Saturday, June 27, 2009

DEDICATED TO MY VERY VERY LEARNED FRIEND WHOM I MET AT THE PARK.

Sukumar Ray's Bujhiye Bola.

Can any one please supply me a good translation of the Poem “Bujhiye Boal” ( Abol Tabol) by Sukumar Ray (father of Satyajit Ray).? Here is a very humble and very very poor attempt by me :



Hey Shyamadas, come here, sit by my side,

I shall make ye understand that topic, five minutes you bide.

Running a fever? It’s a lie ! It’s your trick,

Didn’t I hear you shouting just now? Am I deaf ?

Sick is your uncle? Going to the doctor?

Better go in the afternoon to the physician,

Or, for your uncle, I can write you a prescription.

I shall, any how, make ye understand the theme,

If you don’t, a pile into your head shall I hammer in.

Which topic? Blown it to the winds? Forgot all about it?

At Bishtu Ghosh’s portico what was I telling yesternight?

Ok. You remember it well. Hearing again is no harm,

You give me slip now-a-days. Evading me; I charm.

Ok. Ok. What’s the hurry ? Sit on the mat. Shall start discussing,

These youngsters of modern days are always busy for nothing.

How is that ? Why did you sit? Take down the books from the rack,

When you are here, is it fair that I bend my back ?

Be careful, pass it on, let me hold. Good for nothing you are,

What a mess ! Why did you bring the dictionary down here ?

Enough is enough. Now, sit here beside my bed,

Gopal ! ask khendi to send a few pieces of betel leaves made.

What was I saying, that from atoms to gross, the matter

It means a stir at the root of the five elements of nature.

At the beginning, start your search to find how and where

The juice is formed at the roots of the tree of this universe.

Take it that a ray of the sun falls here on the grass

And the moon’s rays also fall just beside on the same mass.

What’s that? Why are you yawning now ? It’s early yet.

Looking at the sky. My words are not entering your head, I bet.

What did ye say? My words, all bogus, meaningless prattle?

To make a meaning you need some matter grey inside your skull.

It is cowdung inside your skull becoming fuel for the oven,

Inside that blunt dullhead, subtle ideas are impossible to be driven.

Oh Shyamadas ! Why are you getting up? Giving me a slip,

When you don’t want to hear it at all, why make this trip ?

I shout but nobody listens to my axiomatic lectures,

To make you follow, I wish, I could catch you all by your ears.

_______________

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Indian Music (Discover India)

Indian music transcends the boundaries of meaningless entertainment and serves a greater purpose. It is a source of religious inspiration and cultural expression. Most ancient Indian religions give importance to music as a vital part of prayer. This is because Indian music has the intoxicating quality of completely hypnotizing the individual and transporting him into a trance-like state.

INDIAN music is as vast and diverse as India itself. The music of India has a history spanning millennia, developed over several eras and includes innumerable varieties of folk, pop, and classical music. The two main traditions of classical music are carnatic music, found predominantly in the peninsular regions and Hindustani music, found in the northern and central parts.

Although the roots of Indian music lie in Indian traditions, it bears proof of foreign influences. Alongside distinctly sub continental forms, there are major influences of Persian, Arabic, Turkish and British music.

Indian genres like filmy and bhangra have become popular throughout the United Kingdom, America, and Asia and around the world. Indian pop stars now sell records in many countries, while world music fans are lapping up everything with an Indian stamp on it. It has come to a point where the west is trying to ape Indian culture. Now that’s something to be proud of!

Feel the Beat – Percussion Instruments

If music is the universal language, then percussion instruments are the vowels. Can you imagine a song without beats? It would sound so empty. From a slight rhythmic tap to loud drum rolls – beats add emotion to a song. A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit, shaken or by any other action, which sets the object into vibration. Percussion instruments were the first instruments to be developed. Drums were used in ancient times, not just to make music, but also to communicate. Percussions have deep – rooted roles in Indian traditions and religious music too.

