Elderly Parents

Just read a sad story about an elderly couple near Kolkata. Samar Moulik (75) and his wife, Bharathi (62) have written to Baguiati police station asking for permission to commit suicide.

They have 2 boys and a girl. The girl is married and living in Lucknow. One son, Shankar, is living in South Africa. Another son, Soumen, is living in a suburb of Kolkata. Mr. Moulik worked for BHEL. He is retired and received no pension.

Mr. Moulik inherited a plot in Hridayapur. Soumen allegedly grabbed the plot. The couple built a small house on another plot and started living there. Mr. Moulik’s elder brother allegedly drove them out. They were then living in a rental place.

They are financially broke. Their 3 children just ignored them. They did not provide any financial help or emotional support. They are very much depressed and wanted to commit suicide. That is why they approached the Baguiati police station. Inspector Gautam Mitra has written a letter to Soumen requesting him to help his parents.

I thought these kinds of things happen only in movies. In my opinion, it is the responsibility of children to take care of their elderly parents. We come into this world as small helpless babies. Who took care of us when we were born? Every one should have the sense of love and desire to take care of elderly parents.

Children, especially sons, change a lot after their marriage. Some remain the same as mama’s boy and treat their wives very badly. Some more of them come under the spell of their wives and begin to completely neglect the parents and also disrespect them. They do not even visit them. If the parents happen to live in their house, they are treated as slaves and unpaid servants.

There are many children who really love and respect their elderly parents.

I can understand some rare exception. There have been instances when a child was verbally and physically abused by the parent (especially a single parent). It is understandable if that child ignores the parent, after growing up. You cannot verbally and physically abuse a child and expect that child to take care of you when you are old.

I have seen parents who gave up everything and showered love and affection on their children. They made financial sacrifice so that their children get a good education. And, those children after growing up neglect and ignore their parents. But one thing they have to remember. They are also growing older every day and they will also receive the same fate.

Guilty or Innocent

This is just a straight forward tag passed on to me by Nazish.

The rules are thus…
RULE 1
You can only say Guilty or Innocent
RULE 2
You are not allowed to explain anything unless someone messages you and asks!
RULE 3
Copy and paste this into your notes , delete my answers, type in your answers and tag 20 of your friends to answer this.

Asked someone to marry you? Guilty

Ever kissed someone of the same sex? Innocent

Danced on a table in a bar? Innocent

Ever told a lie? Guilty

Had feelings for someone whom you can’t have back? Guilty

Kissed a picture? Guilty

Slept in until 5 PM? Innocent

Fallen asleep at work/school? Innocent

Held a snake? Guilty

Been suspended from school? Innocent

Worked at a fast food restaurant? Innocent

Stolen from a store? Innocent

Been fired from a job? Innocent

Done something you regret? Guilty

Laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? Innocent

Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Guilty

Kissed in the rain? Guilty

Sat on a roof top? Guilty

Kissed someone you shouldn’t? Guilty

Sang in the shower? Guilty.

Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? Innocent

Shaved your head? Guilty

Had a boxing membership? Innocent.

Made a girlfriend cry? Guilty.

Been in a band? Innocent

Shot a gun? Innocent

Donated Blood? Guilty

Eaten alligator meat? Innocent

Eaten cheesecake? Guilty

Still love someone you shouldn’t? Innocent

Have/had a tattoo? Innocent.

Liked someone, but will never tell who? Innocent

Been too honest? Innocent

Ruined a surprise? Innocent

Ate in a restaurant and got really bloated that you couldn’t walk afterwards? Guilty.

Erased someone in your friends list? Innocent

Dressed in a woman’s clothes (if you’re a guy) or man’s clothes (if you’re a girl)? Innocent

Joined a pageant? Innocent

Been told that you’re handsome or beautiful by someone who totally meant what they said? Guilty

Had communication with your ex? Innocent

Got totally drunk on the night before exam? Innocent.

