Social Phobia

Dealing with other people can be a terrifying situation for those who suffer from social phobia. 

We’ve all experienced them; those moments when you just can’t bring yourself to leave the house to attend a social engagement. For many of us, the reason is just laziness. But for some people, there is a psychological reason. The idea of mingling with others makes them quake in fear, a condition known as social phobia.

The condition

Social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder, is a condition characterised by a fear of certain situations. These situations can be extremely diverse, ranging from a job interview or a presentation at work, to attending a party with friends and even eating or drinking in public.

While many of us have a trepidation of public speaking, for those with social phobia, this fear can be so paralysing that it interferes with their lives.

People with social phobia also fear being watched or criticised by others. Although they may know that their fears are unfounded or unreasonable, they are unable to overcome them.

Do I have social phobia?

Worried about that presentation you have to make at a meeting? Chances are, you are merely apprehensive about having to stand in front of a group and expressing your thoughts.

How can a person tell if he/she has social phobia? The following symptoms may be key signals.

•   Fear or apprehension about a social meeting or engagement (this fear could last for days or even weeks).

•   Fear of being embarrassed in public.

•  Fear of being watched, judged or criticised by people, particularly strangers.

•  Fear that other people will note your nervousness and uneasiness.

•  Avoidance of social events or even places like work or school to avoid any of the abovementioned fears.

These physical symptoms may accompany the psychological ones mentioned above.

·       Nausea.

·       Dizziness.

·       Fainting spells.

·       Breathlessness or rapid breathing.

·       Trembling.

·       Hot flashes.

·       Profuse sweating and clammy hands.

·       Shaky voice and difficulty speaking.

·       Blushing.

·       Muscle tightness.

·       Palpitations.

What can be done?

Medical options

There are medications that can overcome some of the symptoms of social phobia. However, they are not a ‘cure-all’ method, as stopping treatment will cause a relapse of symptoms.

Some of the medications prescribed include:
• Anti-anxiety drugs.
• Beta blockers – to control physiological symptoms caused by anxiety, including sweating, rapid heartbeat and shaky hands.

• Anti-depressants – used in situations where social phobia is extremely severe and interferes with a person’s ability to function.

Behavioural therapy

More often than not, treatment involves therapy and lifestyle changes. Cognitive therapy can help a person identify the situations he/she fears most and learn how to change his/her thought patterns so as to no longer fear these situations.

The person will also learn how to control anxiety attacks  with the help of several methods, eg, relaxation and breathing techniques. He/she can also learn how to deal with a ‘scary’ situation as opposed to avoiding it altogether.

Some therapists encourage role-playing during their sessions to help patients develop better social and conversational skills to enable them to cope better in social settings.

Lifestyle changes

Just like it does for numerous health conditions, lifestyle modifications can help reduce the symptoms of social phobia.

·     Are you sleeping enough? A lack of sleep can make you more prone to anxiety attacks. Adequate sleep will help you stay relaxed throughout the day, especially in social settings.

·     Reduce your caffeine intake. Not only will it keep you up at night, caffeine acts as a stimulant and also exacerbates the symptoms of anxiety. Cut down on coffee and other caffeinated drinks.

·     Try to better manage your stress levels. Relaxation and breathing exercises may help. Scheduling some time each day to indulge in ‘me-time’ helps, too! Whether it is a warm bath, a massage or facial, or even reading a book, find an activity that relaxes you.

·     Although some people may consume alcohol to ‘loosen up’ before a social setting, in reality, alcohol worsens anxiety symptoms. It may give you a relaxed feeling at first, but after a while, alcohol acts as a stimulant, increasing your risk of a panic attack.

·     Just like alcohol and caffeine, nicotine is also a stimulant. If you are a smoker, quit. Remember that smoking before a social gathering will not relax you, but increase your anxiety symptoms.

Exercise is a great way to relax the body and mind, and reduces stress. It helps ease muscle tension and increases energy levels. Exercise also stimulates the production of endorphins (those feel-good hormones)!

Why Rosie Huntington-Whiteley…?

So Transformers 3 is in 3D, but Megan Fox, the eye-candy girl, has left the series. She gave her adolescent fanboys almost as many cheap thrills as the Decepticons did, but who is her replacement?

She is Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (pictured) who was working as a model in England. Bay said: "I've shot plenty of the Victoria's Secret stuff, they've been good clients of mine for years.

"Rosie was modelling for them and she looked spunky. She also has a smart head on her shoulders.

