Amritananda mayi- is she divine...i dont think so

The high and mighty, poor and rich, young and old are lining up in Kochi for a gentle hug, a soothing word and a tender kiss.

The hope of an embrace from 'hugging saint' Mata Amritanandamayi has the coastal Kerala city bursting at the seams.

Domestic and international airlines are fully booked for a week; foreigners have landed in chartered flights; special trains are ferrying devotees; and hotels are fully packed as more than half a million followers of Amma have come to the city, which has a population of less than a million.

What brings people like President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Reliance chief Mukesh Ambani, Sycamore founder Gururaj Deshpande, US Senator Larry Pressler and actress Linda Evans to Amma?

"It is her hug," says French filmmaker Jan Kounen. Kounen should know, for he and long-time friend and French producer Manuel de la Roche are busy at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium -- the venue of the four-day birthday celebrations of Amma -- shooting for a film, Another Reality.

"Her hug has fascinated me. I am exploring how a simple woman from Kerala has become a world saint through her gentle touch. You know, through her hug she connects us to the spiritual world," Kounen added.

Like him, hundreds of thousands of devotees silently queue up as Amma comes to one of the many specially arranged podiums to meet people.

In the last three decades, Amritanandamayi, born in the coastal village of Parayakadavu in Kollam, has hugged more than 30 million people.

A Los Angeles Times journalist once asked Amma: "Why do you hug people?" She replied: "This question is like asking the river, 'why are you flowing.'"

Evan Jones, a physiotherapist from the United States, says she fell in love with Amma because "her gentle touch electrified me".

"The biggest thing about Amma is that she does not have a religion. Her religion is that of love and compassion. Her spiritual empire is love and service," Jones says.

Agrees Beverley Noia, an American who was professor of comparative religion at a New Mexico university. The idea of god always perplexed her. One day, she met Amma during one of her US visits. "I saw in Amma a real mother. I found that she is the answer to universal motherhood," says Noia who abandoned her job and joined Amma's ashram in Kollam eight years ago.

Noia says Amma has proved that religions and languages are no barriers for spiritual fulfilment and human service.

In 1993, Amma addressed Parliament of World Religions in Chicago; in 1995, she spoke at the Interfaith Celebrations at the Cathedral of St John the Divine, New York; in August 2000, she addressed the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders at the UN General Assembly; and in October 2002, she spoke at the UN World Conference of Women's Religious and Spiritual Leaders in Geneva.

"All these addresses were in vernacular Malayalam. But people understand the power of love, though she talks in Malayalam," says Jones.

What will Amma say when she addresses the CEOs and business leaders who have come from all over the world? One of her close aides says Amma will teach them the fine of art of combining business with social service and spiritual energy.

One of Amritanandamayi's aides says that in the last three decades, she "has built up a spiritual and service empire that include educational, charity and medical institutions across India and abroad".

Today, at the age of 50, Amritanandamayi heads huge projects --estimated to be worth Rs 1,500 crore -- to help the sick and poor across the country. The ardent CEO followers of Amma will definitely take note.

Really i dont believe that she is something divine...she is hiding so many things.She was a prostitute in her earlier life.The inside of asram is a mystery for all.Her wealth is not audited.When she goes to foriegn countries and coming back without security check her articles are going.Some people acuuse this as kidneys, narcotics and gold is transacted behind this divine face.

i want to tell only one this, she is an ordinary woman, audit her transactions sources of money... divinity should not be at the expence of national security.

Pinarayi vijayan - goone leader

Vijayan (Well known as Pinarayi Vijayan) is a communist politician(eventhough he is a capitalist) and a former minister of Kerala . Currently he is the Secretary of the Kerala State Committee ofCommunist party of India Marxist (CPIM)

He was born on 21 March 1944 in Pinarayi inKannur district. He is married to Kamala and has two children, Veena an engineering graduate and Vivek currently doing MBA in UK.

Political career

Pinarayi Vijayan entered politics through student union activities and eventually joined the Communist Party in 1964. He was the President and Secretary of the Kerala Student's Federation (KSF) and also served as the President of Kerala State Youth Federation (KSYF). During that period, when communists in Kerala were organising the political activities from different hide-outs, Pinarayi Vijayan was imprisoned for one and half years. Late he was elected the President of the Kerala State co-operative Bank. 1970 witnessed his entry in to theKerala Legislative Assembly. He was re-elected in 1977, 1991 and 1996. He was the Minister for Electric power and Co-operatives in the E.K.Nayanar ministry from 1996 to 1998(He has done lavalin scamof 98 crores at that time). In 1998 he became the Party State Secretary. He was elected to the Polit Bureau of CPI(M) in 2002.

