2012 - The end of human race?

2012.

Guys what does this year mean to you? Just another year, 3 years later...or... something more?
One of my dear colleagues is eating my head off literally with his continuous arguments (read predictions) that the world would come to an end.

Now, now, I do not want to provide you with junk information, as the internet today is already cluttered with lots and lots of junk. So, what did I do.. well, I tried to validate how much of this is really true.

Perspectives to it:

The Mayan Calendar =>
As per the Mayan calendar, the dates end on December 21, 2012. However, the astronomer Philip Plait has stated very clearly that the Mayan calendar does not end in 2012 at all, that it is like the odometer on your car, as each section of the odometer reaches 9 and then clicks over to 0, the next number to it starts a new cycle, so that when all the numbers again reach 0 all the way across the odometer - the last number will change from 1 to 2 and the new cycle starts all over again.
So, going by it, the Mayan calendar (whether or not the dates end in 2012) alone cannot usher in the doomsday.

The Kali Yug (as per Hinduism) =>
The Kali Yug as per the ancient scriptures started 3102 BC, a mere 8 years after the advent of the current Mayan Calendar count. However, the Kali Yug is supposed to last 432,000 years, well eclipsing 2012 and far beyond.

Planet Nibiru's collision with Earth=>
Yet another theory propounded discusses about a planet which will collide with the earth and abolish the entire human race. [in 2012]

Magnetic Pole Reversal=>
Magnetic polarity reversal may even cause our earth to rotate in reverse direction, thus eliminating human race [in 2012]


Now, tell me friends, are you afraid? Have you already started Googling on one or more of the word combinations, viz. doomsday, 2012, mayan calendar etc etc etc?

Ah... well even I did and that is when I came across this wonderful article. Read it friends and sleep in peace!

'The world is not enough' and it will not end in 2012.


References:
www.2012doomsday.com
www.mayancalendar2012.org
www.2012rising.com
www.npr.org

Swine Flu alert!

With the Swine flu threatening to attain a larger scale in India, it is very important for us to stay ever alert. The death rate has increased enormously in the last few days and people are literally panic stricken.



Check this link on wikipedia. It shows the toll on a world map!

In this respect I also came across this site:
http://www.swinefluindia.com/index.html
Please go through it. It has a rich resource of information of dos and don'ts.


In any case, I share with you all of these and hope that this would benefit you and your near and dear ones.
Main symptoms:

How to prevent the spread of H1N1 Flu?

Wash Your Hands:

• Before eating or preparing food


• After coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose


• After using the washroom
  

Hand washing technique:

• Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds. Rinse well, with hands held downward.


• Dry with a paper towel, then use the towel to turn off the faucet


• If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand cleanser. Alcohol-based hand cleansers significantly reduce the number of germs

Spread of germs:

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs often spread when a person touches something contaminated and then touches their eyes, nose or mouth


• Avoid close contact with people who are sick


• Attempt to keep at least three (3) feet or one (1) meter away from ill individuals
  

When sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick.

• Practice respiratory etiquette.


• Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, use tissues and dispose them properly.


• Wash your hands afterwards.
  
  
  

The more I think of it, the more it seems to attain a gigantic hold on this billion population.

Friends, take care, stay healthy, keep fit, practice safety norms and hope for the best!

Source: Company advisory

The tremor

It was 1:30 AM tonight. As I was finishing up a few of the leftover office chores, I experienced a faint sway of my bed. Right then, I noticed the window of my 2nd floor apartment swaying to and fro, without as much as a wink of wind! I figured out, it has to be an earthquake! And it definitely was! I would keep a keen watch on the news tomorrow to see, what was the richter scale reading! Of course, it was very mild, but you know, I am keen to know the epicenter of it! I hope, not too many people live near that point!

Chak de ladkiyan!

I was going through this post by Preposterous Girl. Though written with a humorous touch, there is a brooding quotient to it. I suggest all you girls to go through it once. The post made me think hard, think whether the society has still matured to accept women as equals to men. Though we claim to have equal rights for men and women alike, probably there are unwritten codes of conduct for a section of the society. And we question the moral character immediately when the decorum is not maintained. I have an uncle who had once said, "I don't like women cycling to school or colleges!" I was a kid then. But still, I could not understand, why so! Even today, I don't understand, why so! For a gigantic part of the male dominated Indian society, till today, women are considered to be objects of lust! Nothing more than that! Whereas, there are no differences except for the physical makeup!

Many would probably say, they do not want their female friends, girlfriends, spouses, mothers, sisters, aunties to be attacked by miscreants and as a measure of caution, it is only fit to stay indoors and be extra cautious and conservative while outdoors. My question is: Who are we running away from? Here we need to choose between fight and flight. I choose 'fight' and why not! Running away from problems only exaggerates them.

Have you ever faced a dog? Try and run away from it. I assure that you would not be spared. Rather try and face it. There are high chances of it running away.

