Old British India Photos - 100 years old Pictures

15 Little known facts about Indian Economy

1. India is one of only three countries that makes supercomputers (the US and Japan are the other two).
2. India is one of six countries that launches satellites.
3. The Bombay stock exchange lists more than 6,600 companies. Only the NYSE has more.
4. Eight Indian companies are listed on the NYSE; three on the NASDAQ.
5. By volume of pills produced, the Indian pharmaceutical industry is the world’s second largest after China.
6. India has the second largest community of software developers, after the U.S.
7. India has the second largest network of paved highways, after the U.S.
8. India is the world’s largest producer of milk, and among the top five producers of sugar, cotton, tea, coffee, spices, rubber, silk, and fish.
9. 100 of the Fortune 500 companies have R&D facilities in India.
10. Two million people of Indian origin live in the U.S.
11. Indian-born Americans are among the most affluent and best educated of the recent immigrant groups in the U.S.
12. Thirty percent of the R&D researchers in American pharmaceutical companies are Indian Americans.
13. Nearly 49% of the high-tech startups in silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. are owned by Indians or Indian-Americans.
14. India sends more students to U.S. colleges than any country in the world. In 2004-2005, over 80,000 Indian students entered the U.S. China sent only 65,000 students during the same time.
15. In a case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, an Indian-American woman scientist, Dr. Ananda Chakrabaty, won the argument that persons may be granted patents for useful manufacture of living organisms. She defeated the U.S. Patent Office, that argued that living things may not be patented, thus establishing the legal foundation for the biotech industry, (Diamond vs. Chakrabaty, 1980). Dr. Chakrabaty invented a microbe that eats oil spills.

Doses of Laughter's Medicine

Sardarji buying movie tickets again again,

Finally ticket seller asks, why are you doing so?

Sardar ji, Some body standing near the door is tearing my tickets again again.

Santa, yaar tum subah se mitti khod rahe ho , kaya baat hai

Banta, kuch nahin yaar

Dada ji ne kaha hai ' ki maine unka naam mitti me mila dia hai" bas vo doondh raha hoo.

Santa, oye bante, ladki ko propose karne ki sab se safe jagah kon si ho sakti hai?

Banta, mandir,

Santa, vo kaise?

Banta, kyounki waha ladki ke pairon me chhapal nahin hoti.

Sardars looking at Egyptian mummy.Sardar1:Look so many bandages, pakka truck accident case. Sardar2: Aaho, truck nambar bhi likha hai. BC-1760!!

Husband asks, Do you know the meaning of WIFE.

It means...Without Information Fighting Everytime!

WIFE satys No, it means -

With Idiot for Ever

Father and Son were in conversation on the beach :

Son:Praaji , Ise 'beach' kyo kaheete hai ?

Father: Tumhe nahe pata ?

Son: Nahe pata.

Father: Woh to Aasmaan aur Zameen ke beech mein hai esliye eesai beach kahete hai

Ek ladka ladki dekhne gaya...

Both are in a room for 10 minutes to talk each other...

Ladki (Darte hue) : Bhaiya aap kitne bhai bahen hain?

Ladka : Abhi tak to 3 the..lekin ab 4 ho gaye.

Life before marriage is like AIRTEL : 'Aisi Azadi Aur Kahan'

Life during engagement is like RELIANCE : 'Kar Lo Duniya Muthi Mein'

Life during Honeymoon is like IDEA : 'A wife can change your life'

Life after one year of marriage is like HUTCH : 'Whereever you go your wife follows'

Life after 10 years of marriage is like MTNL/BSNL : 'The subscriber is not reachable'

Wife- I will die.

Husband- I will also die.

Wife- Why do you want to die?

Husband- bcoz mai itni khushi bardasht nahi kar sakta!

Teacher : Bachon wada karo kabhi sharab,cigrette nahi piyo ge

Bachey :  Nahi piyenge

Teacher : Girls ka peecha nai karoge

Bachey  : Nahi karenge

Teacher : Unn par awaaze nai kaso ge

Bachey:   Nahi kasenge

Teacher:  Watan par zindigi qurbaan karo ge

Bachey:   Kardenge,aesi zindigi ka karna bhi kya hai..

Man : Is there any way for long life?

Dr. : Get married.

Man : Will it help?

Dr. : No, but the thought of long life will never come.

