B a h á i R e l i g i o n

There is a wealth of information on the Bahái religion on wikipedia

If I were religious, I would have chosen to believe in this religion. The biggest attraction is the stress placed on the Onness of Humanity which is considered as equally important to the Onness of God.

There is an official website and also an online repository of works if you are interested in knowing more about the faith.

I would like to visit their Lotus Temple, when I get to visit Delhi.

E n e r g y C r o p s : W.T.O S t a l e m a t e

How farm subsidies are perpetrated in the west :

I like pretty much everything about France - about its stance on the Lebanon issue, about its European goal of development, about its social welfare system etc.. So I have been looking very hard to discover something that is bad about France !

And I found it - in the form of agricultural subsidies.

European countries spend a total of 400 billion dollars as a subsidy to farmers. Technically, the farmlands of Europe and USA are not making any profit ! Lots of external money is being pumped into the farming community to keep it economically competent against the cheaper grains from the third world.

The USA spends an equivalent amount of money (100s of billion dollars). Japan spends a phenomenal amount of money subsidizing the cultivation of rice.

Even though it is ecnomically very unsound to do so, these countries do this because of political lobbying from the rural community. The reasons the lobbyists give are (1) Keep USA/UK secure from the world price fluctuations of grain (2) Avoid famine (3) Promote a countryside way of life (4) Tourist industry thrives on the agricultural backdrop.

How the western farm subsidies harm the third world :

Due to these subsidies, the developing countries (India, Brazil etc) are not able to compete in the marketplace. Even after a lot of import tariffs and shipping costs, the cost of the US soybean gets to be cheaper than the homegrown variety in India.

Since the local agricultural community is unable to make surplus profits, the economy of India gets slowed down. In several places, the farmers find it profitable to cultivate cash crops such as coffee, sugar cane which are not available in the USA / Europe. This cultivation makes them more vulnerable to famine. At some places such as Afghanistan, farmers cultivate opium to remain economically profitable.

USA/Japan dump a lot of excess produce in the African countries in the form of food aid, so as to stabilize the price of grain. This kind of food aid harms the local producers, and helps nothing towards the actual economical development of those countries.

Agricultural subsidies are evil.

So I understand that USA does these (going by its political track record). But, to my surprise, these are even more perpetrated by France.

France is one of the most agricultural countries of Europe (the size of cultivable land is huge, even though only a tiny 6% of the population lives on agriculture). France spends one of the biggest purses on agricultural subsidy. By doing this, it is hitting on the poor third world countries.

These subsidies do not help the small individual farmers in any way. Most of this money goes into the pockets of huge agricultural corporations. To obtain a list of these evil corporations (which includes your favorite cheese/chocolate maker Nestle/Cadbury etc), please look at this website - www.farmsubsidy.org

In economically educated circles, it is widely believed that cutting down these subsidies is a great boost to the country's economy itself - with lesser taxes, more money available for social spending, and so on.

This blog maintained by the Guardian newspaper of UK provides the update information about this debate.

How industrial revolution is denied to the third world :

The poor countries (Brazil, India and so on) have been at loggerheads with the economical giants over the issue of farm subsidies. The WTO talks of this year have ended in a stalemate because the rich countries did not agree to lower the subsidies on agricultural products. By a stroke of evil genius, USA has agreed to do this if only the poor countries reciprocate the act by reducing import tariffs on high-tech gadgets. India/Brazil cannot afford the fledgeing home electronics industry suffer by doing so.

As I mentioned in a previous post, industrial revolution is not an automatic process in an economy. It is a painful process. People usually lack education to adapt to the changes brought by the industrialization. It is extremely necessary to have a trading partner to buffer these changes, and let the country sail smoothly into a developed nation.

The rich countries had that buffer in the form of colonies.

The poor countries don't have any such buffer currently. So it is doubly harder to make the transition. It becomes inherently impossible, especially when the rich countries hit the poor countries by giving agricultural subsidies in their backyards !

Do we have a win-win answer to this stalemate ?

Yes, in the form of energy crops. And this is a particularly nice answer because it brings in energy security and environmental wellbeing as its bi-products.

Bio-fuels - especially the ones which are used to produce ethanol have the capacity to meet the energy needs of the world, and let it escape from the clutches of rising oil prices.

