Resurgence of Brahminism

What I am saying can sound funadamentalistic, but i suddenly see a strong resurgence of Brahminism. Long subdued and trampled by "Dravidian" politics and by "so-called secular" brahmins themselves, Brahminism will soon regain its Golden Era in the next 5 years. My assumption is mainly based on the simple cyclical theory of "what goes down has to come up".

I can also substantiate it by two bold moves by two prominent brahmins, both of which have an indirect link to Jayalalitha..
- "Enga thoguthi" Mylapore MLA S Ve Shekar starting up Fedeeration of Brahmins Associations (FEBAS - http://febasindia.org) recently. FEBAS has asked for 7% reservation for the Brahmin community in the education system. Though its common knowledge that SV has falled out with Jaya, he is till a part of the AIADMK legislature party.

- Cho S Ramawamy's new teleserial "Enge Brahmanan (Where is the Brahmin)" which ventures into the interpretation of the Vedas and talks high about the Hinduism and Brahminism. And obviously, the serial is aired in Jaya TV and Cho is a staunch supporter of Jaya too.

- Off late, I have also seen my friends forwarding mails about Shastras and Mantras, something which would have been considered a taboo.
Anyways, we need to wait and watch...

Elections & IPL to pump in Rs 15K crores

An interesting article in The Economic Times today. The 2009 Lok Sabha Elections and IPL are likely to pump in Rs 15,000 crore into the system . Quite an amount!! With 0.3% of the GDP to be guzzled out by June 2009, it is likely to pump prime the economy. My take: I am sure 50% of the amount is definitely black money, which would have largely not come out had it not been for this twin events.

NDTV Greenathon

As I watched the NDTV Greenathon event last week, I was shocked to realise that there are about 200,000 villages across the length and breadth of the country which have no electricity. Shocking!!! 62 years after Independence, we still languish with this disgusting statistics when politicians continue to spend power lavishly in election rallies. Lets do out bit to mitigate this. Let's support TERI and NDTV on this initiative to light up the villages.

A ride in the City of Joy

I was in the City of Joy (Kolkata for the unitiated) a couple of months back. And I was taking a joy ride (sarcasm intended) in one of the city's infamous cabs (taxi). I was completely shocked to see that the cab's interior was in total shambles...maybe shambles is an understatement (check the photograph taken in my Nokia E61 i). The car was just a mishmash of various auto components, replete with stains of various hues and colors. If you think that this car was an exception, then you need to check out the other taxis too. Maybe this was far better...Thankfully, I reached my destination safely.

SMS galore!

Festive times pull up my spirits big time, thanks to the numerous SMSes that fill my mobile inbox. Wondering how? There are so many people who have stored your number in their mobile address book considering that you are important, and unfortunately I have not stored their numbers. And its so embarassing to reply to them asking who the sender is. So the best solution is to wish them back and thank them.

Jai Ram Ji Ki

Narendrabhai Dāmodardās Modī is back at the helm of affairs in Gujarat. Even at the risk of being branded communal, let me pen this down....Gujjus have done a remarkable step of voting him back.

This Advani protege and a true RSS man has definitely put Gujarat on the fast track of developmental growth. Not just that, he has been able to quell all sorts of communal (and Pakistan-triggered) violence post-Godhra riots, which in itself is not a mean achievement. What UP and West Bengal have not been able to stop, he has done it. No wonder, many like me have been rooting for Narendrabhai to stage a strong comeback.


One thing is clear...the stunned and quitened Congress camp will further go into hiding. Truly deserving for a lady and her son who made unnecessary statements such as "maut ke saudagar". Will someone teach Sonia and Rahul the art of politics, after the debacles at UP and Gujarat...

Indians & Aggression

The golden rule is "Winners can show aggression". Losers need to be humble. And the Indian cricket team seems to have learnt it the hard way. The young team's aggression on and off the ground was respected when they won the T20 World Cup. But after the miserable defeat to the mighty Australians in the Future Cup, Sreesanth and Harbhajan Singh have learnt the lesson the hard way.

Displaying agression on the ground is considered a taboo by Indians, as it goes again the spirit of the game - Gentleman's game is what the cricket puritans will say. But I strongly condemn it. We need people on the ground who can give a sledging or two back to the Australians. Why take it and complain over it, when you can always give it back.

Having said that, the boys need to channelise their aggression meaningfully by becoming consistent and thrashing the competition. Unless you beat the competition, Sreesanth and Harbhajans of the world will be termed as "reckless" and will be dropped by the wayside.

Floating stone from Sethu Samudram

It was a long weekend of 4 days for Chennaivasis, thanks to the proposed bandh call by DMK and Gandhi Jayanthi. So I packed off to Pondy for two days to visit the Ashram along with family.

Since my mom had read about a Hanuman temple in Papanchavadi, on the Pondy - Tindivanam road, we decided to visit the temple. What was stunning was not just the 36 feet high five-faced Hanuman. What was also intriguing and surprising (and rather topical) was the stone in the picture alongside.

For those not conversant in Tami, it says that the 8 kg stone in the bowl was brought from Sethu Samudram bridge built by Rama, that is currently under controversy. What is stunning is that the stone actually floats in the water. Truly amazing.

Visitors to the temple are amazed. How is this possibe? Well only Rama can explain this miracle. Or maybe our Chief Minister Karunanidhi can demystify this with his knowledge on Rama and Ramayana. Jai Ram ji ki!!