How to make a natural soap

Making your own natural soap is easy. Craft supply stores abound in most cities and towns, and ingredients can be as basic or as exotic as local availability and your imagination will allow. This article will show you how to make a very simple and basic natural soap

1. Lightly grease the inside of your soap molds with the petroleum jelly. Set the molds aside.

2. Grate your soap base until you have the equivalent of 1 1/4 cups. Place the grated soap base into a double boiler over medium heat with the distilled water.

3. Heat gently while occasionally stirring until the mixture looks like a fluffy pudding (up to 30 minutes). Do not permit the soap base to boil.

4. Spoon the melted soap quickly, but carefully into the prepared molds. Tap the edge of the molds to remove air bubbles. Permit the soap to sit in the molds until completely cool and set.

5. Gently remove the soaps from the molds and place on the wire rack to dry for at least 24 hours before using.

Tips & Warnings

• If your soap seems uneven around the edges, you can smooth it by using a sharp knife.r scented soap, stir in fragrance oils or essential oils after your soap has melted but before you pour it into the molds. Avoid alcohol-based scents. They will force your soap to separate.
• For color variations, you may buy soap-making dyes, but food coloring will work just as well. If you would like to use natural sources of color, try the following: Green requires adding liquid chlorophyll. Red requires adding beetroot powder. Alternatively, you can boil red hibiscus flowers in water, strain out the petals, and use the liquid. Some herbal teas may work also. For yellow, add saffron or turmeric. If you desire a brown or cream color, add strong chamomile or orange pekoe tea.
• For textured soap, mix in crushed almonds, oatmeal or cornmeal to the soap base after melting and before pouring into the molds.
• Never wrap your natural soap in an airtight container. It should be allowed to "breathe." Use wax paper, netting or other porous materials.
• Your soap may shrink or "settle" in the molds as it cools. To prevent this, slightly overfill the soap molds. You can always trim away the excess later. Save the shavings for your next batch.

Funny Laws Worldwide

1) In Utah, it is illegal to swear in front of a dead person.
2) In 1911, pigtails were banned in China because they were seen as a link with its feudal past.
3)In Scotland it is illegal to be a drunk in possession of a cow.
4) Anyone under the age of 21 who takes out household trash containing even a single empty alcohol beverage container can be charged with illegal possession of alcohol in Missouri.
5) Flying Kites is Illegal according to Indian Posts and Telegraph Act
6) In Hong Kong, a betrayed wife is legally allowed to kill her adulterous husband, but may only do so with her bare hands. (The husband's lover, on the other hand, may be killed in any manner desired.)
7) In Breton, Alabama, there is a law on the town's books against riding down the street in a motorboat.
8) In Kentucky, US, every citizen is required by law to take a bath at least once a year.
9) In Saudi Arabia, a woman reportedly may divorce her husband if he does not keep her supplied with coffee.
10) You can't plow a cotton field with an elephant in North Carolina.
11) In New York, it is against the law for children to pick up or collect cigarette and cigar butts.
12) In San Francisco, there is an ordinance, which bans the picking up and throwing of used confetti.
13) It's illegal to drink beer out of a bucket while you're sitting on a curb in St. Louis!
14) In Quitman, Georgia, US, it is illegal for a chicken to cross the road.
15) In Georgia, US, members of the State Assembly cannot be ticketed for speeding while the State 16) Assembly is in session.
16) In Georgia, US, donkeys may not be kept in bathtubs.
17) It is illegal to wear a fake moustache that causes laughter in church.
18) You are more likely to get a ticket if you drive barefooted.
19) New Jersey and Oregon are the only two states where it is illegal to pump your own gas.
20) In Georgia, it is against the law to slap a man on the back or front.
21) A barber is not to advertise prices in the State of Georgia.
22) In Louisiana, a bill was introduced years ago in the State House of Representatives that fixed a ceiling on 23) haircuts for bald men of 25 cents.
24) In Oklahoma, no baseball team can hit the ball over the fence or out of a ballpark.
25) In Philadelphia, you can't put pretzels in bags based on an Act of 1760.
26) Alaska law says that you can't look at a moose from an airplane.
27) In Corpus Christie, Texas, it is illegal to raise alligators in your home.
28) In Miami, it is forbidden to imitate an animal.
29) California law prohibits a woman from driving a car while dressed in a housecoat.
30) In West Virginia, only babies can ride in a baby carriage.
31) Until the 1960's men with long hair were not allowed to enter Disneyland.
32) Tipping at a restaurant in Iceland is considered an insult.
33) The penalty for masturbation in Indonesia is decapitation.
34) New Zealand is the first country to allow women to vote.
35) Moscow weathermen can be fined for inaccurate weather forecasting!
36) Mailing an entire building has been illegal in the U.S. since 1916 when a man mailed a 40,000-ton brick
37) It's illegal to own a red car in Shanghai, China.
38) It's against the law to pawn your dentures in Las Vegas!
39) It's against the law to burp, or sneeze in a certain church in Omaha, Nebraska!
40) It was once against the law to slam your car door in a city in Switzerland!
41) It was once against the law to have a pet dog in a city in Iceland!

