Guess who?

 Good News, Bad News

The following is a borderline adult joke. Should I do a rating? Let’s say it is for people 12 years and above.

This joke was told to me many years ago by my then boss, Charlie Davidson. I am mentioning his name just in case he sues me for copyright violation!

The young man wakes up in the hospital’s recovery room after a surgery.

The surgeon who operated on the man comes to see the patient and the following conversation takes place:

Doctor:  Hi, how are you feeling?

Patient:  Ouch … OK I guess … still very sleepy.

Doctor:  I have good news and bad news for you. Which one would you like to hear first?

Patient:  The bad news.

Doctor:  I am sorry; but I had to remove both your balls. It sure looked like cancer.

Patient:  And the good news?

Doctor:  I just received the lab report. The biopsy said the growths were completely benign. No cancer.

Good night and goodbye everybody.

 For the skeptics …

... who did not believe me when I wrote yesterday, that we (Hindus) have a God/Goddess for everything. Well, given below is a partial list of things for which we have a God/Goddess who is in charge. You can find more if you take the time to research a little bit.

Lakshmi – Goddess of wealth

Saraswati - Goddess of learning

Ganesha – God of success and prosperity (That is why he is worshipped the most, especially by businessmen!)

Sheetala or Shitala - Goddess of small pox (yes, small pox - chicken pox as well!)

Manasha - Goddess of snakes (more precisely snake bites!)

Oladevi - Goddess of cholera (yes, cholera – the disease!)

Want to know more? Do your own research.

PS: Please remember that I expect people to visit my site to read about interesting, amusing, and thought provoking things only. Because, as I have stated several times before, I cannot blog.

My copyrighted definition of blog is:

"A blog is an online personal journal of an individual who, since he/she has nothing better to do, writes virtually about anything and everything but more often nothing, with or without making any sense, usually paying little or no attention to grammar, language, and spelling, generally using profanity and word abbreviations such as 'ur' for 'your' rather freely, and characteristically filling the journal with unnecessary pictures, music, and hyperlinks, causing a total wastage of his/her own and also the reader's time and energy, as well as wastage of the cyberspace where better and more useful information/data could have been stored."

Footnote:
Leading blog critic, Maria Jones, agrees with my definition. That is why she thinks I am a "writer", not a "blogger". Thanks Ms. Jones. I hope you read this.

 I have been blessed by the
God/Goddess of Friendship

Let me first explain “God/Goddess of Friendship”. In our religion (Hinduism) we have a God or Goddess for everything. I am not sure, but I am assuming there must be one for friendship too. After all, we have 330 million Gods and Goddesses. So, one of them must have been assigned to handle Friendship. It is a very important department – somebody has to be in charge of it!

Now, coming to my topic of the day. You know how people play lottery. They buy lottery tickets day in and day out with the hope of winning the jackpot some day. One or two lucky guys (or gals) eventually win big money some day. Most, of course, never win.

My ability to make new friends was losing steam (probably because I am getting old), and I did not make any new friend for quite some time. But like the lottery players, I did not give up. I kept on trying.

Recently my perseverance paid off. Suddenly I received the blessing of the God/Goddess in charge of this friendship business and I have been showered with not one, not two, but many friends as the following pictures will show. Mind you, these are IN ADDITION to the special friendship I made with this face unseen person I talked about in my posting of May 10. Am I lucky or what? May be I should go ahead and buy that lottery ticket now. (But who is the God in charge of lottery winnings?)

The jackpot

Second prize

Third prize

I have made a few more new friends recently. But they don't want their photos made public. Since I must respect their request for privacy, you cannot see their pictures. But I think I have made my point. The God/Goddess of Friendship has at last blessed me!

 My Favorite Places in India -
The Hill Stations

These are small towns on the hills at an average elevation of about 5000 to 7000 feet from the sea level. These small towns are called hill stations in India.

Why are these hill stations my favorite, and not places like Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Mumbai, Goa, Cochin, etc.? There are many reasons, such as:

1. The hill stations are never hot, not even in summer (because of the altitude, of course). And even in winter they are not excessively cold. Because of the weather, during the British regime, The British government used to move the capital from Delhi to Shimla (Simla), from Calcutta to Darjeeling, and so forth in summer.

