Trust Vote: 22 July, 2008

The UPA sails through quite comfortably in the trust vote, amidst unprecedented drama scripted by the BJP in the Lok Sabha. The controversy about "Cash for Vote" was brought into the notice of the speaker about 2 hrs. before the trust vote. What began as a case of corruption is now finally turning into the dirtiest scandal the Parliament or for that matter the whole nation has ever witnessed. It is clearly understandable from the circumstances that BJP realizing their losing stand and to cover up their ignominious faces, fabricated verbal attacks on Govt., that some of the MP’s had taken bribe from the Samajwadi Party to vote in favour of the Government. Why wasn't this allegation lodged earlier to the police?
The sight was extremely deplorable and how the MP's of BJP brought the money inside the Parliament amidst huge security is still a mystery.

The 2 day Debate initiated by the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, had not many surprises in the 1st day. The major dignities who spoke during the 1st day were Manmohan Singh, Opposition Leader LK Advani, Pranab Mukharjee etc..But the debate heated up in the 2nd day. The most entertaining speaker came out to be Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav, who with his exhilarating talks made many laugh amidst tensed moments prevailing b/w the parties in the Lok Sabha. Another remarkable and inspiring talk favouring the Gov. was given by Mr. Rahul Gandhi.

The other interesting point to note was the resilience shown by the Speaker of Lok Sabha, Somnath Chaterjee who, after being asked to quit by the Left as the speaker prior to the Trust vote , continued performing his obligations most responsibly. He upheld the dignity of his seat and did not submit to the Communist persuasions, which resulted in the Left expelling him from the party.

Now as to whether the Nuke-Deal is really beneficial to India, lot of questions still remain unanswered. I will reserve an exclusive post for that topic after a detailed study.

Model Engg. School

Life is becoming really tough now-a-days. Uncountable amount of work is being put on our head by the teachers in the early 5th sem itself. This wasn't the scenario during the beginning of our 3rd and 4th sem.

The 1st week of this sem itself witnessed tight schedule. Each day we had one work or the other to do. It would be either an assignment or a class test, not to forget the nightmarish lab preparations that we have to do prior to every lab class on tuesdays and wednesdays!!!! I had forgotten the concept of class tests(known as snap tests in my school days) until recently when such things were getting introduced at our classes in the college.
One another surprising thing that happened a few days ago was the Open Book Assessment Test we had in one of our subject. My God!!

There was a time in college when everybody was happy, easy going and free as a bird. There were no stringent rules that bound us to anything. Yet, we used to manage our studies and plays equally well. After all we have matured and know where to draw the line .But with new changes brought to the college under the new "regime", things have gone haywire in the minds of the students. To get into the details of confinement is nothing but merely bugging into my time as well as my reader's. Rightly, the name of the college now deserves to be Model engg. school rather than a college.

Anyway, I cross my fingers and pray to god, for the restoration of peace and tensionless days back to our lives. College lives are really meant to enjoy and these are the only available time of this semester when we can concentrate on activities other than that prescribed in the syllabus.

Carnatic Music and Raaga Sense

There are a lot of things I would like to write about carnatic music and raagas.....the very thought about it brings Anandabairavi, Arabhi, Darbar, Naata, Sriraagam etc..in my mind. Many of the renderings make my hairs stand upright...
Thanks to the great connoisseurs of classical music - Thyagaraja, Muthuswami Dikshitar, Chembai etc...

Until I joined a music class very recently, I used to understand raagas by correlating them with film songs. This helped me in identifying raagas of the various common songs in kacheries. But I know that without knowing the Arohona and Avarohana of the various raagas it is useless and that is why I have decided to join a music class. Its better late than never. I have even tried my hands at the Violin but havent been able to go far. More than performing on a stage, I prefer understanding the beauty, the vast richness and the arithmetics of the various raagas. That will be my aim while I study my music lessons.

There are lots of hit songs in the raga Kapi:
Some of them that I can recollect now are:

Kaadhal Rojave, Film: Roja ; Singer: SPB
Uyre Uyire: Film: Bombay
Ennathavam: Film: Thillakam
Poovukul : Film: Jeans
Thumbi Vaa Thumbakulathil : Film : Olangal
Varamanjaladiya: Film: Pranayavarnangal
Karimizhi kuriviye: Film: Meesamadhavan
Kananakuyile: Film: Mr.Bramhachari.
I have seen people choosing a number of these songs to make Mix Masala.

One another commonly used raaga is Anandabairavi:

Kainiraye venna tharam: Film: Baba Kalyani
Vaalkanezhuthiya: Film: Paithrukum

I will come up with more film songs and their raagas in my future posts...Right now signing off..bye!!!

A Medical Thriller - COMA

I am a great fan of Robin Cook. For those who don't know who he is, Robin Cook is the author of some of the greatest ever "Medical Thriller novels" written.

