Article on illnesses that worsen in cold weather

What are the common illnesses that could occur in cold weather? 

What could be done about them?  

Find out in this medical educational article...

http://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/health/simple-tips-to-ward-off-cold-weather-illnesses-flu-pneumonia-asthma-eczema

Article on alcohol addiction

How much alcohol is too much? 

What are units of alcohol?  

Are you alcohol dependent?

Find out in this medical educational article...

http://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/health/alcohol-know-your-limits-and-the-dangers-of-habitual-drinking

Find videos on alcohol addiction here: https://dgvpawar.blogspot.com/2020/07/alcohol-how-much-is-enough.html

Article on anemia in India

Medical educational article on anemia in India...

http://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/india/india-touching-commanding-heights-but-why-are-we-looking-pale

Article on Mediterranean diet and health benefits

Medical educational article on the benefits of consuming food items from the Mediterranean diet...

http://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/health/why-mediterranean-diet-is-good-for-your-heart-and-brain

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Article on suicides in India (including helplines)

What factors increase the risk of suicide?  

What is the state of suicide management and mental health in general in India?  

What help is available for those contemplating suicide?

Find out in this medical educational article...

https://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/health/suicides-the-state-of-mental-health-care-in-india

Watch suicide prevention advice in three languages here:

English: https://youtu.be/08i4_FGRmB8

Hindi: https://youtu.be/2w346GDm79w

Kannada: https://youtu.be/Qjg98TRvt-A

Humour: Because Even a Mosquito Can Make You An Eunuch!

Lighthearted take on the perils of living in a mosquito infested world...

Because Even a Mosquito Can Make You An Eunuch!

Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Aedes_Albopictus.jpg/1200px-Aedes_Albopictus.jpg

Article on ADHD in Boloji.com

Medical educational article on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder...

ADHD: Energetic Tots & Exasperated Moms!

Child abuse article on Boloji.com

What is child abuse?

How common is it?

What can be done to prevent it?

Find out in this medical educational article...

(Also note the 'Comments' section just below the article with my response to a reader's comment).

Child Abuse: Tackling The Social Malady

Image source: https://c.pxhere.com/photos/98/35/holi_india_children_color_culture_tradition_festival_indian-763322.jpg!d

Satire: Real Action for the Price of Reel Action

Satirical take on the perils of movie gazing in a brat-infested movie hall (published on boloji.com)...

Real Action for the Price of Reel Action

Article on philanthropic trends in India

Here I analyse the notion of nishkama seva - selfless service that is extolled in our scriptures and carried out by certain NGOs in today's India.

This article marks my debut on mapsofindia.com/my-india...

https://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/society/philanthropy-trends-in-india-how-relevant-is-it-today

Image source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXwWrgbp_zP9ua-QOHseQj5OAWLapwHGMuD4pyLDryuH2P-Pr7U6WOejjXCquwhKwuTPslQta_567kTU0V6ovAhOcdwbCYfnyopSCY7nRWheNnQcjcJtIAbB6p9mp-BA0XYymqizXG_6Y/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/NGO.jpg

Article on heart health

Medical educational article on heart health and its maintenance...

https://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/health/is-your-heart-safe-learn-from-the-rural-folk-ways-to-keep-it-fit

Article on 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan' and communicable diseases

What does Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan aim to achieve?

What should be done to make it a success?

I discuss in this article...

https://www.mapsofindia.com/my-india/health/swachh-bharat-abhiyan-will-it-help-reduce-the-incidence-of-communicable-diseases

Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/d/d7/Swachh_Bharat_Abhiyan_logo.jpg/220px-Swachh_Bharat_Abhiyan_logo.jpg

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The Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti issue

So yet another minister has put her foot in the mouth.

It is a meaningless comment to begin with.  Even though her rhyming skills are good - Ramzada and haramzada - the very concept of haramzada is flawed within Sanatana Dharma.

Following another faith is certainly not haram for a religion which espouses the concept of Vasudhaiva kutumbakam.  The philosophers and seers of Sanatana Dharma have all propounded that all faiths are but different roads to the same destination - the One God.  

It is grating and worrying to note that a person who is addressed as a Sadhvi should be so blatant about expressing her radical thought, as well as exposing her judgmental attitude towards followers of other faiths.  

This, and a few other insensitive remarks by other ministers, have given an ideal opportunity for the pseudo-secularists, Congresswalas and the leftists to pounce upon the government.

It is rich that Congress should be accusing the Prime Minister of 'culpable silence'.  Where does that leave Manmohan Singh then?

