A Tribute to Jane Goodall

September 6, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , ,

I studied anthropology Hons in Bangabasi College under University of  Kolkata and heard her name when I was studying primatology.  I regularly watch the National Geographic channel and read its magazines.  The article written by Shubhobroto Ghosh “Chimps Feel” on January 29, 2007 pays the tribute to the great primatologist whose dedicated research is highly praiseworthy.  Evolutionary biologists Steven Jay Gould opined that the work of Goodall “represents one of the Western world’s greatest scientific achievements.”  Viewers of National Geographic Channel are amazed as they watch her patiently watching the chimpanzees in her field studies in Gombe, Africa. 

 

Jane Goodall is a field researcher whose study on ethology (study of behavior of animals) made us aware of the animal world from the psychological point of view.  Kolkatans got the opportunity to watch her when she came to promote the Wildscreen Film Festival.  This festival was organized by British Council.  Goodall spoke extensively on how she conducted science and challenged conventional perceptions.  She said, “When I started studying chimpanzees in 1960 at the Gombe National Park in Tanzania, no one would ascribe emotions or feelings to animals.  Well, now they do.”  Her work on the chimpanzee making tools and using them is regarded as groundbreaking discovery.  This toolmaking behavior was previously regarded as unique in mankind. 

 

Goodall’s Approach to Ethology:

 

1.  It is unique as she gave names to the chimps rather than numbering them.

 2.  She believed that nonhuman species can emote as we do.  It may be romantic to the layman but scientific evidence now supports her belief.

 

I feel proud and think that the researchers on animal behavior should regard her as the ideal as she is totally dedicated in her research.  Goodall explained from the evolutionary perspective on the feeling of awe in animals.  She said, “Spoken language would have enabled our ancestors to articulate feelings of awe, feelings that would lead to religious belief, then to organized worship.”  Beyond man, there is evidence of this behavior.  At the waterfall in the Kakombe Valley, the chimpanzees aggregate and show a slow rhythmic motion performing a magnificient dance for more than 10 minutes.  Goodall believes that is the chimpanzee’s style of demonstrating awe much in the way of our prehistoric ancestors may have discussed such feelings.  This probably lead to the development of organized religion.  So in science it is the observation power that works.  Beyond humans, Goodall has pointed again and again that  animals shows such behaviors, which were previously thought to be unique to human.  Goodall thinks that science and religion can exist side by side.  She is opposed to Richard Dawkins view that the religion is the root of all evil.  Goodall points to spirituality and the sheer diversity of life on earth is responsible for it.  She thinks that like science, religion can go beyond materialism.

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Amazing Adyapeath

September 6, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , , , ,

It was a wonderful Sunday afternoon. I came out of my house with my beloved father.  We took a bus from the B.T. Road.  The bus was a West Bengal Surface Transport bus.  A very comfortable bus in white color.  The seats are comfortable and helps you travel comfortably.  We went to Dakhineswar.  The bus was Rs. 6.  We came down at the bus stand in Dakhineswar and went towards the left where we took a rickshaw, which took Rs. 10.  The rickshawpuller took us to the temple of Adyapeath. 

 

At the gate, there were many sweet shops and flower shops for offering puja in the temple.  There are many temples inside.  As you enter through the gate, you will sea a large building where cultural programs are held.  In Bengali, we call it “natmandir.”  The beautiful temples are lined on the left.  The temples are mostly devoted to Lord Shiva.  The rooms are small with a Shiva Linga placed in it.  It is black in color.  In between these Lord Shiva temple, there is a temple of Kali and an Adyama. 

 

A marble structure with beautiful design can be seen on the right which is just behind the cultural program hall.  The structure is amazing.  But its gates are closed.  I heard from my mother that the gates open at the time of sandhya arati (evening prayer in Bengali). 

 

An organization called Ramkrishna Sangha controls this Adyapeath.  Its address is Dakhineswar, Kolkata – 700 076.  The phone number is 2564-6999/5553.