Amazing Facts about India

1. India is the world's largest, oldest, continuous civilization.
2. India never invaded any country in her last 10000 years of history.
3. India is the world's largest democracy.
4. Varanasi, also known as Benares, was called "the ancient city" when Lord Buddha visited it in 500 B.C.E, and is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the world today.
5. India invented the Number System. Zero was invented by Aryabhatta.
6. The World's first university was established in Takshashila in 700BC. More than 10,500 students from all over the world studied more than 60 subjects. The University of Nalanda built in the 4th century BC was one of the greatest achievements of ancient India in the field of education.
7. Sanskrit is the mother of all the European languages. Sanskrit is the most suitable language for computer software - a report in Forbes magazine, July 1987.
8. Ayurveda is the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the father of medicine consolidated Ayurveda 2500 years ago. Today Ayurveda is fast regaining its rightful place in our civilization.
9. Although modern images of India often show poverty and lack of development, India was the richest country on earth until the time of British invasion in the early 17th Century. Christopher Columbus was attracted by India's wealth.
10. The art of Navigation was bornin the river Sindhu 6000 years ago. The very word Navigation is derived from the Sanskrit word NAVGATIH. The word navy is also derived from Sanskrit 'Nou'.
11. Bhaskaracharya calculated the time taken by the earth to orbit the sun hundreds of years before the astronomer Smart. Time taken by earth to orbit the sun: (5th century) 365.258756484 days.
12. The value of pi was first calculated by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of what is known as the Pythagorean Theorem. He discovered this in the 6th century long before the European mathematicians.
13. Algebra, trigonometry and calculus came from India. Quadratic equations were by Sridharacharya in the 11th century. The largest numbers the Greeks and the Romans used were 106 whereas Hindus used numbers as big as 10**53(10 to the power of 53) with specific names as early as 5000 BCE during the Vedic period. Even today, the largest used number is Tera 10**12(10 to the power of 12).
14. IEEE has proved what has been a century old suspicion in the world scientific community that the pioneer of wireless communication was Prof. Jagdish Bose and not Marconi.
15. The earliest reservoir and dam for irrigation was built in Saurashtra.
16. According to Saka King Rudradaman I of 150 CE a beautiful lake called Sudarshana was constructed on the hills of Raivataka during Chandragupta Maurya's time.
17. Chess (Shataranja or AshtaPada) was invented in India.
18. Sushruta is the father of surgery. 2600 years ago he and health scientists of his time conducted complicated surgeries like cesareans, cataract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones and even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Usage of anesthesia was well known in ancient India. Over 125 surgical equipment were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology, digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts.
19. When many cultures were only nomadic forest dwellers over 5000 years ago, Indians established Harappan culture in Sindhu Valley (Indus Valley Civilization).
20. The four religions born in India, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, are followed by 25% of the world's population.
21. The place value system, the decimal system was developed in India in 100 BC.
22. India is one of the few countries in the World, which gained independence without violence.
23. India has the second largest pool of Scientists and Engineers in the World.
24. India is the largest English speaking nation in the world.
25. India is the only country other than US and Japan, to have built a super computer indigenously.