I dunno why I am very much inclined to his novels....maybe its because I had studied Biology in classes 11 and 12 and that every piece of medical jargon that he uses in his novels apparently seem to make perfect sense to me....maybe my field was medicine!!!

Most of his stories revolve around the impossibilities faced by the medical world and how he has solutions to some of the deadliest diseases mankind has ever faced. He has solutions to diseases ranging from Myloblastic Leukemia (Cancer) to Seizures. What binds one to his novels are the thrilling event sequence that he builds up which finally ends up into a totally unprecedented climax.
Some of the Must-Read novels of his are Vector, Fever, Coma, Brain, Outburst, Blindsight, Mindbend etc...

2 of his books have been converted into hollywood movies..- Coma and Sphinx.
It was yesterday that I downloaded Coma, a A great Medical Thriller made in 1978.
The movie is directed by Michael Crichton, the director of Jurrasic Park.

Some patients of Boston General Hospital, one of the biggest hospitals of the country, seem to become brain dead or get into irreversible Coma after very simple surgeries. Dr. Susan Wheeler finds a pattern in these abnormal deaths while rest of the doctors around tries to evade her away from her findings...Finally she finds out the deadliest truth. The Chief Doctor who is also the owner of the hospital is involved in the deadliest illegal organ transplant business for which he victimises some of the patients by pumping in carbon monoxide in the anaesthesia, which permanently damages the brain due to lack of oxygen. The climax shows the main character, Susan, being made a victim of this and how she manages to escape.
A good movie with lot of breath-taking scenes....

Pranayama - The Control of the Life Force.

This is a very interesting topic that has caught my attention and has made me dwell deeper into this fascinating world....Some of the things that I read, have been abridged in the following paras.

The knowledge of Prana/Life Force is an inevitable wealth a person must gain irrespective of his caste, religion or language.

We know that man can survive for months without food and water but cannot live for more than 30secs (normally), if he is denied of his breath.

In our busy day to day lives, the last thing we care about is breathing. We just know that breathing in of oxygen is vital for our sustenance. Nothing more..We dont even care to understand the huge importance of breathing. As a result, our breathing is short, fast and shallow. We use only a little capacity of our lungs. This is indeed detrimental for our health in the long run.

Prana: Prana, the life force or vital energy, is the center of all Yoga Practices. It is in the air, but it is not in oxygen. It is a subtle form of energy carried by the air, food, water and sunlight, and animates all forms of matter. Through best breathing practices (in the form of Pranayama), more Prana is taken in and stored in the body bringing great vitality and strength. (defn. frm web sources).

Pranayama involves controlling the intake and giving out of oxygen in the form of a specialized, beneficial process that includes giving appropriate pauses b/w inhalation and exhalation. It is one among the 5 principles of Yoga.

Here comes some scientific facts that backs up the effects of Pranayama:
Did you know?? We use only 10% of our brains...There are hidden areas in the brain comprising of the other 90% that is capable of providing humans with great potential capacities like Clairvoyance, intuition etc...
Life force/ Prana is said to have been concentrated below our stomach region called the Kundalini.
By doing Pranayama heat energy is produced in this Kundalini region that travels upwards along the right side of our spinal cord and reaches a lower portion of the brain called the Ajna Chakra. When this is practised regularly, the amount of heat energy accumulates in Ajna Chakra that will then penetrate into the the Hidden areas of the brain, thus helping us see the life and the world around us in its true unique sense....

Thus effective utilization of our brain is possible that will lead to a higher level of living in this world of illusions or Maya.
Mental problems, depressions, diseases etc. can be kept at bay. A true sense of bliss can be achieved in life. It is the sole solution to unsolved mysteries of the world.

This must be the reason why people are now turning into Yoga and pranayama now a days. In spite of its origin in India, the other countries are making the best available uses of these techniques that keep them fit and healthy.

It is a good sign that in this chaotic world, people all over the world are turning into these to lead a more balanced life.

5th Semester starts

I still remember the 1st day at college....I feel like it was yesterday...The days have flown by, 2 years at college went in a flash. Time needs no rest. Now I have landed in classroom 410 of MEC for my 5th semester..

New Subjects, now digging deeper into core Computer science: Software Programming, Computer Graphics, System Programming, Engg.Maths-3,DBMS(Database Management Structures)etc...
Lot of activities and events in store, this year. Placements being the number one, to come in the early 6th sem. Hope everything goes fine for me and my friends in my class...

I cant imagine after 2 more years, I will be leaving my home, keeping behind all my freedom and wander elsewhere working for some company, adhering to their strict rules and taking up responsibilities...(bah!!)
No wonder people say childhood is the most sweetest part in your life...
I wish that the 2 more years to come in college will give me some of the most unforgettable and beautiful memories to cherish in my life...