 

The different occasions in which the temple is open for 52 days are as follows:

 

Sri Panchami, Nag Panchami – 2 days.

Durga Saptami, Basanta Saptami – 2 days.

Janmasthami, Radhastami, Durgastami, Basanti Astami – 4 days.

Shukla Nabami and Krishna Ekadashi – 24 days.

Durga Dashami and Basanti Dashami – 2 days.

Lakshmi Purnima, Rash Purnima, Jhulan Purnima, Dol Purnima – 4 days.

 Dipannita Amaboshya, Mahalaya Amaboshya – 2 days.

Sankranti – 12 days.

Total —– 52 days.

 

The important activities of Ramkrishna Sangha of Dakhineswar are as follows:

  1. Orphanage for poor and sick boys–Adyapeath Boy Orphanage.
  2. Orphanage for poor and sick girls – Adyapeath Girl Orphanage.
  3. Separate old age homes for old men and women.
  4. Women Ashram for women who have no son and husband.
  5. Monikuntala Girls School (Primary and Junior High).
  6. Ma-Moni Shishu Niketan (Children’s Home).
  7. Sanskrit University.
  8. Daily Help for 500 poor people.
  9. Mobile charitable dispensary.
  10. Ambulance Service.
  11. X-ray Clinic, ECG, Dental and Eye departments.

 

Any donation to this organization is free of tax.  You can send your donations to the address:  “Dakshineswar Ramkrishna Sangha Adyapeeth.”  Adyapeeth, Kolkata -700076, West Bengal.  Phone:  2553- 5553/1999, Fax:  91-033-2553-1999.

 

This organization has been dedicated to the respected Nihar Kumar Majumdar and Mother Shanti Mazumdar.  Sri Kalyan Kumar Mazumdar and Srimati Tapasi Majumdar has dedicated the organization in the name of the above mentioned father and mother.  This organization is beautiful and you will feel great visiting it!!

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Antisocial Personality Disorder

September 6, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged ,

I read an interesting article named “Corrupt Society” published in the KnowHow page of The Telegraph dated January 29, 2007.  It was written by Dr. Gita Mathai, a pediatrician at the family practice at Vellore.  I appreciate the article as it is very analytical and informative.  Being a medical transcriptionist, we hear a variety of diseases of the American patients and I feel that those who suffer from this disorder are dangerous to society.  She points out the murderers Mohinder Singh Pandher and Surendra are suffering from the Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD).  The statistics say the deadly disease is common in about 3% male and 1% female population.  Chronic criminals suffer 30 to 80%.

 

 

A person of ASPD is CORRUPT.  The ASPD patients exhibit the following traits.  They are as follows:

C – Cannot follow the law.

O – Obligations ignored.

R – Remourselessness.

R – Recklessness.

U – Underhandedness.

P – Planning deficit.

T – Temper.

 

Unfortunately there are no specific tests to identify this disorder.  Only after 18 the diagnosis is made if three of the above-mentioned symptoms are seen at the age of 15 years.

 

The diagnosis is based on the following points:

  1. Clinical interviews.
  2. Self-rating personality surveys.
  3. Rating from co-workers and family.

 

Color brain scan is a technique in which the varying emotions light up the different areas of brain.  They showed emotional blunting when they are shown faces of happy and neutral faces.  The ASPD patients did not get frightened when they are shown frightening photographs.  The ASPD patients are unable to process emotional signals.  The horrifying fact is that they feel no sympathy or empathy and proceed with horrifying acts of cruelty and violence.

 

ASPD can be prevented to some extent in the following ways:

  1. With nurturing during the first five years of life, from caring individuals if the parents are unavailable.
  2. Satisfactory parenting with consistent reasonable and logical discipline, which is not harsh and arbitray.
  3. Starting psychiatric counseling in childhood if pyromancy or cruelty to animals is noticed.
  4. Watching for signs of drug addiction or crime in teens.
  5. Not arranging a marriage for an alcoholic or drug addict in the hope that matrimony and family responsibility will provide a miraculous cure.