Got totally angry that you cried so hard? Innocent

That was great. Now I would like to tag:

Insignia
Varsha Shrote
A S
Sandhya

100 Most Powerful Women in the World

Forbes magazine has come with the list of 100 Most Powerful Women in the world for this year. That magazine measures “power” in combination with public profile and financial weight.

Again, for the third year consecutively, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, is rated number one. Sheila Bair, Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, USA, is rated number two. Indra Nooyi, Chief Executive of Pepsi, is rated number 3.

There are five Indian/Indian Origin/Naturalized Indian women in that top 100 list. They are:

3. Indra Nooyi, Chief Executive of Pepsi

13. Sonia Gandhi, President, Indian National Congress Party

20. Chandra Kochhar, Chief Executive, ICICI Bank

63. Navanethem Pillay, High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations (South Africa)

91. Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman, Biocon

Congratulations to all five of them.

Let us hope next year this number will double.

Oh by the way, Hillary Clinton is 36, Michelle Obama is 40, and Queen Elizabeth is 42.

I am surprised Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, is ranked only 35. She is 2nd in line to succeed Barack Obama as President of the United States, after Joe Biden, Vice President. The role of the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives is very different from the role of the Speaker of British or Indian Parliament. Speaker is chosen by the U.S. House of Representatives, and he/she is usually the leader of the majority party in the House.

U.S. Presidents cannot make law. It is the job of the House and Senate. Whether we like it or not, laws made in the U.S. affect every country in the world. No law can be passed in the U.S. House of Representatives without the blessings from the Speaker. Therefore, in my opinion, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is a very powerful person.

Mr. Shashi Tharoor and his BlackBerry

Just read a news item that Mr. Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State in the Indian External Affairs Ministry, was using his BlackBerry inside the aircraft just before the Mumbai Cochin flight about to take off. The air hostess told him to switch it off. He then switched it off. However, while the plane was ascending, other passengers heard his phone ring many times.

When Mumbai Mirror asked him about this, he gave the following reply:

“That is completely false. I was reading emails on my Blackberry, not speaking to anyone. In fact, the phone function was off. When the air hostess asked me to turn it off I did so promptly, as I always do when the plane doors are closed. The phone never rang. I am astonished at the stories people like to tell just to see themselves in the press!”

Mr. Tharoor, even reading email is a no no. Cell phone must be completely switched off. You should know better.

Mr. Tharoor is not some uneducated thug (criminal) who became a Member of Parliament and then a Minister of State. He is highly educated. He worked at the United Nations for a long time. He was Under Secretary General for the UN. He even contested for the post of UN Secretary General and lost. He was elected as an MP from Thiruvananthapuram. Therefore, he should have known better.

But the association with the Indian politicians apparently changed him. Indian politicians think they are above all rules. Why single out politicians? Even movie actors and actresses and sports personalities can be included in this category. We have heard stories about how commercial planes were kept waiting for late arriving VIPs in India. Being a VIP, they may disregard many rules. But when certain acts endanger the lives of many people, even VIPs should obey them. I bet Mr. Tharoor will not have the guts to use his cell phone in an American commercial flight.

Why they don’t allow use of cell phones while in the air? They interfere with the plane’s communication and navigation system. This could cause confusion for the pilot and may lead to disaster.

Additionally, because the calls are made from a very high elevation, the cell phones may be connecting too many towers simultaneously. Cell phones are designed to automatically detect which is receiving the strongest signal and ignore other towers. If many airborne passengers flying over a city use their phones and each of them connect to dozens of towers, the computers controlling the system would be overwhelmed and nobody will be able to talk.

Again, Mr. Tharoor may be telling the truth. And, the newspaper reports are wrong.

While on the subject of cell phone, I want to give an interesting information. In 1981, a world famous consulting company predicted that in the year 2000 only 500,000 people will be using cell phones in the WORLD. Today, in Mumbai city alone more than 500,000 people are using cell phone.

