Tough times...

Innovative!

 

Dhol!

I came across this video and simply could not not put it up. Well worth the 4 min.

The Earth as seen by Chandrayaan-1

On 29 Oct 2008, the Indian lunar satellite Chandrayaan-1 snapped its first pictures. The rocket scientists (aha!) definitely wasted no time after launch and beamed the camera Earthwards to snap up a beautiful picture of mother Earth. It would have been great to see India as the first image taken from the satellite, but Australia will work perfectly as well. The stunning image has great detail and can only be a precursor to much more to come. Awesome!

The True Maverick

You gotta give it to this guy. Just 3 days before the elections, he's out there poking fun at himself and his campaign. And of course, SNL rocks!

Almost...

Penn State took care of Ohio State making Terelle Pryor remember Oct 25, 2008 forever - his first fumble at OSU, and his first loss as starter. Otherwise a good/great game, TP will be remembered for the fumble, and nothing much else. Thats unfortunate, but thats how it is.

Good luck to Joe Patterno and the Nittany Lions for an unbeaten season towards a National Championship.

The man!

A picture is better than a thousand words. A video, is better. Watch no.5 fly in the air with an arm in his face.

Gotta love these guys!

I dont think Gore-Bush, or Kerry-Bush had this charm during the election campaign. These guys are funny, and likeable. Too bad only one will win.


McCain's no pushover either. He was a POW for 5 years, wow - what a fighter!



And how about these guys? Tough days at work, huh! Maybe it was better at Goldman for Mr.P. This is exactly when they say that one picture is better than a thousand words.

Tum Ik Gorakh Dhanda Ho

This is one of Nusrat's best qawwali. There is great meaning in each line of this amazing piece written by poet Naaz Khailvi. He is puzzled by the existence of God and is complaining to him that God is a puzzle. I am posting the lyrics and their translation - it makes for a great listening experience.

Video follows.

Tum Ik Gorakh Dhanda - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: Tum Ik Gorakh Dhanda

Lajpat Rai

There's something about history that is interesting, inviting and invigorating. It tells us, in my opinion, that things are the same, the people are the same, the things around are the same, life is the same, our thinking is the same. There is always a delta change that every generation considers itself to have incorporated in its way of life, and its that delta that also remains constant. The contents of the delta change over time, but the fact remains that it is a delta and not a step change.

The only things that do change are the gadgets around us - horses, then trains, then cars, then planes - mail, then phone and then e-mail - but life remains the same. There's some poor some rich, some smart some slow, some lucky some unlucky, some pretty some ugly, some tall some short - our perceptions dont change, we dont change, life remains the same.

If there's one thing history has taught me it is that life, or rather our perception of life, is constant.

On this note, lets see what Lala Lajpat Rai, the great Punjabi, thinks of 'Young India' in 1916.

Young India Lajpat Rai 1916 - Upload a Document to Scribd

Read this document on Scribd: Young India Lajpat Rai 1916

The PM Rocks

A link to the speech of India's PM Manmohan Singh in response to the No-Confidence Motion in the Parliament. Wonderfully crafted, witty and pointed, touching and visionary - too bad he did not read out his statement, he submitted this copy to Speaker as the opposition was creating too much noise and disrupted all activities.

The link.

My Latest Favorite Genre...

Dont ask me why....



tuhmare bina koi bhi ab khaaas naa raha
tumhare siva kisi aur ke liye koi ehsaas naa raha

pyaar to bahut mila par kisi ki aaass naa rahi
bhar gaya ho dil jaise aur kisi ki pyaas naa rahi

Humne Dekhe duniya ke fasane kucch aise
dil to dhadkahta raha par saans naa rahi

(Source: Mandy and Pulkit. I can't write this good, but can sure appreciate it)




This is more my style (source: Chahat):

Haqeeqat samjho ya fasana,
Apna samjho ya begana,
Suno dil ka afsana,
Ki garmi bahut hai,
Din mein teen baar nahana....hehehe

How 'bot this one:

Tum aa gaye ho,
Noor aa gaya hai
Chalo teeno movie chalen....

