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InDIA
Asian Voice - Saturday 27th March 2010
Chennai chef cooks his way to Guinness Book
In divine light
Jacob prepared 485 barbeque dishes in 24 hours A freelance consultant chef from Chennai, Jacob has cooked his way to the Guinness Book of World Records. His feat is preparing a huge number of Indian barbeque dishes in a span of 24 hours. Jacob said he had a passion to prepare different dishes. A gold medalist in catering technology, he is working as a freelance consultant for five star rated hotels in the city. Lucia Sinigaleisi, head of Guinness World Records Adjudications
Chef Jacob
Department confirmed Jacob’s feat. He decided to
go for the attempt as he came to know that there was no achievement of the kind recorded in that sector. Jacob prepared a total of 485 dishes, with about 150 of them being non vegetarian. Jacob said his next goal is to break his own record, and if before some one else does that, he will try to beat that too. The dishes prepared in the process of the record attempt were distributed to orphanages and old age homes.
Advertisements continue to embarrass govt. of India Now, a Railway advt. shows Delhi in Pakistan, Kolkata in the sea
First, it was a DAVP advertisement, now it is a Railway ministry job. Both have caused huge embarrassment for the Congress led UPA govt. in India. In the DAVP advt., the goof up was of showing a former PAF chief as one of the prominent Indians; the latest faux pass by Railway ministry advertisement shows Delhi, the
Indian capital as a part of Pakistan! In the enthusiasm of the launch of Maharaja Express, a prestigious train targeted at the rich and the famous – tourists who would be paying in foreign currency, the ministry advertisement showing the route of the train showed Kolkata, the home turf of the railway minister
right in the Bay of Bengal, while Delhi was put right in Pakistan territory. Eastern Railway authority has already offered an apology for goof-up and has barred the agency responsible for the blunder from handling any railway projects in future. Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has condemned the ad goof up.
Death penalty for plane hijackers in India Manmohan govt. to amend anti-hijacking act The Union cabinet of India decided to raise the punishment for plane hijackers at it’s meeting last week. Awarding death penalty for the culprits or those who use hijacked planes as missiles was the increased penalty. The amendment will also have an enabling provision to shoot down a plane if it is found hostile and there is evidence to suggest that it might be used as a missile to hit vital targets. The Anti-Hijacking Act of 1982 would be amended to incorporate the enhanced sentences, in an attempt to deter hijackings.
A group of ministers (GoM) headed by Home Minister P Chidambaram earlier approved a legislation by amending the Act as proposed by the Civil Aviation Ministry to include death sentence and life imprisonment to check hijacking. "As there is talk of abolishing death sentence worldwide, the government constituted a GoM to discuss this issue. The proposal has been approved by the Cabinet," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said at a news conference after the Cabinet meeting. The government will
now place the proposed amendments before Parliament when it meets after a recess next month. The amended law allows the Indian Air Force to intercept an hijacked aircraft and force it to land it. Under the amendments, a hostile plane can be shot down if there is evidence that it could be used as a missile to hit a vital installation. The Cabinet decision follows a prolonged debate sparked off by the 1999 hijacking of an Indian Airlines aircraft to Kandahar in Afghanistan, forcing New Delhi to free three jailed militants.
In Kashmir, true colours of Kashmiriyat are back Muslims bring back a Pandit to Arin, fight for a Hindu cremation ground Arin is a small village in North Kashmir which has brought back the true colours of Kashmiriyat – of true brotherhood. Though he is the only Kashmiri Pandit to have returned to Arin, Rakesh has the support of all his neighbours and fellow villagers to get back his land and the hindu cremation ground, illegally taken over by land mafia. Rakesh was sure things want be the same after 16 years, as he returned to his village. But he didn’t expect them to be as bad as he saw. His land and house had been grabbed by local land
mafia. They went on to the extent of taking over the cremation ground. A house and a shop were already built on the land. But, Muslim resident of Arin came out openly in support of Rakesh. In his own words, “They said I must assert my right. If someone has made fraudulent documents to become the owner of my property, it will not work. The people have supported me in every way, and I am very thankful.” The villagers recently got together to stop the construction on a second house there.
'”We are supporting the truth. We got Panditji here and told him that whatever is your right we will get it for you. And we are with you,” promises neighbour Ghulam Mohiudin. “The bureaucrats at the tehsil and the district level take bribes and support land grabbers. That’s why Pandits don’t get back what their rightfully own,” regrets another resident, Riyaz Ahmed Lone. Together, Arin is building pressure on the bureaucracy to withdraw the permissions granted to those who've taken over the cremation ground.