Gone With the Wind – Wind Instruments

There is music in everything around us, Music in water, music in tress and music in the wind. Have you ever heard gusty wind blowing or gentle breeze rustling the leaves? Take a cylindrical tube. Blow across the rim. Do you hear a note? Most wind instruments work on this principle. A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains a type of resonator (usually a tube), in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece, set at the end of the resonator.

A wind instrument can make a soft melody or an intricately modulated tune.

Examples: FLUTE, SAXOPHONE EXT.

Monday, June 22, 2009

MY LITTLE LEARNING IS A DANGEROUS THING

Day before yesterday (18th June, 2009) when I was sitting in a park with a few other gentlemen, the discussion centered mainly on the subject of late arrival of monsoon this year or rather on the non-arrival of monsoon till date. The gentlemen were telling of their various experiences of the days of summers and monsoons in their lives. They almost all agreed on one point that they could not remember having experienced ever of non-arrival of monsoon till so late in the season. I was so long listening to their stories and at last asked about the possible reasons for this peculiar phenomenon. One gentleman started explaining about depletion of forest areas, effect on weather due to burning of fossil fuel etc. He was interrupted by another gentleman, who appeared to be a very learned one and said that the late arrival of the rains was because of a curse and the wrath of a huge iron mound lying in a village. I asked him to tell us about the logical reasoning about the relationship between the mound of iron, the curse and wrath and the present natural phenomenon. He replied that my very asking for a reasonable explanation for his statement exposed my ideas and understanding developed as a result of my arcane emotions. I did not know the meaning of the word “arcane” and asked for the meaning of it. I admitted that my English (and why English alone, my entire learning) was only upto the very primary level of deciphering the alphabets. The wise gentleman was very pleased and loudly laughed at my ignorance “Ha Ha Ha”. I felt ashamed – ashamed at my own ignorance. The gentleman did not tell me the meaning of the word, nor did he give any answer to my question to him but continued to loudly laugh heartily at my ignorance and my shame. I meekly left the venue. The wise gentleman was highly pleased at my giving him the walk-over. At my house I searched for the meaning of the word “arcane” in the dictionary and found its definition as “secret”, “mysterious”.

The first lesson I learnt that day is that the desire to know the reasonable, logical or scientific explanation of a statement, idea or theory is in itself developed out of a secret or mysterious exposition of emotions.

The second lesson is more educative. Wise and knowledgeable people have the exclusive privilege of not answering a question directly but have the privilege of laughing loudly at your ignorance.

I went again to the park the next afternoon. The gentlemen of the previous day were all there. There was no rains, no clouds in the sky and the days and nights were very hot. One gentleman informed that his grandson had passed the 10+2 this year with good marks. The boy now wished to take up a certain course for graduation so that he might pursue for a professional qualification and asked whether it would be advisable to follow the course and what steps should be taken to prepare for the professional examination. The fool as I was (and I am) I told him that the boy should first find out about his liking, inclination and interest on the subjects and if it was found in the affirmative, he might go ahead. He should also discuss with other boys studying the course and for the professional exams and find out the details from them to enable him to arrive at a decision. Our wise gentleman immediately scoffed at my suggestion and declared that in order to qualify the professional examination an aspirant must have the blessings of a particular stone lying in his native village. This might be verified from all those people who passed the said examination and the village “Gunin” could confirm whther those people had the blessing or not and it would obviously be found that they had it. I felt meek before the so highly knowledgeable a person and did not make the mistake of asking for a logical or scientific explanation.

The third lesson I learnt : Blessings of a stone or any other such inanimate object is the only thing necessary to acquire knowledge or skill on any subject whatsoever and before pursuing studies in any course the aspirant should ascertain from such knowledgeable and wise persons who have the full knowledge about the blessings of the particular object whether he has the blessing or not. If he has the blessings, he may go for it and those who have not, can save their time, energy and money and devote it on some other subject or profession.

