A new bird spotted : Indian black Ibis...

Yesterday I decided to go for a morning walk cum bird watch walk with my friend Sukanya Dutta. She is an avid birder too and we started with our camera in hands at around 7 AM.

IARI campus at Pusa institute is a green place with huge old trees and a trained staff to maintain trees and the fauna around. We spotted many bird boxes hung over the trees for House Sparrows. But sadly there were no sparrows in sight, though we see few in our vicinity. The boxes were inhabited by Common Mynahs.

There is a favorite spot of mine in this campus, a huge Arjuna tree (Terminalia arjuna) where we hear a loud noise always in the morning hours. To this date we used to think they were Vultures as the birds looked huge and their cry was harsh and reminded of Vultures. We could see the long necks and huge black birds to confirm our knowledge. The long straight beak was never noticed by the myopic eyes as we (me and my husband) never wore spectacles for morning walks. We have marginally myopic eyes by the way, which doesn't affect normal activities but to see a bird perched on a really tall tree is something else.

So I was wearing my spectacles, and we stopped as usual near the Arjuna tree to see the 'vultures'.

Sukanya is a popular Science writer with NISCAIR and has written 16 books including science fiction and children's books. She has been in this area for the last two decades and has always heard about the 'vultures' roosting in IARI. Yesterday this information was proven wrong.

So as we were looking at them, with bespectacled eyes, I told her these are not vultures for sure as the beaks are just too long. But she was backed by a two decade old knowledge and denied initially. And then I spotted the red head with the slightly powerful lens of my camera (18-105 mm). She was sure then that these were not vultures and kept wondering what could it be. It was a first time spotting of this bird for her as well.

She later confirmed, it was the Indian black Ibis.

This is how I clicked the first picture as in the past too I had always saw them sitting in the nests mostly in pairs. So naturally the camera was pointed towards a nest...

Long beaks evident...

And then one of them stooped his head. It was red. Red signal for us to look out for identifying the species.

And then I spotted a few loners...see the beak...

And the red head...

It raises it's head...

Moves the neck...fluffed up to scare us may be. Birds are always aware someone is watching.

And then smoothing the fluffy neck....if our goose bumps were so easy to hide :-)

Another one looking like an Ostrich...

This one showing it's red head....

And this one guarding the nest while the female is incubating the eggs ...

I noticed the nests looked as if tied with a light colored rope or something, to the branch it was located. See the light bands below the nest marked on the branch...

I was amazed how the birds could have done it. It was later when Sukanya called me up within an hour of returning for the walk, with excitement that she has searched and found what species it is. And when I reminded how the nests looks tied up with a rope she told it could be the bird droppings which trickles down. She knows better.

It was unbelievable though, as those bands looked so uniform... Later when I cropped my pictures, it was confirmed these markings were actually bird droppings.... See the next picture...

The liquid droppings have trickled down on the sloping branch...

See the next , where the bird sitting in the nest is watchful of us, the male on guard looks lazy and the dropping markings are clear...but looking like the branch has been wrapped with light colored rope or something....

Look at the markings more clearly...from below the tree we couldn't have imagined these were bird droppings. looked exactly like someone has tired up the nests for support..

The male guard has started preening...bored of his job of a watch guard ...

But he checks out the nest in between....

Another nest, another female sitting pretty ...

These two are looking like they lost something...

I was calling them redheads all this while...It was only later that we knew the name thanks to the enthusiasm of Sukanya Dutta. I was having my cup of tea when she was searching the internet frantically...No wonder she is a scientist...

Look at the dropping markings again...

This bird made our day.

And this was not all we spotted yesterday. We found a nesting heaven for Yellow footed green pigeons. There were a few dozens of them perched on almost every branch of a Causuarina jungle of sorts...

A Drongo, a few Brown headed Barbets and a couple of Woodpeckers, some Grey Hornbills and many more.

It was a great walk indeed.

Disciplining ourselves, knowing more..bird stories....

 We do a few things out of habit. Like I used to when I would just break a leftover roti into pieces and keep it into the bird feeder. The usuial Bajra and other millets were kept on a regular basis too, the leftover breads were also put into the same feeder. Last year I even used to make some corn bread only for the birds and the squirrels around. I will not be doing it again.

