Names of India

Two blogs that I try to follow(they update quite quickly) have begin a discussion on "Name Changing" Since the last few years a number of Indian cities have been renamed. Mr. Gill. a politician, sports minister to be precise, prescribed a name change for Delhi. This sparked a debate, that why is India no called Bharata or Hindustan or any other name for that matter.
This is a misconception or you can say lack of GK. India has 20 official names in it's 20 official languages. It is just that we use the English name "India".
The list of the official names of India is as follows:-
1) Bharat - Assamese, Bhojpuri, Hindi, Gujrati, Kannada, Konkani, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sindhi, Urdu.

2) Intiya - Malyalam. Tamil.

3) Bharatam - Malyalam, Sanskrit, Telegu

4) Bharot - Bengali

5) India - English

I have only written the short forms of the different names. The full names differ from each other.


I did some more research and found that historically, India has been called different names at different times. Some of them are:-

1) Aryavarta - The ancient name of Northern and Central India.

2) Tenjiku - Japanese name for India which means the heavenly center of the world, in reference to Buddha.

3) Jambudvipa - It is a story from Jain mythology and some Buddhist tales.

4) India - Derived from the river Indus. India has been called India in Greek, Latin and Byzantine tongues. Herdotus used this name in the 5th century B.C. Also by Friar Jordanus in 1328 A.D.

5) Inde - The french version for India

6) Indike - Used by Megasthenes in 300 B.C.

7) Indoi and Indou - Arrian in 140 B.C.

8) Five Indies - Xuanzang in 650 A.D.

9) In 1298 A.D. Marco Polo said that India was divided into 3 parts, India the greater, India the minor and Middle India.

10) Clavijo reffered to India Minor in 1404 A.D.

11) Hind - This comes from the Sanskrit name of the Indus River, and it was "Sindhu". The land was called Sindh and it got corrupted into Hind and the people were called Hindus. Though there is a part in Pakistan called Sindh and the people from that place are called Sindhi. The name was used by Al-Biruni 1020 A.D., Hasan Nizami 1205 A.D., Istakhri 590 A.D.,

12) Sind - Masudi reffered to India by this name in around 944 A.D.

13) Hidush - Tha names comes from the book title Naksh-i-Rustam, 486 B.C., in which King Darius-I of Persia refers to India by this name.

14) Hindustan - This was the name for India in Persian. It became popular when the Persian kings (Mughals, Delhi Sultanate etc), ruled India or Northern India to be precise.

15) Bharat - The most ancient name of India. Named after the Legendary King Bharat. This name is mentioned in the Vishnu Purana and Bharatas or Indians are mentioned in the Rig Veda.

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I have not named this post as I could not find a suitable title. You can call it an obituary if it looks like one.
My Dog had been sick for a while. Since the last two days she had been bleeding profusely and yesterday it was diagnosed a cancer. The damn thing was growing so rapidly and had a fungus type growth. It had emerged outside and had a number of pores spewing blood. And with this she is the third dog we have lost to Cancer.
We decided to put her out of the misery. She was put to sleep an hour ago. Toffee was a German Shepherd and had turned 8 on 15th of May. She had come to this house when she was about a month old. So she arrived here around this date 8 years ago and has gone today 8 years later. She came in a car and went in a car.
There is always a bond between you and a pet that cannot be described. Only those who have kept pets can understand it. If I go into every detail then it will fill pages and BlogSpot.com may crash. Well it was wonderful having her as a pet.
I know some people will say that it was cruel of us to put her to sleep instead of looking for some treatment. Well cancer has no treatment unless and until caught at an early stage. And the anti-cancer medicines are too painful for the dogs. It is like a third degree torture for them. The most kind thing you can do for them is to put them to sleep. It is the final and most dreadful duty in the world you perform towards your pet. I know how it feels as this is not the first time I have done it. Deep down that selfish person doesn't want to let go but your rational mind says that emotions are for the weak, you have to let go and do your duty, save your pet the torture.
RIP Toffee.

Surviving a Party

All of must have got the feeling of boredom at least once during a party. Sometimes not exactly boredom, but you wish you weren't there, you feel lost and helpless. There is a big gathering of people, an uncle is shamelessly goring himself on some dish and making sure his shirt doesn't stay hungry. Then there is the irritating aunt who spots you while you are trying to hide behind the "Golguppa" counter.

But you have to make sure that it seems you are enjoying. Because if you give even a slight hint that you are not, then the host/hostess presume that it may be something they said or did and one of them sticks with you like a leech for the rest of the party or sends a waiter trailing behind you, whose only purpose in life is to either bring you delicacies without you asking for any or ask you first and still bring a topped up plate even if you had declined the offer.

