07-25T19:46:00.000-06:00

Received this in the Mail and it set me thinking!!!....

ARYABHATT
(476 CE) MASTER ASTRONOMER AND MATHEMATICIAN

Born in 476 CE in Kusumpur ( Bihar ), Aryabhatt's intellectual brilliance remapped the boundaries of mathematics and astronomy. In 499 CE, at the age of 23, he wrote a text on astronomy and an unparallel treatise on mathematics called "Aryabhatiyam." He formulated the process of calculating the motion of planets and the time of eclipses. Aryabhatt was the first to proclaim that the earth is round, it rotates on its axis, orbits the sun and is suspended in space - 1000 years before Copernicus published his heliocentric theory. He is also acknowledged for calculating p (Pi) to four decimal places: 3.1416 and the sine table in trigonometry. Centuries later, in 825 CE, the Arab mathematician, Mohammed Ibna Musa credited the value of Pi to the Indians, "This value has been given by the Hindus." And above all, his most spectacular contribution was the concept of zero without which modern computer technology would have been non-existent. Aryabhatt was a colossus in the field of mathematics.
BHASKARACHARYA II
(1114-1183 CE)

GENIUS IN ALGEBRA
Born in the obscure village of Vijjadit (Jalgaon) in Maharastra, Bhaskaracharya' s work in Algebra, Arithmetic and Geometry catapulted him to fame and immortality. His renowned mathematical works called "Lilavati" and "Bijaganita" are considered to be unparalled and a memorial to his profound intelligence. Its translation in several languages of the world bear testimony to its eminence. In his treatise " Siddhant Shiromani " he writes on planetary positions, eclipses, cosmography, mathematical techniques and astronomical equipment. In the " Surya Siddhant " he makes a note on the force of gravity: "Objects fall on earth due to a force of attraction by the earth. Therefore, the earth, planets, constellations, moon, and sun are held in orbit due to this attraction." Bhaskaracharya was the first to discover gravity, 500 years before Sir Isaac Newton . He was the champion among mathematicians of ancient and medieval India . His works fired the imagination of Persian and European scholars, who through research on his works earned fame and popularity.
ACHARYA KANAD
(600 BCE)

FOUNDER OF ATOMIC THEORY
As the founder of " Vaisheshik Darshan "- one of six principal philosophies of India - Acharya Kanad was a genius in philosophy. He is believed to have been born in Prabhas Kshetra near Dwarika in Gujarat . He was the pioneer expounder of realism, law of causation and the atomic theory. He has classified all the objects of creation into nine elements, namely: earth, water, light, wind, ether, time, space, mind and soul. He says, "Every object of creation is made of atoms which in turn connect with each other to form molecules." His statement ushered in the Atomic Theory for the first time ever in the world, nearly 2500 years before John Dalton . Kanad has also described the dimension and motion of atoms and their chemical reactions with each other. The eminent historian, T.N. Colebrook , has said, "Compared to the scientists of Europe , Kanad and other Indian scientists were the global masters of this field."
NAGARJUNA (100 CE)

WIZARD OF CHEMICAL SCIENCE
He was an extraordinary wizard of science born in the nondescript village of Baluka in Madhya Pradesh . His dedicated research for twelve years produced maiden discoveries and inventions in the faculties of chemistry and metallurgy. Textual masterpieces like " Ras Ratnakar ," "Rashrudaya" and "Rasendramangal" are his renowned contributions to the science of chemistry. Where the medieval alchemists of England failed, Nagarjuna had discovered the alchemy of transmuting base metals into gold. As the author of medical books like "Arogyamanjari" and "Yogasar," he also made significant contributions to the field of curative medicine. Because of his profound scholarliness and versatile knowledge, he was appointed as Chancellor of the famous University of Nalanda . Nagarjuna's milestone discoveries impress and astonish the scientists of today.

ACHARYA CHARAK
(600 BCE)

FATHER OF MEDICINE
Acharya Charak has been crowned as the Father of Medicine. His renowned work, the " Charak Samhita ", is considered as an encyclopedia of Ayurveda. His principles, diagoneses, and cures retain their potency and truth even after a couple of millennia. When the science of anatomy was confused with different theories in Europe , Acharya Charak revealed through his innate genius and enquiries the facts on human anatomy, embryology, pharmacology, blood circulation and diseases like diabetes, tuberculosis, heart disease, etc. In the " Charak Samhita " he has described the medicinal qualities and functions of 100,000 herbal plants. He has emphasized the influence of diet and activity on mind and body. He has proved the correlation of spirituality and physical health contributed greatly to diagnostic and curative sciences. He has also prescribed an ethical charter for medical practitioners two centuries prior to the Hippocratic oath. Through his genius and intuition, Acharya Charak made landmark contributions to Ayurveda. He forever remains etched in the annals of history as one of the greatest and noblest of rishi-scientists.

