Mr. V P Singh is no more

Mr. VP Singh, our ex PM expired yesterday.

But for the Mumbai terror, I should have felt good about it.
It is sad when someone departs from this world, and others feel Good bye to Good Riddance.

But, the truth is that it is precisely what I felt for Mr. Singh.

He had high personal integrity and that is to be given to him.

He was bright and sharp - undoubtedly.

But, he raised the bogey of caste - which had all but died out in the larger cities at least. And thus divided the society and did more damage to the social fabric than what any of the terrorists (Hindu/Muslim/Christian) might have done.

I still vividly remember September 1990 as I was a Class XI student then.

Our school captain was a girl called Shalini Yadav. She was a class XII student, an year elder to me.

Untill Mandal commission was dug out to thwart a Chaudhary Devi Lal rally and anti Mandal agitation took over India, I do not think any of us would have imagined or known Shalini's family name or surname.

What we might talked about was that she was no nonsense kinds, perhaps that's why she was made the captain to begin with. I was a school vice captain at that time and felt that she threw too much of her weight and lord is my witness, she did have weight to throw around.

And all of sudden, Shalini's throwing weight around was seen as her involvement with Mandal since she would have benefitted from it, being an "OBC".

I am fairly sure that Shalini would have been as clueless that she was an OBC as we were.

All this changed because of VP Singh.

Overnight, I got a Brahmin identity. It was really silly. I remember the impact like it happenned yesterday.

I ran the school's Quizzing club. And one of the brighter guys was someone called "Pramod" (name changed). Untill anti Mandal protests started, I did not know even - forget caring about - what caste he belonged to. He was one of the few guys who slogged to become a better quizzer and our school was rather pathetic in quizzing till then.

I still remember that I had to choose a team for a team quizzing competition, I chose him and there's this guy who comes and tells me that "Pramod" was an SC and how could I even think of making him the part of the team.... (to finish it, Pramod made to team and we lost - other teams were much better).

Shit.

That's what VP Singh brought with a single act of his. All of sudden, accident of birth (your surname) became more relevant than how long you slogged, how you performed what ever.

It is not done thing in Hindu / Indian ethos to bad mouth someone who is dead.

But let me lose some "punya" for saying this - VP Singh was a rotten guy for what he did to our country.

Someone who tore apart the social fabric of our society, pitted Hindu against Hindu, did much more damage than Missionaries and Macaulay did in 150 years.

It is a pity he did not die earlier.

Perhaps living a parasite life for last 1.5 decades punished him some what for the damage to the society he caused.

May his soul be reborn in the lowest possible "yoni" in the next birth. I do not know if there is any "yoni" like "गन्दी नाली का कीडा" but if there is one, this guy belongs there.

Why Not Nuke Pakistan's cities - Karachi / Lahore / Islamabad

I was reading this article from Times of India, where in they mention that the senior police officers like Mr. Karkare, Mr. Salaskar and Mr. Kamat were targetted and shot dead in minutes after their arrival.

Off course all the major newspapers who were crying hoarse over Hindu terror, now can not mention "Islamic Terror" even once.

And you guys, please do not mention the "Islamic terror" word even once else our "Let-me-ask-Madam-should-I-piss-on-right-or-left" MM Singh will not be able to sleep at night (like he lost sleep over the terrorist caught in Australia).

Why should'nt our nuclear weapons be used to launch a wipe all, rapid, nuclear strike against Pakistani cities.

Wipe out the bastards.

Social Boycott

I propose that we take up a social boycott of anyone and everyone related to Congress.


We will not invite them to our functions and will not talk to them. Let us cut traitors who vote for Congress, out of our lives.


I am starting with my father in law. Either he does not vote these elections (he is a hardcore Congress voter) or I stop dealing with him.


Give your loved ones a clear choice - Congress traitors or YOU.


Remember this is the party:


a) That gave an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that Lord Ram did not exist
b) Then gave another affidavit stating that the bridge was built by Lord Ram but broken by him when he came back.
c) Hired a ship called "Hanuman" to break the Setu.
d) Started Bull Shitting about Hindu Terror


देश बहुत शर्मिंदा है,
अफज़ल अब भी जिन्दा है।


I will not be surprised if suddenly, one fine day you find thethe Congress rubber stamp president, Mrs. Patil has signed the death warrant for Afzal.


Congress is realizing that the people are sick and tired to seeing Hindus get killed.

Enough is Enough - Hit back at the Bastards

Enough is Enough

This is the weakest government we have ever had.

