Tid Bit from My Diary

Gymnast Dipa Karmakar qualifies for the finals in the Olympics 2016. She has made us proud and the whole country is looking at her with hope for a medal. She is without doubt the most famous person of the small hilly Indian northeastern state called Tripura. Here I share a few fabulous landmarks from this state which I happened to have visited during July 2016. The ujjayanta palace, the erstwhile home of the royals and currently a museum The South-side gate of the palace On the way to the Neer Mahal or the water palace The Rudra Sagar, which houses the water Neer Mahal Ma Tripureswari one of the Hindu Mythological Pith (holy places) Bhueswari Temple, the original home of Ma. The story of this temple is immortalized in one of Tagore's stories. The story narrates how human sacrifice was abolished by the compassion of little children. you can find more about it in one of my earlier posts here Maa-tripureswari

Sometimes we stare at a distant skyline and wonder about life. The thought of extraterrestrial life confuses us as we are unaware of any living beings in other planets of this large Universe. As a matter of fact, no one else knows about their existence either. First I think we are alone and then chuckle to conclude .... maybe not!

Integrity is the essence of everything successful..... . " I ntegrity for me means adherence to strong moral and ethical principles while conducting our life whether or not other people are watching. " Bucky Fuller’s ( R. Buckminster) statement therefore implies that one has to carry out all life activities within ethical and moral limits to be rewarded with success. Simply put, do good and it'll turn out good! There is no denying of the fact that integrity of character is the minimum one requires for a success story although this not always the most visible trait of successful individuals. There are unfortunately many corrupts who gatecrashed into that league but we can always argue that exception proves the rule. People have changed over the past century and today they are not so keen to retain the moral high grounds. Historian Warren Susman has opined in his book “ Culture as History: the Transformation of American Society in the Twentieth Century ” th...

The motives behind Motivation  was published by me on the Linked In. The global economy follows a pattern of peaks and troughs and the mantra to survive those inclement phases of recession is to stay prepared in advance. Readiness calls for periodic retrospection or self-appraisal followed by an honest endeavor to upskill ourselves. There is an old saying " if you aren't growing, you're dying " and this drive for growth often is what separates the outstanding from the adequate. The thought of “further development” invariably annoys us at the beginning and a common question that haunts us is “why bother about further development within our busy daily schedule?” A gentleman once confided that he would rather be investing that resources for the future of his children. But the harsh reality of present day life is that no jobs are permanent. Over the past decades, we have witnessed numerous profit making business models employing thousands around the globe goin...

It was a typical setup for such traditional restaurant,high back seats neatly packed against each other with a square table in between. He was sitting next to a young couple having an argumentative conversation and he inadvertently became part of a important chapter of their life story. “ Loving is not always an easy task. Love comes with it's share of pain and guilt. Men fall in love more than women but you simply do not care .” she said.   “ Yea! when women do fall in love, they become addicted to the feeling more easily. But unfortunately I am not a woman ” came the reply. “ People invariably find the person who they fall in love with attractive and they write poetry or sing love songs. You are so different and difficult, ” she quipped. “ This is not funny !” he said. “ Love is a mental disorder and I cannot transform into an insane to impress you. I am what I am. Period .” “ What's that you said? Now I know, I must be mad to love you so much ” she ...

There is an interesting story about deceptive painting involving two renowned Greek painters from around 464 BC. Zeuxis, once produced a still life so real that it convinced the birds to peck at the grapes in there. Parrahasius, a rival artist later invited Zeuxis to judge one of his paintings after pulling back a tattered curtains in his study. But when Zeuxis tried, he could not, as the curtains too were part of that Parrhasius's painting.  This form of painting would probably be categorized as l trompe-l'œil. Trompe-l'œil as defined by Wiki  is French for "deceive the eye". This is a technique of art which uses realistic imagery to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions. A typical trompe-l'œil mural might depict a window, door, or hallway, intended to suggest a larger room. This is also written as trompe l’oeil in English and is thought to have originated much earlier than our documented history. Exampl...

Life is not fair.It is a thought she felt started to cross her mind more often than anyone else in the whole world. This negative feelings came back without fail during her childhood whenever things went against her wishes. In the face of all odds of being a single parent, her mother was the epitome of positivity, who always kept her motivated. That was some 24 years back when she was just a little girl of 10 and could barely perceive what fairness in life really meant. “ I am born out of a wedlock and have never seen my father” was her biggest complaint. As a teen, she could barely find solace in the assurance that she was a love child born out of deep love and affection between two persons. It was too deep a philosophy for her to understand the complexities of human lives, their social constraints, their limits and helplessness. A couple who love each other cannot always get married and it is their love that let one see the constraints and shines the light to move on. “ Life...