Images of London

Buildings at Canary Wharf - at dusk

Greenwich at dusk - near the Cutty Sark

Sunset on the Thames

The river and the city.

Sunset

Sunset on the Thames - II

Sunset on the water

Flowers!

Flowers again!

Me at Greenwich - Through the eyes of love!

Flowers in a line!

Flowers at Greenwich - My Heart!

The Greenwich Obersvatory (GMT and 0 degrees longitude)

University of Greenwich - detail of a column.

Details of the Architecture at University of Greenwichp>

University of Greenwich

Chidiya (Kiss!)

Building with the Millenium Dome in the background (yellow spires)

Police speedboat on the River.

Sun through the cloudes!

Flight into the clouds.

Hide and Seek with the clouds.

The Tower Bridge

Westminister Pier

Buildings on the riverbank

St. Paul's Cathedral from the River

Details of the Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge and in-front of it HMS Belfast.

Closeup of the Big Ben.

Postcard from London - The London Eye and the River Thames

Smoke on the water... fire in the sky!

Me and Big Ben!

Blind-sight

My life changed last year.

For a brief period I had to think 10 times before climbing down the stairs, before going out anywhere. My preparations for a bath used to be like planning a trip.

This gave me a different insight into things. It also created a deep dread within me. It made me question many of the things I used to take for granted. It made me think.

By the grace of God, I have recovered now. But what about people who are differently-abled people?

Any one of you (readers of this blog) could find yourself in a situation like this (may God never show you such tough times). Have you ever thought what if you could not do the things you do now?

How many friends would you have left?

How would you live life?

How would you earn money?

Who will you become a burden on?

Will you find a life partner? Will a person without disability love you for who you are? Will they have the patience? Will YOU have the self-confidence to be with them?

If you were in a country like England then things would be quite easier.

But what if you were in India where the new DTC bus-stops have the wheelchair symbol (which stands for differently-abled people friendly). But when you look at some of the bus-stops and the kind of buses which stop there you will realise it is a BIG JOKE.

In India, if you fall no one will pick you up. If you die, no one will care. differently-abled people are treated like garbage especially in the smaller towns and villages where they represent an economic burden.

Blindness is one of my deep fears. I will admit it freely here.

There is a test that you can do to experience what a blind person feels. Just close your eyes and cover them with cotton wool. Then wrap a cloth over them and around your head, so that the cotton wool stays in place. Then just try doing something normal (like for example brushing your teeth or eating food!).

Try it, it will change you.

The aim of this post is to make you (the reader) realise (if you hadn't realised already) that there are individuals out there who do not experience the same life as we do.
And that any one of us can enter that category at any point of time.

So make sure you treat differently-abled people with extra sensitivity. Don't brush them aside (even if it is a beggar).

Make sure you do something for them.
Even spending some time with them would cheer them up.
Start small, even if it means spending more time with that neighbour who just fractured their arm.

Ask them if they need any help (mean it and don't be too eager to help, you don't want them to feel useless - they are NOT useless!).

If you can, go work with organizations who work with differently-abled people.

It takes five fingers to make a full hand. Not all five fingers are the same, nor can the hand work normally with any of them. Differently-abled people reveal to us the true meaning of life. Let us repay them well for teaching us this lesson!

:)

Maintenance of Children and Aged Parents

Under the Section 20 of the Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (HAMA) - 1956 children, husband/wife and aged parents are entitled maintenance and support.

The concept of maintenance with respect to divorce is very well known. Maintenance includes both while the case is in court as well as after the divorce.

But what is not well known (in my opinion) is the fact that the maintenance also extends to children (both legitimate or illegitimate) and aged or infirm parents. Section 20 of HAMA ensures this (see below).

This can be used by those people whose parents (in case of children) or children (in case of aged/infirm parents) have abandoned them to get what they deserve - a comfortable and peacful childhood/old age.

Abandoning old people and children is, I think, the most shameful thing anyone can do!


HINDU ADOPTIONS AND MAINTENANCE ACT, 1956

20. Maintenance of children and aged parents
(1) Subject to the provisions of this section a Hindu is bound, during his or her lifetime, to maintain his or her legitimate or illegitimate children and his or her aged or infirm parents.
(2) A legitimate or illegitimate child may claim maintenance from his or her father or mother so long as the child is a minor.
(3) The obligation of a person to maintain his or her aged or infirm parent or a daughter who is unmarried extends insofar as the parent or the unmarried daughter, as the case may be, is unable to maintain himself or herself out of his or her own earnings or other property.
Explanation: In this section "parent" includes a childless step-mother.