One more:

zamane ne jeene na diya
apno ne rone na diya
thak kar jab neend aayi toh
macharo ne soone na diya....

One final:

Dhoka mila jab pyar main
Zindagi main udasi cha gai,
Socha tha chod denge is zindagi ko par
Aaj mohalle main dusri aa gai…

Sweet!

What a party!

Everybody had fun!

Navdeep's Housewarming/Sonal's Bye Bye Cleveland

Carry on Camping

Here's the pictures from our camping trip. My favorite's the one with Kavita's feet. Pranav needs to tell us why he took that picture - it makes for an interesting story. Click the picture below to get to the album. Enjoy!

Camping at Leonard State Harrison Park, PA - July 4, 2008

Did they really say that?

There are times when we get it wrong. This applies to everyone, and with respect to everyone. Although sometimes, we mean it. I'm sure Churchill did. Here's some examples.

"It is alarming and also nauseating to see Mr. Gandhi, a seditious middle temple lawyer, now posing as a fakir of a type well known in the east, striding half-naked up the steps of the viceregal palace, while he is still organizing and conducting a defiant campaign of civil disobedience, to parley on equal terms with the representative of the king-emperor."

- Winston Churchill, 1930

"I do not consider Hitler to be as bad as he is depicted. He is showing an ability that is amazing and seems to be gaining his victories without much bloodshed."

- Mohandas Gandhi in May 1940,

“Brahmins who mouth and patter principles of Western Liberalism."

- Churchill on Indian Congress leaders

"God forbid that India should ever take to industrialism after the manner of the west... keeping the world in chains. If our nation took to similar economic exploitation, it would strip the world bare like locusts."

- Gandhi on Economy

"If we had the atom bomb, we would have used it against the British."

- Speech (16 June 1947) as the official date for Indian independence approached (15 August 1947) , as quoted in Mahatma Gandhi : The Last Phase (1958) by Pyarelal, p. 326

"India is a geographical term. It is no more a united nation than the equator."

- Churchill, Speech at Royal Albert Hall, London (18 March 1931)

"Power will go to the hands of rascals, rogues and freebooters. All Indian leaders will be of low calibre and men of straw."

- Churchill, on the eve of Indian Independence in 1947

Supriya rocks!

Here's the pictures for Supriya! It was good fun that night - we should do it again sometime. Click the pic below and it'll take you to the picasa album. Enjoy!

People in Cleveland

Mera Piya Ghar Aaya...

Another gem from Bulleh Shah is the kafi "Mera piya ghar aaya". And its been sung beautifully by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. The qawwali is very enjoyable from musical and poetic point of views. What many people don't know is that Nusrat has sung this song as a mixture of two Bulleh Shah's poems - Aao Saiyo Ral Deyo Ni Vadhai, and Mera Piya Ghar Aaya.

Aao Saiyo Ral Deyo Ni Vadhai

Aao saiyo ral deyo ni vadhaai
Men var paaya raanjha maahi.

Ajj taan roz mubaarak chaddeya
Raanjha saade vedde vaddeya.
Hath khundi, modde kambal dhareya,
Chaakaan vaali shakal banayi.
Aao saiyo ral deyo ni vadhai

Mukat gauwaan de vich rulda
Jangal juuhaan de vich rulda
Hai koi allah de val bhulda,
Asal haqiqat khabar na kai.
Aao saiyo ral deyo ni vadhai

Bulle shah ik sauda keeta
Peeta, zehar piyaala peeta,
Na kujh laha tota leeta.
Dard dukhaan di gathari chaahi
Aao saiyo ral deyo ni vadhai

Ghaddiyaali Deyo Nikaal Ni

Ghaddiyaali deyo nikaal ni, ajj piya ghar aaya laal ni.

Ghaddi ghaddi ghaddiyaal bajaave, raen vasal di piya ghataave.
Mere man di baat je paave, hathon ja suttey ghaddiyaal ni.