 

My Comment:  I briefly discussed the contents of the article above and this article tells the medical reason for the Nithari killings.  It shows that a disorder can cause havoc to human society.  It can ruin the life of many if not detected and cured at the early stage.  So I would advise the parents to be vigilant on their children’s activities.  The criminals of the antisocial personality disorder should not be released on bail as they will commit more crimes.  They should be electrocuted or given death sentence.  The punishment I am suggesting seems harsh to my readers but there is no substitute of that in case of a hard core criminal.

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Shyampukur House of Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa

September 6, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

I go to this house at Shyampukur.  This house is located near the Town School. It’s a wonderful place where you will feel cool and a wonderfully satisfying experience.  This place looks from outside very simple and dull but when you enter and sit for a minimum 15 minutes in the prayer hall, you will see the change in you.  The prayer hall located at the first floor is wonderful.  It’s a wonderfully silent and remarkably elegant.  You might be a nonbeliever in God but it is a place where you are worshipping a person whose presence can be felt even though he is absent at present.  There are some people whose deeds emerge bright among the millions of people because of the reputation of their religiousness to life and their respect for human beings.  The teachings of Lord Ramkrishna is good for teaching in college and school as a compulsory paper.  This is what I believe after reading the book I bought recently from Dakshineswar temple.  This book was written by Swami Abhedananda.  The book is written in Bengali.  The name of the book is “Ramkrishner Jibon O Bani.”  The price of the book is Rs. 55 and I thank my Jethima who helped me purchase the beautiful book.  The bookseller was selling the book in front of the room of Lord Ramkrishna.  The book was published by “Sri Ramkrishna Vedanta Math.”  (Address:  19 A and B, Raja Rajkrishna Street, Kolkata – 700 006). 

 

The first floor of the house has the prayer hall.  The color of the room’s wall is white.  In the room, you will find there photos, Sri Ramkrishna, Sarada Maa, and Swami Vivekananda and a photo of Maa Kali also.  I became a devotee of Maa Kali when I got a holiday on the Kali Puja last year in 2008.  I travelled different pandals and took photos with my digital camera of Kodak.  I felt that Maa Kali has the power and the beauty which magically mystifies the mind of the devotee!!  There were other rooms I saw in the house.  There is a room for cooking, a room where there is a museum where the activities of house have been pictorially represented with inscriptions underneath each of them in Bengali.  The room is beautifully decorated.  There is another room where different photos were displayed. 

 

The members of Shyampukur Bari  Ramkrishna Parshad san 1292 (1885) are as follows:

 

  1. Kali Prasad Chandra (Abhedananda) (1866-1939)
  2. Lakhtu-Ram (Lattu) (died 1920).
  3. Narendranath Dutta (1863-1902).
  4. Kalipada Ghosh (18490-1905).
  5. Mahendranath Gupta (Master) (1854-1932).
  6. Ram Chandra Dutt (1851-1899).
  7. Tarak Nath Ghosal (Shivananda) (1854-1934)
  8. Gopal Chandra Sur (Adyutinanda). (1878-1909).
  9. Shashibhushan Chakraborty (1863-1911) (Ramkrishnanda).
  10. Surendranath Mitra (1850-1890).
  11. Girish Chandra Ghosh (1844-1912).
  12. Rakhal Chandra Ghosh (Brahmananda) (1863-1922).
  13. Nityaranjan Ghosh (Nirajananda) (1862-1904).
  14. Debendranath Majumdar (1844-1911).
  15. Manindra Krishna Gupta (1871-1940).
  16. Jogindra Nath Chaudhury (Jogananda) (1861-1899).
  17. Purna Chandra Ghosh (1871-1913).
  18. Baburam Ghosh (Premananda) (1861-1918).
  19. Sharat Chandra Chakraborty (Saradananda) (1865-1927).
  20. Mahendra Lal Sarkar (1833-1905).

 

This is a collection of photos with the names of the person and their popular names written on it.  You will come to know the people who loved and respected and became a member of this committee. 

 

The address of the Shyampukur house is 55A, Shyampukur Street, Kolkata – 700 004.

