tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30169769004757948162024-03-19T09:48:21.315+05:30monkeyshine nutworksthe blog that will make you thinkAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.comBlogger1704125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-25328675280723319292017-10-18T10:52:00.001+05:302017-10-18T10:54:43.983+05:30Happy Deepavali 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Wish everyone a very happy Deepavali, and a prosperous year ahead.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-85bddhQCIXk/WeblE8oMneI/AAAAAAAAW1I/KM5MEuS057UHOX7C3RY4BRIY1FVe9sJ8wCHMYCw/s1600-h/diwali-doodle-2017%255B2%255D"><img alt="diwali-doodle-2017" border="0" height="225" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qgYENyU6ySs/WeblGj6XyvI/AAAAAAAAW1M/X5lodZtH_uQwK99tUKmLPieZFFZlFYJsQCHMYCw/diwali-doodle-2017_thumb?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; display: inline;" title="diwali-doodle-2017" width="504" /></a><br />
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original image courtesy dreamstime.com<br />
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/diwali" rel="tag">diwali</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/deepavali" rel="tag">deepavali</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/greetings" rel="tag">greetings</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-56901071486358090222017-09-28T16:05:00.001+05:302017-09-28T16:06:51.997+05:30Saraswati Ayudha Pooja procedure in Tamil 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Tomorrow 29 Sep 2017 is the ninth day of Navratri or Dussehra, when the Tamil tradition is to assemble the books, and the working tools of the family, and do a pooja on them, for the knowledge, service, and wealth they have given over the days and will do so for the future.<br />
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It is also customary to leave the assemblage idle for the day, and commence the reading, working, only on the next day, the day of Vijayadashami, when another smaller pooja is done before starting the symbolic work.<br />
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On this Saraswati Pooja or Ayudha Pooja day of 2017, the optimum time to perform the pooja is between 06:00 to 09:00 IST. The procedure in Tamil for the Saraswati Pooja or Ayudha Pooja is available as FREE PDF download, for ease of pooja.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5fv4pU7QK1c/WczQZzFqBlI/AAAAAAAAAfE/66KCjwctjsMnJMhUSukc-O0OJ0BqJUmogCHMYCw/s1600-h/saraswati-ayudha-pooja-Tamil-2017%255B2%255D"><img alt="saraswati-ayudha-pooja-Tamil-2017" border="0" height="404" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xGz6L6kxV3U/WczQdkAir9I/AAAAAAAAAfI/O0Z1VetqURo28z9fp3aECmp-6kvwfcKkwCHMYCw/saraswati-ayudha-pooja-Tamil-2017_thumb?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; display: inline;" title="saraswati-ayudha-pooja-Tamil-2017" width="241" /></a><br />
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The full Saraswaati Ayudha Pooja 2017 Tamil PDF can be downloaded from<br />------------------------<br /><a href="http://www.madmadrasi.net/p/downloads.html">downloads</a> page<br />------------------------<br />
Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/navratri">navratri</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/dussehra">dussehra</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/ayudha+pooja">ayudha pooja</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/saraswati+pooja">saraswati pooja</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03909518528267437654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-92063349216190270582017-09-23T15:47:00.001+05:302017-09-23T15:48:40.333+05:30Hurricane Maria and Puerto Rico<p>A merge of two graphics with additional inputs shows the extent of damage caused by Hurricane Maria to the US Island territory of Puerto Rico. Even more funnier is the comments section in the CNN. One idiot comments that let the fittest survive. Why did not the Puerto Ricans equip themselves with generators, and water purification plants/tablets.</p><p>The problem is the island is completely out of petrol or gas as the bubbas call it. There is no petrol or diesel in the whole island for the consumers. The ports are in disarray so import of fuel would take some time. Since there is no electricity, because of shortage of fuel, water pumping stations are down. And even if there is petrol in the underground tanks in petrol stations, it cannot be pumped for the same reason.</p><p>Since it is an island, supplies cannot be driven in, but either flown in – and the airport is a mess – or shipped in, which will take time. BTW it is much the same in all the Caribbean islands affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, but I take the example of Puerto Rico, because it is one of the better economies, not solely dependent upon tourism, or offshore banking in the region.</p><p><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pBndwMmOUpY/WcY0uI4RAHI/AAAAAAAAWxk/zKxiki9S6Qc9MjZdE7rfetX87OEWCVCMQCHMYCw/s1600-h/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-sep-2017%255B2%255D"><img width="504" height="256" title="puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-sep-2017" style="display: inline; background-image: none;" alt="puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-sep-2017" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q0onfCq7PRU/WcY0v2b12II/AAAAAAAAWxo/Ycwr0FKmKyo-g1542EipaV5EQ3bwOtbgACHMYCw/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-sep-2017_thumb?imgmax=800" border="0"></a></p><p>BTW the basic graphic is from Washington Post, with the additional information on flooding warning from NWS.</p><div class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent" id="scid:77ECF5F8-D252-44F5-B4EB-D463C5396A79:2e0eb000-b49e-4965-9c4c-60d944cbb9b7" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; float: none; display: inline;">Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/hurricane-maria" rel="tag">hurricane-maria</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/hurricane-irma" rel="tag">hurricane-irma</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/puerto-rico" rel="tag">puerto-rico</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-70637228609700373462017-09-18T15:51:00.001+05:302017-09-20T15:47:45.268+05:30Navratri Nitya (daily) Pooja procedure in Tamil 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
From day after tomorrow, 21 Sep 2017, the Navratri (நவராத்திரி) or Dussehra (தசரா) festival commences. Navratri is divided into sets of three days to adore three different aspects of the supreme goddess.<br />
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Traditionally (in Tamil) the goddess is worshipped as Durga during the first 3 days, as Lakshmi during the middle three and as Saraswati during the final 3 days. The 10th day - Vijaya Dashami - literally the tenth day of Victory is celebrated as the day when the goddess killed the demon Mahishasura.<br />
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The ninth day of <em>Navratri</em> is celebrated as <em>Saraswati Pooja</em> or <em>Ayudha Pooja</em>, as has become (expected ?) the practice, we will upload the full Saraswati Pooja or Ayudha Pooja on 29 Sep 2017 procedure in Tamil within the next few days. And this year, we will add the punar pooja to be done on Vijayadashami day 30 Sep 2017 too.<br />
This year we have added two more free PDF downloads, <br />
<ul>
<li>one of which specifies the particular flowers for pooja and Carnatic raga to be performed on each of the 10 days</li>
<li>the second specifies the particular neivedhyams and sundal to be preferable made on each of the 10 days</li>
</ul>
The download links for those will be posted shortly.<br />
Meanwhile, here is Nitya Pooja or daily pooja procedure for the 8 days. As usual it is uploaded as a Navrathri Nitya Pooja procedure in Tamil for free PDF download.<br />
Here is the snapshot of the page displaying the thithi, varam, and nakshatra for each of the 10 days.<br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-L9gMThfpBvc/Wb-eHCCaVeI/AAAAAAAAWuo/nuBESL9ehWIJqQ5aNp7ymlBY6EflU65AQCHMYCw/s1600-h/navratri-dussehra-nitya-pooja%255B2%255D"><img alt="navratri-dussehra-nitya-pooja" border="0" height="404" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ktUPs1HMAko/Wb-eJJHmKyI/AAAAAAAAWus/yHz0m99BaC8FSPclWfGQ8T_upyjv1N-7wCHMYCw/navratri-dussehra-nitya-pooja_thumb?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; display: inline;" title="navratri-dussehra-nitya-pooja" width="471" /></a><br />
