Old version:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer,building his house & laying up supplies for the winter.the grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool & plays the summer away.come winter the ant is warm & well fed.the grasshopper has no food or shelter so he dies out in the cold.
Modern version:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer,building his house & laying up supplies for the winter.the grasshopper thinks the ant's a fool & plays the summer away.come winter,the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference & demands to know why the ant should be allowed to remain warm & well fed while others are cold & starving.
NDTV,BBC,CNN-IBN show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home.
Arundhati roy stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house.medha patkar goes on a fast demanding that the grasshoppers be relocated to warmer climates during winter.amnesty international & kofi annan criticize the indian government for not upholding the fundamental rights of the grasshopper.left parties call for 'bharat bundh' in west bengal & kerala.cpm in kerala passes a law preventing ants from working ard so as to bring about equality of poverty among ants & grasshoppers.the judicial committee drafts the 'Prevention Of Terrorism Against Grasshoppers Act'(POTAGA),with effect from the beginning of the winter.Arjun singh makes special reservation for the grasshopper in educational & government service.
The ant is fined for failing to comply with the POTAGA & having nothing to do but pay his retroactive taxes ,his home is confiscated & handed over to the grasshopper in a ceremony.Arundhati Roy calls it 'a triumph of justice' cpm calls it 'a revolutionary resurgenve of the downtrodden.'
many years later...the aforementioned ant has since migrated to the US & set up a multi billion dollar company in silicon valley .100s of grasshoppers still starve & die....
losing a lot of hardworking ants & feeding grasshoppers India is still a 'developing' country.
As the above two stories clearly suggest,there's a definite lesson to be learnt.....or perhaps lessons.
1.You can't make an omelette without breaking eggs.... wake up & smell the coffee....you need to be concerned for your welfare first.People must not commit the sin of helping people ahead of themselves.No matter how dire their need may be... the direst need is the need of self.
2.Darwin was right:it is only the fit & strong who survive,there is no place in an ever advancing civilization for those who fall by the wayside.
Clearly... man's ability & his mind are all that matter,most regrettably we live in a society which refuses to acknowledge those of the highest mind & glorifies mediocrity & altruism.
LIFE IS NOT FUN.
The main objective of man's life is not to fritter it or his abilities away while those of lesser ability are parasites to his puissance.The time for repair of the system is long gone,the canker has eaten so deep into it that it cannot be cured save by complete removal,i.e.the evolution of a completely new system which does not demand that the weak or the undeserving get the unearned... whether by force or by tears.Where the mind reigns supreme where those of great talent are suitably rewarded.Where examinations are decided by the content of the answer rather than the neatness of the script in which it is written.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
fan...tas...tic
Oh , the Places You'll Go! By Dr. Seuss
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.
You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.
It's opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!
You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don't.
Because, sometimes, you won't.
I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
that Bang-ups
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.
You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.
And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you can sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...
... for people just waiting
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That's not for you!
Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of them all.
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.
I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.
And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul.
On you will go
though your enemies prowl.
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike.
And I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.
You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.
It's opener there
in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.
And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.
OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!
You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.
You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.
Except when you don't.
Because, sometimes, you won't.
I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
that Bang-ups
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.
You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.
You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.
And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.
You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you can sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?
And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.
You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...
... for people just waiting
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.
NO!
That's not for you!
Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.
With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!
Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of them all.
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.
Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.
I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.
All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.
And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.
But on you will go
though the weather be foul.
On you will go
though your enemies prowl.
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.
On and on you will hike.
And I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.
You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.
And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)
KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!
So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!
Monday, April 14, 2008
reservations on reservation
The reservation issue is an issue which has plagued the government for years,decades even,it has finally been resolved,in the same farcical manner in which it was instituted.Reservations of any sort are a means of sacrificing human ability to the paraiah of need.This is indeed the pathetic & shameful state to which our country has been brought.It is only a token consolation that the so called 'creamy layer' has been excluded.We cannot afford the luxury of mediocrity in the world of reason,where man is nothing more than the sum of his mind & its products,viz.his achievements.
The policy of affirmative action has several merits over the reservation issue as it categorically states that people who have suffered certain iniquities or inequities in the past are given preference in whatever sphere,when they are equally qualified as the other applicants.We cannot afford to dilute the products of our education system especially by sacrificing ability to need.This represents one of the most egregious forms of injustice as reservations are a means of treating the symptoms but not the disease.The disease is a bureaucracy which is dodging the issue of non-development at the rural level by providing concessions for higher education by diluting the standards of the education system.This simply cannot be allowed to continue,the right way to go about this issue would be to remove reservations of all kinds,and improve the rural education scheme,this requires long & painstaking effort.
