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A NEW YEAR A NEW BEGINNING

According to recorded history, New year festivals have been celebrated for over 5000 years. The date of these celebrations though varied.

The ancient EGYPTIANS began their new year with the autumn equinox, while the GREEKS began theirs at the time of winter solstice.

In early medieval times CHRISTIAN EUROPE began their year on March 25, but ANGLO SAXON ENGLAND regarded December 25th as their new year.

In the eleventh century WILLIAM the conqueror declares January 1st as the beginning of the New year, but it was not till the late 16th Century that the GREGORIAN CALENDAR established their day as the New year's day.

The JEWISH religious new year with ROSH HASHANA the first day in the month of Tishni. This day represents the day of creation and in honour of them, a TRUMPET is blown. This trumpet is called SHOFAR. According to Jewish belief, it is also the day that God passes judgement in the Book of life on each person's actions.

The JAPANESE celebrate the New year in a festival called GRANJITSU. The festival is also called SHOGATSU and refers to the belief that good fortune or bad fortune within the first few days of the year represents the fortune for the coming year.

In India with its myriad cultures, the New year is observed at many different times in keeping with local belief. Although we follow the GREGORIAN CALENDAR which is based on SUN most Indian festivals are celebrated based on the Indian or lunar calendar.

In Maharashtra, GRUDI PADVA is celebrated as New year. A brass or silver pot is hoisted on a pole and fastened to a silken cloth this is called GUDI

In karnataka and Andra Pradesh the New year is celebrated as UGADI.

In North India the festival is BAISAKHI a time for thanks giving. It is a time for celebration, for feasting and bhangra.

The Sikhs also believe that it was the day that GURU GOBIND SINGH intiated that PANCHA PIYARA or the five loved ones. It was the day he gave these FIVE PEOPLE a sermon of being a true sikh.

In Tamil Nadu the TAMIL NEW YEAR day is a day of prayer and thanks giving.

Lik any New year, there is a great deal of hope for the coming year.

A New year is always a time to look backward and forward, a time to give thanks for what

has been and hope for the best in the months to come. An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.

I made no resolutions for the New Year. The habit of making plans, of criticizing, sanctioning and molding my life, is too much of a daily event for me.

As G.K. Chesterton says

The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul.

Even am trying too...

LITERATURE AND CREATIVE WRITING

Great literature by definitions is transcendent, it touches your soul; it stirs your emotions. It makes you think, but it must be felt and in that way it can never be entirely explicated. Great literature occurs when writers take aim at that which is visceral that which defies understanding and manages to break through to the other side' if only for a fleeting instant.

You may ask, "What is great literature? "The answer to that is there is no formula no particular style, no particular genre, no superior time period, no subject and no ambition that results in great literature. Great literature changes you, makes you a different person simply because you read it. And, for that to happen, you make a personal connection with literature. It is not a one way street.

There is a warning and promise; the more you read, the more complex and intending the world becomes. According to Socrates ' the more you know, the more you know how much you don't know".

First Read, Read, Read. Read widely read what's new. Read classics, read magazines and everything. The more you read the clearer an understanding you will begin to have about you. The more widely you read, the more open minded you stay; the more likely that your tastes will cover what might be called good literature. The point is read! Life's too short to read bad literature.

If you are reading a book that induces sleep stop! Put it down! You owe no allegiance to a book that is giving you no rewards. Find something you like. Remember the amount of satisfaction derived from reading is exactly proportionate to the amount of yourself you invest in any given book and sometimes it is hard work.

Why do you read books? Probably because somebody - your professor your parents, if your friends have told you to read certain books. Or may be because you receive a certain book as a gift or even because you have read an intreasting book review in the newspaper. But the point here is what, you read is initiated from outside sources. There is nothing wrong with this, i.e constantly listening to people's advice and trying to read every book you get.

Find a way to connect yourself with what you are reading. The more you read the more prepared you are for the world. Every book you read prepares you for your next book.

It is important to know about the authors who write the books we like just as it vital to know about their surroundings. The exposure, intelligence adn eloquence people have when they read literature is fascinating. Use your honest reactions to fuel your brilliance; let your brilliance be your own.