ACHARYA SUSHRUT (600 BCE)

FATHER OF PLASTIC SURGERY
A genius who has been glowingly recognized in the annals of medical science. Born to sage Vishwamitra, Acharya Sudhrut details the first ever surgery procedures in " Sushrut Samhita ," a unique encyclopedia of surgery. He is venerated as the father of plastic surgery and the science of anesthesia. When surgery was in its infancy in Europe , Sushrut was performing Rhinoplasty (restoration of a damaged nose) and other challenging operations. In the " Sushrut Samhita ," he prescribes treatment for twelve types of fractures and six types of dislocations. His details on human embryology are simply amazing. Sushrut used 125 types of surgical instruments including scalpels, lancets, needles, Cathers and rectal speculums; mostly designed from the jaws of animals and birds. He has also described a number of stitching methods; the use of horse's hair as thread and fibers of bark. In the " Sushrut Samhita ," he details 300 types of operations. The ancient Indians were the pioneers in amputation, caesarian and cranial surgeries. Acharya Sushrut was a giant in the arena of medical science.

VARAHAMIHIR (499-587 CE)

EMINENT ASTROLOGER AND ASTRONOMERA
renowned astrologer and astronomer who was honored with a special decoration and status as one of the nine gems in the court of King Vikramaditya in Avanti ( Ujjain ). Varahamihir' s book "panchsiddhant" holds a prominent place in the realm of astronomy. He notes that the moon and planets are lustrous not because of their own light but due to sunlight. In the " Bruhad Samhita " and " Bruhad Jatak ," he has revealed his discoveries in the domains of geography, constellation, science, botany and animal science. In his treatise on botanical science, Varamihir presents cures for various diseases afflicting plants and trees. The rishi-scientist survives through his unique contributions to the science of astrology and astronomy.

ACHARYA PATANJALI (200 BCE)

FATHER OF YOGA
The Science of Yoga is one of several unique contributions of India to the world. It seeks to discover and realize the ultimate Reality through yogic practices. Acharya Patanjali , the founder, hailed from the district of Gonda (Ganara) in Uttar Pradesh . He prescribed the control of prana (life breath) as the means to control the body, mind and soul. This subsequently rewards one with good health and inner happiness. Acharya Patanjali 's 84 yogic postures effectively enhance the efficiency of the respiratory, circulatory, nervous, digestive and endocrine systems and many other organs of the body. Yoga has eight limbs where Acharya Patanjali shows the attainment of the ultimate bliss of God in samadhi through the disciplines of: yam, niyam, asan, pranayam, pratyahar, dhyan and dharna. The Science of Yoga has gained popularity because of its scientific approach and benefits. Yoga also holds the honored place as one of six philosophies in the Indian philosophical system. Acharya Patanjali will forever be remembered and revered as a pioneer in the science of self-discipline, happiness and self-realization.

ACHARYA BHARADWAJ (800 BCE)

PIONEER OF AVIATION TECHNOLOGY
Acharya Bharadwaj had a hermitage in the holy city of Prayag and was an ordent apostle of Ayurveda and mechanical sciences. He authored the " Yantra Sarvasva " which includes astonishing and outstanding discoveries in aviation science, space science and flying machines. He has described three categories of flying machines: 1.) One that flies on earth from one place to another. 2.) One that travels from one planet to another. 3.) And One that travels from one universe to another. His designs and descriptions have impressed and amazed aviation engineers of today. His brilliance in aviation technology is further reflected through techniques described by him:
1.) Profound Secret: The technique to make a flying machine invisible through the application of sunlight and wind force.
2.) Living Secret: The technique to make an invisible space machine visible through the application of electrical force.
3.) Secret of Eavesdropping: The technique to listen to a conversation in another plane.
4.) Visual Secrets: The technique to see what's happening inside another plane.
Through his innovative and brilliant discoveries, Acharya Bharadwaj has been recognized as the pioneer of aviation technology.
ACHARYA KAPIL (3000 BCE)