To reiterate, everybody is welcome to live in Bharatvarsh, everybody is welcome to partake of its riches, everybody is free to follow their own religious and cultural beliefs; as long as they do not indulge in criminal, anti-state, fundamentalist, or faith conversion-related activities.

I disown the Sadhvi's statement.


Image source: http://iloksabha.in/img/gallery/full-image/uttar-pradesh/niranjan-jyoti.png

Humble weddings

At last, in a land starved of good tidings from the political arena, here is some heart-warming news.  A minister in the Karnataka cabinet got his daughter married in a humble mass-marriage ceremony.  

There was no ostentatious show of wealth, pomposity, grandeur, going underwater to tie the knot, marrying on a plane, or any of the other type of tomfoolery the rich and the famous indulge in to showcase their wealth and status.

Some get married thrice; once each in style of the different faiths.  Do they also have to divorce thrice in the future?  Just a thought.  But jokes apart, in these days where marriages are falling apart within the first anniversary, with some resulting in bitter court disputes, one wonders if the event requires such a grand celebratory beginning in the first place.  Why can't the same money be used more meaningfully; as in securing the children's future or helping the poor?

Coming back to this particular wedding, there was no theme party; no reception in front of a heritage building; no division of food stalls into continental, Chinese, Thai, South Indian, Mongolian, or Arctic; no wasting of uneaten food; and there was no dancing to Sheila ki jawani... or Chikni Chameli...

Boring?  No, utterly sensible.  And meaningful.

The other couples in the mass-wedding - from poor socioeconomic backgrounds - were given cows as gifts to encourage cattle rearing and self-reliance; there were couples from different religions married according to their faith; the meal served was basic; and the event was even blessed by the visit of the chief minister.  

It is indeed a rare breed of politicians - this particular minister is apparently not the first to do such a thing - that has the maturity and humility to undertake such a step.  In doing so he has set an example for all of us.  Hopefully he won't be the last politician to do so.  May his tribe increase!

I condemn ostentatious gatherings in this video made in the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic: https://youtu.be/VmqTaWFwXIs

News source: 'Just wedding, no bling-bling', Prathima Nandakumar, The Week, 24 November 2014

Image source: https://starofmysore.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/mass-marriage.jpg

Book recommendation: Many Lives, Many Masters

As with a few other landmark books, this is a book recommendation, not a review.  It is a true story about a doctor; a psychiatrist, who is also the author of the book and his therapy sessions with a single patient.  He undertakes past-life regression therapy in a desperate bid to rid her of her anxiety, which has not responded to conventional medication or behaviour therapy.  What he uncovers in the process is unprecedented, extraordinary and life changing.  It certainly cures the patient of her anxiety completely.

It is important to consider a few salient points of this story as it has a bearing on the message conveyed by the story.  Both the patient and the doctor are White Americans, they are Christians by faith, but not very religious.  They had no prior idea about anything to do with reincarnation, karma, Vedanta, or anything to do with Hindu philosophy, per se.

Yet, what is revealed during the past-life sessions is nothing short of extraordinary, and confirms the very principles of Advaita, which is the core of Hindu philosophical teaching.  Karma and its after-effects; the debt that one has to repay in the next birth, and the whole phenomenon of reincarnation is reiterated, vindicated and given a stamp of authority through the experiences of these two individuals.  

The patient describes more than 80 previous birth experiences, and each time she dies, she is transported to an ethereal place of light where she meets other souls and the masters.  The masters are higher, more evolved spirits who guide the other souls through their inter-birth sojourn and towards their next birth in the karmic cycle.  In between the lifetimes, the masters use the patient as a medium to communicate directly with the doctor and in the process reveal several life/death secrets:

• "We have debts that must be paid", they say.  "You progress by paying your debts".  [The karmic theory].
• "There are seven planes...seven through which we must pass before we are returned". 
• They also talk about the soul's progress through harmony and balance, love and wisdom, progress toward a mystical and ecstatic connection with God.  [God realisation as described by Upanishads].

Needless to say, there has been much criticism of the contents of the book by sceptics who are either too logically oriented to accept spiritual matters, or by those who can't digest the fact that the tenets of some other faith other than their's has been given credence in the doctor's work.  

In the preface, the doctor does explain his dilemma as to whether or not to share his extraordinary experience with the world and expose himself to rigorous scientific scrutiny by his own peers and the subsequent ridicule that is sure to ensue.  However, he later felt compelled to share his experiences with everyone.  As he puts it, "I knew that no possible consequence I might face could prove to be as devastating as not sharing the knowledge I had gained about immortality and the true meaning of life".  