You must give yourself up to the literature you read. Only then it can rock your world. If you are seriously going to engage in literature, you need to be going forward with an open mind. Read with passion. The more of yourself you are willing to give up to the task at hand the more reward you will receive. Just as you must think of yourself, you must also always read first for yourself.

REMEMBER, READING MAKETH A MAN

DRIVING CULTURE

Transportation is pretty much unavoidable these days. But when we commute, we are forced to put up with the commotion that also comes along. Yes, I'm indeed referring to the driving culture prevalent here. To get to a place especially in a metro like Chennai involves a lot of uninvited hassles. At times, I've feared that the auto I was in woluld be under the bus beside us..... It is so bad..! An understatement... May be!.. Recently, there was a record breaking attempt to see how far a car could go on a full tank of fuel. The end result was that the Ford Fiestas used in the attempt gave upto 31.2 kmpl for the diesel variant. Unbelievable and Unthinkable. This was achieved under test conditions and on a track. So now, who all are to take the blame for us netting just a meagre 12-15 kmpl? Seems to be a very good question to think about considering the sky high fuel prices now!

Is there so much reason to keep honking? It creates a lot of noise pollution. Only if all people tried being a little more sensible while on road...Life is a journey and all of us are travellers.

Nowadays, all the travellers are running. I admit that all of us are in a hurry at all times; its just how lkife is...Once can just see that when you observe the roads, there is simply no courtesy and hardly anyone gives way. One question: how much time are you going to save after all...? Why does everyone wait till the very last minute to depart? If there are 3 tracks on the road, there will be atleast 7 rows of vehicles! All of us are taught about discipline, courtesy and other morals. But almost all conveniently put these in the back seat while driving.

While driving, the rules are: no morals, no values....its just 'Me first....'

Who can bring in the much needed change...? Government...? no... Police...? No. Family is the basic social institution; this issue is more social than anything. The change has to come in the way of a complete change in attitude among the people. Yes... We have to admit the fact and change.. There is simply nothing that the government and its agencies can do about the whole issue than making better roads, and by removing the existing potholes! Till then, happy cruising!

Ruin of Metallica- The God of Music

My biggest hunt has come to an end…

This is something which i was working for so long time.. Have taken much effort to make out this..ma long time dream.. here i go about ma frenzied coverage of metallica.. guys let me go into the topic directly...
Firstly, in their 20-year career to date Metallica have sold over 85 million CDs and albums, plus huge numbers of singles, videos, DVDs, box sets and merchandise...They are currently the seventh biggest-selling artists in US recording history, and even their closest competitors in the field of heavy rock and metal(enormous sellers in their own right such as Iron Maiden, Guns N'Roses, korn, Linkin Park and Limp Bizkit come to mind) don't come close in commercial terms, But these simple statistics give no indication of the cultural changes which Metallica have prompted. Their career has clearly been of two discernible halves- the first as a left-field extreme metal act and the second as a globally successful band with few peers. Somewhere between these two phases lies a ground-breaking album, 1991's Metallica, which changed the face of popular music. This record thrust aside all the rules of what heavy metal meant at the end of the 20th century and, in doing so, ushered in a whole range of new bands with a greater or lesser debt to pay to Metallica.

And along the way Metallica changed. They were once a thrash metal band, epitomizing the style with highly aggressive, totally uncompromising music played at speeds ranging from fast to extremely fast. Played well, thrash metal is among the most exhilarating, demanding and downright venomous musical genres of all and, for eight years, it was Metallica’s chosen speciality. They played it with utter commitment and jaw-dropping expertise and amassed hundreds of thousands of fans in doing so.

However, the Nineties saw Metallica evolve their music into a slower, more thoughtful, even contemplative hybrid of bluesy, alternative rock and metal, to the confusion and disappointment of the more dedicated headbangers among their fanbase. Simultaneously, the ranks of the faithful were swelled enormously by new fans for whom Metallica’s earlier work had been too raucous and who preferred the new, smoother sounds. Suddenly, Metallica could be heard on the radio and were seen on TV, a previously unthought-of-development. They released singles in large quantities for the first time. They toned down their image. They wrote songs with non-metallic instrumentation and introspective, almost philosophical lyrics, only returning to the older, brasher songs on the ever-more-enormous tours which made them multimillionaires. They played alongside non-metal artists. They made high concept videos. They wore make-up.
To sum up, they shed their skin entirely. As the old-school fans watched in horror, more and more new converts to the Metallica cause appeared and in 2003 they were part and parcel of the establishment. They are a stadium band. They are an MTV band. They are-wait for it-an acceptable band.