After reading this information at the NBRI botanical garden I would never keep any cooked food in my bird feeders.

Also, there is a misconception that the birds need water only during the summer months. They do need water in the winters too and I watch them drinking water in my bird baths all round the year.

It's just that they take a dip into the bird bath more often during the summers. It's a treat watching them have a bath, and then preen for a long time as if straightening their dresses. I wish I had a bigger bird bath that looked great in the garden as well. A stone bird bath I saw once had a price tag of more than ten thousand bucks.

Nevertheless , there have been some power meetings in my rock garden , some romances have bloomed and there have been some more exciting times too...

You have to watch the space for an hour and you would see a constant traffic being diverted to this side...

The jungle Babblers are abundant and I have witnessed many of them coming together to the bird feeders and bird baths, taking care of the young ones and making them learn flying. They are a noisy lot and since they are always in a group of seven or even more , hence called Seven Sisters, the noise becomes annoying sometimes.

I have seen all in the family getting together and making a young chick learn flying. And when I watch them they all point their beak at me and shout at me to go away. That's a sight.

I have also seen a lame Babbler who used to stay aloof from the pack of seven and was a little grumpy all the time. But not a bit scared or low spirited. He/she had probably learnt living alone.

 I once saw the family scare away a crow who was wandering around to steal the eggs. Surprisingly, a Red crested Bulbul was helping them too. That was the first time I witnessed inter-species cooperation in birds. The crow had no choice when about a dozen birds were hawking at him. Literally.

A new story was witnessed just a few days ago. When a couple of Jungle Babbler chicks were drinking water and the mother came. Both of them started saying something aloud to the mother. See how the mother is listening carefully. How the body language is so clear...

And then the mother started scolding them it seems. Now see the body language of the chicks.

Wings still angry but the beak and face suggest they are listening...

After doing her job, the mother is proceeding to do other important things.

Inspecting around to see if the chicks are safe...

The chicks still thinking what the mother said and though they seem dissatisfied, they have to obey...

The mother has to have a drink of water before she leaves for other things to be done.

The chicks still looking dissatisfied,  reluctantly behaving themselves , following instructions.

It's such a beautiful thing to watch them bond. Till date I have seen these Babblers being the most family oriented birds. Probably that is the reason they always come in a group of seven or eight. Probably they are not siblings but the whole family together.

many pet birds are different as they seem to have picked up some human habits. Being away from the natural habitat doesn't allow us to see how they would behave normally.

The other world of dreams...

The blue of the sky
reflects in my heart
as if
you are looking into my eyes
from the world above....

I woke up drenched in sweat. In a winter's night.

Felt like someone was talking to me and it snapped within a fraction of second. I was not able to recollect what it was about. But it seemed very pleasant and comforting.

And slowly it started pouring into my head like a recollection of some snippets of real life.

This is something from the days when I was exasperated about Mithi's condition. It was frustrating to watch a angelic child in pain and distress and the feeling that I am of no use. Those were the days when my own health had started getting affected and I used to fear if something happens to me who would take care of my doll.

The times of the most intense disgust had awakened a resolve in me. I decided to pray for Mithi's departure from this painful world. It was a world full of pain and disability for her. It was better if she went to a better place. I started praying for her release from this excruciating pain. Difficult it was as it meant she wouldn't be with me. Still I did pray as there was no other way.

One or two days into these prayers when I started feeling guilty about it. After all I used to console her saying Mama loves her and will always be with her. All her world was her mama who kept talking to her the whole day and there was almost no exposure to the outside world. Her eyes used to keep looking for me and a hug , a kiss or just a pat sometimes would comfort her. Saying that mama loves Mithi was as common as breathing and probably the lifeline too for both of us. She got comforted and thus comforting me seeing the relieved face.

And here I was praying for something that would take her away from me, I wouldn't be with her always. The realisation struck me hard. The guilt was like a sharp knife piercing through me.

That was the day when I told her. I told her Mama is praying for her to be taken away by God, asking if she is happy with it. She nodded the way she used to, by drooping her eyelids. And with a faint smile. Her smiling muscles were impaired as well. But she had the most wonderful smile believe me.