"We had been auditioning all around the world and we saw 500 women but I could not find what I was looking for. Then I asked her if she had ever been interested in acting. She said 'yeah', and I said: 'This might sound a little crazy, it doesn't really happen much, but would you be interested in being in this movie?'

"At first she was going to turn it down, but she went to the audition. From that casting session," said Bay, "the casting director came back with 20 good actresses, but there was something brand-new and fresh about Hayley, and if she impressed us, she would impress the audience too.

"We showed Steven Spielberg her audition tape and everyone was intrigued. Then we brought her on set with LaBeouf and we shot with her for six hours. LaBeouf liked her and we thought she did a good job."

So that's how an English girl got to play the new female lead in Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon opposite LaBeouf, John Malkovich, Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson.

Is that wrong to ask for a ‘Clean’ Election..?

“Only when elections are clean and fair, can citizens be real masters of their own destiny and expect holders of public office to act accountably and effectively.”

BERSIH started out as the Joint Action Committee for Electoral Reform, which was formed in July 2005, and the coalition’s objective was to push for a thorough reform of the electoral process in Malaysia.

The formulation of the Joint Communique
The Joint Communique was a result of an ‘Electoral Reform Workshop’ held in Kuala Lumpur in September 2006. The Joint Communique defines the long-term objectives and the immediate working goals of the coalition.

BERSIH Steering Committee
The Committee comprises members from the political parties, as well as representatives from the following NGOs: Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), Women’s Development Collective (WDC) and Writers Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI).

The Beginning of BERSIH
BERSIH was officially launched on 23 November 2006 in the Malaysian Parliament building lobby. It was attended by poitical party leaders, civil society groups and NGOs, including PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, PKR vice-president Sivarasa Rasiah, DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng, DAP National Publicity Secretary and MP for Seputeh Teresa Kok, PAS deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa, PAS Youth chief Salahudin Ayub, PSM Secretary-General S. Arutchelvan, Malaysian Trade Union Congress Syed Shahir Syed Mohamud, WDC executive director Maria Chin Abdullah and SUARAM executive director Yap Swee Seng.

8 Points

Bersih’s calls are summarised in the following 8 points:

1. Clean the electoral roll

The electoral roll is marred with irregularities such as deceased persons and multiple persons registered under a single address or non-existent addresses. The electoral roll must be revised and updated to wipe out these ‘phantom voters’. The rakyat have a right to an electoral roll that is an accurate reflection of the voting population.

In the longer term, BERSIH 2.0 also calls for the EC to implement an automated voter registration system upon eligibility to reduce irregularities.

2. Reform postal ballot

The current postal ballot system must be reformed to ensure that all citizens of Malaysia are able to exercise their right to vote. Postal ballot should not only be open for all Malaysian citizens living abroad, but also for those within the country who cannot be physically present in their voting constituency on polling day. Police, military and civil servants too must vote normally like other voters if not on duty on polling day.

The postal ballot system must be transparent. Party agents should be allowed to monitor the entire process of postal voting.

3. Use of indelible ink

Indelible ink must be used in all elections. It is a simple, affordable and effective solution in preventing voter fraud. In 2007, the EC decided to implement the use of indelible ink. However, in the final days leading up to the 12th General Elections, the EC decided to withdraw the use of indelible ink citing legal reasons and rumours of sabotage.

BERSIH 2.0 demands for indelible ink to be used for all the upcoming elections. Failure to do so will lead to the inevitable conclusion that there is an intention to allow voter fraud.

4. Minimum 21 days campaign period

The EC should stipulate a campaign period of not less than 21 days. A longer campaign period would allow voters more time to gather information and deliberate on their choices. It will also allow candidates more time to disseminate information to rural areas. The first national elections in 1955 under the British Colonial Government had a campaign period of 42 days but the campaign period for 12th GE in 2008 was a mere 8 days.

5. Free and fair access to media

It is no secret that the Malaysian mainstream media fails to practice proportionate, fair and objective reporting for political parties of all divide. BERSIH 2.0 calls on the EC to press for all media agencies, especially state-funded media agencies such as Radio and Television Malaysia (RTM) and Bernama to allocate proportionate and objective coverage for all potlical parties.

6. Strengthen public institutions

Public institutions must act independently and impartially in upholding the rule of law and democracy. Public institutions such as the Judiciary, Attorney-General, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC), Police and the EC must be reformed to act independently, uphold laws and protect human rights.

In particular, the EC must perform its constitutional duty to act independently and impartially so as to enjoy public confidence. The EC cannot continue to claim that they have no power to act, as the law provides for sufficient powers to institute a credible electoral system.