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The full Navrathri Nitya Pooja 2017 Tamil PDF can be downloaded from <br />
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<a href="http://www.madmadrasi.net/p/downloads.html">downloads</a> page<br />
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/navratri" rel="tag">navratri</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/dussehra" rel="tag">dussehra</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/ayudha+pooja" rel="tag">ayudha pooja</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/saraswati+pooja" rel="tag">saraswati pooja</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-69191841492736915502017-09-18T06:45:00.001+05:302017-09-18T06:57:29.239+05:30Mahalaya Amavasya Tharpana Sankalpam Tool 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Tomorrow, 19 Sep 2017 is one of the most important Amavasya or New Moon days of the Hindu calendar. Even those who do not observe the ancestral worship on normal Amavasya or start of months do observe the Mahalaya Amavasya.<br />
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The much neglected Amavasya Tharpana Sankalpam generation Tool has been updated to version 0.9 beta. The tool now has the option to select the Sankalpam in either Tamil, Sanskrit or English (IAST) scripts.<br />
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The Amavasya Tharpana Sankalpam generation Tool will be further updated to include other options like modifications for Mother Alive, Yajur, Rig, Sama vedis, and Vadakalai and Thengalai in further editions, which we aim to complete within Oct 2017.<br />
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For the moment here is the snapshot of all the Amavasya Tharpana Sankalpams in 3 languages.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UVFqjBWNTvA/Wb8eOwm7i_I/AAAAAAAAWuE/KDD6ocFvUloNCMOdgkjshT9UCH-4ijMjwCHMYCw/s1600-h/mahalaya-amavasya-2017%255B2%255D"><img alt="mahalaya-amavasya-2017" border="0" height="373" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mIGWOJ5H-9o/Wb8eQrCht5I/AAAAAAAAWuI/yJ9JSDa5C3ohnFjOfZ7citG4zEtX0CJSwCHMYCw/mahalaya-amavasya-2017_thumb?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; display: inline;" title="mahalaya-amavasya-2017" width="504" /></a><br />
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If you liked this, please share with a <a href="http://twitter.com/?status=RT:%20Free%20PDF%20download%20@maxmadrasi%20%23MahalayaTharpanam%20%23Amavasya%20Sankalpam%20in%20Tamil%20Sanskrit%20English%202017%20@%20http://bit.ly/madrasnow%EF%BB%BF%20%23MNOW" target="_blank">TWEET</a></div>
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Mahalaya Amavasya Tharpanam Sankalpam Tool can be accessed on line at</div>
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<a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/p/downloads.html" target="_blank">Downloads</a> page</div>
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/mahalayam" rel="tag">mahalayam</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/amavasya" rel="tag">amavasya</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/sankalpam" rel="tag">sankalpam</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-42478869887838741862017-09-16T17:19:00.001+05:302017-09-16T17:22:03.778+05:30Mahalaya Gajachaya Tharpanam in Tamil<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This year, the Mahalaya Amavasya falls on 19 Sep 2017. What many do NOT know is that unless one performs the Mahalaya ‘paksha’ Tharpanam for all the 15 or 16 days, one shpuld NOT perform the Mahalaya Amavasya tharpanam on the Amavasya day. Instead they should do the normal tharpanam'. Persons who do the Mahalaya Tharpanam in 2017 on one single day can do it on</div>
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their father’s thithi</div>
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the ‘mahabharani’ or when the star of the day is Bharani (10 Sep 2017)</div>
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the ‘madyashtami’ or when the ashtami thiti occurs (13 Sep 2017)</div>
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<li><div class="wlWriterSmartContent" style="display: inline; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
the ‘mahavyadheepadam’ which occured on Thursday (14 Sep 2017) &</div>
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the ‘Gajachaya’ day which occurs tomorrow, Sunday (17 Sep 2017)</div>
</li>
</ul>
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Hence we have put together the Mahalaya Tharpanam for Gajachaya day, that is 17 Sep 2017, and uploaded it yesterday.</div>
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As usual, it is a Free PDF download, of Mahalaya Tharpanam in Tamil 2017, and avilable at the </div>
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lb5RFtNhL4I/Wb0PnbTuVYI/AAAAAAAAWpc/XXE8-mQRLkIJzwDccmlG74fg4umQIDbwgCHMYCw/s1600-h/mahalaya-tharpanam-2017%255B2%255D"><img alt="mahalaya-tharpanam-2017" border="0" height="404" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-REeoX6aIk5E/Wb0PrGTkjUI/AAAAAAAAWpg/KcXUvh0vGfkYPMGixM_qpz6LA8sI3CqbACHMYCw/mahalaya-tharpanam-2017_thumb?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; display: inline;" title="mahalaya-tharpanam-2017" width="238" /></a><br />
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/mahalayam" rel="tag">mahalayam</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/amavasya" rel="tag">amavasya</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/gajachaya" rel="tag">gajachaya</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-4399190944896891232017-09-09T11:00:00.000+05:302017-09-09T11:00:24.019+05:30Transiting to Bootstrap 4<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Finally the much awaited Bootstrap 4 (though beta) has been released to the public. So it is time to switch over to Bootstrap 4 from the existing Bootstrap 3.3.7. Along with it the JQuery which was at 2.2.2 (from googleajax) has also been upgraded to JQuery 3.2.1.<br />
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Till I get my head firmly around to Bootstrap 4 from 3, since it is a complete code rewrite, and lots of changes, the blog may look a little ugly. Though most, especially basic or essential functionalities should not be broken, if you notice something please leave a comment in this post.<br />
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Right off, I can see the label and information colours are awful and have to be tweaked. But the navbar takes the first priority as everything seems to have shrunk into that (-) dash by the side of the monkey.<br />
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Since this is a blogger template (that is XML) it cannot be easily squeezed through a Bootstrap 3 to Bootstrap 4 online converter or Migration Tool.<br />
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Going to have fun this weekend. If I find any quirks will follow up with tip off posts. Meanwhile have a great weekend.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q5DJwVwOJq0/WbN75wPCw1I/AAAAAAAAWh4/-4dTUZP87CQjhAukp7X1djbJZXNAoX_oACLcBGAs/s1600/Bootstrap4-transition-from-Bootstrap3.3.7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="498" data-original-width="534" height="297" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q5DJwVwOJq0/WbN75wPCw1I/AAAAAAAAWh4/-4dTUZP87CQjhAukp7X1djbJZXNAoX_oACLcBGAs/s320/Bootstrap4-transition-from-Bootstrap3.3.7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/Bootstrap" rel="tag">Bootstrap</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/JQuery" rel="tag">JQuery</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-73938395607211857252017-08-04T18:38:00.001+05:302017-08-04T18:43:23.348+05:30Gayatri Japam 2017 procedure Tamil Sanskrit English<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In 2017 Gayatri Mantra Japam is on Tuesday, 08 August, one day after the Rg and Yajur Upakarma or Avani Avittam on 07 Aug. The Sama Upakarma occurs later. But the Gayathri Japam is on the same day for all 3 vedis.<br />
<ul>
<li>Before we go further, please do not request access to earlier years’ files or documents.
</li>
<li>We update or correct any typos and other errors every year, and an older document will surely have those errors present. To put it in today’s terms, the latest version has lot of bug fixes.
