The 'nasty religious' crowd

How does god accept this "nasty religious crowd"? By nasty, I don't intend to mock at their religious sentiments or behaviour but I completely mock at their social behaviour. This question was in my mind everytime I went to temples, especially crowded ones like Tirupathi and was reverberating strongly in my mind when I was standing in queue, when I had gone to Shirdi in April this year.

By nasty, I mean the impolite, rustic devotees who don't mind jumping lines or pushing the queue with the sole intention of seeing god before everyone else, before all the other law-abiding citizens who are standing for hours or days in the queue!! This was the primary reason I stopped going to temples (the other being an inclination to atheism :) ) but Shirdi was not something to be missed, I was told. I literally cursed everyone, when I stood in the queue, even went to the extent of thinking that I should have never set foot there. Baba, nothing to curse you, but everything to do with your nasty, so-called religious follwers!! Why don't you do something about them?

Will god be pleased with this pathetic behaviour of 'q' jumpers who are braving all odds and civic senses to meet him or will he admonish such ruthless jumpers who are depriving the rights of other law abiding citizens waiting patiently in line to see god? GOD ONLY KNOWS!!!

Novels I read in the recent past

In the past 3 months, I completed reading "Fountainhead" and am now reading "Atlas Shrugged". Both are intense, extremely gripping till the last word and pretty heavy, focusing on individualism and taking potshots at the socialist mindset. I enjoyed reading Fountainhead and I hope to read it again sometime in the future. I find Atlas Shrugged much more enjoyable than Fountainhead, but I feel I've had to read some pages time and again to understand what the author intends to say!!

I also read Erich Segal's Doctors. I have mixed opinions about this book. I feel the author has let down doctors by trying to expose the hypocritic side of this noble profession, unmindful of the fact that there exists a hypocritic side in any profession! Overall the book was interesting to read, but gave lot more medical information than what a layman could understand. I have always had great opinions on doctors and so I found this book to be negative on doctors!! At the same time, my respect for alternative medicine has also grown leaps and bounds, since I witnessed some ailments or diseases, which remain untreated or not properly focussed in Allopathy, having excellent cure in Homeopathy or Ayurveda. For example, Multiple Sclerosis has 100% cure in homoepathy, whereas Allopaths generally prescribe a steroid for MS instead of complete cure of this disease.

There are lots of books to be read - hope I find time and interest to complete them soon :)

A trip to இருதயாலீஸ்வரர் கோயில்

I visited a temple after a long time. Called இருதயாலீஸ்வரர் கோயில் [Irudhayaaleeswarar Temple or Temple of Lord of Hearts] this temple is situated around 1.5 hours drive from Chennai, in a place called Thiruninravur. Roads were pretty bad in shape while going and the traffic added to the chaos. But it was worth the travel!

This temple was in an idyllic village, surrounded by lush green fields. Architecture was amazing, cool breeze flowing through the temple keeping us without sweat even though there was no power! Given the fact that the temple was built 1300 years back, the construction was marvelous and the temple also carries a huge baggage of history as explained in this wiki link

The drive back was also good, since we took a detour to reach Chennai via the national highways. I'm sure such breaks to a serene spot every weekend, religious or non-religious should be good stress busters for those who are heavily stressed during the week!

For those who want to try driving:
Route to this temple: From Chennai Koyambedu --> Ambattur --> Padi --> Thiruninravur --> Near Kodhandarama Perumal Temple in Thiruninravur

From Koyambedu, it's an hour's drive provided the traffic is normal.

Cheers for now!

IQ test results!

I recently took up an IQ test at testQ.com and the results were quite interesting to read. Here's what the test engine said:

Precision Processor

Your IQ Score is: 136

You've got a very experiential way of learning and a strong mathematical mind. You're able to whittle even the most complex situation down to comprehensible component parts. In short, you have mastered the art and science of precision. That's what makes you a Precision Processor.

For you, life is a series of equations. Your brain is naturally predisposed to intense mathematical acuity, and your understanding of numerical problems is unparalleled. It's second nature for you to cut to the heart of an issue, so that you can discover quick solutions to problems while others get bogged down in unnecessary details. One Precision Processor that comes to mind is the Greek philosopher-mathematician, Pythagoras. Pythagoras had a mind for numbers and, as such, could come up with previously unknown theories like his method for calculating the sides of a right triangle (a2+b2=c2). You too, can use numbers to translate aspects of the world around you — something that doesn't come easily to everyone. Your quick mathematical mind will allow you to communicate a variety of ideas to other people, so don't keep it to yourself.

Precision Processors can apply their mathematical skills to any situation involving numbers. That's a talent that will come in handy for everything from the workplace to splitting a bill 12 ways to converting foreign currency in your head. Others often look to you to do the math and luckily, you're well equipped.

My opinion: Pontificating on these results, right since 2003 when I started taking these tests, I almost landed up in the same region of score - between 129 - 136. I am amazed that I always get a score around this number but not more or less!! This brings me to the trillion $ question - Does IQ get shaped by environment or does it remain the same for a person due to genetic reasons?

Long time!

I just wanted to say a HI to my readers. It's long since I posted any entry in this blog. Not that I am VERY BUSY but I am lazy :-)

Will soon write a detailed entry about what I've been doing so far!

Have wonderful days ahead!!

When will India be a developed nation?

The euphoria over 8%+ growth rates of economy and soaring quarter growths of Indian Corporations grab headlines in all newspapers for the past few days! Also appear news about increasing farmer deaths, rural unrest, employment-less growth etc. So, How should we interpret the current growth of Indian Economy? With a pinch of salt? Yes/Maybe/Obviously!!

What keeps me wondering often are the lackadaisical attitude of netas and babus (One of my oft-repeated rants!) and their sheer ignorance to steer our country to the next growth levels! We often hear about our ministers undergoing phoren trips to study infrastructure in Singapore, London etc, But, their study never transforms into any learning!! As this article highlights, Indian taxpayers fuel such trips to the tune of several crores!

Our ministers blow trumpets about how they would literally banish "Child Labour" through a legislation enacted last week, But, Experts feel the other way. Atanu opines here about why this legislation will not work and why we always get out priorities wrong and treat the symptoms instead of the actual disease! Worth a read! Other ministers worth ridiculing are our HRD minister Arjun Singh, Health Anbumani and a few other minions!!!

Ok. Let me stop the rants. Will focus on some positives: :-)

Indian exports have been surging, which may catapult India to the league of Top exporting nations of the world. The highlight is, apart from s/w exports, Manufacturing exports have significantly added to the export kitty. Top MNCs want to set shop in India, including Software Companies, Telecom Hardware manufacturing, Automobile accessories and OEMs etc. All these have spillover effects in employment and in other domains like Hospitality, Travel, Banking etc which cater to these industries. Civil Aviation is another sector to look out for sporadic growth, only if the supporting infrastructure enables it!

I am left with mixed feeling at the end of the day. Inclusive Growth is the mantra of PM's office and Planning Commission's honchos! We have to wait for another 8 - 10 years to see the outcomes of reforms and initiatives for inclusive growth!

Which religion is the right one for you?

You scored as Paganism. Your beliefs are most closely aligned with those of paganism, Wicca, or a similar earth-based religion. You may also follow a Native American religion. Paganism 88% Buddhism 83% Hinduism 79% Satanism 71% Christianity 63% agnosticism 54% Islam 50% atheism 42% Judaism 42% Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com