Durgati-Nashini : The destroyer of all Evil

Durga Puja is an annual Hindu festival  in South Asia that celebrates worship of the Hindu mother goddess Durga. The celebrations begin in different forms throughout India (and even abroad). The north witnesses people calmly fasting for 7 days and the people in the east can't stop celebrating and eating. The west is marked by the Garba dance festival and the south celebrates Durga Puja around temples like Vijayawada in all its glory.

Maa Durga, as the godess is popularly known, is also known by her many names.

In Hinduism, Durga (Sanskrit: दुर्गा); ); meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible"; Bengali: দুর্গা, durga) or Maa Durga (Bengali: মা দুর্গা, ( mā durgā ), meaning "Mother Durga") "one who can redeem in situations of utmost distress" is a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess, depicted as having ten arms, riding a lion or a tiger, carrying weapons and a lotus flower and maintaining a meditative smile has often been compared to the mother who nourishes or even to mother nature.

Well enough said .. now check out my mean tattoo ...its been quite a while since I got it .. but hey doesnt hurt to brag ...LOL  !!

Time for India to take to the streets

We often hear people around here talk of how ill the system in India is. We are informed from childhood about how most government officials refuse to work unless they are bribed; how disfunctional the government schools and hospitals are. It might enrage us to hear someone speak so poorly of our country's  but the matter of the fact is whoever says all that is actually right.

But then there are those of us who feel things will never change. Thats when they are wrong. For  it is one thing to have problems and an different thing entirely to give up on fixing them. The fact is that there are still good people here. These people are the ones who do not want to take bribes and torment us regular folks unnecessarily but are often crushed due to their small numbers and the great numbers of the corrupt around them.

I don't want to give you reasons to support Anna Hazare's anti corruption campaign. That would be belitteling Anna's dignity that inspite of knowing his cause, he or anyone else would need you to beg for support. Anna is 74 years old. He is going on an indefinite fast against corruption from 16th August. He is not doing that for his personal benifit. He could have easily become a politician with all his support he recieved during all his movements against anti-social causes in the past. But he chose to stay a social activist. Now, he is going on a fast for you and I.

The government is throwing magic dust into the eyes of us commoners by coming up with a version of the anti corruption Lokpal Bill which actually supports corruption and protects the corrupt.  Only 0.5% or 1 in 200 government officials are under the category which falls under scrutiny. No one from the ministry (including the PM) can be indicted.

Why does the government want to have separate laws for some and a different version for the rest in the world's largest democracy ? It is because they themselves have skeletons in their closets and know what the outcome might be if they get caught. They are counting on the ill informed people in the indian population to not know the difference between the versions. But by now all of you should know.

We live in a poor country. It is not because the money is any less here. But because these dogs among men have taken it from the commoners and have accumulated as their black money. So I implore you, whatever might your view on Anna be, its not him but his cause that needs your support. The government can crush one Anna Hazare but it cannot crush 150 million of them.

As is mentioned in the Geeta, nothing is permanent and when the pot of sin overflows, the restore to balance is natural. I feel that for the government, the pot is overflowing for sometime now. It is now or never. For those of us who can, show up in large numbers and demonstrate in a non violent yet firm way that it is time for the second struggle for India to begin, it is time to put a foot down  for what is right, it is time to fight for our right; our right to have competent people lead this country.

The new and improved democtatorship policy

So, what is this new democtatorship terminology ? It is letting the people vote and make sure they keep voting for you. If at any time you feel people may gather to talk about the corruption in your government, impose section 144, talk of communal tensions inciting and beat the crap out of the gathering women and children alike.

Sound familiar ? Yes that has happened in the past and will keep happening unless something is done.
Some time back, in a first attempt of its kind, Anna Hazare went on a hunger strike in a satyagrah style  against corruption following the footsteps of Gandhi. The government was sly enough to promise the old man action and made him stop. When he went back home a national hero, the government found loopholes and tried to talk its way out of getting caught with its hand in the cookie jar.

When the common man realised that he has been duped again, a man who stood by Anna Hazare, the most powerful yoga guru in India, Baba Ramdev stood up against the government in a peaceful hunger strike at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi with a support of oer 60,000 supporters.