As Rangnar Danneskjold says in Atlas Shrugged: "The idea that need is a sacred idol requiring human sacrifices-that the need of some men is the knife of a guillotine hanging over others-that all of us must live with our work, our hopes, our plans, our efforts at the mercy of the moment when that knife will descend upon us-and that the extent of our ability is the extent of our danger, so that success will bring our heads down on the block, while failure will give us the right to pull the cord. This is the horror which Robin Hood immortalized as an ideal of righteousness. It is said that he fought against the looting rulers and returned the loot to those who had been robbed, but that is not the meaning of the legend which has survived. He is remembered, not as a champion of property, but as a champion of need, not as a defender of the robbed, but as a provider of the poor. He is held to be the first man who assumed a halo of virtue by practicing charity with wealth which he did not own, by giving away goods which he had not produced, by making others pay for the luxury of his pity. He is the man who became the symbol of the idea that need, not achievement, is the source of rights, that we don't have to produce, only to want, that the earned does not belong to us, but the unearned does. He became a justification for every mediocrity who, unable to make his own living, has demanded the power to dispose of the property of his betters, by proclaiming his willingness to devote his life to his inferiors at the price of robbing his superiors. It is this foulest of creatures-the double-parasite who lives on the sores, of the poor and the blood of the rich-whom men have come to regard as a moral ideal. And this has brought us to a world where the more a man produces, the closer he comes to the loss of all his rights, until, if his ability is great enough, he becomes a rightless creature delivered as prey to any claimant-while in order to be placed above rights, above principles, above morality, placed where anything is permitted to him, even plunder and murder, all a man has to do is to be in need. Do you wonder why the world is collapsing around us? That is what I am fighting, Mr.
Rearden. Until men learn that of all human symbols, Robin Hood is the most immoral and the most contemptible, there will be no justice on earth and no way for mankind to survive."
We must learn that the undeserving cannot get the unearned,just because a directive from the government says so.The policy of introducing reservations for anybody,based on any criteria,always exacerbates the inequality,because more & more people will put in less & less effort because of the easy back door being offered.All that drives this world is man's mind & its products,the grace of god is essential,but the grace of god will not change anything by itself.God helps those tho help themselves.
We as proud Indians must stop depending on this inanity, we must rise up,prove our own worth,and refuse to accept this monstrous absurdity where lesser & lesser ability gets you higher & higher.This must happen as soon as possible,before there is a new reservation category called 'MC':meritorious category.
The policy of affirmative action has several merits over the reservation issue as it categorically states that people who have suffered certain iniquities or inequities in the past are given preference in whatever sphere,when they are equally qualified as the other applicants.We cannot afford to dilute the products of our education system especially by sacrificing ability to need.This represents one of the most egregious forms of injustice as reservations are a means of treating the symptoms but not the disease.The disease is a bureaucracy which is dodging the issue of non-development at the rural level by providing concessions for higher education by diluting the standards of the education system.This simply cannot be allowed to continue,the right way to go about this issue would be to remove reservations of all kinds,and improve the rural education scheme,this requires long & painstaking effort.
As Rangnar Danneskjold says in Atlas Shrugged: "The idea that need is a sacred idol requiring human sacrifices-that the need of some men is the knife of a guillotine hanging over others-that all of us must live with our work, our hopes, our plans, our efforts at the mercy of the moment when that knife will descend upon us-and that the extent of our ability is the extent of our danger, so that success will bring our heads down on the block, while failure will give us the right to pull the cord. This is the horror which Robin Hood immortalized as an ideal of righteousness. It is said that he fought against the looting rulers and returned the loot to those who had been robbed, but that is not the meaning of the legend which has survived. He is remembered, not as a champion of property, but as a champion of need, not as a defender of the robbed, but as a provider of the poor. He is held to be the first man who assumed a halo of virtue by practicing charity with wealth which he did not own, by giving away goods which he had not produced, by making others pay for the luxury of his pity. He is the man who became the symbol of the idea that need, not achievement, is the source of rights, that we don't have to produce, only to want, that the earned does not belong to us, but the unearned does. He became a justification for every mediocrity who, unable to make his own living, has demanded the power to dispose of the property of his betters, by proclaiming his willingness to devote his life to his inferiors at the price of robbing his superiors. It is this foulest of creatures-the double-parasite who lives on the sores, of the poor and the blood of the rich-whom men have come to regard as a moral ideal. And this has brought us to a world where the more a man produces, the closer he comes to the loss of all his rights, until, if his ability is great enough, he becomes a rightless creature delivered as prey to any claimant-while in order to be placed above rights, above principles, above morality, placed where anything is permitted to him, even plunder and murder, all a man has to do is to be in need. Do you wonder why the world is collapsing around us? That is what I am fighting, Mr.