7. Stop corruption

Corruption is a disease that has infected every aspect of Malaysian life. BERSIH 2.0 and the rakyat demand for an end to all forms of corruption. Current efforts to eradicate corruption are mere tokens to appease public grouses. We demand that serious action is taken against ALL allegations of corruption, including vote buying.

8. Stop dirty politics

Malaysians are tired of dirty politics that has been the main feature of the Malaysian political arena. We demand for all political parties and politicians to put an end to gutter politics. As citizens and voters, we are not interested in gutter politics; we are interested in policies that affect the nation.
Posted

Launch of BERSIH 2.0

The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (better known by its Bahasa Malaysia name “BERSIH”) issued its first joint communiqué on 23 November 2006.

At its formation, BERSIH comprised civil society organisations and political parties with the objective of campaigning for clean and fair elections in Malaysia.

BERSIH’s journey thus far has been both monumental and memorable. The public demonstration of November 2007, which saw thousands of ordinary Malaysians take to the streets in support of clean and fair elections, was a critical juncture in our nation’s electoral journey.

Almost 3 ½ years later, the aims of BERSIH continue to be relevant.

The time has now come for BERSIH to continue its crusade for clean and fair elections independent of any political party. BERSIH is thus being re-launched as BERSIH 2.0, a coalition of like minded civil society organisations unaffiliated to any political party. Our aim will be to effectively monitor both sides of the political divide.

The Steering Committee members of BERSIH 2.0 are as follows :

Dato’ Ambiga Sreenevasan, Chairperson
Andrew Khoo
Arumugam K.
Farouk Musa
Maria Chin Abdullah
Haris Ibrahim
Liau Koh Fah
Richard Y W Yeoh
Toh Kin Woon
Wong Chin Huat
Yeoh Yang Poh
Zaid Kamaruddin

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My Blog is Carbon Neutral

“My blog is carbon neutral” is an initiative, originally started in Germany by the “Make it Green” program, that has the goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. We plant a tree for your blog and thereby neutralise your blog’s carbon footprint for the next 50 years! Everyone can make a small contribution to the environment. Every tree counts!

So guys, lets plant a tree too...save the earth...I just plant a tree..

It’s A Love Story of A Brahmin Girl

It’s a story of a Brahmin gal who loved a non-Brahmin and due to father’s compulsion married a Brahmin guy and leading a perfect life with little happiness!!

(Some tamil words included)…

Dearest Appa,

27th Jan’1965

Hope this letter finds you, Amma, Raji and Seenu in good health. The weather here in New York City is icy cold. But Avar sollraar- I have missed this winter’s biting cold. I still wish I had seen the snow… But then, I still wish I had not left Trichy at all. I do miss Trichy, Appa. You, Amma, Raji, Seenu, pakkatthaathu Rama, Vikatan,Ucchi Pillaiyaar Koil, filter coffee, Holy Cross College, the Maths Department and of course Sakthi. I know you wish I hadn’t brought his name in this letter.But not to worry Appa, I understand that you got me married to Visu because you thought it was best for your daughter.

 

I still remember Amma wiping her silent tears with her madisaar thalappu and you shouting at me the day I told you about Sakthi.Later, when the initial shock wore off you patiently listed umpteen reasons why I should not marry Sakthi. I agree Appa, that 20 is too young to decide, that Raji and Seenu would have been affected greatly by my ‘mistake’, the Agrahaaram would have scoffed at you… a meat eater was not a good match for someone who had never even tasted onion and garlic. The reasons were innumerous. I knew you’d still have objected and offered other reasons even if he had become a Dhigambara monk.

 

Visu on the other hand, wore a poonal, he is the son of Neelakanta Sastri, an Engineer and he researched about computers which is what made you jump for this alliance. Am not complaining Appa, Visu is a nice man. Tell Amma that I could not try her kozhakkattai recipe this Pongal because coconuts were too expensive and Avar nenacchar that it was ridiculous.

 

Anyway, we went out on Sankaranthi day and dined out. He thought it would be a good idea to invite the Chatterjees also. But I didn’t speak Bengali and Mrs.Chatterjee spoke English in an accent that comes with living years in America. Hence I made myself busy with the menu card. They ordered various species of fish,shrimp and a lot more of items I had never seen in my life. I ordered orange juice and a sandwich. The other diners thought it was queer coming to a seafood restaurant and settling for a sandwich. That day, I learnt that Avar prefer pannradhu beef, pork, bacon and seafood.