The twitch of the corner of her lips, the smile that was, and the dimly lit twinkle that her eyes revealed into a fragmented smile, made me comfortable. I knew she wanted the same way and that she was convinced mama is wanting something good. She joined me in my prayer and we did every single prayer together thereafter.

God would take Mithi softly put into an Udankhatola (a flying playpen if translated in English) and make her body alright. She would walk there and play. And then we would meet there.

This became our daily prayer. Holding hands and saying this to each other when we were alone, lying in the bed. For almost a year.

And the prayers worked. Not only in relieving her of the pain, but doing it in a way that was the least bothersome and tormenting for me as well. The dreadful day was handled in the best possible way.

This dream had revealed something serious to me. The sweat soaked body was not distressed but relieved.

The trail of my awakened thoughts took me to the dreams that were a regular frequency till a few weeks back. I would see both of us in different places with Mithi being in the same condition. Myself carrying her delicately so her neck is in the right place and her limbs are dangling like they did in real life. These dreams were numerous, every time there will a similar kind of situation but different places and we as different people. Both of us always worried about her well being. I was always caressing or protecting her limbs or carrying her in my lap protectively.

There was this uncanny feeling that she was my daughter in every life that I had and this ailment was there every time. A disheartening thought. An excruciating feeling.

And then I stopped getting these dreams. Did this new dream come with a message?

I was still clueless and yet with a pleasant feeling of being with someone very comforting.

Drenched in sweat, as I splashed water on my face, the realisation occurred that those prayers might have relieved her from the suffering for always. I couldn't remember a thing from this dream but there was a feeling that I have been with her, she telling me how it worked. With a broader smile, a brighter face.

Was it a message for me from the other world?

A comforting message for sure.


Have you ever been to the world of dreams?

All of us dream something or the else everyday but have you woke up after a dream feeling you were there physically? Lucid dreams.

It has been a regular thing with me, I used to have lucid dreams and would get disoriented when awake, sometimes confused and sometimes the memory of the dream would meld with real memories to make them one, un-distinguishable. Real.

I saw many incidents that were about to happen, layouts of the streets I had to inhabit and the feel of the house I was to shift. Many times in the past, I would get an idea of how the things would turn out in close future.

How dreams take you to another world. A real world, as if you are just in another city or in another compartment of the same train you are travelling. The visions are so real, the feelings tangible. I have witnessed many of my lucid dreams coming to reality. I would recall just the way I felt in the dream when I would experience the same feeling in reality, when the dream unfolds in cold realty.

Some times a restlessness that I felt in a particular dream would be experienced in real life and my mind would travel back to the same dream subconsciously...the memory of the restlessness would veer back to the dream eventually.

This time the dream was to comfort me.

It was like another puzzle unfolding and I am definitely feeling a lot better.

about not being a feminist and still working for the cause...

It's wonderful sometimes how we are introduced to some friends. In the age of the internet the coincidences have taken a new meaning. It was by chance that my attention was drawn towards a facebook status update by Dhiren. He had shared about a group called The Purple Pact and the description said it is about Fibromyalgia and chronic pain. I clicked the like button and as I was checking the details I got a message in my inbox saying thanks for joining this group.

This girl was telling about how the group is targeted at conditions like Fibromyalgia, chronic pain and spine degeneration, I replied that i knew these terms as my daughter had scoliosis as one of her symptoms. I was in for a huge surprise when this girl said she knew Mithi and that she has been reading my blog and knew everything about me and Mithi. I was dumbstruck as she proceeded to tell me that she has been praying silently, never having the heart to comment on this blog. I was touched. And I was back into the vortex that keep awaiting for me to trip. I am thankful to all those who prayed silently.

This girl is Sagarika Chakraborty and she shared that it took her a lot of time to have the courage to come out in the open with this medical condition of hers. She asked me if I could contribute to this blog called Purple is The Color of The Season.

I immediately agreed.We talked about it in detail and I suggested a diet plan for her as well. Which proved beneficial of course. Then I wrote a post on the blog regarding dietary role in combating the symptoms.

A few days went by and I stumbled upon a status update again that said this girl had written a book. I pinged her immediately and she giggled in the fb lingo. And then she asked me to read the book as well. That was something I brushed off saying formal things as I was in no mood to read another book by a novice. Honestly.

It was then that I asked her what this book is about. It revealed it was about the women and their sufferings.