</li>
<li>And the documents have been created on FOSS - LibreOffice 5.4. The font used is the Google Font Noto Sans family. If you find difficulty, you can download it from fonts.google.com</li>
</ul>
Though it is usual practice to include the Gayatri Japa Sankalpam within the printed leaflet, as a paragraph, we choose not to do it. <br />
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For long, we have been treating Gayathri Manthra Japam as an addendum of the Upakarma or Avani Avittam. In truth, Gayatri Mantra Japam is something special on its own.<br />
<br />Please do read important tips for observing Avani Avittam <a href="http://www.madmadrasi.net/2013/08/upakarma-procedure.html">here</a>, and for Gayatri Japam <a href="http://www.madmadrasi.net/2013/08/gayathri-japam-procedure.html">here</a> and <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/2013/08/the-meaning-of-gayathri-mantra.html">here</a>.<br />A full Gayathri Japam is not just a two line sankalpam alone, but consists of:<br />
<ol>
<li>ஆசமனம், த்யானம், ப்ராணாயாமம் (आचमनम्, प्राणायामम्)
</li>
<li>ஸங்கல்பம் (संकल्प:))
</li>
<li>ப்ரணவஜபம், ப்ராணாயாமம் (प्रणवजप:-प्राणायाम:)
</li>
<li>காயத்ரி ஆவாஹனம் (गायत्री-आवाहनम्)
</li>
<li>காயத்ரி நியாஸம் (गायत्री-न्यासः)
</li>
<li>காயத்ரி ஜபம் (गायत्री-जपम्)
</li>
<li>ப்ராணாயாமம், காயத்ரி-உபஸ்தானம் (गायत्री-उपस्थानम्)
</li>
<li>ஸூர்ய-உபஸ்தானம் (सूर्य-उपस्थानम्)
</li>
<li>ப்ரஹ்மார்பணம், ஆசமனம் (ब्रह्मार्पणम)</li>
</ol>
Also note a couple of points:<br />
<ul>
<li>A proper 108 Gayatri recital would take about 25 minutes and a 1008 recital upto 3.5 hours or more.
</li>
<li>The procedure given only details the Gayathri Mantra Japam, and does *not* include the procedure for Gayatri Japam as SamithaDhaan. That procedure is completely different. Do not confuse between the two.</li>
</ul>
Now, we are happy to make available the Gayatri Japam 2017 procedure for Avani Avittam in Sanskrit and English scripts apart from Tamil.<br />
<br />Of course, the non-Tamil (and non-Keralite) people will have to amend the names of year-month as per their tradition – exactly one place in the Gayathri Japam. But that is all there is to do. Anyone can download it for free and use it.<br />
The links are at<br />--------------------<br /><a href="http://www.madmadrasi.net/p/downloads.html">Downloads</a> page<br />--------------------<br />There is no Google Form hindrance. <br /><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-N5Y2II_wz4M/WYRxxgsumxI/AAAAAAAAV_o/tv4q25fiiHQuu2T7TqRKzjpBqL54mvTZQCHMYCw/s1600-h/gayatri-japam-2017%255B2%255D"><img alt="gayatri-japam-2017" border="0" height="379" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-mrljOtJw3ew/WYRxzUg558I/AAAAAAAAV_s/2VEAu9P4J8A26ToM0wvfKe_e4wF43GPCQCHMYCw/gayatri-japam-2017_thumb?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; display: inline;" title="gayatri-japam-2017" width="473" /></a><br />
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madmadrasi.net/search?q=yajur+upakarma">yajur upakarma</a>,<a href="http://www.madmadrasi.net/search?q=avani+avittam">avani avittam</a>,<a href="http://www.madmadrasi.net/search?q=gayathri+japam">gayathri japam</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-86806763296243284772017-08-04T16:59:00.001+05:302017-08-04T17:09:21.788+05:30Yajur Upakarma Avani Avittam 2017 procedure in Tamil, English Sanskrit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Avani Avittam (ஆவணி அவிட்டம்) or Upakarma in 2017 for Yajur and Rg Veda practitioners is on 07 August 2017, that is the coming Monday. Unlike last year, this time around the 2 Upakarmas for Yajur, and Rig fall on the same date.<br />
<ul>
<li>Before we go further, please do not request access to earlier years’ files or documents.</li>
<li>We update or correct any typos and other errors every year, and an older document will surely have those errors present. To put it in today’s terms, the latest version has lot of bug fixes.</li>
<li>And the documents have been created on FOSS - LibreOffice 5.4. The font used is the Google Font Noto Sans family. If you find difficulty, you can download it from fonts.google.com</li>
</ul>
However, the Gayathri Mantra Japam is to be performed by all the 3 Veda practitioners on 08 Aug 2017, one day after the Rg, and Yajur Veda Upakarma.<br />
<br />
We have already uploaded the Gayathri Japam procedure in Tamil, Sanskrit and English. Now here is the Yajur Upakarma or Avani Avittam 2017 procedure in Tamil, Sanksrit and Englsh as PDF file for free download.<br />
<br />
Unlike last year, they are completely free download, without any Google Form interference. The reason is that GForm use restricts it to 100 downloads a day which restrict people. This year the formatting has been modified for even easier use.<br />
The Rig Upakarma procedure will be uploaded a short time later.<br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-OSi3vloaGvc/WYRahBRXP8I/AAAAAAAAV_M/JxFUxIEZdaECrxatcQTtWKxi5DSeESvawCHMYCw/s1600-h/yajur-upakarma-2017%255B2%255D"><img alt="yajur-upakarma-2017" border="0" height="404" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hbzcQhzUYJY/WYRai1xbOQI/AAAAAAAAV_Q/fM0HvjIZJV8HHcOyeAxZLQWmjsZlIEoNACHMYCw/yajur-upakarma-2017_thumb?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; display: inline;" title="yajur-upakarma-2017" width="277" /></a><br />
<br />
The Yajur Upakarma procedure in Tamil, Sanskrit or English as PDF file is available for free at:<br />
----------------------<br />
<a href="http://www.madmadrasi.net/p/downloads.html">Downloads</a> page<br />
----------------------<br />
Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/yajur-upakarma">yajur-upakarma</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/avani-avittam">avani-avittam</a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-25612527898705031832017-08-02T14:17:00.001+05:302017-08-02T14:19:02.401+05:30Varalakshmi Vratham 2017 procedure in Tamil free PDF download<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Wikipedia states <em>Varalakshmi Vratam</em> (வரலக்ஷ்மி வ்ரதம்) is a festival to propitiate the goddess Lakshmi, in her form of the boon giver – the name ‘Vara-Lakshmi’ literally means ‘boon (granting) Lakshmi’. The pooja is practiced by many women in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. A main feature of this pooja is that is performed by womenfolk, and the 9 knotted yellow thread (சரடு) which the women folk wear on their right hand after the pooja. If nothing else, it looks … divine. ;-)<br />
<br />In 2017, the Varalakshmi Vratam occurs on the coming Friday, 04 August 2017. Like last year, we are listing out the complete procedure for the Varalakshmi Vratam Pooja in Tamil as a PDF file, for free download. <br />
<br />Aspects which differ like<br />
<ul>
<li>using only the kalasam;
</li>
<li>kalasam accompanied by a photo;
</li>
<li>kalasam accompanied by a idol face;
</li>
<li>placing the kalasam at Isaniya (North East) or Agni (South East) sides;
</li>
<li>placing the kalasam at the usual Pooja room;
</li>
<li>filling the kalasam with rice or water; et al,</li>
</ul>
depend on the family customs and procedure and hence are not elaborated on. Like so many things in Hinduism, Varalakshmi Vratam has also slight variations, from people to people.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_fscwXzmJdA/WYGRhWh4X2I/AAAAAAAAV-A/FBAf3nrMLFYzqQk3zGT72eYvv37WBGFcQCHMYCw/s1600-h/varalaksmi-vratam-2017%255B2%255D"><img alt="varalaksmi-vratam-2017" border="0" height="404" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-65iKyi4jtHA/WYGRjKU7zdI/AAAAAAAAV-E/hME8gcMCCUwGVZ9aIQb8GGahSpRvwkXUwCHMYCw/varalaksmi-vratam-2017_thumb?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; display: inline;" title="varalaksmi-vratam-2017" width="287" /></a><br />
<br />
The full 6 page digitally signed, encrypted PDF file ‘Varalakshmi Vratam 2017 can be downloaded for free from the:<br /><a href="http://www.madmadrasi.net/p/downloads.html">Downloads page</a><br />
<br />
Tags: <a href="http://www.madmadrasi.net/search?q=varalakshmi+vratam">varalakshmi vratam</a>,<a href="http://www.madmadrasi.net/search?q=varamahalakshmi+pooja+vidhanam">varamahalakshmi pooja vidhanam</a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-89841291243002422412017-05-24T14:18:00.001+05:302017-05-24T14:40:20.721+05:30Roger Moore The Stirring Shaken Saint<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My first Bond has passed away – yes, Sir Roger Moore has died in Switzerland at 89, yesterday. My first James Bond film was The Man with the Golden Gun – starring Moore, the funny Clifton James as Sheriff J.W. Pepper and the incomparable Sir Christopher Lee as Scaramanga. And all 3 are gone within two years of each other.<br />