Weird Facts

• The chances of you dying on the way to get your lottery tickets is greater than your chances of winning.
• You are about 1 centimeter taller in the morning than in the evening!
• If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
• The can opener was invented 48 years after the can.
• A donkey will sink in quicksand but a mule won't.
• Some Chinese-made hair bands were fashioned from recycled condoms.
• It would take about 1,200,000 mosquitoes to fully drain the average human body of blood.
• There is a poisonous plant that leaves the victim with a smile on their face at the time of death.
• The drummer for the rock group Def Leppard only has one arm.
• For most people, no matter how hard you pinch the skin on your elbow with your fingers it doesn't hurt.
• A Native American tribe in South Dakota collects bottle caps left by campers, using them as currency. Several banks in the area now recognize the caps as legal tender.
• False teeth are often minutely radioactive.
• Historically, sweat has been an active ingredient in perfume and love potions.
• Consumption of TNT turns urine amber or deep red, which people often mistake for blood.
• If the population of China walked past you, in single file, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.
• If you eat lots of carrots, you'll start to turn orange.
• Cherophobia is a fear of fun.
• In 1984, a Canadian farmer began renting ad space on his cows.
• There are around 200 corpses on Mount Everest.
• One in three dog owners say they have talked to their pets on the phone.
• It would take 17,000 McDonalds strawfuls of water to fill a standard bathtub.
• Larry Walters tied 45 balloons to his lawn chair and rose to 15,000 feet.
• In 1992, 29,000 rubber ducks washed off a ship. They were found thousands of miles away 8 years later.
• In 1977 a 13 year old boy had a tooth growing out of his left foot.
• Your statistical chance of being murdered is one in twenty thousand.
• If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.
• The world's tallest snowman was created in Bethel, Maine in 2008. It measured in at 122 feet / 1 inch and weighed 13,000,000 lbs.
• The military used toilet paper to camouflage their tanks in Saudi Arabia, during the Desert Storm War.
• All the chemicals in a human body combined are worth about 6.25 euro (if sold separately).
• A donkey will sink in quicksand but a mule won't.
• Your home is ten times more likely to have a fire than be burglarized!
• You are about 1 centimeter taller in the morning than in the evening!
• Whispering is more wearing on your voice than a normal speaking tone.
• Until 1990, the deadly poison mercury was used in about 30% of latex paints!
• There are no clocks in Las Vegas gambling casinos.
• The U.S. military's dried food rations can be re-hydrated with urine!
• The U.S. Army accidentally ordered an 82 year supply of freeze-dried tuna salad mix for troops in Europe.
• The Saguaro Cactus, found in South-western United States does NOT grow branches until it is 75 years old.
• The opposite sides of a dice cube always add up to seven.

Dealing with unrequited Love

Unrequited love is love that is not returned. Whether you are the one who loves or is loved, it can be a painful experience. This article will offer some guidance for dealing with unrequited love, which has haunted and inspired people throughout history.

If Your Love is Unrequited

• Accept that romantic love isn't usually a conscious decision. So, if a person knows that you love them, but doesn't feel the same way about you, don't view it as some kind of betrayal or deliberate withholding. They might want to love you, but simply don't, for reasons they don't understand, and may never understand. Sometimes the feeling just isn't there. Try not to take it personally.
  
• Eradicate any sense of neediness. If you're feeling upset, depressed, or bitter, it's probably because you feel you need that person's love in order to be happy. But, the research on happiness says that all you need is a healthy dose of optimism. You may also find that it's a sense of neediness (which you may be conveying without even realizing it) that's turning off the person you love, perhaps by making them feel like they are on a pedestal that they don't want to be on.
  
• Distance yourself. You won't want to, but staying close to someone you want but can't have just isn't healthy. Don't tell the person or anyone close to them what you are doing, as they might try to convince you otherwise. Just try to get away for a while. Don't call them, don't go places where you know they frequently visit, and make yourself scarce. If you must have some contact (such as work) respond to messages slowly after a few days. Only call back when you have a good excuse to get off the phone after a few minutes. Take the time to reflect on your situation and learn more about yourself.
  
• Enjoy being single. Dealing with unrequited love is a lot like getting over a break up, except you feel a sense of loss over something you never had. Still, you have to learn how to enjoy life without someone, which can be hard in our couple-centered society, but it's do-able.
  
• If you want to stay friends, follow the steps in How to Deal With Being Dumped when You Want to Remain Friends. While you weren't dumped, you were rejected, and following that advice will help preserve your friendship with this person.
  
• Practice unconditional love. If you feel that you really, truly love this person, then perhaps you can love them unconditionally. You'll know you've reached that point when you can genuinely feel happy for them, even if that happiness does not include you. With unconditional love, there's no sense of loss, because it's about deriving all your happiness from the act of giving - not from receiving.