FATHER OF COSMOLOGY
Celebrated as the founder of Sankhya philosophy, Acharya Kapil is believed to have been born in 3000 BCE to the illustrious sage Kardam and Devhuti. He gifted the world with the Sankhya School of Thought. His pioneering work threw light on the nature and principles of the ultimate Soul (Purusha), primal matter (Prakruti) and creation. His concept of transformation of energy and profound commentaries on atma, non-atma and the subtle elements of the cosmos places him in an elite class of master achievers - incomparable to the discoveries of other cosmologists. On his assertion that Prakruti, with the inspiration of Purusha, is the mother of cosmic creation and all energies, he contributed a new chapter in the science of cosmology. Because of his extrasensory observations and revelations on the secrets of creation, he is recognized and saluted as the Father of Cosmology.

Nostalgia - Extra Large!!!!

2010-07-20T09:39:00.000-06:00

Kudos to whoever authored this.

(Disclaimer: this is not my creation, though I endorse the thoughts!

It came to me in a chain mail and I could not resist posting it on the blog

From then an age of scarcity (we had the incentive to value the few things that we got as precious,

including our first job, which perhaps remains the only job we ever took up!) to now an age of abundance

(plentiful to choose from, nothing is too precious, everyone and everything is in touch and within reach to

the middle class - there is just no incentive to value anything).

Some feel we have lost our moorings!

But what the hell – some think this is Progress!

(a core characteristic of the 70's middle class).

Subject: Down memory lane - Middle class India of the 70's

1. Though you may not publicly own to this, at the age of 12-17 years, you were very proud of your first "Bellbottom" or your first first Apache jeans.

2. Phantom & Mandrake were your only true heroes. The brainy ones read "Competition Success Review".

3. Your "Camlin" geometry box & Natraj/Flora pencil was your prized possession.

4. The only "Holidays" you took were to go to your grandparents' or your cousins' houses.

5. Ice-cream meant only - either an orange stick, a vanilla stick – or a Choco Bar if you were better off than most.

6. You gave your neighbour’s phone number to others with a ‘c/o’ written against it because you had booked yours only 7 years ago and were still waiting for your number to come.

7. Your first family car (and the only one) was a Fiat or an Ambassador. This often had to be pushed by the entire family to get going.

8. The glass windows in the back seats used to get stuck at the two-thirds down level and used to irk the shit out of you!   The window went down only if your puny arm could manage the tacky rotary handle to pull it down. Locking the door was easy. You just whacked the other tacky, non-rotary handle downwards.

9. Your mom had stitched the weirdest lace curtains for all the windows of the car. They were tied in the middle and if your dad was the comfort-oriented kinds, you had a magnificent small fan upfront.

10. Your parents were proud owners of HMT watches. You "earned" yours after SSC exams.

11. You have been to "Jumbo Circus"; have held your breath while the pretty young thing in the glittery skirt did acrobatics, quite enjoyed the elephants hitting football, the motorcyclist vrooming in the "Maut ka Gola" and it was politically okay to laugh your guts out at dwarfs hitting each other's bottoms!

12. You have at least once heard "Binaca Geet Mala and Hawa Mahal" on the radio. Another fond favourite was Cadbury's Bournvita Quiz.

13. If you had a TV, it was normal to expect the neighborhood to gather around to watch the Chitrahaar or the Sunday movie.  If you didn't have a TV, you just went to a house that did. It mattered little if you knew the owners or not.

14. Sometimes the owners of these TVs got very creative and got a bi or even a tri-coloured anti-glare screen which they attached with two side clips onto their Weston TVs. That confused the hell out of you!

15. Black & White TVs weren't so bad after all because cricket was played in whites.

16. You thought your Dad rocked because you got your own (the family's; not your own own!) colour TV when the Asian Games started.  Everyone else got the same idea as well and ever since, no one came over to your house and you didn't go to anyone else's.

17. You dreaded the death of any political leader because of the mourning they would announce on the TV.  After all how much "Shashtriya Sangeet" can a kid take? Salma Sultan also didn't smile during the mourning.

18. You knew that "Indira Gandhi" was somebody really powerful and terribly important. And that's all you needed to know.

19. The only "Gadgets" in the house were the TV, the Fridge and possibly a mixer.

20. All the gadgets had to be duly covered with a crochet cover and sometimes even with ingenious, custom-fit plastic covers.

21. Movies meant Rajesh Khanna or Amitabh Bachchan. Before the start of the movie you always had to watch the obligatory "Newsreel".

