Forget Wimbledon, World Cup

It is time for the idiot box to validate its existence by allowing us a roadside view of that classic battle called the Le Tour De France or Tour of France. It starts on July 3rd and I am really hoping Indian sports channels don't let me down by not showing it. Some quick facts, if you don't know the tour:

- A cycling race across the whole of France
- covering a distance of 3500 KM
- in 20 stages, one a day (23 days including 2 rest days)
- with a good bit of it being on the Pyrenees and the Alps'
- with around 190 rides competing
- been around since 1903, hence a classic
- threads across the breath-taking countryside of ancient France, a visual treat
- one of the most grueling endurance sports in the world, fiercely competed
- for example, cyclists burn an average 6000 Calories a day during the Tour, hitting 9000 cal. on tough days. In contrast, when I run 4 KM at a decent pace, 1 burn just about 300 calories!

But mostly, like in any sporting contest you need two or three arch-rivals to really deliver the drama. Enter on stage, on cue:

Contestant 1: Lance Armstrong. A brash Texan, trespassing into a traditional European sport, doesn't even have the decency to stay off the podium. He is the only man to have won the Tour 7 (consecutive) times, after almost losing his life to Cancer. He then retired for 3-4 years and came back last year, at age 37. One of the oldest men on the circuit, no one expected him to do well- he finished 3rd (missed 2nd by 1 second). This time, he is 38- can he really do better than 3rd position?

Contestant 2: Alberto Contodor. A Spaniard and arch-rival of Lance, he won the Tour last year. Relatively younger, equally arrogant, more introverted than Lance. He is also similar to Lance in his abilities- both of them are good at climbing, and often broke their opponents by forcing the pace on the mountains. Lance got a taste of his own medicine from Alberto last year, on the Alps. Alberto is the favourite to win the Tour this time too. Will Lance spoil his party? It is like Federer and Nadal, playing in the French Open Finals (Nadal with the clear edge), but with a lot more hostility in the contest.

Others: Andy Schlek, Bradley Wiggins, 2nd and 4th positions in the Tour last time. If Bradley wins, he will be the 1st Brit to win the Tour in a long time.

So keep your eyes peeled to this contest. You can also follow it on the Tour website, which has got to the best sporting website ever- a total treat.

Happy Wedding Anniversary

Many many happy returns of the day krupakar anna and poonam bhabhi!
:D

Longest tennis match in history

And it is not over yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trust Wimbledon to provide such drama.

Longest tennis match ever, 10 hours, suspended

Isner and Mahut are tied at 59 games apiece in fifth set at Wimbledon

The longest match in tennis history was suspended because of darkness at 59-59 in the fifth set at Wimbledon on Wednesday night.

The first-round match between 23rd-seeded John Isner of Tampa, Fla., and qualifier Nicolas Mahut of France already had been suspended because of fading light Tuesday night after the fourth set.

They have been playing each other for a total of exactly 10 hours — 7 hours, 6 minutes in the fifth set alone, enough to break the full-match record of 6:33, set at the 2004 French Open.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/37877953/ns/sports-tennis/

Answers

Well folks, you got them all, congratulations. Still, the answers are:

1. "After all, tomorrow is another day". The last line of 'Gone with the wind', and a line that defines Scarlett O'Hara-one determined young lady!

2. "Call me Ishmael". Only Poonam seems to have got this. The first line of 'Moby Dick: Or the Whale', a timeless and most human of classics. It is amazing how well the values of the book stand the test of time. A friendship between Ishmael, a white Christian and QueeQueg, a black cannibal would seem so unlikely today- their mutual respect, love and uncritical tolerance of their differences is pretty humbling. And the whale! The ultimate metaphor of nature striking back at its wanton exploitation- Avatar, anyone?

3. "The game is afoot",  as SLN said. From the The adventure of the Abbey Grange

4.  "Are there no prisons?". As SLN said, from "The Christmas Carol".  I was torn between "Bah! humbug!" and this phrase- which one epitomizes the inimitable Scrooge? In the end, I settled for this one.

5. "It was the best of times, and the worst of times". Full marks to Sudha. A great opening line to 'The Tale of the two cities', but I found the novel to be pretty loquacious- could never finish it. Give me The Christmas Carol any day.