You want to guess how many cell phones are in use in the world today. I don’t know. But in 2005, there were 2 billion cell phone users. In the year 2008 alone, 950 million cell phones were sold in the world.

School Experience

In our school, every teacher had a nickname. We did not know who gave that nickname and also why that name was given.

I can remember one funny incident. I was in a school upto my 5th grade. I transferred to a new school for my 6th grade. At that age, I was very innocent. My cousin, who was 2 years senior to me, was already in that school. The day before going to the new school for the first time, I asked my cousin who is going to be my class teacher. He said my class teacher is “mullangi” (radish) (mooli).

So I go to the new school next morning. I was looking through each classroom to find out which one is mine. One teacher came out of a classroom and we had the following conversation:

Teacher: Pudusa? (Are you new?)

Me: Amam (Yes)

Teacher: Endha grade (Which grade?)

Me: 6th grade

Teacher: Endha section (Which section?)

Me: Theriyaadhu (I don’t know)

Teacher: Yaar vaadhyaar? (Who is your teacher?)

Me: Theriyaadhu. Aanal avar peyar mullangi (I don’t know. But his name is mullangi)

Teacher: Naandhaan andha mullangi. Ulla vaa (I am that mullangi. Come inside the class)

After a week or so, he gave me a big lecture on calling teachers by their funny nicknames.

Pizza vs Pizza

Pizza originated from Italy. It is now consumed all over the world. On a recent visit to Venice, Italy, I found a lot of differences between American and Venetian versions.

In USA, pizza comes in many sizes. Small, medium, large, extra large, jumbo, and family sizes. There are also many different types of crust. Thin, thick, deep dish and cheese filled crust.

In Venice, there is only size, like the size of a home made dosa, equivalent to an American type small pizza. There is only one crust, i.e. thin.

If we give an A for taste for a pizza made in Venice, we can give a B minus for taste for a pizza made in USA.

As for price, American pizzas are very cheap compared to a Venetian pizza.

In USA, margarita is a cocktail drink. It is a combination of tequila, grand marnier, and lime juice.

In Italy, margherita is a pizza. Traditionally, the main ingredients are olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, basil and cheese. It was first made in Naples for Queen Margherita and named in her honor.

In USA, pepperoni pizza means the main ingredient is pepperoni, which is made out of pork and beef.

In Italy, pepperoni vegetables pizza means the main ingredients are different types of bell peppers (capsicum). It is a vegetarian pizza.

Having said enough about pizza, what is my favorite pizza?

I have two favorites.

One is pizza with pesto sauce and veggie toppings. Pesto sauce (instead of red tomato sauce) is made by grinding basil leaves, pine nuts, garlic, parmesan cheese, olive oil, salt, and pepper. If you order a pizza, they automatically use red tomato sauce. In restaurants, you have to ask for pizza with pesto sauce. Nice pleasant basil smell with an accent on garlic flavor. If you do eat it, try to make sure your companion is eating it too. You will cancel each other out on garlic smell.

The other is Chocolate pizza at Max Brenner in New York. Yes, it is a real pizza. They use the real pizza dough. Chocolate sauce is used in place of tomato sauce. Marshmallow is used instead of cheese. The toppings are milk chocolate imported from Belgium, banana, peanut butter, and hazel nuts. They put 3 or 4 layers of thick melted chocolate. Yummy.

Chocolate and Pizza! That is a match made in heaven.

Lonliest Blogger

George Sodini, age 48, lived in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania. He worked in the finance department of a law firm. He had a web page and posted blogs. He wrote about how for many years he was rejected by women.

He was anti social and a loner. His web page described him as an unhappy loner. He was never married. He even listed his “date of death” as August 4, 2009.

He wrote that he never had a girl friend since 1984. Never went on a date since May 2008. The last time he had sex was 19 years ago.

"Women just don't like me. There are 30 million desirable women in the US (my estimate) and I cannot find one," he wrote. The page ended with the words "Death Lives”.