What the government tried to do :

1. First the government sent its ministers  to convince him not to do it. They tried to find a middle way somehow such that the government's corruption could be kept under the wraps and he  could be prevented from going on a hunger strike.

2. When that did not work the government suddenly realised that situation posed a communal threat and asked Baba and his supporters to disperse.

3. When baba refused to budge, the government levied section 144 (which makes any gathering of more than 3 people a punishable offence). The government also cancelled his permit to host the gathering at Ramlila maidan. Not to mention they beat the crap out of the supporters ( which had the elderly and women). Baba Ramdev's PA got a broken leg out of the whole ordeal.

4. Congress called Baba Ramdev a fraud saying that he was not a yogi, but a bhogi; that he treated yoga like a business and has made millions out of it.

5. Popular stars of the big screen like Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan (who have always enjoyed the congress hand over their heads) were made to speak against Ramdev on media to get some support for the goverment.

6. He was also called a person who has his own benefits in mind when he sat on the strike ( like popularity for a political career ahead).

7. Media was forcefully removed.    

My Questions to the government :

1.  Why did the government go from licking to kicking ? If he was such a fraud, why send ministers to negotiate in the first place ?

2.  If there was a communal threat, why did he government approve the permit for a lakh people in the first place ?

3. Why crack down on people ( with women and children) who were quietly sitting on a hunger strike ?

4. So what if Ramdev Baba was a businessman ? How does it make him a fraud and not worthy of people's trust. I agree that he has made millions, but he has done that helping thousands of people learn Yoga and get rid of their physical problems. He set his example for others which inspired thousands to start yoga. He was physically challenged himself before he started yoga and cured himself completely.

Above all .... how does it justify the government crackdown on 60,000 people supporting a man on hunger strike ?

5. We all love the movie stars but if they value their stardom and popularity, I think they should stay out of commenting on this one as the price hikes may not hurt them much but their comments against the anti corruption strike got the common man thinking against the movie stars.

6.  So, Ramdev may have a political agenda in mind ? How does that make him wrong ? How does it make his protest to bring all the black money the current politicians are storing in swiss banks and getting everyone answerable to the Lok bill wrong ?

How does that justify the government's strong support for keeping all the guilty under wraps ?

7. Why was the media removed forcefully ? What was it that the government did not want the media to cover ? Did they really think it could be hidden ?

Other's Reactions :

1. Govt.'s crackdown on people standing against corruption has been compared to the Jalianwala Bagh episode in which the ruthless General Dyre fired upon hundreds of unarmed people who were quietly staging protest against the British Govt.

2. India Against Corruption said it condemned the "barbaric and unprovoked" action and demanded an explanation from the PM.  "Last night's brutal assault of the government reminds one of 1975 Emergency. It is almost an emergency-like situation."

3. Anna Hazare said the incident has deeply saddened him and reminded him of the Jalianwala Bagh incident.


Now I personally feel our respectable Prime Minister should finally grow some backbone and face the media and put an end to the barbaric atrocities. We as Indians have become so used to keeping our eyes shut to corruption that it has breached every level of our existence. Now that someone is actually standing up against it, should we stay quiet and let our government crush it ? Or should we do something about it and take our country back from the people who are eating it away from inside like a termite infestation. Corruption is a pest in our home land and I think it is about time we called in the pest control.

Why Govt is trying so hard to stay in power :

1. Sonia Gandhi's unmanagable background :

Sonia Exposed Part 1

Sonia Exposed Part 2

2. Lots of flawed and corrupt moves by the Indian government, prohibited them from doing anything at many times and led to the current situation in the north. If the govt goes out of power, they would have hell to answer for.

Kashmiri Pundit problem - got swept under the carpet


I think it is about time, that these corrupt be brought to justice, that truth may prevail, that India be known for the strong leadership which it used to so proudly once flaunt ... it's time for change.

Surabhi august 2010

My article on Mothers Blossoms news letter

Surabhi august 2010

View more presentations from Sourav Mukherjee.