Peak Oil Crisis :

This doomsday website provides grim warnings that civilization is coming to an end with the growing oil prices.

Do we have alternatives ?

But the solution is near at hand - in the form of growing energy crops, and this solution is economically viable. In saying so, I mean that it is cheaper to use bio-fuels rather than fossil fuels. Thus this change is a self-sustaining chain reaction, if only it is kick-started.

The kick-starting process is extremely difficult because the oil companies vehemently oppose any such transition which is against their interests.

But, now there is a campaign in the state of California, lead by the Indian entrepreneurial genius - Mr. Vinod Khosla, to kick start such a change.

Please look at his presentation in the google tech-group which is available freely on Google Video. This presentation got Larry Page (founder of Google) convinced, so it is not surprising that it impressed me too.

In the presentation, Mr. Khosla explains how ethanol is a cheap, environmentally-nice and economically viable alternative to gasolene. But any fledgeing growth of the alternative fuel usage will be attacked by a slashing of oil prices by the rich Saudi oil companies, and thus killing these initiatives before they can germinate.

Mr. Khosla believes there has to be a legislation to prevent the oil companies from doing so, in order to ensure a level playing-field.

So I wish California to take the lead and pioneer the use of bio-fuels. (In fact, it has already been successfully pioneered by Brazil, but California's energy needs are much higher). There is an act called Act 87 which is being brought in front of the california legislature to help the growth of ethanol. But the oil industry is spending a lot of money on spreading FUD about this act. Please look at its evil propaganda inside this website.

Mr. Robert Rapier, an oil company executive, has raised some educated criticism about Mr. Khosla's evangelism. Specifically, he criticizes the use of corn ethanol, and also identifies some errors in Mr. Khosla's numbers.

On the request of Mr. Rapier, Mr. Khosla has replied to these issues here, in the true spirit of educational communication. He explains that corn ethanol is only to help make a smooth trajectory towards more efficient fuels such as cellulose ethanol, butanol and other bio-fuels. He also explains that he is not against measures of energy conservation such as electric trams and cars, and that these issues are not in conflict with his own work.

These bio-fuels are going to become cheaper and more efficient, by the revolutions that are happening currently within bio-technology and molecule synthesis.

In a world which uses bio-fuels, the great wastelands of Africa and South America will transform into great sources of income for those countries. Also, with agricultural land in demand to produce bio-fuels, the farmers of USA and Europe no longer need any farm subsidies and these can be abolished. Consequently, the farmers of China and India would competently sell their produce in Europe and Japan, and this additional raise of income would trigger further industrialization in the poor countries.

C h i t t í - C h i t t í - P a a p a l l á r á

My dad has a plain outlook about life. He has no great pretentions or grand theories, but only simple wisdom.

I am watching some war photographs on the BBC, and just get reminded of a song that he used to sing.

I still have memories of this tune - of him whistling in the mornings as everyone rushes to get ready for school (Both my parents are teachers). Sometimes, instead of whistling, he would sing it out.

Chittee chittee paapallárá
Bulli bullee poovullárá
Malli mallee navvandarrá
Navvuthoo bathakandarrá

It is a song that he has written a long time ago, before I was born. The song, ofcourse, cannot be translated into English. But what my dad was saying is this - Oh cute and tiny children, you are like flowers, keep laughing again and again, and live your life with those laughs.

Renu (my sister) had a special fondness for this song. She once sang this in a competition at school and she got a prize.

It goes further like this ... If you grope/fight about race and religion, life becomes a plant of ganjáyi (marijuana). If you say that humanism is your religion, then it is nicely a plant of thulasi (basil - medicinal and sacred)

Kulam mathamani đéburládithe
Bathukémó ganjaayi mokka
Maanavathvamé naa matham anté
Manchi gaa thulasi mokka

Chittí chittee paapallaará
Bulli bullee poovullaará
Malli mallee navvandarrá
Navvuthoo bathakandarrá

Renu, if you happen to see this, please tell me the rest of the lyrics.

My dad used to be a writer, but I never got to know this until I started going to college, when I accidantally discovered an old magazine with a story written by him. He has never impressed his ideas upon us. All I can remember was this simple song, that he used to sing often.

