The Iyer

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Originally uploaded by theiyer.

Thats me !.standing next to my bibliocollection .Exposing my biceps, triceps and forceps (!!)...amma clicked it ..

Rajini's Gift to the son in law?

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Originally uploaded by theiyer.

Do u see the penthouse of this building? Well that is supposed to be the penthouse that Tamil superstar Rajinikanth is supposed to have gifted to his new son in law....well the rumour mills said that it was gifted much before Dhanush became his son - in law? ..anyways the building in picture is Sitakamalaksh in Abhirampuram.....behind my house

Ok the two "shooting stars" in the snap have been created due to the shakiness in the hands of a nervous amateur photographer....in his new digicam

Quo Vadis?

Quo Vadis? Where am I heading to?Life is a drab sometimes. today is one such day when i feel completely useless, wasted and bugged. waiting to just put in my papers in office. have been itching to tell my boss for last two days. just dont have the guts. if my boss just reads this, makes my job lot easier...

none of my friends seem to be happy with jobs anywhere and in any part of the world...why are employers so bad? guess have to be an employer to understand the psyche. ..was itching to become one three months back when I was again itching to resign. the astrologer said very clearly that I would heading for disaster if i start business before 45...after that he said that even if i sell in a desert, people would flock to buy....

well thats it - death of an entrepreneur before birth. i strongly believe him because he has said remarkable things about my life. so Bill Gates and Premji can feel happy that they done have any compeititon in a new enterprise....

anyways where am I heading...guess fifth job in five years is quite a handful. but guess such is the way of life...

India might soon become Pakistan II or Bangladesh II

Testing times continue for Hinduism, with the religious demography data released in September 2004, based on 2001 census. There are unearthly things happening in the country which are slowly ensuring that Hindus get reduced in numbers , and thereby reduce them to the minority in numbers, if not able to wipe out. On the status front anyway, the Hindus are already being meted out a treatment that is due to the minority community.

Its a common misconception that all religions are the same - Hinduism and Buddhism do not believe in head count. But Islam and Christianity beleive in head count - however violent the means be, the ends have to be achieved. Both Bible and Quran talk about one Muslim World ("Umma") and one unified Christin World (which is when Christ will resurrect and bless all the Christians with Deliverance). On the other hand, Hinduism does not believe in conversion and spreading the religion, but believes in only upliftment of the soul.

Also, there is no bondage between Hindus for the simple reason that there are different gods and different beliefs which keep them seperated. Unlike Islam and Christianity which have one God and one Holy Book.

Now to the more shocking brasstacks. As of 2001, the Muslim population in India has zoomed to 13.4 % (1961 - 10.7%) of the total country's population while Hindu numbers have slid down to 80.5 % (1961 - 83.4%). Not just that, Muslims in India are now growing at a rate of 36 % (1971 - 30.8%) while the Hindu population is growing at a mere rate of 20.3 % (1971 - 23.7%).

Also, the percentage of Muslim children below the age of 6 stands at a higher number of 18.7 % (as a % of total children below 6). Which is alarming, as it is higher than the total muslim population of 13.4 %.

Alarming. Which means in a couple of decades, India might even become the extended arm of Pakistan and Bangladesh. Sounds ridiculous? But thats the irony and sad reality. Muslims and Christians will no more remain minorities, at the rate at which they are expanding the progeny. In a country where the power hungry politicians are doling out excessive freebies and rolling out a red carpet even when minorities remain as minorities, it is unimaginable what would happen when they match the majority in numbers.

While in the previous decades there was a marked ncrease of Muslim population in the border districts of Assam, Bihar, West Bengal and UP (thanks to the Bangaladesh refugee crisis), now the trend is that the Muslim population is increasing in the interior too, especially in states like Punjab and Haryana . Hyderabad district now has close to 41 % Muslim population. Not just Muslim population, Christians too show a dramatic increase in certain well defined pockets & districts of the country.

Whenever there has been an increase in the Muslim or the Christian population, Indian districts have been bi-furcated to create Muslim or Christian concentrations - Gajapati was carved out of Ganjam district (Orissa) , Akola was split and Dakshin Kannada district (Karnataka) was created from Udipi.

Infiltration of Muslims from Bangladesh to the eastern states of India with the support of Pakistan's ISI has titled the balance of Hindu population in the east. Not just that, instability and violence in North East has been mainly due to the Christian terrorists which are propogating conversion and secession from India.

Scary.

Globally, wherever there has been an imbalance in religious demography (primarily between Christian and Muslim populations) , there has been only blood shed - Algeria, Bosnia, Lebanon, East Timor, malukku, Irian Jaya. Also , almost every nation state like Croatia, East Timor, Slovakia, Slovenia which have been created in the 20th and 21st centuries has been a Muslim or a Christian state - created only on the basis of religious demography

So what then is the solution ?
1. Prevent infiltration in east and north east and stop looking it as a human issue. Its more of a national security issue
2. Provide economic packages and upliftment, thereby preventing the migration of Hindus to other parts of the country . Especially invite IT companies to set up shop as they are a great economic and political leveler.
3. Ban religious conversions.
4. Implement Uniform Civil Code in the country

The last point, though, is equivalent to "belling the cat". But then it will happen one day , as there is always a point of inflection to the Hindu patience.