Positions held

• He was detained during Emergency in Jail where he endured police brutalities.
• Was the State President and Secretary of Kerala Student's Federation and President of Kerala State Youth Federation (KSYF).
• Served as President of Kerala State Co-operative Bank
• Elected toKerala Legislative assembly in 1970,1977,1991 and 1996.
• Served as Cabinet Minister in Kerala Government between 1996 and 1998
• Secretary of the Kerala State Committee of the CPI(M) since1998
• Member of the Polit Bureau from 2002 to still Continuing

Controversies

• The SNC Lavlin Scam in Kerala is a major allegation that rocked Kerala politics .The controller auditor general of india report said that the deal Vijayan had struck as electricity minister in 1998 with Lavalin, a Canadian firm, for the repair of three generators, was a huge fraud and had cost the state exchequer a staggering Rs 3.76 billion. On 16th January 2007, Kerala High Court ordered a CBI enquiry into the SNC Lavalin case.CBI found pinarayi vijayan as guilty.
  

• His Political opponents are making allegation about the places where his children gets admitted. His daughter Veena is an Engineering graduate in Amrutha Institute of Technology, managed by Amritananda mayi(Marxists accuse her as a prostitute and the money she is making illegal means) and son Vivek, MBA graduate from a B-School in UK(Pinarayi and Sudjhakaran the useless cooperative minister tells Vivek got scholarship.A person didnt have third class mark got scholarship... is Malayalis are fools???) The opponents claiming that this not suppose to happen from the leader of a party which holds strong policies of opposing self financing colleges, as well as holding public accusation aboutAmritananda mayi and their alleged wealth.
  

• On february 16,2007 the air port security in Chennai Airport recovered five bullets from Vijayan's baggage. The Chennai airport security had let him off after receiving a faxed copy of his license.
  

• The Editors Guild of India strongly condemned the threats issued to K. Gopalakrishnan, Editor, mathrubhumi daily Malayalam. The threats of retaliation and punishment issued by CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan to the Mathrubhumi newspaper are a direct affront to the freedom of the press. The Guild demanded an immediate end to the intimidatory tactics against mathrubhumi and called upon the Government of Kerala to ensure that there is full protection to Gopalakrishnan and journalists of Mathrubhumi.
  

• The stand-off between the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) and the catholic church in Kerala took another nasty turn with CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan demanding that the church withdraw a controversial pastoral letter issued recently.The letter had recommended a "liberation struggle" on the lines of the one in the 1950s to liberate the education sector in Kerala from state control.

• Pinarayi got involved in a controversy as the head organising committee of the Nayanar Memorial football tournament receiving money from Pharis aboobaker , a criminal and binami of Pinarayi vijayan, Accused in National kidney foundation scam in singapore described by the Chief Minister as a "Hated Figure".
  
• There is a rumor that Srimati teacher is the keep of Pinarayi vijayan and ministership is as his gift to her.

Pinarayi Vijayan is a goone leader from Kannur.he emerged into marxist party as unquestionable figure because of his force(if anybody questions he will make silent it like Deepika daily,Achuthanandan...). he is not having any culture(In Kottayam he shouted at Comrades ...it is not Usha Uthup Ganamela...) and shows the quality of his background...what is in blood will not go away with money or fame no...His transaction in swiss account is monitored by Interpoll.There is another rumor that he is having alleged nexus with mumbai gangs of Davood Ibrahim(read this with his affiliation with Madani, Pharis aboobaker..)

rahul gandhi

Rahul Gandhi is the latest in the Gandhi-Nehru family to enter electoral politics, but beyond the fact that he is the son of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the late Rajiv Gandhi, how much do you really know about him?

Not many do actually -- not the voters in Amethi and elsewhere, not his party cadre, or even senior Congress leaders. The few who have met him don't recall him saying much. The few who have heard him, say he is of a shy disposition.

So here's all you wanted to know about Rahul Gandhi, and didn't know who/where to ask.

How old is Rahul Gandhi?

