Covid - 19 is now 20, into Second phase - Thoughts from Survivors

 Deaths by covid are just number, until they become the names of the people you know.  Covid - 19 is now 20, into Second phase. What was more damaging the first phase or the second? We might need to wait for some more time to know. 

P.C. Lini John

Until then - Thoughts from Survivors:

Message from Dr C.S. Pramesh, Director Tata Memorial Hospital 

• I know the #COVID-19 numbers in India are not looking good, but here are my (not so) random thoughts on it

• We have 2 options – one, rant & rail against the ‘system’ and lament how it has let us down; second, do whatever we can to avoid getting infected & if infected, minimize adverse consequences to ourselves & others. If you belong to the first, you can stop reading now

• How can we avoid getting infected? There’s no magic bullet, I’m afraid. This is primarily a “stick to the basics” approach. More difficult than it sounds.

• First, maintain all precautions that we know help. These include masks (whenever you are not at home and not alone), physical distancing to the extent possible, and washing hands frequently. The 3 Ws – Wear a mask, Watch your distance, Wash your hands.

• Masks work, and are probably the most important precaution given our current understanding that aerosols are the predominant mechanism of spread. The best is a well-fitting N95 mask, which is now widely available & not too expensive – you could re-use them too.

• How can you optimally use an N95? Get 5 masks, and rotate their use – this is safe, burns less of a hole in your pocket, and is environment-friendly. The next best option is to use two masks – wear a surgical mask first, and a cloth mask over it for a snugger fit.

• How physically distant need you be? The simple answer is “the more the better”. 6 feet preferable, but a minimum of 3 feet. Better still, avoid crowds as much as you can. Meet others only if absolutely necessary – most meetings can be done virtually.

• Being outdoors is better than indoors, but while open gardens and parks are low-risk (where permitted by law), avoid large gatherings – whether they be weddings, parties, and yes, election rallies and religious (all religions) gatherings too.

• Second, get your vaccine as early as you can. In India now, anyone over the age of 45 is eligible for the vaccine. Getting a vaccine gives you 70-80% chance of avoiding getting infected and 95% chance of serious illness. That’s as good as it can get.

• There’s been a lot of noise about which vaccine to take. Anyone who strongly recommends one over the other is talking nonsense. There are no studies so far(& unlikely in the immediate future) to directly compare two vaccines to show which is better. So, take the first one you get

• What about side effects of vaccines? We’ve heard of blood clots etc.

• Yes, they do occur, but they are extremely rare events, and the benefits of taking a vaccine far outweigh the risks.

• What happens if you do get #COVID_19? Yes, you still can get it even in spite of taking all precautions, and yes, even after you’ve taken the vaccine. Remember, none of this is 100% effective – but 70 to 95% effective is a whole lot better than 0%

• Make preparations even before you get infected. Buy a thermometer and a pulse oximeter to keep at home.  These are two important instruments you need in case you get infected.

• First, don’t panic on getting a #COVID_19 positive report – 98% get through without major issues. Isolate yourself from others. You can do this at home if possible.

• Chart your temperature using the thermometer, & your oxygen saturation with the pulse oximeter. Check both 2-3 times/day, the latter before & after a brisk 6-min walk. Make sure you drink enough fluids and keep yourself hydrated. Stay positive – you’ll get through this.

• When should you be concerned and seek medical help? If your baseline saturation falls under 94% or if your fall in saturation before and after the 6-minute walk is 4% or more. Contact a hospital, and start proning yourself (lie chest down, back up)

• What medicines should you take? If your oxygen saturation is fine & you have no symptoms other than fever, all you need is Paracetamol

• There is some data that inhaled Budesonide helps you recover faster, but no hard endpoints like reduced mortality

• There is no evidence to suggest that anything helps – including Favipiravir/ Ivermectin. Don’t waste your time desperately trying to procure them

• What medicines help for #COVID_19? Unfortunately, very few. What definitely works is proning and oxygen (when saturation is low), and steroids (Dexamethasone) for moderate to severe disease.

• But what about #Remdesivir, #Tocilizumab and #ConvalescentPlasma?

• #Remdesivir doesn’t help much, and certainly not in all patients; there is probably a small subgroup in which it helps – those requiring oxygen, but not sick enough that they require ventilation. And even here, it doesn’t reduce mortality, probably helps earlier recovery

• #Tocilizumab also helps only in very specific subgroups – those sicker than described above, requiring rapidly increasing levels of oxygen or rapidly deteriorating respiratory parameters

• My plea here is to please allow your physician to decide when Remdesivir/ Tocilizumab is required – there are very limited situations when they are beneficial & please don’t pressurize them to prescribe it – much of the shortage today is because of unnecessary prescriptions

• There is even less evidence to support the use of #ConvalescentPlasma for COVID_19. almost all studies done so far have shown that it is of no benefit. Please don’t waste your time looking for a donor.

• In short, these are difficult times, but each of us can do our bit to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and the world at large by some simple, but effective measures. Stay safe, folks, and we'll see this 

‐--‐‐-----------

From : 4 Covid survivor

First: I have written a short note on how to deal with Covid since a lot of people are confused on what actions to take when they have symptoms. Of course one must take proper advice from Doctor but these are some basic things one should do:

Once some one has fever, it has to be assumed that it is Covid since there is nothing else going around. I would recommend that they isolate themselves, contact their doctor, do the blood tests and the RTPCR immediately. On medications after consulting the doctor they must start it as soon as possible as recommended by the doctor. Please note all the doctors are available now on Whatsapp or video calling for consulting..no need to visit personally if you feel you have covid. I am consulting my doctor everyday through a call or whatsapp.

Once Covid positive is established either thru Rapid antigen or RTPCR, then 

1. medication must be started immediately after consulting the doctor. In the blood tests they should cover the following: CBC, CRP, SGOT, SGPT, creatinine, uric acid, d dimer and ferretnin. Please check for these blood tests with your doctor.

2. Drink lots of fluids (hot water) ... I am taking atleast 3-4 litres of water everyday, do steam inhalation atleast twice a day, do betadene gargles, sleep adequately and take lot of rest

3. Monitor SPO2, temperature every 2 hours and maintain a chart. Once detected positive should do a brisk walk test for 6 mins and then measure SPO2 before and after walk to see any drop. If they have fever avoid walk test when there is fever, do it when there is no fever. 

4. Room isolation to be continued for 14 days + another 3 days of home quarantine (BMC rule is 10 days from 1st day of symptom and another 7 days of home quarantine)

5. One can expect Uric acid level to go up after taking Fabiflu. In my case since I did not have fever Fabiflu was not required.

6. No need to take RTPCR after 14 days of isolation as it is safe to assume that the virus is not active anymore. The thing with the virus is that in 14 days either the virus or the patient survives.

