Random Click 14 - Mushrooms

Mushrooms just after the rains

Random Clicks 13 - Reservoir

My father who is on visit to Muscat ....his second trip to Oman likes to see various places and today being the weekly off we traveled about 100 Km from Muscat towards Quriyat where there is a dam known as Wadi Dayqah Dam. The reservoir created by the dam is quite beautiful and here is couple of pictures of the same.

Today the haze in the atmosphere did hamper the quality of the pictures yet looks great

Freedom of Speech in India – a Myth or a Reality

Article 19(1)A of the Indian constitution guarantee freedom speech to Indian citizen but then Three arrests in the last one month in India for voicing one’s thoughts in media against persons in power make one ponder if the freedom of speech is limited to privileged few in the Indian society…moneyed or in power people only. A common man’s freedom of speech or expression is subjective and is rarely a reality in India. I know I would have many critics against this post but then the examples that have been widely publicized in the media and the press does indicate what I say.

Image Courtsey : Google

The latest incident that happened yesterday in Mumbai is creating a furor across all sections of the population. Two girls had been arrested in Mumbai one for putting up a comment about shutdown of entire city on account of Balasaheb Thackeray’s funeral on the Social media network Facebook and the other for liking the comment based on a complaint file by a local Sena leader. Further a clinic of an uncle of the girl was attacked and ransacked by over 40 angry Sena activists because of the comment on FB. The girls were released on bail within hours after furnishing personal bonds but then the hasty action by the police in this matter to arrest the two girls under section 505(2) (statement creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill will between classes) clearly indicates the kind of clout men in power have.

The chief of Press Council of India has objected to the actions taken by the police and urged the Chief Minister to immediate action against the police official who arrested the two girls on urging of a local Sena leader. As usual this incident will die it natural death in couple of days but the two person who had been affected by this will carry the scare for a very long time. Steps need to taken by the authorities to ensure that all Indians have their freedom of speech as per the Indian constitution .

One of my friend casually stated that Gandhiji's three monkey theory needs to be changed to suit the present day India

Hear no bad ----Hear nothing told by men of power

See no bad -----See nothing done by men of power

Speak no bad----Speak nothing about men of power

Come to think of it,this is what now is happening in India these days.

 Sad !!!!!

Fear is the key !!!

My Colleague's bike

Whenever I see my colleagues riding motorbikes in a group going out on holidays I know that I am missing all the fun and adventure of biking. I used to be an avid biker few decades back and to be exact 33 years back ….when we guys used to zoom about in the city racing one another and having fun with the rush of wind on your face while riding. Those days few makes of the bikes were cannibalized and the end product would be owner’s pride and while it is ridden through the locality one would know as to who is driving by. Also another thing of the past was throaty roar of bikes whose silencers have been removed and the racket it creates while throttling used to scare other vehicles to veer away from the bike. There were times when we used to make trips from Chennai to Tirupati just for the heck of driving and used to have lodes of fun. But after one fateful day way back in 1981 when two of my friends were crushed to death under the city bus I stopped riding bikes and till this day still have the fear of riding one. 

It is said that once a person learns to cycle he/she can never forget to balance the two wheelers throughout lifetime similar to swimming so few years down the line my friends have tried pushing me to ride a bike and when I tried my whole body went rigid and I rode the bike similar to a beginner quite unsteadily…a psychological fear that has never left me!! Recently I was browsing the net and I came across portal sharing similar experience by persons and the remedy to such fear. They describe that immediately after such incidents or accidents one must not stop riding for a long period of time otherwise they would experience the feeling I have now. I am comfortable driving four wheelers and have been doing that from 1982 but then have stopped riding two wheelers.

I wish that I had not shirked away from riding a bike way back in 1981…. I would have had greater fun here in Oman.

Random Click -12...Hawk

Last year while going towards Wadi Shad we had to drive across a patch of back waters and i suddenly saw a hawk sitting on a rock in the waters

Hawk was waiting for the fish to come up to the surface . I waited for some time to see if the hawk is able to catch a fish but then was not so lucky to capture that scene.

Amuku Pishsasi or Pei (Crushing Ghost)

Image Courtesy : Google

Few months back in the late afternoon I get a frantic call from my wife saying that she had just come out of the clutches of dark forces and she begged me to come back to home immediately. I rushed back from office and reached home in record 45 minutes weaving through the rush hour traffic from Kathipara Junction (at Chennai). On reaching home I saw my wife sitting forlorn on the sofa and on enquiry she told me that she had gone for afternoon siesta and when she wanted to get up she was unable to do so and she felt paralyzed by an immense weight pressing her down. She said she was a victim of amuku pishsasi ..a term in Tamil which means a pressing or crushing ghost and for a long time she was wide awake but then was not able to move any part of her body or limbs. I rubbished her thoughts of ghost and told her not to worry but then she was not willing to accept my explanation and she kept telling of similar episodes her grandmother had encountered and recounted about the ghostly experience to her and her siblings and warning them of such attacks. I tried my best to calm her down and to remove her fears did a Google research and I found out about “Sleep Paralysis” and the Wikipedia’s explanation is as under

Sleep paralysis is a phenomenon in which people, either when falling asleep or wakening, temporarily experience a sense of inability to move, similar to when an arm or leg goes to sleep, but not associated with numbness. More formally, it is a transition state between wakefulness and rest characterized by complete muscle atonia (muscle weakness). It can occur at sleep onset or when awakening. It is believed a result of disrupted REM sleep, which is normally characterized by complete muscle atonia that prevents individuals from acting out their dreams. Sleep paralysis has been linked to disorders such as narcolepsy, migraines, anxiety disorders, and obstructive sleep apnea; however, it can also occur in isolation.

I was surprised to note that such incidents of sleep paralysis were in folk lore of many countries around the world and was considered to be the work of a demon. British and some parts of America called it “Old Hag”, in Finland and Sweden as “Mare”, in Turkey as “Karabasan”, in Thailand as “Phi Am”, in Hungary as “Boszorkany”,in Nepal as “Khyaak”, in Tamilnadu, India as “Amuku Pei” and the list goes on and on and I can fill the entire page with the names of the demon. Only after reading this article did my wife relax much to the relief of my daughters and me.

Have any of you had this experience ???

Random Click 11 - Sunset at the beach

                      Vividly colorful sunset at a beach in Muscat and it does take your breath away.