The PM can't even decide whether to piss on left or right without asking his MADAM.

The MADAM - Sonia Maino - is working full time to convert us Hindus to Christianity.

Throw out the Congress government.

Spend the next two days talking to all the people in your life.

Make sure that they go out and vote for which ever candidate can defeat Congress.

Any काला कुत्ता is better than a Congress MLA. Throw them out.

चार्वाक सिद्धान्त

भारतीय दर्शन की यह विशेषता रही है कि भिन्न भिन्न सिद्धान्त एक साथ स्थापित रहें हैं।

एक मनीषी हुए हैं :- चार्वाक

आज जब कि विश्व भर में आर्थिक मंदी कि छाया है, उनका सिद्धान्त विचारणीय है।

"यतं जीवेत, सुखें जीवेत,
ऋणं कृत्वा, घृतं पिबेत "

जब तक जियो, सुख से जियो,
उधार ले कर, घी पियो

संभवतः, अमरीकी पहले से ही इस सिद्धान्त का पालन कर रहे थे :-)

Punjabi deciphered alphabetically

oye too good yaar!!!

Those who live in delhi will relate to it in partclar!!!! (note all vowels are missing as they get eaten up quite mysteriously in saddi dilli inglish!)

Hope no offence is taken :-), this is meant as light hearted fun.

ABC OF PUNJABIS

A is for Adjust. Punjabis will always ask you to adjust whenever they want to push you around.

B is for Backside, and it has nothing to do with your bum, it is an instruction to go to the rear of a building, or block, or shop or whatever.

C is for Cloney and its not a process for replicating sheep, nor is its first name George. It is merely an area where people live e.g. ... "Dfence Cloney".

E is for Expanditure. Punjabis are never shy of spending money – the latest cars, gadgets, marble floors: their ambitions are always expanding.

F is for Fackade, and even though it sounds like a bad word it is actually just the front of a building (with backside being the back, of course).

G is for Gaddi, and the way a Punjabi can pilot his gaddi puts any F1 driver to shame. (If the Grand Prix does come to Delhi there's no way Hamilton, Alonso or Kimi can overtake Balvinder, Jasvinder or Sukhvinder.)

H is for Ho Jayega Ji, and the moment you hear that you have to be careful because you can be reasonably sure it's not going to happen.

I is for Intezaar, and to know more about it see P.

J is for Jindagi, and if there's one person who knows how to live life to the fullest it's a Punjabi.

K is for Khanna, Khurana, etc, the Punjabi equivalent of the Joneses (e.g."Keeping up with the Khuranas")

L is for Lovely, but unfortunately she almost never is.

M is for Mrooti, the car that an entire generation of Punjabis were in love with.

N is for No Problem Ji. To find out how that works see H.

O is for Oye, which can be surprise (Oyye!), a greeting (Oyy!), anger (OYY!) or pain (Oy oy oy...).

P is for Panch Minit, and no matter how near (1 km) or far (100 km) a Punjabi is from you he always says he'll reach you in panch minit.

Q is for Queue, a word completely untranslateable into Punjabi.

R is for Riks, and a Punjabi is always prepared to take one, even if the odds are against him.

S is for Sweetie, Bunty, Pappu and Sonu, who seem to own half the cars in Delhi.

T is for the official bird of Punjab: Tandoori chicken.

U is for when you lose your sex appeal and become "Uncle-ji"

V is for VIP phone numbers @ Rs 15 lakh and counting.

W is for Whan, as in "Whan are you coming, ji?"

X is for the many X-rated words that flow freely in all Punjabi conversations.

Y is for "You nonsense", when anger replaces vocabulary in a shouting match.

Z is for Zigzag. (Please refer to G, M)

Foreign Accent Syndrome - Half of Urban India got it

I have a friend from school days (who shall remain unnamed here), who first made a trip to the UK for ~ 3 months in 1996 or so.

When he came back from UK, his adopted accent was something we had bear for ~ 2 years.

And of course in Delhi, you have all those with their uncle jis and aunty ji in SouthHall or Birmingham or Amreeeca, it is seriously not funny.

The "American" accent or whatever it is assumed to be is the more prevalent one in South Delhi.

So imagine ending up on this ABC News story.

Apparently this is a mental disorder. No, I am not making this up. :-)

Read more to know it.

Marketing Innovation ??? Adultery

I came across some post about a new website that allows "married" people to hook up with other "married" people.

Watch a video about the site here:



The website is at http://www.ashleymadison.com/ and is accessible only from the USA.