Thank you Nánná :)

B e i r u t

From the world fact book, I have this information about Lebanon :

Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri),
Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, Protestant),
Other 1.3%

This is possibly the only truly multiethnic country in the Middle East. This is a country which is capable of having a strong democracy, and making progress in science and culture, without getting distracted by religion, race or other issues.

Historically, Beirut has been one of the world's greatest cities. Along with Jerusalem and Cairo, it has been one of the cultural meetpoints. However unlike the other two - which have now been reduced to petty bastions of jingoistic dogma, Beirut still has the capability of fostering plurality.

But sadly, its neighbors won't let it make any progress. The Lebanese are being treated like a football by Syria, Iran and Israel. It is high time that the world's economical bulldogs (read USA and Europe) recognized the importance of a strong Lebanon (in terms of great universities, industries and military). This will serve a lot in defusing the tension out of middle east.

Instead of shamelessly bombing over Lebanon with its artillery, why does not Israel consider establishing industrial and educational partnerships ? The zionists should realize that this will help a lot in reducing civilian casualities in the Israeli mainland. Amongst all its neighbours, Israel can count only on Lebanon for being a true democracy. (But again, is Israel a democracy in the first place ? It could very well be called a Jewish theocracy)

A l l e z - L e s - B l e u s

Yo !! La France is in the Finals. Ole, Ole Ole Finale !

It is so strange 'coz some people were afraid it will not make it past the first round. Remembering how they played against the south koreans !! hahaha :) It looks so distant now.

Zizou is god. I know the Italian defence is pretty strong. But again, zizou is god. And come on, everything is within reach for les bleus now.

Actually, I am pretty confused which team to support here because half the Grenobloise are Italian !! On the Italian quarter on the other side of the river, the sentiments will be running exactly in the opposite direction. :) It will be really fun to watch what goes on. I can't wait till Sunday.

It is so weird - nobody even bothers to notice that a French girl is about to win the wimbledon. It's football time now.

Yesterday, it was pure madness after France sealed off the victory. The bleu-blanc-rouge fluttering everywhere; youngsters dancing around fireworks; shirtless youths jumping into the fountain at centreville; girls jumping over the top of bus-shelters !!

One of my Italian friends told me before the match "France should get into the finals man. We need to lick them bad, and take revenge for the Eurocup defeat."

" You would be going to the Club Azure (Italian) to watch the match ? "

"No. I am going home (over to Turino - 1 hour from here) I will watch it from there. If Italy loses, I will just stay there. Forget my Masters, forget all my studies. No more coming back to France :) "

"haha haha "

T e l u g u B h á s h a - F u t u r e -

One has to live away from the Telugu land to truly understand the beauty of its language. The language has a strange innocence and simplicity in expression. At the same time, it is extremely symmetric. For example, take some random phrases "kada daaka nadachi vacchina" (that which comes till the end), "theeru maaraledu" (its nature didn't change), "chilaka palukulu" (rote repitition / parrot speak) , "siggu moggalai" (overcome by coyness / budding of coyness)

However, it is an open secret that this language is dying.

In the rapid pace of life, with all its confusions, the Telugu people are losing. They are not able to identify the Telugu language. Consequently, they cannot speak properly, and thus, they cannot think properly. Due to this, the cultural output of the land has hit an enormous low in the recent times. (The current generation of telugu films/music/literature is at its disastrous low)

To prove my point, let me guide you to a Telugu television channel. A news reporter interviews some people about some topic "Why are the prices rising ?". The person getting interviewed always fumbles. He begins to speak in Telugu, mumbles a few words and finally gives up. He switches over to English, mutters some incoherent phrases and finally flashes a foolish smile. This happens irrespective of the topic and irrespective of the person speaking.

This is true of school teachers, politicians, TV anchors, news readers ..

The Telugu newspapers have become shockingly cheap in the language they employ.

A case in point is the Eenadu newspaper, with its humongous readership. Sometimes, I doubt if the real culprit of the disintegration of the language is Mr. Ramoji Rao - the media baron who owns the Eenadu news paper and the E-TV ! He can single-handedly change the course of the language if he wishes so !