 

Sri Ramkrishna came in the house on 1292, 17th Ashin, Friday (October 2, 1885).  He left the house on san 1292, Agrahan 27 (December 11, 1885).

 

 

You enter the Shyampukur house and on the left side on the ground floor you will see an office.  In front of the office, there is a photo frame and beneath it there is something written below in English.  I am presenting you the content here and it tells us about the house in detail.

 

It was Friday.  The ninth day of the lunar fortnight (the third days of worship of Durga), October 2, 1885 A.D., (Aswin 17, 1292 Bengali era).  Sri Ramkrishna, the incarnation of God, came to the Shyampukur house by a horse drawn carriage at 7:30 p.m. from the house of Balaram Basu, his devotee.  This arrival of Sri Ramkrishna had the semblance of the arrival of God Himself by a chariot.  This journey by the chariot reached its final at Cossipore Garden House, on December 11, 1885.  According to Gupta Press Alumnac, October 2 was an auspicious day for a journey.

 

The devotee Kalipada Ghosh, the prominent personality of this locality, and caretaker of this Shyampukur House, Annada Bagchi, the famous painter of Sikdar Bagan, and some other devotees were furnishing a room of Shyampukur house that very day.  This room would be the abode of Sri Ramkrishna.  They were busy beautifying the room with the portrait of different Gods and Goddesses, such as the pictorial representations of the chanting of Gods y Mahaprabhu, Yashodha and Bal Gopal (Sri Krishna) and of the Redemption of Ahalya.  At the moment, the sound of the stoppage of the carriage were heard.  The devotees came out to the verandah and saw Paramhansa Dev alighting from the carriage.  He did not intend to come to the Shyampukur house that day.  But pandit Sashadhar Tarkachuramoni informed him that it is auspicious day for a journey before 7:30 p.m.  At that time, Shyampukur house stood to the north of th eunmetalled Shyampukur street.  The building extended from east to west.  In the entry, there was a terrace on the right and left.  There was also a narrow porch.  A few steps ahead on the right was the staircase leading to the first floor.  Moreover, there was a lawn (mudd) in the center (middle) of the building.  There were two rooms on each side of the side of the porch.  On reaching the first floor through the staircase one could see on the right a big room extending from north to south.  This room was specially meant for the public in those days.  The room lead to the rooms on the left extending from the East to West.  It lead first drawing room where Sri Ramkrishna used to put up.  The room had verandah north to south.  This room is specially meant for the public in those days.  The rooms on the left extending from east to west.  It lead to the drawing room where Ramkrishna used to put up.  The room had a verandah north to south.  The northern verandah was quite wide (spacious).  To the west, there were two small rooms, some of the devotees used one as bed room, Sri Sri Maa spent nights in the other.  The room meant for the public had a narrow verandah in the west on the eastern side of the passage leading to the room, of the master started the staircase leading to the roof.  On the side of the door, opening to the room, there was a shaded terrace with an area of four cubic square.

 

Sri Sri Maa spent her days in this terrace away from the devotees and also cooked the necessary diet for the master there.  The arrangement of the working to the attendants were done in the rooms to the right of the lawn by and which open field could be seen.

 

In those days, there was no too shroud building around Shyampukur house and hence this house could be seen from the roof of Balaram Bhavan.  Sri Ramkrishna identified Shyampukur House from the roof of Balaram Bhavan to his devotees like Rakhal Chandra Ghosh.

 

I first went to this Shyampukur house with my mother.  She showed me the beautiful place where Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa passed the final moments of his life.  To me, Sri Ramkrishna is beautiful because I feel wonderfully calm and I feel the house has an air of purity and a beautiful serenity which is absent at Dakshineswar temple.  I experience an extraordinary charm in this personality and also I love and respect Swami Vivekananda, this disciple.  If you sit in this prayer hall for approximately 15 minutes and meditate, you will feel and it’s a matter of feeling.  I cannot define in words the feeling I have for this divine person who has no certificate degrees but the wisdom of the divine person sets him apart from the so called educated elites of the present times.

