I just saw "The Passion of The Christ". Or, is it called "The Passion of Christ"? Whatever. I think that this isone of the most powerful movies that I have seen. And, one of the most disturbing. It's violent and, the relentless violence can seem, by some to be overdone. And yest, I don't think so. I believe that the violence is essential to the movie and, it is the violence that makes the movie and, it is the violence that should force us to question ourselves. I am quite sure that what...

India's election is drawing to a close. And, what drama it has been. We've had 5 years of governance by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Not blemishless, mind you but, stable. There have been hiccups like the racial riots that took place in Gujarat. And, that was followed up by the victory of Narendra Modi in the state elections. But, on the whole, a pretty good 5 years. There has been political stability. The country has grown economically and, we have made some progress in international...

I spent a week in Japan recently. This was the first time in my life that I drove outside India. And, the first time in my life that I drove a car with automatic gears. I am sure those of you read this must think - Where the bloody hell have you lived, fellow?? Anyway, spare me. We don't live in the lap of luxury in India, you know!! But, life is good there. Anyhow, driving in Japan is great. Great scenery, especially when you move into the hills. The scenery in the place is great. It's...

Here's to bitching around!! Okay, I read this book '1984' a very long time ago. Pretty well written but, sombre book. The general impressoin left on me was one of depression. I went away with this rather horrific feeling that we are all subject to mind control in some form of another. In the book, I think that this is taken to the extreme, where Big Brother controls your every thoughts. Now, that does not happen in the world around us. No one can control our thoughts. But, we are all sub...

All right, before I sleep. One more for the road. This has been inspired by all this stuff about Bush and Saddam Hussain. And, 'the war against terror' and, whatever else you have. We all dislike terrorists. They mess up our lives. They create mayhem wherever they go. They kill innocent people. In horrific ways. Why should the people who dies in the Twin Towers in New York or, the people who died in Spain recently, have to die? What did they do? i'm sure most of them were God fearing peop...

Last night I was out for dinner with some of my Chinese colleagues and, we got to talking about whether or not people in China could make jokes about their leaders. The general consensus was that, they could not. At least, not publicly. Obviously. Who in China would dare to do this. So, one of the great tests of democracy was that people in other countries could do so. Look at India, the USA, UK, countries in Europe. Which have democratic setups or, setups that are near democratic anyway. ...

Okay, since the photos from my LiJiang trip seem to have disappeared, I am going to try putting up one more photo here. Sunset at the Angkor Wat. If it works, fantastic. Else, I shall stick to my other blog http://travels.motime.com

And, here's more on the Vedic Gods. People have said that much of the Vedas is ossified nonsense. Maybe so. Maybe so. The fact remains that the Vedas were probably relevant to their times. In fact, much of what is said in the Vedas remains valid even today. Consider this marvellous hymn: " Then neither non-existent nor existent was there, no realm of air, nor the sky beyond. Where was it all then? What covered it? In whose keeping? Was there then cosmic water, in depths unfath...

I've just read two books on Siva. One recounted the mythology of Siva, written by a Western woman. Called, 'In The Presence Of Siva' and, the other, by an Indian, called 'The Concept of Rudra-Siva Through The Ages'. Both, excellent books but, both on a different trip, as it were. The first book recounted the myths and, has a sense of magic and mystery about it. You can, at times, almost feel the mystery of Siva. It's not a scholarly book, in the sense, that it does not delve into the writing ...

Well hey, this is a bit old, you know. I went to LiJiang in October 2003. Nice place actually. Sadly, the enlargements of my photos have turned out grainy. Anyway, so be it. LiJiang, in Yunnan province of China. About 2,000 mts above sea level. Home to the Naxi community, a minority in China. In the shadow of the Snow Mountain, as they call it. And the Tiger Leaping Gorge on the Yangtze River. The new town is like any lousy old new town. There's nothingspectacular abou this. The charm o...

This is yet another new blog for me. This is, in some ways, a plain vanilla site but, it's a nice one. I like it. I don't quite know why. Today's the day I ot my 360 degree evaluation and, as my nearest and dearest said - it's all about managing perceptions, baby!! Perception is reality at the end of the day. I also remember I attended this training programme recently. 'Stronger Every Day'. Pretty superficial stuff. We were taught about our filters, which is pretty old hat as far as I am co...