This afternoon I learnt the most valuable lesson of my life. A gentleman asked whether we should pay taxes to the government and if so why. One of the gentleman said that it is our duty as a good citizen to pay the correct tax and because it is the law of the land that everybody having a tax liability should pay taxes as per law. Another gentleman, whose grand-daughter was ill, asked whether he should call a doctor and arrange for her treatment. Everybody said that as the gentleman loves his grand-daughter and as the head of the family it is also his duty to make arrangements for her treatment. Our wise gentleman agreed but pronounced that paying taxes and making arrangements for the treatment of the girl should be done as it would earn blessings of some stone and would make some inanimate objects strong who control his life, fate and all.

The valuable lesson is : You do not do anything or act in your life as a matter of your social or moral duty or as a legal obligation, or out of love, affection or respect and for the blessings of the elders and the Supreme Being but to make some inanimate object strong in your some “mumbo-jumbo configurations”.

I shall not cease to continue my learning and shall share it with you as and when it comes to me and I am confident that it will enrich all of us.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Wildlife In Jalpaiguri

India's wildlife is both rich and varied. More than 4% of India's land is under forest cover- there are at least 90 national parks and 482 wildlife sanctuaries. The country is one of the 12 mega diversity areas in the world, in terms of animal. Now let us all divert our attention towards the bio

diversity of a district of west Bengal, Jalpaiguri. Apart from the 90 national parks and 482 wildlife sanctuaries of India only 2 national parks, 2 wildlife sanctuaries and 1 tiger reserve have an establishment in the district. Let us now go into the details of the National parks.

National parks

Neora Valley National Park is one of the last remaining pristine ecosystems of the

Eastern Himalayas with its amazing Bio-diversity, and is home to many rare and endangered plants, animals and birds. It exhibits a rich variety of habitat as the area comprises the catchments and watershed of the Neora River with its tributaries. The National Park spreads over an area of 88.00 sq. km. in the civil district of Darjeeling under Kalimpong Sub-Division. It was de

clared as a National Park finally in 1992. the land of the cute Red Panda in its pristine undisturbed natural habitat with rugged inaccessible hilly terrain and rich diverse flora and fauna together make the Park an important wilderness zone.

Animals

Significance of Neora Valley National Park in the international context lies in the fact that it provides shelter and protection to various species of Wildlife included in the Red Data Book (R.D.B.) of IUCN and the appendices of CITES. The Park harbours more than 31 species of mammals, which include the (1) Red Panda, (2) Clouded Leopard, (3) Mithun,

(4) Ghoral, (5) Wild Dog, (6) Himalayan Black Bear, (7) Leopard, (8) Leopard Cat, (9) Himalayan Thar, (10) Royal Bengal Tiger. The dense nature of the forest bars the easy sighting of animals.

Birds

Neora Valley National Park is extra ordinarily rich in avi-fauna.

Due to its change in altitude at places, various species of birds make the park a paradise for bird watchers. There are more than 106 species of birds which include Eagle, Tragopan, Cuckoo, Wood Owl, Barbet, Woodpecker, Babbler, Robin, Thrush, Flycatcher, Jungle Crow, Sunbird, Maynas and Orioles.

Orchids

Nature has gifted Neora Valley with variety of colourful Wild Orchids. One can get a glimpse of this magnificent flora from 600 feet to 10,000 feet. Some of the Orchids recorded in the Neora Valley National Park, belong to the genus, Bulbophyllum, Cymbidium, Celogyne, Dendrobium, Eira, Gastrochilus and Pleione.

Gorumara National Park, the land of the Prehistoric Great Indian One Horned Rhinoceros is located in the flood plains of Murti and Jaldhaka rivers of Dooars (rolling hill slopes) region within Jalpaiguri district in West Bengal. The dry deciduous forest land interspersed with grasslands, harbors one of largest diversity of mega fauna in West Bengal. This Reserve Forest since 1895 was declared as a Wildlife National Park in 1949 comprising a small area of 2129 acres. In view of its great diversity of plants and animals it was declared as a National Park in 1994 comprising a total area of 79.99 sq.km. Further inclusion of 6 sq. kms. is under consideration.