Soon to be 38. Date of birth: June 19, 1970. That makes him a Gemini, and if you believe astrologers, this is what he is like: 'Communicator. Social, outgoing. Sees and blends opposites/both sides of an issue. Vivacious, quick, flexible, versatile, lively and changeable. Mentally ambitious.'

Which school did he go to?

His elementary and primary schooling was at Modern School, New Delhi. But because it was the height of Punjab terrorism (in October 1984, his grandmother, then prime minister Indira Gandhi, was shot dead by her Sikh bodyguards, and the family continues to live under a security blanket), Rahul and younger sibling Priyanka were mostly taught at home.

Unlike father Rajiv Gandhi, Rahul did not go to Doon School.

So did Rahul go to college in India at all?

He went to St Stephen's College, Delhi, for a year. He enrolled for history honours in 1989 and left in 1990. But here's the most interesting part: he was not admitted to St Stephen's on merit, but from the sports quota.

Really? So what sport was he good at?

He is good in rifle shooting, trap shooting being his speciality.

Like Anjali Bhagwat, you mean? So did he win any medals etc? Does he still shoot?

No, not a great shooter like Anjali; but like Rajiv Gandhi he trained at a shooting range in the Aravalli ranges near Delhi. He does not shoot these days.

Was Rahul any good at studies while at St Stephen's?

His academic performance is unknown, as Rahul did not complete his degree.

But Dr Anil Wilson, the principal of St Stephen's College, recalls him as a diligent student. "He had no airs about the famous family he belonged to," says Dr Wilson.

Rahul's security cover must always have been stifling, right? Also, celebrity children wear their parents' fame prominently. Was Rahul one of those Delhi kids?

Apparently not! Rahul was always embarrassed by the security cover the college was under because of him, is what Dr Wilson has to say: "I think he left college because of security concerns. We really did not get an opportunity to assess his academic brilliance."

So was it sayonara to studies for Rahul after that?

No. He went to the United States in 1990, to study economics at Harvard University.

Great! So did he complete his studies in Harvard?

A little bit of confusion there. He did complete the four-year AB course in economics, but did not get his degree since he did not get the required grades.

And here, may we point out that Rahul's dad, Rajiv Gandhi, did not complete his studies at Cambridge? Neither did his grandma Indira Gandhi at Oxford's Somerville College. But did the absence of a degree interfere with the late Mrs Gandhi's leadership abilities? We think not!

So between leaving Harvard and fighting the Lok Sabha election, what has he been doing?

Nothing really. An acquaintance of Rahul says, "He is a man of apparently no occupation." After Harvard, Rahul shifted base to London and worked as a financial consultant but even that is a bit unclear. Some say he worked as a manager in a financial consulting agency, the name of which is not known. But Congress leaders who know Rahul disclose that "he was whiling away time in Britain and the US."

Sounds so much like P G Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster!

In 1999 he kicked up his job to help mother Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka during that year's Lok Sabha election. Congress leaders say Sonia has been politically grooming Rahul over the last five years, and that she has now "initiated him into politics, fulltime."

So he has been based in Delhi since 1999?

Yes, he has been living in Delhi for the past five years. But unlike his rather flamboyant sister Priyanka, he has always kept a low profile.

Is Rahul married? There were some reports about a foreign girlfriend.

No, he is not married, but you are right, he has a Colombian girlfriend, Juanita.

So where and how did he meet her? Are they just good friends, or is it more serious?

Congress leaders in the know say he fell in love with Juanita at Harvard. She is the daughter of a Colombian businessman. She is said to be spending a lot of time in Delhi these days. Rahul traveled with her to Kerala's Kumarakom backwaters resort in January -- in the company of sister Priyanka and her husband Robert Vadra, so we guess the family is cool about the relationship.

But she does not stay at 10 Janpath, the Gandhis' home while in Delhi. Sources say she stays at the family farmhouse on the outskirts of Delhi.

Now back to politics. What do Congressmen think is Rahul's USP?

His looks. They say he resembles his late father. In fact, when he toured Amethi in January in the company of sister Priyanka, the villagers apparently went berserk over the resemblance to his late father.