<br />
First Sir Christopher Lee, the actual Man with the Golden Gun, shot his bolt on 07 June 2015. Then Clifton James, the Sheriff went away on his eternal patrol on 15 April 2017. And yesterday, Sir Roger Moore, has gone to take his place as the Saint.<br />
<br />
To my father, who watched both Sean Connery and Roger Moore as James Bond, Connery was the Bond. To me, there are actually 3 different characters. There is the 007, Mr. Bond, and James. Even though I did not like Timothy Dalton’s portrayal of 007, like many others at that time, watching the Bond movies once again has changed my mind.<br />
<br />
Hence, to me, <br />
<ul>
<li>Timothy Dalton, with his serious, darker portrayal, will be the 007 – the cold, hard assassin as envisaged by Ian Fleming. </li>
<li>Daniel Craig with his superb athletic, physical action, will be the Bond,</li>
<li>While Roger Moore who played it as a light hearted character, will be the James.</li>
</ul>
As to other things, Roger Moore’s Bond, is the one which must have used most gadgets, and in often startling scenes. The submersible car emerging out of the sea, the hover car driving on Venice roads, or the non-gadget, but equally bizarre hop, skip, and jump on the crocodile heads. No other Bond could have done the crocodile head stunt, and carry the audience with him.<br />
<br />
So, RIP Sir Roger Moore. Thank you for all the Bonds, the Saints, and the later work with UNICEF. And yes, for the Safari Suits too - which became a craze in India, in the 80s and early 90s.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-pX5w5R75vks/WSVI6_Ju5bI/AAAAAAAAU30/vpPdD05faeUj8PsWfSp1JfhC3eSzgCrRACHM/s1600-h/roger-moore%255B2%255D"><img alt="roger-moore" border="0" height="215" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-DFtd8VYm0ZQ/WSVI8oI90QI/AAAAAAAAU34/oqWSHZANnT4CEC_wR1DRThkjRcjfx2u9wCHM/roger-moore_thumb?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="roger-moore" width="471" /></a><br />
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/roger-moore" rel="tag">roger-moore</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/james-bond" rel="tag">james-bond</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/christopher-lee" rel="tag">christopher-lee</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/clifton-james" rel="tag">clifton-james</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-17842879881707197562017-04-29T17:54:00.001+05:302017-05-21T17:44:23.436+05:30Spotting a Suvega Moped or a Motobécane Mobylette<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today morning while walking around in an area which I do not frequent too often, I came across some old two wheelers – motorbikes, scooters, and a moped – rusting away. The motorbikes, scooter and scooterettes were not of much interest, as they were of fairly recent models. They all were made during the last 20 years or so, and abandoned as their owners probably upgraded after running them down.<br />
<br />
But what caught my attention was the old Suvega moped, the first ever moped to be manufactured in India. From around 1965 or so till the late 80s, the Indian Suvega, the original of which is the licenced model of the popular Motobécane Mobylette of France, ruled the roost. I rode my first every motorized two wheeler on one such Suvega in the early 80s.<br />
<br />
And an experience never to forget. The unique feature of those old mopeds was that you had to pedal them like a bicycle to get them started – there was no kick starter. One hot summer day, around 2 kilometres from my home, the Suvega I had gone on a joyride broke down and refused to start. One very advertised advantage – not actually one, but probably would be of use in those days – of the Mobylette-Suvega was that you can flip a lever / remove a nut in its main drive chain, disconnect the engine and just pedal it like bicycle (being so long ago, don’t exactly remember it, but the approximate location is marked with a circle and an arrow near the pedal).<br />
<br />
It was not true, as without a true flywheel and gear arrangement, it could not be driven as easily as a bicycle. The intention was to flip the lever and make the Mobylette-Suvega easy to push around. But believing that it can be pedal-driven like a bicycle, it was a huffing, puffing, sweaty, almost a breakdown incident, in that hot summer.<br />
<br />
Not easily forgotten. But the Mobylette-Suvega was one of the most robust, trusted moped even on Indian roads. Till it folded down, the Mobylette-Suvega, with just a 49cc engine, used to dominate the under 50cc races at the Sholavaram race track. The advent of the TVS-50, especially the later 80s model with kick start put paid to Mobylette-Suvega in Indian roads. But nice to see one around – that too with the round plastic holder near the front wheel where the road tax copy used to be placed (marked with a yellow circle) almost intact.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bcIrlWR7yOE/WQSGAh4jZiI/AAAAAAAAU0k/mWC_FSqdpqkgCNtDC6q857WMdhD_hm6qwCHM/s1600-h/motob%25C3%25A9cane-mobylette-suvega-moped%255B3%255D"><img alt="motobécane-mobylette-suvega-moped" border="0" height="427" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-MzOX6wBaYDU/WQSGCUa8XXI/AAAAAAAAU0o/Re_eiBnQs5w-qXQkO30eE5o4dvjG3Y3lwCHM/motob%25C3%25A9cane-mobylette-suvega-moped_thumb%255B1%255D?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="motobécane-mobylette-suvega-moped" width="569" /></a><br />
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/moped" rel="tag">moped</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/suvega" rel="tag">suvega</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/mobylette" rel="tag">mobylette</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/motobecane" rel="tag">motobecane</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-24948931144655765762017-04-25T17:05:00.001+05:302017-04-25T17:06:27.046+05:30Rajkumar 88th birthday Doodle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Of late, Google has really gone crazy. For one, my Legacy GSuite is locked up, refusing me access to open and modify, recode the Google Forms, Docs, and Sheets to distribute public information. Then there are complaints on G+ that there are quirks, and posts and streams do not appear or randomly disappear. Google, is dragging its arse, if not doing its job – in a way they have become worse than Microsoft.<br />
<br />
But the cream of the cake was yesterday’s Doodle. In ‘honour’ of Kannada language movie star Rajkumar of yesteryears. That too why? Not for his centenary of birth or death or other such milestone, but on his 88th Birth Anniversary. Of all the things one could have doodled about, Rajkumar’s 88th birth anniversary is important enough for a Doodle? <br />
<br />
Though the reverence for the veteran actor is such in his home state Karnataka, which saw a situation of near political turmoil when Rajkumar was abducted by sandal smuggler, Veerappan in 2000, who was trying to negotiate the release of some of his men apprehended by authorities, is to be respected, does it deserve a doodle? Rajkumar was released after 108 days.<br />
<br />
A Doodle on his 100th birth anniversary is understandable, but on his 88th birthday? So what are they going to do on his 89th or 90th birthday? Wind up Google?<br />
<br />
To my mind, one thing was missing – that of the above referenced Veerappan, who terrorized Karnataka and Tamil Nadu border reserve forests for close to 10 years and held Rajkumar hostage for more than 3 months. So I put him in the doodle.<br />
<br />
Have fun. Enjoy the modified doodle, or if you think that the doodle was appropriate, put up your own doodle.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-x5hmaYR6GD4/WP80hXLFInI/AAAAAAAAU0A/0Vc4TvmSzZ4HqdReVJGoH_n6SggthxGFwCHM/s1600-h/rajkumars-88th-birthday-doodle-updated%255B2%255D"><img alt="rajkumars-88th-birthday-doodle-updated" border="0" height="221" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-khJTPgSAYMQ/WP80jS_8LxI/AAAAAAAAU0E/6hUna-hXPmwH6S9BPM8UGDfSBAC3Pb85gCHM/rajkumars-88th-birthday-doodle-updated_thumb?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="rajkumars-88th-birthday-doodle-updated" width="504" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-81793338189208610402017-04-24T17:29:00.001+05:302017-05-21T17:47:14.682+05:30Chitrai Amavasya Tharpana Sankalpam<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As recounted in an <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/2017/04/tamil-new-year-vishu-2017-google-doodle.html" target="_blank">earlier post</a>, some health issues kept me off for the last six months or so from blogging regularly. Thankfully, some recovery is on, though not in full, and which allows me to once more try to rebuild the blog in this new Tamil Year of Hevilambi. In the process I have managed to revive the customized Tharpana Sankalpam for the Chitrai month Amavasya day of day-after (26 Apr 2017), and also the commencing of Vaikasi month on 14/15th of May.<br />