Guess these will go a major way in resolving the religious demography imbalance before it snowballs and becomes secessionist in nature.

Also check out the following sites for more knowledge on Hinduism. http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/hinduism.html

Hindusim & Brahminism under Fire Test

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Originally uploaded by theiyer.

Hinduism under attack?


World's oldest religion , with origins dating back to 2500 BC (the Indus Valley civilisation time) is going through one of its bad phases - probably the most trying times of its existence.

How else would you describe the shocking and appalling incident of a seer from one of the world's most orxthodox seat of learning and Hinduism's foremost mutt set up in 482 BC, being arraigned today by the political bosses of the country in a way that is completely unwarranted.

Shock Waves. Thats what has been sent across the Hindu community and more so among the Brahmin fraternity on hearing the arrest of the top seer of the Kanchi Mutt, Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal. The point to debate is not about the incidents leading to the episode but the way in which the episode was handled.

A 70 year old seer who is respected across the world as a great scholar , vedic Pundit and a pious and religious god man in the truest sense of the term, has now been accused (hate to use the term) of a heinous crime that even an ordinary person would not dream of. To add fuel to the fire, the police displayed its high handedness - a posse of cops went to the nearby state and arrested the sage at unearthly hours on the Hindu festival day of Diwali . If the Acharya had to be questioned, he had to be just asked to stay within the sacred precincts of the Mutt till all clarifications resolved. Instead the more controversial route was adopted.

Will the Imam Bukhari, the Imam of Jama Masjid with numerous cases to his name, be arrested on Ramzan? Will the Pope be arrested on Christmas Day?

What is even more shocking is that Syed Shah Geelani who has been charged with rape is supposedly under house arrest in Kashmir? This can happen only in India and to the minorities alone.

The question that is now nagging every member of the intelligentsia is "whether the cops had sufficient evidence of the involvement of the seer" or is it yet another case of a political vendetta???...the million dollar question

The first emotion that strikes every Hindu and more so Brahmins is the fear of the Mutt's credibility coming under attack. And probably even a sense of frustration that this whole episode will be effectively used by the politicians to target the seer, the mutt and the Brahmins in general. And probably also usurp the Mutt's fund.

The mutt with a track record of 2486 years of yeoman's service to the religion and community , can never be shaken by the political machinations of the megalomaniacs in power and the politically arrogant. I have closely interacted with the mutt , the acharyas and the people associated with the mutt which includes erstwhile bureaucrats and technocrats who have carved a niche for themselves in every sector that they have worked in. The level of involvement in healthcare and education activities by the Mutt across India under the guidance of the two current seers are clear examples of the increase in societal welfare measures of the mutt. The number of medical, engineering, arts & science colleges and schools apart from turning around sick hospitals remain unparallelled. (On obeisance to the younger seer who had asked me to take up social support ativities , 13 of my Symbi friends have come together to sponsor the education of two students at the Sankara Vidyalaya in Chennai. If you are interested also, please do reach out to me)

Just like every other thing in this world, this problematic phase is also transitory.

But how much the mutt and the pontiffs come out unscathed it to be seen. But there are going to be far reaching consequences which might change the face of the Mutt. But then , the mutt itself will regain its lost glory with the passage of time. Or atleast lets sincerely hope it will.

Also check out the following sites for more knowledge on Hinduism.
http://www.kamakoti.org/ (official website of the Kanchi Mut)
http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/hinduism.html

7/G Rainbow Colony & Monty Python

With amma away in Delhi, it was a pretty lonely weekend. So on saturday evening went with some ex-colleagues to Mayajaal Multiplex on East Coast Road for the night show of tamil movie "7/G Rainbow Colony". Just into his third movie, Selvaraghavan seems to know the pulse of the tamil audience and has delivered a hat trick.

The music is haunting , but then i still feel his second movie had more soul haunting music by Yuvan. The story was tight and the screen play was tighter. I guess everyone would identify with the roles portrayed, more so the youngsters of these days - the confused generation in my terminology. The story tracks a typical "local" fella chasing a sophisticated girl in the same colony and then how he convinces her to ultimately reciprocate his love post-intermission. But then, just like the girls of these days, she is caught between him and her parents, rather between him and her fiance (the person engaged to her under pressure from her parents). The story takes a queer turn after that and she dies in a road accident - typical ending of a Selvaraghavan movie.

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Originally uploaded by theiyer.

Though I do not quite agree with the ending which was pretty cinematic , with the protagonist turning schizophrenic after her death. Guess the director could have thought of something different.

But guess there was one statement by the protagonist which probably describes the current scenario in Chennai - "It is very difficult to find a good looking babe these days, and if you do fine one, they are already booked". The ultimate truth.

After the show, reached home on saturday night at around 1. That was quite fast considering the drive was around 16 kms. But then zipped back in my limo at around 100 kmph (amma, hope you dont read this)

But the weekend entertainment was not to end on sat night. Spent the Sunday lazing around and making a late lunch at home (thanks to the ready to eat MTR stuff). Then went on the regular sunday evening jaunt to Landmark to browse through books.

From there headed straight to Sivagami Pethachi auditorium for one of Evam's plays - "Python....Hyssssteria"....based on the Brit character Monty Python....The play was actually a collage of numerous humorous and zany incidents which was truly rip roaring...crazy situations that can never happen in life...

Guess the sunday did end in a great manner...