communication

In India …Outside India …Perceptions Vary !!!

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Relatives- and their perceptions

Relation

In India

Outside India

Mother-in-law

A woman capable of making your life miserable.

A woman you never fight with, because where else you will find such a dedicated baby sitter for free ?

Husband

A boring human species, who listens more to his mother than you, and orders you around to serve him, his parents and siblings.

Still boring, but now a useful human species that comes in handy when the house needs to be vacuumed.

Friend

A person whose house you can drop into any time of the day or night and you’ll always be welcome.

A person whom you have to call first to check and make sure he is not busy.

Wife

A woman who gives you your underwear and towel when you go to take a shower.

A woman who yells at you not to leave tub dirty when you go to take bath.

Son

A teenager, who without asking will carry your grocery bags from the market.

A teenager, who suddenly remembers he has lot of homework when you start mowing the lawn.

Daughter

A lovely doll, who brings tears to your eyes during her marriage.

A lovely doll, who brings you to tears long before her marriage.

Father

A person you are afraid of, and who is never to be disobeyed .

A person to whom you pretend to obey, after all he is the one paying your college tuition.

Indian Engineer

A person with a respectable job and earning lots.

A person without a secure job, who always dreams one day he will be rich.

Doctor

A respectable person with OK income.

A money making machine, who has a money spending machine at home called ‘doctor’s wife’.

Bhangra

A vigorous Punjabi festival dance.

A dance you do, when you don’t know how to dance.

Software Engineer

A high-tech guy, always speaks in American accent, always anxious to queue in the consulate visa line.

The same hi-tech guy, who does Ganapati Puja everyday, and says ‘This is my last year in the US (or whenever)’every year.

A Green Card holder bachelor

the guy can’t speak Hindi, parents of good looking girls are dying to hook him, wears jacket in summer, says he has a BMW back there.

the guy can’t speak proper English, wears jacket all the time, works in a Candy store at Manhattan, dreams of owning a BMW

 

source:::::unknown….input from a friend of mine

natarajan

Do You Know !!!….Chocolate Kills Dogs !!!!

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1. Look at your zipper. See the initials YKK? It stands for Yoshida
Kogyo Kabushibibaisha, the world’s largest zipper manufacturer.

2. A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and
down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top.

3. A duck’s quack doesn’t echo. No one knows why.

4. 40 percent of McDonald’s profits come from the sales of Happy Meals.

5. 315 entries in Webster’s 1996 Dictionary were misspelled.

6. On the average, 12 newborns will be given to the wrong parents daily.

7. Chocolate kills dogs! True, chocolate affects a dog’s heart and
nervous system. A few ounces is enough to kill a small sized dog.

8. Most lipstick contains fish scales.

9. Ketchup was sold in the 1830’s as a medicine.

10. Leonardo da Vinci could write with one hand and draw with the
other at the same time.

11. Because metal was scarce, the Oscars given out during World War II
were made of wood.

12. There are no clocks in Las Vegas g@mbling casin0s.
13. Leonardo da Vinci invented scissors. Also, it took him 10 years to
paint Mona Lisa’s lips.

14. Bruce Lee was so fast that they actually had to slow a film down
so you could see his moves. That’s the opposite of the norm.

15. The original name for the butterfly was “flutterby”!

16. By raising your legs slowly and lying on your back, you can’t sink
in quicksand.

17. Mosquito repellents don’t repel. They hide you. The spray blocks
the mosquito’s sensors so they don’t know you’re there.

18. Dentists recommend that a toothbrush be kept at least six feet
away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the
flush.

19. The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley’s gum.
20. The first owner of the Marlboro Company died of lung cancer.

21. Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than the entire
Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.

22. Marilyn Monroe had six toes on one foot.

23. Adolf Hitler’s mother seriously considered having an abortion but
was talked out of it by her doctor.

24. The three most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca-Cola,
and Budweiser, in that order.

25. “Stewardesses” is the longest word that can be typed with only the
left hand.