Anhad vaaja vaje suhaana, mutarib sughadda taan taraana.
Namaaz roza bhull gaya dogaana, madh piyaala dain kalaal ni.

Mukh vekhan da ajab nazaara, dukh diley da uth gaya saara.
Raen vadhe kuj karo pasaara, din agge dharo divaal ni.

Mennu apni khabar na kai, kya jaana men kit viahi
Eh gal kyon kar chapey chapaai, hun hoya fazal kamaal ni.

Tooney kaaman kare batherey, sihare aaye vadh vadherey,
Hun ghar aaya jaani mere, rahaan lakh varey edhey naal ni.

Bulla shah di sej piyaari, ni men taaran haarey taari,
Kiven kiven hun aayi vaari, hun vichadan hoya nuhaal ni.


What Nusrat sings in his qawwali is as below with English translation:

Aoo Ni Sayyo Ral Deyo Ni Wadhai Men War Paaya Sona Maahi Gharyaal Deyo Nikalni, Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Piya Ghar Aaya, Sanu Allah Milaya Hun Hoya Fazl Kamaalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Aaaa... (Sufi Chanting) Hun Hoya Fazl Kamaalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Ajj Taan Roz Mubaarak Chaddeya Mahi Mere Vedde Vaddeya Aaaa... (Sufi Chanting) Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Shakar Wanda Piya Nu Manawa Mera Piya Verhe Varheya Ni Aaa... (Sufi Chanting) Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Ghari Ghari Ghariyal Bajaave, Raen Wasl Di Piya Ghataawe Mere Munn Di Baat Na Paave, Hathon Ja Sutto Ghariyal Ni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Laalni, Mera Piya Ghar Laalni Hoo Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Laalni, Mera Piya Ghar Laalni Hoo Anhad Vaaja Vaje Suhaana, Mutarib Sughara Taan Taraana Bhull Gaya Ay Namaaz Dogaana, Madh Piyaala Dain Kalaal Ni Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Bulla Shah Di Sej Piyaari, Ni Men Taaran Haarey Taari Allah Milaya Hun Aayi Vaari, Hun Vicharan Hoya Nuhaal Ni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya, Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya Oo Laalni Mera Piya Ghar Aaya	Come, dear friends and, felicitate me on my good fortune! I have found my consort in my beloved! Turn away the watchman! My beloved has come home! God has made this union possible. O what a beautiful miracle! It's a magical moment, Complete grace is upon me, My beloved has come home! This day has arrived, this auspicious day, When my beloved is at my doorstep. Turn away the watchman! My beloved has come home! I shall distribute sweets, Make my beloved happy, My beloved is a my doorstep, My beloved has come home! Again and again the timekeeper strikes the gong, And cuts he short the night of union. If he were to find my heart's desire, He would throw away the gong, O friends! Turn away the watchman, O friends! The un-struck melody resounds sweetly. The Musician is accomplished, the tune enchanting, Prayers and fasting are all forgotten, When the Distiller offers the cup, O friends! Turn away the watchman, O friends! Bulleh Shah’s nuptial bed of the Spouse is dear. O friends, the Savior has redeemed me! With what an anguish my turn has come! Now it is hard ever to leave Him. Turn away the watchman, O friends! Today my precious, my Beloved has come home.

A very good read...

I came across this book in my quest to learn more about the history of India. Published in 1903 by author Romesh Dutt, who was one of the few Indians to enter the revered Indian Civil Service, this book is very succinctly written for an economic history text and is referenced with facts from sources that must have been very hard to track down in the times of 1890-1900 in British India. He truly did a great job in this book, and I was just lucky to find the book online here (22 Mb PDF). I definitely learnt a lot of new things about the Economic relationship between Britain and India back in the day.


One thing I (and many others I know) always credited the British was with introducing Railways in India, amongst other industries. What I learnt after reading the book was that India had to pay the railway companies a guaranteed profit of 5% on their investments in Railways! The railways were always a loss-making enterprise, far more so in a poor country like India where no one could afford to travel anyhow, but the Indian taxpayer made sure that the British companies always made a profit. Moreover, there was rapid expansion of the railways to aid manufacturing and transportation of goods for the industries (owned by England). Here's some real numbers from the book.