6. Alastor Moody (but actually it is Barty Crouch Jr.) to Snape in the Goblet of Fire. Full marks to SLN. I like that phrase for its Lady Macbeth touch.

7. "Death is but the next great adventure". Most of us would have got it- Dumbledore in the Sorcerer's Stone. When I was browsing for phrases from the HP series, it is amazing how many classical quotes Rowling had produced in her books, specially for Dumbledore. I think that is the real secret of her success- she is actually a very good writer.

8. It is indeed from 'The Godfather' and said by Don Corleone. Was going for 'I will make him an offer he cannot refuse' but that would have been too easy!

9. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.".  All folks who went through the SSC education process should remember this- Pride and Prejudice was the non-detailed text in one of the senior years. This is the starting line of the novel. Apparently Jane Austen was less than 21 years of age when she wrote this, her second novel.

10. "All the world is a stage". Well, everyone got this one of course. It is from Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. It is play that is full of quotable stuff, even for Shakespeare.

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so

The play's the thing

and many more.

11. It is certainly the inimitable Mark Twain- the book is 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' and the character is Huck Finn, who has got to be one of the most lovable characters ever written. A true American classic. Where is that lost art of the American novel now?

12. It is indeed from The Journey to the center of the Earth and the character is Alex, a reluctant hero and nephew of Prof Lidenbrock. Here is another author whose views are ever so contemporary. He wrote about the marvels of science, but always with a sense of impending doom, his heroes always playing with powers that they can barely understand.

Well that's it folks- Congratulations on cracking the quiz so quickly. I will follow soon with another round, or of course, others can put together one too.

Whose line is it anyway?

How well do you know your classics? Any Thomas, Richard or Harold can loftily quote 'To be or not to be, that's the question', but can they have identify it from its context? That is the challenge I pose to the Singampallis: Guess the classic quote from the sentences that preceed or succeed it. If the quote is relatively obscure, I wil give the quote itself as a clue- you just have to guess the book from which it has been taken.

Only rule: No Googling the quote. However, if you have a hunch that it is part of a specific classic, you can pull up that classic and confirm the hunch. So this is a sort of an open book exam. Approximate answers are OK.

SAMPLE QUESTION: ------------------:- whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?

ANSWER:  To be or not to be, that's the question
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. “Tomorrow, I’ll think of some way to get him back. ___________________________"

2. "___________________________. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world."

3.  It was on a bitterly cold night and frosty morning, towards the end of the winter of '97, that I was awakened by a tugging at my shoulder. It was Holmes. The candle in his hand shone upon his eager, stooping face, and told me at a glance that something was amiss."Come, Watson, come!" he cried. "_______________________"

4. "At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge," said the gentleman, taking up a pen, "it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and Destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time.  Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir." "_________________________?", asked Scrooge.


``Plenty of prisons,'' said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.

5. ______________________________, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair...

6. "I say there are spots that don't come off.... Spots that never come off, d'you know what I mean?" Which character and which book?

7. "After all, to the well organized mind, ________________________"

8. "Revenge is a dish that tastes best when served cold". Character and book?

9. ____________________________________. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.

10. ___________________________, And all the men and women merely players

11. "But I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me and I can’t stand it. I been there before". Character and book?

12. "Was I to believe him in earnest in his intention to penetrate to the centre of this massive globe? Had I been listening to the mad speculations of a lunatic, or to the scientific conclusions of a lofty genius? Where did truth stop? Where did error begin?"  Character and Book?


Please post your answers as comments- I will publish results in a couple of days.