Suprisingly, no book on Metallica has yet appeared of sufficient scope to address the whole of the phenomenon that is this remarkable band. One or two smaller biographies have appeared over the years, all of which have their virtues, but Metallica is now a truly heavyweight institution and deserves a book of similar gravitas if their full story is to be told.

Secondly, it took much time to investigate every(and I mean every) aspect of the Metallica machine. In order to make this blog as comprehensive as possible. I’ve gone to great length to search about them in many websites, articles to get the facts out of them. There’s not tabloid rumour-mongering here. This is the real deal. This is the truth.

Which brings me to the title of the blog, and the most compelling reason why this blog needed to be written. There are far too many rumours about Metallica in circulation- inevitably so, given their size and the cult popularity which they enjoy. I’ve read far too many articles and web sites about them which fudge the truth, avoid certain areas of uncertainty or are simply wrong about certain facts. This isn’t my fault: these things happen because Metallica’s roots are now two decades away and their genesis occurred in the midst of a confused, alcohol-fuelled music scene set in a particularly dark, grimy environment: the punk and metal underground scene in California in the early Eighties. Its only by going directly to the people who were actually there at the time that the truth can be revealed- and I’ve tried to do just that.

Finally there are loads of irrational opinions flying around about Metallica. Check any website devoted to them. If you believed everything you read there, you’d come away with one of two impressions; either that Metallica are gods whose every word and act is worth intense celebration, and whose every musical note is unsurpassable- or that they are a bunch of sell-outs who lost their balls years ago and who are only interested in money for its own sake. Of course, neither of these views is wholly correct, although there are supporting arguments for either stance(as we’ll see, believe me). But Metallica and their fans deserve a more balanced, unbiased view than these two extremes- and this, I truly believe, is it.

With this in mind I’ve structured the blog to allow the story to flow without being help up by intermittent analysis. Like the best of Metallica’s music, theirstory moves fast and unpredictably, so I’ve allocated the Truth chapters their own separate section every now and then.

This blog is likely to remain so permanently unless the band choose to publish their own version a few years down the line. Enjoy the ride, and keep an open mind…

Succint overview of TEENAGE

A child is born innocent without knowing the twists and turns of this world. As it grows it is exposed to the greatest puzzle – life. This exposure is highest or seems highest during teenage. The transition period is very complex as it includes both physical and mental changes. Teenage demands the knowledge of anything and everything in the world without realizing who is necessary or not. The mind is directed in all directions and does not concentrate in one field where, others force them to concentrate. This is the point of crisis.

Teenage is the time when a personality is struggling to be born. The problem arises when the attitude of the teenager changes. Until then one would have listened and believed to whatever the parents said but during the onset of teenage, one starts to think for himself but he is ridiculed by his parents. They try to fit him into their shell of thinking.

After stepping into teenage, he is expected to behave in a responsible way. But this is new to him; he continues to play the part of a child but the parents shower upon him a lot of responsibilities which he does not approve. He thinks that everyone around him is drifting a little and this makes him more stressed. As a result he is not able to differentiate between good and bad people. He is led into the thought that those who speak to him in sugary words are good people and those who advice him are a bore. His parents always nag him to study and help him in the household chores. He knows when to study and when to relax and does not like them to command him. He wants to enjoy life but the parents keep a check over his actions, as a result of they which earn a bad name from him.

He becomes a rational. He wants to practice the ideals of life but when he sees that they are only ideals he is baffled. His father has been preaching all the morals of life, but when a phone rings, the teenager is asked by his father to say that he is not at home. What does he see? The value of speaking the truth no longer remains an article of faith with the child. But when he follows the method of his father he is reprimanded. Therefore he is in a dilemma and does not know which way to follow.

The case in a teenage girl is entirely different. During this age she wants to be ebulliant and enjoy here pulchritude life. She does not realize that during this part of her life security is more important than enjoyment. This when told by her parents is not accepted by her and she looks at them with contempt; she tries to fight for her seeming right but does not succeed. She becomes literally aghast.

