General

# Quotes have power to change #

Posted by : TrueCompanion

If indices crash heavily, it will be proved Nifty 6200 was a farce. If these don`t, it will be proved India is full of quacks.

TC

Catholics, Karnataka and BJP

Posted by : Santa Claus

Hi found this blog on ibnlive

What is now happening in my home state Karnataka is quite disturbing. It was unthinkable before mid 90s. People like me who went to schools and colleges in the 1980s and 90s never imagined that one day our state would be divided on communal lines.


BJP's PM in waiting L K Advani's Rath Yatra of 1990-91 first sowed the seeds of communal politics in Karnataka. It was a socialist state and socialism was an integral part of the public life till early 90s. Old socialists who always opposed the Congress died and many others went to BJP or retired from politics after the decimation of Janata Parivar. The BJP occupied that space and filled political vaccum with its politics of divide and hate. BJP, once a pariah became a favourite in Karnataka politics overnight.


As our renowned writer and thinker Prof. U R Ananthamurthy says, "The Christians in the past had made contribution to the development of modern Kannada. Rev Kittel who composed the first Kannada dictionary was one of our revered ancestors. The Christians continue to run hospital and schools. Most of the gentle and caring nurses in hospitals are Christians."


It is not just that. Many people from my grand father and father's generation always practised communal harmony and held Catholic missionaries in high esteem. Thyanandur Puttannaiah, a religious Hindu and a remarkable man from my home district Shimoga had dedicated his book (a definitive account on Malnad - hilly region of Karnataka) to Christian missionaries!


It was not a surprising gesture during those days. He had a great respect for them because of their social service. He truly believed that caring and loving Catholic nuns and priests had introduced modern civilisation to the remote, inaccessible Malnad, which was known as a den of cholera and malaria during the British raj.


Even my grand father believed that the entire generation of Kannadigas in the Malnad and Coastal Karnataka survived the dreaded diseases of cholera and malaria only because of the selfless service of Catholics in the late 19th and early 20th century.


The first Kannada newspaper Mangalooru Samachara was started by a missionary from Germany Father.


Herman Mogling in 1843. The Basel Mission Church published first books in Kannada. Reverend Uttangi Channappa was a renowned Kannada folklorist, historian and reseracher of the 20th century. The great English teachers like J C Ralo and Armando Menezes shaped Mysore and Karnataka university at Dharwad during their formative years. These are just a few examples of thousands of other great Christians, who have immensely contributed to the Kannada culture and public life.


The Bajrang Dal and other radical Hindu organisations either don't know anything about our history or they don't want majority Hindus to acknowledge the importance of Christianity in Karnataka.


The Sangh parivar feels empowered after BJP captured power in Karnataka in the last May elections. With or without the knowledge or consent of the government, radical organisations like Bajrang Dal and Sri Rama Sena have unleashed a reign of terror in some parts of the state. There are enough reasons to believe that a section in the ruling BJP is stoking the fires of inter-religious animosity in Karnataka for political reasons. Anti - Christian sentiment is travelling from the coast to the capital under a benign and benevolent government which seems to think it was sworn into office to protect and promote only one community.


It is a fact that the neo radical protestant evangelists like ' The New Life Church ' are coercing innocent, poor Hindus from the lower strata of the society and converting them in some parts of the state. There are serious allegations of money playing a big role in the conversions. But, the single largest and the oldest Christian community in the state Roman Catholics are being attacked by the right wing zealots. Perhaps, the semi literate zealots don't know the difference between Catholics and other neo radical evangelists. Catholics are the most visible Christians because of their magnificent Churches, convents, colleges, seminaries, Cathedrals, Basilicas and hospitals. They are made to pay the price for the alleged anti Hindu activities of other sects.


Even if the new sects are involved in a large scale conversion activities, Bajrang Dal or any other radical organisation has no right to take law unto its own hands and punish the guilty. The visibly shaken, inexperienced chief minister B S Yeddyurappa should also realise that he is chief minister of Karnataka and it is his Constitutional obligation to protect all religions and castes irrespective of the their political affiliations and leanings.


Another sad development is the complete politicisation of the entire issue. When Karnataka is looking for a statesman to douse the raging communal flames, The Congress led central government, state government and the idle, frustrated, JDS are all busy making political calculations. The selective invoking of the Article 355 by the centre only against the BJP or NDA ruled Karnataka and Orissa has not gone down well even with the non- BJP people from the state.


They feel that the centre has no moral right to warn Karnataka and turn a blind eye to states like West Bengal or Tamil Nadu or even Maharashtra. The BJP is cleverly using it to consolidate votes and communalise the entire state. The wily old fox H D Deve Gowda also shouldn't forget that nearly a dozen people were killed in communal clashes when his son H D Kumaraswamy was the chief minister. "Secularists ", Congress, JD(S) etc can easily fool the benevolent media, but not the people.