21. Dependants defined For the purposes of this Chapter "dependants" means the following relatives of the deceased:
(i) his or her father;
(ii) his or her mother;
(iii) his widow, so long as she does not re-marry;
(iv) his or her son or the son of his predeceased son or the son of predeceased son of his predeceased son, so long as he is a minor:
PROVIDED and to the extent that he is unable to obtain maintenance, in the case of a grandson from his father's or mother's estate, and in the case of a great grand-son, from the estate of his father or mother or father's father or father's mother;
(v) his or her unmarried daughter, or the unmarried daughter of his predeceased son or the unmarried daughter of a predeceased son of his predeceased son, so long as she remains unmarried:
PROVIDED and to the extent that she is unable to obtain maintenance, in the case of a grand-daughter from her father's or mother's estate and in the case of a great-grand-daughter from the estate of her father or mother or father's father or father's mother;
(vi) his widowed daughter:
PROVIDED and to the extent that she is unable to obtain maintenance-
(a) from the estate of her husband, or
(b) from her son or daughter if any, or his or her estate; or
(c) from her father-in-law or his father or the estate of either of them;
(vii) any widow of his son or of a son of his predeceased son, so long as she does not remarry:
PROVIDED and to the extent that she is unable to obtain maintenance from her husband's estate, or from her son or daughter, if any, or his or her estate; or in the case of a grandson's widow, also from her father-in-law's estate
(viii) his or her minor illegitimate son, so long as he remains a minor;
(ix) his or her illegitimate daughter, so long as she remains unmarried.

Indian Astrology: Horoscope Matching

Horoscope Matching is one of the major methods used to evaluate the compatibility of the couple before marriage, in India.

The system of evaluation is point based. Maximum number of points are 36. These 36 points are divided over 8 separate aspects of married life. These 8 different aspects are:

1. Varna: Varna indicates ego development between the partners. Max points: 1
2. Vashya: Vashya indicates the intensity of mutual attraction and affection between the
   couple. Max points: 2
3. Tara/Din: Tara/Din indicates the health and well-being of the couple. Max points: 3
4. Yoni: Yoni indicates biological compatibility and satisfaction. Max points: 4
5. Graha Maitri: Graha Maitri indicates outlook, objective, intellectual level and spiritual plane of existence. Max points: 5
6. Gana: Gana indicates the temperamental characteristics. Max points: 6
7. Bhakut: Bhakut indicates growth of the family, family-welfare, etc. Max points: 7
8. Nadi: Nadi signifies the health(outward physique) and constitution(internal metabolism). Max points: 8
   

The analysis is done using a table like the one shown below. Each of the aspects is taken along a row. The form that particular aspect takes in the boy and the girl is give. This dictates the total points obtained for that particular aspect. The final column shows the maximum number of possible points in that particular aspect.

Usually a score of 18 or more points is considered a good match unless there is a specific conflict within a paticular aspect (especially in the 'Nadi' category). A score of 36 points is considered bad because according to legends Ram and Sita had a perfect match of 36 points and their marriage was not a happy one.

Another important piece of information looked for in the two horoscopes is the presence of a Mangal dosh. In other words if either the boy or a girl has a Mangal dosh then he or she is Manglick (has a heavy Mars in their horoscope). In such a situation usually the match is not considered to be good.

:)

Marriage and Astrology Connection: Reducing Uncertainty

Often we hear people advocating a horoscope match before marriage.

I was thinking... does horoscope match really make a difference?

Does a good/bad horoscope match mean that the marriage will be a success/failure?

To counter this people give an example of other cultures which don't go for horoscope matching before marriage. Where there are large number of successful marriages.

This argument, in turn, can be countered by the fact that divorce rates are quite high in the western world.

What does all this mean?

--

Firstly it means horoscope matching is used as a source of information especially in arranged marriages where usually the boy and the girl don't get to spend a lot of time with each other. It is supposed to indicate problem areas for the couple to work on.

Among other things the match is given a score using a point-based system. Maximum number of points which can be earned are 36. These are spread over different sections. Each section represents one aspect of married life (such as off-spring - 7 points, emotional compatibility - 2 points and physical compatibility - 4 points).So a low score on the physical front may mean that couple with not feel sexually satisfied. A perfect score of 36 or anything below 18 is usually not good.

--

Secondly I think it also means that marriage is slowly changing. It is now more about being comfortable with each other and taking your time before settling down. The time of arranged marriage is slowly going. Marriage itself is becoming a flexible institution. If we see the west, arranged marriages are a thing of the past. Parents do not interfere in their children's lives. This like all things has a positive and negative side.

These days live-in relationships are are not taboo in the big cities. Therefore instead of going through a horoscope matching process to discover similarities and differences people now try living with each other full time.

But then again human nature has many hidden corners which are not easy to get to. People who have been living together (with or without being married!) for a long time, sometimes end up surprising each other.

In the end the fact is whether you trust horoscope matching to tell you things about a relation or whether you spend time with a person to discover them.

In the end you have to take the plunge at some point of time. You will never have complete knowledge about a person. The uncertainty can be reduced but never eliminated completely.

Images of London

Glass and Steel and Clouds!