Their tagline is : "Life is short, have an affair".

I don't even know how to react.

At one end, it is identifying a niche segment and targetting it. As a marketer, kudos for this.
On the other hand, on moral grounds, it is simply not right.

Are individual rights (to running a business) more valueable to the society than managing its social fibre ? I believe that India has done a better job till now of this than the US although it seems to be changing.

Mumbai is a Honda Civic town

One of the observations I can make after spending 4 days in Mumbai, most on roads, and travelling to areas as diverse as Nariman Point, Matunga, Hard Rock Cafe, Powai, Bhandup, Thane, Andheri and Goregaon (essentially all strata of the city, more or less), is this :

a) There are many more Hondas than Toyotas in Mumbai.

b) There are many many more Honda Civics in Mumbai compared to Honda City. This is in total contrast to Delhi where City vs Civic might be 5 : 1 or so.

Any comments by social observers on why it should be so ??

Turkeys slaughtered Christmas time

I am on the PETA mailing list.

I got this mail, that graphically highlights the cruelty meted out to Turkeys. The video is graphic and may be disturbing to some.

You might consider sending a petition by clicking here.

Another Dilbert

This is another.....

Enjoy......

I got a collection of ~ 750 Dilbert strips. Do let me know if you want them.

Good one from Dilbert

I was browsing my old Dilbert collection... when I found this gem.

Enjoy.

Motrin - We feel your pain

As mentioned, Online Marketing is my latest passion.

I subscribe to an amazing blog by Seth Godin . That's where I got to read about Motrin - pain relievers.

To target a niche segment, Motrin created a viral ad focussing on mother's that carry their kids.

But............ The ad boomranged, there are a lot of YouTube video's mimicking the ad and generally giving viral fever to people at Motrin.

So they pulled it off. Here is the original ad in case you have problems finding it. Personally I think it was not badly made. Perhaps America is too politically correct.

Professor Randy Pausch

In Memoriam: Randy Pausch (1960-2008)Professor Randy Pausch, at the CMU (Carnegie Mellon University) passed away on 25th July 2008.

I am not an academic, and not related to the computing /VR (Virtual Reality) world (the sphere in which Prof Pausch worked), I got to know about him through a note on www.google.com
(not http://www.google.co.in/ which is default search page for most Indians, unless you change the settings).

But as I Googled and I read about him, and saw the video that the link above leads to, I was touched with his passion for the subject and what is best described as "जिजीविषा"। This is simply touching. I downloaded the video of his last lecture at CMU (it is ~ 177 MB and runs for ~ 1.17 hours) and it made my eyes well up. In the lecture, he tells how he went about achieving his childhood dreams and helping others achieve theirs.

And another thing that comes out is how few of our professors have such love and passion for the subject.

अदम्य साहस की प्रतिमूर्ति हैं प्रोफ़ेसर. मुझे सही शब्द नहीं सूझते। ऐसा लगता है जैसे शरीर एक चोगे की तरह उतार कर रख देंगे और एक अन्य यात्रा पर चल देंगे। ट्यूमर आखिरी चरण में है, पर वे शांत हैं।

Open Letter to Mr. Obama from a hard working American

During the American presidential elections, Mr. Cory Miller, a business owner, wrote an open letter to Mr. Barack Obama, which mentioned the values being destroyed by the Obama campaign, values that built the American dream - namely hard work, Can do-will do attitude, thrift, and belief in creating own destiny.

That is the opposite of the so called "leftist liberal" attitude of "desire before deserve", entitlement, expecting the State / Country to do everything.

The contents of this letter are equally valid for India or for any country in the world that wants to make it big.

Please read the longish letter. I found it inspiring (Aside: I sent a mail to Mr. Cory Miller acknowledging him for the letter and seeking his permission to use the letter and I got his written permission today morning. That is unlike what Times of India does - copying photographs and articles verbatim off the net, without as much as acknowledging the source :-)


The letter is reproduced in its entirety, at a few places I have made it "bold" and given "italics" to emphasize.

Mr. Obama,

Given the uproar about the simple question asked you by Joe the plumber, and the persecution that has been heaped on him because he dared to question you, I find myself motivated to say a few things to you myself. While Joe aspires to start a business someday, I already have started not one, but 4 businesses.

But first, let me introduce myself. You can call me "Cory the well driller". I am a 54 year old high school graduate. I didn't go to college like you, I was too ready to go "conquer the world" when I finished high school. 25 years ago at age 29, I started my own water well drilling business at a time when the economy here in East Texas was in a tailspin from the crash of the early 80's oil boom.