Major significance of this National Park is number of schedule I animals it harbours which are given maximum protection. Some of them are (1) Great Indian One horned Rhinoceros, (2) Indian Elephant, (3) Gaur (Indian Bison), (4) Leopard, (5) Rock Python, (6) Malayan Giant Squirrel. Gorumara National Park has approximately 48 species of carnivores and herbivores, 193 species of birds, 22 species of reptiles, 7 species of turtles, 27 species of fishes and other macro and micro fauna.

The Park is a birdwatcher’s paradise with its rich bio-diversity reflected in its wonderful avi-fauna comprising Hornbills, woodpeckers, Green Pigeons, Cuckoos, Orioles, Babblers, Minivets, Pheasants, Mynas, Lbis, and of course our National Bird Peacock. Many migratory birds including the Brahminy duck, Teals are regular visitors to the National Park.

Watch Towers located at various points provide excellent facilities for wildlife viewing. They are Jatraprasad Watch Tower (named in memory of a Kunki Elephant). Rhino Point (in front of the Gorumara Forest Rest House), Chandrachur Tower (Old Khunia), Chukchuki Tower (a bird watching point) and Medhla Tower (recently added).

Let us now have a look at the wildlife sanctuaries of the district.

Wildlife sanctuaries

Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary nestled in the Dooars plain is a small but one of the oldest Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bengal. The name Chapramari probably derives from “Chopra” which means a type of fish and “Mari” which means abundant. The Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Nagrakata Block of Jalpaiguri District, just at the foothills of Kalimpong Sub-division and on the banks of Murti River. The Reserve Forest since 1895 was declared as a Game Sanctuary in 1939. In view of its great diversity of flora and fauna it was declared as a Wildlife Sanctuary in 1998 comprising a total area of 9.6031 sq. kms.

Animals

Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary is famous for its mega-herbivores such as the Elephant and the Gaur. Along with these, Cheetal, Sambar, Barking Deer, Wildboar, Pangolin are also present in the Sanctuary. It is significant in the international context for providing shelter and protection to various species of Wildlife included in the Red data Book (R.D.B) of the IUCN and the appendices of CITES. The Sanctuary provides an excellent opportunity for study of the habitat, behavior, food, population dynamics of these animals.

Birds

Chapramari Wildlife Sanctuary is popular for its scenic beauty such as forested landscape w2ith its rive rain ecosystem which no one can forget. This Sanctuary is a paradise for birds such as Green Magpie, Indian Treepie, Thrush, Scarlet Minivet, Hill Mayna, Whitr Breasted Kingfisher, Hornbill, Large Grey Headed Fishing Eagle, Adjutant Stork etc. the most common water birds are the large and little Cormorant, Darter & Egret. Migratory birds include the Brahminy and Teals.

Jaldapara wildlife Sanctuary is of 26 sq. km where one-horned rhinoceros, elephant, sambhar, barking deer, spotted deer etc. can be spotted.

The drive to Jaldapara takes you over the coronation bridge through the dense forests to the Bengal Plains and through the tea gardens to Madrihat. The birds to be found here are the Crested Eagle, Pallas's Fishing Eagle and shikra, besides Jungle fowl, peafowl, patridges, Bengal Florican and lesser Pied Hornbill. Python, monitor lizards, krates, cobras, geckos and about 8 species of fresh water turtles have also found sanctuary here.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Rabindra Nath Tagore.

Average Bengali Babu/Bibi's knowledge of Rabindranath Tagore's works is usually limited within those pieces which form a part of the school/college syllabi. But the same Bangali would purchase all the volumes of "Rabindra Rachanabali" and put those as a decorating item in their drawing rooms. Rabindra Sangeet and Rabindra Nritya-Natya, by which the majority bengali swear are but two weaker contributions of Rabindranath. In fact the Bengalis have transformed these two into a made-easy for entry into the world of culture.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Numerology : A few facts you must know.