22. You thought you were so rocking because you knew almost all the songs of Abba and Boney M.

23. Your hormones went crazy when you heard "Disco Deewane" by Naziya Hassan & Zoheb Hassan.

24. School teachers, your parents and even your neighbours could whack you and it was all okay.

25. Photograph taking was a big thing. You were lucky if your family owned a camera.  A reel of 36 exposures was valuable hence it justified the half hour preparation & "setting" & the "posing" for each picture.
Therefore, you have atleast one family picture where everyone is holding their breath and standing at attention!

You were really happy then...... peace of mind, no pressure no stress.

Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple - Self Navigated Tour

2010-06-07T10:51:00.000-06:00

This is Really Excellent ..Just check it out..

Some of you may never had a chance to visit Meenakshi Amman Temple . Some others may not want to see the temple at all. OK! here is a deal.. You need not travel to Madurai . Even if you are in Madurai , you need not get out of your comforts to go all the way to the temple. No tickets, no travel, no crowd. Go and explore one of the magnificent temples of the world. You will be virtually inside the temple, you can go close to the dolls adorning the towers, you can climb and reach the top of the tower, you can even feel the cool of the granite floors, you can enjoy the paintings on the roof without troubling your neck. Have a wonderful tour of the temple at your finger tips, just in few clicks away you will be inside the temple.

Don't get lost!

PLS USE YOUR MOUSE TO MOVE AROUND

http://www.view360.in/virtualtour/madurai/

The Caste conundrum in India's Census

2010-05-27T22:04:00.004-06:00

India's once-in-a-decade census is underway! Its a gargantuan task! And kudos to the officials in charge of conducting and delivering the same.

But there are a bunch of self seeking politicians -- nay that's tautological, I should only say politicians - of different colours who are right now fighting over whether a person's caste should be included alongwith the demographic data.

I see the argument at two levels! But first some background is in order.

Caste classifications are inherent in the Indian social psyche having been so for centuries. One's caste is the caste or grouping that one is born into. The caste system essentially classifies people into four castes with the lowest in status being relegated to all the menial jobs and also ostracized from mingling with the upper castes. Clearly, not done! But it undeniably exists to this day! This leads to untold hardships and misery being heaped on the lower castes who are variously described as 'dalits' (or downtrodden) or ' Harijan' (God's people) - a term coined by Mahatma Gandhi in a bid to draw attention to the fact that God does not create people differently or discriminate based on an accident of birth.

Although some system of positive discrimination policy to benefit the lower castes had been in place before India's independence, successive post independence governments have, guided by a sense of righting years of wrong, been pursuing a formal policy of positive discrimination by ensuring caste based reservations in Government Schools, Institutions of higher learning as well as jobs and promotions. These reservations were based on the approximate proportion of the 'backward' castes in the Indian population as per the Census. While meant to uplift the downtrodden, such a policy has contributed to perverse incentives for every caste group to fight to be included in the list of 'backward' castes and therefore benefit from the positive discrimination policies. Alternatively those that could not prove their years of discrimination, just used the strength of their numbers to ensure that the ambit of the Reservations policies was widened to ensure a piece of the reservation cake! Thus the caste system instead of being erased from the psyche of the people actually got more entrenched.

Having got the background in context, let me explain my two levels of the argument.

The high-moral ground argument against inclusion of caste information in the current census, is apparently aimed at sending out the 'noble' message that the government wants to move on and and leave the baggage of the past behind us. It also seems to send out the message that (maybe apart from our gender) there is really no difference between one Indian and another. Accordingly, being Indian is both our nationality and our caste. But this begs the question, what then will be the basis for a review of the positive discrimination (Reservations) policy, which is a vital element of our social and economic planning. This argument appears to me, to be a case of 'living in denial' as it appears to ignore caste based differences at one level while pursuing the same caste based differentiation at a plethora of other levels! Clearly, no government can function with such anomalies as well as lack of a key demographic data element!

The second level of the argument is the more practical argument for inclusion of caste information. Wherever we go in society today, among the first questions that is asked or silently sought is our caste. Some examples. Try approaching a landlord for renting his house (mainly in the smaller cities/villages) and he will either ask you your caste outright or try to guess the same from your surname. Go for school admission in a government or government aided school and one's caste is a key demographic data required, because that is one of the parameters of the admission decision. One's caste is almost as ubiquitous as one's gender!