Call that fair? The railways were paid back in addition to other expenses in the guile of Home Charges, the description of which is below. The image can be clicked to make it bigger and easy to read.



There's so much to talk and say, but my point is made. Here's how Dutt ends his preface to the book - a statement of exasperation, desperation, anguish and hope - all rolled into one.

The Indian Empire will be judged by History as the
most superb of human institutions in modern times.
But it would be a sad story for future historians to tell
that the Empire gave the people of India peace but not
prosperity ; that the manufacturers lost their industries ;
that the cultivators were ground down by a heavy and
variable taxation which precluded any saving ; that the
revenues of the country were to a large extent diverted
to England ; and that recurring and desolating famines
swept away millions of the population. On the other
hand, it would be a grateful story for Englishmen to tell
that England in the twentieth century undid her past
mistakes in India as in Ireland ; that she lightened land
taxes, revived industries, introduced representation, and
ruled India for the good of her people; and that the
people of India felt in their hearts that they were citizens
of a great and United Empire.

Word.

Bulleh Shah

Back in the day when I was beginning 9th grade, in April 1995 to be precise, I was debating the decision whether to pick Punjabi or Hindi as my first language for Class 10 Board exams. Board exams, or Boards for slang, was the most dreadful thing you could mention to a 13 year old 9th grade student. Our teachers in school would use the term 'Boards' as a 'boogieman' or the more-fearsome 'maaun' reference to strike fear in our innocent student hearts and get us to pay attention to school. Doing well in Board exams was one of the several several several times our parents and teachers told us was the 'last' time we needed to study hard and do well.

Anyway, the choice was between Hindi, the Indian national language (I have to point that out, to the irk of some Southern Indians) and Punjabi, my mother tongue. It should have been a no-brainer to choose Hindi as I had studied it for 8 years (grade 1 to grade 8) versus Punjabi which I had only studied for 2 years, and that too at a basic primary-school level. But it was well known that Hindi was a tough subject and hard to score good points in. My elder sister had also been in my position earlier and taken up Punjabi and had been happy with that decision. Reluctantly, I took up Punjabi and just because of that I am the happiest person in the world today. And the reason is Punjabi poetry.

I have rediscovered Punjabi poetry, a very beautiful thing, and my focus is on Bulleh Shah. What that man wrote is truly what the best poet in the world could ever write. His non-religious and non-biased poetry questions and answers great spiritual dilemmas. The most pious of men have tried to look into these issues over the years and not one could come up with such beautiful and simple-to-understand words. To my limited knowledge of Punjabi poetry, Bulleh Shah is the epitome of transcendental spiritualism. His poem 'Ki Jaana Main Kaun', recently sung by Rabbi Shergill and previously by Wadali Brothers, Junoon, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abida Parveen and others, may just be the best example of what I am trying to say about him as a person and his poetry. I can't keep myself from posting the lyrics and their translation thanks to Suman Kashyap at APNA.

Bulha, ki jaana maeN kaun. Na maeN moman vich maseetaaN, Na maen vich kufar deeyaaN reetaaN, Na maeN paakaaN vich paleetaaN, Na maeN moosa na pharaun. Bulha, ki jaana maeN kaun. Na maeN aNdar bed kitaabaaN, Na vich bhaNgaaN na sharaabaaN, Na vich riNdaaN masat kharaabaaN, Na vich jaagan na vich saun. Bulha , ki jaana maeN kaun. Na vich shaadi na ghamnaaki, Na maeN vich paleeti paaki. Na maeN aabi na maeN khaaki Na maeN aatish na maeN paun. Bulha, ki jaana maeN kaun. Na maeN arabi na lahori, Na maeN hindi shehar nagauri, Na hiNdu na turak peshawri Na maeN rahinda vich nadaun. Bulha, ki jaana maeN kaun. Na maeN bhet mazhab da paaiya Ne maeN aadam havva jaaiya, Na maeN apna naam dharaaiya Na vich baeTHan na vich bhaun. Bulha, ki jaana maeN kaun. Avval aakhir aap nu jaana, Na koi dooja hor pachaana. MaethoN hor na koi siyaana Bulha shauh khaRa hai kaun.