If You Are the Recipient of Unrequited Love

• Consider whether you are blocking out their love. Sometimes we feel undeserving or suspicious because of our past experiences, but if you reject love just because you can't trust someone, you're selling yourself short. See How to Receive Love if you feel this might be your conundrum. 

• If you're sure you don't love this person, be firm. Don't let the person believe that you're on the fence, that if they just do this or that they might be able to convince you to love them. The longer you wait to tell them, the harder it is to do. One thing you can say is "I don't feel the same way about you as you do about me. I don't know why, but I'm sure that's how I feel, and I don't believe it's going to change." They might be angry, bitter, depressed, but they will recover most quickly if you convey that this is non-negotiable.
  
• Reduce contact or end the friendship if the boundaries can't be clarified or upheld. If the person is attracted to you as more than a friend and can't seem to put that attraction aside, it's probably best to take the friendship down a notch. Keep contact casual, conversations short, and get-togethers brief. If the friend continues to press or yearn for a romantic relationship when you've made it clear that you don't want one, if they constantly trash talk your significant other (without good reason), or if they let their own significant other demean you, then perhaps the friendship isn't worth keeping, and this person should just be more of a friendly acquaintance.

How to Perform Self Hynposis

 Self-Hypnosis is a naturally occurring state of mind which can be defined as a heightened state of focused concentration (trance), with the willingness to follow instructions.

1) Go to a quiet room and sit in any comfortable chair, couch, or bed. Although some people prefer to lie down, you are more susceptible to sleep than when sitting up. Whether you sit or lie, ensure you do not cross your legs or any part of your body. You may be in this position for a while and this could end up being uncomfortable.

2. Make sure you are not going to be disturbed for at least half an hour.

3. Close your eyes and work to rid your mind of any feelings of fear, stress, or anxiety. When you begin, you might find it difficult not to think. You may find that thoughts keep intruding. When this happens, don't try to force the thoughts out. Observe them impartially, and then let them slip away. See How to Meditate for more help with this step.

4. Recognize the tension in your body. Beginning with your toes, imagine the tension slowly falling away from your body and vanishing. Imagine it freeing each body part one at a time starting with your toes and working its way up your body. Visualize each part of your body becoming lighter and lighter as the tension is removed. Relax your toes, then your feet. Continue with your calves, thighs, hips, stomach and so on, until you've relaxed each portion, including your face and head. Using imagery techniques of something you find comforting or soothing, such as water (feel the water rushing over your feet and ankles, cleansing them of tension) can be effective as well.

5. Take slow, deep breaths. When you exhale, see the tension and negativity leaving in a dark cloud. As you inhale, see the air returning as a bright force filled with life and energy.

6. Appreciate the fact that you are now extremely relaxed. Imagine you are at the top of a flight of 10 stairs which at the fifth step start to submerge into water. Picture every detail of this scene from the top to the bottom. Tell yourself that you are going to descend the stairs, counting each step down, starting at 10. Picture each number in your mind. Imagine that each number you count is further down and one step closer to the bottom. After each number, you will feel yourself drifting further and further into deep relaxation. As you take each step, imagine the feel of the step under your feet. Once you are at the fifth step imagine and truly feel the refreshing coolness of the water and tell yourself that you are stepping into an oasis of purity and cleanliness. As you begin to descend the last five steps, start to feel the water getting higher and higher up your body. You should now start to feel somewhat numb and your heart will start to race a bit, but notice it and let any qualms about the situation just drift away into the water.

7. At this point at the bottom of the water you shouldn't really feel anything, just a floating sensation. You may even feel like you're spinning. Once you have achieved this state you should proceed to address your problems and decide upon what it is you want from where you are. (Note: if you do not feel as stated above, try again, slower with a will to grasp what is happening.) Now start to narrate what you are doing, speak in the present and future tense quietly to yourself, or as if you are reading it from a page. Start to picture three boxes under the water that you have to swim to get to. Once you have found the boxes open them slowly one at a time and narrate to yourself what is happening when you open the box. For example 'As I open the box I feel a radiant light engulf me, I feel it becoming a part of me, this light is my new found confidence that I can never lose as it is now a part of me' and then proceed on to the next box. You should avoid using statements with negative connotation such as "I don't want to be tired and irritable." Instead, say, "I am becoming calm and relaxed." Examples of positive statements "I am strong and slender," "I am successful and positive," and, if you have pain, "My back is beginning to feel wonderful."