26. To escape the grip of a crocodile’s jaws, prick your fingers into
its eyeballs. It will let you go instantly.

27. A mathematical wonder: 111,111,111 multiplied by 111,111,111 gives
the result 12, 345, 678, 987, 654, 321.

28. The most common name in the world is Mohammed.

29. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

30. The “pound” (#) key on your keyboard is called an octothorp.

31. The only domestic animal not mentioned in the Bible is the cat.

32. Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

33. The average person’s left hand does 56% of the typing.

34. “Dreamt” is the only word in the English language that ends in “mt”.

35. It’s impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.

36. In Chinese, the KFC slogan “finger lickin’ good” comes out as “eat
your fingers off”.

37. A cockroach can live for 10 days without a head.

39. We shed 40 pounds of skin a lifetime.

40. Yo-Yos were once used as weapons in the Philippines .

41. Coca-Cola can be used as car oil.

42. Mexico City sinks abut 10 inches a year.

43. Brains are more active sleeping than watching TV.

44. Blue is the favorite color of 80 percent of Americans.

45. When a person shakes their head from side to side, he is saying
“yes” in Sri Lanka .

46. There are more chickens than people in the world.

47. It’s against the law in Iceland to have a dog.

48. The thumbnail grows the slowest, and the middle nail grows the fastest.

49. The only word in the English Language with all vowels in reverse
order is “s ub c ont in ent al”.

50. There are more telephones than people in Washington, D.C.

 

source:::::unknown….input from a friend of mine

natarajan

When Telegrams Saved Lives …

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Telegrams are usually associated with the dreaded death messages. But in Madurai, telegrams had also saved lives.

“I could not recall the year exactly. A death convict was about to be taken to the gallows in the Central prison here. But his death sentence was reduced in the last moment and the verdict was sent through a telegram. We rushed to the prison and handed over the message to prison authorities saving the life of the prisoner,” said S Mayandi, a telegram messenger.

“Not only that. We were the vital link during disasters like cyclones. Alert messages and flood warning were sent through telegrams till telephone was introduced. During the cyclone in 1964 at Dhanushkodi telegrams were the primary tool of communication,” recalled Nammalvar, who retired in 2001 as chief telegraph master.

Nammalvar says that they used to get weather reports from Kodaikanal observatory and send them to Chennai regularly based on which disaster management plans would be devised. “I remember even many journalists sending their reports to their offices through telegram,” he said.

Mayandi said that they used to deliver up to 500 telegrams everyday between 1980 and 1990, the peak period in telegram usage in Madurai. “During wedding season we would even get 1,000 telegrams,” he recalls. Besides death and “keep body” messages informing to postpone cremation till a close relative arrives, messages on child births, transfers, extension of leave were also sent. “We used to cycle for miles in the dark of night to deliver the messages,” says Pandian, a telegraphist. “Money was also transferred through telegrams,” he added.

“The ‘kat kada’ sound of the morse code machine used to reverberate round-the-clock in the telegraph office until teleprinters came. Sending messages using morse code is itself a great skill,” said M Periayasamy. He said that they had to undergo an eight month-long course to learn the code.

Even as the employees reminisce the past, there seems to be a sense of melancholy as the days of telegraph has come to an end. “Telegraph is a service. Government should not look at it as a business venture and shut it down as there is no profit,” sais S Sooryan, district secretary of BSNL Employees Union.

source::::::Times of India

natarajan

R I P….Dear Telegram ….

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The 163-year old telegram service in the country — the harbinger of good and bad news for generations of Indians — is dead.

Once the fastest means of communication for millions of people, the humble telegram was on Sunday buried without any requiem but for the promise of preserving the last telegram as a museum piece.

Nudged out by technology — SMS, emails, mobile phones — the iconic service gradually faded into oblivion with less and less people taking recourse to it.

Started in 1850 on an experimental basis between Kolkata and DiamondHarbour, it was opened for use by the British East India Company the following year.