Actually they are aiding the BJP and other communal forces in their eagerness to prove their 'secular' credentials. Falling over each other for votes and 15 minute fame will finally end in their fall and the raise of communal elements. Lets also admit that Karnataka has not always been a tolerant state. But the core values of Kannada and Karnataka have always been live and let live.


Let us admit, as a distinguished Kannada author, Prof V Sitaramiah, has pointed out, that we have had our pettiness and feuds; our limitations of outlook and failures in achievement; our bloodbaths given and taken. Our chieftains have carried off brides from marriage pavilions; our warriors have destroyed men and lands when fiendish fits were on. In their turn, they have been invaded and their capital cities have been razed to the ground or burnt to ashes.


The history of all peoples has been much the same and littered with episodes good and not so good. But the long range value preference, the pride and grateful memory of Kannada poets has been, by and large, for tolerance and the arts of peace; for conservation. This is true not of poets alone but the Kannada people as a whole...


"Allied with this distrust of fanaticism and flamboyance is a certain unsparing insistence of self-discipline and style. It is expressed in the numerous stories about Visvesvaraya, in the fastidiousness of Generals Cariappa and Thimmayya, in the philosophical volumes of Professor Hiriyanna and in the dance of Shanta Rao. In its gentler form it can be detected in the lines and brush strokes of K.K. Hebbar, in the glances and drives of G R Vishwanath, in the meditative aalaap of Mallikarjun Mansoor and in the prose of R K Narayan."


As an obsessed Kannadiga, I am hurt and sad. Because, the carefully built image of my state has severely been dented. As one of my favourite journalists from Mysore says, "Oh God forgive them, they know what they are doing."

# Quotes have power to change #

Posted by : sp.palo

Even if we dont let these vices, our bad karma will inherently force us.

Catholics, Karnataka and BJP

Posted by : Ramki

Hey radhika,Why don`t u send the photograph(I know u will be having a copy of the photographs)to my yahoo id so that I can atleast ur golu after the function is over?Hope u started purchases for diwali....ROFL

You Are A ROCK STAR...

Posted by : periwinkle

Ya?????? OT will have big laugh...because he pointed out once how tactless i was ....that too he said it diplomatically..LOL....

Life.....is an endless Romance.....

Posted by : nikz

Dear GC,
Not a bad idea ,GC !!! Business of Coaching on how to bring Romance back in our lives.Considering the present situation of the markets, this new business will be a great distraction that may prove quite fruitful.Trust micks to come up with some tips.
Cheers ,
Niki.

# Quotes have power to change #

Posted by : latikav

"No one can make you jealous, angry, vengeful, or greedy - unless you let him."


Napoleon Hill.......

# Quotes have power to change #

Posted by : TrueCompanion

:: ::
I trust that everything happens for a reason, even when we`re not wise enough to see it.
:: ::
Oprah Winfrey

TC-121008-Q-01

# Quotes have power to change #

Posted by : TrueCompanion

"Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character."

Albert Einstein

TC-111008-Q-01

The Flax of life.

Posted by : mohanji

Radhikaji,
In northindia most of the cities hv Swami Ramdev stores where you can get most of the aruvedic items in good packing at reasonale price incl triphla provided you know their local names.Regards

Catholics, Karnataka and BJP

Posted by : sambala

Official: 3,000 Christians flee Iraq`s Mosul

Hundreds of terrified Christian families have fled Mosul to escape extremist attacks that have increased despite months of U.S. and Iraqi military operations to secure the northern Iraqi city, political and religious officials said Saturday.

Some 3,000 Christians have fled the city over the past week alone in a "major displacement," said Duraid Mohammed Kashmoula, the governor of northern Iraq`s Ninevah province. He said most have left for churches, monasteries and the homes of relatives in nearby Christian villages and towns.

"The Christians were subjected to abduction attempts and paid ransom, but now they are subjected to a killing campaign," Kashmoula said, adding he believed "al-Qaida" elements were to blame and called for a renewed drive to root them out.

Political and religious leaders interviewed said the change in tactics may reflect a desire on the part of extremists to forcibly evict all Christians from Iraq`s third largest city.

Earlier this week, Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako said he was worried about what he termed a "campaign of killings and deportations against the Christian citizens in Mosul."

Mosul police have reported finding the bullet-riddled bodies of seven Christians in separate attacks so far this month, the latest a day laborer found on Wednesday. On Saturday, militants blew up three abandoned Christian homes in eastern Mosul, police said.

Father Bolis Jacob of Mosul`s Mar Afram Church said he was at a loss to understand the violence. "We respect the Islamic religion and the Muslim clerics," he said. "We don`t know under what religion`s pretexts these terrorists work."

The violence in Mosul occurs despite U.S.-Iraqi operations launched over the summer aimed at routing al-Qaida in Iraq and other insurgents from remaining strongholds north of the capital.

