Visiting the Golden Temple at Amritsar

Amritsar is the holiest city of the Sikhs and houses the Golden Temple which is the representative of God for all Sikhs. After a lapse of many years, I visited Amritsar recently. Having come from Singapore I booked an AC sleeper on the Golden Temple Mail (formerly known as the Frontier Mail from the days of the Raj). The Golden Temple Mail reaches Amritsar early morning and I had a taxi from the Mangoes Hotel (a 3 Star) waiting. It’s a small lovely hotel and has a buffet breakfast thrown in, but perhaps the break fast menu could have been worked out better.

After breakfast I hired a hotel Taxi to take me around. The driver a cut surd (This is a term used for Sikhs who cut their hair) was affable and informed. I asked him why he had cut his hair and he told me as a driver a turban was a handicap and so he had cut his hair. But what surprised me that almost 40% of the Sikhs in Amritsar had cut hair and turbans were far fewer than I had seen earlier. I drove to the Golden Temple. I am afraid the approach to this holy shrine needs a lot of improvement. Maybe a conducted tour of the temples at Bangkok for the powers that control the temple (SGPC) would be a good idea. That will give them an idea how the holy shrines are maintained spick and span. The approaches and roads definitely need to be spruced up. In fact there is too much garbage lying around. There is a lot of construction activity going around the temple and one has to walk carefully to reach the entrance to the temple. But once you enter the temple the sight is awe inspiring. The central dome surrounded by a sarover (Pool of water) is lovely with the gold plated domes shining in the sun light. These domes were plated with 24 carat gold by Maharajah Ranjit Singh, the Sikh ruler of the Punjab. Visiting the temple is an elevating experience which also houses the Sikh museum. At one end the Akal Takht (Temporal Throne) is still unfinished, as a reminder to operation Blue Star - the Army operation to flush out the terrorists holed up in the Temple in 1984. The Gurudwara has a 24 hour kitchen that serves free food to thousands around the clock. Called the 'Langar' it is unique to Sikhism. A visitor will find tens of Americans eating at the Langar. Going around the temple one can see the association of the army with the temple from the days of the Raj, as tens of small slabs carry names of regiments and soldiers who have donated money to the temple. Visiting the temple is an enlightening experience and one can realize that the Gurus created a classless religion. Unfortunately Hindu practices have crept in and caste in Sikhism is again to the fore. But I will recommend a visit to Amritsar and the Golden temple for any tourist coming to India. No visit can be complete without it. Published on 5 October 2012 on Experts Column

Can Modi imbibe Mao's quote"Political Power comes out of the Barrell of a Gun"?

When will Modi Learn Mao's Dictum" Power comes out of the Barrell of a Gun" ?

Narendra Modi is the Prime Minister of India. Before I add anything further it must be remembered that successive Indian leaders from the time of Jawaharlal Nehru failed to reaize the geo-political forces in the world heralded by Military power and surrendered the leadership of Asia to China. They made the nation Pakistan centric and reduced the importance of India as a world power. The ills of 60 years cannot be set aside in a day, but now Modi has to make a start and understand that there is no substitute to military power for the nation to play a geo-political role. It has not heldped down the decades the the Chiefs of the Indian army have been men of straw who have bowed double to their poltical masters with the result that a sense of alienation is coming in the rank and file of the army and allied services.

Maoi has come on a wave, but waves ebb also and recede and Modi has a lot to do to restore Indian prestige. He must first realize that Mao tse Tung was a great thinker and one of his quotes that 'Power comes out of the Barrell of a gun" is proved true many times over. Nehru and his ilk committed a cardinal blunder in thinking the military was a relic of the Raj and must be isolated and kept down. It was a foolish approach and he paid with his reputation and died a broken man, humiliated in the world with the slap by China. He also committed blunders in Kashmir, when with a military victory on the cards he called of the operations and approached the United Nations.