I didn't get any help from the government, nor did I look for any. I borrowed what I could from my sister, my uncle, and even the pawn shop and managed to scrape together a homemade drill rig and a few tools to do my first job.

My businesses did not start not a result of privilege.

It is the result of my personal drive, personal ambition, self discipline, self reliance, and a determination to treat my customers fairly. From the very start my business provided one other (than myself) East Texan a full time job. I couldn't afford a backhoe the first few years (something every well drilling business had), so I and my helper had to dig the mud pits that are necessary for each and every job with hand shovels. I had to use my 10 year old, 1/2 ton pickup truck for my water tank truck (normally a job for at least a 2 ton truck).

A year and a half after I started the business, I scraped together a 20% down payment to get a modest bank loan and bought a (28 year) old, worn out, slightly bigger drilling rig to allow me to drill the deeper water wells in my area. I spent the next few years drilling wells with the rig while simultaneously rebuilding it between jobs.

Through these years I never knew from one month to the next if I would have any work or be able to pay the bills. I got behind on my income taxes one year, and spent the next two years paying that back (with penalty and interest) while keeping up with ongoing taxes.

I got behind on my water well supply bill 2 different years (way behind the second time... $80,000), and spent over a year paying it back (each time) while continuing to pay for ongoing supplies C.O.D.. Of course, the personal stress endured through these experiences and years is hard to measure.

I do have a stent in my heart now to memorialize it all.

I spent the next 10 years developing the reputation for being the most competent and most honest water well driller in East Texas. 2 years along the way, I hired another full time employee for the drilling business so that we could provide full time water well pump service as well as the well drilling.

Also, 3 years along the path, I bought a water well screen service machine from a friend, starting business # 2. 5 years later I made a business loan for $100,000 to build a new, higher production, computer controlled screen service machine.

I had designed the machine myself, and it didn't work out for 3 years so I had to make the loan payments without the benefit of any added income from the new machine.

No government program was there to help me with the payments, or to help me sleep at night as I lay awake wondering how I would solve my machine problems or pay my bills. Finally, after 3 years, I got the screen machine working properly, and that provided another full time job for an East Texan in the screen service business.

2 years after that, I made another business loan, this time for $250,000, to buy another used drilling rig and all the support equipment needed to run another, larger, drill rig. This provided another 2 full time jobs for East Texans.

Again, I spent a couple of years not knowing if I had made a smart move, or a move that would bankrupt me. For the third time in 13 years, I had placed everything I owned on the line, risking everything, in order to build a business.

A couple of years into this, I came up with a bright idea for a new kind of mud pump, a fundamentally necessary pump used on water well drill rigs. I spent my entire life savings to date (just $30,000), building a prototype of the pump and took it to the national water well convention to show it off.

Customers immediately started coming out of the woodworks to buy the pumps, but there was a problem. I had depleted my assets making the prototype, and nobody would make me a business loan to start production of the new pumps. With several deposits for pump orders in hand, and nowhere to go, I finally started applying for as many credit card as I could find and took cash withdrawals on these cards to the tune of over $150,000 (including modest loans from my dear sister and brother), to get this 3rd business going.

Yes, once again, I had everything hanging over the line in an effort to start another business. I had never manufactured anything, and I had to design and bring into production a complex hydraulic machine from an untested prototype to a reliable production model (in six months). How many nights I lay awake wondering if I had just made the paramount mistake of my life I cannot tell you, but there were plenty.

I managed to get the pumps into production, which immediately created another 2 full time jobs in East Texas. Some of the models in the first year suffered from quality issues due to the poor workmanship of one of my key suppliers, so I and an employee (another East Texan employed) had to drive across the country to repair customers' pumps, practically from coast to coast. I stood behind the product, and made payments to all the credit cards that had financed me (and my brother and sister).

I spent the next 5 years improving and refining the product, building a reputation for the pump and the company, working to get the pump into drill rig manufacturers' product lines, and paying back credit cards. During all this time I continued to manage a growing water well business that was now operating 3 drill rig crews, and 2 well service crews. Also, the screen service business continued to grow.

No government programs were there to help me, Mr. Obama, but that's ok, I didn't expect any, nor did I want any. I was too busy fighting to make success happen to sit around waiting for the government to help me.

Now, after manufacturing the mud pumps for 7 years, my combined businesses employ 32 full time employees, and distribute $5,000,000 (USD 5 million) annually through the local economy.