<br />
Note that the Bodhayana Amavasya is on Tuesday 25 Apr and not on 26 Apr. As earlier, an email would be sent with the copy of PDF file.<br />
<br />
Here is a screenshot of the test file. As usual, the GForm can be accessed from <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/p/downloads.html" target="_blank">Download page (sl. 2)</a>. We are correcting the rest of the downloads, please give us time.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8aVMKw9BByQ/WP3oiKME03I/AAAAAAAAUzc/i4QfkFqbaskdQFFpx9F6UmG5xb2oPrV5ACHM/s1600-h/customized-tharpana-sankalpam-apr-2017%255B2%255D"><img alt="customized-tharpana-sankalpam-apr-2017" border="0" height="401" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HIXCK_6ZuuE/WP3okOeKrQI/AAAAAAAAUzg/kzzlNCORC58Kt5eOJfvL6tRDro_smUAMQCHM/customized-tharpana-sankalpam-apr-2017_thumb?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="customized-tharpana-sankalpam-apr-2017" width="504" /></a><br />
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/amavasya" rel="tag">amavasya</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/tharpanam" rel="tag">tharpanam</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/sankalpam" rel="tag">sankalpam</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-85293935022722173872017-04-20T13:16:00.001+05:302017-05-21T17:44:23.607+05:30Asteroid 2014 JO25 ‘The Rock’ safely passes Earth<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The big asteroid that safely swept past Earth on Wednesday, April 19, 2017, night India time, is larger than expected as per the astronomers. The asteroid safely passed the Blue Marble at some 1,768,239 km (1,098,733 miles) distance or about 4.6 times the distance from Earth to the moon. The asteroid 2014 JO25 has been nicknamed ‘the rock’.<br />
<br />
Astronomers with the aid of the powerful radio telescope at Arecibo, Puerto Rico,were able to ping asteroid 2014 JO25 to obtain radar images of the approaching space rock. They found 2014 JO25 is a contact binary asteroid - two space rocks that were originally separate bodies - and each segment is about 640 meters and 670 meters (2100 to 2200 feet) to total 1.3 km approximately. It also spins around every 3.5 hours.<br />
<br />
The 2017 flyby is the closest by an asteroid this large since the encounter by 4179 Toutatis at 4 lunar distances in September 2004. The next known flyby by an object of comparable size will be the 800-meter-diameter asteroid 1999 AN10 approach within one lunar distance in August 2027.<br />
<br />
So why is the asteroid 2014 JO25 nicknamed ‘the rock’? The straight obvious connection is with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. But the real reason is that initially, the asteroid was described as the size of the Rock of Gibraltar. So the rock nickname stuck. Shame since this asteroid has not come this close to earth in 400 years and will not do so until 2500 CE.<br />
<br />
Last time we had an asteroid near miss was on 15 February 2013, when the much much smaller, 30 meter diameter 2012 DA14 whizzed by at just 30,000 km distance from earth. Google initially released a Doodle, but withdrew it when a meteorite stuck in Russia and caused causalities on the same day. Since there has been no such misfortune yesterday (or today), here is the Doodle, modified of course by me, for your fun.<br />
<br />
Have a safe upcoming weekend.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8Qol6jy-Kb8/WPhnT8dpDdI/AAAAAAAAUx8/K0Qs7PaUy1k/s1600-h/asteroid-2014-JO25-the-rock-near-miss-19-apr-2017%25255B2%25255D.gif"><img alt="asteroid-2014-JO25-the-rock-near-miss-19-apr-2017" height="231" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6g2pooj_IbY/WPhnVzgFQ3I/AAAAAAAAUyA/rs4_w-RDLzI/asteroid-2014-JO25-the-rock-near-miss-19-apr-2017_thumb.gif?imgmax=800" style="display: inline;" title="asteroid-2014-JO25-the-rock-near-miss-19-apr-2017" width="344" /></a><br />
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/asteroid" rel="tag">asteroid</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/near-miss" rel="tag">near-miss</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/2014-jo25" rel="tag">2014-jo25</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/2012-da14" rel="tag">2012-da14</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-18731766903036515062017-04-14T11:52:00.001+05:302017-05-21T17:47:14.497+05:30Happy Tamil New Year and Vishu 2017 with a Doodle<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today, 14 April 2017 is the Tamil New Year called Puthandu (புத்தாண்டு) in Tamil and also the New Year for the people of Kerala called Vishu. The people of Punjab also celebrate their New Year on this day as Vaishaki, while the people of Bengal did it one day earlier, as Pohela Boishak.<br />
<br />
So ends the past Tamil year of Durmukhi, literally meaning ‘Bad Face’, and it proved in combination with 2016 to be so. Health of my mother and my own suffered during the period. The 70 weeks or so commencing in the aftermath of Chennai Floods have been really terrible. In this period I saw/heard of the passing away of at least 75 odd people – friends, associates, casual acquaintances, and almost strangers – including some half-dozen relatives. Another 100 odd people have suffered inexplicable health issues. Thus was the sufferings during the past Tamil New Year.<br />
<br />
So today, with this fresh start on Tamil New Year and Vishu 2017 may the Gods bless us with health, peace, joy and wealth. As usual Google has not made up a Doodle for the Tamil New Year or Vishu 2017. So here a made up Doodle for the occasion. It is the modified version of the 2017 Nowruz Doodle from Google. I have added more tulips, neem flowers, and the mango leaves.<br />
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May the gods bless us with plenty this new year.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-oPmIbo07HI4/WPBqpX6VyjI/AAAAAAAAUtY/VWYweEEKNMA/s1600-h/happy-tamil-new-year-doodle-2017%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="happy-tamil-new-year-doodle-2017" border="0" height="300" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eZvTr-Ht0sA/WPBqrHXds1I/AAAAAAAAUtc/Ib8d_GEE0Hk/happy-tamil-new-year-doodle-2017_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="happy-tamil-new-year-doodle-2017" width="616" /></a><br />
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/tamil+new+year" rel="tag">tamil new year</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/vishu" rel="tag">vishu</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/ugadi" rel="tag">ugadi</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-70179488673235553882017-04-04T16:31:00.001+05:302017-05-21T17:52:35.001+05:30The Crow and the DTH<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The relationship between the pigeons and the statues is well known. In fact, whenever I see statutes of leaders, which are like daffodils in spring in Madras, now Chennai, I feel both grief and glee. Grieve to see the statue of Mahatma Gandhi, with a fair bit of ‘work’ by the pigeons. Gleeful to see the statues of some politicians (who shall remain unnamed), and wish there were more pigeons in the area.<br />
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Where there are less pigeons, and traditionally Chennai was a pigeon free territory till 15 or 20 years ago, the crows used to fill in. The crows are seen not as pests, but as a insect control and clean-up worker. If not for them, the rats, the cats, and et. al, which die off on the roads would stink the town down. There is also a tradition in some families of feeding the crows every morning with a spoonful of fresh cooked food, in memory of the ancestors.<br />
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You may wonder where this ramble about the pigeons and crows is leading to, and how it is connected with the modern DTH broadcast. DTH is Direct-To-Home broadcast of usually TV signals from satellite, and also called satellite TV. The terrace equipment consists of the parabolic dish antenna of around 1-1/2 feet diameter, with a contraption on a bracket at its focal point called LNB. That contraption is a wave guide and a LNB (Low Noise Block downconverter) and the waveguide side which faces the dish has a plastic like cap of special material.<br />