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My Interpretations of The Teachings of Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa

September 6, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , ,

  1. The purpose of human life is the attainment of the God.  We can say in other words the attainment of divine beings.  There are many things to chase in life.  To a nonreligious person, the chase involves money and property and fame above all!  But when we return after a tired day from work, we do not get any outlet for our feelings.  If you go to a secluded place and meditate imagining a face of Sri Krishna, you will feel cool.  It hardly matters whether the Lord Krishna existed or not, but what really matters is your feeling, a feeling which comes from within when you will see the world full of fraud.  You will feel helpless as the world is infested with fraud people whose sweet smile and words might mesmerize you but you will understand how wicked a mind is!  I first realized this when I started to play chess.  Yes, you will loose the game when you do not look further 2 or 3 moves ahead of yours. 
  2. Everybody has the right to pray the God.  As a heavenly body at night called Moon is everyone irrespective of continents, similarly we can all pray God. 
  3. There is no conflict in having a family life and praying God.  You can do them simultaneously.  Your family belongs to whom? It belong to the Almighty Being.  To the Christian, it belongs to Lord Jesus.  To the Hindu, it belongs to his favorite deity.  To the Muslim, it belongs to Prophet Mohammad.  The teachings of Quran through light on peace but the scripture is often misinterpreted.  Overstress on one side, I mean, if you pray God and neglect family life, it is bad.  You have to carry out your family and religious life simultaneously.  I have seen this in my father.  He also studied religion a lot and now he is leading a family life.  If you do not lead a family life and become a sadhu (saint), your suppressed biological desires will spring out abnormally and soon you will become a “pervert.”
  4. Whatever you do, keep your mind on the Almighty God. Take care of your kids, wife, father and mother.  Always keep in mind, they are not yours.  Your first friend is your mother who experienced the pain to bring you in this beautiful earth.  Then comes your dad and then the rest.  Take care of your mother and father.  Never imitate other cultures especially western cultures blindly.  Try to follow a lifestyle that is typically Indian.  Your work mind involve working with America or some other foreign lands but never try to absorb their cultures into yours as it will affect your family life.  Excessive partying and drinking might spoil your family life.  The side effects are drug addiction, alcohol consumption, smoking, etc.  So always think before you do anything!  When you are in trouble, its your parents who pray for you the most, then comes your friends.  Always help them with money and mental support.  They are the “embodiment of the God.” 
  5. Do work in one hand and use the other hand to pray God.  After your work, pray God using both hands.  So this teaching emphasizes on work.  Always remember “work is God.”  Today I told my colleague to check the file once again.  I am working in a back office doing the job of medical transcription.  My friend is also experienced.  I advised him to revise the file that he has listened through the headphone.  There are chances of the account may go away due to fault in the medical file.  The editors have a work pressure.  They might overlook.  But he got impatient of going home and sent the file once.  So its important to work with concentration.  Praying God neglecting important work will not help getting His blessings.

 

My Interpretations of The Teachings of Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa Part II

 

  1. Have faith in God.  Then start a family.  You will be impatient in times of danger, anger and sorrow.  Never be greedy about wealth and properties.  It spoils the very purpose of a good living.  Life loses its charm and a number of complications arise.  I have seen brothers and sisters fight and murder each other for property.  So a moderation in everything is good.  It is good to follow the middle path.  Be conscious of property but upto a certain limit.
  2.  Have a family after winning conscience and self-sacrifice.  In the family life, the emotions are like crocodiles.  Add “haldi” to body and come to the water filled with crocodile, there is no fear.  The conscience and self-sacrifice are like “haldi”.  “Haldi” is a yellow colored powder used in cooking and religious purposes.
  3. If you have faith, you can attain God.  Faith helps you to attain many things in life.  The primary thing where faith helps you win the respect of your senior in your office and family.  Faith in one good person in life can change your life as you assimilate his teachings.  The person whose teachings has shown light to many people is the respected Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa.
  4. God wants your deep respect, love, conscience, etc.  God is a slave of devotion.  A devoted follower of God can attain Him easily.  This attainment can be achieved through good deeds e.g. charitable work.