Dravidian Politics in Tamil Nadu

Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) (Dravidian Association) is the grandparent of all the political and non-political Dravidian parties in Tamil Nadu (parties that have the phrase Dravida in their names). Some of the off-shoot parties existed a little while and vanished. Today (year 2005) there are a little over half-dozen Dravidian parties. Some parties in existence today are very small and struggling to survive. The two most powerful Dravidian Parties today are All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK- J. Jayalalitha is the general secetary of it) and its parent party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK - M karunadhithi is President and son Stalin and daughter kanimozhi are the contenders for the chair from next generation) which was the direct descendent of Dravidar Kazhagam (DK). There are also a few other parties today that are not the offspring of Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) or its offshoots but have similar ideals and goals as the Dravidian parties.

One common thing about AIADMK and DMK is both of them are equally corrupted.Karunadhithi age is a concern- how far he will be able to lead party, who is the succeder? the surbey conducted by Dhinathanhthi shows kanimozhi si a strong contender more than Azhagiri.
AIMDK is a one woman show - (some people accuse jayalalitha a lesbian and sasikala as her partner)
What were the ideals and goals of Dravidar Kazhagam? The principal ideals and goals were social reform (such as ending religious superstitions, ending caste distinctions, empowerment of women), ending Brahmin dominance in Tamil Nadu educational institutions and government, ending northern domination of politics and economy of Tamil Nadu, opposition to Hindi as India's official language and independence for Dravida Nadu from India. (Dravida Nadu, that is Dravidian Country, consists of today's Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In the 1960s DK changed the goal from independent Dravida Nadu to independent Tamil Nadu for lack of any support or enthusiasm from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. DMK also changed its emphasis from Dravida Nadu to Tamil Nadu .

As stated in the previous paragraph, the two dominant Dravidian parties today are the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). DMK was founded in 1949 by C. N. Annadurai who left DK because of personal differences with the DK founder and president Periyar E. V. Ramaswamy Naicker. AIADMK was formed by M. G. Ramachandran who left DMK because of personal differences with the then party chief and general-secretary M. Karunanidhi. Neither DMK nor AIADMK was formed out of policy differences with the parent body but because of personal differences between party leaders. [Note: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam means "Dravidian Progressive Party", and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam means "All India Anna Dravidian Progressive Party" where "Anna" stands for the name "Annadurai", founder of DMK).

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) emerged as giants to dominate Tamilnadu politics since the mid-1960s. Either DMK or AIADMK formed Tamil Nadu State Government ever since the 1967 election. Their political dominance is such that, since the 1990s, no other political party was able to win more than a few seats in the Indian parliament or state legislative assembly from Tamilnadu unless it makes electoral alliance with either DMK or AIADMK. These two parties are bitter political rivals that they never allied together.

In addition to ruling Tamil Nadu State, DMK and AIADMK have also become partners of ruling coalitions at the Indian Central Government (Indian Union Government) in New Delhi since the 1990s. Since they never support the same coalition at the same time, they were never together in a coalition government at the centre.

With such overwhelming electoral successes of the two dominant Dravidian parties, one would expect that they would have achieved their ideals and goals that gave birth to the Dravidian parties in the first place. But that was not the case. These parties have made a compromise to achieve political power. Step by step, little by little, they had given up the ideals on which the parent body Dravidar Kazhagam was formed, in order to gain and hold political power within the northern-Aryan-Hindi dominated Indian power structure.

This is not to say that DMK and AIADMK have done nothing for Tamil people, Tamil Nadu and Tamil language. These parties were able to achieve some minor goals within the Indian power structure but the principal goals of independence for Dravida nadu and opposition to Hindi and "northern" domination had to be abandoned because these goals were aimed at the heart and soul of the very northern-Aryan-Hindi dominated Indian power structure under which these parties had to operate. We will elaborate, discuss and analyze it later in the book.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part narrates the history of Dravidian parties in chronological sequence along with some analysis of this history. The second part consists of a number of chapters, each chapter discussing a single aspect of Dravidian Party history

Deemed Universities and traps behind it

Sathyabama, SRM, Sri venkateshwara… the list of colleges becoming deemed universities are increasing day by day.Why the colleges are becoming universities, is they are really want to increase there standards…then what they were doing when these colleges were under madras university.

The truth is that when engineering colleges are affiliated Anna University they were fearing about the bogus standards they were keeping. most of the colleges got their results by malpractices which will be impossible under Anna university.

Where are our dear people from AICTE (all India council for technical education).They were initially not approving deemed universities. But money can do magic in India.