Another reason for me to not to go for a book like this. Not that I don't have a heart but I just didn't want any stressful reading as there is enough stress already to tackle. A discussion began as I wanted to know her views on her idea of feminism. She said she is not a feminist and that perked up my ears. Absolutely.

Someone who wrote about the sufferings of women and still is not a feminist is sure something I would approve of. I want an understanding of the social malaise and not a futile hullabaloo over a few issues. A deep understanding will be the right solution in long term and all the symptomatic reactions to immediate happenings would die down as soon as a new girl is raped on the streets. These are my reasons of not being a feminist. I just cannot pick up one cause and segregate it from all the other social issues. Evereything else is interconnected and works in totality.

Some more prodding by Sagarika's side, she wanted my opinion on the book. And I made up my mind to read. Not someone to be convinced so easily, I succumbed to have a look what a young mind had to say about gender issues.

The book is named A Calender Too Crowded. It mocks at the appointed dates for the betterment of women in general. Does so quite well.

I ordered the book and read the first story immediately. About a story a week was my target as I never want to get overwhelmed with poignant tales of misery. There is actually a lot of misery we all have witnessed and the stories in this book are something all of us have seen around. Sagarika is a gifted writer and you completely relate to the stories. We all have witnessed some or the other social malaise, inequality and suppression. Some religious rigidness thrown in for a good measure and the situation becomes even more glum.

A weekend travelling routine gave me another opportunity to read a few more stories. And some more time to ponder upon them.

I liked a particular story called When The Ganges Run Dry. This is something I have witnessed in my own family. Thank God my grandmother (daadi) was not like that but many of her next generation women were the same. As if the Ganges could clean all sins and you are free to go on polluting the river of your own worldly sins...this line is mine :-)

Another story about a prostitute who goes on to educate her daughter in a boarding school is very touching. Selling a Body to Gain a Mind. Questioning the conscience at the right points. Not making a noise.

And that is the thing I liked about this book.Questioning the conscience at the right points. Not making a noise. Not telling others to do what they need to. Just getting up and start walking. No one would stop when you start walking. I applaud when a young mind thinks like this.

Squatting on the societal norms and blaming others is passe. Make your calendar and start marking the days.

A change for sure. But how?

Looking at the mindset of policemen in our country It looks like they just have garbed themselves as the law keepers and haven't come out of the societal mold they were brought up in. I am sure there are fewer of them in the force. After all we have seen good cops too.

Still it is a sad situation. I am talking about those crooked minds in the police force.

They know they are the law keepers, they practice it in their own ways but probably find themselves fit for citing the skewed, cockeyed reasons behind a crime. A particular kind of crime most of the times. Crime against women.

Even more sadly, frustrating actually,  those reasons come from a deep rooted mindset they have grown up with, coming from the same rotting decaying society where the power and the influence decides who is fair. And the conventional wisdom is never to be questioned. Someone who defies the norm is considered to harbor 'the wrongs'. Those wrongs could be violation of body and freedom of some one too. If the victim has defied some norms, it is quite right for the powerful and influential to align the cause of the crime with the victim.

It is spectacularly easy when the one who defies the norms and becomes a victim is a woman. Aligning the cause of the crime with the victim.

Quite interestingly, the powerful and influential can defy the norms themselves according to their own convenience and that would not be liable to questioning.

These policemen of our times are just confirming to the old societal pattern.

Reasons are many.

There is no aptitude required to join any profession in our country. Anyone can join any profession mostly depending on the grades they secure during schooling and later how much influence they have in the recruitment circles. Networking to get the job.

Deep rooted malaise.

Then there are the parents who decide even before the child is born what profession he/she would follow. Many times generations after generations follow the footsteps of parents in joining Politics, Medicine, Engineering, Law, Sports, Business, Police force or Army/Navy/Air force. Ah yes, the three forces also look down upon each other. You are again expected to follow the tradition, in a proud way.

No wonder the Doctors end up being businessmen or shrewd politicians sometimes, Lawyers trade the truth and Policemen join hands with criminals or are found thinking/speaking/behaving like them.

No wonder.

Misplaced talent, mangled beliefs and minds frozen in the stone age can't do any better.

Now, a change is required. Actually an overhaul.