7. If at any time SPO2 drops below 95 then it is important to get a HRCT done and based on the score hospitalisation may be advised. Usually treatment during hospitalisation is Remdesivir administered thru IV and management of the disease thru Steroids. 

8. Do lungs exercise to increasing oxygen level in your body. Sleep on your stomach for 10-15 minutes ... 3-4 times in a day , this helps in increasing oxygen level in your body.

9. important point...stay positive during these 14 days of your fight with covid... have positive thoughts and stay positive.

The most important of all the points above is that medication should be started immediately in consultation with the doctor as a lot of people dilly dally or do some home remedy and lose time

I will be completing my 14 days of fight against covid this Saturday so thought of sharing my experience. Trust the above is useful. Happy to help in anyway.

Second: Pls quarantine for 21 days. as after 14 days dead virus is still there in ur body . And it passes out through ur stools. That is the most dangerous state. Bcoz it can pass to other people if using same toilet. Contaminated seats and all. That makes u the asymptomatic carriers. And if u have elderly in home quarantine then pls do their blood test for D-dimer and IL6 . If it's high means there is some clot formation in the body. So they have to undergo blood thinner medicine course.

Third: Three weeks ago the dreadful Corona virus found its way into our lives. It didn’t seem harmful the first day and few others who had already survived it told us that it’s not a big deal. Little did we know that our lives were going to turn upside down!

On the second day, the symptoms kicked in full swing- fever,severe headache,nausea,loss of appetite, body ache, severe cough,loss of sense of smell and taste,abdominal pain and the terrible breathing difficulty.

The magnanimity of the illness dawned on us when Naveen started developing the symptoms on the third day. We were isolating in separate rooms. Neither of us had the energy to stand up let alone make food. Standing up for five minutes would lead to fainting. Lifting a cup of water was excruciatingly painful. Our friend Jobu made sure that our supply of medicines and provisions never ran out.I ended up in the emergency twice due to breathing difficulty and severe chest pain. They did a whole lot of tests on me and figured out that I don’t have pneumonia but my lungs have been affected. The Public Health informed us that being healthy individuals with no history of any illness, the symptoms will subside in 7-10 days but the virus is just refusing to leave us.

We are on the 3rd week but the symptoms still persist. Yes, we are a lot better now but our bodies feel like deflated balloons. We still do not have the strength to stand up or do the basic functions. We cannot talk for hardly 5 minutes without breathing difficulty. As per the Public Health, we are no longer infectious but will continue to remain Covid positive for 6 weeks. So there is no point in a re-test.

Only a very few people knew about us and a biiiiig hug to the darlings who tirelessly kept checking on us every day despite us not responding. You know who you are😘😘 And a request to everyone out there, please do not trivialize Covid-19. It’s extremely scary and painful. It ruins you physically and mentally. When the 911 guys rushed me to the hospital due to chest pain, I thought I will never see my loved ones ever again. I didn’t know what was in store for me. I still cannot believe that I am actually sitting here and typing about the nightmare we were living through. I am so thankful to the amazing doctors and health care staff who took such good care of me and kept pushing me to keep fighting. You are the true superheroes ❤️

We still have a long way to get back to our normal routine and life but we are glad to be where we are right now. Thanking our bodies for not giving up in this fight. Take care of your body and health everyone. Stay safe❤️ Lini.

Fourth: It is only today that we received a sad message from Delhi that the Malayali  senior counsel in our tower had passed away. Last week someone had told that the senior counsel and his wife were Covid positive. Sad!My condolences! 

The late senior lawyer had all fortunes in his life- loving family,  beautiful house, a Mercedes Benz, a bewitching garden, many staff members at his beck n call! But nothing could save him from Covid! Yes, Covid affects the privileged n under privileged alike! So, beware of it! Keep away from it. Deal it scientifically. Else the consequences will be much disappointing! 

From the personal experience- Covid came with mild symptoms in the initial stage- body pain, chills, sore throat, stomach ache and loose motion. Still, I took Vitamin C, Iron and Dolo 650. Drank a lot of hot water and took steam inhalation. Still, as the days went, body pain increased. Now joint pain is unbearable. Sugar level increased. I am as tired as my father in his seventies.  The office is closed since 27th March. That agony is there. So, it is a request to all my friends and acquaintances- please avoid the situations in which you may catch this deadly disease.

Oh God! Please help mankind to sail though this tough times, with better senses and lesser losses. 

Geetha Aunty - We want to hear you speak.....

It has been a dreadful and terrible ordel today - 15th April 2021, had this eerie feeling since couple of days of something unpleasant. I did not wish for this sad news...Jaanu Muthu's daughter 'Geetha aunty' is no more. My heart is wrenching in pain every time I realise that Jaanum's memory loss is a boon for today's dreadful news, which no mother would love to hear....of losing her loving daughter (to Covid). By this Grief that has virtually brought everyone around her to a stand still, it clearly shows us the 'bond of love' that "Geetha Aunty" symbolised for all. May I pray to the Dear Lord to bring peace and acceptance sooner to all those who loved and will continue to love her. May this moment of grief also strengthen the immediate family to cope up with this immense and irreplaceable loss of a wonderful human being and a mother.  

Children are a great distraction. Hope the new generation, the young children in family, will help overcome the loss, over time. Let us only hope and pray so. RIP Geetha Aunty. You will be missed. Always.

Few people are genuinely concerned, caring and giving; very thoughtful of everybody, always filled with gratitude, feet firmly on the ground. Happy and content, never complaint about anything or anyone. She was one of those. Unfortunately, left us too soon, creating a great void. We crave to listen to your voice and thoughts. Will miss our trips and rides, search for unknown. You having a slip from the two wheeler, in Kakkanad, our last of such trip was on Kalabhavan Mani's death, remembering how eager you were to meet this wife and daughter, not knowing their whereabouts.

Unfortunately, during your last visit, could not go for any trips, but expected to have a better one next time.....Never expected that it would remain a dream.  You had been a friend and another mother to quite a few of them, am sure, there would have been many that I was not aware of. Sukku and Nisha for sure. My last conversation with her was on 31st March, wherein she spoke for long, on her college days, relationships, life. How her uncle used to give Rs. 25/- per month during her college days, how her birthday, in here certificate was wrong etc. Having been to Mumbai, then Bombay after graduation and being settled there, her mind always wandered to Kerala, especially because her mother was here. Having lost her father, as a child, and being brought up in an extended family. She was very sensitive to people's basic needs.  Vacations are our memories with her, as children, summer vacation visits to Kerala, or visiting each others house during vacations. Her ice-creams and delicacies, she always wanted to give something to everyone. 

This wretched virus, ruining lives, not letting loved ones be around, may this get over soon. Indeed this covid is just a number, until we have name to it, and then it's sooo scary....