By Rajen Vakil
Balance in the centres We shall continue with our story of the third disciple whose name was Veda. The guru made him work like an ox, oblivious of heat, cold, hunger, or thirst. Veda remained positive; one day truth dawned and the guru asked him to go ahead on his own. Let us look into the story of Veda, and his disciple Uttanka, over two weeks. Veda started a household with disciples of his own; he looked after them with great love and care. One day the king requested Veda to officiate a ceremony. He left his household in the care of Uttanka instructing him to fulfil the household’s every need. Veda’s wife was in the fertile phase of her monthly cycle and a s k e d Uttanka to fulfil her n e e d . U t t a n ka refused, saying that the guru had not explicitly instructed him on such matters. When Veda returned, he heard about the incident and was very pleased that Uttanka’s inner light had dawned. Veda knew that the light would now guide Uttanka along the path, and that he was free to go. Uttanka requested Veda’s permission to allow him to perform some task to express his gratitude. Veda told Uttanka to ask his wife what she wanted. Veda’s wife instructed Uttanka to get the two earrings worn by the king’s wife, as she wanted to wear them to a ceremony. Uttanka went to the king and begged for the earrings. The king explained that it was for the queen to decide. Uttanka went into the inner chambers of the palace to request the queen but he could not find her. The king, on being informed, told Uttanka that he must have been holding on to some impure thought and hence could not see the queen, who was the epitome of purity. Uttanka sat in meditation and realised the truth in the king’s words, and by deep observation his attachment to that thought dropped. He then went
back into the queen’s chamber and found her sitting there. He begged her for the two earrings. She was pleased with him, said that he was a worthy person, and willingly gave him the earrings. Nonetheless, she warned him that the powerful naga, Thakshak, too desired the earrings and would do anything for them. Uttanka reassured her that Thakshak could do him no harm and that he must leave immediately as he wanted to give the earrings to his guru’s wife for a ceremony due in two days. Let us try and understand the hidden meaning behind the story thus far. Even though Veda (Uttanka’s guru) had instructed Uttanka to fulfil every need of his
family, Uttanka refused to enter into union with his guru’s wife. The most important point in the life of a disciple is when he starts walking on his own. In yoga, this inner light is called ‘viveka’; it brings the capacity to discriminate between what to do and what not to, leading to right action. By caste, the guru and Uttanka are Brahmins, which symbolises expanding consciousness. They represent the thinking centre, together with its higher qualities, within us. The king and queen are Kshatriya, which symbolises the emotion centre within us. The higher qualities of the emotion centre are faith and love, represented by the two earrings of the queen, which the Veda’s wife longs for. Uttanka is sent to get these earrings. ‘Utt’ means water, which symbolises emotions and ‘anka’ means to hook; meaning, to hold on to higher emotions. Uttanka represents the one who goes in search of these qualities so as to balance the emotional and thinking centre. When Uttanka first tried, he could not see the queen. This inci-
dent reveals that to witness certain higher qualities of life requires a specific vision and the power of impartial observation. Our observation is tainted by desires, prejudices, attitudes, and grudges that we hold on to. To enter into the higher chambers of our heart, where the higher emotional qualities lie, we must first learn to observe impartially. Further, this story shows that even after the inner vision is awakened, the process of purification must go on. The experience of truth and the dissolution of ego are two separate happenings. Truth is seen in a flash while the ego dissolves over a long period of time. The experience of truth is like trying to see the mountain peak hidden by clouds; for a moment, the clouds disappear and we get a glimpse of the snowcovered mountain peak reflecting sunlight as if spun in gold. With this glimpse, the quest of many a lifetime ends. This does not imply the dissolution of the ego. The ego is dissolved by leading a normal householders’ life, wherein, every time it tries to appear, it has to be sent back to its source, i.e. the process of evolution in reverse. Egoism was present in animals even before man. This process of sending the ego back to the source is called ‘pratiprasav’ in Yoga. Thakshak means the one who does, the doer, or the ego within us. The queen had warned Uttanka that Thakshak desired the earrings. The ego always wants to destroy love, even the normal sentimental love. The ego hides behind our love and prompts us to quickly possess a person, and in that very act, we lose the powerful and pure energy of love. Here, Uttanka saying that he does not fear Thakshak (or the ego) is an ego by itself. Next week, we shall see and interpret how Uttanka falls a victim to this subtle deception. (Edited by Chintu Gandhi. Illustration by Siddharth Ramanuj.) The author can be reached by emailing 3srb@live.com