Oh that we all agree but how?  How is the change that is so crucial in recent times, would come?

Do punishments work?
Or bullying and blaming on national television or on social media?
Or bringing some systemic changes to uproot the evil.

While bullying and blaming the policeman or any professional who is incapable or is taking advantage of his/her power or position, is not going to work in this kind of situation. The reason is, such policeman have the belief system so ingrained in their minds that they would see the blaming as a dent on their ego and chances are, they would bounce back with enhanced energy levels. The law keeping would suffer and there will be an environment of rivalry between the change seekers and the resistant, reluctant, power hungry, corrupt minded policemen.

Punishments would work

If it is the kind that Ms Kiran Bedi suggested. The annual CR should include a column of gender sensitivity or communal sensitivity etc. If that column is marked negatively, the whole career of the insensitive policeman would suffer and they would all think twice before uttering something like that. Though the deep cleansing would still be required.

Some more ways to bring them to discipline should be looked for. Psychological, behavioral and motivational research can suggest some good measures.

Bringing the changes at systemic levels are so much required in all the professional fields. There should be an aptitude test before joining a profession and there should always be an induction training which includes sensitivity on all issues that affect law keeping in the case of police force. This aptitude test and induction training would help in teaching and medicine a lot too. And politics for sure.

Having said that, I am glad that some of the police officers are making such mistakes. Of blaming the victims and taking the crimes lightly, hence benefiting the criminals to a large extent.

I mean the mindset was always there, they were always reluctant to budge when a woman approached them for reporting a crime, it's only now that they have become vocal about their mindset. Thanks to the curious reporters who have been laughed at for huffing and puffing to find the right words at the scene or either war or elections till now. The spy cam journos have done the rest of the excavation to unearth the deepest folds of a mind of a typical policeman.

This way the malaise that was so deep rooted and yet unaccounted for is being unearthed and there is a talk on how to sensitize the police force. The criminals have always been acquitted (65% of rapists get acquitted by the courts on some or the other grounds) or benefited by the system somehow, to a large extent. The recent vocal behavior of some of the policemen, on or off the camera, has opened the lid off a rotten gutter.

Cleaning looks like an emergency measure now. The need to change is a priority now.

The process, the change, will not be an overnight miracle, but there should be some change in the aptitude and attitude of the law keepers.

I am hopeful.

This post is an entry for Stayfree women for change.

Caught in a wrong warp of time ?

I felt so guilty for saying no to a lady who ringed my bell just ten minutes back.
She asked me if I needed some pads, when I said no she asked if I needed some lipsticks. My voice raised a bit and I said no I do not want it. Please go.

And then my heart just sank. I saw the lady returning , she had a slight limp, the way arthritis makes older people walk. The lady was about fifty five I noticed. My immediate thought was why is she doing it? She could have done something better. In a better way probably. She is carrying a large bag on the shoulder one side and a hand held jhola in the other hand, probably lipsticks. Henna dyed hair and empty large eyes.
Voice was very polite. Beta pads chahiye?

A no and then a stronger no from this door...please aap jayiye...

I felt the sinking some more. A thought came she might be hired from someone to market these products. Or she might be buying these from some wholesale market and selling to meet ends. I was thinking why some people keep struggling this way while some others make money almost instantly. Why there seems to be no rhyme in such comparisons.

May be this is her time to learn more about the world.
Or there is a realisation she still is deprived of.
Or a reality she has been in denial of.

I just prayed for her to find a new way to reach where she wants to.

Solving the puzzles, one at a time....moving to a happier life...wishing you all the same...

Some mysteries and puzzles of life just bedazzle you with the intensity they come with, you feel blinded yet awakened somewhere deep within. Finding a clearer view of what just flashed before your eyes takes a longer time sometimes. And a life time sometimes. I so wish to adjust my eyes to this kind of dazzle as soon as I can do, the universe has it's own plans though.

Two years ago, when my prayers were answered and my angel was called back, I was just puzzled by the timing. Deep in my heart I knew it was designed by my angel herself. She did not want her mama to be lonely ever, even on the dreaded day, so she ensured she will be surrounded by some friend's good wishes on the day and the next few days every year. No matter who remembers and who doesn't, who chickens out to talk to a lowly voice, there will be some oblivious voices chirpily wishing and uplifting her mama's spirits ....year after year, right at the time when she needs it the most.