2. The hill stations are smaller towns and therefore, not as crowded.

3. The hill stations are by far pollution free. No smoke from factories, no dust, no smog.

4. All hill stations provide superb views of the surrounding areas. Generally you can see the peaks of the surrounding hills or mountains from any place and the valley or plain below from certain places. Many hill stations such as Srinagar, Nainital, Bhimtal, Ooty, and Kodaikanal have grown up around a lake. This adds to the beauty of the town and offers watersport facilities like boating, kayaking, surfing, fishing etc. to the visitors. And all hill stations have evergreens like pine that completes the picture-book like scenary of the place.

5. Lastly the local hill people, called paharis, are one of the best classes of people in India. They are hard working, yet very gentle, honest, and hospitable people by nature. They are very trustworthy and safe. They always wear a sweet, innocent smile on their faces. Usual city crimes are almost non-existent in India's hill stations.

When I used to live in India, I always visited a hill station during my vacation. The serene atmosphere of the hill stations quickly washed off the stress and strain of city life and I always returned home completely rejuvenated. Taking a small walk and sitting down in a quiet place by the side of a hill stream and watching nature and hearing the birds chirping and the leaves rustling by the soft cool breeze of mountain air can lower blood pressure and take out mental strain so quickly that unless you have experienced it yourself, you will never believe. Yoga, meditation etc. can help and city dwellers, even in advanced countries, are taking recourse of these. But the same effect can be had much quicker just by sitting down for sometime and relaxing in a quiet spot by the side of the mountain in a hill station. It can be very romantic too if you have your spouse/fiance(e) with you. I had my honeymoon in Darjeeling!

Somewhere (don't remember where) I said I miss India. I think, more specifically, I miss the Indian hill stations. Next time (probably this October) when I go to India, I want to visit places like Dehradun, Mussoorie, Nainital, Bhimtal, Ranikhet, Almora etc. Talking about Almora my mouth waters thinking about Balmithai (a local desert) I tasted there. And will the Boatman #24 in Nainital still recognize me? I was his regular patron last time when I went there. He did say, "How can I forget you?" when I asked him if he would recognize me when I came on the next day for boat riding. I probably had tipped him a little too generously.

 Test-driving a camel in India

The balance was good, as you can see from the picture. But the pick-up was slow. It took nearly 30 seconds to go from 0 to 20! I didn't buy it.

 Dare to go to India?

If you do, try :

Oasis Travel India - Tour Operators, Travel Consultants, and Car Rental Company of Delhi.

Apparently, AOL does not like linking to blogs like this one. So go to the following URL. Copy it and paste it on your browser's address field.

http://members.aol.com/mimisen1/OASIS_TRAVEL_INDIA/

Don't click on the link. It will NOT work. Copy and paste it in your browser, if you dare.

Oasis Travel India - they are the best in the business.

 I may have attained Nirvana

Here are my symptoms:

1. When I passby Dunkin Donuts, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald's, or Baskin & Robins, I do not drool anymore.

2. I don't like to party. I prefer solitude.

3. Bruce Springstine's concert gives me bad headache.

4. I don't like RedSox or New England Patriots games. I like Solitaire.

5. I don't go to movies. Period.

6. I don't like to watch Sex and the City or Desperate Housewives on TV.

7. I eat oatmeal and skim milk for breakfast.

8. I have become a pure vegetarian. (No meat, no fish, no eggs.)

9. I don't smoke pot anymore (not even cigarettes).

10. I don't drink hard liquor anymore (not even beer or wine).

11. I have lost all interests in XXX movies and Hustler magazine.

12. I am losing interest in Xanga fast.

 Deformities/Physical Abnormalities in
Hindu Gods and Goddesses

I am an Indian, and I am a Hindu. I have been thinking for sometime why so many of our Gods and Goddesses have such horrific physical deformities/abnormalities. One has ten arms, many have four arms, one has four arms and an elephant's head, one has three heads, one has four heads, one has her tongue always sticking out while having four arms (some images show her as having ten arms). The skin color of many are blue or deep blue. The Goddess whose tongue always sticks out, is sometimes blue sometimes black. The skin color of some is gold or yellow. One has pink skin ... the list goes on. One God is actually a monkey, and he is called Monkey God.

Can anybody of any religion tell me why our Gods and Goddesses are so deformed? Is the God you worship deformed in any way?  Minor things like a sixth toe or harelip?

Another related question. How many Gods do you have in your religion? We have 330 million! (No kidding.)

Keoladeo Ghana National Park

Indian bluebuck or neelgai at Keoladeo Ghana National Park

A spotted deer at the park

A group of sambar deer grazing in the national park

Keoladeo Ghana National Park is located in Bharatpur in Rajasthan, India. I visited the park in February, 2008. You can see more pictures of the park here.