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Web Socializing at Work Place

September 6, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , ,

The use of social networking sites at work place has become a habit to many office goers if they get a chance.  This networking sites are created in such a way to make you addicted.  You log in to a networking site, for example, Orkut and you get to see your friends who are online and start talking with them in Google Talk, which is now within the site.  This can be done while you checking the Google Mail.  There is a website called way2sms where you can talk logging into Google and Yahoo IDs.  There are attractive communities where you can interact with thousands of people by posting your message.  You can watch videos from different profiles provided they are accessible and if they are in your friends list or sometimes restricted for outsiders who are not your friends.  You can get friends who have the same hobby as yours.  You get in touch with hundreds of likeminded people and develop a network as per your mentality and cultural background.  So here comes the addiction when you cannot live for a moment without it.  Even mobile phones can be used for Orkut, Facebook, etc. just by downloading an application.  So every time you are online and in touch with people around the world!  If some one stops you from using the networking site, he becomes a nuisance to you.  You boss wants productivity and so I have seen companies installing software to block the networking sites.  It is always a better option not to use it in work place and it helps you concentrate more on work.  On the other hand, the addicts of networking sites never think that their work is going fine, so why the ban on the sites.  But the level of work the company wants and the level of competition the companies face is really tough.  So it has become a matter of survival.  Therefore whether to use it or not to use has become a million dollar question.

 

I used Orkut a lot and had reached 830 friends and it included people from countries like India, Brazil, United States, etc.  I have now reduced it to 150!!  Still I am not sure all are genuine profiles.  But gradually I realized most of them are fake and create five or six IDs.  There are many fake profiles in a networking site and in this world, anyone can copy your profile and create a profile like yours copying your photos.  Even my friends’ account have been hacked and I have seen my account hacked too.  So it is better you leave the fake world and make friends in your office and neighbourhood whose help will bring joy and satisfaction in your life.  About using networking sites from home, my advice is to keep it private at home or from cyber café.  At your leisure time, you do as you like but at work, concentrate on work because always remember work is something that will bring prosperity in your life with the blessing of God will always be with you.

 

Keeping in touch with your favorite friend is a good habit.  Take my example, I work in a medical transcription company, the company allows access to networking sites but I rarely take such an opportunity to open Orkut or Facebook.  The home or cyber café is the right place to do that.  A Boston based firm conducted a survey on the effect of the social networking at the workplace.  The report states that the productivity is hit hard and it reduces 1.5% of productivity as the output of the employee and the organization is dependent on a number of factors.  It could be because of lethargy or disenchantment.  In my opinion, people become so de-stressed that they come to an inertia of rest rather than inertia of motion.  Do you remember Newton’s First Law? Yes, that is exactly what I mean to say.  As per the Third Law of Newton, the reduced productivity will affect the employee’s incentive for the month and finally the increment.  Taking work casually comes due to a casual attitude and in a workplace, being over relaxed will leave you sidelined for further promotion in your job.  The social networking includes a wide range like talking over the phone, texting, e-mail, and good old-fashioned personal interaction.  The employers have not put restriction over the use of phone and stepping out of lunch.  But they are regarding the networking sites as a menace in the workplace causing reduced productivity.  But from the humanitarian point of view, social networking does not make life mechanical and insular.

 

If you spent a few minutes with the help of networking sites will help develop new contacts, which will enhance productivity.  A recently conducted research at the University of Melbourne stated that 9% time spent on the internet at work for fun increases the productivity.  If an organization is friendly to the employees, then there will be no dearth of productivity as per the Melbourne study.