Shivanahalli Again

In birding, the variety is not just in the avian species, but also in homo sapiens. Just like the birding checklists, I am tempted to make a one of the various types of folks I have met on these jaunts. A sample:

- Ornithologist (the real McCoy!)
- Architect
- Design Student
- Entrepreneur
- Retired Govt Employee
- Active Govt Employee
- S/w Professional
- Electronics Professional
- Visiting foreign tourist
- Kids of various ages and backgrounds

and so on. The latest addition to this list was Deepa, an effervescent lady reporter/avid amateur naturalist, probably of Gauri Pinni's age, always full of jokes. She lives right next door too. With her and Chandu, who it the expert that we usually tag along with for birding, I had visited the Shivanahalli Ramakrishna Mission School the last weekend. Apart from the usual birding fun, we also got to lead a dozen local kids on the nature trail.  Uncannily, they had remembered my name which I had told them casually 5 weeks back! All in all, an interesting experience. The list (of birds):

1. Ashy Prinia
2. Long tailed Shrike
3. Common Hoopoe
4. White breasted Kingfisher
5. Red vented Bulbul
6. Red whiskered Bulbul
7. Indian Robin (male and female)
8. Tickell's Flower Pecker
9. Indian Bush Lark
10. Shikra
11. Indian Hawk Cuckoo (heard) 
12. House Sparrow (M&F)
13. Asian Koel (M & F)
14. Black Kite
15. Tickell's Blue Fly Catcher
16. White Cheeked Barbet
17. Copper Smith Barbet (heard) 
18. Oriental White Eye
19. Rose Ringed Parakeet (by me)
20. Small Green Bee Eater
21. Oriental Honey Buzzard
22. Common Tailor Bird
23. Black Drongo
24. Jungle Fowl (heard)
25. Indian Roller (by Deepa)
26. Jungle Crow
27. Rufous Tailed Lark (by Deepa)
28. Small Minivet (by Deepa)
29. Red Wattled Lapwing
30. Spotted Dove
31. Small Brown Dove
32. Purple Heron
33. Purple Rumped Sunbird
34. Common Iora
35. Pied Bushchat (male and female)
36. Brahminy Kite
37. Large Grey Babbler
38. Greater Coucal

Some snaps (not mine):

Asian Koel (female)

 Long tailed Shrike:

Oriental honey Buzzard:

Vuvuzelas

Arrrrrrrghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

It is like a million bees constantly buzzing. Soooooooooooooooooooo annoying that I stopped watching the game!!!!!!

http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/worldcup/story/vuvuzela-drone-killing-world-cup-atmosphere?GT1=39011

Continued Sandehams

Very detailed post. A question on the first post.....

Joint property is the only logical argument in this whole thing..................
1) But if everyone starts asking for their share, won't the kingdom get smaller and smaller, isn't that why in England, only the eldest son inherits and the others get nothing? If you keep dividing, how could you rule?
Didn't the known Indian history ( not mythology) indicate the eldest son ruled rather than all? In fact, Bharatha is the only story where I heard "joint". Any other examples where the kingdom is treated as such?

ధర్మ సందేహము (Dharma Sandeham)

I. Claims:
1. Kourava Samrajyam, and in fact any Samrajyam, was considered joint family property those days. The inheritance was very clear-- from the eldest son to his first son. Not the eldest of the next generation. That was Duryodhana's claim. He was younger to Dhrama raju, if you remember.
Since Dhrutharashtra was the king, as his son, Duryodhana was entitled.
2. If the eldest was the king, the rest were there as Yuvarajas and were to follow the king, act as caretakers of the kingdom and do the king's bidding. ( Though elder, Bhishma acted the role of a younger son due to his promise--Bhishma Pratigna.) That was the role assigned to Pandu. Dhrutharashtra was the king throughout, including Vastrapaharana Scene, Rayabaram Scene and war scenes.
3. But the Joint family property was to be divided, if one of the heirs insisted. Pandavas, unable to bear the haughty and jealous nature of Duryodhana, wanted their share and with the approval of Bhishma, they were given their share of the kingdom with Indraprastha as the capital. This was bitterly opposed by Duryodhana and even Dhrutharashtra was not in favour.
You know the rest of the story.