Now, just 4 months ago I borrowed $1,254,000, purchasing computer controlled machining equipment to start my 4th business, a production machine shop. The machine shop will serve the mud pump company so that we can better manufacture our pumps that are being shipped worldwide. Of course, the machine shop will also do work for outside companies as well. This has already produced 2 more full time jobs, and 2 more should develop out of it in the next few months.

This should work out, but if it doesn't it will be because you, and the other professional politicians like yourself, will have destroyed our countrys’ (and the world) economy with your meddling with mortgage loan programs through your liberal manipulation and intimidation of loaning institutions to make sure that unqualified borrowers could get mortgages.

You see, at the very time when I couldn't get a business loan to get my mud pumps into production, you were working with Acorn and the Community Reinvestment Act programs to make sure that unqualified borrowers could buy homes with no down payment, and even no credit or worse yet, bad credit.

Even the infamous, liberal, Ninja loans (No Income, No Job or Assets). While these unqualified borrowers were enjoying unrealistically low interest rates, I was paying 22% to 24% interest on the credit cards that I had used to provide me the funds for the mud pump business that has created jobs for more East Texans.

It's funny, because after 25 years of turning almost every dime of extra money back into my businesses to grow them, it has been only in the last two years that I have finally made enough money to be able to put a little away for retirement, and now the value of that has dropped 40% because of the policies you and your ilk have perpetrated on our country.

You see, Mr. Obama,
I'm the guy you intend to raise taxes on. I'm the guy who has spent 25 years toiling and sweating, fretting and fighting, stressing and risking, to build a business and get ahead.

I'm the guy who has been on the very edge of bankruptcy more than a dozen times over the last 25 years, and all the while creating more and more jobs for East Texans who didn’t want to take a risk, and would not demand from themselves what I have demanded from myself.

I'm the guy you characterize as "the Americans who can afford it the most" that you believe should be taxed more to provide income redistribution "to spread the wealth" to those who have never toiled, sweated, fretted, fought, stressed, or risked anything.

You want to characterize me as someone who has enjoyed a life of privilege and who needs to pay a higher percentage of my income than those who have bought into your entitlement culture.

I resent you, Mr. Obama, as I resent all who want to use class warfare as a tool to advance their political career. What's worse, each year more Americans buy into your liberal entitlement culture, and turn to the government for their hope of a better life instead of themselves.

Liberals are succeeding through more than 40 years of collaborative effort between the predominant liberal media, and liberal indoctrination programs in the public school systems across our land.

What is so terribly sad about this is this.

America was made great by people who embraced the one-time American culture of self reliance, self motivation, self determination, self discipline, personal betterment, hard work, risk taking. A culture built around the concept that success was in reach on every able bodied American who would strive for it.

Each year that less Americans embrace that culture, we all descend together. We descend down the socialist path that has brought country after country ultimately to bitter and unremarkable states.

If you and your liberal comrades in the media and school systems would spend half as much effort cultivating a culture of can-do across America as you do cultivating your entitlement culture, we could see Americans at large embracing the conviction that they can elevate themselves through personal betterment, personal achievement, and self reliance.


You see, when people embrace such ideals, they act on them. When people act on such ideals, they succeed. All of America could find herself elevating instead of deteriorating.

But that would eliminate the need for liberal politicians, wouldn't it, Mr. Obama? The country would not need you if the country was convinced that problem solving was best left with individuals instead of the government.

You and all your liberal comrades have got a vested interested in creating a dependent class in our country. It is the very business of liberals to create an ever expanding dependence on government.

What's remarkable is that you, who have never produced a job in your life, are going to tax me to take more of my money and give it to people who wouldn't need my money if they would get off their entitlement mentality asses and applythemselves at work, demand more from themselves, and quit looking to liberal politicians to raise their station in life.

You see, I know because I've had them work for me before. Hundreds of them over these 25 years. People who simply will not show up to work on time. People who just will not work 5 days in a week, much less, 6 days. People always looking for a way to put less effort out.

People who actually tell me that they would do more if I just would first pay them more. People who take off work to sit in government offices to apply to get free government handouts (gee, I wonder how things would have turned out for them if they had spent that time earning money and pleasing their employer?). You see, all of this comes from your entitlement mentality culture.

Oh, I know you will say I am uncompassionate. Sorry, Mr. Obama, wrong again.

You see, I've seen what the average percentage of your income has been given to charities over the years of 2000 to 2004 (ignoring the years you started running for office - can you pronounce “politically motivated”), you averaged of less than 1% annually. And your running mate, Joe Biden, averaged less than ¼% of his annual income in charitable contributions over the last 10 years.