Her mama was puzzled, as it seemed like slipping into a dream or waking up from a dream suddenly. It was like we were holding water between our palms and it just trickled down when we woke up.

I used to a have a recurrent dream in my childhood days that Santa or someone similar has given me something precious and I am holding it into my palm. Tightly secured, fearing I would loose it as soon I loosened the grip. Every time I would suspect it was a dream and that my fists would be empty when I wake up, yet I would keep my fist tightly closed to protect my gift. And every single time I would find my fist empty when I woke up.

I had the same feeling just 5 days after Christmas that year...I was so possessive of her and she was gone in an instant and it felt like she slipped off my tight fist without my realising. Like I just woke up to a dream with empty hands, still feeling that touch on my skin.

Puzzled,baffled...flummoxed.....just about the timing. The result, the day and the final moment was very much in my awareness but this timing was puzzling me really. It is opening up to me now, block by block as I understand what it is that she wanted. She, my gift from God himself, wanted her mama to wish the world for a happy new year every year.

It just happened to me that I was feeling it hard to wish everyone on facebook or on my blogs or even through texting as I never want the wishes to be empty or fake. If it doesn't come from the heart it is not to be communicated for me. And it was not coming form the heart till now. I was even finding it tough to reply the wishes sent by dear friends. At the same time it came earlier than the last year on this occasion...... even though I am all alone at home this time, the husband being away for work.

And then I realised that it would now come naturally to me as it used to be...wishing everybody honestly , heartfelt wishes.

See me next year friends...my angel has done a miracle for me.

Her mama is growing rows of flowers and sending you all heartfelt wishes for the year to come.

Building brain power...Turning grey matter in to gold...a useful book for parents and teachers...

Do you think you know your brain well ?

I know your answer...you really can't know your brain ever in absolute terms. But we can all try and know more about how it works and how we can train it to work the way we want it to. I have always been into training my mind in order to sail through difficult waters, many people do that on a subconscious level to achieve day to day goals and to scale new heights of success.

I have been a teacher for almost a decade and have experienced how you can make the kids learn things easily if you can make them visualise the forms they are being taught. If you are able to make a three dimensional picture in the young student's mind the lessons are imprinted in their mind for ever. Arousing the curiosity also works wonders with young minds when you are to teach them about a complex topic. We should let the creativity of young minds loose to make peace with the logic they are exposed to.

As Dilip Mukherjea rightly says, "The ability to apply logic in our thinking is essential, But it should not dominate our mode of operation when the need of creativity beckons."

 I always keep looking for literature that talks about mind, brain and the infinite possibilities associated with this one gift of God to humankind ...that was the reason straight away showed interest in reviewing the book Building Brainpower by Dilip Mukerjea when Blogadda informed the same.

Human brain is such a bundle of miracles, with infinite ways to train it to perform in numerous ways. This is what I always have believed in, many of you do i know, for me it was more in a spiritual way during the last couple of years. The immense possibilities with the functioning of brain mesmerize me whenever i read about the way it works at the crossroads of it's synapses. The book introduces a layman about brain as an organ first, the parts I skipped reading as I have read those details with great interest in my student life and there was hardly anything new to know.

 Brain mapping as a tool to train the mind is comparatively a new idea for me, especially the way it is explained in the book. Dilip Mukerjea has done some wonderful illustrations by himself to explain how one can map all the information about a particular subject with the help of a diagram using different colors and some images to help the brain remember every single detail. Receptivity of he brain can be enhanced many folds as the book says, 'Brain blooming' or 'Brain blossoming' are the new terms for 'Brain storming', quite literally. Through 'Brain blooming' more thoughts are generated and appropriately assessed.
Isn't that a wonderful thing to practice.

The illustrations and the brain mapping techniques can be really helpful for students, parents and teachers and I think there should be workshops for teachers to train them how to use brain mapping as a tool in teaching. The book discusses how colors and doodles can help in the learning process as well as using key words when memorising a piece of information. In my experience, the doodles we make during lectures, the jokes the teachers cracks while teaching and even the music we listen during self studying helps the process of cementing the information in our brain. To be dug up later whenever required, or better to resurface by it's own whenever required.