Ultimately, as with any spiritual experience, it comes down to a matter of faith.  Or actually experiencing the whole thing yourself.  

Combine this with the other books on the subject of past lives and souls: Life Between Lives by Michael Newton, and The Laws Of The Spirit World by Khorshed Bhavnagri, and you will realise how western scientific thought is reaffirming and aligning itself with the universal truth that has been propounded by Sanatana Dharma since ages.

Image source: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-62n8IrJ2ufA/UP4OLu4eM0I/AAAAAAAAV48/_6FZsKUPdTY/s1600/Many-Lives-Many-Masters.jpg

Saints' convention denounces conversions

It was heartening to note that, finally, a group of saints and heads of prominent religious institutions and matths met to discuss religious conversions.

In the premises of Siddaganga Matth, as reported by Deccan Herald, seers of matths such as Adichunchanagiri Matth, Sutturu Matth, Pejawar Matth, Siddaganga Matth, Sri Sri Ravishankar and Sri Veerendra Heggade convened to discuss the issue.

It is high time that the issue of covert evangelisation in the name of public service is brought out into the open, debated and steps are taken to root it out.

Evangelising religious institutions use various methods to carry out their activities; influencing children in the numerous schools and colleges set up by their organisations, influencing patients and relatives caught in stressful situations in hospitals set up ostensibly for providing cheap treatment.

There are several other methods, and I can  only refer the reader to the wonderful work done by Sri Arun Shourie, who has published many well researched books on the subject.  Most notable and revealing of his works is Harvesting our Souls: Missionaries, Their Designs, Their Claims.  This is a landmark book, an eye opener in many ways, that every Indian interested in exposing the claims made by proselytisers and help prevent gullible people from falling prey to their ideologies, should read and understand.

Haven't prominent philosophers and thinkers said that all paths lead to the one and the same God?  Haven't they said that the outward manifestations of religions may differ, but the core message is always the same  Why then, does the need for denouncing one religion and enticing people to join your fold arise?  Isn't it a fundamentalist notion to say, 'mine is the only true path; rest are demonic; therefore you should leave your path and join mine'?  

Further it is Hinduism which propagates Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the whole world is a family), and Sarve Janah Sukhinobhavantu (may all be happy), and in its core emphasises the importance of soul and spirituality - both of universal relevance.  Isn't this a mature, universal, and all-inclusive philosophy worth emulating and preserving?

But, ironically, this very large-hearted and egalitarian outlook of Hinduism has put it at risk of being targeted by proselytisers and opportunists, whose agenda, it seems, comprise nothing short of world domination and India as a fully converted nation.

One hopes that the outcome of the convention is taken seriously by the government and thorough checks and audits are carried out on evangelising institutions, including the substantial foreign funds that they receive to carry out their clandestine activities.  

One also hopes that the seers and pontiffs of matths all across India, take this issue seriously, denounce casteism, educate people in the community and help reduce socioeconomic factors contributing to conversions.  

News & image source: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/441015/seers-raise-concern-over-religious.html

Film conversations: Bang Bang!

Expectations!  They seem to be directly proportional to the eventual disappointment.

  

So it is with Bang Bang!

There was so much going for this!  And so little have they achieved with it!

The hype was unbelievable.  When the promos and songs first arrived on YouTube, record numbers watched them in no time.  Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif!  What chemistry, they said!  Full of action, they said!  Remake, but better than Knight and Day, they said!  If only!  If only they had remained faithful to the original story, script and screenplay, without indulging themselves too much.  In doing so, the story keeps going somewhat off-track; it makes sense only in parts – or because you have already seen Knight and Day.

The action scenes - surprisingly and disappointingly - are not slick.  They are not even convincing.  They are not a patch on the action scenes seen in Krrish 3 or Dhoom 3.   And that is a shame, because they had the towering presence of Hrithik Roshan going for them, and yet managed to rake up dud sequences. 

Predictably Katrina Kaif plays a Canadian settled in India – how many times will they justify her accent by making her an NRI?  She lives with her Dadi in an unrealistic setting in the north.  So do Hrithik’s parents – in a large country house, all by themselves, with no domestic help – in a place that is helpfully named Ghar.  Danny plays the predictable villain, and Javed Jaffrey, rather unpredictably, plays his side-kick who promptly gets bumped off in the middle.  However it was good to see Deepti Naval on screen again after a long gap, even though in a small role. 