Has Modi learn't the lessons of history? It appears he is following the Nehruvian agenda again. There is no thought of military parity with China. He again has treated the armed forces in a scurvy fashion. He has failed to sanction a pet and legitimate demand of soldiers for One Rank One Pension(OROP) and has played to the gallery ( read Muslim sentiments in Kashmir) by condemning the Indian army troops for some killings in Kashmir which s nothing but collateral damage. Which leader in the world talks like this and shows that Modi has little knowledge of the army as an instrument of power and position in the world. he must read Mao , otherwise he may well end up as another Nehru.

Village panchayats ( Khaps) in North India are Giving Bizarre Verdicts laced with Sex

The Panchayat Raj is in effect grassroot democracy and means that in a village an elected body called the panchayat which consists of 5 members administers the village. The Panchayat also decided on matters of dispute and personal law. The panchayat in the state of Harayana are caled Khaps and these are castiest in character.

The Khaps have taken the law into their hand and many of their rulings run contrary to the Indian criminal law and principles of jurisprudence. But all the same the Khaps are obeyed and nobody opposes them. They thus pass judgements that have to to accepted. An example of the khap judgements is an eye opener. In a recent case a young wife eloped with another married man who was her neighbour. The agrieved husband appoached the Khap for redressel. He wanted his wife back, but the Khap decreed that as his wife had run away ( eloped) he would have to marry the wife of the man who had seduced his wife. They also made it amply clear that a superficial relationship would not be accepted and the man must impregnate the lady within 3 months. Well? I wonder how the duo felt when the man approached the wife of the man who had seduced his wife an dremoved her sari. Did he feel happiness? elation? or a defeat ? I can't say but the lady concieved and seemed happy.

In another case a young man eloped with the girl next door. The Khap ruling was simple and sweet. They directed the brother of the girl who had eloped to immediately marry the sister of the boy who had run away. In this case the young man was thrilled and he made haste to marry the sister of his sisters lover within 15 minutes. Well that is life.!

Further Comments on the One Rank One Pension for Soldiers

There have been reports of a meeting between the IIESM and the Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar. From the account available of the meeting held on 9 December 14 ,the delegation felt the RM R( Raksha Mantri) approach was ‘heartening’ and they have opined that the sanction of OROP is around the corner. The meeting went of ‘very well’ and lasted 30 minutes. Fine, but this really does not hold water as the RM was not expected to be anything but civil. However a crucial point was made that at no stage the RM made any commitment of issuing letter for OROP. This is surprising as the OROP was sanctioned by 2 parliaments and all the RM had to do was push the Finance Minister Jaitley and Modi to issue the letter. This unfortunately is not done and at no stage the RM made any commitment to get the letter issued.

It appears the Ex Servicemen’s delegation led by the able Major General Satbir Singh explained the nuances of OROP to the RM. This beats my imagination as the RM is supposed to keep himself abreast of a demand that has been approved by parliament. I wonder what information he needed now, when his only task is to get the letter issued.

There are wheels between wheels and the aim of the government is to lull the ex -servicemen into a sense of complacency. Modi and party are again confusing the ex-servicemen and by corollary the nation. In this light one can see that in the speeches by the Prime Minister during the election campaign has a hollow ring. He is supposed to have expressed regret for the killing of 2 youths who failed to obey the order to stop. Why? Does the Russian President or US President express regret? I am sure Mr. Modi is aware of something called ‘collateral damage’ in a war.

I call it shameful that the senior officers in the ladder also expressed regret for the killing. With such men in charge, who are Corp and Army commanders as well as the Chief himself, is there any wonder that OROP will ever come? I am afraid I am still pessimist that OROP in the ‘Classical ‘mode will be accepted by the BJP government.

 A watered down sanction may come, but then the services are known to accept most things like the COAS General Thapar accepting a letter from a Joint Secretary to evict the Chinese in 1962. I have earlier also written that Modi and the Congress are on the same footing. God save a nation that neglect’s its military might, the army. Has Modi read Mao’s dictum” Political power comes out of the barrel of a gun”?