Rearden. Until men learn that of all human symbols, Robin Hood is the most immoral and the most contemptible, there will be no justice on earth and no way for mankind to survive."
We must learn that the undeserving cannot get the unearned,just because a directive from the government says so.The policy of introducing reservations for anybody,based on any criteria,always exacerbates the inequality,because more & more people will put in less & less effort because of the easy back door being offered.All that drives this world is man's mind & its products,the grace of god is essential,but the grace of god will not change anything by itself.God helps those tho help themselves.
We as proud Indians must stop depending on this inanity, we must rise up,prove our own worth,and refuse to accept this monstrous absurdity where lesser & lesser ability gets you higher & higher.This must happen as soon as possible,before there is a new reservation category called 'MC':meritorious category.
Monday, April 7, 2008
A walk in...er...above the clouds:the fellowship of coorg
A dozen of us had been to coorg recently,It started out as an idea,& after numerous twits & turns was finally realized.we set out at night from Bangalore,Veeru,Thimm & I were delayed @ majestic,
something I greatly resented,after enduring numerous good natured taunts of 'late latifs' & the like we set out on the night of the 20th of march.Many of us were hungry,thankfully HV had foreseen this & had brought bisi-bele bath & curd rice...yummy...we were careful to have some each before it reached Thimm however,who has a voracious apetite & declared that he was starving as soon as he saw the food.
We kept ourselves busy throughout the journey by listening to an assortment of music,chatting,the general bonhomie.Many of us nodded off for at least part of the trip.Tau's energy was something to marvel at...there was a relentless flood of jokes(some of which were in hindi... much to Bhanga's chagrin),shayari & what have you.... Bhanga actually went to the extent of asking him when his battery would run out...The trip had special significance for Thimm,being a kodava he was looking forward to seeing the land of his sires again.He had'nt slept the night before either.As soon as we reached our accomodation in the early ours of the morning(around 4:30)many of us flopped down on the bed... i had a cold water bath...(felt great...in the cold of madikeri)&followed suit.
I was woken in the morning by HV & Co when we left to see abbe falls.Which i had seen before.Its a picturesque waterfall around 8km from madikeri.
After abbe falls we left for Nisargadhama,which is an island in the cauvery,noted for its deer park.Everyone had fun playing in the water(catch,that is..)a particularly wild throw sent the ball downriver,Vishy swam after it & retrieved it.The journey in the bus wasn't that boring...when we weren't tcuking into some snacks,or butchering songs(in the name of antakshari...)or trying to stop our ears to escape the cacophony,we were entertained by SRK dodging police & other underworld adversaries in Don.
After Nisargadhama,we ate lunch & left for the nearby Tibetan monastery..I marvelled at the variety of birds to be found there(of the avian persuasion)& the austere calm of the environs.
Our plan to visit Rajaseat the same day was thwarted by rain & we returned to our rooms,we left later to look for a hotel for dinner,to our dismay,many of the nearby hotels were full to capacity.We finally found a modest hotel later & ate like ravenous wolves.