It was the songs that got us going.  And they are the saving grace of the film.  Them and Hrithik Roshan.  The songs are tailor-made for him, as he mesmerises you with effortless moves with his superbly toned body.  He has the reverse-Madhuri Dixit effect on the audiences.  When she used to dance, she easily overshadowed the leading man; now Hrithik is doing the same to his leading ladies.  You simply cannot take your eyes off him when he is…well, on a song!  He is simply the most well-rounded actor we have right now.

The producer and director are lucky to have had a hit with this one.  And it is barely a hit, considering that at one stage, it was expected to cross 50 crores in the first week itself and over-all 300 crores.  It managed only 27.54 crores in the first week and is struggling to reach 180 crores in India as of now (source: bollywoodhungama.com). 

Watch it only for Hrithik! 

Update (July 2020): Since this film, I have lost count of the number of foreign reaction-makers on YouTube that have gushed over Hrithik in the title track, Bang Bang.  Arguably, Hrithik has single-handedly steered a largely indifferent western/foreign audience towards paying attention to what Bollywood/Indian cinema has to offer.  

As far as I am concerned, he is the only star-kid that deserves his place in the limelight; the rest can take a walk!  

Image sources: 
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/90/Bang_Bang_(2014_Film).jpg

https://nishitak.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/hrithikroshan-3b.jpg

Unwanted neighbours and visitors

The differences are stark. 

Democratic state, as opposed to a theocratic state.

One with unprecedented economic ascendancy, other with the exact opposite.

In our country syncretism is largely upheld and minority numbers are increasing if anything; on their side radicalism has entrenched itself firmly and people of other religion have been hounded, converted, persecuted or chased away.

Yet the said state and its militia-terrorist nexus expect red carpets to be laid out as they approach a disputed territory to incite divisions.  Like a recalcitrant brat, impervious to frequent clips around the ear, this epicentre of global terrorism always expects to be treated equally and even royally!  It expects the world to treat it “on par” with its neighbour.  Ever since we have managed to exorcise ourselves from our horrid conjoined twin, it has made numerous attempts to seek attention, cry foul, throw tantrums, and, if all else fails, to covertly decimate its older brother. 

Actually it is not surprising if you consider the above differences; envy was always going to make its presence felt, which then makes the brat do these things.  Truly, the predominant colour of that nation as been well chosen – green: the colour of envy.  The brat has to get what the older brother has just got, if not it is going to create a fuss.  If it is beyond the reach of its capability, such as sending space-crafts to moon and Mars, or economic prosperity driven by an able leader, it would make sure that it would at least spoil the party for the other – through ceasefire violations, as we have seen recently. 

But we do share an ambivalent relationship with this country.  On the one hand, tennis players unite to win doubles tournaments, and films stars and singers of that country are ‘palanquined’ into ours as though they are god’s best creations.  On the other hand, each time there is a border skirmish, a hilltop war, or a terrorist attack, we cry foul, pin blame on them immediately (often rightly), and deride these attacks in our cinema. 

When a tennis player married a cricketer from the other side, news reports showed men from the other side dancing ecstatically to drum beats, with some even suggesting that we should bow down to them as we, being the ladkiwale, should be subservient to the more superior ladkewale.  It was like suggesting that your ladki has chose our ladka over the millions of men in your country; there must be something superior about us!  Some even suggested that she should play for her sasural country henceforth!  Actually they were exposing their own entrenched patriarchal and anti-feminine cultural mindset by saying all this.  But what happened after all that chest-thumping?  The ladki, now the bahu of that country, continues to play for our country – in short skirts, and with male partners to boot – something which occasionally causes a religious leader to throw a fit. 

Coming back to our imported celebrities, how many of them have actually criticized their country for inciting violence through cross-border ceasefire, or through covert terrorist attacks? 

How many of them have openly condemned 26/11?

Did any of them say that the terrorists, their countryman, was wrong in carrying out those attacks?

How many acknowledge the wide gulf that exists between the socioeconomic situations of the two countries.  How many are grateful to a country, its society and its people, who have accepted them after overlooking all of these?  Like free-loaders, they enjoy the fruits that come their way, and maintain aloofness whenever their parent country unleashes another of its brazen plans. 

 In a misguided sense of secularism and largesse, we tend to overlook all of these and go all out to please them.  We end up giving needless importance to a rogue nation that just needs to be left alone.  Even those people who raise a voice against this are silenced, and even boycotted.  A singer, who has ‘ole ole’d a lot in the past, doesn't seem to be getting any work these days; probably because he openly questioned the need for importing celebrities from that country. 