Whenever I make an in-depth conversation with any of my Telugu friends, we switch over into English. Both of us feel ourselves inadequate in expressing in Telugu. And I am talking about people who have excellent knowledge of Telugu prose and poetry (not mere products of English Medium education) The only people who seem to have a reasonable command of the language are song-writers for the films. But even with them, I have my specks of doubt.

What is the reason ?

This is my point of view.

I believe that we have been trying to do it all wrong.

Principally, there are two kinds of languages - classical and liberal.

A good example of a classical language is "French" which owes heavily to "Latin". Whenever modern life presents a new technoligical invention, or political dispute, or psychological trauma, French can readily create a word made from the Latin roots. For example, in French, the word for computer graphics is infographie. The entire language is composed of such words, so they hardly stand out. Thus, the French lead a "classical" life. They try to protect their language from all types of encroachments (principally from the Anglo-Saxon words of English) They consider that their language is golden and that words from other languages are merde (literally, shit) In a way, they are true in saying so !

The best example for a liberal language is "English", which, historically got modified by several tribes - the Celts, the Anglo-Saxons, the French-Normans, the Vikings and so on. Ultimately, it got bastardazed to such a level that one word in English hardly resembles another. The British have always been open to the inadequacy of their language. They have crazily borrowed words from every language possible. Right now, English boasts of a vocabulary of two million words - no other language comes close to this richness. There is a word to express every shade of meaning, and usually, there are twenty words for saying the same thing.

What about Telugu ?

The pundits of the Telugu Academy would want us believe that Telugu is a classical language.

They create tongue-twisting inventions like "Dhooma-sakatam" (train) "Doora-darshini" (TV) "Doora-shravana-yantramu" (telephone). In the recent days, they are encroaching onto the turf of the computer desktop, making words such as "Meetala Palaka" (keyboard) "Paryavekshana Pradesham" (control center) They expect everyone to gulp these monster-words and swallow them down the throat for the glory of the Telugu language !!

But what they don't realize is that by doing so, they are killing the language.

Let me be open.

Telugu is not a classical language.

It is a very liberal language. Throughout history, it got screwed by several influences as wide reaching as tamil, sanskrit, portugeese, arabic, spanish, and ofcourse, now English. The word for key (chevi) comes from the portugeese "chablis". The word for spice (masala) comes from the arabic word (masalla). The list goes on and on. Historically, there have always been twenty words in Telugu for saying the same thing. In this aspect, Telugu is very much like English.

You can say "suvarna-dhaanya-raasi" or "bangaaru panta". Both are valid. But the second one sounds more delicious. That is theta-telugu.

Similarly in English, you can say "cordial reception" or "hearty welcome". The second one sounds much nicer. That is theta-english.

Given its history, I do not see any reason why we should not borrow more words from English ! By doing so, we always give them our own telugu-ness. We say "taebulu" instead of "table" /teibl/
The English also do the same. They say /khordiul risepshun/ instead of /koerthiale raysepseeyon/ (which is how the French pronounce the same word)

I think it is high time that we have accepted words like "kampyootaru", "key-boardu", "examsu", "teacharu", "offeesu" as true Telugu words. They are our own pride and our own legacy. By doing so, we will free the Telugu language from its shackles and let it flow like the mighty river, that it actually is.

In my way of contributing, I would like to bring life to two projects.

1) A readable roman script for Telugu language. Turkish has one, Japanese has one, why not Telugu ? We need an alphabetic script which is the most intuitive and facile. Please look at these images for a preliminary version. We need quick ways of editing such script and also cross-converting it into the standard Telugu font. I would like to work on both directions.

2) An ever-growing internet dictionary like this.

If you would like to contribute / discuss your own ideas, please drop me a line.

T h e T e m p l e

"Behind the holy premises of the temple, runs a gushing torrent. Since the dawn of time, piligrims have held these pure waters with the power of cleansing the ills of mind."

Claire lifts her head out of the booklet.

"Anvesh, You have to believe me. I had the strangest feeling yesterday after drinking these waters."

Anvesh turns his head nonchalently.

Jacques comes up towards them. "There is a possibility. These waters can contain some drifting neurotoxins.", he says.

They look at him with surprise. "How ? "

"Maybe some produce of a plant. Seeds perhaps. From the mountains."