As we lose so many friends, family, colleagues...known and unknown faces and names...remembering families who are grieving for their loved ones and holding the love they gave for so many years. Listen to this beautiful songHeart suit

Now you belong to heaven lyrics - Mari Olsen - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFjAXHmjxQk

Miss your voice, miss your smile

Everything about you, worth the while

Always wondering where you are

I hope you're with us, near or far

Many questions aren't answered

I guess, we'll never know

[Chorus]

But now you belong to heaven

It's empty without your smile

The truth brings us to tears

All the love you gave us all these years

Always seeing you at night

When I turn off the light

And the world's asleep

In my heart you'll always stay

We'll never forget you

You'll never fade away

I'll always remember the times we shared together

Remember your laughter, forever and ever

[Chorus]

But now you belong to heaven

It's empty without your smile

The truth brings us to tears

All the love you gave us all these years

And I wonder what would be the first I'd say

If I meet you again one day

And I'm hoping you'll remember my name

If I see you again

[Chorus]

But now you belong to heaven

It's empty without your smile

The truth brings us to tears

All the love you gave us all these years

But now you belong to heaven

It's empty without your smile

The truth brings us to tears

All the love you gave us all these years

All the love you gave us all these years

To amma, she always kept saying , not sure if I can meet my mother alive now, and just before going to hospital, she said, Bye, tell amma also - these keeps haunting my mothers. And then it comes in paper, in her favorite session; finally she only appeared. She will be happy. She liked reading this, and this is how it was all, and she was. 

It would have been her 66th birthday with us on 12th May...Heaven celebrates her 1st ! 

Prabha Uncle often draws a similarity between Geeta Aunty and Rajesh Khanna of ‘Anand’...Like his character in the movie , Amma had a BIG life , not a LONG one . 

An epitome of selfless , unconditional love , Amma never missed an opportunity to bestow smiles , spread cheer and laughter wherever she went ; loved the extended family as much as she loved her own .....loving , sharing , caring - nobody could have taught better just through example . She was the cement that bound us all together. 

We miss you terribly.  Sending love and prayers to you up there ...... !!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=811MiQgSKLo&feature=youtu.be

Celebrating Spring : New Dawn

Happy Festive Season dears, call it Vishu, Baisakhi, Bihu, Poila Boishak,  Puthandu or something else. 

It is connoted to the celebration of spring equinox in the past.  It's that time of the year, when flowers bloom, 

and people across the country and outside celebrate the advent of spring, and harvest with vigour and fervour. Nature is our divine mother, and when she blossoms we express our joy and gratitude

Across the man made borders, symbolizing  we are one.The New Dawn for may of us. 

Baisakhi: Harvest Festival or Punjab: 

The northern state of Punjab, Haryana and parts of Delhi celebrate this day with much fanfare. People get together and perform bhangda and gidda on traditional folk songs and dol. Men show their gatka skills (traditional form of Martial arts of the sikh) The Sikh community also observes it as the day of Thanks giving, for abudent  harvest and pray for future prosperity. 

Bihu: Harvest Festival of Assam: 

Bohag Bihu is celebrated across Assam and parts of Manipur and Bengal. The Assames celebrate Bihu thrice a year, signifying the distinct cycles of framing - Bhogali/Magh Bihu (January), Bohag/ Ranholi Bihu (April), and Kongali Bihu (October) with various delicacies like Mangsho, Cira and Pitha. There is singing, feasting, exchanging gifts, seeking blessings from elders, and performing the traditional Bihu dance on this day. 

Puthandu: Tamil New year: 

As per the Tamil Calendar, Varsha Pirappu, Puthandu marks the first day of the first month (Chithirai), The night before the auspicious day, a tray full of flowers, fruits, betel leaves, gold & silver ornaments and cash are kept in the prayer room (Credit cards are yet not accepted!) It is believed that if you open your eyes the next morning to these auspicious arrangements, you will have happiness and prosperity for the rest of the year. Any auspicious occassion, there is Kolam (colourful design on the floor made with a paste of rice and water)

Poila Boishakh: According to the Bengali Calender, the first day of the first month, is Baisakh.  

People Thank the divine forces for the harvest of the previous year and that to follow. Houses are decorated with Rangoli, Colourful designs on the floor, in their courtyards made with a paste of rice and water, (Called Alpona) Families get together on this auspicious day, and celebrate the new year with Bengali songs, and dance in traditional attires.

Ugadi/Gudi Padwa: Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana  New Year : 

Gudi Padwa also known as Samvastar Padvo is celebrated as the first day of the year by Maharashtrains and Konkanis. In Karnataka and Andhra, The Gudi Padwa day is celebrated as Ugadi. It is a belief that Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya after his victory over Ravana and people welcomed him by raising flags ( Gudi)

Vishu: Malayalam New Year: 

Vishu is the festival of lights and fireworks that is celebrated in Kerala and parts of Karnataka. People decorate their houses with Diya and burst firecrackers (locally called Vishupadakam). The tradition of Vishu includes the first auspicious view of the festive day known as  Vishukanni Kazhcha, Kaineetam is given to all members which is the symbolic sharing of the prosperity and wishing happiness for all; this is the first gift of the new year, some wear new cloths called puthukodi, and the celebration is incomplete without the Sadhya, feast comprising of food items that are sweet, sour, salty and bitter. 

Today is new year day, not only in some places in India, but also Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Thailand. The route of Rajaraja Chola. 

And it's spring not only in places in the Asian Sub continent but a lot many more places across the globe. Some Spring Pictures across continents:

Daffodils in green park London.

 From Sai in Seattle

My Vishu 12 years before  in US

When people migrate, they try to recreate and use artificial things to give a home feeling. But that is not what is needed. We need to celebrate nature. When in Rome do as the Roman's do, use the natural flowers and fruits of where you are. 

This day is a reminder to live in the moment, that it's a new day and this too will pass away and when it  comes again it's not going to be the same. This year in particular, lets not add coronamela to the festivity. 

May there be peace, happiness, harmony, health and prosperity in every body's life. Stay Safe. Take Care. Happiness Humesha. Live in the moment. 

Mahabharata

    In the old old days, there was an illustrious king, Santanu by name, ruling at Hastinapura. He had a son, named Bhishma more renowned than his father. After Bhishma lost his mother, Santanu married Satyavati a fisherwoman. Before this marriage she had already become a mother. Her son is Vyasa, very famous as a sage and as a writer. It was he who collected and rearranged the Veda - chants and compiled them into 4-volume Vedas. He wrote the Puranas and the great epic, Mahabharata. 

    The greatness of Mahabharata lies in its quantity and quality. It contains one lakh of verses. It is an encyclopedia of all information - social, political, economic, moral, religious, historical, philosophical, legendary, etc. It is rightly said,  "What is found in Mahabharata, one may find elsewhere in other works, but what is not there will not be found in any book at all." Because it is such a mine of knowledge, and unlike the four Vedas this epic can be read by all without distinction of training (caste), faith (creed), or ability (sex) it is called the Fifth Veda.