The World of Women Evil Spirits: The Chudiyal

The world of the supernatural is an exciting field. Many believe in I and many do not and think that all tales about supernatural beings and evil spirits is a hallucination or a figment of a man’s imagination. However sometimes truth is stranger than fiction and it’s my personal view that evil spirits do exist and sometimes they take the human form to torment anyone who crosses their path. Some of these spirits actually relish contact with a human being and there are many such tales from the villages of India. One belief that is very popular concerns the female evil spirit often referred to as ‘Chudiyal’. A Chudiyal is a dead woman who takes human form time and gain to wreak vengeance on man. Chudiuyal’s are very popular in mythology as well. Generally they are those women who have done some evil deeds like killing young children and have been denied entry into the world of spirits. They are thus condemned to roam this earth and wait the day when God may all them entry into the spirit world.

Indian villages are full of tales of the female evil spirit and in my own village there are at least 2 men who swear on oath that they have been accosted by Chudiuyal’s. One of the men recounted to me that once he was proceeding along a lonely village path in the hills and saw a most beautiful woman standing and weeping by the side of the path. He stopped and asked her what the matter was. The woman replied that she was alone and had been thrown out her home by her parents who were poor and could not afford her dowry. The man took pity on the woman and told her not to worry and come with him. In fact he was enthralled by her beauty and sexiness. In some villages in Himachal it’s difficult to get a bride and many men buy brides from mountainous villages. I will have to write about this custom in a later post. The man was 40 years old and still a bachelor and a thought crossed his mind that this lovely woman could be his wife as well. Sex was foremost in his thoughts and I can’t blame him for it. He took the girl home and told villagers that he had brought a wife from the mountains. It was a normal practice and other villagers only wished him luck.

Strange thing happened on the first night. The man undressed the woman and in the light of the earthen lamp made ferocious love to the woman. It thrilled him that she was a virgin. After the act both lay side by side and the man asked his new wife to smother the flame of the earthen lamp some distance away. The lady laughed and in a moment she extended her leg till it grew long and with her foot smothered the flame of the diva or earthen lamp. Seeing this strange happening the man realized that the lady was a Chudiyal and immediately began to recite the Jap, the holy prayer of Nanak. He got up and ran out of the house shouting chudiyal had entered his house. All villager gathered and a ‘chela’ soothsayer came forward. He told the man not to enter his house as he went inside to confront the evil spirit. By recitation of mantras and rituals he was able to banish the woman who soon appeared out of the house and grew to height of 20 feet. It was terrible but luckily the chudiyal went away. Another man claimed that he saw his wife using her leg in place of firewood and realized that she was a chudiyal. One cannot say these story are true or not , but I am inclined to believe them. All I can add is that this is one frontier that is still unexplored.

Dating East Asian Women is a Dream Come True with Specialist Sites

The Orient has always fascinated the western man. Ever since the western man came in contact with the Far east, the allure of a chinese and Japanese girl has had a hold on the imagination of the western man.

To pander to this exotic taste a number of dating and marriage sites have come up. Their purpose apart from making a profit (which is part of any business establishment) is to help American men in particular find dates and brides from Japan and China. One reason why the western man prefers brides from the Orient is the fact that eastern women are more docile, meeker and more family oriented. Among the important dating sites specifically pandering to the taste of American men is www.asiandating.com, www.Asian beauties .com and asia friend finder.com. A brief of these sites will not be out of place here.

www.asiandating.com Asiandating.com belongs to Cupid Media, a market leader in many of its international markets with over 18 million members in the USA, Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, Australia and the Pacific. User-friendly design, with multi-lingual interface and translation tools that break-down barriers enabling you to find Asian women or Asian men, whether just around the corner or at the opposite end of the earth.

