Thursday, February 27, 2014

Today is Shivratri

Today is Shivratri. After thinking India is going to lose cricket match,  I went to bed early yesterday night. I was having a sound sleep.
Suddenly I was woken up by the call " Har , Har , Mahadev " through a loud speaker. I got up from bed and saw the time.
It was already 6.00 AM. The call came from nearby Shiv temple since today is Shivratri. Even I started chanting Shiv Panchakshari.

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

India Vs Bangladesh Cricket match

Today is the day of match between India and Bangladesh. India have to reach the target of 280 in 50 overs. Already openers are out.
It is raining in Bangladesh. I have switched off TV preparing for worst. Whenever I watch India chasing . either match will end in a tie or India will lose.
It may be a superstition, but if India wins the match , I will be very happy . Because I didnt watch the match , thus helping India to win ! 

Monday, February 24, 2014

Do Anacondas , eat humans?

After watching last 2 days episodes of Adaalat serial, which was on killing by Anaconda , the question formed in my mind.
Anaconda just looked like a python. But python dont have teeth whereas Anaconda does. But the teeth are not having venom like cobra's.
They like to swallow their prey instead of biting them. Thats why they just surround their body around the prey and crush .
It is very rare that Anaconda cited eating humans. They can eat humans but the victim has to be a small child.
But I wonder  why did the anaconda of Adaalat , merely " vomited" the person whom it was  trying to kill ?!
Even we have a python in the nearby lake. But it never attacked a human being. It always preferred eating fish , small mammals etc.
My cousin has seen the python on a tree, engulfing a bird !

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Of which material Indian currency notes are made of?

Most of us may answer to this question as " paper ". Till today , even I was thinking that currency notes what we use daily , are made of paper. But its not !
I had read in news paper that RBI ( Reserve Bank of India ) is planning to introduce plastic notes from the second half of year 2014.
The currency notes what we are using today, are not made of paper. They are made of pulp containing cotton and Balsam with special dyes to make the currency notes more durable and resistant to wear and tear.
But now everyday we hear the news of fake currency notes. RBI is planning to introduce plastic notes as to curb this menace. Australia is the first country to have plastic currency notes.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

It's exam time . . .

Months are coming near of examination. Students are busy preparing their study schedule.
Before attending exams, it is very necessary to keep the body hydrated. Cells of brain or neurons require sufficient amount of water molecules for their proper function.
Drinking 2 glasses of water is of atmost importance before leaving to exam hall.
What if we drink more than 2 glasses?



Proper explanation is necessary for frequent visits to toilets !

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Our deeds in last birth , responsible for our present existance

             Our deeds in last birth , responsible for our present existence

Long ago, there was a king. He was a good ruler. Moreover , not a single unwanted work is reporting in his kingdom.
People were maintaining harmony with each other. King was thinking he is not having worries about his kingdom.
He shared his view with main priest of kingdom. He asked for the reason for this. Priest asked for 2 days of time.
After 2 days, he came near king and said answer to king's question is with a man who is staying in forest. They both went to the place.
There they saw a man who was sitting infront of flame. His chest hairs were burnt because of heat. He was looking hungry too.
King was surprised to see him sitting infront of flame in summer season. Seeing questions in king's face , man said the answer to all of his questions are with a woman in next village.
All of them went to village. There they found a insane woman ( who has lost mental balance ). She was wearing torn clothes and asking for food with everyone she sees on the way.
Showing the lady, man said " She was our mother in our previous birth. I was your elder brother. All the 3 of us , were staying in a hut. We were very poor. We had not eaten for several days. One day, we got 3 rotis. We were about to eat the rotis. Then a beggar came to our house and asked for food. We only found food after so many days. My mother was irritated by seeing the beggar. She said him to go away. But he was standing still. Mother in madness, went near him and tore his clothes. She scolded him badly. Still he was standing looking at us hopefully. I was present there. In a rage, I collected some burnt coal and threw them on him. His skin was burnt. Seeing his condition, you offered him your share of roti. Happy as he was, he blessed you. That is the reason, we are like this and you are a king with no problems. We must pay for what we have done , be it good or bad ".
King has got the answer for his doubts.

Monday, February 17, 2014

What makes people dizzy when they spin?

                           What makes people dizzy when they spin?