They look up, the sun shines brilliantly over the snow-capped peaks. They are standing at the foot of an enormous mountain.

"Okay. Quit trying to impress me.", Claire smiles.

They laugh together at the silliness of the idea.

Standing witness is an ancient temple, at the banks of the river. Without a priest or a consistent flow of piligrims, it waits in anonymity. Inside the temple is a sculpture of Nataraja Shiva, carved in stone.

"This is very strange. A temple for the Nataraja to be found at the foot of a mountain."

Nataraja is a form of the Shiva, the destructor. Divinity is understood in the Brahmanic religion as the trinity of Brahma - the creator, Vishnu - the preserver and Shiva - the destroyer. Different facets of the one single God.

Nataraja symbolifies Shiva in his cosmic dance with Maaya - or the myth of reality. He is carved at the center of a perfect circle with four arms, each depicting the several phases of creation and destruction of the universe. In this form, he is worshipped by aspiring dancers and musicians, to lend them the gift of creativity - the divine inspiration of replicating, of trying to mimic the cosmic creation.

"You are right. Which dancer would get an audience at the foot of these mountains ? Is this really a temple ? Does it have any other function ?", Jacques questions.

Anvesh is equally lost. He is entertaining his friends from France. A talented artist, he has been finishing his studies at the academy in Paris. Jacques and Claire decide to spend the summer trekking in the Himalayas, and Anvesh has been the host, helping them swim through the barriers of language and bureaucracy.

"This could have been a school, or even a university. Lost in time, it may have become a temple.", he makes a guess.

They peer inside the dark chamber. The statue of the Nataraja stands serene at the center of the wide hall.

"It is beautiful.", Claire remarks.

Jacques looks at the overwhelming symmetry in the statue.

"You are true. But on another note, isn't it futile to capture the Divine on a stone ? ", Jacques wonders.

"Well, man never quits trying.", Anvesh answers.

"What do you mean ? Have you been painting something ?", they ask aloud.

Anvesh looks at the graceful pose of the Nataraja. "I am very scared to admit it. But I making an oil on the canvas. I have some musings, and some dreams."

"Wait, this is going somewhere. You never told us about this", Claire exclaims in alert.

"I wouldn't have told you. I am too afraid to admit - even to myself."

"But maybe you should learn to deal with it", Jacques remarks.

"Deal with what ?"

"Your fear", Jacques responds.

Then they hear something from the dark corner of the chamber.
"Only the fearless have seen the Asrapushpa."

The abruptness of this intrusion is so alarming that the three jump onto their heels. It was a bearded fellow covered in rags, who was resting quietly in the far end of the room.

"Who are you ? ", Anvesh demands.

"That is of no consequence. You should have demanded about what the Asrapushpa is."

"What is it ?"

"A flower of celestial beauty. It grows only on the peaks sorrounding this temple - the flower that only few have seen."

"How does it look ?"

"I cannot say. But it is said to be of the brightest red colour. The colour of blood. That is why it is called Asrapushpa."

"But why would anyone go find it ?"

"You fool", the bearded man glows in anger. "Then why are you here ? The place only the most fearless of sages have come to ?"

The bearded man comes out to light. Looking at him, Claire goes extremely pale. The man is carrying a white object in his hand - the skull of a dead man.

The man is a member of the Aghoris - violent sages who practice an ascetic life in extremely harsh conditions. A sect of the Samana religion, they worship the destructor Shiva in his real abode - the burial place.

"We are extremely sorry. We are not aware. We will return immediately.", Anvesh mutters quickly.

The three are still in a state of shock by when they reached their lodgings. Jacques says "We should return to Shimla. I believe Claire has seen enough that her nerves can take."

"Please wait for me at Shimla. You can get in touch with Mr. Verma of the tourist department. He remembers you."

"Why ? What are you going to do ? "

"Climb some of the peaks around the temple. ", Anvesh replies.

"You are out of your mind ! You are going to look for the blood flower ?" Jacques exclaims in disdain.

"Jacques, I have to confess something to you. I have tasted the waters from the stream."

Jacques looks in silence.

"I want to find out."

Jacques continues to stare in silence.

"I will return in two weeks. Please wait for me."