Forget the celebrities.  What about the ordinary people from that country, who come here with their passports and then chuck them to get lost among the multitudes?  The number of people who have overstayed their welcome, or who have totally disappeared once on this side of the border, is staggering.  Is it not possible that at least some of these have contacts with, or indeed, are themselves terrorists?  It’s Sarfarosh all over again.

Forget even the people of that country for a while.  These days our cities are attracting students and workers from all across the globe.  Most of them, if not all, seem to revel in their audacity, which is unleashed as soon as they see the soft nature of our people and the lax implementation of our law.  Recently there was a rampage by a group of students from a North African country – the kind of thing that we would never dream of doing when in a foreign country.  Should we put it down to cultural differences, religious differences, or something else?  

This just goes to show that there needs to be some kind of a screening process before foreign elements are allowed into the country; thorough vigilance of their actions is necessary, which may involve something more than just registering at the local police station; if they resort to violence or crime of any sort, they need to be deported. 

As things stand now, we seem to be allowing far too many indiscriminately without any kind of background check.  Our leaders and law enforcers are slumbering as infiltrators disappear into the local population.  If this is not checked, we may soon end up with a very real problem – in addition to communal clashes, strikes, rapes and murders – that of the rogue foreign immigrant.  We need to learn from other countries’ examples.  The UK, which had allowed a very similar immigration to occur on a mass scale in the 1950s and ’60s, is now faced with a problem that it is unable to solve.  Most of the descendants of the immigrants of that time are now UK citizens, but their loyalties are split, and in some cases, are even anti-British.  It is worth noting that the London Tube bombers were the so-called ‘home grown’ terrorists – descendants of immigrants.  There are ghetto areas in many of UK’s cities, which are considered to ‘no-go’ areas that you would do well to avoid.

The point is this.  You are welcome to come to our country.  You are welcome to stay and make use of the facilities here – whether academic, economic, or other.  We believe in the principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – the whole world is one family; one humanity.  But once you are here, do not show off, do not act high and mighty, do not degrade our culture/religion/nationality, do not expect special favours, do not overstay your welcome, and certainly do not indulge in covert anti-state activities.  In the meantime authorities all over – law enforcers, policy makers, ministers, educationists, employers, film producers, music directors – please be more vigilant and keep an eye open for misdemeanour from your foreign recruits.  

If not it would have to be A Wednesday all over again!  

Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4b/Indo_Bangladesh_Border%2C_Dakshin_Denajpur.jpg/220px-Indo_Bangladesh_Border%2C_Dakshin_Denajpur.jpg

Book conversations: Stories from Modern India

Apparently this is an updated version by the same editor.  It has been meticulously compiled by Kohli over the years, given the shortage of quality short stories from regional authors - a fact that is acknowledged by him in his introduction.  I was unable to understand, however, why these are 'modern' stories, as most of them are at least a few decades old.  

It is an eclectic collection of short stories from practically every nook of India.  It covers several themes: old age, marital issues, mythology, love, prostitution, bureaucracy, politics, etc.  It also covers stories from a wide range of regional languages; so you get to taste a slice of Assamese, Bengali, Hindi, Gujurati, Punjabi, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Oriya, Urdu, Sindhi and even Dogri literature.  And these are prominent authors in their respective languages that contribute to the book here.

One of the touching stories is by Padma Sachdev - Care Taker- which is about the relationship between an older ex-wife and the present wife of a man.  RK Narayan brings out his tale of woes with the erstwhile Mysore state bureaucracy in his own inimitable style.  Bhisham Sahni - who gave us the unforgettable Tamas - regales you with the story of a poor mother who has to put up with her son's admonishments as he tries in vain to impress his white boss.  Aabid Surti talks of old age relationship and how one widower becomes the stick of strength to a grieving widow.  

Manoj Das, whom Graham Greene described as being on par with R K Narayan, 'with an added touch of mystery', lives up to his reputation with a satirical take on ministerial egotism.  The Kannada master story-teller, Masti Venkatesha Iyengar delves into mythology and takes Shakuntala's tale forward by adding to it a tale of love and victory over desire.  Happy New Gear by Ashokamitran is a hilarious tale of a bossy driving instructor and his bumbling student-servants who go for a driving class in a rickety car with several mishaps along the way.  