Like so many liberals, the two of you want to give to the needy, just as long as it is someone else’s money you are giving to them.

I won’t say what I have given to charities over the last 25 years, but the percentage is several times more than you or Joe Biden (don’t you just hate goggle?). Tell me again how you feel my pain.

In short, Mr. Obama, your political philosophies represent everything that is wrong with our country.

You represent the culture of government dependence instead of self reliance; Entitlement mentality instead of personal achievement; Penalization of the successful to reward the unmotivated; Political correctness instead of open mindedness and open debate.

If you are successful, you may preside over the final transformation of America from being the greatest and most self-reliant culture on earth, to just another country of whiners and wimps, who sit around looking to the government to solve their problems.

Like all of western Europe. All countries on the decline. All countries that, because of liberal socialistic mentalities, have a little less to offer mankind every year.

God help us...

Cory Miller
just a ordinary, extraordinary American, the way most Americans used to be.

P.S. Yes, Mr. Obama, I am a real American... http://www.cmillerdrilling.com/

India Press Photo Awards 2008 - जिजीविषा

India Press Photo Awards 2008
Originally uploaded by euphoria_ys

This is called जिजीविषा (Ji ji visha)

Extreme desire to live.

That is why we survive.

Inspite all odds.

This is what lifted my spirits after the last post

Was Maulana Azad a Muslim leader ???

There is a take away counter of the Moti Mahal restaurant chain that has opened near my house.

Now, Moti Mahal's specialities are mostly non vegetarian and off limits for me, but there was something that amazed and shocked me.

This chain proclaims that they have been in operation since 1920 or something (forgive the error if any, I read it and didn't note it). The entrance board proudly proclaims that, (sic) "M. Maulana Azad, the Muslim leader, told the Shah of Iran.......(essentially that the food is awesome) "

I was like zapped.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, as far my knowledge and understanding of Indian history go, was a nationalist leader and a freedom fighter. He was India's first education minister. He was a rabid opponent of Indian partition and formation of Pakistan.

To call him a Muslim leader is to reduce his stature, his pan India status. It is akin to calling Sachin Tendulkar a Mumbai batsman or a Deshastha Brahmin batsman from Dadar.

What next ????

Will Dr. APJ Kalam will become a Muslim scientist ?? Will he no longer remain the father of India's missile programme ????

I do not know how many additional Tandoori chickens this chain sold by writing this. But this sure is silly.

Would write them a letter this week.

Can some reader take it up with the concerned authorities.

Song from Anand Math

Like in the earlier post, I am finding amazing stuff from You Tube.

I had got ~ 250 Amar Chitra Katha titles for my daughter. I read her a few pages from a title each night and we finish the book in ~ a week.

Currently we are reading "Anand Math" - an Amar Chitra Katha adaptation of the original novel by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya. (As an aside, Bankim Chandra was one of those Leonardo Di Vinchi kind of men who had mastery over a number of areas - at the time of his death in 1894, he was working on Puranic literature, and he retired as Deputy Magistrate in those British times)

As you would be aware - Anand Math is a novel set in British times. It is a story of a nationalist zamindar couple who get separated when attacked by bandits. Both husband and wife take the other to be dead and separately become a part of the revolutionary "Santans" who are fighting British.

Our national song "Vande Maatram" made its appearance in Anand Math.

Based on this novel, a movie called Anand Math was made in 1952. It was a super hit in those days and gave significant boost to careers of Pradeep and Hemant Kumar.

I searched on You Tube for Anand Math and came across two absolute jewels.

Vande Maatram is of course known by all, this video has Geeta Bali and actor Pradeep singing almost all the five stanzas (we are taught only the second).




The lady version is sung by Lata ji and is available below,



The other is a song I was overjoyed to hear since I heard it after maybe 25-30 years. I had heard it as a child when my father used to play his LP collection on Sundays. So it brought back many fond memories. This is Jai Jagdeesh Hare, sung by Hemant Kumar and Geeta Bali.

Shree Nama Sankeertan

You Tube has allowed people to access amazing videos.

Here is one of a Naam Sankeertan (नाम संकीर्तन ), which is chanting of the name of the Lord (Krishna).

The video is recorded at Isckon Mayapur, the ISCKON head quarters.

While the chanting is in Bangla, this is the "old" Bangla or traditional Bangla which is much closer to Sanskrit. So, if you took your Sanskrit lessons well, this would be real pleasure.

Click below to see the video