 

Do you know, Appa… Sakthi gave up meat because of me? I didn’t ask, he just did. But then, Sakthi is not Neelakanta Sastri’s son and that made it imposible for Subramania Iyer’s daughter Kalyani to marry him.I will keep you posted on what happens here. I don’t think I can make it to Seenu’s Upanayanam. Tell Amma not to get me a pattu podavai for the poonal, I don’t use them here. I wore it once and felt like a clown here.

Your loving daughter,

Kalyani.

 

 

 

Dearest Appa,

20th Oct’1968

We are fine here. Gautam is speaking his first words and I swear they sounded like ‘Dosai’. But Visu claims it’s just gibberish. From your previous letter, I gather that pakkathatthu Rama is married and settled in Jamshedpur. Nice to know that. Please find out her address from Saarada maami and write it to me. I want to keep in touch with her. I hope Raji is happy with her husband in Madras. I spoke to her last month, great to know that she has a phone. Do tell Seenu to study well and prepare for his school final exams.

Raji also told me that Sakthi is married now. I wish him good luck, but I could not convey the message to him. Raji refused to be the messenger and I know you have severed ties with Sakthi’s father, your long term friend Sankaravel, thanks to me. I hear his wife is his cousin… He must have succumbed to his mother’s wishes.

How did Avani Avittam go? Visu’s mother gave me a bunch of new poonals for Avani Avittam but Visu was in Boston that day. He wouldn’t have used it anyway, I haven’t seen him wear one in the last three years. Gautam is now playing with the spool of thread- mere thread it is, what else can I call it? Gautam will not even know what it signifies, I guess.

Visu is making sure Gautam grows up listening to English only. He says it will make his life easier. But I do read out passages from Ponniyin Selvan and Bharathiyaar’s poetry when I am alone with him. It’s more of reading to myself, I guess. I actually got that poetry book as a present from Sakthi, it still has his scrawling signature in the first page.

By the way, Visu saw that book and asked me about Sakthi, I told him. Hold your breath Appa, he didn’t throw me out of the house. He is a good man, no question. He said it is okay and that he doesn’t mind. And then he told me of his American girlfriend whom he was once in love with, when he first reached America- Amy, a fellow Researcher who was in a brief relationship with Visu when she was in New York. They lived together for 3 months and decided against marriage, somehow. Amy once dropped home when she was in New York. Nice lady, she was.

Ask Amma to send me Sambar Podi for this whole year. My friend Sudha is coming to Madras next week. Ask Seenu to catch the Rockfort Express and give it to her. I will collect it from her here.

Your loving daughter,

Kalyani.

 

 

Dearest Appa,

3rd June’1974

We have arrived here safely. After two months in India, I find it hard to adjust back to normal life here. Gautam and Ranjana demand vadai,paayasam and vaazhai ilai here. Visu’s relieved to be back in America. I left a set of my books there. If it’s not in Trichy it must be in Visu’s parents’ place. If you find them, safeguard them until my next trip. They mean a lot to me since they were gifts from Sakthi. By the way, Appa, I found out Sakthi’s present address in Madras from Rama and Saarada maami. I wrote to him. I am extremely proud to know that Dr.Sakthivel is a cardiologist much in demand there in Madras. He was thrilled to hear from me after so long. You know what he has named his daughters? Kalyani and Raagamaalika. He called me. You know what, he’s still a practising vegetarian, Appa. He didn’t revert back just because he lost me… He asked me if I still sang and whether Gautam and Ranjana could sing. I could see a proud father in him, when he claimed his daughters could sing upto Rara Venu Gopala. That’s when I remembered that I was once a good singer. I wonder why I stopped singing, wonder why I never exposed the kids to Music and Dance. But then, I realize that I had buried all that deep inside me when I left Trichy; after bidding farewell to my best Rasika, actually. Sakthi. After the call, I tried singing ’Kurai Onrum Illai’. I could not rquite reach Charanam, because of the lack of practice and more importantly because of the tears that filmed my eyes and the constriction in my throat. I sang to Visu and the kids one of these days. Though Gautam was impressed, father and daughter could not just wait for me to finish! By the way, next time some friend comes to India, send me a Sruthi Box. I would like to start singing again.

Your loving daughter,

Kalyani.