8. Repeat your statement(s) to yourself as many times as you wish. 2 or 3 times should be enough

9. Once you are satisfied with what you have done and embraced, swim back to the stairs and feel with each step you take the water becoming lower and lower until you have once again reached that fifth step. Once you are out of the water and are on the sixth step you may start to feel heavy or as if there is a weight on your chest. Merely wait on the step until this passes, constantly repeating your aforementioned statements. Once it passes continue up the stairs visualizing each step by its number, feeling the steps underneath you, will yourself to carry on up the stairs.

10. Once you have ascended, give yourself a few moments before opening your eyes. You may want to visualise yourself opening a door to the outside world, do this slowly and imagine the light that pours in through the door way, this should make your eyes open. Take your time getting up. Then out loud tell yourself "Wide awake, Wide awake" or something maybe that your mother used to say when she woke you up in the morning as a child. This will put your mind back in the conscious state.

Tips

• Have an idea of how you will present your suggestions to yourself before you lie down and are relaxed, otherwise it may interrupt your hypnotic state.
• Writing out your suggestions before induction can be very effective, as a visual list of what you choose to work on can sometimes be more easily remembered than even carefully assembled thoughts.
• Another way to relax your muscles is to physically tense and hold for ten seconds before releasing; you should feel as well as imagine the tension leaving.
• Some find that imagining yourself in a peaceful natural setting will relax your mind sufficiently before counting down. For instance, you may imagine yourself wandering through a forest, smelling the trees and hearing the wind. Alternatively, you could imagine yourself walking along the ocean shore and feel the grit of the sand beneath your feet, the cool water washing against your ankles and sounds of the surf.
• If you can't sleep, after you count down from ten (or go down your staircase), allow your mind to remain in this pleasantly relaxed state and keep your eyes closed while you are lying down and you will sleep much easier.
• For those of you who like to meditate but can't sit still long enough, just use this as a form of meditation but insert a period of time in between counting down from ten and counting back up to ten.
  It often helps to go to a professional, licensed hypnotherapist for a session first, to see what it feels like.
• If you are struggling, try visiting a hypnotherapist or buying a recording in order to experience hypnosis. When you have experienced it once or twice you will better know the state of mind you are aiming to achieve.

Warnings

• Hypnosis does not always work immediately; you may need to repeat it often (e.g. every day for a month or more) to see the benefits. You will need to "train" yourself with lots of practice. 
• Be careful when rising if you've been lying down. Getting up too quickly could cause your blood pressure to plummet, and you could easily become dizzy or pass out. (This has nothing to do with hypnosis, it is orthostatic hypotension.) 

Things You'll Need

• A comfortable place to sit or lie down. Subdued lighting and the correct room temperature.
• A quiet environment where you will not be disturbed for at least half an hour. 

Source : Wikihow

Inspirational Story

"This is a story of a poor Scottish farmer whose name was Fleming. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby dog. He dropped his tools and ran to the dog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the boy from what could have been a slow and terrifying death. The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. "I want to repay you" said the nobleman. " Yes," the farmer replied proudly. "I'll make you a deal. Let me take your son and give him a good education. If he's anything like his father, he'll grow to a man you can be proud of you." And that he did. In time, Farmer Fleming's son graduated from St.Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known through-out the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin. Years afterward, the Nobleman's son was stricken with pneumonia. What saved him? Penicillin. This is not the end. The nobleman's son also made a great contribution to society. For the nobleman was non other than Lord Randolph Churchill.and his son's name was Winston Churchill. Let us use all our talent, competence and energy for creating peace and happiness for the nation."

A trip gone awry..

This is one trip that i will remember for all wrong reasons, as the events before, during and after the trip were all far from pleasing. But one should face such incidents once in a while to spice up things. Moreover, it acts as a good lesson for you to learn for your future.

So here we were, a group of 10-11 friends, on that friday Night at Dadar TT, waiting for our bus, for our  trip to Panchavati & Shirdi, a pilgrim centre around 230 kms from Mumbai. We had planned a weekend trip, so that no one would have needed to bunk the office.  In a bid to decentralize my load, i entrusted one of my friends, the responsibility of reserving a railway ticket for return journey in the evening on Saturday. The responsibility he gleefully accepted.