Rolling down a hill or spinning around in endless circles causes dizziness. Its because hair like sensory nerve cells in our ears send wrong messages to our brain.
The motions of our body are detected by a nerve system found in the upper part of our inner ear. It senses whether we are standing or lying down.
When we spin in circles or get up too quickly from the bed , we feel dizzy because of nerve reactions to these unusual situations.
The nerve cells found in this area contain a fluid called " endolymph ".  Following the principle of inertia, endolymph resists the changes in motion.
Because of this resistance, endolymph lags behind and sends signals to brain. Our brain interprets the signal and come to know the direction in which head moved.
However, when we spin our brain receives mixed signals. Our brain starts to think that the head is still spinning although it has actually stopped spinning.
As a result of this inappropriate signal , we experience dizziness. But after some time, the signals are ceased because spinning has been stopped and dizziness disappears.

Saturday, February 15, 2014

What is modem?

                                      What is modem?

MODEM is a combined device for modulating and demodulation of signals. MODEM is the abbreviation for MODulation and DEModulation.
It is a device that modulates the given analog signal to encode the digital information in it and then demodulates the signal to decode the transmitted information.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Does licking of wound , have healing powers?

                         Does licking of wound , have healing powers?

I have seen Gunda (a tomcat who regularly visits me ! ) licking his wound again and again. Eventually the wound got healed in couple of days.
By seeing that , one question raised in my mind. Did licking of wound helped it to get heal? Even dogs lick their wounds. Saliva of dogs believed to contain anti- biotic properties , that can heal wounds. It contains enzymes such as lysozyme , which is known to kill micro organisms like bacteria.
But I doubt whether a dog or cat know about this?! They are licking their wound just to keep them clean , to avoid dirt surrounding wound.
But I have not seen any humans licking their own wounds !

Stone, which will not sink in water !

                        Stone, which will not sink in water !

Before knowing the answer, let us understand why do stones sink in water? Stones are denser than water . Hence they displace more water than their weight ( volume ) . Thats why it sinks in water. What if we are able to make a stone which displaces less water than its weight ? Then it floats in water ! Same logic applies to huge ships which travel in water without sinking.
There are stones called Pumic stones ( Volcanic stones ) . They have many pores filled with air. Hence , they look large but actually they are having air inside. They displace water which is less than their actual weight. Hence they will float.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Story of compassion

                                Story of compassion

There was a man . He was arrested for murdering the fellow companion. In the court, he was convicted too . He was awarded life long imprisonment.
But one day , he fled from jail. He changed his appearance. He reached a village. To the villagers, he told that he was a  businessman and to escape from lenders, he has come to their village and he seeked refuge with them to live there.
Villagers believed the story and culprit was living , being one among them. There he figured out the problem the villagers facing.
To reach for city, they have to take a long route. Because , a mountain was in the path of the easy and shortcut road.
No one had taken the responsibility to dig a tunnel through mountain and make way. Culprit decided to work on that.
He didnt ask help from anyone. Because, he was afraid that people may come to know his true identity. All alone , he started to work.
One day. the son of murdered person , now a police officer , was passing through the village. That time, he saw the half built tunnel.
He asked with the villagers about that. Villagers proudly said him about the anonymous person . Police officer wanted to meet him.
While talking with him, police officer had figured out that he is the absconding prisoner and also the murderer of his father.
By knowing that , he told his identity to anonymous man. He wanted him to surrender to the police. Anonymous man agreed for that but he said since the tunnel is half built , he will finish it and then will surrender.
Police officer agreed . But anonymous man was working alone. Police officer thought that at this rate, the work will not get completed. So, he joined the hand with the anonymous man in building the tunnel. When working with him, police officer came to know the goodness of man.
He forgave him for killing his father. He assured him that he will never disclose his true identity to anyone . 

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

A story written by O'Henry

                                       A story written by O'Henry

There was a couple. Lady was suffering from serious illness.
She was admitted to hospital. She was not responding to any medicines. Lying on bed, through window she was always seeing a tree.
As it was winter, tree was shedding its leaves. Lying on bed, she was thinking that when the tree sheds all of its leaves, then she is going to die. She knew tree will shed all of its leaves in near future and so sure is her death.
She had shared her feeling with her husband too. In order to make her to think positively, her husband had put a painting of leaf on the tree without wife's knowledge.
Wife was not aware of that. Tree had shed all of its leaves, but this leaf which was artificial , kept on sticking to tree.
Wife could not make the difference between natural one and artificial one. Soon, there were small buds started emerging on the bark of tree.
Seeing that , even she regained hope for her survival and soon she started responding to medicines. She got discharged from hospital.
First thing she had done was to visit the tree which has helped her . She came to know that it was the painting of leaf which was there all the time. But she didnt lose hope this time. 