Last night (Tuesday) he entered a fitness center filled with women. He entered a “Latin impact” dance aerobic class and started shooting at random. Three women were killed and 9 people injured. He then shot himself and committed suicide.

On one of his entries he said: "The biggest problem of all is not having relationships or friends, but not being able to achieve and acquire what I desire in those or many other areas. Everything stays the same regardless of the effort I put in. If I had control over my life then I would be happier. But for about the past 30 years, I have not.”

On August 3 he wrote: "I took off today, Monday, and tomorrow to practice my routine and make sure it is well polished. I need to work out every detail, there is only one shot. Also I need to be completely immersed into something before I can be successful. I haven't had a drink since Friday about 2:30. Total effort needed. Tomorrow is the big day.

After years of hoping women would take notice of him, he finally got the attention he wanted.

He was a loner and a psychopath.

Honorary Doctorate Degree

On August 1, Anna University in Chennai, is going to award honorary doctorate degree to Music Director Mr. A. R. Rahman, Chandrayan Project Director, Dr. Mayilsamy Annadurai, and Deputy Chief Minister of Tamilnadu, Mr. M. K. Stalin,

The reason given by the Anna University:

Mr. Rahman – He won 2 Oscar Awards.

Dr. Annadurai – He was responsible for sending Chandrayan to the moon.

Mr. Stalin – He built lot of flyovers in Chennai to tackle the traffic problem.

I can understand for Dr. Mylswamy Annadurai.

Mr. Rahman? You compose very nice music. You won 2 Oscar Awards. Do you deserve an honorary doctorate degree for that? Since you won 2 Oscar Awards, your rate for the next movie should go up. You got paid very very well for working on Slumdog Millionaire. I know you are a nice person who is very simple and unassuming. I have heard much better music from you than Slumdog Millionaire.

After having said all these things, OK I can understand for Mr. Rahman.

Mr. Stalin? If you are elected as a MLA and become a Minister and then Deputy Chief Minister because your father is the Chief Minister, do you deserve an honorary doctorate degree? Is it not your every day job as a Minister to take care of the traffic problems?

Lot of Indian VIPs are getting honorary doctorate degrees. But do they deserve it?

Do these universities get any prestige by honoring these types of people?

Movie stars like Shah Rukh Kahn and Amitabh Bachchan got honorary doctorate degree. Other than acting in commercial movies for huge amount of money, what are their qualifications?

Politicians like Sharad Pawar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Karunanidhi, and Jayalalitha got honorary doctorate degree. I don’t have to explain their qualifications and achievements. At least, Jayalalitha has double qualification….actress and politician…..so she should get double doctorate degree. Ha ha ha ha.

Sonia Gandhi received her honorary doctorate degree last year. Can someone explain her qualification and achievement?

My question is: Do they all put “Dr.” in front of their names all the time? I know in Tamilnadu, it is a must. You have to address Mr. Karunanidhi as Doctor, Kalaignar (artist), Mudalvar (Chief Minister).. If you address him as Mr. Karunanidhi, you are in big trouble. You have to address Jayalalitha as Doctor, Puratchi Thalaivi (revolutionary leader), Amma (mother). If you address her as Miss. Jayalalitha, you are in big trouble.

I read couple of jokes in a magazine which I want to share:

We have a problem since our leader got an honorary doctorate degree.
What?
Our leader is wearing a stethoscope all the time.

We have a problem since our leader got an honorary doctorate degree.
What?
Our leader wants to operate on patients in the hospital.

Any one who thinks that he/she deserves an Honorary Doctorate Degree or want to have one so that he/she can put “Dr.” in front of his/her name, please apply to Cosmopolitan University in Miami, USA, and you will get one for a nominal fee:

The web address is: http://www.cosmoedu.net/emailformdrhc.html

You don’t have to be a politician or a movie industry person or a cricket player.