In 1854, the service was made available to the public.

It was such an important mode of communication in those days that revolutionaries fighting for the country’s independence used to cut the telegram lines to stop the British from communicating.

Old timers recall that receiving a telegram would be an event itself and the messages were normally opened with a sense of trepidation as people feared for the welfare of their near and dear ones.

For jawans and armed forces seeking leave or waiting for transfer or joining reports, it was a quick and handy mode of communication.

Lawyers vouched for the telegrams as they were registered under the Indian Evidence Act and known for their credibility when presented in court.


Bollywood was not to be left behind and immortalised the service with many sudden turns in films being announced by the advent of the taar.

Pockets of rural India still use the service but with the advent of technology and newer means of communication , the Telegram found itself edged out.

“The service will start at 8 am and close by 9 pm on Sunday  JULY 14 night,” BSNL CMD R K Upadhyay told PTI.

“The service will not be available from Monday.”   JULY 15

State-run telecom firm BSNL had decided to discontinue telegrams following a huge shortfall in revenue.

The service generated about Rs 75 lakh annually, compared with the cost of over Rs 100 crore to run and manage it.

Telecom and IT Minister Kapil Sibal had said last month that

“We will bid it a very warm farewell and may be the last telegram sent should be a museum piece. That’s the way in which we can bid it a warm farewell.”

There are about 75 telegram centres in the country, with less than 1,000 employees to manage them.

BSNL will absorb these employees and deploy them to manage mobile services, landline telephony and broadband services.

source:::::rediff.com

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Message For The Day….”You Must Care More for the Cleanliness of Your Mind…”

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A thirsty passenger asked the water carrier at an up-country railway station in India whether the leather bag in which they were serving water was clean. The reply the passenger received was, “As regards cleanliness, all I can say is that the bag which contains the water is cleaner than the bag which takes it in!” This statement conveys an important lesson. You must care more for the cleanliness of your mind and intellect than that of the external body. Instead of criticising others and finding fault with the actions of others, subject yourself to vigilant scrutiny. Understand your motives and actions in a deep manner and invest time in correcting your own faults. Do not be like the dancer who blamed the drummer for the wrong steps.
– Divine Discourse, Aug 19, 1964

 

Sathya Sai Baba

Message For The Day….Never Condemn Yourself As Inferior ….

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The whole world is very agitated and full of discontent, anxiety and fear; filled with petty faction and hatred. In order to calm and silence it, you must have enthusiasm and courage. When defeat and disappointment stare you in the face, you must not give way to weakness or despondency. Never condemn yourself as inferior or useless. Analyze the defeat and find out the reasons in order to avoid it the next time. You are not zeroes, you must become Heroes! You should have the muscles of iron and nerves of steel. Then your resolution itself will generate the necessary confidence and you will win over the opposition. For the crop of life, courage and confidence are the best pesticides and manure. Be like lions in the spiritual field, rule over the forest of senses and roam fearlessly with full faith in victory.

 

Sathya Sai Baba

” Now You Can Have The Duck ” !!!!

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‘Scottish Three Kick Rule” !!!
A Glasgow lawyer went duck hunting in rural Aberdeenshire . He shot and dropped a bird, but it fell into a farmer’s field on the other side of a fence.

As the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly farmer drove up on his tractor and asked him what he was doing. The litigator responded, “I shot a duck and it fell in this field, and now I’m going to retrieve it.”

The old farmer Peter replied, “This is my property, and you are not coming over here.”

The indignant lawyer said, “I am one of the best trial lawyers in Scotland and if you don’t let me get that duck, I’ll sue you and take everything you own.”

The old farmer smiled and said, “Apparently, you don’t know how we settle disputes in Mintlaw. We settle small disagreements like this with the ‘Three Kick Rule.’

The lawyer asked, “What is the ‘Three Kick Rule’?”