Numerology is practised for prediction of individual human nature and future of individuals. It says that each date in a year is related to a number between 1 to 9 Each of these numbers 1 to 9 are again related to a planet and denotes the characteristics of the planet. Each English alphabet is also related to a number between 1 to 9 and thus related to a planet. These are the basis of numerology and all predictions and remedies are suggested on these assumptions. The question that naturally arises is about the logic or science behind such assumptions. What is the logic or scientific reason behind the faith that each alphabet is related to a particular number ? While making predictions about a man the numerologist asks for the date of birth of the person as per English calendar. Sometimes they suggest you to make some alterations in the spelling of your name to match it with the number of the date of birth. Why take english calendar only and change your name in english only ? Why discard other calendars some of which are much older than the english calender and quite in vogue amongst a large number of people ? Why change your name in english only ? Why not in your name when written in vernacular also ? What will happen to those people who do not know or use english ? The english calender was altered several times and the number of days in a month were also changed. A man who was born on 31st of a month is no.4. But if the number of days of the month is changed to 30 days, his birth date changes to the 1st of next month. And his number becomes 1. Once the number of days in a month is changed, all the days will get altered. It happened so many times in the past when number of days in a month was changed. Then again, what is the logic or scientific reason behind the faith that each number relates to a particular planet or star ? What is the science when it is said that No.1 relates to Sun, No.2 to Moon No.3 to Jupiter and so on.? These are all assumptions. The astrologers, numerologists and all the so-called fortune-tellers thrive on human weaknesses and try to make you believe in all such mumbo-jumbo taking advantage of your weaknesses.

Guns n Rifles

Before going into the detailed discussions into the topic I would like to add a short introduction. We have read in history that as the human community progressed and developed itself, it also developed a feeling of regional patriotism. This later on led to the battles. It is not only the regional patriotism but also some vices of human nature such as jealousy, greed for power which was as equally responsible for the creation of a war culture throughout the world.
As the human community developed, he also developed his weapons to overcome his enemies. The gradual development led to the discovery of the guns. The first guns to be used in the war were the Enfield P-53 rifle. To operate this gun the gunman had to tear a pouch of gunpowder, drop it in through the barrel, and pump the powder inside with a piston and then it was ready to fire. This guns required heavy maintenance cost and firing with an Enfield rifle was a time consuming job.


Another type of gun was the 303(three not three). This was very popular during the British rule in India. But the main drawback of this gun was that once fired a new bullet had to be installed in the gun and then, it was ready to be fired. During this installation the enemy tried to escape. But unfortunately still some state armed police forces in India uses this age old gun.




Another important member in the family of guns & rifles is the double barrel rifle, unlike the 303 it has two barrel attached to the wooden chest of the gun. It can fire two quick at a single shot. It can fire up to a range of 300 meters. This guns are mostly used in hunting animals.

Some other types of hunting rifles are the Winchester rifle mainly used to hunt big animals like elephants.





Another category of rifles are the semi automatic rifles like the AK 47.
The AK-47 is a selective fire, gas operated 7.62mm assault rifle developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. Six decades later, the AK-47 and its variants and derivatives remain in service throughout the world. It has been manufactured in many countries and has seen service with regular armed forces as well as irregular, revolutionary and terrorist organizations worldwide.Besides AK 47 it also has a derivative the AK 56 Rifle.

The Type 56 assault rifle is a Chinese copy of the Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle, which has been manufactured since 1956. It was produced by state factory 66 from 1956-73, then by Norinco from 1973 onwards. Originally, the Type 56 was a direct copy of the AK-47, and featured a milled receiver, but starting in the mid-1960s, the guns were manufactured with stamped receivers much like the Soviet AKM.
Now let us turn our attention towards the revolvers, handguns and short guns.A common member of this family is the colt 0.32 gun. The 0.32 Colt was inspired by the .320 Revolver. This gun has two variants the long colt and the short. The long colt has a long barrel and the short has a short one.

Another popular gun is the hand gun it can fire up to a range of 100 meters with high accuracy. Many polices of the world have employed this gun for their safety. In one shot it can fire up to 15 bullets.



