Arun's Corner

Sleeping is something I really don't like. Some people like to sleep. But anything excess than the required amount of sleep is simply a waste of time. Better live your life rather than sleeping it away. If there's any lesson I learned from mom's death, it is this: "All of us tend to postpone our lives. That we'll do this or that... after some criteria is met. All our life, we keep preparing for tomorrow." What do u gain? Tomorrow is a mirage. Tomorrow is like the bone hanging in front of a dog to keep the sledge moving. Heard of dog carts/sledges? They hang a bone in front of dogs so that the dogs run to get it. Since the bone too moves with the cart, the dog never gets it. Mom kept expecting better days n nvr lived her life. TODAY, ladies n gentlemen, is the first day of your remaining life. And so is every day until the unexpected end. Instead of waiting for a better tomorrow or fighting life to control it, just live. Live in whatever w...

The term 'Hindu' brings an image of people in India generally. Thus, people across the world consider Indians as Hindu. In India - locally - however, there is a huge confusion. People in India have been categorized as Hindu, Muslim, Christian etc by the lawmakers and intellectuals. It means Hindu is regarded a religion in India, or Hindustan, as it is known. The elements of Hindustan Hindustan Explained: Who is a Hindu? If you deconstruct the word 'Hindustan', you get 'Hindu' + 'sthan' (place). Combined, it means 'place of Hindus'. Here is when the confusion really begins . Certain sections of India (Hindustan) think that the country really belongs to Hindus - a religion called Hindu. But who is a Hindu? How do you define a Hindu? Prior to Supreme Court's ruling saying Hindu is not a religion, Savarkar came up with the word 'Hindutva' (हिंदुत्व) to represent the way Indians live. A Hindu can be anyone who finds his o...

The following is a page from my book on personality grooming and development. In due course, we'll be sharing excerpts from the book so that you get some tips while knowing what the book is about. If you haven't already, read our post on how to position your feet; how to walk properly on this blog. Coming to perfumes, it is too hard to find a genuine perfume these days, especially if you are looking one for men. All of them are deodorants with high percentage of alcohol. DON'T TRY TO TASTE IT. This alcohol is pretty different from one you have at bars Personally, I dislike the smell of AXE; They add mandarin to it; I don't know if that adds to smell, making it intolerant. Science says mandarin attracts females and hence those "falling angel ads" you see on TV and elsewhere. Check the package to make sure what you are buying. If you look carefully, the less advertised deo have lower level of alcohol. For example, Yardley and Park Avenue...

There are some books that you wish to finish quickly so that you know the end. And there are some books that you don't want to end. You start relating to the characters and wish to live with them forever. The plot of " God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy revolves around two kids. It is the story of the twins - Rahel and Estha. Maybe the author also wanted us to check out the untouchables in the then India. The narration style, writing style is of more importance for which, I can give it more than four stars. It feels like you are actually going through the kids' lives. You can imagine it... and not only that, you can actually feel the emotions the kids go through. Very few authors have the talent to write in a way that you can go through the feelings of the characters in their book. The last book of this type I read was from F Scott's This Side of Paradise and Virginia's Jacobs Room . They have their own style of narration. More tha...

The best method to solve unemployment problem is to give a deep thought to the social structure of ancient India. We need to go back, into the post Vedic history but pre-Mahabharata history. The sources are a little confusing/contradictory. I have tried my best to keep proper dates and duration in this article - based on majority of articles. That means, if more than one research paper cites a particular date, I've picked up those dates. Please note that these dates etc are just for your reference and may not be exact. The article expands on my previous article on how to solve unemployment problem in India - Education Structure. PART II: Lessons From Ancient India - Social Structure & Society This relates to the period when society was structured based on caste. Of course, the caste system still prevails in India but the lines are much blurred and the definition of caste nowadays is more hereditary rather than what is defined/explained in the Vedas - the ancient Hindu...