<br />
My DTH installation is around 10 years old. After cyclone Vardah in December 2016, me and my bro found a wooden twig which had pierced the cap leaving a hole of 1 inch or so. We removed the twig and did not cover the hole, and there has been no problems till now.<br />
<br />Yesterday early morning, my mom switched on the TV and found that there was no reception. Surprised, I checked up the connections which were all OK, including a cursory inspection of the dish antenna, and raised a complaint with the service provider.<br /><br />After brunch, once again, I investigated the antenna. And the culprit was a Crow. A neighbour is in the habit of feeding the crows early in the morning around six. He usually scatters bits of bread, biscuits, wafers, savouries, or whatever is in hand. Yesterday, he had scattered a savoury called ‘Ribbon Pakoda’ – a rice & gram flour fry shaped like a ribbon.<br />
<br />
A crow had taken a piece of that ribbon pakoda and stuffed it into the hole in the LNB assembly. Whether it got stuck there, or the crow had stuffed it there deliberately for later retrieval is not known. But that ribbon pakoda made my mom’s life miserable for about 6 hours, disrupting the DTH TV. Here is the image of the ribbon pakoda, partially out from the hole in the LNB. I removed it, and made my mom happy.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HpMAAydlK7U/WON88yCKFOI/AAAAAAAAUr8/JRy_SptEMuE/s1600-h/crow-dth-ribbon-pakoda%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="crow-dth-ribbon-pakoda" border="0" height="471" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PMpaGl4PzFY/WON8_E4N9rI/AAAAAAAAUsA/nUYxQ3HG8Uk/crow-dth-ribbon-pakoda_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="crow-dth-ribbon-pakoda" width="379" /></a><br />
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BTW, the technician did turn up today, and after seeing the condition of the old LNB, I had it replaced with a new one.<br />
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/dth" rel="tag">dth</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/crow" rel="tag">crow</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/ribbon+pakoda" rel="tag">ribbon pakoda</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-26965118344844717202017-04-01T13:31:00.001+05:302017-04-01T16:15:28.126+05:30Breitbart offers $100000 for MadrasNow<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The infamous Alt-Right, though some term it as conservative website Breitbart, appears to expand its footprint into India. Why India? For one, Steve Bannon, the founding member of Breitbart has publicly commented that he admires India, and reads the Hindu holybook Gita. Second, American media, over the last few years, view the India as an emerging English language news consumption market, ripe for picking.<br />
<br />
Hence, it appears the shocking news (even to me) that Breitbart is to takeover MadrasNow for $ 100,000. That’s Rs. 60 lakhs. Not bad for 6 to 7 years of work! I have not been able to verify it.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-l0lJqGWIFRM/WN9eL5tRrjI/AAAAAAAAUrY/9BS1PIRWtXU/s1600-h/breitbart-to-buy-madrasnow%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="breitbart-to-buy-madrasnow" border="0" height="699" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LXlGl-LdT1A/WN9eN21mKHI/AAAAAAAAUrc/3We_aCHoGNY/breitbart-to-buy-madrasnow_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="breitbart-to-buy-madrasnow" width="500" /></a><br />
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But, hold on to your horses. <br />
<ul>
<li>I will never, ever sell to the alt-right crowd, especially Breitbart, even if they offer a million dollars.</li>
<li>Do you believe all what you read on the internet?</li>
<li>When I opened the email, and saw this image attachment, I thought it must be a joke!</li>
<ul>
<li>So, take a good look at today’s date.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/breitbart" rel="tag">breitbart</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/april-fool" rel="tag">april-fool</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-13996072045435738982017-03-29T12:03:00.001+05:302017-05-21T20:19:56.237+05:30Google Doodle for Ugadi, Gudi Padwa 2017 greetings<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
People of India in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Karnataka, Maharastra, and the Sindhis follow a Luni-Solar calendar, and celebrate their New Year as Ugadi or Yugadi – in Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, & Karnataka, as Gudi Padwa in Maharashtra, and as Cheti Chand by the Sindhis.<br />
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This year, the auspicious day is on 29 March 2017 as per the governments, whereas, some, especially the Cheti Chand have done so one day earlier on 28 March. People of other states would celebrate their new year about 15 days later, as they follow a calculation where the month starts at or near the Full Moon instead of near the New Moon, as per Ugadi followers.<br />
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But, whatever calendar one follows, Google as usual has not deemed it possible to release a Doodle for Ugadi or Gudi Padwa. So let us have our own modified Ugadi doodle, which I call a Moodle. This is nothing but the hacked version of the Nowruz 2017 doodle of Google.<br />
<br />
Enjoy the Moodle – the Ugadi doodle, and best wishes for a happy, prosperous and healthy new year on the occasion of Ugadi, Yugadhi, Gudi Padwa or Cheti Chand.<br />
<br /><br /><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-LObEmxex2Uk/WNtVIYqFbOI/AAAAAAAAUqE/at5gVneRmmo/s1600-h/ugadi-2017%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="ugadi-2017" border="0" height="278" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Yt4IK49pGIA/WNtVKBYhVtI/AAAAAAAAUqI/8QsJ2lCpfAo/ugadi-2017_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="ugadi-2017" width="504" /></a><br />
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/ugadi" rel="tag">ugadi</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/gudi+padwa" rel="tag">gudi padwa</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-60133093131607025272017-03-27T16:50:00.001+05:302017-05-21T17:52:34.969+05:30Death of a Cockatiel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Of the two breeding pairs of cockatiel, both of them born in captivity, one died this morning, or rather yesterday night. Took it out and buried it underneath the mango sapling. The worst thing is it was the most friendly, playful, and gentle of the lot. The more rambunctious one, its pair, is screaming its head off all through the day. Guess even cockatiels feel the loss of life. <br />
<br />
On the other hand, the other pair, were concerned when I was picking up the dead one. Afterwards, when I placed the food and water in, they were curious and kept looking at my hands - as if they are little children and I am a magician who makes birds appear and disappear out of my hands. But by afternoon the other cockatiel pair had lost interest, and could not care less.<br />
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One good thing is these bird brains have little long term memory. So, by tomorrow or next day, the noisy cockatiel should calm down. Else I think it is time to sell it back to the pet shop.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-vWxDAoUBTBA/WNj1Zfq6auI/AAAAAAAAUps/5ePR2_lbiQw/s1600-h/death-of-cockatiel-mar-2017%25255B2%25255D.jpg"><img alt="death-of-cockatiel-mar-2017" border="0" height="404" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-qM_AxHd1cyA/WNj1bQSVTII/AAAAAAAAUpw/RcY06T4mGlw/death-of-cockatiel-mar-2017_thumb.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="death-of-cockatiel-mar-2017" width="365" /></a><br />
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/cockatiel" rel="tag">cockatiel</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-58351278407527072802017-02-25T17:55:00.000+05:302017-02-25T17:55:00.534+05:30All F1 Scuderia Ferrari in One GIF<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So the 2017 Scuderia Ferrari Formula-1 race car - the SF 70H - was unveiled yesterday, 24 Feb 2017. While I hope that Ferrari has better finishes this season, with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen improving on the Ferrari’s third place in last year’s constructors’ standings, as well as their own respective fourth and sixth places in the F-1 Drivers Championship.<br />