    Dhritarashra and Pandu were born to Bhishma's brothers. Dhritarashtra was born blind and though the elder, he had to forfeit his claim to the throne due to this physical defect. Pandu became king. Of the two brothers Dhritarashtra married Gandhari, a princess, whereas Pandu, the younger had two wives, Kunti and Madri. Gandhari was so devoted and submissive to her lord that she bandaged her eyes, not to enjoy anything that she could not share with her royal husband, and remained thus voluntarily blind for life. What high ideals! She became the mother of Kouravas, 100 in number, whereas Kunti got three sons and Madri two. At the death of Pandu and Madri, the five Pandava princes were brought up and educated along with Kourava boys under the supervison of Bhishma and under the patronage of Dhritarashtra. Drona though a brahmin was a very skillful and efficient teacher, who taught them the art of archery and the various techniques of warfare.

    Yudhishthira, the eldest of the Pandavas, was so righteous that he gained the name Dharmaputra. Bhima, as you have guessed already, was a giant in physical strength. Arjuna was the handsomest and the cleverest of all and most dear to the teacher. Dharmaputra was the beloved of the people and being the eldest among the 105 princes, was naturally, and by his right too, the heir to the throne. Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kouravas, however was jealous of the Pandavas and tried every means to destroy them. But in our mother-land we know virtue always triumphs. Good conquers Evil. "Satyameva Jayate". - Truth alone triumphs.

    When Yudhishtira was proclaimed king, Duryodhana could not sit quiet and watch. Dhritarashtra loved all the 105 princes alike, and there was no partiality in his mind between his own sons and the nephews, the Pandavas. But who can blame a father, if he loves a little more his eldest son. The great blind royal father, came under the influence of Duryodhana and though directly not an evil-doer, was in sympathy with his son's disappointments and sorrows.

    Duryodhana's plan to kill the Pandavas cunningly giving poison to Bhima, burning down the lac-house etc., failed miserably. Bhima was strong enough to digest the poison. The Pandavas were warned in time by their uncle Vidura and so in the darkness of the night the five brothers along with their mother escaped into the jungle from the burning lac-house. 

    After their miraculous escape from lac-house, they did not return to the palace. They roamed about in the guise of brahmins with their mother. Every one including the Kouravas believed them to be dead.

    During the time, they heard of the Swayamvara of Droupadi. The qualification to marry her lay in the extraordinary skill of archery in hitting a moving target. Arjuna easily won. Everybody congratulated the winnr, and discovered that it was Arjuna. Thus the Pandavas were found out. He took his bride to his hut and called to his mother to come outside and see what he had brought. Instead of doing so, she answered back "My dear children, whatever it be, you shar it among yourselves." Therefore, Droupadi became the common wife of all the five Pandavas. Krishna, who was also present at the marriage ceremony became a great friend of the Pandavas from then onwards.

    Pandavas were thus again victorious. On Bhishma's advice, the kindgom was divided into two parts. Naturally the better half was taken away by the Kouravas. Still, the others built a wonderful city in their own half and called it Indraprastha. 

    Duryodhana watching the increasing prosperity of the Pandavas could contain himself no longer. He openly challenged Dharmaputra for a game of dice. Sakuni, deceit in human form , was the uncle of the Kouravas. He played for them. Inevitably Dharmaputra lost everything - his kingdom, his brothers and also his wife. 

    Not satisfied with this gain, Duryodhana tried to insult Droupadi in public. By Krishna's Grace, nothing disastrous happened. Dhritarashtra, fearing that this might bring unforeseen calamaties beggd Droupadi to take whatever she wanted. She asked for the freedom of her husbands. It was granted.

    Dhritarashtra due to his excessive love for the eldest son was blind to what is right and what is wrong. So again Duryodhana invited Dharmaputra for another game of dice, and the bet was that the losers would live in the forest for 13 years,  without any claim to the kindgom, the last year however to be spent incognito.  they were detected again a round of 13 years' exile; and this would go on for ever.

    Dharmaputra again lost. During the twelve years sojourn in the forests, the Pandavas visited may holy places. They had many interesting adventures at this time. One of them lead to Hanuman's friendship and grace. Arjuna is called Kapidhvaja as he keeps on his flag the emblem of Hanuman. Krishna visited them now and then. Arjuna, at the advice of Vyasa, practised penance, propitiated Siva and got from Him the mighty weapon, the Pasupatastra. He prpitiated also the other gods, Indra, Agni, Varuna and others and got from all of them very powerful weapons. This the twelve years were not wasted but spent in securing the divine weapons, which would come useful later on.

    In the 13th year, hiding all their weapons in the hollow of a tree in a burial ground, all the Pandavas with Droupadi went to the palace of the king of the Viratas and stayed there as servants. Duryodhana was making frantic efforts to discover them. When he heard about the strange murder of Kichaka, the brother-in-law of the king, he concluded that the Pandavas must be in the Virata country. So the Kouravas attached the Viratas, with apparent purpose of carrying away its cattle-wealth. Of course the Pandavas took part in the battle, but when they were recognized as Pandavas the time limit of Thirteen years had already passed. 

    Dharmaputra was fond of peace, and was ever against any quarrel, much less war. So he sent Krishna as a messenger to Hastinapura to claim his kingdom back from Duryodhana. But would Duryodhana give? No. He had by this time come to regard Indraprastha as his own. He not only refused to give their kingdom back, but refused to give even 5 houses for the five brothers to live! Nay, he swore, he would not give even a pin-point of ground to them. 

    War had to be declared. This is the great war fought at Kurukshetra to decide the right of claim. The hundred Kouravas, Bhishma, Drona, Asvathama, etc. were on one side and the Pandavas, Krishna, Drupada, etc. were on the other. Krishna did not actually fight. He was the Charioteer of Arjuna and hence he is called Parthasarathy. Krishna was very impartial. He gave his army to the Kouravas and himself offered to serve the Pandavas. 

    The Kouravas and the Pandava armies arrayed themselves for the war. The Kouravas planned their attacks under the supervision of Bhishma, and under Bhima's management the Pandava army marched into formation. Arjuna asked Krishna to drive his chariot right into the heart of the battlefield, into the no-man's-land between the two opposing forces, so that he could get a clear view of all. he was bubbling over with the war-spirit. He faced his enemy forces ....but there he saw not his enemies but his revered grand-sire Bhishma, his beloved teacher Drona, and his dear and near kinsmen and friends. He felt a growing weakness in his heart. He lost his enthusiasm to fight. He turned to Krishna and told him clearly that he did not wish to fight against his seniors, friends and cousins to win a paltry kingdom. how can he enjoy the luxuries and the glories of a kingdom won by spilling the blood of so many of his relatives and friends!