But perhaps the most touching story is about the poor government clerk, who, having failed to keep up an honourable existence in the midst of corruption in the system he is part of, commits suicide by jumping from his office building.  Ajeet Cour provides the right dose of humour, satire and sarcasm in this story -  a style of writing which appeals to me - a hard-hitting, no-holds-barred dressing down of the corrupt system.  

The Bed of Arrows, by Gopinath Mohanty, is about a dying woman and her apprehensions about her husband's affairs and his unwritten rules for her.  It is boring and is a difficult read, not least because it is riddled with spelling and grammatical errors.  For some reason, and rather surprisingly, the most disinhibited tales come from the two Urdu writers; Ismat Chugtai, who tells a tale of a prostitute-turned-housewife, and Sagar Sarhadi who tells a first-person account of such delicacies as getting beaten up by the women-folk of his family, having the 'hots' for the fat next-door woman, scrounging money from a tale-spinning unkempt neighbour, drinking cheap liquor fermented by battery acids, and having tiffs with prostitutes and eunuchs over 'credit services'.  

These appealed less to me, because as far as I am concerned, any story - long or short - should have a sense of purpose or a message to it; I find it difficult to understand the merits of excessive violence, misery, suffering, atrocity, torture, disinhibition or scatology, just thrown in aimlessly to make up a story.  This, and the fact that some short stories end rather abruptly, with the reader having to pick up the pieces of the missing narrative to reach his or her own conclusion, rankles.  

Or, as my wife experienced while reading this book, if the stories leave you dumbfounded as to the purpose of such writing, then it brings down the readability quotient of the book.  And this applies to short stories not found in this volume too.

Mercifully, if you leave out the few exceptions, the other stories in this collection do have a sense of purpose and do induce emotional warmth in you.  If you want a feel of regional literature and culture of India - a land that is richly endowed with different languages and cultures - then this book would provide ample material.

Image source: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51-bXdB9dPL.jpg

     

Film conversations: Mary Kom

First things first, I dislike boxing.  Like golf, I do not consider it to be a sport; it is too violent, it involves hurting a fellow player, and its practitioners have ended up with neurological complications later in life (for e.g. Muhammad Ali developed Parkinson's disease).  

Yes, as a self-defence technique it may be acceptable, but I would not consider it a sport or a game that one could pursue as a career.   

Having said that, there is always something to be learnt from the struggles of a high-achiever, who in this case happens to be a boxer, and that would be the reason why one would want to watch Mary Kom.

We all now know about Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom, or in other words, MC Mary Kom.  But to see her achievements on celluloid is a different experience in itself.  

After Milkha Singh, it was only to be expected that Mary becomes the subject of another biopic - she had everything going for her to make this possible: a rousing career, five times world champion, a mother who fought against odds, a person from the north-east region which is often neglected in the Indian scheme of things, a sport which is seen as a male preserve, initial lack of amenities or finances, etc.  No wonder the makers saw enough potential in the story to make it into a commercial film.

One problem that I have with biopics is that one is uncertain if what is being shown is authentic or not.  Consider Bhaag Milkha Bhaag: wasn't it Naseeruddin Shah who called it a 'fake film'?  I did some background check on Mary's career and found that a few changes have been made to the story.  Cinematic liberty - whatever that is - is a filmmaker’s prerogative, we are told, which they can take recourse to each time they need to enhance the commercial viability of the film.  Perhaps, so it is with Mary's film.

• Did Mary's father oppose her taking to boxing so vehemently that he burnt her gloves?
• Did Mary have to fight a giant of a street fighter to make some money in her early days?
• Was she as feisty and short-tempered in real life as she is portrayed in the film?
• Did her coach make her sit on the bench everyday to find out if she is 'ziddi' or not?
• Did she have to fight a corrupt system and bear insults at the hands of the federation's chairman?
• Was she told by her chief nemesis; the German boxer, to 'go home Momma' when she was knocked down?
• Was she fighting a climactic battle in the square even as her child was battling for life in the hospital?

These are the questions that arise in your mind as you watch the film.  I haven't found any convincing answers to any of these.

The content of the film, as one would expect, is good; performances are first rate.  Many are already touting Priyanka Chopra as the likely winner in the myriad award ceremonies to be held early next year.  

After all, biopics usually bring accolades to the lead actor; as in Ben Kingsley for Gandhi, Russell Crowe for Beautiful Mind, Philip Seymour Hoffman for Capote, and more recently Farhan Akhtar for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.  Get the picture?

All in all, just like Nadia, based on Nadia Comaneci's 'perfect 10' in the Montreal Olympics inspired many a young girl who wanted to make it big in sports, so does Mary Kom.  

