Colour me purple

Man indicted for commenting on Thai King's pet King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand and the dog he rescued from an alley, Tongdaeng, at a boat race in 2008. A factory worker in Thailand has been reportedly punished for being disrespectful towards their King Bhumibol Adulyadej's pet dog. He might have to be in the jail for thirty seven years for posting sarcastic comments about the innocent animal on the internet. The military court of Thailand has seriously dealt with the case by asking the worker Thanakorn Siripaiboon to explain why he had made such remarks. Failing to give any answer to the military court, the Thai worker will now have to spend long time behind the bars. Thailand's strict laws that make it a crime to insult the monarchy entered new territory after the verdict was given a few weeks ago to indict the uncourteous man. Thanakorn could face a total of 37 years in prison for his social media posts, highlighting what has become a feverish campaign t...

No legal ban on surrogacy for Chinese women China had publicly declared to ban surrogacy but now it has decided to drop the idea since the initial plan can have a negative impact on the society. The idea of banning surrogacy will encourage a black market business of surrogate pregnancies patronised by wealthy Chinese. Even if there was a law banning this process of child birth, rich Chinese will opt for foreign countries like the US and get it done at the cost of $ 125,000 since there is no such inhibition and prohibition in the land of America. On the other hand, according to experts, banning surrogacy can lead to exploitation of poor women in China, and can be detrimental to their rights.     

Giant golden statue of Chairman Mao built in China A giant statue of Chairman Mao Ze Dong that was built in a poor part of China nearly 40 years after the Communist revolutionary’s demise has been torn down after it became the subject of ridicule. The model of the Chinese revolutionary leader is 36-metre in height, built from steel and concrete and glowing with a coating of gold paint.  It was built near the village of Zhushigang in Tongxu county, Henan province, where Mao's policies were blamed for deaths of millions. The Mao statue cost a reported 3m yuan (£310,000) which was primarily donated by entrepreneurs and also by local residents. head. 

This two-rupee stamp looks cool on my blog page

                        Idols of Goddess Saraswati up for sale in a market of Kolkata on Friday. We revere her and seek her blessings on this special day of SriPanchami of the Bengali calender of Magh. According to legends, she is also known as Bagh Devi or Veenapani among students. She offers knowledge and intellect to all her believers .

Family soap operas rock More than a decade ago as far as my memory goes back I remember two soap operas had become hugely popular among the Indian television viewers who used to lap up those programmes like stress-busters. Those two shows which were aired by Star Plus TV channel under the banner of Balaji Telefilms were "Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki" and "Kyuki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi". The audience, especially the women, were inspired by Tulsi of Kyuki...and Parvati of Kahani....The character roles etched by the director and portrayed by the stars became household names at that time. The show used to start with a theme song which doubled the popularity of the show. Women of all ages, whether they were housewives, school-going kids, girls studying in colleges -- the day-to-day episodes were discussed by the viewers at all gatherings where these women happened to unite.  Unfortunately, not all were lucky enough to follow these shows regularly at night and they were tre...

These birds are our new guests who visit once in a while and make a sound which is very unique.

The sights and sounds of our amiable sparrows Our neighbourhood is now a bee-hive of babies who are not lesser than six months and children who are not more than 10 years old. The moment morning breaks and the sun rises in the east at around 5.45 am some sparrows come to our verandah like small children. When the babies -- who live nearby and whose voice, laughter and cries have become so much familiar --are fast asleep, these sparrows add life to our daily routine work. They wake my parents to a new day. Sparrows have a habit of coming in a flock of five to seven and the number of male bird visitors are greater than females. The male birds, who wear  darker shades of brown on their wings and neck, make a louder sound which if carefully heard seems like "speak speak" and "quick" and then they whistle. They nose-dive from the grill to a level of our first floor and again starts flying from than point without touching the ground and comes back in full ene...

A cat gives good company Toofan became really thin after a fight with a stray cat and his health had deteriorated at that time. Here is sitting in a meditative state in our kitchen. Pets have a unique way of building relationships with people. Like dogs are faithful to their masters, cats never forget their house number. We human beings often wonder how can a cat remember the house even after it refuses to become completely domestic. Since I was in school my experience with cats have been quite so fascinating since one of these animals was my constant company for more than five years. Like puppies, kitten too love to play with us but their hidden claws to catch prey are something one should careful about. In Bengali there is a saying that cats are "Bagher mashi", which means they are linked to the tiger family and the the proverb is true in every sense. They quietly proceed towards their prey-- a mouse is their favourite hunt -- and pounce upon it. They don't kill ...