    When he refused to fight, Krishna gave him good advice, enlightening him upon where his duty lay. Its essence was active conquest of evil and not passive resistance to it. Arjuna was a different person altogether after he had tasted this spiritual Elixir. It cured not only his weakness but revived his spirits. This marvellous advice is the Bhagavad Geeta, which gives in a nut shell, the essence of the vast and deep learning enshrined in the scriptures.

    More on Bhagavad Geeta and the events after in the next post. May this be the 37th of 2021.

    

    

    

Cut Like Wound - Anita Nair

A brutal psychological thriller unlike any of her previous books, Cut Like Wound by Anita Nair is set during Ramadan in the steamy heat of Bangalore, taking the form of a police procedural, with detectives tracking a serial killer through the teeming streets and seedy back alleys of the city. This was my 34th of 2021.

 

As the month of Ramzan begins around the world, in Bangalore, India a young male heeds the words of the Goddess to cross-dress as a female. He admires his transformation into beautiful Bhuvana before leaving his home to visit the bazaars where he expects to meet true love. A man flirts with Bhuvana until an interloper warns him that the woman he admires is a male in female clothing. Angry as lust turns to disgust he insults the transgender and the interloper. When he recognizes who the transgender is, he panics just before his throat is sliced. Before leaving the killer arranges for a cleanup.

Inspector Borei Gowda, a splendidly grumpy, hard-drinking, deeply flawed character whose chaotic home life includes an absent wife, an estranged son and an enigmatic mistress. Despite his brilliant detective work, Gowda's disdain for authority has led to a posting in a backwater district of Bangalore. He is roused from his apathetic torpor by a series of grisly murders on his patch; seemingly unrelated men whose throats have been cut with a manja – a glass-coated kite string. The author's hypnotic writing plunges us into world at once deeply conservative and daringly transgressive; we are presented with policemen perennially at odds with their own organization, local politicians who mix corruption with paternalistic altruism, and transgendered sex-workers in search of affection and tenderness

He has a reputation for incredible investigative skills, and it's those skills that rookie inspector Santosh hopes to absorb. Santosh is in luck; just as he arrives at the precinct, passersby find a body burning in an abandoned car. The autopsy reveals that the man's throat was cut by an unusual, unidentified weapon. When two more bodies turn up with the same wound, Gowda campaigns to investigate the murders as serial killings, upsetting the administration's denial that such killers operate in India. But a senior officer friend secretly hands Gowda unofficial reins, and he and Santosh hunt a killer incongruously connected to both local politics and Bangalore's eunuch subculture.

A surprise reunion with his first love reminds him of who he used to be in his student days. Perhaps that's why, while his colleagues believe that the deaths of a few “eunuchs” are not worth wasting police resources on, Gowda is determined to protect the city's oppressed transgender community from a self-hating murderer, no matter how many corrupt politicians he has to make enemies of in the process.

It is only after about the first hundred pages that the investigation actually begins.  The story slows down, as if to mimic the pace of the investigation.  There are also references to some sensational crimes reported in the media in recent years. At the crux of every great mystery novel is that penny-drop moment where the revelation leaves you cold with shock. In A Cut Like Wound, the penny hits you on your head like a golf ball.

The climax, which is well paced over the last thirty pages of the novel, is especially good. In a complicated urban world, where identity is faked, deceit constant and money desperately needed, role-playing and all forms of prostitution prevail Gowda prefers to travel those streets on his Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle. Another reason to find this detective irresistible.

Gowda investigates a series of homicides that make no sense to him as they seem like angry crimes of passion yet cleansed by an apparent cool head. This is an intriguing Indian police procedural in which the official serial killing inquiry takes a back seat to the deep look inside the souls of the fully developed lead characters Gowda and Bhuvana; with the latter owning the storyline. 

This novel asks hard questions about what it means to be a male or female. What are the differences? Why would anyone be a hijira? Why is Bhuvana so irresistible? It also explores the boundaries of family connections and how, in India, that effects political corruption and many branches of the government and law enforcement. The India of the novel is both exotic to Western minds but also familiar. The book is action and suspense filled with contrasts and conflicts between the two sleuths. 

Business Communication

 Why is effective business communication needed?

• To consider verbal and non verbal communication methods
• To understand and practice effective listening
• To communicate in clear, respectful, and non-judgmental ways
• To know when to seek advice

Communication is the medium used to convey our thoughts, and it is complete only if we get an acknowledgement back. 

• To get your message across to others clearly and unambiguously
• Successful when the sender and receiver understand the same information
• To convey your thoughts and ideas effectively

Unsuccessful communication results in :

• Communication breakdown
• Ideas that do not reflect your own
• Roadblocks personally and professionally

Keep it simple, clear and convey what need to.

• Step 1: Aim
• Step 2: Compose
• Step 3: Transmit
• Step 4: Feedback
• Step 5: Analyse/ Learn/Change
• Step 6: Improve

Types of communication

• Verbal: Sounds, words, language and speaking
• Non Verbal: Physical like tone of voice, touch, smell and body motion
• Written: Writing in words, things that need to be communicated
• Visual: Photography, topography, signs, symbols and design; Television and Video clips 

Communications can be passive, aggressive or assertive.

• Find angles that interest you. Ask yourself "what is it in for me", " How will it benefit me"?
• Focus on the content (email/on call)
• Hold the fire until the speaker is finished
• Listen for ideas/facts/ importance of content
• Note taking
• Active listening
• Resist distractions
• Mindfulness/Exercise your mind
• Understand salutations
• Address right pronunciation
• Practice grammar (Articles, Prepositions, Tenses, Subject - Verb agreement) 

When communicating be mindful of:

• Pronunciation: the way in which word is pronounced is important
• Enunciation: the act of announcing, proclaiming, making known, open attestation
• Rhythm: 
• Customized and personal
• Consistent and Strategic
• Honest and Supportive
• Intonation: the rise and fall of the voice in speaking
• Rate of speech: term given to the speed at which you speak
• Pause Management: Prepares the listener to receive your message
• Voice modulation: It's when you choose to go louder or softer, faster or slower , dramatic or emotional.

A sentence has its beauty only when it has it's punctuation. There are certain barriers to communication namely:

• Physiological Barriers: That hampers our ability to listen are hearing deficiencies and rapid thought processing. A person who has difficulty hearing will either miss critical information or will be so focused on trying to hear the words, that his energy is diverted from processing it. Rapid thought processing involves trying to process the information too quickly.
• Physical Barriers: Hamper your ability to listen to someone, since you're distracted by your own discomfort.
• Attitudinal Barriers: The fear of seeming ignorant, but not asking for clarification on something you don't understand is an attitudinal barrier. (eg. you can't properly decode information that doesn't make sense to you/impatiently waiting for your turn to speak)
• Cultural Barriers: Different native speaking or mother tongue influence on Verbal communication

Broken Open - Elizabeth Lesser

 

Prelude say: "And the time came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.  - Anais Nin"

Joseph compbell, the great mythologist of the twentieth century, wrote, "We have not even to risk the adventure alone, for the heroes of all time have gone before us. The labyrinth is thoroughly known. 

