The lawyer in me

The lawyer in me awoke and here is what the lawyer had to say:-

Greatest paradox ever recorded in History

Few centuries ago, a Law teacher came across a student who was willing to learn but as unable to pay the fees. The student struck a deal saying, "I will pay your fee the day I win my first case in the court".

Teacher agreed and proceeded with the law course. When the course was finished and teacher started pestering the student to pay up the fee, the student reminded him of the deal and pushed days.

Fed up with this, the teacher decided to sue the student in the court of law and both of them decided to argue for themselves.

The teacher put forward his argument saying:

"If I win this case, as per the court of law, the student has to pay me as the case is about his non-payment of dues. And if I lose the case, student will still pay me because he would have won his first case. So either way I will have to get the money".

Equally brilliant student argued back saying:

"If I win the case, as per the court of law, I don't have to pay anything to the teacher as the case is about my non-payment of dues. And if I lose the case, I don't have to pay him because I haven't won my first case yet. So either way, I am not going to pay the teacher anything".

This is one of the greatest paradoxes ever recorded in history. :)

Happy Women's Day

To all the beautiful women out there and to the men they can't do without- Happy Women's Day!

I read this article on rediff.com.

http://getahead.rediff.com/report/2010/mar/08/womens-day-special-the-light-of-leadership.htm

Do check it out!

The Law of Nature

It is nature’s law. The little caterpillar will eat some leaves and then weave a cocoon around itself. It will stay in that secluded, small world of its own. It even may be thinks that the cocoon is the ONLY world it has. Until, a couple of months later, involuntarily, but naturally, it will break out of that cocoon. A few seconds of faltered wing-beats and the butterfly takes off. With a new zeal, it is all set to discover the new world that lies open before it.

Well, that’s how nature works for all of its creations and creatures. Yet, there is one special creature that does something very, very strange. Every time that it involuntarily breaks open the cocoon, it spreads its wings just a little- makes a faltered start at flying and then spins another cocoon around itself. At regular intervals, it is forced out of the cocoon (that’s nature’s law you see); it falters and fears and goes ahead to weave a new cocoon. After a few times of weaving a new cocoon, the creature soon buries deep within itself the ability to break out. By then, however, it will have a cocoon big enough to house 3 or maybe 4 of its kind; but only one creature would live in it. It will twirl inside its cocoon home and flap a bit also and believe that it’s seen the whole wide world- that beautiful landscape that nature has painted for it. The creature actually lives like this- born out of an egg- breathes free for a short time- spins a cocoon around itself and then keeps weaving cocoons until death comes; only death seems to liberate it from the cocoon. Strange isn’t it? Scientists have, however, found that death need not be the only answer to the liberation of this creature. There is another way….

Wondering which creature? What is the other way to set this creature free? Post your answers and comments on the blog.

Answers with details soon…

Telugu Tv shows

I dont watch them... but I do write about them...
Here's are some pieces I wrote about some Telugu Tv Shows.

Aata- on Zee Telugu: Click here to read

Mogali Rekulu on Maa Tv. Click here to read.