 

The use of networking sites are work place should be restricted.  It is better to use at home or cyber café and after all your future is in your hand, and it is always better to do work first and play games and chat in the sites later.  In this competitive world, if you get sacked for your addiction, you will lose confidence in life.  This should not happen and so the priority must be work.  I have realized this 2 years later.  I was also an addict like most people but now use it mostly in cyber cafes or home.  It is better to develop real life friends, take the friends of your networking sites as many as possible and talk over phone.  This develops a good habit of talking with the person and a good style of talking is highly valuable and people will love you more if you talk over phone rather than leave a message in the networking site, which is rather a cool option.  If the person in your networking site does not reveal his/her real identify, then just delete the individual.  When solving cyber crimes, the detectives see who are the friends and your name probably will crop up being the suspected person’s friend.  So it is better to avoid fishy profiles.

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Real Life Tom and Jerry Show

September 6, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , ,

On August 5, 2009, a Tom and Jerry show occurred in front of me.  It’s an urge to get out as I chased the mouse that entered the bathroom.  It quickly slipped into the hole.  My mother warned me not to go to the ground floor room but as I wanted to write blogs in my computer, I went there and switched on the light.  Then I closed hole that drains water out of the room.  Suddenly I found a mouse moving around in the attached bathroom.  I wanted to open the hole so that it can pass out but it pushed the rag to the side and passed out swiftly.  While moving out of the hole, it said, “Cheekkkk!!”  I think it meant “Hurray!  I am free!”  It went to the outside dark corridor where he will join his friends and tell the story how a boy chased him. 

 

In the Cartoon Network, the Tom and Jerry is a very popular cartoon.  The cartoon is popular as it is full of action with its story full of twists.  The mouse always trying to get free from the cat called “Tom.”  The Jerry, the cute little mouse living in a hole of the house where the cat is kept as a pet.  The Americans love cats and love to keep them as pet. 

 

The mouse’s escape from my hand has got a higher level of meaning.  We have heard of the popular saying “When the cats are away, the mouse play.”  Here there is no one and usually they love damp, desolate  and dark places.  Our ground floor room is cool, dark and desolate.  We, most of the times, live on the first floor.  Here the cat symbolizes the family member living in the house and the mouse is the animal in real life.

 

Tom and Jerry show happens frequently in real life.  The fight between the America and Osama Bin Laden has become a Tom and Jerry Show.  The cat being the American Army and the mouse is the cunning Osama Bin Laden who always finds a way out of the grip of the American campaigning in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Inexplicable Topics

September 6, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , ,

There are some topics that science cannot explain.  There are ghosts, UFOs, intuition, big foot or loch ness, déjà vu, near death experiences, psychic powers or ESP, and the body-mind connection.

 

Intuition can be called gut feelings.  It is the sixth sense.  We have all experienced intuition.  We pick up information subconsciously.  It leads us to a sense or know information without knowing exactly how or why we exactly know it.  But cases of intuition are difficult to prove and study.

 

Near death experiences are experienced by people who were once near death have sometimes reported various mystical experiences such as going into a tunnel and emerging in a light.  While such experiences are profound, no one has a proof.  The experiences can be described as the hallucination of the traumatized victims.  There is no way to know what is the cause of this near death experience.

 

Psychic Powers and extra sensory perception is ranked as the interesting phenomena which cannot be explained. Many people believe intuition is a form of psychic power.  People with psychic powers have been tested and the results have been negative. The powers are said to diminish in the presence of scientists.  So this will be proved by the scientists.

 

Ghosts are spirits of the dead that have made appearance in our folklore.  The ghosts of strangers and loved ones are seen.  Their existence is elusive.  The eyewitnesses have reported communicating with them.

 

UFOs are unidentified flying objects.  People see objects in the sky that they cannot identify.  It may range from aircraft to meteors.  The investigation has found known causes for those findings.

 

Big Foot/Loch Ness:  Big Foot was seen in America and Tibet.  They are large, hairy, man like beasts.  The evidence are the photos and eyewitnesses that are ambiguous.  Science cannot explain the existence of Loch Ness monster also.