Monday, February 10, 2014

Youngest admirer of Honey Singh

                                   Youngest admirer of Honey Singh

My brother's son , Aniruddh who is just 1 year old is a great fan of Honey Singh. He just starts dancing by shaking his head left to right and also by shaking his hands. He does these actions only for songs of Honey Singh.!
He likes the song " Aaj blue hai paani, paani " very much. I am very curious to know how he identifies the voice of Honey Singh. He also enjoys listening to " Lungi Dance " song which is sung by Honey Singh. He is going to be a replica of me in coming days !

Sunday, February 9, 2014

What is ANZ?

                                        What is ANZ?

The cricket tour of India to New Zealand was sponsored by ANZ. I knew ANZ Grindley bank in India. But what is this ANZ?

ANZ = Australia and New Zealand banking group. 

It is the third largest bank in Australia and largest bank in New Zealand.
In addition of Australia and New Zealand, it operates in 30 other nations.

1st Test cricket match between India and NZ

                                1st Test cricket match between India and NZ

Today was the 1st test cricket match between India and NewZealand. I switched on TV around 8 am and started watching. The target seemed to be worth of chasing and winning the match. After drinks, Rohit Sharma got out.
I didnt want to miss all the action as Ravindra Jadeja is about to come. As soon as Jadeja came, he started his innings with a 4.
I thought Jadeja and Dhoni together will help India to reach the target. Soon Jadeja had hit a 6 ! I was tapping my own back as I didnt miss these action.
Jadeja got out and I switched off TV since I knew the remaining batsmen are actually bowlers. I assumed the picture of India losing the match.
I cant stand it. If I further watch, my mood will get upset by seeing India losing. I changed the channel to some cartoon channel.
I again started tapping my back as my assumption had come true ! India has lost the game by 40 runs to NZ. Atleast they gave a tough competition.

Friday, February 7, 2014

What did first climbers to Everest peak, leave?

          What did first climbers to Everest peak, leave?

Edmond Hillary and Tenzing are the climbers or mountaineers who have first reached the peak of mount Everest.
Hillary after reaching the peak, had left a cross which was given to him by a church father in New Zealand for safe climbing.
Similarly , Tenzing had left some chocolates on the peak.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Why do we offer coconuts in temples?

                        Why do we offer coconuts in temples?

We offer coconuts to God in temples. But why?
Recently I have come across an article explaining this. I will share about that.
Coconuts are covered by a thick shell. We break this coconut shell first and offer the whitish inner side to God.
By breaking the shell and offering the whitish inner side to God , this action represents that by breaking the ego in ourselves , we can come closer to God.
For representing the action, we break coconuts in temples.

Story of origin of Rudraksh tree

                                  Story of origin of Rudraksh tree

The word " Rudraksha " contains 2 Sanskrit words -- " Rudra " and " Aksh " , meaning Lord Shiva and teardrop respectively.
According to Hindu mythology, once God Shiva went into deep meditation for the well being of all the living creatures.
When he woke up, he opened his eye. At that time, a tear drop fell from his eye on the ground. This tear drop later took the form of a seed and later became the rudraksh tree. The dry seed capsule from rudraksh tree form the rudraksh beads.
The beads are also worn as chain and is believed sacred in Hinduism. Hence, Rudraksh means Tear of God Shiv. 

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

What is an IP address?

                                       What is an IP address? 

We all , often heard of IP address. It is the acronym for Internet Protocol. Police solve the cyber crimes by knowing the IP address of computer.
It is designed to allow one computer to communicate with other via the internet. An Internet Protocol is a set of rules that govern internet activity.
Internet Protocol address is part of the systematically laid out interconnected grid that governs the online communication by identifying both initiating device and various internet destinations.
It consists of four numbers ,each of which contains one to three digits seperated by a dot. Without this number, sending and receiving data through world wide web, would not be possible.

There are 2 types of IP addresses--
1. Static IP address
2. Dynamic IP address

Static IP addresses are permanent . They reveal information as continent, country , region and city in which a computer is located. Static IP address is preferable for uses such as online gaming or any other purpose where users need to make it easier for other computers to locate and connect to them. They are easier to track for data mining purposes. They are less secure.
Dynamic IP addresses are temporary numbers . They are assigned each time , a computer accesses the internet.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

What is a polar vortex?

                                          What is a polar vortex?

Last month, i .e. in January , most parts of USA experienced a cold wave. It consisted of snow fall and also very low temperatures .
Scientists called it happened because of polar vortex.

What is a polar vortex?

A polar vortex is a large packet of very cold air which sits over the polar region during the winter season. The frigid air found its way into USA , Canada when polar vortex ( cold cyclone ) was pushed south from north pole.
Polar vortex is there at every winter. It moves around at times during the winter. But it is very rare to see this vortex get pushed to far south .