Dear students don’t do a university course which is not having a value of it certificate paper (toilet paper is better than that).Do your degree in Anna university or Madras university with approval of AICTE…otherwise you will not get so many opportunities abroad because of ‘certification of fake university’

A journey to Tada falls

A journey to Tada falls

Article by Dhanavel

It was a fine sunny day. Like any other Saturday I wake up from bed very late. When a holiday comes my first job will be washing. I hate it, but its an unavoidable evil. When I was washing Roby my room mate came to me and asked. “Let us go out.” Of course yes was my answer. But where… movie, beach, theme parks, malls so many options are there. But he suggested “we will be going to Tada falls” excitement started.

Tada falls; i have heard so many things about it but never gone. We three- myself, Roby and Gavin get ready for the trip. We are going to Tada for the first time. Roby rush to the system, and search for 10 minutes to get the info. He took route map and came.

It was 12 o clock in noon. We stated from Porur in Roby’s Alto. In fact it is very hot. (Initially we had a plan to take bike, but the hot sun prevented us from that).

When we reach Tada it was almost 2 o clock. It on the way to Nellore (NH 5), a small village. We had lunch from there. To my surprise it was so cheap Rs.12 for a fried rice.(I have seen in so many hotels they will charge more if they are tourists, may villagers till now haven’t loose their kindheartedness).Finishing lunch we continued our journey. From Tada we have to take a small road going to varaidaiah palem.(that road is towards Kalahasti.) From there we took a village road towards Umbalamadugu Falls (the real name is this, outsiders like me call it Tada falls)

After 5 kilometers tar road ends. This comprises of rocks, in different size. Roby is driving Car and he is looking at us with a crying face. It was sure for us we can’t go more, but where we will park the car. Nobody is there, how we can leave car behind and go, is it safe. So many questions were going through our minds. Still car is moving, speedometer is not at all moving from zero.

We have seen two Tamil nadu registration bikes are coming. They told us to drive car further and there is a place where couple of vehicles are parked and it will be safe for us to leave it there.

We parked the vehicle and started walking. Time is almost 3.30 now. To walk it self it is difficult through that Road. But we enjoyed every moment. To walk through a forest it is a different experience. After walking around 2 kilometers we have seen a small stream. Some people are returning from there. They cautioned us don’t stay after 5.30 because in night wild animals will come out in that area.

There is thrill is there in our faces. But we have left very less time also. We traveled around 3 more kilometers. We have seen the next stream to cross. I have seen the pure water, which we are not able to see in Chennai. Time was 5 pm then. We have to go 3 more kilometers to reach the falls. But by the time it will be 6 pm. Our heart said to go further but mind told it is not wise to stay beyond 6 in that forest. .It is painful to return without seeing the falls. But the time we have spent in that forest was one of the memorable times in my life.

We took some time to take photos. When we have started to walk back itself surroundings were getting dark.

When we were telling good bye to Umbalamdugu we were telling one more thing in mind, we will come back soon.

How to reach Tada falls

From Chennai Koyambedu - padi signal- NH 5 towards nellore- 65 kilometer you will reach Tada- take road to Kalahasti - 15 kilometers -Varadai palem - take a village road to umbalamadugu - after 5 kilometers tar road ends- In SUV and Bike you can continue else park your vehicle safely and continue - walk or drive through the gutter road 5 kilometers you will reach first stream- continue walking 3 kilometers you will reach next stream- 2 more kilometers to temple - 20 more minutes walking to falls - enjoy

You wull not get any food or drinks there, make sure you are having food water band aids,additional dress and towel etc...

Please be aware it is not a picnic spot more than that it is a trekking spot having falls in the forest enjoy guys and gals

Inidian Premier League

IPL or indian primier League.

I have no clue about it as far as the success is concerned.I feel it will be a disaster than last world cup.people get lost interest in the matches.The money pumped into league is too much and whether the corporates will make money out of it is a big question.

Anyway it is very clear that the main contenders will be chennai kolkotha and Mumbai.Jaipur and delhi is not in picture at all.

i am surprised to see the price tag of Dhoni, its too much, he is not worth it.Ponting is underrated.poor sachin and yuvraj.icon players are not got what they deserve.

it will be interesting to see how India cricket league will be reacting to it.And how the leagues will be going forward