The old aunts are one of the most lethal. They ask questions that would put even the RAW's interrogation team to shame. Each answer you give, will give birth to another question, and if you don't, then too another question following by a sarcastic jibe coated with humour. This continues till they either find a new prey or you collapse. Some oldies I know had a strange habit of poking me in the rib cage during marriages and chuckling with a toothless grin, “You are the next in line”. They stopped after I started doing the same thing at funerals.

In every marriage or party there are a couple of people who are usually very quite, but give them a a few drinks and they will give you one the strangest dance performances ever. Their steps are either derived from animals eg Snake Dance, Constipated Monkey, decapitated eel, etc or from day to day activities eg Flying a Kite, Laying plates on a table, washing clothes etc.

With the variety of snacks being served, by the time, it is time, for the main courses, you are too full to even look at the food. Now this is a typical Catch-22 situation. If you don't eat, you either offend the host and they will continue to feel bad about it and make it known to you via slight hints and jibes now and then till judgment day, and make you eat some against your will, or they think you are feeling shy and literally force something down your throat. If you say yes, and have some just to please the hosts, they will keep coming back to you and force feed you, as if your stomach is a bottomless pit.

Many times a strange person you don't recognize, creeps up to you and starts a conversation. He says that you had met before, and acts like he is your best buddy. You smile and laugh throughout the conversation while wondering, "who the hell this guy is?". After the party, you take the courage to ask someone and they give such a searching look as if wondering whether you are from this planet or not.

Sometimes while you are sitting at the table, the person to your right is busy in conversation with the person to his/her right, and the one on your left is talking to someone on his/her right. You have two options here, either start crying softly over your bad luck or start singing a solo while using the spoon and plate as drum and sticks. But here also do not let the hosts know you are disengaged or they would feel responsible to you and start an emergency conversation which you don't want.

Make others believe that you are talking to someone. Make it seem as if you are looking towards someone and keep nodding you head or say “Yes”, “No”, make some expressions from time to time.

Another way to kill time is make some sculpture out of the food on your plate or try to balance your spoon on your nose. But make sure, it seems you are doing this for someone. From time to time look up and say something which shows your either making this for someone or teaching them some fine culinary trick.

The last resort could be, going the 'child way'. Start acting like a 5 year old. Go down on all fours, sneak below the table and growl like a tiger to startle someone, or steal some sandals and mix them up, tie the shoelaces of the two shoes together etc. Do this until you get kicked out.....................................or................................................ just take your leave, walk out of the party, go home and sleep.

Changes

It seems the Political Pundits have been proved wrong and there won't be a hung assembly this time. After a decade of unstable governments in the center, it seems we are in for a change this time. Though I am not a supporter of Congress but still I am happy that a stable government will be formed. A government formed by a coalition of parties can not do much because half the time some ally or the other is against something and will threaten to quite. So in the end, most of the efforts are spent pleasing one and other. Though Congress will not be able to form the government on its own and would require some support from others but still it is far better than the last few elections.
The other reasons for my happines:-

1) The left have got even less votes. It will show them that no one wants to buy their hypocritical views. The people are not fools. They have seen that all these left parties have done is oppose everything. They refused to be a part of the government and supported from outside. So they had no responsibility and didn't let anyone else work.

2) BSP's loss. Mayawati had been going around saying that she is idle candidate for Prime Minister and said that BSP will stand and win on it's own strength. Well madam, you may think quite high of yourself but that doesn't matter. What matters is "What others think about you?" And getting you own statues installed around UP doesn't make you great.

3) SP doesn't get much seats. Mulayam Singh said that if he comes to power he will abolish the use of English and Computers. I won't say anything else.

Some Long Words

Longest word in the world is:
Lopado­temakho­selakho­galeo­kranio­leipsano­drim­hypo­trimmato­silphio­karabo­melito­katakekhy­meno­kikhl­epi­kossypho­phatto­perister­alektryon­opto­kephallio­kigklo­peleio­lagōio­siraio­baphē­tragano­pterýgōn
It contains 183 letters and is the name of a Greek Dish.
(I wonder what people say, when they wish to order it at a restaurant)

The longest English word is:
Cockofuckomaticsexywomanwhoiswowohandzachsmeckalissohotwoahgogohah
Means, something funny and random.

Other long words in English:

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Meaning: A lung disease also called silicosis.

Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism
Meaning: A genetic disorder caused by mutation in G(s)alpha gene

Antidisestablishmentarianism
Meaning: A political position in 19th century Britain

Honorificabilitudinitatibus
From a Latin word. Meaning: the state of being able to achieve honours.

Bababadal­gharagh­takammin­arronn­konn­bronn­tonn­erronn­tuonn­thunn­trovarrhoun­awnskawn­toohoo­hoordenen­thurnuk.(101 letters)
Meaning: Thunderclap that occurs with the fall of Adam and Eve. Coined by James Joyce in a novel titled Finnegan's Wake.

