A Kleptoparasite

This week I got introduced to a new phrase. That is kleptoparasite. This was part of a scientific article that reported the discovery of a previously unknown species of beetle in the Costa Rican jungle. These are tiny creatures that hitchhiked the fighter ants while travelling frequently as part of moving their homes.

They are stowaways who hide themselves in the bottom of those ants so well that their body textures and odor mimics that of those ants. So much so, that the ants are unable to detect the intruders even while touching with their feelers.

There is a certain advantage when one travels with a large group of army ants. But protection or free rides are not the only objectives for these tiny parasites. These creatures also steal from the food stores of the ants.

While there are others small creatures that has similar stealing habits, I find these beetles particularly shameless. They exploit the ants to the maximum.

Ironically, there are so many human beings spread all modus operandi. They come in different shapes, sizes, color or creed but ride on the support and kindness of ordinary people. In return they steal from us to amass their own wealth. But unlike those ants they are extra greedy and do not hesitate to harm their benefactor.

over our societies, who uses the same

Any similarities with people living and dead involved in the field of businesses or politics is not coincidental.

I rest my case here. 

Is there a good word

How responsible are we with our words when we report about those mindless massacres by various terrorist organizations.
A few days back there was a devastating blast in a shrine in Sehwan claiming many innocent lives. I read a report the following day on this deadly attack. It read somewhat like this: “Over 100 people died when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the shrine in Sehwan in the outskirts of Hyderabad city in Sindh. ISIS has taken credit for the attack that prompted the new Army chief to swear revenge”.

Finding a news article on a fresh Violent incident has become too routine an affair and it no longer leave a lasting impact in the conscious mind, even though it goes on to instill another dose of fear in our subconscious mind.

But I was quite annoyed to read that “ISIS has taken CREDIT for this heinous act. Credit since my early days has been associated with “praise, approval, or honor”.

“She got her due credit for the invention or her boss took the credit instead” were the usual lines that we were taught in the early years. Incidentally the dictionary says the same thing even today.

Then why our journalists connect a terror organization and one of their dastardly act with the word “CREDIT”!!!
But is there a good word to describe such an act?

Republic Day of a Grown Up Nation

Being clean is a sign of goodness and spiritual purity and we need to make our country clean. I believe that the cleanliness drive should start by cleansing our mind and heart before following it through to our surrounding and environment.

But before we proceed, let decide to do one another thing .. draw a line. On one side of the line we place our way of life, perception of right or wrong and on the other side our political belief, politics, stubbornness and the likes. Those who fail to have a positive mindset should not be allowed to hold back rest of us from moving in the right direction.

One such right direction is the ambitious “Clean India Mission” (Swachh Bharat Abhiyan) launched by the Prime Minister in October 2014. The goal of drastically improving the country by 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

It is disgusting to see some citizens including few so called leaders ridiculing this mission because they don’t agree with the ideology of the party that the Prime Minister represents. I am tired of hearing comments such as shelter for the homeless is more important than toilets or this money would be better spent on education rather than toilets... so on and so forth.

Difference in ideology doesn’t necessarily mean that one has to oppose everything that the PM says or does.After 68 long years of being a republic, we are not toddlers anymore who can pooh anywhere. People of India should demonstrate more rational in their thought and action. It’s a time when a nation is mature enough to have more than one thing are in the list of priorities.

Come on guys! defecating in the open is neither hygienic nor a heritage which the future generations would badly miss.

BBC reported how tidying up is a ritual in a village and everyone – from tiny toddlers to toothless grannies – takes very seriously. This small, place is renowned as the cleanest village in India and not only that, it is clean enough to give the clean cities of Asia … a run for their money. If the people of Mawlynnong, a small  village in eastern India’s Maghalaya state can do it WE ALL CAN DO IT. It's easy! all we need to do is contribute our bit.

This Republic day lets pledge to clean our mind, our heart and the places where we live. Let us revive and relive the old dictum … Cleanliness is next to Godliness.

Are you preparing for your 100th Birthday

One of these days while browsing a magazine, this small news clipping caught my attention. I made a note of it with my phone cam.

Few days later I heard a radio program while in the car that spoke about the same subject. Arguably, one has to win jackpot with the right set of genes to live long. It also suggested that one’s lifestyle and geographical location plays equal vital roles.
The information available from various sources differed but what I discovered about the world of centenarians is simply amazing.An article published on 12 July 2011 reported that the highest number of centenarians of the world resides in the US. Japan does not have as many centenarians but it has a higher proportion of its population aged 100 years or more. Japan’s average life expectancy of 82.9 years is the longest lifespan among  the OECD countries as illustrated below.

On 11 September 2015, Japan Times quoted  Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare estimating the number of centenarians in Japan at 61568, hitting a record high for the 45th straight year.
Italy might not feature in the list of countries with high number of centenarians, but people living in a remote town in the western coast of southern Italy are subject of study. Independent of UK recently reported that the town of Acciaroli has a disproportionately high number of centenarians in its population of about 2,000.Researchers have shortlisted 4 cities where the "fountain of youth" seems to flow freely as narrated in a feature in the Huffington Post.

Okinawa, Japan: It appears that people there eat more vegetables and did not abandon the earlier food habits under pressure of fast foods reports another post. The top Longevity Foods from Okinawa are Bitter melons, Tofu, Sweet potatoes, Turmeric, Brown rice, Shiitake mushrooms and Seaweeds (kombu & wakame)

Loma Linda, California: Find faith appears to the secret of their longevity as the Seventh-day Adventists in Loma Linda don’t smoke, drink alcohol or consume caffeine and some of them are on vegetarian diet like Okinawa. The trade off is eight to ten years longer than the average American, that is.Like the people of Okinawa, some (but not all) Seventh-day Adventists of Loma Linda consume a mostly vegetarian diet.