The common circumstances for both a girl and a boy of teenage is their effort to adopt the ways of others. This has become a common problem and the parents of the middle class section are left in a pathetic condition. The teenagers are influenced by the cine-heroes, heroines and models, as a result they pester their parents to gets the commodities which are used by the models or actors. The problem does not wholly rest on the teenager but also on the parents. They do not take pains nor have any patience to explain the struggles of life. They want their child to obey them blindly. Even though they have passed their teens with the same experience, they pose to their child that they were examples of life. They cover their negatives and expose their positives thereby making their child feel guilty. Therefore he also tries to do the same and as a result the separation gets wider and wider…….

Use and abuse of slang

How would you greet your friend when you see him walking down the lane? Would you say "Good day friend, how is life treating you? or would you just make it short and crisp and say,"Hey buddy, what's up?"

Most of us would prefer the latter because it adds liveliness to the conversation. This kind of language is what we call as Slang. Slang words are words that are widely used in casual speech and writing, but may not be acceptable for formal use.

However some words which began as slang are not considered standard. Few of such words are tari, pep, okay, fan(fanatic).

Some of the slang words might sound offensive. For instance it would be objectionable if we call a bald person as an "egghead" or a short tempered person a "sour puss".

A few slang make the conversation rather confusing. For e.g death is referred to as "kicking the bucket" and to be discharged from a job is "given the pink slip". This would confuse a person who doesnt understand slang.

Shortened words too are slangs like Biz.(Business), Ad(Advertisement), Gym(Gymnasium), Maths(Mathematics) and lab(Laboratory). Two words can also be joined together as BRUNCH(breakfast & lunch). Slang makes the conversation easy to understand. For instance, instead of saying" Why dont you rejuvenate and revive yourself?", one can say"Why dont you pep up your spirits?"

Slang has become the linking language of people all over the world, especially in western nations like USA. People often object to slang because they believe it weakens vocabulary and is impolite. Some feel that the english language is losing its charm because slang is killing it.

Slang is a tool in man's head. He can use it either for effective language or to abuse others. So the next time you use slang try to sound cool, but also watch your tongue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gud day

Ma last blog in this year(2006)

Students of Harvard and Wharton business schools met Indian Railway Minister Lalu Prasad on wednesday and asked himabout the turn around that had taken place with Indian Railways. Let it be the situation, if i can imagine the meeting, which took place at the National Rail Museum in Delhi.

"Sir!" asks a young American looking with interest at the Fairy Queen and other old engines that lie in the Railway Museum,

"Is this the engine that was invented by James Watt?"

Lalu- "What?"

Stud- "Watt was the inventors name?"

Lalu-"What?"

Another student puts up her hand,"Sir!

lalu- "Yes madam!"

stud- "Are your managers all management students?"

lalu- "Managers?"

stud-"Yes sir"

lalu- "There is only one manager in the Indian Railway!"

stud- "Is he a management?"

lalu- "And his name is Lalu!"

Lalu prasad looks around and sees a boy at the back of the classroom with his hand up & says,

"You want me to go?"

stud- "No sir!"

lalu- "You want to leave the classroom?"

stud- "No sir!"

lalu- "Then why are you putting hand up like railway signal?"

stud- "I want to ask a question sir?"

lalu- "Then put your hand down...."

stud- "Yes sir!"

lalu- "And wait for me in the next station, when I stop I will answer. Nobody must signal train to stop. It will be catastrophe!!!!"

Another student stands up..

"Mr.Prasad!"

"Honourable minister Mr.Lalu Prasad Yadav!" Dont you think a lot of progress in the Indian Railways is also due to your Prime Minister and the economic reforms he has brought to the country? Do you also think that much of the groundwork was done by the previous railway minister?"

lalu- "You are mad!"

stud- "No sir!"

lalu- "You are mad! Lalu has changed railways himself like Lalu has changed.... Lalu has changed..."

stud- "Bihar sir?"

lalu- "Yes bihar! Now that present Chief Minister Nitesh is reaping the benefits of what lalu did before!"

stud- "Sir, are you also reaping the benefits of what Nitesh did before for the railways, when he was railway minister?"

lalu- "Enough! Enough! Indian IIM students are better! They do not ask silly questions like you Harvard fellows! They accept whatever minister says!"

stud- "Hmmm wot a damn minister to clear queries!"....