Babyoubiquitouse...oiletub: No one knows its pronunciation. It is a whooping 2,087,214 letter word and occers in a novel titled The Blah Story Volume 10 by Nigel Tomms
Meaning: Girl

"The holy Jah" is a 4.4-million-letter word in "Marienbad My Love" by Mark Leach. It is comprised of pieces of various words from the world's faiths and means god within.

The Majestic Ellora

We went to Aurangabad this winter. It is a town in Maharashtra and is most famous for the Ajanta and Ellora Caves that are near the town. We took a bus from Pune at 11:30 P.M. On 29th of December and reached Aurangabad around 5:30 A.M. Our stay was at the Meadows which is a resort some 10 Km away from the city, in a village called Mitmita. It is on the Aurangabad Mumbai Highway.
We first went to visit the Ellora Caves. It was a 30 minutes drive. The Ellora Caves are a group of 34 caves built between. 5th century A.D to 10th century A.D. The caves are divided into 3 categories according to the religion-
i)12 caves (cave number 1-12) are Buddhist Caves. They are the oldest caves.
ii)17 caves (cave number 13-29) are Hindu. They were built later.
iii)The last 5 caves are Jain Caves and were built between 8th and 9th century
All caves are an example of the rock cut caves. They were made by artists and sculptors who cut the rock face from outside to make these caves. The whole cave complex can be divided into 2 parts. The temple/learning places and the hostel for the students and teachers. The caves were actually schools. There are 2 huge double story caves in the Buddhist area with many cubical with a bed made of rock. One was a Girl's hostel and the other was the Boy's hostel. The work in these caves was done from the east side so that the caves had ample illumination during the day time. All caves have been dug from the east face except the cave no. 16 also called the Kailash Temple which was dug from top like a well.
The walls of the caves contain beautiful sculptures of Gods and are all decorative. The complex architecture and the unique style shows that the majority of the architects/sculptors were from South India. There are those huge sculptures which were made by the master artists and below these huge sculptures were small sculptures, most of them showing the same theme but were still different from each other. Our guide explained that these small sculptures were made by the trainees/students who lived here. The same theme showed that their teacher had given them an assignment and this was their drawing board.
Majority of the caves are full of sculptures with nearly the same themes but each one is still different as the artist who has made them has made it according to his/her interpretation. The caves are not flawless and there are a few sites where you notice that the architects had made an error in determining the depth and/or strength of the stone. Some caves have been left unfinished. No one knows why and I doubt we will ever know the answer. Still these caves are a marvel of the ancient world and preserving them for the future generation is our duty.
The magnificence of the caves cannot be described in words. You have go there and experience it yourself. It is a different experience and one that I would personally recommend.
The next visit was to Daulutabad Fort.......keep tuned.

It's a Mad Mad Mad World

You know the world is going crazy when the best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy, the tallest guy in the NBA is Chinese, the Swiss hold the America's Cup, France is accusing the U.S. of arrogance, Germany doesn't want to go to war, and the three most powerful men in America are named "Bush", "Dick", and "Colon". – Chris Rock

"China is a big country, inhabited by many Chinese."
Former French President Charles de Gaulle.

I don't kill flies but I like to mess with their minds. I hold them above globes. They freak out and yell, 'Whoa, I'm way too high!'
-Bruce Baum

Question: If you could live forever, would you and why?
Answer: I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever.
- Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss America contest

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principle difference between a dog and a man.
-- Mark Twain]

"Get all the fools on your side and you can be elected to anything."
Frank Dane.

"Show me a man who is a good loser and I'll show you a man who is playing golf with his boss."
Jim Murray.

"Sure, there have been deaths and injuries in boxing, but none of them serious."
Alan Winter.

"To lose one parent may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness."
From 'The Importance of Being Earnest' 1895.

"To err is human, but to really foul things up you need a computer."
Paul Ehrlich.

"When I was a boy the Dead Sea was only sick."- George Burns

The man who smiles when things go wrong has thought of someone to blame it on. - Robert Bloch

"I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon."
Ronald Reagan.

"My advice to you is get married: if you find a good wife you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher."
Socrates.

"If it weren't for electricity we'd all be watching television by candlelight."
George Gobol.

"Researchers have discovered that chocolate produces some of the same reactions in the brain as marijuana. The researchers also discovered other similarities between the two but can't remember what they are."
Matt Lauer on NBC's Today Show .

"Since the mathematicians have invaded the theory of relativity, I do not understand it myself anymore."
Albert Einstein

"As long as algebra is taught in school, there will be prayer in school."
Cokie Roberts

"He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt."
Joseph Heller.

"All our knowledge merely helps us to die a more painful death than animals that know nothing."
Maurice Maeterlinck.

"I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter."
Winston Churchill.

Other quotes in the next episode of Its a Mad Mad Mad world. Keep tuned.