Make sure your child, if he/she is interested in sports, watches it; but also make sure the child understands the perils involved in boxing.    

Image source: https://s01.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/large/674782-9314d779-6cd4-4822-8773-e24b6d292407.jpg

Book conversations: Why Men Don't Listen & Women Can't Read Maps

Ever wondered why the "mummies on the bus go chatta chatta chatta" as the nursery rhyme goes?

Or why men loooove motor racing and football?

Do you wonder, when your wife says, "we need to talk", 'WHAT IS THERE TO TALK ABOUT?!'

Or do you wonder about your husband, 'why does he need pornography; am I not good enough?'

For these and related doubts about the opinions and behaviours of half of the population which is different from your gender, read this book.

Both the genders have come together for this book; the couple - Barbara and Allan Pease who have successfully navigated the marital minefield - go through extensive research publications through the years to provide an understanding of the differences in the male and female brain structure and function.  Some of it, as they say, can be quite controversial, and in today's world, sexist.  Especially the bits about why women can't read maps, or why they can't do certain things as well as the men can.  

Sure, some of the ideas presented may even appear to be a bit exaggerated, or over done; such as the behaviour of our prehistoric ancestors as a template for our differences, or, that men have poor oratorial skills - the Peases do acknowledge that there are always exception to the rule.

Barring a few minor errors and odd ways of presenting facts, the book, largely is a light and humorous read.  I found that some of the points are repeated several times in different subsections - probably because the female part of the couple was more active on the days that these passages were written!

The bit about the alternate sexuality - the scientific basis and societal issues - has been presented very well.  All those who think that homosexuality is an issue of choice and harbour discriminatory thoughts against gay people should read this and understand the issue better.  This is much needed in today's society - especially in our country where the issue is gaining prominence, and the law makers are still unsure about whether to decriminalize homosexuality or not.  

You should go for it if you often tear your hair out wondering about the antics of the man - or woman - in your life.  Or, if your marital life, having breezed through the 'honeymoon' period, is now in a phase where all those once-loveable quirks of your partner appear just plain ridiculous and unbearable.  And make sure your partner reads it too!

Image source: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51D5THTY92L.jpg

Sudarshan Kriya - a personal experience

I signed on for part-one of the course out of curiosity more than a year ago.  It happened to be arranged in the area I live, and I had a week of evenings to spare.  It was being done in two batches - morning and evening - I opted for the evening one.  The lady who conducted the course was adept at what she was doing, and she appeared to go about registering all the participants with ease, with a little bit of help from the many volunteers who had turned up on the first day to help out.  As I handed out the filled form, she looked at my profession and misread it as "actor"!  I hastened to correct her before the conversation went any further by saying, "No, I don't have the looks"!

The first evening was about introducing oneself to the whole group, a bit of an icebreaker, as with many other workshops.  There was an introductory lecture session, and a basic yoga and breathing session.  

After a few more evenings, we finally got down to the actual Kriya (not to be confused with Kriya Yoga, which is different).  Sudarshan Kriya is a series of breathing exercises, quite unlike any of the pranayama exercises that you get to do in yoga sessions.  Apparently, these exercises were devised by the Guru himself, Sri Sri Ravishankar - a result of his years of sadhana.  The word, Soham is given prime importance - again, another Sri Sri innovation - and the breath is fashioned around the variations in the intonation of the word.  Going into the intricate details would not help much, as you need to experience it yourself.

During the process, the instructor had pre-warned us that we might have some unusual experiences - some had seen holy men, some had had a whole body vibratory sensation, etc.  We were told that these experiences were part of the process and one should not be disturbed by them.  I have to confess that I did not experience any of them - maybe it was due to my pre-existing spiritual shortcoming, or just plain resistance to such phenomena.  Somebody said that I was probably not yet ready for such things.  

But then again, it is not necessary that such phenomena should occur to you in the very first session.  It generally takes years of yogic penance for renunciates to experience any such divine phenomenon, let alone for the worldly wise and materialistic folks such as you and I.

Now for the downside.  I generally dislike workshops of all descriptions, because they just don't let you be.  You just can't take things sitting down, at your own pace.  You are expected to not just interact, but also indulge in silly team-building games, and worse, role plays!  This Kriya workshop was no different and we were made to undergo a series of exercises involving forming groups, public speaking, interacting with individuals, and even a group dancing session!  That's two pet hates that I had to counter in the workshop: role plays and dancing!