Says Bulha, what am I? I am not in the mosque of the believer, Nor in false rites. I am not in the pure or the impure. Neither Moses nor Pharaoh. Says Bulha, what am I? I am not in the vedas or holy books, Not in drug or wine. Not in the drunkards wasted intoxication, Not in wakefulness or sleep. Says Bulha, what am I? I am not in sorrow nor in joy, Neither in clean nor unclean. I am not water, I am not earth, I am not fire, I am not air. Says Bulha, what am I? I am not from Arabia or Lahore, Not from India or Nagaur. Neither a hindu or a muslim from Peshawar, Nor do I live in Nadaun. Says Bulha, what am I? I cannot be unearthed in the mysteries of religion. I was not born of Adam and Eve. I am not the name I assume. I am not in stillness, not in movement. Says Bulha, what am I? In the final analysis, I can know only myself. I cannot know any other. No one can be wiser than I, Who then, asks Bulha, is the master? Says Bulha, what am I?

There. Let that sink in. The man's trying to answer the question 'Who am I?'. I don't know if he manages to answer that, but he does answer pretty unequivocally who he is not. And thats where most of the men of the world attach themselves to - in religion, places of worship, places of residence, substances, Earth...? Given that he was around from 1680-1758, he was way ahead of his time in questioning the root cause of today's turmoil in the world, probably caused by this globalization where people find themselves not attached to nothing anymore and 'cling' to whatever they can (Barack Obama reference).

And thanks to Rabbi Shergill who's attempted to bring Bulleh Shah's poetry to mainstream music, and he's done that wonderfully.



Thank God for helping me choose Punjabi in 9th grade so today I can really enjoy and appreciate the thoughts and musings of people like Bulleh Shah. Here's one more poem with great philosophical meaning but with an easy to understand face. This one's titled Kutte(dogs).

Kutte

Raatien Jaage Karien Ibadat
Raaton Jaagan Kutte
Tainkun Utte

Bhonkanon Band Mool Na Hunde
Jaa Rudi Te Sutte
Tainkun Utte

Khasam Apne Da Dar Na Chad De
Bhavein Vajjan Jutte
Tainkun Utte

Bulleh Shah Koi Vast Vihaj Lai
Nai Te Baazi Lai Gaye Kutte
Tainkun Utte


Wow! Thats all I can say! Here's the video with Nusrat's rendition of several of Bulleh Shah's kafis including Kutte. Enjoy!

Sunny

Here's Sunny's photo, but which one is him? (Ganda joke...hehe)

Another website

This should be working....after all the head banging, it better be working.
http://66.61.113.104/~navi/~navi.html

Cleveland gang...

Guess who's a couple from the following...

You better know what this is...

...coz if you don't, you should not be part of mankind (hint hint!).

How to sort Excel cells by color...

Finally figured this one out. Although a workaround, it seems to work fine. This is possible by inserting an extra column in the sheet and then using a user defined function. The function will return a number indicating the colour of the cell used in that particular cell (or row). You can then use the normal (Data > Sort) command using this new column as your first sorting column.
Copy and paste the following code to a new VBA module created in the excel file you are working in:

Option Explicit

Public Function ColourSorting(ByVal rgeCell As Range, _
ByVal bBackGround As Boolean, _
ByVal bText As Boolean) As Integer

If bBackGround = True Then ColourSorting = rgeCell.Interior.ColorIndex
If bText = True Then ColourSorting = rgeCell.Font.ColorIndex
If ColourSorting < coloursorting =" 0"
End Function

Source: http://www.bettersolutions.com/excel/EAK113/QO520032321.htm
More detailed stuff on this site: http://www.cpearson.com/excel/SortByColor.htm