We woke the next morning to heavy showers,some of the group were squeamish @ the thought of leeches,so we aborted the plan of thadiyandamol.We went to bhagamandala,the sangam of rivers,& raced to our bus as the rain started bucketing down.We contemplated aborting talacauvery because of the rain,but thimm dissuaded us,..(thankfully)we reached talacauvery to see an abnormally large number of vehicles,scudding wind,bullet like rain,& clouds on the ground(i've heard of people having their heads in the clouds but this was ridiculous),shanky & shahreen didnt like the cold & elected to remain behind.In the cold,thimm,veeru,bhanga&vishy had a dip in the water at talacauvery,bhanga was shivering so much his outline almost looked blurred...(okay..exaggeration... i know...but you w..w..weren't th...th..there),on thimm's suggestion we climbed to the top of the mountain from talacauvery via the steps,this was my favourite moment of the trip,climbing around 250 to 300 steps in the freezing rain & gale force winds at one go with thimm,we were the first to the top,the weather there could only e described as... well... a localized hurricane.as the cloud came in,we decided to descend because the visibility was fading,but once we came back down all of us had the same thought,that we're now back on earth,we were somewhere else for 20 minutes.A couple of hot chilli bajjis each & a cup of hot coorg coffee each later,we were back in the saddle & heading for madikeri,when we reached our rooms i ran for a good hot bath,basking in the warmth as though i'd never felt it before.After a hasty lunch,we went to Raja seat,only to be overtaken by rain once again,but this time we just soaked it in...HV looked like a senior citizen of the first order,with a shawl & slippers,we joked that if he had a walking stick some coorgi youngster with a mind to help the elderly would volunteer to drop him back.Thimm,Vishy & Veeru took the rest of us on a sort of 'trek'through a trail they had found on one of their early morning jaunts.
At dinner,our spirits revived over the masala lemon soda which was now a fixture at our meals.The next morning we left for Iruppu falls which was a long way from madikeri,I was woken early,didn't want any delays,so I had a bath & went back to sleep.when we were finally about to leave,HV returned after a precautionary sweep of the rooms with many articles (all belonging to thimm).
We stopped once on the way,& passed through thimm's hometown,but once we reached there,It was wonderful to see azure blue skies & bask in the sun's heat....for the first time in days...,we were entertained along the way by constant singing,(the real stuff courtsey of veeru,richa,thimm,vibha),& an assortment of remixes which HV had brought. Iruppu is a gem of a cataract,tucked away in the middle of lush green forests,the scenic beauty around it was breathtaking to say the least.Its the sort of scenic beauty that can only be described in pictures or by actually seeing it...After Iruppu we said goodbye to coorg & left for home,thoroughly entertained along the way by Vibha's repeated misuse of words in lyrics to various songs,which was always met with uproarious laughter.
All in all,a great trip,something which i will definitely cherish forever.
something I greatly resented,after enduring numerous good natured taunts of 'late latifs' & the like we set out on the night of the 20th of march.Many of us were hungry,thankfully HV had foreseen this & had brought bisi-bele bath & curd rice...yummy...we were careful to have some each before it reached Thimm however,who has a voracious apetite & declared that he was starving as soon as he saw the food.
We kept ourselves busy throughout the journey by listening to an assortment of music,chatting,the general bonhomie.Many of us nodded off for at least part of the trip.Tau's energy was something to marvel at...there was a relentless flood of jokes(some of which were in hindi... much to Bhanga's chagrin),shayari & what have you.... Bhanga actually went to the extent of asking him when his battery would run out...The trip had special significance for Thimm,being a kodava he was looking forward to seeing the land of his sires again.He had'nt slept the night before either.As soon as we reached our accomodation in the early ours of the morning(around 4:30)many of us flopped down on the bed... i had a cold water bath...(felt great...in the cold of madikeri)&followed suit.
I was woken in the morning by HV & Co when we left to see abbe falls.Which i had seen before.Its a picturesque waterfall around 8km from madikeri.
After abbe falls we left for Nisargadhama,which is an island in the cauvery,noted for its deer park.Everyone had fun playing in the water(catch,that is..)a particularly wild throw sent the ball downriver,Vishy swam after it & retrieved it.The journey in the bus wasn't that boring...when we weren't tcuking into some snacks,or butchering songs(in the name of antakshari...)or trying to stop our ears to escape the cacophony,we were entertained by SRK dodging police & other underworld adversaries in Don.
After Nisargadhama,we ate lunch & left for the nearby Tibetan monastery..I marvelled at the variety of birds to be found there(of the avian persuasion)& the austere calm of the environs.
Our plan to visit Rajaseat the same day was thwarted by rain & we returned to our rooms,we left later to look for a hotel for dinner,to our dismay,many of the nearby hotels were full to capacity.We finally found a modest hotel later & ate like ravenous wolves.