So, are you faced with a troublesome guy? Do you sense being ogled at?
Give a hard stare back. Smile and say, "Yes? Want to say something?" I assure that the person would keep his high-ended ambitions in check. Keep a pepper spray handy. Who knows, you may need one. And if you see nothing is working, give a hard kick on 'you-know-where'.

That should do the trick!

A lurking fear

An unknown fear lurking in the darkness

Will I lose the ones I love so much?

History proves that things I love do not stay with me for long...

Will history repeat itself?

Will I lose the ones - the only ones who care for me?

Who have forever provided me with unconditional love...

Image courtesy: http://www.mccullagh.org

Racial abuse must end

This is a shame for the world. What I am referring to is the increasing racial abuse, especially on Indians. What with all this skin color stuff!!

In the world we find people with various skin colors: White, grey, brown, reddish, black and so on and so forth. There could actually be a hundred further combinations with the colors I stated. And science tells me that it's all because of the variation of the skin pigment melanin present in our body. 

Yet, history shows us that people have forever seen skin color as a primary determinant of the person's intellect or background or whatever. The human race has seen thousands of years of slavery for the Africans, who were made to work under inhumane conditions and were made the laughing stock of their 'so-called' masters. The women were treated with cruelty and exploited in every way possible. Later they were left to die a painful death. The 'masters' would laugh about and say, "Oh! Its all because of the Dark Ages! Africa would remain like this forever, our slaves..." 

Today, the situations have improved. South Africa, once marked as the haven of racial abuse has undergone a total shift in outlook. I am not sure if there are undercurrents still, but, at least outwardly, the people out there seem to coexist happily irrespective of race. Thanks to people like Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi and Nelson Mandela who helped bring about a paradigm shift. Today, we have the most charismatic Barack Obama leading USA. Situations have really improved. Common sense has taken over.

But, why does this occur? Why are Indian students being attacked in Australia? I am well aware that this question has been asked by all and sundry. Yet, I can't resist myself! Is it because of:

• A different skin color?
  
• Are Indians inferior in some sense to the natives?
  
• Are Indian students criminals?
  

This message goes out to all of you westerners who are still smitten by the racist bug:

Indian students go out to study away from their home only because they dream of making it big in their future. And guys like Shravan literally beg for money from kith and kin to go there. Indians believe in "atithi devo bhava", meaning here, guests are treated like gods. And we strongly condemn any incident where our international guests have to face trouble or are harassed. But, we expect the same for us as well. It pains to see, young students being attacked with screwdrivers and cabbies being hit brutally. Remember, we are not inferior by any remote stretch of imagination. And... 

THIS IS NOT EXPECTED OUT OF A DEVELOPED NATION LIKE AUSTRALIA.

Indians do not deserve this.

If there are unruly drug addict alcoholic criminals loitering freely in your nation, I have serious doubts about the law and order situation prevalent out there. Do not call yourself 'developed' then! Probably you can learn a thing or two from our Bihar, which at least knows how to treat its guests. 

I am sure there are people with wisdom. I have myself dealt with Australians a number of times on professional assignments and they were perfect gentlemen. But a drop of ink spoils the milk. So, we the people, who have conscience, should work towards greater harmony amongst ourselves and ensure that 'ink' stays put inside the 'inkpot', do not 'spill over'. 

There are bigger, far worse challenges for humanity. Why don't we devote our attention towards them? When will we stop fighting amongst ourselves? When will Indian students feel safe in Australia?

Can someone answer me please...

  

The feat of the Indian Navy

Wow... another of those incidents when the Indian Navy showed its class. Most of you must have read about the recent incident when the air borne marine commandos saved the Liberian merchant ship MV Maud from the hand of Somali pirates. Those who have not, here is the link. Go through it and feel proud.

Well, the Indian Navy has really come a long way since the day of its inception in 1612. Today, the navy has an enviable fleet of warships and destroyers which are capable of disarming any potential threat. And the most potent of all is the crew of naval staffs and officers who have taken every pain to guard the Indian coastline.

But, it was not all roses for these maritime warriors. The Indian navy came in for a lot of flak for their inability to detect and stop the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai massacre, when the terrorists hijacked the fishing trawler Kuber and entered the metropolitan through the sea route.

But their marine commandos, better known as the MARCOS did a fabulous job along with the police and NSG in eliminating all the terrorists, except the only one captured.

All in all, the scar of the Mumbai attacks and other atrocities on India shall remain forever, but, to the men who brave all odds to save our life and property and protect our motherland, we salute and bow with deep gratitude!

Image source: en.wikipedia.org

The Sins

Came across this post, as I was blog hopping. I was shocked!
No amount of contempt is enough to condemn the incident. Look at it closely:
A 17 year old girl is made to lie on the ground and beaten with a rod brutally all over her body as hundreds of people look on. After the 'punishment', the girl is taken away.
Sad. Very sad.
But I am against condemning a particular community for this, simply because, such incidents are common everywhere in all communities, the only common factors being illiteracy, poverty, frustration and primitive behavior and yes, a subtle criminal intent.
Here are a few examples:

• Lynching is common across all races in all time lines. Check this link. It shocking, shameful and sad.
• A 55 year old woman lynched in Bihar by 5 girls. Here is the link.
• Check what the Maoists did here.
• Remember Abu Ghraib prison cell? Check Wikipedia here.
• And then the famous beheading by Taliban militants. I don't think there is a need to share the links.
• Do you know about the SriLankan atrocities on either side?