The Farmer replied, “Well, because the dispute occurs on my land, I get to go first. I kick you three times and then you kick me three times and so on back and forth until someone gives up.”

The lawyer quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided that he could easily take the old codger. He agreed to abide by the local custom.

The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the attorney. His first kick planted the toe of his heavy steel-toed work boot into the lawyer’s groin and dropped him to his knees!

His second kick to the midriff sent the lawyer’s last meal gushing from his mouth. The lawyer was on all fours when the farmer’s third kick to his rear end, sent him face-first into a fresh cow pie.

Summoning every bit of his will and remaining strength the lawyer very slowly managed to get to his feet. Wiping his face with the arm of his jacket, he said, “Okay, you old guy.  Now it’s my turn.”

The old farmer smiled and said, “No, I give up. You can have the duck.”

If you are educated, you’ll believe only half of what you hear. 
If you’re intelligent, you know which half…  
source:::: unknown…. input from a friend of mine …
natarajan
                  

Message For The Day…. Material Wealth Gives You Joy as well as Grief ….

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The last day of a Saptaha (seven-day discourse) is called Samaapthi. That word means, according to most people, the final function; but it has a more profound meaning too. Samaapthi means the attainment (Aapthi) of the Samam (Divine or Brahman). That is the final fruit of Shravana, Manana and Nidhidhyasana (Listening, Recapitulation and Assimilation) of key spiritual truths and lessons from discourses. In the worldly sense, it means the conclusion of a period of time. In the spiritual sense, it means transcending time! The lesson that all spiritual discourses wish to convey is that you must give up your pursuit of sensory objects, if you seek lasting peace and joy. Material wealth brings along with it, not only joy but grief as well. Accumulation of riches, multiplication of wants will lead only to alternation between joy and grief. Attachment is the root of both joy and grief. Detachment is the saviour.

 

Sathya Sai Baba

Message For The Day….You Are Only A Trustee of Your ” Property ” !!!!

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A millionaire pays income tax with tears in his eyes. A Headmaster joyfully gives up the furniture and laboratory appliances of the school when he is transferred to another place. Why? Because the headmaster knows and believes that he is only the caretaker, and is not the owner. They are not attached to these articles, for they know that these belong to the Government. So too, every one of you must feel that your family, your house, your fields, your car are all the Lord’s property. You are just a trustee and must be ready to give them up without murmur, at a moment’s notice. Sacrifice does not mean that you should not attach value to things. You must indeed care for everything. But remember, that all of them are transient and the joy they give is very trivial and temporary. Know their real worth, do not overestimate them and develop attachment to them.

 

Sathya Sai Baba

Just For Laugh !!!… ” Stay Cool Malcolm ” !!!

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A woman in a supermarket is following a grandfather and his badly behaved 3 year-old grandson.

It is obvious to her that he has his hands full with the child screaming for sweets in the sweet aisle, biscuits in the biscuit aisle; and for fruit, cereal and pop in the other aisles.

Meanwhile, Granddad is working his way around, saying in a controlled voice, “Easy, Malcolm, we won’t be long . . .. Easy, ..”

Another outburst and she hears the Granddad calmly say, “It is okay, Malcolm, just a couple more minutes and we’ll be out of here. Hang in there, boy.”

At the checkout, the little terror is throwing items out of the cart and Granddad says again in a controlled voice, “Malcolm, Malcolm, relax buddy, don’t get upset. We’ll be home in five minutes; stay cool, Malcolm.”

Very impressed, the woman goes outside where the grandfather is loading his groceries and the boy into the car. She says to the elderly gentleman, “It is none of my business, but you were amazing in there. I don’t know how you did it. That whole time, you kept your composure, and no matter how loud and disruptive he got, you just calmly kept saying things would be okay. Malcolm is very lucky to have you as his grandpa.”

“Thanks,” exclaims the grandfather, “but I am Malcolm … The little devil’s name is Derek.” !!!!!

 

source::::unknown …input from a friend of mine

natarajan