The book is divided into 6 parts: 

Part I: The call of the soul

It can be unsettling to dip below the familiar and descend into the more mysterious realms of the soul. 

Any of us feel uncomfortable revealing to others and even to ourselves what lies beneath the surface of our day-to-day consciousness. We shut down to our soul several time. There is a feeling of deadness. How the river diverts itself and breaks through in other ways - as a desire to blame, as an emotion of anger, as physical illness, as restlessness, or a weariness, or self-destruction. The soul always speak and it always speak the loudest when we block its flow, when we live only half of a life, when we stay on the surface. If we don't listen to the voice of the soul, it sings a strange tune. If we don't go looking for what lies beneath the surface of our lives, the soul comes looking for us. 

No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it  - Albert Einstein. 

In What Einstein Knew, she writes about her experience, when she meets the psychic to find if she should divorce, 

What lesson do you want to learn? It is to find and trust your own precious voice. Only those who love themselves can love others, that only people who claim their own voice can hear the true song of another. What feels like painful loss now will become something beautiful later on. You cannot escape your destiny. You can certainly try. People do every day. They hold on tight, and the river just dries up. Things may get worse before they get better, but they'll only get better if you let them get worse. 

Take Voyage from once born innocence to twice born wisdom, it is never easy. Most generous and vital people are those who have been broken open by change, or loss, or adversity. And not just broken open on the outside. It is the internal transformation that matters most. If there is one thing that make a difference, it is the courage to turn and face what wants to change within.

In the difficult are the friendly forces, the Hands that work on us - Poet Rilke. Every shift in our life comes courtesy of the friendly forces; every catastrophe can hand us exactly what we need to awaken into who we really are. 

Open Secret: Learn the alchemy true human beings know. The moment you accept what troubles you've been given, the door will open. - Rumi. Within us - burning brighter than any movie star - is our own star, our North Star, our soul. It is our birthright to uncover the soul - to remove the layers of fear or shame or apathy or cynicism that conceal it. A good place to start, and a place we come back to over and over again is what Rumi calls the Open Secret. When your heart is undefended, you make it safe for whomever you meet to put down his burden of hiding, and then you both can walk through the open door. 

We're all bozos on the bus, so we might as well sit back and enjoy the ride - Wavy Gravy. it is important. 

Open heart - It's interesting and important to know our body, and how it function. While we are here contained within, bones and muscles, organs and skin, take care of the gift of body, feed it well, move it gracefully and rest it deeply. 

Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior, by the Tibetan Buddhist Chogyam Trungpa, meditation teacher: "You feel sad and lonely and perhaps romantic at the same time, that is the first tip of fearlessness, and the first sign of real warrior-ship." Discovering fearlessness comes from working with the softness of the human heart. Real fearlessness is the product of tenderness. 

Lighting up and falling down, We are chunks of dense matter that need to be cracked open. Our errors and failings are chinks in the heart's armor through which our true colors can shine. 

In the beginner's mind there are may possibilities, in the expert's mind , there are few. The Soul "Was the one who answer the question 'why are you really here?' It is the wise and whole and brave part of the self. The soul is the ageless longing for truth that sends scientists into the lab and seekers onto the spiritual path. "

Soul wants you to go beneath. It leads downward. It says, "Don't ignore the signs. Follow your longing down. Go beneath the surface of your troubled mind, your bad moods, your repetitive mistakes. Go beneath the surface questions to even deeper questions. " 

We can relate to our circumstances as messengers from the dep, or we can shut down, defend our position, and add another layer of protection to the castle wall. If we defend against the Strange Angels, we will become more and more numb to life. We will remain unchanged . If we allow the angels entry, we will open the door to change and evolution. As in a fairy tale, the moral may be a simple one, but the story maps a dangerous, fantastic, and transformational journey. 

The Rapture of being alive, is what we all all seeking not just a meaning for life. an experience of being alive. The world suffers more from unhappy, stifled people trying to do good than it does from those who are simply content within themselves. If we reject what is painful, we find only more pain, but if we embrace what is within us - if we peer fearlessly into the shadows - we stumble upon the light. 

Shaman of a Caribou Eskimo tribe in northern Canada, Igjugarjuk, told European visitors that the only true wisdom lives far from mankind, out in the great loneliness, and can be reached only through suffering. We too much go through such a time, when life as we have known it is over - when being a caterpillar feels somehow false and yet we don't know who we are supposed to become. All we know is that something bigger is calling us to change. And though we much make the journey alone, and even if suffering is our only companion, soon enough we will become a butterfly, soon enough we will taste the rapture of being alive. 

Feel the rapture. What wants to live in you may be waiting - at the end of long loneliness. 

               

In the first part, Elizabeth Lesser speak of her childhood, first marriage, and divorce. 

While the first and the third part had details from Elizabeth Lessers own life, second part has examples from others. 

Part II: The Phoenix Process

The transformational journey is a voyage with a hundred different names: the Odyssey, the Gail quest, the great initiation, the death and rebirth process, the supreme battle, the dark night of the soul, the hero's journey. All of these names describe the process of surrendering to a time of great difficulty, allowing the pain to break us open, and then being reborn - stronger, wiser, and kinder. 

You and I are the Phenix. We too can reproduce ourselves from the shattered pieces of a difficult time. Our lives ask us to die and to be reborn every time we confront change - change within ourselves, and change in our world. When we descend all the way down to the bottom of loss, and dwell patiently, with an open heart, in the darkness and pain, we can bring back up with us the sweetness of life and the exhilaration of inner growth. When there is nothing left to lose, we find the true self - the self that is whole, the self that is enough, the self that no longer looks to others for definition, or completion, or anything but companionship on the journey. This is the way to live a meaningful and hopeful life - a life of real happiness and inner peace. This is the Phoenix Process. 

The last of the human freedoms is to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances.  - Victor Frankl. Every one has a burden to bear, and no one can carry it for us. It's our won chimidunchik. "It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who are being questioned by life - daily and hourly. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general, but rather the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment. "

This too shall pass. Everything passes and changes and turns into something you would never have imagined. Do not dwell on whether or not something should be happening. Sometimes we have "Choiceless choice". When faced with tough situation, anger is another common reaction after denial begins to fade. 

When faced with adversity, name each of tables four legs - Faith, courage, growth and love. 