Cause for polar vortex:      

A large, powerful high pressure system originating in eastern pacific which is stretched to north pole.

When the strong air from pacific region weakens and falls apart, polar vortex will retreat and go back to north pole.

The correct time to chant the name of God

                          The correct time to chant the name of God

This story was narrated by present paryaya Kaniyoor seer at the time of his pura pravesha.
There lived a miser. He was collecting the money from the basic things to live. He did not want to waste anything without purpose.
Everything has to meet its end. Likewise miser was in his death bed. He had lots of money. Now he is unable to utter a word also.
His children knew that their father can die at any moment. Their father wanted to say some thing. But he could not.
Children assumed that their father wants to share his wealth among his children. But he is unable to. Children called a doctor so that he can make their father , to talk for some time.
Doctor came and gave some tablet. Miser looked that he had recovered to some extent. Children gathered around him to listen to what he say?
It was the late afternoon time. Children had lit a lamp which was lightened by oil. Miser pointed to that. Children went near lamp hoping to find the copy of his will.
But they did not find anything. They again came near their father. Miser is having the strength to talk. He began to talk seeing his children.
...
...
...
What did he say?
???
???
???
He said pointing to lamp , " Why did you light the lamp? It is still sunlight outside. It is the waste of precious oil. Just turn it off ! "
After saying this, he died.
He could chant the name of God. But in his death bed too, he is worried about wastage of oil in the lamp. Seer said we must chant the name of God everytime, instead of wasting our time in small and silly things of life.