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The Scuderia Ferrai SF 70H has lengthened nose and arrow-shaped front wing to comply with the new Formula-1 2017 regulations. There is also the fin on the engine cover and more complex aero appendages ahead of the air intakes on the sidepods.<br />
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The front has a duct that has an aerodynamic role, while behind the driver, the roll-hoop of the engine air intake appears to have been redesigned. Also updated are the suspensions, hubs and wheel nuts, and the upsized power-steering and braking systems.<br /><br />Till the day we see the two Ferrari SF 70H in action, here is a treat for all the Tifosi and the Forza Ferrrari.<br />
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All the Ferrari F-1 race cars from the 1950 racer 125 F1 to the 2017 built SF 70H, in one animated GIF image. Have fun!<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fsr5YU2O1Nk/WLF0mAw56aI/AAAAAAAAUbo/idz9MZ0u6JQYxkEVWlpJMzKFSGgJVEHqQCLcB/s1600/Scuderia-Ferrari-1950-2017.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fsr5YU2O1Nk/WLF0mAw56aI/AAAAAAAAUbo/idz9MZ0u6JQYxkEVWlpJMzKFSGgJVEHqQCLcB/s640/Scuderia-Ferrari-1950-2017.gif" width="640" /></a><br />
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Yup, I know, I could not find the left profile image of the Ferrari F-1 SF 70H, so I simply used the right profile in.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-30192519686244810652017-01-14T12:46:00.001+05:302017-05-21T16:54:33.374+05:30Happy Pongal 2017 with a Kremlin themed Kolam<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Wish everyone a very, very, Happy Pongal on this day 14 January 2017. Pongal is the Harvest Festival of Tamil Nadu, though for various reasons – primarily the failure of both South West and North East Monsoon – has devastated the agriculture of my home state. To add cruelty to misery, the demonetisation attempted without much thought, has eviscerated the farmers.<br />
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But a festival is a festival, for it means not only thanksgiving for the past – very few for the past year – but also a new hope for the upcoming year – may it be plentiful.<br />
<br />
Speaking of festivals, it is tradition in my home state to draw kolam – geometric patterns with rice floor – at the entrance of every Hindu home, and also at the puja altar of every Hindu home.<br />
<br />
Actually, it is a daily tradition, but the daily kolams are not that elaborate. Usually they resemble a small square, star of David, 8 sided stars, stacked triangles, or wriggles around 3x3 dots. But festivals are different, and require an elaborate kolam.<br />
<br />
Kolams, for the uninitiated, are chiefly of 3 types:<br />
<ul>
<li>wriggly lines around dots</li>
<li>straight lines, including squares, triangles, rectangles, cross, flying cross, diamonds, etc.</li>
<li>combo or curves and arcs with straight lines</li>
<ul>
<li>there are also very, very, few kolams with pure arcs and curves</li>
</ul>
</ul>
There is one kolam of the last variety – one with a combo of straight lines and curves, which to my eye has always looked brilliant. I do not know what the ‘official’ name is, but I think-refer to it as the Kremlin kolam. I call it Kremlin kolam because it reminds me of the Onion domes and spires of the Kremlin.<br />
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I never dared to try it out till today, but with that Russian puppet about to be installed as the American President, it would be better to cosy up to Russia. So spent half an hour today morning to put up this Happy Pongal kolam. Not that it is perfect, but this is one of the few designs which distract you enough to see the whole picture instead of the errors.<br />
<br />
Enjoy it, and have a Happy Pongal.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Du7RAqgYrXQ/WHnQM7mj2EI/AAAAAAAAT08/kwolKdnz-Gk/s1600-h/happy-pongal-kremlin-kolam%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="happy-pongal-kremlin-kolam" border="0" height="528" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-r1Jyr34yCPs/WHnQOqECblI/AAAAAAAAT1A/xPJy0FxGNSo/happy-pongal-kremlin-kolam_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="happy-pongal-kremlin-kolam" width="482" /></a><br />
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/kolam" rel="tag">kolam</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/pongal" rel="tag">pongal</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/kremlin" rel="tag">kremlin</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-21507857962362478242017-01-07T07:09:00.001+05:302017-01-07T21:14:48.036+05:30Sandford Fleming Google Doodle and Madras Time<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today, 07 January, is the birthday of Sandford Fleming, with 2017 being his 190th, and Google honoured the occasion with a Doodle. But what is the connection between Madras Time, or its later avatar as Indian Standard Time, and Sandford Fleming? Especially since Madras Time predates his birth? Read on, for the 4 major quirks on the subject.<br />
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Sir Sandford Fleming was born in Scotland in 1827, emigrated to Canada in 1845. He as the Chief Engineer for the Canadian Inter-Colonial Railway built it in 1872. While visiting Ireland in 1876, he missed his connecting train – because those days each locality (county, state, province, colony or country) followed its own local time, set at their fancy – and people moving around quickly, which meant railways, faced problems in time conversions.<br />
<br />
So, when he returned to Canada, he proposed that the whole world be divided into 24 uniform Time Zones, with 15 degrees of Longitude in each zone. This proposal was floated by him in 1879, and was adopted by 25 nations in International Meridian Conference in 1884.<br />
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In India, there was the Madras Time, established in 1802, by the first Royal Observatory in India at Madras (est. 1786) and was in wide use.<br />
<br />
And here is the first quirk. It predates even GMT, which came into usage on ships only from 1833, and was adopted by (British) railway companies for their Time Synchronisation through its telegraph service only from 1852, and would not be legally adopted throughout Britain till 1880.<br />
<br />
At the Conference in 1884, two official Time Zones for India were announced – Calcutta Time and Bombay Time, with no reference to Madras Time Zone at all.<br />
<br />
But here arose the second quirk. The Indian Railways continued to use Madras Time, because only the Madras Observatory was equipped to transmit Time Signals through telegraph to synchronize time at railway stations. Thus Madras Time became known as Railway Time.<br />
<br />
In 1906, the Indian Standard Time (IST) was established, by adding 9 minutes to Madras Time (GMT+05:21) to round it to GMT+05:30 (actually the rounded Longitude was adopted). Gradually the Indian Railways moved to IST, however local Calcutta and Bombay Time Zones continued till 1948 and 1955 respectively.<br />
<br />
Now for the third quirk. Because Calcutta Time achieved more prominence (as Calcutta served as British Capital till 1911), till recently on Windows, and even now in Linux Systems, the IST is represented as Asia/Kolkata.<br />
<br />
However, there is a different quirk in the Google Doodle celebrating the 190th birthday of Sir Sandford Fleming. The Doodle itself is not displayed on the Google home pages of countries across all 24 Time Zones!<br />
<br />
Whatever, enjoy the Doodle.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-q0-RGsNkChQ/WHBG6EL6fOI/AAAAAAAATv4/6JPHzC0Gv8U/s1600-h/sandford-flemings-190th-birthday-google-doodle%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="sandford-flemings-190th-birthday-google-doodle" border="0" height="229" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-KXEXcnh4RmE/WHBG7LEL2fI/AAAAAAAATv8/Cfzg7Btb6mU/sandford-flemings-190th-birthday-google-doodle_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="sandford-flemings-190th-birthday-google-doodle" width="523" /></a><br />
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/fleming" rel="tag">fleming</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/madras+time" rel="tag">madras time</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/bombay+time" rel="tag">bombay time</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/calcutta+time" rel="tag">calcutta time</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/ist" rel="tag">ist</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-3985242111499130892017-01-02T19:23:00.000+05:302017-01-04T17:31:56.340+05:30Did Supreme Court overcook BCCI with Lodha Committee<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is not a newfangled institution. It has a eight decade history – having its origins in 1928 with it being registered in Tamil Nadu (then called Presidency of Madras) under Societies Registration Act (of either 1860 or 1908, which is unclear). And contrary to present public perception, ‘there are no values in the Board’, were the words of Ghulam Ahmed (Test Player 1948-59 & Secretary, BCCI 1975-80).<br />