So? My point is: It's the case of mass illiteracy, cruelty, lack of moral behavior and ethics and the biggest of all: THE LACK OF HUMANITY, OF UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD.

We typically like to group people based on Nationality, Race and what not! But as all Indians are not snake charmers, all .......s are not terrorists or brutal creatures who commit sins like what was described as the first incident of this post.

But, it goes without saying that all these fundamentalists, terrorists and .... need to be dealt with severely, if we want to make the world a safer place to live. All those people who think they are God (read Satan) and have the authority to give punishment to other people without the verdict coming through an established court of law deserve TO BE HANGED TILL DEATH.

But, please, let us not pin point a particular group! May common sense prevail.

Aila goila

Finally the "Aila" has left West Bengal and gone further north but with much reduced intensity. We were fortunate enough that the Cyclone touched on the shores of Bay of Bengal, but did not enter the land, else there could have been mass catastrophe.
I was going through an article in the Telegraph today, which hinted that had the cyclone actually entered the land, it could have created a havoc similar to 1864, which had killed 60,000 people!

Pity those unlucky people, who lost their lives. May their soul rest in peace. *sigh*

'Aila' on in full swing

The monsoon has come in thick and fast in West Bengal and Orissa. The 'Aila' is taking a big toll on the people out here, especially the poor fisherman, some of whom made the mistake of venturing out into the wild sea. As I am writing this post, it's extremely dark outside, with the wind flowing with full gusto.

I left the office today at 4:00 PM riding on the high alert input. In fact most of my colleagues left round about then. But, unlucky me! The bus did not arrive on time and I was left stranded in the rain and wind for one hour. At times, it seemed I would be swept off my feet, but thanks to my 76 kgs of body weight. I was not. However, all this ordeal left be drenched and exhausted, with my dear umbrella having the toughest time of its life! Finally, there was light at the end of the tunnel. And I was picked up for good.

Had a lovely dinner some time back, consisting of khichdi, beguni, fish and a cauliflower dish. But I shiver to think of those fishermen who make a daily living out of the sea and some of whom have braved all odds and taken on the cyclone. May God save them.

Aila :(

"Aila". No, this is not from Mr Tendulkar. This is from the northwest coast of Bay of Bengal. And like many others, I am waiting with bated breath. This could be tragedy for many. Refer to the article below. You would know what I mean!

Reference: http://www.imd.gov.in/section/nhac/dynamic/cwind.htm
BOB 02/2009/12
Dated: 25. 05. 2009 Time of issue: 1030 hours IST

“Red Message”

Sub: Cyclone warning for West Bengal and north Orissa coasts.

The cyclonic storm “AILA” over northwest & adjoining central Bay of Bengal intensified further, moved northwards and lay centred at 0830 hours IST of today, the 25th May 2009 over northwest Bay of Bengal near lat. 20.50 N and long. 88.00 E, about 140 km east-southeast of Chandbali, 130 km south of Sagar Island and 280 km southwest of Khepupara (Bangladesh). The system is likely to intensify further and move in a near northerly direction and cross West Bengal coast near long. 88.00 E (near Sagar Island) today, the 25th May 2009 afternoon/evening. Based on latest analysis with Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models and other conventional techniques, estimated track and intensity of the system are given in the Table below: Date/Time(IST) Position (lat. 0N/long. 0E) Sustained maximum surface wind speed (kmph)25.05.2009/0830 20.5/88.0 80-90 gusting to 10025.05.2009/1130 21.0/88.0 90-100 gusting to 11025.05.2009/1730 22.0/88.0 (over land) 90-100 gusting to 11025.05.2009/2330 23.0/88.0 (over land) 60 gusting to 7026.05.2009/0530 23.5/88.5 (over land) 40 gusting to 50
Under its influence, rainfall at most places with heavy to very heavy falls at a few places and isolated extremely heavy falls (≥ 25 cm) is likely over West Bengal and Sikkim during next 48 hours and over north Orissa during next 24 hours. Gale wind speed reaching 80-90 kmph gusting 100 kmph likely along and off West Bengal and north Orissa coasts which may increase from today, the 25th May 2009, noon to 90-100 kmph gusting to 110 kmph along and off these coasts during next 18 hours. Sea condition will be very high along and off West Bengal and north Orissa coasts during the same period. Storm surge of about 2-3 meters above astronomical tide is likely to inundate the coastal areas of south 24-Pargana and Midnapur districts of West Bengal at the time of landfall.

Damage expected: Extensive damage to thatched roofs and huts, minor damage to power and communication lines due to uprooting of large avenue trees. Flooding of escape routs over coastal districts of West Bengal and north Orissa.

Advice and Action suggested: Total suspension of fishing operations. Coastal hutments dwellers to moved to safer place. People in affected areas to remain indoors