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Genetic Analysis of The Original Inhabitants of Andaman Islands

September 6, 2009 · Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged , , , ,

The scientists at a medical center in Port Blair have kept the samples of white blood cells in a freezer.  A biologist helped invade a virus invade the cell and destroy its cellular machinery.  The cells will remain in this chemical broth forever.  This is quite different from the source of the cells.  The samples have been taken from those people who lead a primitive life hunting wild pigs and turtles.  The group roams the forest for fruit and honey. So this is the sample of blood from a hunter-gatherer group.  To this group, bows, arrows and fire are sophisticated technology.  Just imagine!  This is the most mystery riddled and least known tribe in India.  Yes, you have made the right guess.  They are the inhabitants of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago.  Being a student of anthropology at the graduation level, I was studying at Bangabasi College in Kolkata when my head of the department Ratna Bhattacharya took us to the Anthropological Survey of India at Maharashtra.  She showed us the human genetics labs where the experts explained how the gene analysis is being done on the lab. 

 

The research is going on in a team with the scientists from Port Blair, Hyderabad and New Zealand.  The study will throw light on the following points:

  1. Who were the first people who set foot on the island?
  2. Where did they come from?
  3. Did they all arrive in one go or succeeding migratory waves in small groups?
  4. The relation of the tribes with population groups in other parts of the world.

 

This research will take place in the following way.

  1. The white blood cells collected at the Port Blair laboratory will be frozen, packed in canisters of liquid nitrogen.
  2. The sample will then be taken to Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad for genetic analysis.
  3. Another group of cells will be preserved at the Regional Medical Research Center, Port Blair.

 

The population of the five tribes out of the six have reached to such a level that they are on the verge of extinction!  So analysis into their origin and their future at the genetic level is essential, otherwise this group of hunter gatherer will become extinct from the face of the earth.  They are leading a life of the Stone Age in this high technology driven competitive world.  Their world is totally different from ours and as I have seen from my field study of the Kolams  in Maharashtra, the influence of sophisticated technology can bring comfort to your life but you lose touch with nature and become a machine.  Only those living in close touch with nature feel what “nature” truly is and why should we protect nature for the betterment of our future generations.  The trees that surround us not only gives us oxygen but it helps us from the dangerous effects of global warming provided we plant more trees and stop others from cutting trees.  If you cut a single tree, plant three to compensate for the loss.  The importance of hunter-gatherer in the modern world is like the sense organs of the human body without which a human being cannot normally function.  A hunter gatherer extinction will lead to loss of ecological balance as it is for any other animal.  So their survival is important to our world. Let us not put the living species into stuffed museum show pieces as it looks awkward, odd, cruel and unrealistic.  Man being a selfish and highly intelligent animal fails to realize the consequences of his actions for his present biological needs.

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Generosity-A Genetically Inherited Trait

September 6, 2009 · Filed under psychology

I have seen a lot of stingy people in my life.  I have also seen generous people who can give money as well as other things like book without even thinking twice.  My father lends books to people with a smile.  He wants people to read more just like him.  Swami Vivekananda used to donate as much as possible.  Once he had thought of selling the famous Belur Math for money to help the poor.  I have been my mother giving old clothes to the poor in the flood relief and other social causes.  Generosity is a great human quality and it not only comes through nurture but through nature.  It is inherited as the new research in Jerusalem suggests.

 

A test was conducted online on 203 participants who could either give or away their money.  The gene marked by the scientists is called AVPRIa.  The people with this particular type of gene is 50% more likely to give money.  This wonderful discovery have been published in BBC news online edition.  This is the first evidence confirming a link between the real human altruism and genetic variability.  Ariel Knafo is the researcher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  Scientists closely observed and found that the gene AVPRIa help a great role in allowing a hormone called arginine vasopressin to act on the brain cells.  Vasopressin is a hormone implicated in social bonding.  The study appeared in the journal called Genes, Brain and Behavior.  A promoter is a part of the gene which is longer and plays a vital role.  The greater altruism is seen where the promoter part of gene is longer than the rest.  Dr. George Fieldman is a lecturer in psychology at Buckinghamshier New University.  Dr. Fieldman opines that there is an evolutionary significance of carrying this altruistic gene.  A good deed is likely to be reciprocated.

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