Reading is actually a dynamic process in which our brain converts symbols into ideas. How a string of words gets imprinted into the brain like a thought process, like an ideology for life or simple wisdom to live life. The book comes with some interesting anecdotes about the reading and memorising text, much for the students if they takes pains to read a hefty book  like this. It will be worth the pain for those who learn by memorising and for those who are learning in a training atmosphere, be it a school or a trainees camp. The book gets a little boring for self learners i must say.

Yes, the book looks more like  an academic journal, might be scary to look at but keeps you engaged if you understand the working of brain as a constant firing of ideas and emotions. Understanding the brain makes the first part of book if you are interested to know the biology. There are some worksheet type exercises in the last part of the book, which you might find boring again, but could be helpful for some kids and young students.

A great book for those concerned with teaching and training. As i mentioned, more for teachers,parents and students in that order , knowing students need to be inspired by the teachers or parents.

Dilip Mukherjea runs Buzon center at Singapore and has written many books on mind mapping, fast reading and memorising techniques etc., and this book includes almost every element required for a methodical learning. I wish the book was written in a more engaging way , I could read because I have interest in the process of making the brain more and more productive. Overall a good book I must say..

This review is a part of Indian bloggers book reviews program by blogadda . Participate now to get free books. 

doors of the past...

Walking on the streets of Banaras is never a dull moment. A lot of chaos ... all kinds of people belonging to different centuries brush shoulders with each other and talk in different languages. Still understanding each other. Some quadrupeds pushing through the human types or chasing them. We were walking towards pizzeria one day when we saw a foreigner running with his fancy running shoes on , with a steady speed meandering through the maze of all the centuries walking on the narrow lane. A dog got curious and started following him with a warning bark. That guy who was wearing smart looking running gear, stopped , bent down, picked up a stone and gestured to hit the dog ....The dog stopped , stepped back and the foreigner resumed his run.

Both of us( Arvind and me) were smiling seeing this how each one on the road is conditioned to this kind of chaos and  everything goes on with a smooth precision.

I found this door on the same street which leads to Assi ghat starting from Nagwa , where we saw the dog chase ...there is something to stop and gaze every few steps .... or I am an eternal romantic....who knows better :-)

Many foreigners live in this side of the town as they come and settle down for studies and for spiritual reasons too. My favorite authors Robert Pirsig and Inez Baraney have lived and walked in these streets of Banaras and i feel a connect when i read their stories. Many of the Hindi laureates have lived in this city and their stories are full of life, a timelessness is what i witness in their works. This city and it's streets are timeless. Modern and ancient exist together and meld together like they were born here... together.

This interesting door was closed and looked like as if the building is abandoned. But i saw one of the doors ajar when we were walking back from pizzeria . Someone certainly lives inside this historical looking home.

There was a sliding iron gate inside this frail damaged yet strong old wooden door to indicate someone has made it habitable for a modern life. Or a life hung between centuries.

Or a timeless life.

This is the feeling i always get whenever i visit the areas around the ghats... there is a certain rhythm in the life in this place which cannot be explained in words. You have to spend an evening on the ghats of Ganges to experience that.

Doors is the topic of today's Thursday challenge and when i saw it on Bikram's blog i was just reminded of this old wooden door from a timeless street in Banaras.

I really want to visit many more old cities of India as the few i have visited till now seem to be having the same kind of soul. A sense of belonging , a sense of being connected and a sense of walking through the same doors we get in such cities...

worship them but don't have them...

Some Hindu mythology terms used in the text...


Kanjka ...a name given to the young girl avatar of the goddess Durga.
Devi ... goddess
Pooja ...worship.
Halwa poori and chana ...the traditional dishes made as an offering to the Godess.
Maha astami ...a auspicious date in hindu calender 
Navratra...a nine day period in hindu calender when Godess Durga is considered to visit the worldly ...


The day of maha ashtami during Navratra is considered special for worshiping the kanya roop (young girl avatar) of the Devi. Young girls from all over the neighborhood are invited and worshiped, their feet are washed and they are seated on a decorated place and offered the traditional halwa poori and chana. They are worshiped like any other God, in this case Devi (goddess). In the northern parts of India, young girls are called Kanjka on this day, Kanjka is the name given for the young girl avatar of the Goddess.