The modern guns have more accuracy and better striking power. One of such guns are the 0.454 callibre gun.
The term caliber (or calibre) designates the inside diameter of a tube, the diameter (outside) of a solid wire or rod, or a measurement of the length of a gun relative to its diameter. It fires 10 bullets at a time and it has an easy magazine loading procedure.
At last I want to say that I am not in favour of war , but this article is only to let people know about the history of guns and the modern weapons of warfare.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Something To Think About

Last week I was having a chat with my friend about “what is life?” We came to the conclusion that anything that has life is some thing that can respond to a particular environment in a particular manner. Then the question raised that, then what is a non living thing? Anything that cannot convert energy of one form to other form and without any external force or medium is a non living substance. And it also responds to each environment in the same manner. Example a chair.
After a prolonged conversation we came across a fact that a human brain cannot imagine a color other than the present ones. But it is also a fact that Albert Einstein used only 5% of his brain with the help of which he was able to come up with the theory of relativity. We concluded that if a man uses 100% of his brain he can create universes.
So start training your brain.
Anybody who finds any mistake in this Article please post your comments it will be helpful for me.

Astrology:Not a science and anti religion

It has already been asserted by many that astrology is not a science. It is also anti-religion. Astrology thrives on human weaknesses, and falsely claim it to be a science and also as a part of religion. I have studied astrology very thoroughly to know its history, its relation with mathematics, astronomy, and other sciences. I found that assistance of mathematics and astronomy is resorted to while preparing the birth chart of a person. But the relation of astrology with those to sciences ends there. A careful study of astrology will find that the part of applied astrology, which is also known as "Falit Jyotish", through which astrological predictions are made, have no logical or scientific basis. I give you a few examples. According to astrology mars and saturn are mutual enemies and jupiter and moon are mutual friends. So also venus and mercury are friends and sun and saturn are enemies. What is the logic or scientific basis of such a theory? None. According to astrology Jupiter becomes exalted when placed in cancer Saturn gets exalted in Libra, Venus in Pisces and then they become stronger and give beneficial results. Then again Mecury gets debilitated in Pisces, Saturn in Aries, Sun in libra, and Mars in cancer. They become weak there and give bad results. Is there any logic or scientific basis to prove that these stars and planets become strong or weak in such places? None. Absolutely None. The ridiculous conclusion of astrology can be found when it states that each of the planets are the lords of a certain constellation or Rasi. Say, Mars is the lord of Aries, Saturn of Capricorn, Moon of Cancer etc. Each of these constellations are imaginary and have been marked and named by scientists so that it can be located easily in the vast sky with millions and millions of stars. The stars in a constellation are actually located millions and millions of light years apart both vertically and horizontally from one another and have no mutual relation in between them. And astrology says that a planet in the solar system is the lord of that imaginary house comprising of those stars. Can we say that Mars or say Saturn control the Sun ? If it cannot control the sun, which is a star and nearest to them, how can we accept that the same planet will control a constellation consisting of a number of stars which are millions and millions of light years away from the solar system? And it is propagated that astrology is a science and people believe in such false propaganda. Astrology also claims it as a part of religion. It is also not true. The purpose of astrology and religion are just the opposite. Astrology, even if we take it as claimed and said about it, wishes to do material wellbeing of the people. Religion, on the other hand shun material wellbeing and clearly says that those people who strive for material wellbeing, cannot reach God. Religion requires every human being to develop "Purushakara" or self-reliance or self-confidence and depend on God and God alone. Astrology wants you to believe on astrology, on stars, planets, stones and gems etc. You have to believe that stars and planets control your life and astrology control those stars and planets through remedial measures as per advice or choosing the right gemstone or talisman. Therefore, it is clear that the object of religion and astrology are contradictory. None of the great religious teachers ever practiced astrology. Say, Sankaracharyya, Ramanuja, Madhabacharyya, Mahavira and other Jain Tirthankaras, Chaitanya Mahaprobhu, Guru Nanak Ji, Jesus Christ, none.. None. Goutam Buddha even prohibited his disciples to study and practice astrology. None of the great sadhus like, Kathia Baba, Guru Ramanand, Sant Kabir, Tailanga Swami, Aghorenath, Gorakhnath, Lokenath, and the great tantric sadhu Bama Khyapa never practiced astrology. There is no scientific basis to prove that stones and Jewels which are prescribed to change your fate can really do so. Posted by A. Roy Mukherjee of KM Group