The killings come as Christian leaders are lobbying parliament to pass a law setting aside a number of seats for minorities, such as Christians, in upcoming provincial elections, fearing they could be further marginalized in the predominantly Muslim country.

Iraq`s Christian community has been estimated at 3 percent of Iraq`s 26 million people, or about 800,000, and has a significant presence in the northern Ninevah province.

In Mosul, where Christians have lived for some 1,800 years, a number of centuries-old churches still stand.

Joseph Jacob, a professor at Mosul University, said there were nearly 20,000 Christians in the city before the 2003 U.S. invasion. But over half have since left for neighboring towns, or new countries, he said.

Islamic extremists have frequently targeted Christians since the invasion, forcing tens of thousands to flee Iraq. Attacks had tapered off amid a drastic decline in overall violence nationwide, but that appears to be changing with the deaths this month.

On Saturday, Bashir Azoz, a 45-year-old carpenter, said he was forced to flee his home in the city`s eastern Noor area after gunmen warned a neighbor the day before to leave or face death.

"Where is the government and its security forces as these crimes take place every day?" asked Azoz, who is now staying with his wife and three children in a monastery in the Christian-majority town of Qarqoush, east of Mosul.

Separately on Saturday, a U.S. soldier died when a bomb exploded near his vehicle outside Amarah, southeast of Baghdad. The U.S. military said it was withholding soldier`s name until it notified next of kin.

Catholics, Karnataka and BJP

Posted by : Ramki

Hey venkat......As there is panic all around there is no suprise sensex going below 7000 eventhough my personal view is it won`t go to that kind of low levels...But the real problem is if it won`t rebound to 15000 levels is the real concern even after 2 years or so.....Regds

Catholics, Karnataka and BJP

Posted by : sambala

Tukaram in heaven , Chitre in hell

The needle is expertly
Jabbed into the vein ;
The innermost stranger
Wakes up again .
My mask has fallen ,
It grins at me ;
I go out forever
On a faceless spree .
In a milder light
And a colder sun ,
Absent minded ,
I reach for the gun .
A whole country
Is vanishing now ;
What`s left of love
Is my own forehead .
The skull`s architecture
And the fading formation
Of reticular frescoes
I bequeath to you .
I bequeath to you
My fossil and my dossier .
And I join the saints`
Immortal choir .
Tukaram in heaven ,
Chitre in hell ,
Sing the same song
Centuries apart .
Their bone derives
From the same stone
That stands erect at Pandharpur
In the shape of a God.
Both gentle and rude
And always
Unmoved . The river flows by
Like so many people ,
While this stance
By itself is
A spire
And a steeple .
History is dust
In this kind of summer .
The heat is
The lasting truth .
Man spreads
His own rumor
In the form of God
To seize a creation .
Not his own .
This kind of summer
Is the brain`s
Own blaze .
It is Vitthala
Who creates
Sun and rain ;
Tukaram`s joy
And Chitre`s pain
Are two faces
Of the same coin
Counterfeit and divine .
The sovereign currency
Of generations
Standing
In the same plain .
Let us speak of God
Since man cannot be spoken of :
Let us infer from the image in stone
The mind , the hand , the chisel , the stroke .
For the Lord is infinite
Sleep from which we wake
And , in the grinning granite ,
We carve Him out of the night.
Into this muscles
We invest our souls ;
For his heart is of stone ,
His heartbeat our own .
Our voices are hoarse with God :
He is our scream , our cry , our moan ,
Tukaram in heaven , Chitre in hell ,
Turned to the same truth , centuries apart .
They dance in the same place
And celebrate
Sameness
As the only art .
Our voice is a village
You have never visited ,
Where God lives
In silent huts .
You have not seen
His million faces ;
For God resides
In uncivilized places .
He is the hunger ,
And he is the food ;
He is the grain ,
The only good .
God is crushed ,
God is ground ,
So thoroughly milled
That He`s never found .
He is all we have
From harvests to famines ;
It is Him we praise ,
And Him we curse .
He is our neighbour ,
He is our enemy ;
He is our ruler ,
And He is our destiny .
He is our slave ,
He is our landlord ;
But for our sword
He`d hardly be brave .
God is our village
Idiot and sage ;
He is our convict
And our judge .
Him we worship ,
Whom we whip ;
On bent knees ,
It`s him we beat .
He is our sinner ,
He is our saint ;
We begin in Him ,
In Him we end .
Come back pock-marked poets ,
Join Tukaram and Chitre ,
For the song of heaven
Is one helluva chant .
Ask and you shall be refused ;
But do not leave
Your voice unused .
It`s all you` ve got .
Remember , our best
Poems were always
As bald as facts ,
As bare as hills .
Because our spirit
Has aspects of stone ,
And because our stones
Are lasting mirrors .

Poem by Dilip Chitre