The bus reached late by good measure, but since we were a closely knit group, we did not realize the loss of time, as we were spending our time chatting and joking.  The bus finally showed up at around quarter to twelve and we all boarded the bus. The journey was non nondescript as within an hour’s time we all went fast asleep, as tired we all were by the chores of the day in the office. The bus screeched to halt at around 5.30 in the morning and we all reached Shirdi, a buzzing little town which came to limelight due to the noble deeds of Saibaba, a godly figure now.  We booked a hotel for keeping our luggage and for bathing, resting  etc.

At around 10 o’clock in the morning we had taken our darshan and we were out of the temple, fully contented. Our next destination was the pilgrim centre Nashik, the Panchavati, the Kalaram Mandir and all had occupied my space for quite a long time, i’d been there, but never got a chance to visit those places. So i was thrilled for sure. We reached at around 1.00 clock in the afternoon, and perhaps from then on the difficult phase of our trip began.

We visited a relative of one of our friends, kept our baggages over there,  and then proceeded. We visited Panchavati and other places and reached a temple, Kalaram Mandir, the temple itself is built well with good architecture dating back to 11th century. I took the first click there from my camera. And suddenly, out of nowhere, a cop came and snatched my camera and proceeded back to the police chowki, somebody uttered that photography was not allowed. We could not see any board mentioning the same however. We went into the chowki and pleaded the cop to return the camera. He yelled like a madman, as if we had committed big crime, he told us amusing stories of how terrorists take pictures of such places and then plant bombs. Did he thought, we were terrorists. He however, mellowed a his tune bit, when i told him that i worked for a Central Government Department. But, the cop that he was, he did not relent till we had bribed him a 100 rupee note. He then returned back the camera and we made our way backwards. I felt, quite angry on myself that day, for having bribed someone, so blatantly, and in the premise of the temple. I had noted down the buckle number of the cop, with the resolve that i would make a written complaint. But back in the hustle bustle of city life, the resolve melted somehow.

At around 5.30 pm we reached Nashik Station, the train was scheduled to arrive at 06.00 pm. I inquired with my friend, who had booked the ticket, he had placed the tickets firmly in his upper pocket, he checked the tickets in his pocket and told that dont worry he had the tickets. So we all went to Nashik Station at platform no. 3, to await the train. That day, the security arrangement and the ticket checking drive was on over zeal, i suppose, as everywhere, we saw the ticket checkers in black coats. We had no reason to worry as we had proper tickets was my guess.

The train was scheduled to arrive within next five minutes as it was around 5.55 pm and i got jittery, as there was no indicator showing the train, or any kind of announcement being made about its possible arrival. My friend accompanied me to the board where the status of all the trains were shown. There was no mention of this train number. So finally, i asked my friend for the tickets to verify what the issue was. He handed out to me the ticket quite confidently, that was the last time i saw him as confident, that evening. On close scrutiny, i, to my utter shock noticed that the friend had booked a wrong ticket. He booked the ticket of a train that was leaving from Nashik to Mumbai in the morning, and our train had left for the day twelve hours before we. I was shocked and worried. Not for myself but for female folks who had their parents waiting for them.

Panicking wsa the last option that evening i had. The first challenge was to get out of the station complex, unnoticed and unquestioned. I told everybody, that there was minor problem and we needed to go out of the station. Everybody gave me stares that made me worry a bit more. But they complied. Thankfully, the ticket checkers did not bother to question us or ask for tickets and we came out of the station. I called another friend of my, Nilesh, who was bit more responsible a guy, than the one who had booked the tickets. I told him the scene and informed him that the next train was at 09.30 pm and we had no tickets for it and the train was packed. The train would have served no purpose as it would have reached Mumbai in the dead of the night.  The next best alternative to reach mumbai by roadways. So we inquired with the Autorickshaws around how to reach Mumbai. It was around 06.30 pm in the evening, the sun had started sinking that evening, a bit too faster i noted.. We were told that if we reached “doodh naka” before 7 pm we may get some vehicles that routinely ply between the upper ghats of Nashik to the lower plains of Kasara, which however, still was good 100 kms from Mumbai. But atleast we could have caught local trains plying from there to our homes.

We informed everybody the hard fact, that we had missed the train. We could not face the eyes of the rest of the members. Anyways, we reached Doodh Naka within next fifteen minutes and fortunately got one MUV which noting our plight, spared no efforts to fleece us, money however was secondary aspect that day, time was the main issue.

