Do it yourself

Thought for the day "Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence." —Leonardo da Vinci (Italian, 1452-1519) Word for the day Sententious (adj) Given to excessive moralizing; self-righteous. Malice towards none The pendulum has definitely swung to the other extreme. We have reached at a point where even blatant rights violation by men in uniform will have to go unchallenged. Anyone daring to challenge will be trolled down to hell. What is right and what is wrong - who knows, and frankly who cares!   First random thought this morning Some ancient Hindu scriptures describe the desirable body figure of a woman, to judge her health (fertility). Even today, millions of men in South India apply talcum powder on their face to appear less dark. Many North Indian middle class people almost mourn if a dark girl is born in their families. I have seen some rich Bania families in Delhi, who happen to have i...

Thought for the day "The sovereignty of scriptures of all religions must come to an end if we want to have a united integrated modern India." —B. R. Ambedkar (Indian, 1891-1956) Word for the day Rebarbative (adj) Causing annoyance, irritation, or aversion; repellent. Malice towards none Is it only me, or you are also noticing that many non-NDA parties in India are compromising with national interest in their fight against dominance of PM Modi on Indian politics. First random thought this morning As he completes 100days in office, President Trump's negotiating skills will be put to severe test during last week of April, when the US Congress would reconvene on April 25th after Easter vacations, and will be required to pass the government spending bill in four days to avoid shut down of government on 29th April. Senators are going to bargain hard in lieu of their approval to the Spending Bill. Mexican Wall is on...

Thought for the day "Political democracy cannot last unless there lies at the base of it social democracy. What does social democracy mean? It means a way of life which recognizes liberty, equality and fraternity as the principles of life." —B. R. Ambedkar (Indian, 1891-1956) Word for the day Frenemy (n) A person or group that is friendly toward another because the relationship brings benefits, but harbors feelings of resentment or rivalry. Malice towards none हमें उनसे है वफ़ा की उम्मीद जो नहीं जानते वफ़ा क्या है| #कुलभूषण जाधव First random thought this morning London, Paris, Brussels, Stockholm - in recent past terrorist strikes have happened at places usually considered most safe and secure. One, it surely and certainly signifies that extremism has taken roots in most geographies, and need not be imported from anywhere now. The security paradigm therefore needs to change. Two, resisting immigration ...

Thought for the day "Indians today are governed by two different ideologies. Their political ideal set in the preamble of the Constitution affirms a life of liberty, equality and fraternity. Their social ideal embodied in their religion denies them." —B. R. Ambedkar (Indian, 1891-1956) Word for the day Ostensible (adj) Outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended, e.g., an ostensible cheerfulness concealing sadness . Malice towards none When would Dr. Manmohan Singh retire from public life? From economic viewpoint - his incremental contribution is negligible! From aspirational viewpoint   - he has no more heights to scale! From social viewpoint - he is a misfit in young India.   First random thought this morning This could be one of the most unfortunate things to occur to a society when the TRP potential of an issue decides social, political and religious priorities. As highlighted earlier ...

Thought for the day " One cannot conceive anything so strange and so implausible that it has not already been said by one philosopher or another." —Rene Descartes (French, 1596-1650) Word for the day Fanfaronade (n) Bragging; Bravado; Bluster. Malice towards none Yogi ji gives 15days to his officers, to chalk out a comprehensive strategy for improving business climate in the state of UP! Bullock cart gets a Ferrari engine. First random thought this morning Syria is a true reflection of the acute leadership crisis prevailing in the world. The traditional global powers, i.e., US, UK, Germany, France, and Russia continue to be bogged down by their domestic issues. Japan refuses to get over its WWII guilt. China is making little effort to gain acceptance as global leader. India is too fragile to lead an act in a foreign land. The Nehruvian legacy of Panchsheel and Non-alignment also prevents us from asserting i...

Thought for the day " I am accustomed to sleep and in my dreams to imagine the same things that lunatics imagine when awake." —Rene Descartes (French, 1596-1650) Word for the day Platitude (n) A flat, dull, or trite remark, especially one uttered as if it were fresh or profound. Malice towards none Does the social status accorded to any of the following people need to be reviewed? (a) N. R. Narayan Murthy (b) Anna Hazare (c) Akhilesh Yadav (d) Sonia Gandhi First random thought this morning In past couple of decades we have seen a material rise in contemptuous remarks against various deities, revered religious scriptures, practices and institutions. Some of these may be coming from the rise in awareness about the malpractices prevalent in the religious practices and institutions. But certainly easy access to religion does also have a role to play in breeding of this contempt. Expecting some...