By failing to accept your suffering, the pain you feel will be much more acute and harsh. There are three major hurdles to overcome in crisis: dealing with pain; working with your attitude; and using the crisis as a wake-up nd a clean up call. 

There is the story of the baggage -chimidunchik, Jude and her second child and both suffering, Ram Dass, Before and after the death of loved son, surviving the Holocaust, learning to live with incurable illness, .  Yeudah Fine's 'Time Square Rabbi: Finding hope in lost kids' lives', in a broken heart is an open heart; September 11, witnessing terror or experiencing trauma are Phoenix processes of the tallest order. Come through one of them with an open heart and you light a path through the woods for all. 

In a beautiful poem called "As I walked out one Evening", W. H. Auden expresses in a few line the essence of the Phoenix Process:

O stand, stand at the window

As the tears scald and start;

You shall love your crooked neighbour

With your crooked heart. 

'Ray of Hope' - Have you seen this anywhere? Amazing job by students of the Rajagiri School of Engineering and Technology, 'The phoenix'  a mythical bird believed to rise from its own ashes.

Part III: The Shaman Lover

The end of marriage and the dissolution of family, was a great Phoenix process for the writer. Intimate relationships are a powerful catalyst for personal growth and transformation. Having three sisters and three sons, growing up in a family of women, and creating a family of men is the family life. There is some kiss we want with our whole lives - Rumi. EL went looking for it, Her mother had always told the girls, being in love was a romantic fantasy, and that the life of  the mind was the one to trust. Many couple unconsciously recreate our parents marriage. The Shaman is a medicine man or a healing witch who hold an exalted place in the society. EL found one. The great epochs of life come when we gain the courage to re-christen our evil as what is best in us.  - Friedrich Nietzsche. From the beginning they knew meeting could only end in parting, yet they ignored the coming dawn and gave themselves to each other. In Greek such passion is called Eros. The son of Aphrodite, was the golden god of love and the personification of passion and sexual relationship.   

Mystic Crossroads are moments in our lives where the unconscious crosses consciousness; where the eternal crosses the transitory; where a higher will demands the surrender of our egos.

"So long has you haven't experienced this: to die and so to grow, you are only a troubled guest on the dark earth. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.  EL married Tom , after the note: " I only want to be with someone who has died." 

"Would you rather be right, or would you rather be happy? " Marriage should be between two whole people - two people who have married the shadow and the light within themselves, and who love the truth as much as they love each other. Children will learn from us, how to change and how to grow.

Part IV: Children

Raising children will help us break open. Parenthood is a clumsy yet majestic dance in the flames. A career with the crazy-making job requirement of simultaneously surrendering to and letting of of someone you love, over and over and over again. A never-ending journey down a wiser river of worry and love. Parenting is a perpetual process of change and transformation - a dynamic experience of being broken open by love. Nothing has a more disturbing influence psychologically on children than the unlived life of the parent. Normal is someone you don't know where well. 'Out beyond ideas of wrong doing and right doing there is a field. ' we meet our children there. 

First son when leaving college in his speech said - I have so many emotions, and they're all so jumbled. For every emotion there is exact opposite equally strong for completely different something. Happiness and sadness, nervous and confident, strength and weakness, top of the world yet overwhelmed by the moment. 

In the words Robert Bly from  ‘Iron John’ the most crucial keys to a child’s individuality is to be found “under the mother’s pillow.” Those who lived with mom’s had to “steal the key from under mother’s pillow”. No mother worth her salt would give the key anyway. If a child can’t steal it, they don’t deserve it. Mothers are intuitively aware of what would happen if children got the key. They would lose the children. Their possessiveness can never be underestimated. Different kids and parents traverse the teen years in different way. When the bunnies leave the nest and enter the dangerous world, if parents find themselves holding tight to children long past appropriateness or helpfulness it would help to take a copy of “The Runaway Bunny”, sit on the couch next to your stunned son or daughter, and read the book aloud. Only this time change the words. Read it like this: Once there was a little bunny who wanted to run away. So he said to his mother, “I am running away”. “If you run away”, said his mother, “I will let you go. For you are grown now. I trust you t find your way in the world. Run away, bunny!”. Once you move out, it will help if you ask yourself, before you take up any action, will your parents be proud to know of what your are doing? 

EL had two children, one child from Tom's earlier marriage and her first husband had a child named Eli - who asked her, 'What is your title to me?'  he was really asking, "Where do I stand in the circle of your family?" Mother Teresa said: The problem with the world is that we draw the circle of our family too small. 

We are small creatures, looking at the smallest segments of a huge painting. 

Part V: Birth and Death

Life and death are two sides of a coin. Together -always together - life and death complement and complete each other. If we play dumb about death, life loses its vitality and meaning. 

Three simple rules in the study of death: 1) Death is not something that happens only once at the end of life, form the moment we are born we are dying everyday in all sorts of physical, emotional, and spiritual ways.  2) Grief is good, it is a sign of how well we have loved. 3) Death of the body is the start of an adventure. We may not know where the adventure will lead, but we can approach it with the same kind of hopeful anticipation and nervous butterflies that we feel before the start of a trip to a foreign land. Birth is a prerequisite and a sequel to death. 

The baby's descent had ended in life; the mother's pain was transformed into love. Birth is shocking - it is graphic and gory, painful and intimate. It is through the very terror of the birth process that the miracle is revealed. Bernie Siegel says: "Life is a labor pain; we are here to give birth to ourself."

French scientist Lavoisier says nothing is born and nothing can die: "Rien ne se cree, rein ne se perd."

Thich Nhat Hanh says that studying death can help each of us become "someone who has a great capacity for being solid, calm and without fear". There is an art to grieving, it is a creative art. Our culture favours the fast-food model of mourning. It should be a slow and sloppy process - one that involves emotional upheaval, interrupted activity, and dark nights of the soul. Grief is messy and painful. It is also a tonic, a healing elixir, made of tears that lubricate the heart. If we gloss over our grief, we migh become depressed. Unfelt feelings and unexpressed grief have a way of dulling life. 

Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? - Mary Oliver "The Summer Day"

Part VI: The river of change

We live in a river of change, and a river of change lives within us. We can relax and float in the direction that the water flows, or we can swim hard against it. If we had the patience and a high pwered microscope, we could sit and stare at our hands and watch the river of change flowing though our own bodies right now. We could watch our cells changing and dying and being replaced, over and over and over. 

Enjoy the passage of time. Every body love celebrating birthday when they are children. Growing old your perspective change. Some start enjoying every moment.  EL decided not to celebrate birthdays after 40, and on 40th, gave her woman gang a pinecone, threw a match in the fire, and as it burst into flames, told everyone to think of something she wanted to get rid of. "Something to burn to ashes, so that a new life can emerge". She herself threw into flame, her resistance to time passing, fear of aging, and big No! to change. And prayed for a new way of being in life to emerge. To say Yes! to all of it - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Live the secret law of the universe. Enjoy the passing of time. 

