Amrita Pritam : the Living Legend.

Renowned Indian writer Amrita Pritam has died at her home in the Indian capital Delhi after a long illness.

It is another sad news on the eve of Diwali.

May her soul rest in peace.

For more about her : BBC , The Hindu.

Click : "Wild Flower" if u want to read a short story written by Amrita Pritam.

tag : amrita pritam.

Dare to buy this house ?

For sale: three-bedroom Colonial in charming neighborhood. Hardwood floors. Lots of personality.

And, oh yeah: Satan slept here.

World's most HAUNTED HOUSE is on sale. If you are looking for a place where you can spend your honeymoon peacefully then this house is just perfect for you.

Interested ?

Hell of a House

WE ARE NOT SCARED

festive fervour,
deafening sound.....
bloodstains everywhere...

AFTER LONDON IT'S DELHI. Last night Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba militants (suspected) carried out three well co-ordinated bomb blasts in quick succession targeting crowded markets and a bus, killing 55 people and injuring at least 155, including some foreigners.

Burnt bodies, bloodstains, glass shards and smoking debris littered the spots as rescuers frantically pulled out the dead and injured. Thousands of survivors milled around in shock, trying to find out what had happened to missing relatives.

Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh expressed shock and asserted that the government was determined to defeat the nefarious designs of terrorists.

"The people of India have the will, capacity and resolution to win the war against terrorism."

Terrorizing innocent people going about their daily business is cowardly and an almost blatant acceptance of defeat. We will not bow to their threats or their cruel actions. Just do not underestimate our collective strength in the face of adversity. And I just hope these cowards will be caught and brought to justice. They will never break our love, care and bond between each other.My thoughts are with the victims and their families. Be strong.

THE IIPM CONTROVERSY.

Gaurav Sabnis, a popular Indian blogger has been served a legal notice for this article.

Gaurav gathered the materials of the controversial post from a survey conducted by JAM magazine.

This legal notice did not have its intended effect. Therefore IIPM decided to employ another tactic. IIPM’s students use Thinkpads. IBM’s(Lenovo) Delhi office received a threat that IIPM’s students would burn their thinkpads in front of the IBM office if they did not force Sabnis to withdraw his statements or give a written apology. Gaurav had 2 options: Delete his comments/give a written Apology or Resign from IBM so that IBM would be not receive negative publicity if IIPM did decide to go ahead with their threat. So Gaurav did something commendable(and brave) and resigned from IBM effective 10 Oct.

Few days later another blogger Varna also got an identical notice from IIPM.

The IIPM guys thought this way they could shut their mouth. But they didn't have any clue about the strength of the bloggers' fraternity. Hundreds of bloggers from all over the world have come forward to show their solidarity with Gaurav and Varna.

Give Gaurav and Varna all the support you can. We all need it.


Technorati tag : IIPM.

Fervour heralds Durga Puja in Bengal

With the beating of drums and a surge of humanity flocking marquees since the morning despite warnings of thundershowers, the five-day Durga Puja, the biggest festival of the Bengalis, began in West Bengal on Sunday.

The festivities begin from Mahasashthi (the sixth day from the day after Mahalaya), when the priest unveils the goddess Durga during a puja known as bodhan.

This is followed by the three main days of Mahasaptami, Mahaastami and Mahanavami when the chanting of hymns, arati and anjali (floral offerings with chanting of hymns by men, women and children in new clothes) mark the rituals.

The fifth day of Bijoya Dasami, when the idols are immersed, marks the end of a carnival in West Bengal that goes beyond religions and communities.

Are You Lonesome Tonight ?

It is 12-30 at night. Puja is still awake. She is going to have yet another lonely, perhaps sleepless night.

She came back from office in the evening but her hubby Raj is away doing his night shifts at a call centre. The two are married for barely two months, but they are not blessed with the happiness of a conjugal life. Puja heaves a deep sigh and clasps the pillow tightly.

Who is to be blamed for such a miserable life ? Herself ? Her spouse ? or the differing work-shifts between them ?

This is not a isolated case of one couple. This is a by-product of this modern society. A number of young couple who work in night shifts in different sectors find themselves in a trying situation. There is a growing rift between the working couples as a result of it. This new culture has been taking a heavy toll on the married lives of young working couples. A good number of divorce cases are also being filed of late because of this reason.

So beware, working couples ! put in extra efforts to stay in touch with each other ! Dont take the other for granted.

Eyes.

Pondering the gentleness
Etched upon your face
Like fine Irish linen
or softness in its place
morning mountain meadows
echo in your eyes
hair of golden sunshine
dress the windless skies
gazing once again
mist betrays the sighs
beauty stunning beauty
measures full in bluest eyes.

by Vinny

Deep Impact.

THE latest study to track global warming revealed that Alaska's snowless season is lengthening. As the world warms and ice-sheets and glaciers begin to melt, most of us worry about how the earth will respond and what kind of impact climate change will have.

Will flooding become a regular feature, or is the land going to become parched ? Are hurricanes and typhoons going to spring up in places they have never visited before ? Is the rising sea level going to swallow some of the world's most fertile farmland, along with millions of homes ? All of these are valid concerns, but now it turns out that the impact of global warming could be worse than we first imagined. Ice sheets are mostly frozen water, but during the freezing process they can also incorporate organisms such as fungi, bacteria and viruses. Some scientists believe that climate change could unleash ancient illnesses as ice sheets drip away and bacteria and viruses defrost. Illnesses we thought we had eradicated, like polio, could reappear, while common viruses like human influenza could have a devastating effect if melting glaciers release a bygone strain to which we have no resistance. What is more, new species unknown to science may re-emerge. And it is not just humans who are at risk: animals, plants and marine creatures could also suffer as ancient microbes thaw out.

Read the Article .

Two Jewish men in a Mexican restaurant

Two Jewish men, "Sid" and "Al," were sitting in a Mexican restaurant. Sid asked Al, "Are there any people of our faith born and raised in Mexico?"

Al replied, "I don't know, let's ask our waiter."

When the waiter came by, Al asked him, "Are there any Mexican Jews?"

The waiter said, "I don't know Senor, I'll ask the cooks."

He returned from the kitchen in a few minutes and said "No sir, no Mexican Jews."

Al wasn't really satisfied with that and asked, "Are you absolutely sure?"

The waiter, realizing he was dealing with "Gringos" gave the expected answer, "I will check again, Senor!" and went back into the kitchen.

While the waiter was away, Sid said, "I find it hard to believe that there are no Jews in Mexico. Our people are scattered everywhere."

The waiter returned and said, "Senor, the head cook said there is no Mexican Jews."

"Are you certain?" Al asked once again, "I can't believe there are no Mexican Jews!"

"Senor, I ask EVERYONE," replied the exasperated waiter. "All we have is orange Jews, prune Jews, tomato Jews and grape Jews."

Red Planet ?

Doesn't it look like a red planet in dark sky ?

Sorry friends !!! actually its the central electrode of a plasma lamp, showing a glowing blue plasma streaming upwards. The colors are a result of the radiative recombination of electrons and ions and the relaxation of electrons in excited states back to lower energy states. These processes emit light in a spectrum characteristic of the gas being excited.

Click here for a bigger planet.