A strong beginning to a grand finale

We all have to agree, the Harry Potter series is not just any movie series. It can easily be called a phenomenon and like all good things it must come to an end .

The series has grown and matured over the years. With this movie as we slowly gear up to bid farewell to cinema's most successful and imaginative franchises, I found that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows turned out to be a strong buildup for what is going to be a triumphant bitter-sweet finale for everyone.

The direction of David Yates was absolutely magnificent. He did a fantastic job providing an air of darkness and letting the audience see a small frickle of light in the hopelessness. Needless to say, with actors like Bill Nighy (who played the minister of Magic), Alan Rickman (Proff Snape), Helena Bohem Carter (Bellatrix) etc who graced the movie with their veteran acting skills and the trio of Radcliff (Harry Potter), Watson (Hermione) and Grint (Weasely) look all grown up and have matured as actors. A special mention for Emma Watson who looks absolutely gorgeous.

The special effects of the movie do not need any mention as it has always been top notch. Though I would like to draw attention to one sequence about the origin of the deathly hallows which was absolutely jaw dropping.

All things apart, I would strongly recommend it for everyone but only after you have watched the other 6 movies first.

Beautiful movie ... absolutely well done !!

Nothing Escapes Him !!

Rob Downey Jr is back .... and how !!

I knew I had to get my hands on those movie tickets as soon as soon as I first caught glimpse of the trailer. Being a huge fan of Doyle's work, I'm a big fan of Holmes. I own a lot of those BBC movies of Sherlock Holmes' different cases. Since I watched the making of the movie special on TV, I knew that this is not about any of Holmes' exploits penned by Doyle, rather this one is written by Lionel Wigram and Michael Robert Johnson.

This movie stars Robert Downey Jr. as the world's greatest detective himself and Jude Law as the surgeon, war veteran and above all Holme's faithful companion Dr. John Watson. Rachael McAdams is Irene Adler and Mark Strong , Lord Blackwood.Directed by Guy Ritchie, this movie dares to explore parts of Holmes' individuality where the earlier movies and serials failed to venture. Voracious Holmes readers would know from the books that inspite of having the best deduction abilities anyone could ever have, he was a total mess.He would often need someone to shake him back in touch with the world or else, him and his legendary pipe, would have a field day, deep in his thoughts out of which he may not emerge back too soon. Besides that, readers would also know that Holmes was a great boxer, superb at martial arts ( read Jiu Jitsu , which he used to throw Proff. Moriearty off the waterfall in the return of Sherlock Holmes story ), had a thing for Irene Adler (A Scandal in Bohemia) and lived at 221B Baker Street, London.

This movie shows Holmes boxing, kicking butt, living in a mess and often requiring constant wake up calls from the good doctor. The Victorian London has been depicted impeccably with the dark envrionment, pebbled roads, the sound of hoofs a horse carriage would make, the rains, the pudddles and the unfinished bridges.Now those of us, who grew up watching those BBC specials of Sherlock Holmes (without much reading the unabridged stories), would have a hard time relating this movie to what BBC had fed us in the form of Sherlcok Holmes movies for years because they had neither the resources nor the conviction to portray that side of Holmes which made him more of a human.

They would rather just stick to showing how extraordinarily well he was about almost everything.Wel I do admit, the characters in the movie were not too much like what Sir Doyle etched in his books. Robert Downey Jr.'s Holmes was not the tall, thin pointy nosed excuse for an individual. Nor was Dr Watson, the bumbling fool which Nigel Bruce popularised in the 1930-40s films. Jude Law's Watson was fast, fierce, knowledgable (no match for Holmes however) and quite the fighter which one would need to be if one were to get caught in the situations that following Holmes would lead you in.So I believe, that most franchises were changing their look to suit today's audience, this movie , very cleverly utilised the unchartard territory of Holmes' character and used a different story altogether to prevent fans from knowing the end and in process bring in more people. Now this is a movie both of masses and the classes.I seriously recommend this movie to about everyone.

Istqb Sample Question Paper 3

ISTQB Question Paper

Istqb Sample Question Paper 3

View more documents from Warsha Goel.