The journey in that MUV was not especially a notable one, as we all cramped in somehow, and the driver gave us some more nightmares by his acrobatic sytle of driving on that dreadful accident prone road.

Dot at 09.00 pm we reached Kasara and we were happy to see the train waiting to depart at 09.15 pm. We took the necessary tickets and boarded that train. All of us reached home by 1200 midnight. Around two hours late.

After all that happened, i guess, two hour’s delay could have been excused, and everybody did excuse, for as it is said all’s well that ends well.

But, if i ever learn’t a lesson after that was never to hand over work to others, work which you can do yourself.

Wants are unlimited – Lesson Learnt well…

Those were very simple days, when you really did not required any electronic gadgetry to remember the phone numbers or addresses of your friends and pals.  A small pocket sized diary with neatly entered contact numbers alphabetically would solve your purpose. A calculator was all that we craved for during our college days. Mobile phones, ipods, ipads, androids and smartphones were the terms not used then. The first generation mobile phone that we saw in the market in the early nineties was like a wireless walky talky set with a large antenna protruding dangerously outside, many a times to the discomfort of others.

The pager or the text messaging services, with a small matchbox sized module, vanished as quickly as it came, i guess it had a life of about 2-3 years. The owners would feel a sense of pride everytime, they the pager beeped. We, friends were in our colleges, and our past time would be pester friends who had pager with them. A call to the call center guy to send a message with instruction to send the message twice was a routine past time then. The recipient friend, whenever, he would meet would give some angry looks quantifying the magnitude to which he was hassled. But the beep of the pager gave way to the mobile phones.

I longed for my mobile phone, quite a bit, and it was one such pesky advertisement call on my landline phone, that ensured that i would book the mobile phone, the offer made was so appealing that i could but not resist. My phone, the first one was nothing special to mention, just a basic phone. But, boy, didnt i like it then. It was a motorola model. And i used it for quite sometime and i felt satiated and felt that my search for a good phone had ended,

Until i got my LG color phone with good camera and multimedia.  All of a sudden, my old motorola phone started looking a bit older, and today it is nowhere to be seen, I switched my loyalties to this new phone and was all praises for this phone.  It had lovely music, a good handy camera to boast. I felt that may be first time i was wrong, but my search for a good mobile indeed ended here.

I was caught on wrong foot however, when the markets filled with touchscreen phones and suddenly i found that using my LG phone troublesome, my fingers started itching a bit more while typing smses, perphaps it itched for a new touchscreen. My LG phone was just  8-10 months old and i had no strong alibi to purchase a new phone. So as a shortcut and a short term remedy, i got a cheap chinese touchscreen phone just for fun, used it for a while, and finally got my touchscreen phone, a classy model, a costly phone, with rich multimedia, a 3.5 mp camera with flash and all i needed. It was a Java phone and yes, finally i felt that i did not need a new phone anymore. I went to many trekks and trips and used this phone for getting crispy crystal clear pictures and it worked marvellously. I could access internet, listen to songs, record videos and play games, it was gravity sensitive mobile and could play shake games. So i was all but happy with the phone.

Then suddenly, the market got flooded with android phones, the new operating system installed in mobiles by internet giant, google. One could see the whole market flooded with android phones and stuff android market offered. It had solution to just everything, you could use your phone as your mini laptop, it had word, it had ms office, it had games, it had rich media contents and just everything once could crave for. Suddenly, my java phone looked like it belonged to stone age and so i had no other option but to get my android phone.  I got one, am using it right now and like everytime i feel and hope that this will be my best phone ever. It has just everything, it has google maps, travel guide, speedometer, temperature teller, barcode reader, office softwares, games, music and all that sony can squeeze in this little wonder. So i feel that my hunt for my best phone is over. But i know, i am wrong. For records this is my seventh phone in around three years.

The technology keeps on changing and we keep on craving for newer ones, its just human to do so, but, in the process, we suffer from bouts of frustrations when we are unable to achieve what we set out for, we simply miss out simple joys of lives and make our life a bit more complicated. Life is  simple,  but we complicate it just like most of you, i am sure,  will do in the sum below.

Try to solve it without calculator and do not scroll the mouse below.

if 1=5

2=25

3=625

4=390625

5= ??

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Ans : If 1=5, 5 should be equal to one. Lets make our lives a bit simpler friends  I will begin with myself