Monday, February 3, 2014

ವೈಭವದ ಪರ್ಯಾಯ ಮೆರವಣಿಗೆ

                                    ವೈಭವದ  ಪರ್ಯಾಯ  ಮೆರವಣಿಗೆ 

ಜನವರಿ ೧೮ , ಕಾಣಿಯೂರು ಮಠದ ಪರ್ಯಾಯ ದಿನಾಂಕ . ಅಂದು ಬೆಳಗ್ಗೆ ೩. ೩೦ ಕ್ಕೆ ಉಡುಪಿಯ ಜೋಡುಕಟ್ಟೆ ಯಿಂದ ಪರ್ಯಾಯ ಮೆರವಣಿಗೆ ಹೊರಟಿತು .
ಆ ಮೆರವಣಿಗೆಯನ್ನು ನಮ್ಮ ಕೇಬಲ್ ಆಪರೇಟರ್ ಲೈವ್ ಆಗಿ ಟಿ .ವಿ . ಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೋರಿಸಿದ ಕಾರಣ ಮನೆಯಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಕೂತು ನಾನು ಮೆರವಣಿಗೆಯನ್ನು ವೀಕ್ಷಿಸಿದೆ .
ಮೊದಲು ಕೇರಳದ ಚಂಡೆ ವಾದನದ ಸದ್ದು . ಆ ಗುಂಪಿನವರು ಕೇವಲ ಚಂಡೆ ಬಾರಿಸುವುದು ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ, ಅದಕ್ಕೆ ತಕ್ಕಂತೆ ನರ್ತಿಸುತ್ತಾರೆ !
ವಿಧ - ವಿಧವಾದ ಕಸರತ್ತುಗಳು ಬೆಂಕಿಯ ಉರಿಯುವ ಕೋಲನ್ನು ಹಿಡಿದು ಅದರ ಜೊತೆಗೆ ಆಟ , ಮಲ್ಲ ಕಂಬ ಕಸರತ್ತು , ಪಾದಕ್ಕೆ  ಮರದ ಉದ್ದನೆಯ ಕೋಲನ್ನು ಕಟ್ಟಿ ನಡೆಯುವುದು ( ಮರ ಕಾಲು ನಡಿಗೆ  ), ಕೀಲು  ಕುದರೆಗಳು , ಮಯೂರ ನೃತ್ಯ , ಮಹಿಳೆಯರ ಚಂಡೆ ವಾದನ , ತಟ್ಟಿರಾಯ , ಹಾಸ್ಯ ಗೊಂಬೆಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಸ್ತಬ್ಧ ಚಿತ್ರಗಳು ಕಣ್ಣು ಎವೆ  ಇಕ್ಕದಂತೆ ಮಾಡಿ ಮನ ಸೂರೆಗೊಂಡವು .
ಕಾಣಿಯೂರು ಮಠದ ಪಟ್ಟದ ದೇವರು " ಉಗ್ರ ನರಸಿಂಹ ". ಆದ ಕಾರಣ ನರಸಿಂಹ ಅವತಾರವನ್ನು ತೋರಿಸುವ ಸಣ್ಣ ನಾಟಕ , ವಾಲಿ - ದುಂದುಭಿ ಕಾಳಗ , ಹನುಮಂತ ಸಂಜೀವಿನಿ ಪರ್ವತವನ್ನು ಹೊತ್ತು ತರುತ್ತಿರುವುದು , ಹನುಮಂತನ ಹೆಗಲ ಮೇಲೆ ವಿರಾಜಮಾನರಾದ ರಾಮ - ಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಣರು , ಮಧ್ವಾಚಾರ್ಯರಿಗೆ ಕೃಷ್ಣನ ವಿಗ್ರಹ ದೊರೆತಿದ್ದು ಹೀಗೆ ವಿಧ ವಿಧವಾದ ಟ್ಯಾಬ್ಲೋಗಳು ಇದ್ದವು.
ಕರಾವಳಿಯ ಹುಲಿ ವೇಷ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನ ವೂ ಮೆರವಣಿಗೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸೇರಿತ್ತು .
ಇವರೆಲ್ಲರ ಪ್ರದರ್ಶನದ ನಂತರ ೬ ಸ್ವಾಮಿಗಳು ಜೋಡುಕಟ್ಟೆ ಗೆ ಆಗಮಿಸಿದರು . ಪರ್ಯಾಯ ಶ್ರೀಗಳಾದ ಕಾಣಿಯೂರು ಮಠದ " ವಿದ್ಯಾ ವಲ್ಲಭ " ಶ್ರೀಗಳು ಜೋಡುಕಟ್ಟೆ ಯಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಾರ್ಥನೆ ಸಲ್ಲಿಸಿದ ನಂತರ ಮೇನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಳಿತು ಎಲ್ಲ ಶ್ರೀಗಳು ಉಡುಪಿ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಮಠಕ್ಕೆ ಬರಲು ಸನ್ನದ್ಧ ರಾದರು .
ಈ ಬಾರಿ ಮೇನೆಗಳನ್ನು ವಾಹನದ ಮೇಲೆ ಇಟ್ಟು , ನಂತರ ಸ್ವಾಮಿಗಳು ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ಕೂತು ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಸಿದರು . ಪರ್ಯಾಯ ಶ್ರೀಗಳು ಚಂದ್ರ ಮೌಳೀಶ್ವರ , ಅನಂತೇಶ್ವರ ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ ಗಳನ್ನೂ ಸಂದರ್ಶಿಸಿದ ನಂತರ ಕನಕನ ಕಿಂಡಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಶ್ರೀ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ದರ್ಶನಗೈದು ನಂತರ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಮಠದ ಒಳಗೆ ಬಂದು ಅಕ್ಷಯ ಪಾತ್ರೆ ಯನ್ನು ಪಡೆದರು . ಸರ್ವಜ್ಞ ಪೀಠ ಎರಿದರು. .
ಇಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ನಾನು ನನ್ನ ಟಿ .ವಿ . ವೀಕ್ಷಣೆ ನಿಲ್ಲಿಸಿದೆ.
ಸಾಂಸ್ಕೃತಿಕ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳು ಪರ್ಯಾಯ ದಿವಸದ ನಂತರ ವೂ ಇದ್ದವು. ಕದ್ರಿ ಗೋಪಾಲನಾಥರ ಸಾಕ್ಸೋಫೋನ್ ವಾದನ , ಚಿತ್ರ ನಟಿ ಶೋಭನಾ ರಿಂದ ಭರತನಾಟ್ಯ , ಮಿಮಿಕ್ರಿ , ನೃತ್ಯ ರೂಪಕಗಳು , ಯಕ್ಷಗಾನ ಈ ಎಲ್ಲಾ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳು ಇದ್ದವು . 

Sunday, February 2, 2014

The power of mind

                                        The power of mind

Once 4 students wanted to play a prank on their lecturer.  They waited for the lecturer to enter the college campus.
That time, one student went near him and asked him " What happened Sir? Are you all right ? You look so tired . " Lecturer said he is all right.
Lecturer continued his walking. At that time, one more student came infront of him and repeated the same words as former one.
This time, lecturer was little disturbed from the question but said he is all right.
But he began to think that he must be looking tired. Now he is feeling tiredness. But still he continued walking.
One more student came infront of him and said the same. Now lecturer said to him that he is feeling little uneasyness. But he can manage with that.
As he was nearing staffroom, The 4th student came infront of him and said the same words. Now lecturer was very much sure that there is something wrong with him.
He quickly inside the staffroom. Started writing a leave application. The 4 students who did all this drama, came in and apologized near the lecturer for their prank and assured him that he is all right ! This is the power of mind. What we think, that only happens.