The one exercise that stays in my mind involved staring without blinking into the eyes of another person sitting in front of you.  You have no idea how unnerving that can be.  The purpose of this was to make you understand that you could see a bit of yourself in the other person, hence driving home the point that we are all one.  They could have just said that to me, and I would have believed!  The last day was reserved for watching videos of the activities in the Art of Living (AOL) ashram on Kanakapura Road in Bangalore and on Sri Sri and his interactions with the masses - both Indian and Western.

A visit was arranged to the ashram a few days later.  A mini-van was hired and a group of about fifteen of us set forth early in the morning.  It is a sprawling campus, and the entire area is divided into various large buildings and is even intersected by a road.  Participants of Kriya camps from other areas of Bangalore had also arrived, and all were taken through a set of basic yoga, Kriya and meditative sessions.  One of the teachers in the ashram addressed the gathering and informed us about the program for the upcoming Maha Shivaratri day.  We were invited to attend and book places in advance, as Sri Sri was going to lead the Kriya and meditation sessions himself on the day.  

Individual participants from various centres were invited to share their experiences, and almost all of them praised their tutor handsomely.  None of us ventured forth from our group and we later regretted this, because our tutor was genuinely good and adept in whatever she imparted to us.  One could say that she even exhorted us and inspired us to not only do Kriya on a regular basis, but also come back for the second part.  I have to thank her immensely for having taught me the Kriya, which I continue to perform, although not as regularly as suggested.

Lunch in the ashram was a communal affair and we had to wash our own plates.  There were volunteers everywhere - cutting vegetables, cooking, serving, cleaning the floor, rearranging utensils, etc.  It was an impressive sight to take in - hundreds and hundreds of visitors streaming in and eating together.  

There was a bit of shopping for music, books, and Ayurvedic products in the post-lunch session.  When I was standing in the queue at the till of the music shop, a woman attempted to by-pass me and hand over the CDs she had selected to her relative who was ahead of me. I couldn't bear this, and I handed over my things and the money to a fellow participant in another queue to buy and walked out.  I figured I had a long way to travel on the spiritual path yet!

As we ascended the stairs to the central meditation hall, we encountered another strange sight.  An Indian visitor - a young boisterous man - was specifically stopping white foreigners and forcibly striking up a conversation and insisting on shaking hands with them.  The first one that I saw him meet was a man, and the his encounter was brief; but then he bumped into a hapless white woman, and he was all over her like a rash!  Loud words of, "Hi how are you", "Are you staying here", etc.  I couldn't help wondering what he was there for: spirituality, or something else!

We were led into a large lotus shaped hall (pictures above), at the centre of which there was a large podium, upon which Sri Sri would sit and lead the congregation.  Broad steps were arranged around the central podium in a circular fashion where devotees could spread out their yoga mats during Kriya sessions.  The podium had a large picture showing the lineage of the saints right from Adi Shankaracharya to the recent one.  

Our instructor called me over to a wall on the side of the podium which had large posters of scientific studies conducted on Kriya.  Perhaps she thought that in my profession, we are always going on about evidence-based research.  Basically the studies shown were about how the Kriya helped reduce blood pressure in those with hypertension, and another one done in NIMHANS by a professor I happen to know, which showed its beneficial effect on mental well-being.  As we were driving back to our area in the evening, telephone numbers were exchanged and the Kriya team sought an assurance from us that we would keep in touch and even become members of the group - an extended family as they called it.  

I realised later, that one of the desired outcome of the whole exercise - the workshop, the role plays, dance session, shared lunch session, watching publicity videos, visiting the ashram - was perhaps intended to inculcate a sense of camaraderie and build up the AOL community.  I must admit that I have reservations about joining anything that remotely resembles a cult, although the Kriya team, I must add is not 'cultish' in any way.  If you do not mind doing a bit of volunteer service while you learn the Kriya, then maybe you could go right ahead and commit yourself; there's nothing wrong in this.  

While I did not, and have not experienced anything spiritually awakening during the Kriya sessions, I do experience a sense of calm.  And if it helps, at the very least, in reducing anger, BP and/or sugar levels, then it may still be worth your while.  As I said, it does take a lot of patient practice and dedicated sadhana to progress on the spiritual path - a reason why there are so many drop-outs.  

I did, however, make a few friends during the course, one of whom I am in touch with even now.  Ultimately I am just happy that I got to learn something different and stimulating from an accomplished teacher.   

If you are interested, check your local community centres or newsletters.  Further information can be obtained from the main AOL website:

http://www.artofliving.org/bangalore-ashram