I whole-heartedly support the high-moral-ground argument. Clearly there is merit in this course of action but only after we address some ground realities! It is indeed easy to erase the caste column from the census data form. But what we need to first aim for and achieve is the harder task of getting rid of the Caste classification that is written in invisible ink into the destinies of so many of us Indians.

Let's therefore be practical and collect caste information now. We need it guide our socio economic development plans and policies!

How history gets written in other parts of the world -- and in India!!

2010-05-21T12:38:00.000-06:00

Got the following in the mail!.. interesting stuff hence sharing it!

A 19 year old ex-cheerleader (now an Air Force Security Forces Sniper) was watching a road that led to a NATO military base when she observed a man digging by the road. She engaged the target, i.e., she shot him.

It turned out he was a bomb maker for the Taliban, and he was burying an IED that was to be detonated when a Canadian patrol walked by 30 minutes later. It would have certainly killed and wounded several soldiers.

The interesting fact of this story is the shot was measured at 725 yards! She shot him as he was bent over burying the bomb. The shot went through his butt and into the bomb, which detonated; he was blown to pieces.

The Air Force made a motivational poster of her!

That is Canada!!

If it had been an Indian Jawan, the following would be the aftermath.

1. J&K state declares hartal and violent demonstrations follow.

2. Civil Right Groups demand an enquiry.

3. Teesta Setalwad says the man was probably just answering nature's call and files a case against Modi accusing him of ordering the fire.

4. Painter Hussain will draw a bare butt to honour the slain victim. "The Hindu" will hail Hussain's freedom and artistry.

5. Barhka Dutt, Rajdeep Sardesai, Prannoy Roy and all other ‘intellectuals’ will debate for a week if it was correct to fire at the butt.

6. The Air Force sniper faces departmental enquiry and suspension.

7. Manmohan loses a night's sleep and declares a compensation of Rs. 10 lacs to the victim's family!!

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

If You Can Not Stand Behind Our Troops ,

Please Feel Free To Stand In Front Of Them!

Jerome Kerviel - the guy who has been left to hang!

2010-05-05T10:02:00.001-06:00

Just watched an interesting news report on CNN International covering the trial of Jérôme Kerviel, the French trader who has been charged in the January 2008 in the Société Générale trading loss incident, resulting in losses valued at about $ 7 Bn.

The Bank has painted Kerviel as a rogue trader who made these trades alone and more importantly without any authorization. The trader, of course, denied this and has claimed that that such activites are widespread and that as long as his trades were generating big profits, everyone in the hierarchy turned a blind eye.

I do not know the truth of the matter and I guess no one ever will. But the trial will surely unearth some skeletons, especially the extent of oversight required within Banks driven by an obsessive drive among Bank managements to deliver extra-ordinary profits, quarter over quarter, to feed the excessive greed of shareholders and investors.

Although, not recognized as a ‘Star’ trader, Kerviel was expecting a big 2007 bonus of about a Million Dollars had he not been caught out! However, everyone recognizes that he did not personally benefit from the alleged fraud.

But given the fact that he was part of a team, an entire heirarchy above him, who were responsible for oversight of such trading activity, would have also benefited by way of recognition and the dirty ‘B’ word. However, when the time came to catch the crooks, the Bank, (aided by the Prosecutors), seem to have let off his supervisors, without charging them for acts of negligence and ommission (if not ‘commission’)! Self preservation appears to be the main motivation for this.

In the past, Kerviel has been apparently cooperative with the investigation, and has told prosecutors his actions were common across the company. Clearly, he did exceed his limits, but so long as he was making profits everyone seems to have a turned a blind eye. At worst, whenever abnormal volumes were noticed, his supervisors seemed to have bought his argument that they were erronneous trades and allowed him to reverse the same. To me it appears that Kerviel is being made a scapegoat in the whole episode – maybe to hide the heavy losses that the Bank was incurring at the time.
His comment on today’s CNN news report, which triggered this blog post, was really telling and went something like this: “While I accept my share of the blame, I am sad that I am the only one being prosecuted.” He went on to add: ‘I was the prostitute at the banking orgy!’

Is the Euro about to break up?