P o l l e n

One should strive to be a mountain amongst men. Lending beauty and pride to everyone around, but not possessed by even one of them.

Anvesh comes out of his musings and looks up at the sunset. Basked in the evening light, the snow peaks are radiating in gold.

He has been disappointed for two weeks. The peaks have proved to be too steep to climb in most places. He has scarcely found any vegetation on the high slopes, the rock being too hard to support any growth of plants. But next to glaciers, the rock gets eroded into fine gravel - supporting some vegetation, mostly bryophytes.

He did not find any flowering plants. But at the very top of some peaks, he found the surface completely even, resembling a plateau - the region being exposed to direct sunlight throughout the day. He has reason to suspect that he would find some flowering plants in such a place, provided there is enough supply of water.

Anvesh takes a deep breath to gather more oxygen. In front of him stands an extremely steep climb. It is not too difficult to go up. But it would be exceedingly dangerous to return. He has been avoiding such passages for the last two weeks.

"What if I have been thinking this wrong ? "

Then a realization hits upon him. "What if the way to return does not reveal itself until he climbs to the top ? "

He starts climbing.

He tries not to look down into the valley below, but the temptation is hard to resist.

As he gets climbs up, he hears a familiar sound - that of water rushing on the rocks. The sound gets intense as he gets closer. Soon, he finds himself on top of the summit.

He is staring into an enormous red flower. Sorrounded by the whites and the greys of the mountain, the flower dazzles in bright contrast, attracting attention from every direction.

"Is this the blood flower that has eluded every one ? "

He laughs heartily and congratulates himself on the success.

But then the realization dawns on him.

"Maybe the flower does not elude anyone."

The suddenness of this realization sinks hard into him. What if there is no way of getting down ?

"I will not give up."

He plucks the flowers carefully from the stalks and puts them in his backpack. They emenate a powerful scent, something heavenly.

"Why would a plant growing in these heights strive this hard to attract attention ? Why is it so brightly colored ? Why is it so strongly scented ?"

He tries to consult Darwin, thinking from the theory of evolution. He does not find a straightforward answer.

The scent of the flowers is overwhelming. He looks inside the bud of a flower. Tiny strands of pollen rise up in a bright red colour. He puts it back in his sack and starts descending.

"What if I die now ? What purpose would it serve for the flower ?"

He stops for a minute and looks into the flower. At a sudden inexplicable urge, he starts to nibble at the petals. He finds them immensely sweet. Then he eats the entire flower. He finds that his fatigue has strangely disappeared.

Feeling contended, he resumes his journey. He looks up towards the peak. But what he finds there gives him goosebumps.

Because there is no mountain. The valley is looking down at him from the heavens !

Then he looks down, but he does not find the ravine below. Instead he finds the peak turned upside down. He trips down and finds himself going up the peak.

He finds a man. But it is not another man, he is looking at his own person from the past, a couple of hours ago, climbing up the mountain.

Then the realization dawns on him.

"What I am seeing could not be what my eyes are seeing."

"What I am feeling is not what my limbs are feeling."

Soon he finds himself drifting in several images of his past. He finds himself in his hotel room. He sees himself talking with Jacques and Claire.

"Yes. The flower contains a neurotoxin. I should be intoxicated now."

He sees himself as young man making a journey abroad. Then he sees him studying in the academy at Paris, making his friends, getting his heart-breaks. He also finds images from his childhood, him making his first sketches on paper, his first days in school, his grandmother reading to him in his bed.

But there is a question.

"What is my real body doing ? "

He knows the answer.

"It is doing the bidding of the flower."

But what is the bidding ?

Then he understands completely - why the flower has been so attractive, why it has been so strongly scented, and why he has eaten its petals.

The answer presents itself in all its simplicity, "The pollen. It has to escape the flower.".

Finding himself incapable of taking control of his real senses, he resigns himself to observing the intoxicated images of his past that he has been drifting into.

He finds himself capable of summoning any image from his past, but all these images are engulfed in a sea of blackness. He tries peering into the dark, into the beyond, staring intensely to find clues. But he finds himself getting tired.. feeling drowsy...

----
The clerk in the tourist office raises his hands in dismay. "We have not recorded any accidant in the region, Sir. But you must understand these mountains are vast. "

Jacques sighs in disappointment.