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But Cricket is the only sports in India which is/was being managed without 'official' government interference. Run like a Non-Governmental Organisation, the BCCI for all its bungling, arrogance, controversies, nepotism, backstabbing, has managed to build up impressive infrastructure. Somehow, they also managed to find the time to unearth and nurture cricket talent in between. Cricket is the only sports in which India has World Quality players. Every other sport in India is managed-organised by Government through Sports Ministry and its officials, and equally mismanaged, have not much talent to boast.<br />
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After the IPL controversy, enter the Lodha Committee tasked by the Supreme Court to ‘set right’ the problems. As usual, whenever a Commission or Committee get in, it becomes a total cluster-chuck, and in the next 5 years, we probably are going to ape the West Indian Cricket board to ruin. Having said that, the BCCI is not totally blameless. Their refusal to adhere to:<br />
<ul>
<li>age cap (<a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/2011/09/one-rule-for-me-and-different-rule-for.html" target="_blank">suggested in Sep 2011</a>),</li>
<li>tenure cap (<a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/2010/02/two-by-two.html" target="_blank">suggested in Feb 2010</a>), </li>
<li>one post cap (suggested in 2 above), </li>
<li>under RTI (Right to Information Act) (suggested in 1 above),</li>
<li>bar on tainted people, </li>
<li>independent auditor, </li>
<li>separation of governing councils for BCCI & IPL, and </li>
<li>Ethics Office watchdog for Conflicts of Interest, </li>
</ul>
are wrong and not good business practice. <br />
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But the other four important recommendations – <br />
<ul>
<li>no politician (or government official) to hold office,</li>
<li>one state one vote, </li>
<li>CAG as auditor, and </li>
<li>banning commercial breaks on TV </li>
</ul>
– are simply overreach. We will take up each issue, from bottoms up to see why.<br /><br />Banning commercial breaks or advertisement during Live TV broadcast is the most idiotic, backward looking, uncommercial, financially crippling, and ruinous recommendation ever. It does not need any rebuttal at all. <br />
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Appointing CAG as the auditor for Sports Bodies is totally repugnant. We should be moving towards an economic model where the governments should worry only about Defence, Money, Energy, Infrastructure, Education, Healthcare, and Environment. Instead we are looking at imposing more government - on sports!<br />
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One state one vote might seem like a good idea. After all why should a State like Gujarat (pop 62 m) have three full voting members – Gujarat, Baroda & Saurashtra - while Tamil Nadu (pop 77 m) has only one? Or Telengana (pop 39 m) has none, but Mumbai (pop 12 m) has one? But since 2000, in Ranji Trophy - <br />
<ul>
<li>Baroda have been finalists thrice, versus </li>
<li>4 runners up for Tamil Nadu,</li>
<li>twice for Saurashtra, while</li>
<li>Mumbai have won it 8 times</li>
</ul>
There are two other issues, that of Women’s Cricket which BCCI has consistently treated in a step-motherly fashion, and legalisation of Betting (<a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/2010/09/after-bunglers-bloopers-are-here.html" target="_blank">suggested earlier</a>), of which the first, hopefully would be corrected, and the second never,<br />
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Last, if politicians or government officials are to be barred from holding office in BCCI (& in future in all Sports Bodies), how come retired Judges can? Does it mean that the Legislature and Executive cannot be trusted to act ethically, while the Judiciary can be? Isn’t that itself prejudice? <br />
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N. Srinivasan must be laughing his head off.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-AT9SPc4Z_QE/WGzi87eUuCI/AAAAAAAATug/102hgJAefzY/s1600-h/srini-mama-last-laugh-bcci-lodha-committee%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="srini-mama-last-laugh-bcci-lodha-committee" border="0" height="538" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-jCFEQdiziXE/WGzjRit2mNI/AAAAAAAATuk/f1_rBja87fk/srini-mama-last-laugh-bcci-lodha-committee_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="srini-mama-last-laugh-bcci-lodha-committee" width="576" /></a><br />
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/cricket" rel="tag">cricket</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/bcci" rel="tag">bcci</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/lodha+committee" rel="tag">lodha committee</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14637145146613751533noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3016976900475794816.post-33665166127130889362017-01-01T10:15:00.001+05:302017-05-21T16:54:33.389+05:30New Year Resolutions and Greetings for 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Of late, my New Year Resolutions seem to be working fine – for me – for 11 months out of twelve. And in the December of the year, approaching another new year resolution time, just seems to break loose and wreck havoc.<br />
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I cannot remember much of what my new year resolutions were about before 2014, for it used to be a long drawn out party, and half the resolutions made at the birth of the new year would not be remembered with sunshine.<br />
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It used to be that kind of party. The 2014 resolution is a personal one, and for privacy issues, cannot be posted online. But all the other three, starting from 2015, till that of yesterday’s night, are free-for-all.<br />
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On 01 January 2015, I decided to kick off my beer guzzling. Now Beer is colloquially and with a wink, referred to as ‘Barley Water’ (பார்லி தண்ணி in Tamil) by old timers. I kept on resolutely with the decision, and in December of 2015, Chennai was inundated with – Water – during the Chennai Floods.<br />
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On 01 January 2016, I decided to chuck off my three-four-cigarette-a-day smoking habit. Smoking is referred to as ‘Puffing Away’ or ‘Blowing Away’ (ஊதி தள்ளறான் in Tamil ) by the old timers. Once again, I stuck on with determination, and in December 2016, you guessed it right, Chennai was ‘blown’ down by Cyclone Vardah.<br />
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Today, on 01 January 2017, I have resolved to stop imbibing hard liquor. Hard Liquor, as everyone knows, is also referred to as ‘Fire Water’, universally. I hope to keep my head straight all through the year, but thinking of December 2017, gives me shivers – or is it because I’m feeling the ‘heat’?<br />
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Whatever it is – shivers due to cold, or shaking because of the heat, watch out Chennai and the people of Madras, Now called Chennai.<br />
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<a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fphkALqPZkk/WGo9jt-07_I/AAAAAAAATuE/4hGZvdvzK1c/s1600-h/chennai-floods-cyclone-vardah-2017-what%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img alt="chennai-floods-cyclone-vardah-2017-what" border="0" height="367" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-fvpbmWA8IwM/WGo9m0kJxeI/AAAAAAAATuI/yhrvFjwuK_k/chennai-floods-cyclone-vardah-2017-what_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; border-right: 0px; border-top: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="chennai-floods-cyclone-vardah-2017-what" width="764" /></a><br />
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Tags: <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/holiday" rel="tag">holiday</a>, <a href="http://www.madrasnow.com/new+year" rel="tag">new year</a></div>
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