I witnessed something very obvious which has happened in our society recently. Still it remains oblivious.
Early in the morning i saw a middle aged lady searching for kanjkas in the neighborhood and muttering how there are no kanjakas 'available' these days.

What i see in my neighborhood is that people call the daughters of maids and other workers to perform this pooja which is considered to bring good luck and prosperity (all kinds of worshiping is done with a sole purpose), the maids bring a group of young girls with them, often all the young girls from their locality, and they visit the apartments one after the other.

Now , don't get me wrong as i do not have anything against feeding these young girls(from slums) and offering them some gifts on this occasion. I myself used to invite many of my friend's daughters and some maids' daughters (and sons too) for maha ashtami pooja some years ago and it used to be a great picnic for all the kids. For me it used to be a nice get together of kids which my daughter also enjoyed and many kids would refuse to go home.

I would come to what came upon me today seeing that middle aged woman asking for the kanjkas  .... Aajkal kanjkan milti hi nahi hain ( these kanjakas are not available these days)... I was reminded of a day when i overheard this lady advising another younger pregnant lady , asking weather she has got the 'tests' done. She was saying ...hamare zamaane me to ye test hote nahi the to humne kuchh nahi kiya, ab toh mauka hai , beta hi kar lo .....(these tests were not available in our times but now you should try for a son as there are options).....A quick flash back flickered before my eyes and i have been thinking about the morals we have as a society.

Incidentally , the trade and practice of sex determination and preferential abortions has picked up in the last decade only , may be a little earlier Although there were other practices like killing the girl child after birth in some parts of the country but this particular 'sex determination test' thing has made it more convenient for the people who think that aborting a female foetus is not murder and there is nothing wrong in doing that. I will talk about this mind set a little later, but this sudden unavailability of kanjakas (young girls during navaratra) is a recent phenomenon. I guess girls aged below 10 would be even lesser in numbers than the already skewed gender ratio.

Interestingly , the gender ratio doesn't seem to be affected amongst the slum dwellers . Is it due to the unavailability of means for them or ignorance of such 'divine facilities'. Or it is due to the fact that their social fabric is different from the mainstream society . The woman is often the sole bread earner and worker by all means. Or just more working hands irrespective of gender. They seems to be the providers of Kanjkas of maha ashtami for a long time to come. Idols for worships come from the most unlikely places and go back to the oblivious life they live.

How the same people who worship the kanjakas whole heartedly are the same people who advocate those 'tests' and advice young couples to abort a female foetus . Isn't that shocking? I wouldn't be surprised to see the couple who chose to abort a female foetus , inviting young girls and worshiping them for the prosperity they thought their own daughter would have hindered.

I am talking of my own experience...
I have seen people of my generation (earlier i used to think our generation is the one who would bring change)
justifying sex determination and female foeticide. It was numb shocking for me to see a friend of mine whose family includes 4 doctors and a lawyer, choose to abort a female foetus...which would have been her second daughter. Yes, i am ashamed of that friend of mine. It was even more shameful when she tried to convince me how there is no life in the foetus till.....

I will tell you something even more shocking. This was a person who used to talk like an activist, talking about women's rights all the time in our college days and rebelling against every restriction she thought society is putting on women. The question is , how these people turn deaf and dumb when it's their turn to act. They want everything from the society, condemn the society when their own conveniences are denied and bend the moralities in their own favor whenever required , for their own convenience. Are we a nation of self centered people? Pointing a finger to others when norms are inconvenient for us and keeping our eyes shut when we ourselves do a crime....

And we worship the kanjka.....

And i question the activist types more.....just because i have seen more fake activists in my life.

Do we use activism as a means to make the societal fabric convenient for ourselves only ?
Do we work from our own side to make the societal structure conducive for overall growth , including equal rights for women and children and for other people deprived of human rights?
Do we know that demanding for equal rights and working for equal rights could be more result oriented if we would have worked for self empowerment and awareness (i would call it awakening) ?

I was just thinking if today being maha ashtami , some people might have performed this pooja first thing in the morning and went on to do this business of sex selection as their 'job' .

Or in some family the discussions of aborting a female foetus might have been hush hushed just for today or they might have gone ahead with their plans after performing the pooja at home...

I am wondering.....