Anvesh has been missing for the last four weeks. For several days, they have been fearing the worst - of finding him dead, body covered in a blood bath under a cliff. But now, they have started to doubt if they will recover his body at all. He has simply disappeeared. Never to be heard of again.

----

Anvesh wakes up with a jolt. His head is smarting with a bad pain.

"Ahh.. When did I fall asleep ? "

He remembers he is in a journey, and that the bus should be going somewhere. He looks up at his backpack and his suitcase - they are safe in the baggage compartment above.

"Good. I have a seat next to the window."

D r e a m s

Sleep has never been kind to me. It is extremely rare that I get pleasant or even neutral dreams. Most of the dreams that come to me are very terrifying. What causes me fear is not ghosts or death. The underlying element is always madness. Something which is taken for granted no longer appears to be vaild. Going mad is the scariest thing that can happen to me.

I do not know if there is any difference between thinking and dreaming. Most of my dreams are built in a very intelligent manner. They are built as if a super-intelligent mind lays down the entire plot, provides me all the herrings and ultimately lures me into a trap. The ends of the dreams are usually bone-chilling.

The mental impact of these dreams is tremendous, but strangely, they disappear very rapidly out of my memory ! It is for this reason that I cannot recollect many of my scariest dreams. However, today I will try narrating one.

I had this dream, where I was a marine biologist. I was studying the ocean waters - the variations in salinity and their impact on the marine eco-system. This seems so weird to me because I have never been interested in chemistry or environmental biology. I have never even seen a movie/novel which resembles that dream. But there I was - dressed in blue lab-coats, conducting experiments very seriously. The entire laboratory is positioned inside a small ship which is navigating the ocean.

Typical to my dreams, I do not see any faces of people. The faces are entirely vague and very fuzzy.

In this particular lab, I make good friends with my colleagues, and there is one person who is a best friend of mine. One day, both of us (him and me) dive together into the ocean to collect fresh samples of water. I cannot explain why but I feel very strongly that this person and me are extremely close friends.

Soon I become engrossed in the study of the samples, when my friend tells me we should get back into the glass chamber. The glass chamber is a huge room at the bottom of the ship, through which we get into the sea.

I swim into the chamber and look back to see how my friend is doing. But he doesn't swim in along with me.

Instead, he quickly shuts the door to the glass chamber with a bang ! I give him a puzzled look.

And he returns it with a cold stare. Other colleagues of my lab appear next to him - all dressed in diving-suits and some carrying underwater telescopes. All of them are observing me coldly.

I turn back, and then I see it - a white shark is swimming rapidly towards me.

[This entire laboratory and the underwater equipment was just a farce. They were actually studying the attack patterns of sharks. And I was used for this purpose.]

J o i e - d e - l a - f r a n ç a i s

Do you know that in French,
the word for library is "bibliotheque" (letter count = 12)
the word for wine is "vin" (letter count = 3)
the word for nude is "nu" (letter count = 2)

In computer science terminology, this is called Huffmann Coding. The words used most often will get the shortest-length code !

A propos, j'apprendre francais.

We had some 7 classes of instruction and sadly that's got finished. Now I am on my own to pick up some more decent communication skills before leaving to France in May. I wish I'm rather going to Spain or Italy, where people are known to be very effusive. Better chances of me picking up a girlfriend there :) But not so easy in the suave and the jingoistically-culturally-refined France. But this is the land of Guy de Maupassant (my favorite writer). And that of Pascal and Fourier. There's some sense behind that pride of those French people, after all.

With its sharp and precise sounds, English is the language of logic. With all its zest, Spanish is the language of emotions. And what about French ? It is the language of sweet love making. Every sound in this language is impossibly coquettish. (not surprisingly, the word coquette - il est un mot francais)

I am watching (in a loop) this movie - Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain (Amelie, for short). This film is so addictive - I have already begun to see the world in bright colours - bathed in yellows and greens, like how they show it in the film.

I have pretty much no hopes of finding a girl like Amelie in my life. Somebody who likes me not for my bank balance or for my market-standing. But who likes me, like Nino, for my maverickness ! Ahhh, life is a bitch and hope is its pimp :))