You can start just by "showing interest" in other Asian singles in the area or country you are looking for. You can even read emails from paying members with the standard membership. As a paying member you'll be able to communicate with other Asian women/men via chat, email, video-mail and instant messaging. Costs : 1 month full access to Asiandating.com costs £19.99 with the Gold membership and £24.99 with the Platinum membership. www.asianbeauties.com

AsianBeauties.com is part of the Anastasia International Network which has grown into one of the World’s most comprehensive international dating platforms with a highly specialized customer service team. AsianBeauties.com success is built on the high quality and quantity of authenticated female members and the happy couples formed every year. If you are worried about the kind of company you might be dealing with, you should know that Asian Beauties is operated according to American business standards with a sophisticated and secure organization that meets all requirements of United States law.

Another plus point for this site is that all Asian girls/women on AsianBeauties.com are contacted and their profiles verified to ensure they are searching for a long term international relationship.

A negative characteristic is that there are very few Asian women living in UK registered on this site (a problem if you are searching an Asian partner in your same country). But if you are willing to travel to Orient to meet your perfect Asian match, here you'll find many beautiful Asian women, and in order to have a face-to-face meeting they offer the "AsianBeauties Romance Tour" You can use lots of modern technologies to get to know your matches: live chat, video-chat, phone introduction and even send flowers and gifts. You'll need to buy credits in order to be able to use all those tools. Costs : AsianBeauties.com works with a credits system: Each letter you send or open from the women costs 10 credits. The least amount of credits you can buy is 20, which cost $15.99. These credits cover the translation of the letter into or from English if necessary. The more credits you buy the lower the price

  www.asiafriendfinder.com Friend Finder operates a worldwide network of very different and successful dating portals with over 100 million members. AsianFriendFinder.com is one of the largest flirt and chat sites targeted towards Asian women and men with over 4,000,000 active members. It features both traditional and simplified Chinese character sets as well as an English interface. You can make use of the following features: video, chat, magazine, personal blogs,... The main downside of the site in our opinion is that you cannot see much without subscribing as a paying member. Costs : From £4.99/month.

Many men in the west and also other places have a special liking for girls from East Asia, especially Chinese. Also in demand are girls from Japan and Philippines. But the general penchant is for Chinese girls as they are a forbidden fruit, as a communist regime rules over China that is restrictive and totalitarian. Many Chinese girls also want to break out of the restrictive atmosphere and live a free life in America.

A site for the Common Fashion Conscious Woman who is on a Budget

Introduction The GiftForSexy.com is an online global store specializing in sale of women’s lingerie and intimate items. It is located across the Pacific in Hong Kong and the new Chinese industrial area of Guangzhou. The on line store makes use of the Internet to reach a worldwide clientele. They specialize in sale of all kinds of

• Bras • Lingerie • Panties • Bikinis and swim wear • Costumes and Corsets • Stockings • Wigs and Sexy Accessories. The prices are kept low and the company ships their items world wide. Gift for Sexy.com attends to small orders and will not hesitate in shipping even a single item. They also have a stringent quality control test team, which carefully inspects every order before it is shipped. Processing of orders is simple and easy and your selection attended within the shortest possible time.

Gift for sexy: The Cutting Edge Gift for sexy is a fantastic web site because it lives up to its promise.They offer customers, a very informative blog, a comprehensive FAQ section and all the latest news on a women’s inner garments and accessories. Gift for sexy is both a retailer and wholesale seller. They specialize in Women’s Underwear and Accessories. They have a factory and good sources with all relevant suppliers, which give them an absolute advantage in price and quality. They also own a 300+ square meters warehouse for their e-store. Customer Service and Payment

Excellent customer service is offered by Gift for sexy and they are open for your questions and calls 7 days a week round the clock. Payment is completed usually by credit card or debit card. You can also pay by using PayPal or Western Union. Credit card details are stored by 99bill and not by GiftforSexy. . The site is worth visiting and browsing for a woman who is on a budget. This is a site from China, a communist country and as such with cheap labor, the prices are indeed lower.