Ikaria, Greece: The fountain of youth flows here and this place is dubbed the “island where people forget to die.” Centenarians here enjoy long lives without fear of dementia and other age-related chronic diseases. Their Mediterranean-mountain lifestyle of laughing and playing often up until the wee hours of morning kept them well even in their 90s. Their diet is mostly fruits, vegetables, beans and olive oil.

Nicoya, Costa Rica: The Nicoyans follow two principles in life. They have a clear sense of purpose in life and and sense of belonging with a strong community and family ties. Like people of Okinawa, they also age slowly than their compatriots.

....if you are leading the right lifestyle in the right place, better start preparing for the guest list for the 100th Birthday Celebrations. If you are lucky, most of your friends will be around to give you the bumps!

Red Carpet: Why you need a face Lift

Glamour of The Red Carpet

We have grown up seeing red carpets rolled out for VIPs and celebrities at every occasions. But, is the Red carpet red enough or it’s time for a change? I went about digging its past to propose a new future.

The earliest known reference in literature according to Wikipedia is found in the play Agamemnon by Aeschylus, written in 458 BC. Clytemnestra, the vengeful wife of  Agamemnon offered a red path to walk upon his return from Troy. Agamemnon, was wary of disrespecting Zeus and his fellow deities by walking on such luxury and responded:

"I am a mortal, a man; I cannot trample upon these tinted splendors without fear thrown in my path."

In 1821, President James Monroe was honored in South Carolina with a red carpet laid out to the river. Red as a color has long been associated with prestige, royalty and aristocracy and royalty with the passage of time gave way to film royalty. Walking the red carpet became most glorified when the movie stars and singers started to walk on it during awards ceremonies, particularly Oscars, Academy and Grammy. Unfortunately much of its exclusivity and lustre has been lost since stars from mediocre television programs started their own versions for their fans and paparazzi.

But what made red so exclusive? BBC quoted Sonnet Stanfill, senior curator at the Victoria & Albert Museum told BBC saying “Scarlet was among the most prized dyes as it was the most difficult to make and the most expensive.” Cochineal dye is made from the cochineal scale insect and this process could be traced back to the 15th Century when the Aztec and Maya people from north and central America used this for coloring fabrics.

Gone are days when Queen Elizabeth could forbid anyone except close members of the royal family from wearing scarlet, red or purple. On the contrary, with industrial progress, expensive materials of yesterdays are affordable to everyone today leaving virtually nothing for exclusivity.

While I am convinced that something should replace the Red carpet, I still could not figure out what it ought to be.

Happy Holidays

Last weekend we went to see a musical concert. The show was named "Under the Mistletoe", where musicians from Qatar performed to a packed auditorium. There were orchestra, wind symphony, singers and choirs performing separately and then coming together in unison for the grand finale.

This was extra special for us as our daughter was one of the performers. It's the second consecutive year she had performed in the Christmas show as part of the choir and we were probably among the first few to book our tickets.

I have uploaded the performances of the Choir and the Grand Finale in YouTube and invite you to get into the holiday mood for 2016.

Where are you father Christmas

Joy to the World

Tap Tap Tap

Tiny Little Baby Born in Bethlehem

The grand finale was particularly enjoyable as everyone got cranked up for the festive mood.

Demonetization - Black, White and many shades of Grey

In democracy, there is a strange feeling when it turns out that the person or motion you did not support has won. A feeling that resonates among thousands of Americans today after Trump’s triumphant win. Many Indians had similar feeling after the last general election and more recently after the demonetization of currency. As a result of that they are still burning inside with frustration.

Let us not take a bipartite approach to life or belief as Mr. George W Bush’s dictated once upon a time ..  “you are with us or with the terrorists”, he said. Let’s look at the bigger picture and try to accept the good even if it is with the customary “Umm!” and “Uuuh!”

Life offers multiple shades of grey between black and white! One doesn’t necessarily has to sweat in making THE decision as there are abundant opportunities to be selective while cherry picking own likes and dislikes.

Now that enough bytes and energy has been expended in support, opposition, criticism and debates on various aspects of  demonetization, it’s time in my opinion to accept Demonetization as a reality. Com’on it's not going to go away .. no matter how much inconvenience or discomfort it might cause, the country is abiding by it. It would therefore be nice of the economists, analysts, academicians and so called experts to bring in some suggestion to improve the implementation process rather than being judgmental, critics or simply sarcastic commentators.

Even one optimistic layman like me would not doubt that the cash crunch will remain in the short to mid term and perhaps the economy will also shrink to a certain degree. But then people will also start getting used to the new way of life with less cash dealings. It is therefore time to shift focus from wasteful discussions and embrace the new style of functioning. History has taught us that every change brings along new opportunities and this time it will be no different. 

So Rise and Shine people, let's rejig our lifestyle as we explore  the new opportunities that are going to unfold and be prepared to grab those as they surface. If you are of the opinion that thousands of crores collected by the banks will be given away only to rich businessmen or large corporate, you are going to miss an opportunities to start your own enterprise just by  being prejudiced.

A few points to consider :

• If you think that Indians will not cope up with bank cards or E-commerce, think about mobile phones and remember our life during the past decades.
• If you think our government will not succeed with cash regulations, remember how  merrily we smoked in our planes, trains and public buses not so long ago.
• If you feel a grudge that few selected industrial houses were tipped off about demonetization, you will be naive to think they keep unlimited cash stashed in a pit or inside a cupboard. Their money work and grow outside and that's why they are rich.
• If you think that dirty money is a myth, then look at the images below of desperately destroyed banknotes.