A  great man who had stirred entire West Bengal and made a place for himself in the hearts of men and women as a Hero in the era of 1950s and 60s and 70s is no more alive but his memories have not faded since 33 years have passed by since his demise in the year 1980 on 24th July. A versatile actor and a man of great genius was popularly and lovingly known as Uttam Kumar to all and sundry. I have seen him in real on television and he looks so much real that it does not seem that he is acting. He is like our Guru. His movies have kept him alive not only in our thoughts but make us believe that he is still there...Yesterday was his "Mahaproyan Diwas". The entire afternoon was spent searching for a single movie of his on television but much to my dismay there was not one which was aired between 3 pm to 6pm. Finally, the news channels made me very very happy when they aired some very special moments where some great people were remembering the "Mahanayok". Some popular B...

                                    Vivekananda Rock Memorial was built in the year 1970.                                     Here the spiritual leader had immersed himself in deep meditation in the year 1892.

Early in the morning, an Indian Mayna was waiting for his pair-companion on the terrace of a building. After making a variety of sound effects, he came and stood still.

The Bay of Bengal from the shore of Puri in Orissa.

Sitting on a small rock just off the coast of Kanyakumari, at the southernmost tip of India, Vivekananda went into deep meditation-- but what a strange meditation! He meditated not upon God, but upon India. It was as if all the pages of India's history opened up before him. Engrossed in deep meditation, he felt in his heart of hearts that India would rise only through a renewal and restoration of that highest spiritual consciousness which has made of India, throughout its history, the cradle of religions and cultures. No nation can survive without the policy of give and take. As India's greatest deficiency was her poverty, India would have to learn from other countries how to remove it, and for this it was urgently necessary to learn Western science and technology. But India would not just take like a beggar; she would also give something as well. India's strength is in her spirituality, so India would make the whole world understand what true religion is. Swami Vivekanan...

A male sparrow that has a darker shade of brown on its wings and body was busy eating breakfast.

 Feeling happy happy The expression of any human when he is happy can be superficial and transient at times, the reason being real happiness which is felt within might not show on the face always. A kind of contentment envelopes our being when we break into laughter when someone cracks a joke, enjoys nature while walking alone down the street in the evening or eat a piece of chocolate pastry. A similar kind of fulfillment is felt after reading a good short story after months of separation from books and authors. Simply putting on some slow music of our choice when we are at home brings the body to rest -- which can be termed as a state of mental peace if not complete happiness.  At times jamming up with an old friend rekindles memories from the green past. The freshness of thoughts and the current that is exchanged over a conversation injects a new life into the body that tends to decay soon after transformation. But in all these a lot of enjoyment can be drawn from within ...

Freedom is very precious for me. When I am free I can enjoy everything. There is an inner happiness when I can do things on my own terms and in my own way. I can think freely and I have the right to speech. But the meaning of freedom completely changes when we live a family life. I call this a disciplined freedom. Take for example, when I am at home neither can I wake up really late in the morning nor can I go out wherever I wish to and at anytime. I have to follow certain rules. But then I am certainly free to watch the TV all by myself which I hardly could when I was in the hostel or for that matter some eight to ten years ago. I am free to control the remote when my parents are not around. They have given me the allowance to watch the television programmes and movies which are a source of fun and entertainment for me. I can surf the internet at times because I have been given the freedom to check my e-mails and read news online. When I listen to the stories of my parents and other e...

Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle all the way After many years my family went out on 24th of December. We took the metro to reach Esplanade station from where we walked to the New Market, once known as Sir Stuart Hoggs Market, which was established in 1874. The market is one of the oldest in Kolkata. Now the market has spread its wings around the old building, which shelters hundreds of shopkeepers, small and big. The place wears a completely different look especially during this season, from the Christmas to the New Year. Once upon a time the foreigners were the regular visitors of this place to buy cookies and greeting cards. The foreigners have left, leaving behind their legacy and some Anglo-Indians who still make the place lively during the last few days of the year. This year, there was a huge Christmas tree made of card board right next to the Lighthouse cinema hall (which is now a departmental store) and beside the tree was a picture of a smiling Santa. On top of the tree was th...