Poet Rainer Maria Rile wrote " In the difficult are the friendly forces, the hands that work on us"; Our problems are friendly!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes

Turn and face the strain

Ch-ch-changes

On, look out you rock 'n rollers....

Pretty soon you're gonna get a little older. 

   - David Bowie

Don't fight with reality. Don't defend against it. Rather, read it like newspaper that happens to you and to others as pertinent news about the reality of being human, of being you. Life in the world is full of pertinent news. When you are working and nothing is flowing easily remember, each of these situations is a reservoir of meaning, a bank of rich information. The answer to every problem is already wrapped in the problem itself. I need only stop resisting, open wide to reality and decode the message. 

Tool Box: Joseph Campbell said, " What all myths have to deal with is transformations of consciousness. You have been thinking one way, you now have to think a different way. Consciousness is transformed either by the trials themselves or by illuminating revelations. Trials and revelations are what it's all about. "

Here is a prayer from the Theosophist Annie Beasant. 

O hidden life! Vibrant in every atom;

O hidden light! Shining in every creature;

O hidden love! Embracing all in oneness;

May each who feels himself as one with Thee,

Know he is also one with everyone.

The fruit of prayer is the realisation that life is an eternal adventure, and that we are explorers, always changing, always learning, always breaking open into new vistas of clarity and peace. 

May you find the faith, the patience, and the help you need to transform pain into wisdom and joy. Can I call this the 33rd?

Easter Story

 The word Easter is of Saxon origin, Eastra, the goddess of spring, in whose honor sacrifices were offered about Passover time each year.  

Christian’s today celebrate Easter Sunday as the resurrection of Jesus.

Resurrection as a Symbol of Rebirth.

One theory that has been put forward is that the Easter story of crucifixion and resurrection is symbolic of rebirth and renewal and retells the cycle of the seasons, the death and return of the sun.

According to some scholars, such as Dr. Tony Nugent, teacher of Theology and Religious Studies at Seattle University, and Presbyterian minister, the Easter story comes from the Sumerian legend of Damuzi ( Tammuz) and his wife Inanna ( Ishtar), an epic myth called “The Descent of Inanna” found inscribed on cuneiform clay tablets dating back to 2100 BC. When Tammuz dies, Ishtar is grief–stricken and follows him to the underworld. In the underworld, she enters through seven gates, and her worldly attire is removed. "Naked and bowed low" she is judged, killed, and then hung on display. In her absence, the earth loses its fertility, crops cease to grow and animals stop reproducing. Unless something is done, all life on earth will end.

After Inanna has been missing for three days her assistant goes to other gods for help. Finally one of them Enki, creates two creatures who carry the plant of life and water of life down to the Underworld, sprinkling them on Inanna and Damuzi, resurrecting them, and giving them the power to return to the earth as the light of the sun for six months. After the six months are up, Tammuz returns to the underworld of the dead, remaining there for another six months, and Ishtar pursues him, prompting the water god to rescue them both. Thus were the cycles of winter death and spring life.

Dr. Nugent is quick to point out that drawing parallels between the story of Jesus and the epic of Inanna “doesn't necessarily mean that there wasn't a real person, Jesus, who was crucified, but rather that, if there was, the story about it is structured and embellished in accordance with a pattern that was very ancient and widespread.”

The Sumerian goddess Inanna is known outside of Mesopotamia by her Babylonian name, "Ishtar". In ancient Canaan Ishtar is known as Astarte, and her counterparts in the Greek and Roman pantheons are known as Aphrodite and Venus. In the 4th Century, when Christians identified the exact site in Jerusalem where the empty tomb of Jesus had been located, they selected the spot where a temple of Aphrodite (Astarte/Ishtar/Inanna) stood. The temple was torn down and so the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built, the holiest church in the Christian world. 

Source https://www.ancient-origins.net/

The Basics of Machine Language

 Machine Learning algorithms enables the computer to learn from data, and even improve themselves without being explicitly programmed.

Arthur Samuel, in 1950 developed a computer programme to play checkers. Features of the programme were:

• Scoring functions using positions of the pieces on the board, and measuring chances of winning (alpha-beta pruning)
• Designed a number of  mechanisms allowing his program to become better. In what Samuel called rote learning, his program recorded/remembered all positions it had already seen and combined this with the value of the reward function.
• Popularized the term "Machine Learning" in 1952

The need: Using data to answer questions and perform actions like:

• Is there traffic on the way home
• Which Netflix movie would I like?
• Will it rain in the next hour?
• How long will my food take to be delivered?

How does ML work?

Where does the data come from? - It can be from the present storage or data base or it can be scientifically collected.

Machine learning can be basically of three types:

How do ML work in our everyday life?

Recommendation’s and personalization’s – and we have got addicted to it. 

Machine learning in Marketing:

• Dynamic pricing
• Content creation
• Insights
• Sales Forecasting

Machine learning across Industry:

Manufacturing:

• Predictive maintenance or condition monitoring 
• Warranty reserve estimation
• Propensity to buy
• Demand Forecasting
• Process Optimization
• Telematics

Retail:

• Predictive inventory planning
• Recommendation engines
• Upsell and cross channel marketing
• Market segmentation and targeting.
• Customer ROI and lifetime value

Health care and life science:

• Alerts and diagnostics from real time patient data
• Diseases identification and risk stratification
• Patient triage Optimization
• Proactive health management
• Health care provider sentiment analysis

Travel and Hospitality:

• Power usage analytics
• Seismic data processing
• Carbon Emission and Trading
• Customer-specific pricing
• Smart grid managment
• Energy demand and supply optimization

Financial Services:

• Risk analytics and regulation
• Customer Segmentation
• Cross-selling and Up-selling
• Sales and Marketing campaign management
• Credit worthiness evaluation

Energy Feedstock and Utilities:

• Aircraft scheduling
• Dynamic pricing
• Social -media - customer feedback and interaction analysis
• Customer complaint resolution
• Traffic pattern and congestion management

Emerging uses of machine learning are:

Find skin cancer, Car automation, Personalization in stores, google and apple glasses – understand the interest, and help you see that. Data Model, can help clean up old family photos in seconds and make them look like new. We are not aware how much this is effecting our daily lives now, if they stop we will be bored and will struggle, you have your favorites popping up in you tube, netflix, amazon, the problem of choosing is minimized. 

• ML is becoming more engaging in everyday technology and services.
• We are becoming more dependent on ML
• ML is not perfect but is improving at a rapid pace

Computers are able to see, learn and hear. Welcome to the future. - Dave Waters.

Thanks to Jas Dhaliwal for the wonderful insight.