II. Vamsam:
1. Any Vamsam was known by Vamsakartas' names (note the plural). LabdhaPratishtulu ( people who earned their fame through great deeds) were known as Vamsakartas and the dynasty was named after them. There were multiple names for the same dynasty.
Eg: Brahma--Marichi--etc.-----Ikshvaku---Dileepa-----Raghu-----Aja-Dasaratha-Rama-Lava and Kusa--etc.
This Vamsam is known as Ikshvaku Vamsam or Raghu Vamsam and not Aja Vamsam or Dasaratha Vamsam or even Rama Vamsam(though he is an incarnation of God)

2. Similarly puru--etc-kuru--etc-
vichitraveerya-Dhrutharashtra-Duryodhana etc.
|-Pandu-Pandavas.
It was called Pourava Vamsam and Kuru Vamsam.
Pandu was the next great man and hence his progeny were called Pandavas.
Duryodhana and brothers were called Kouravas as Dhrutharashtra did not enjoy any claim to great deeds. You will find occasional references to Dhartharashtras even, but not often enough.
So, I think the question about Kouravas and Pandavas is answered.
(in a lighter vein, even if you are a great director of a multinational, in Kavali, you will still be a daughter of Dr. Narasimham--Labdha pratishta and me, I am the son of Ramamurthy and we all belong to the Singampalli clan)

3. If you follow the current trend (patriarchy--Bija Pradhanyatha) then the Kourava dynasty ended in the generation of Bhishma, Chitrangada and Vichitraveerya. They were the proper progeny. Bhishma didnot marry. Chitrangada died and Vichitraveeraya had no child and died childless.
Dhrutarashtra ( Vyasa and Ambika) Pandu (Vyasa and Ambalika) were born outside wedlock. AND they were born to widows!!! ( In times of crisis, when the dynasty is on the verge of extinction, with the acceptance of the elders, children can be begotten by Devara Nyayam) Devara nyayam is having children by Brother-in-law. It is felt that the same blood is flowing through the veins of the husband and brother-in-law.
But, please note, even that is not true here as Vyasa (Parasara and Satyavathi) is of a different Vamsa to Vichitraveerya (Santanu and Satyavathi)
So you can see that Pitruswamyam was not strictly followed and even stepsons were considered sons.

So, if Dhrutharashtra and Pandu could lay claim to the throne, So can Pandavas by virtue of being Kuntiputras (even though they were not born to Pandu and Kunti)

III. Our comments
So, you see that Dharma varies with time and changes in the human society bring in strange occurances of inheritance. Right now, even a daughter has an equal share in the ancestral family property and the society is in a state of constant flux--living together, single mothers, unwed mothers etc.
But if we donot follow some system and go ahead with the concept of the importance of the individual, society will come under a lot of strain.
One should not just read a scripture as a story but try and understand the Desa Kala Paristhithulu prevailing at that time.
More in a later post.

Jointly by Sln and Sgr.

How are Pandavas the rightful heirs to the Kuru throne?

I started reading the Amar Chitra Katha Mahabharata to Aditya, and as I was going through the story in detail for the first time after I "grew up", I have some questions for the learned ones in the family, and that includes Sasanna.

How do pandavas have a claim on the throne of Hastinapura?

Dhrutarashtra abdicated the throne => Pandu became king => Pandu's sons become kings

Then by the same argument
Pandu became king=> Pandu abdicated throne=>Dhrutarashtra became the king again=> Kauravas become kings

As counter argument, Pandu temporarily gave up throne => Dhrutarashtra is only a guardian,
Then Pandu is only a guardian for Dhrutarashtra from the beginning => Pandu is only a guardian=>Kauravas become kings

Besides, pandavas do not even have Kuru bloodline in them, born to Yama, Indra etc...
If you argue it is a matriarchal society and only mom matters, then their claim would be on Kunti's father's kingdom.

If you argue Pandu expanded the kingdom, if the act was that of a king, then abdicating the throne vacates the claim. If as a guardian, he is on par with a "senapati" who leads armies and gains victories with no claim on the throne.

So by what Dharma are pandavas heirs to the Kuru throne, when even the name Kauravas implies a better claim?

And please post your responses as posts rather than comments as I am hoping this thread would be long as my intent is to post other such "Dharma sandehams".....

Many happy returns of the day

జన్మ దిన శుభాకాంక్షలు విద్యా!
పెదనాన్న పెద్దమ్మ

The Next Generation is here.........

Aditya won a $800 scholarship for top performance in academics and good comportment.

He earned his toy and book budget for next year :-)