We woke the next morning to heavy showers,some of the group were squeamish @ the thought of leeches,so we aborted the plan of thadiyandamol.We went to bhagamandala,the sangam of rivers,& raced to our bus as the rain started bucketing down.We contemplated aborting talacauvery because of the rain,but thimm dissuaded us,..(thankfully)we reached talacauvery to see an abnormally large number of vehicles,scudding wind,bullet like rain,& clouds on the ground(i've heard of people having their heads in the clouds but this was ridiculous),shanky & shahreen didnt like the cold & elected to remain behind.In the cold,thimm,veeru,bhanga&vishy had a dip in the water at talacauvery,bhanga was shivering so much his outline almost looked blurred...(okay..exaggeration... i know...but you w..w..weren't th...th..there),on thimm's suggestion we climbed to the top of the mountain from talacauvery via the steps,this was my favourite moment of the trip,climbing around 250 to 300 steps in the freezing rain & gale force winds at one go with thimm,we were the first to the top,the weather there could only e described as... well... a localized hurricane.as the cloud came in,we decided to descend because the visibility was fading,but once we came back down all of us had the same thought,that we're now back on earth,we were somewhere else for 20 minutes.A couple of hot chilli bajjis each & a cup of hot coorg coffee each later,we were back in the saddle & heading for madikeri,when we reached our rooms i ran for a good hot bath,basking in the warmth as though i'd never felt it before.After a hasty lunch,we went to Raja seat,only to be overtaken by rain once again,but this time we just soaked it in...HV looked like a senior citizen of the first order,with a shawl & slippers,we joked that if he had a walking stick some coorgi youngster with a mind to help the elderly would volunteer to drop him back.Thimm,Vishy & Veeru took the rest of us on a sort of 'trek'through a trail they had found on one of their early morning jaunts.
At dinner,our spirits revived over the masala lemon soda which was now a fixture at our meals.The next morning we left for Iruppu falls which was a long way from madikeri,I was woken early,didn't want any delays,so I had a bath & went back to sleep.when we were finally about to leave,HV returned after a precautionary sweep of the rooms with many articles (all belonging to thimm).
We stopped once on the way,& passed through thimm's hometown,but once we reached there,It was wonderful to see azure blue skies & bask in the sun's heat....for the first time in days...,we were entertained along the way by constant singing,(the real stuff courtsey of veeru,richa,thimm,vibha),& an assortment of remixes which HV had brought. Iruppu is a gem of a cataract,tucked away in the middle of lush green forests,the scenic beauty around it was breathtaking to say the least.Its the sort of scenic beauty that can only be described in pictures or by actually seeing it...After Iruppu we said goodbye to coorg & left for home,thoroughly entertained along the way by Vibha's repeated misuse of words in lyrics to various songs,which was always met with uproarious laughter.
All in all,a great trip,something which i will definitely cherish forever.
The most important quotes ever said
"Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth -- more than ruin -- more even than death.... Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man. "
-- Bertrand Russell
"Most people would sooner die rather than think,in fact,they do so"
--Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell was in many ways the fore-runner of the Objectivist principles of Ayn rand,as is illustrated by the above quotes.
The four basic principles of Objectivism,in simple terms are as follows:
1. "Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed" or "Wishing won't make it so."
2. "You can't eat your cake and have it, too."
3. "Man is an end in himself."
4. "Give me liberty or give me death."
1.Reality will remain what it is... despite man's hopes,fears,or feelings(Rand refers to this as the law of identity A is A,nothing can be anything else at the same time)
2.Man's mind,and thought are his basic means of survival.
3.Pursuit of one's own interest is man's highest purpose,also,man may not coerce others to pursue his interest,nor should he pursue theirs.
4.Dealings between men must be free & fair,no man may initiate the use of physical force against another
-- Bertrand Russell
"Most people would sooner die rather than think,in fact,they do so"
--Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell was in many ways the fore-runner of the Objectivist principles of Ayn rand,as is illustrated by the above quotes.
The four basic principles of Objectivism,in simple terms are as follows:
1. "Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed" or "Wishing won't make it so."
2. "You can't eat your cake and have it, too."
3. "Man is an end in himself."
4. "Give me liberty or give me death."
1.Reality will remain what it is... despite man's hopes,fears,or feelings(Rand refers to this as the law of identity A is A,nothing can be anything else at the same time)
2.Man's mind,and thought are his basic means of survival.
3.Pursuit of one's own interest is man's highest purpose,also,man may not coerce others to pursue his interest,nor should he pursue theirs.
4.Dealings between men must be free & fair,no man may initiate the use of physical force against another
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