2010-04-30T22:52:00.001-06:00

Watching the Greece and the larger Euro zone crisis unfold, it seems to me that it is no longer inconceivable to think of a break up of the Euro! The huge pressure of disparate fiscal policies resulting in each members' economy becoming increasingly out of tune with the centralized monetary policy (ECB) will require such a move. Put simply, one of Greece's hindrance in being able to address its current problems is its inability to devalue its currency! Therefore, the first exit candidate would naturally be Greece!
Under these circumstances I have been wondering whether the ECB / Euro nations even have a Disaster Recovery Plan to revert to their erstwhile national currencies. i.e., have they documented the procedures will kick in once they decide to break away and have they stored enough drachmas, francs, marks etc in their vaults to issue the same quickly?

Kuwait Traffic Week

2010-03-15T07:39:00.003-06:00

World over it is a common human tendency for any driver – and I think this cuts across the genders, so no sexist bias here – to blame the other driver in case of an accident or skirmish. So one would have thought that along the lines of ‘Charity begins at home’, the regulators or authorities in all their campaigns would advise their citizens to improve their road manners and drive with the utmost regard for traffic rules.

However, the Middle East is different!

Kuwait, along with the five other GCC nations, is this week observing a Traffic week to generate awareness about Traffic safety among the citizens and residents. And guess what the slogan for this campaign is?

It is : Be aware of others’ mistakes!

Yeah, we are all indeed aware of the Other’s mistakes! We do not need any motivation to accept that dictum or be reminded about it!

Education in 1865!

2010-03-05T02:37:00.006-07:00

Here is an example of what it took to be certified as an 8th Grade achiever in 1895!

Remember when grandparents and great-grandparents stated that they only had an 8th grade education? Well, check this out.

Could any of us have passed the 8th grade in 1895?

This is the eighth-grade final exam from 1895 in Salina , Kansas , USA .. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smokey Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina , and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

8th Grade Final Exam: Salina , KS - 1895

Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of capital letters
2. Name the parts of speech and define those that have no modifications.
3. Define verse, stanza and paragraph
4. What are the principal parts of a verb? Give principal parts of 'lie,''play,' and 'run'
5. Define case; illustrate each case.
6 What is punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of punctuation.
7 - 10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time,1 hour 15 minutes)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.
2. A wagon box is 2 ft. Deep, 10 feet long, and 3 ft. Wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?
3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50cts/bushel, deducting 1,050 lbs. For tare?
4. District No 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?
5. Find the cost of 6,720 lbs. Coal at $6.00 per ton.
6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.
7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft.. Long at $20 per metre?
8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.
9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance of which is 640 rods?
10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1 Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided
2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus
3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.
4. Show the territorial growth of the United States
5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas
6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.
7. Who were the following: Morse, Whitney, Fulton , Bell , Lincoln , Penn, and Howe?
8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, 1865.

Orthography (Time, one hour)

[Do we even know what this is??]
1. What is meant by the following: alphabet, phonetic, orthography, etymology, syllabication
2.. What are elementary sounds? How classified?
3. What are the following, and give examples of each: trigraph, subvocals, diphthong, cognate letters, linguals
4. Give four substitutes for caret 'u.' (HUH?)
5. Give two rules for spelling words with final 'e.' Name two exceptions under each rule.
6. Give two uses of silent letters in spelling. Illustrate each.
7. Define the following prefixes and use in connection with a word: bi, dis-mis, pre, semi, post, non, inter, mono, sup.
8. Mark diacritically and divide into syllables the following, and name the sign that indicates the sound: card, ball, mercy, sir, odd, cell, rise, blood, fare, last.
9. Use the following correctly in sentences: cite, site, sight, fane, fain, feign, vane , vain, vein, raze, raise, rays.
10. Write 10 words frequently mispronounced and indicate pronunciation by use of diacritical marks
and by syllabication.

Geography (Time, one hour)

1 What is climate? Upon what does climate depend?
2. How do you account for the extremes of climate in Kansas ?
3. Of what use are rivers? Of what use is the ocean?
4. Describe the mountains of North America
5. Name and describe the following: Monrovia , Odessa , Denver , Manitoba , Hecla , Yukon , St. Helena, Juan Fernandez, Aspinwall and Orinoco
6. Name and locate the principal trade centers of the U.S. Name all the republics of Europe and give the capital of each.
8. Why is the Atlantic Coast colder than the Pacific in the same latitude?
9. Describe the process by which the water of the ocean returns to the sources of rivers.
10. Describe the movements of the earth. Give the inclination of the earth.

Notice that the exam took FIVE HOURS to complete.

Gives the saying 'he only had an 8th grade education' a whole new meaning, doesn't it?!

Also shows you how much the education system has changed

and,

NO, I don't have the answers!