Challenge - The Ultimate Reality on Maa Tv. Click here to read

An experience- Inexpressible

I muttered under my breath as I turned over in bed. Why did the morning have to ring in so soon? Wasn’t I on a holiday? I believe that it is nothing short of criminal to wake up at the crack of dawn on a holiday (or even otherwise!). With the skill and expertise of someone who has done this a thousand times over, I snoozed the alarm on my mobile phone. I had barely snuggled in my soft bed and closed my eyes with a smile, waiting to welcome the most divine of all states- sleep, when something of a mini earthquake jolted me awake. A few seconds and I realized that the door was being knocked. I heard the room service announce in a cheerful voice “4 O’Clock sir. The cab is waiting outside.” I turned over again and ardently wished that I hadn’t in a moment of excitement agreed to this dreadful idea. Poor Sid (my loving hubby), I played my trump card again “Tum ready ho jao. Main tumhare baad tayaar hoti hu.” Lovingly he agreed. Ah! The bliss of those few minutes of stolen sleep. Nothing can match the joy of stealing a few more minutes of rest that sleep provides. I was lucky; I got a full 10 minutes :) Slowly and groggily I crawled out of bed, refusing to accept that I really had to get ready. 20 minutes later, Sid and I had stepped out of our guest house. The first whiff of sea breeze brushed my face and brought with it a smile that stuck on firm. It was a good 30-40 minute drive from our guest house; A drive that would have looked lovelier during sunrise. But felt cool and beautiful none the less. A 40 min cab drive and a 7 minutes bus ride later, we reached. The sight we beheld was nothing short of magnificent. Now picture this- a colossal golden globe shaped structure overlooking a circular amphitheater filled with people- all sitting motionless, in silence. The center stage of the amphitheater hosts a small hillock shaped edifice beside which was a gigantic bonfire. A bonfire that light up the entire amphitheater; reflected on to the golden globe shaped building. It was a bonfire that cackled happily waiting for the first rays of the sun to try and douse its glory. No mobile phones; no flash lights from cameras; no whispering, and no murmuring- just a tranquil peace pervading every particle in the air, an unbounded joy that spread to all hearts. The silence is broken by a voice. A voice heavy and cracked with age. A voice rich with wisdom and compassion. From the tape recorder it emanated and tugged at the soul of all of us present there. A few words and it was all quiet again. Just the flame leaping upwards- reaching up to the heavens, the soul plunging into the depths of the bliss. It is strange isn’t it? Every time we see something breath-taking, experience something marvelous- we simply close our eyes. I’ve always wondered why? Oh! Just why will someone trek up a mountain, reach the summit- take a cursory glance at the valley and the mountain range and then- SHUT their eyes to absorb that image? Why will anyone stand for hours in a queue in Tirupati and then, in the 2 sec appointment that you’ve got with the Lord, shut your eyes? Why do people go to the beach- barely look at the ocean, then take a deep breath in and close their eyes? It simply never made sense to me- you’ve traversed that distance, spent that money, expended that energy to go see that place/shrine/view- not really to close your eyes. You could have done that at home! But then, something that His Holiness Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said really made sense and explained this phenomenon to me. Click here to read what he had to say. Anyway, so like I said, while enjoying that glorious day break with the bonfire, my eyes just closed and I lost all track of time. Meditation happened almost inevitably. No effort at all. When I opened my eyes- the sun had risen, the bonfire dead but the beauty of the scene was unscathed. The golden globe structure looked all the more resplendent with the sun rays bouncing off its smooth surface creating a lovely prism of colors. People had begun moving- most of them in silence, taking back with them something inexpressible; some others could barely contain the unbounded joy. Life had moved on, like it always does. Unlike most tourists, who visit a place and look around, I think I was so lucky. I didn’t just see Auroville. I experienced it- in the same manner as The Mother and Sri Aurobindo had envisaged.

The art of mixing

Who said that mixing is an art that only barmen distinguish in? The ability to mix well, the style of pouring the drink from one glass to another… all of this is not as modern as it seems. Nor it as western! Think about it. Isn’t mixing a tradition in almost every South-Indian family? Brewing the right blend. Filtering it. Steeping it until the aroma is just perfect. Again, a practice followed almost religiously in most South Indian households. The piping hot drink is then served in a conical steel tumbler placed in a little steel bowl. Then, begins the process of mixing… pouring… After all, that how filter coffee is drunk and that’s half the fun! In my 24 years of living in Bangalore, and I must apologize as I say this, I never drank coffee, and though fascinated by the mixing process, never mixed or even poured some masala milk. But all of this changed in the not so distant past. I walked into Saravana Bhavan (another first for me). I’ve moved out of Bangalore almost 3 years ago and shifted to Hyderabad. The innate South Indianess of Saravana Bhavan struck a chord. The long stemmed steel tables with marble/granite tops, the aromas of idlis, dosai’s roasted in ghee… the plastic laminated menu cards, the familiar clank of steel utensils… I was almost at home. After a sumptuous breakfast comprising of Appams with coconut milk, Idlis, Sambar Vada and of course the ghee roast dosai… I decided to have their special milk… you see, I am no tea or coffee drinker. People say I am bereft of many of the pleasures this world has to offer- but then gah! Who really cares of what the world thinks!!! So, my milk is placed on the table before me… rather thumped on to the table. I simply couldn’t hold on the steel tumbler for fear that my skin would stick onto it. Siddhartha, my loving husband, after he’d guffawed over my many unsuccessful attempts of holding the tumbler, showed me how to it. Lift the conical tumbler up, hold it at an angle, and let the liquid pour into the small steel basin… you’ll see it froth. That’s good. Now, lift the steel basin off the table, hold it at any angle and pour into the conical tumbler… Bingo! Voila! Here I was mixing the drink like the pro… I could smell the coffee from my in-laws tumblers and I could mix my milk… So, here I was, mixing milk and getting the exact same experience of mixing coffee… oooppppssss, I spelt that wrong, kaapi… Filter Kaapi!