Bhishma is one of the powerful characters of the epic, Mahabharata that contains and shows a pious way of life to the mortals living on earth. I am starting this Analysis of Mahabharata Characters with Bhishma as he is the oldest character in the epic/saga and has tremendous influence on the other characters of Mahabharata. Bhishma was the son of king Shantanu and Ganga (the river Ganges in female form). Bhishma was considered one of the eight Vasus (rishis) who had to take birth on earth due to a curse. Before we analyze the character, let us take a quick look at the story of Bhishma according to the Mahabharata. Background Of Bhishma Bhismha is considered one of the eight Vasus who stole a cow named Kamadhenu from a sage. When the sage cursed them to take birth as humans, all Vasus asked for his forgiveness. The sage, for seven Vasus who helped the main Vasu to steal the cow, reduced the curse to death just after birth. However, the main Vasu who actually stole the cow was ...

If we take a look back at ancient India, during its glorified history, we could get lessons on how to solve unemployment problem in India. It is well known that different rulers and even queens took proper care of their society that was based on a system that reduced unemployment during those days. Let us check out how to weed out unemployment problem in India by looking at the days when India was still ruled by kings and queens. PART I: Lessons From Ancient India - The Educational System Not only unwanted subjects, But also a tough competition, Ruining Kid's Childhood, Making Them Inferior and Suicidal I cannot say about the scenario after the entry of Moghuls as I did not do proper research on that. I could not get relevant papers that I could trust so I will go a little back into the history. At that time, people were happier as they could find one or more income sources and that is what we are discussing here. Present society is like: 1) Go through el...

A popular politician said she does not like caste based politics in India and that her party does not believe in caste based society. A day earlier, on July 12 2013, HC banned caste based rallies. Probably, that was the reason she thenceforth does not like caste based rallies. This statement came two days after she addressed a Brahmin rally and one day after HC banned caste based rallies in India. When I called it bluff, a question popped up from somewhere saying what makes me think she believes in caste based society... Made me think - Maybe she doesn't really believe in caste based politics in India and maybe my views are biased. Let's check it out here.  The previous leader of that party had a vision to equate all castes in the society. But in the Indian society, caste system is so deep rooted that inter-caste relations often break strongest of bonds and even lead to honor killings. Forget others, even my 'liberal' family saw months of tension when y...

Someone posted a blog on IBN-LIVE asking why Hinduism should not evolve with current modern world? It further stressed on politicization of Hindu religion and the fact of Hindu unrest by quoting Salman Rushdie. While I do not think Hindu unrest is yet a worrying factor, it may turn out to be a violent movement if politicization of religion in India is not discontinued immediately. I'll attempt to answer why I think so. Quest is Hindu is Quest The blog asking if Hinduism/Hindutva amounts to fundamentalism and why are Hindus becoming intolerant etc was penned by some IBN-LIVE journalist named Sagarika Ghose (Twitter Handle @SagarikaGhose). I will first put up some of her questions that she asked about politicization of Hinduism and its evolution requirements in modern world. I guess she missed quoting other forms of religions politicization such as Muslim Appeasement and special packages for other Muslims and certain Christian communities. I too will leave out those...

There have been kings ever since we know history. Later, kingdoms changed to different forms of governments - some with kings and some totally by public. Ever wondered how the first government came into being? What is the concept of government? Who was the first government? How was the first government formed? I won't answer all the questions here. Rather, I will put down my thoughts on what I think is the closest story to how the first government was formed. Early Days On Earth To understand the concept of governments, we must look back to the  Stone Age. Most of us know about the cavemen. They hunted and provided for food. Cavemen lived in groups, often a family. Later, they discovered wheel and fire, which served as a boon to our existence. The tendency to live in groups must have come over by the fact that their ancestors were apes. And apes, just like most of the animals, live in groups - mostly for protection. The fact that unity is power is more known to animal...

This post expands on my previous blog on how to choose a college course. We discussed there that formal degrees, while good, do not provide a guarantee to a decent job. We talked about how your favorite subjects can provide you with vocational training that can be used either for job or own venture - as required. This post attempts to explain the unemployment problem in India - through a different lens.  I will not provide figures and statistics but rather, will talk about main causes of unemployment in India. A friend of mine asked how to choose college for a good job. This question acted as if someone triggered a remote bomb and my mind was full of major factors of unemployment across the world. Analyzing a little, I found few factors for the unemployment problem in India and third world. You might think why I placed India in the same line where I used the phrase 'third world'. That is because of the natural mindset of people. India has grown and progressed a lo...