Overlap of Old and New on Oxford Street, London.

The lights at Barbican Centre.

At Leicester Square, London - The Swiss Court.

The twenty-six shields are the official shields of the twenty-six cantons of Switzerland.

Brain, Butter and Cheese

Last few months have been busy. Work related travel, working on my Ph.D. thesis and few other things kept me busy.

Just realised yesterday my brain feels weird!

The only way I can describe it is that it feels as if my brain has been spread like butter over bread!

I need to bring everything together make my mind feel like a block of Amul Cheese! :D

People have been asking me WHY AMUL CHEESE OF ALL THE DIFFERENT BRANDS?

Well that is because AMUL Cheese cubes feel really solid like 'barfi' (Indian sweets). You can bite them like a Cadbury's chocolate bar!

:D

Brighton - Bright and Early from my Mobile

The Brighton Centre

The old West Pier

The Promenade

The Hilton Hotel

Morning skies!

Garfield!

Suggested addition to this post by a friend:

Azahar: MEOW

Anb: hello billi

Azahar: pet me :D

Anb: hahahaha
beat u wud be more likely
:p

Azahar: hehehe why why :D

Anb: ayse hi
u wud be a cat extremly similar to garfield
n i duno any1 who wud like to pet garfield! :p

Azahar: hehehe thank u!

80% Life

There is a very disturbing ad on the television about road saftey.

According to the ad if you hit someone, while driving, at the speed of 40 miles per hour (approx 65 kilometers per hour) then there is an 80% chance that they will die.

On the other hand if you hit someone at 30 miles per hour (approx 48 kilometers per hour) there is an 80% chance that they will live.

The ad ends with the words 'It is 30mph for a reason!'

This got me thinking that why is it at 30mph. Is 80% survival rate good enough?
Who decided 80% was good enough?
Or was this analysis carried out after the speed limit was set at 30mph?

What it takes to be a Politician....

I was watching a 'debate' on the 2008 Budget the other day on NDTV24x7. Barkha Dutt was hosting the show.
They had 3 politicians on the show. One from Congress Party, one from BJP and one from CPI (M).
Of course the 'debate' soon deteriorated into a combination of boringly sensible questions from Barkha Dutt, a lot of passionate screaming (especially by the BJP politician) and a balancing act by the lady from CPI(M).

It also made me realise what you need to become a politician.

Here is my list of required qualities for a politician:

1) Should be able to scream at the top of your voice while ensuring clear speech.

2) Take everything personally.

3) Judge things more on popular opinion and its effect on the vote bank rather than solid information.

4) Have a very limited world view.

Water Symphony

Still shots of water falling into a glass.

Cambridge

Looking across the Park (Regent Terrace Road)

The railing

A twist in the tale!

Through the vines

White-fire

A church on a foggy evening

A church through the window

The moonlight shines through...

Two funny incidents....

I am slowly developing a strange reputation in Bristol!

Yesterday two funny things happened with me....

Incident 1:
It was evening time and I was up in my room. I heard my landlord enter the house. Since I had some work with him I went near the stairs and called out 'Jerry, I was wondering...' to see if he had few minutes to spare. Almost immediately he responded 'Azahar, I get worried when you start wondering!'

:D

Incident 2:
Some friends were over for dinner and as it usually happens after dinner we were just sitting around talking about various things under the sun.
The topic turned to what was the smallest size women's perfume bottle normally available in the market.
After thinking a few seconds I told my lady friend 'I guess the smallest size must be 250ml'.

She burst out laughing and said that that was too much and the smallest size was about '30ml'.

Then I realised I had been equating perfume sizes with the size of scotch bottles!
The smallest bottle of scotch normally available is a 'quarter' which is nearly 250ml.

:D

'Round the pole star we go....

Stars going round the North Star (Click on pic for a better idea of what I am talking about!)

Once I am gone....

POST DELETED BY POPULAR DEMAND!

CHEERS TO MY LOVELY FRIENDS!

CHEERS TO LIFE!

:D

Once I am gone...

There comes a time in all our lives when we must think about the world without us. The world after us.

We should plan what happens once we are dead. We should make our deepest wishes known.

My intention is, through this blog post to make known four wishes to be carried out, once I am gone and my ashes have cooled with the gentle evening breeze.
This is what I want my friends and loved ones to do:

1) BE HAPPY! Don't anyone DARE cry! :D I'LL BE HAPPY ONCE I AM DEAD! SO SHOULD YOU GUYS! We will surely meet again. I don't let go of my true friends that easily.

2) HAVE A DAMN HUGE party with lots of wine, women and food! :D It should be a rocking party! Once the party is over... forget why it took place, forget me, move on. :) I already would have!

3) SELL EVERYTHING I OWN. USE THE CASE FOR HELPING PEOPLE IN NEED. No one should know where the money came from. Silent charity is what I desire. :)

4) ENJOY LIFE! :)