 

Dearest Appa,

14th Aug 1978

Just back after our tour to California. Find our photos, picture postcards attached herewith. After you are done with showing all family members,relatives, friends and neighbours, pass them to Visu’s parents. It was a welcome break for the four of us. But I missed my paattu class students all along and was happy to resume the classes again last evening. Did I mention in my previous letter, before we left on the tour - I finally got my driving license here. I sent a few photos to Sakthi too. He has sent me quite a few records and cassettes. I loved it! I’m reminded of AIR, almost! I’m circulating them among my friends too. And of course, playing them for my students too. They are picking up beautifully. Funny news is, I, a Tamilian, is teaching Telugu and Sanskrit kritis to a cross section of Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada,Telugu, Marathi, Bengali students in an English speaking nation. The music sessions have resulted in a reborn Kalyani, Appa. Thanks to Sakthi, really. I would have never taken it up had it not been for his reminder. I am now thinking of what life would have been like if I had indeed married him. I would have of course lost you and Amma. But right now, with this life in America, Visu and these monthly letters to you, Rama, Raji and Seenu what have i gained? I don’t find an answer, Appa. Neither do I think I ever will. Again, as I have always reiterated, Visu is a good man, no complaints there. He is every bit the son in law you wanted. Researcher, American Post-Graduate Degree holder, a dutiful husband and father,earning a comfortable income. I know it is too much to ask for anything else. That is a fantasy I left midway in my life… Once upon a time in Trichy with someone else.

Your loving daughter,

Kalyani.

 

Dearest Appa,

14th Apr’1984

Met Dr.Sakthivel after 19 years… He had come to New York for business purposes and paid me a visit. Visu and the kids welcomed him home with great pleasure. And they liked him too. Infact, they did most of the talking initially. And of course, he got me a whole load of books, cassettes, Mysore Paak and lots more. Your loving daughter,

Kalyani.

 

 

 

Dearest Appa,

20th Jan’ 1990

I just went through all these letters lying in my closet draw for years together. These are letters I started writing to you and then decided not to post. For obvious reasons. I could not mention Sakthi to you even though I was itching to. Not because I was afraid to invite your wrath. I just did not have the heart to hurt you, I know these letters would have hurt you. Because deep inside, I know you were disturbed- you knew Sakthi was a good man, you knew he was a man of substance, yet you didn’t want to go further. Society, I know. ..Family… I know… And all these letters would have only wounded you more.Today, 2 years after your death, and 6 months after Dr.Sakthivel’s untimely death in a road accident, I somehow felt like re-reading all these letters. To me, all these unstamped, unposted letters mean a life that could have been. Kalyani Viswanathan.

What the Hollywood bullshits and we see…but when the Indians bullshits we don’t see.

How often have we heard the word ‘unrealistic’ or ‘impossible’ being used to describe the feats of a hero in an Indian movie? Very often, perhaps for almost every movie that we see! But, have you ever heard the same things being said about a Hollywood hero? Very rarely or never would be the two answers. This, in spite of the fact that the average Hollywood hero accomplishes far more jaw dropping and potentially life threatening acts than the Indian hero. But, Hollywood has a way of doing things that doesn’t allow much questioning of the proceedings on screen.

Come to think of it, the average commercial Hollywood movie is only as good as any Indian movie. Same old good versus bad stuff, with the bad guy wanting to kill everyone else except his gang of baddies, the hero wanting to save the society and his girlfriend (who always has a knack of getting into trouble) etc. A lot of fights and a climax which inevitably has the hero triumphing. That is about it in a nutshell.
The way of making and the scale of the entire affair is an altogether different thing. Here, the hero wants to save the people in his street, his hamlet or his village at best. But, in mainstream Hollywood movies it is more often an entire city that the hero has to save (probably New York) and in some cases it is the entire world. Here, the villain deals in petty drugs, kidnapping, guns etc… In Hollywood, it is more of nuclear weapons, bombs in skyscrapers submarines, time travel and hi-fi things like that. And, if Indian cinema has fights in shipyards, construction sites, godowns, markets and deserts, Hollywood takes it to the next level by going for locations like the wing of a moving aeroplane, the top of Empire state building, the deck of an oil tanker etc….

Really, is there anything different? Yes, there are no songs in English movies. That apart, Indian and Hollywood commercial cinema is more or less the same, only the packaging is different. Yet, Indian cinema always gets branded as the one that takes ‘cinematic’ liberties, makes superheroes out of men and fools out of audiences. Hollywood cinema is the more intelligent, believable kind of stuff!
Is it really so? Or does Hollywood have a perfectly foolproof knack of making us overlook everything that is unbelievable in their movies, allowing them to pack in all kinds of over the top stuff without being labeled as cinematic. The answer is yes. You have to give it to Hollywood. They know how to present the most illogical, dumbfounding and impossible things on earth and get away with it looking extremely intelligent and of course a lot richer.
Watching X Men over the weekend confirmed this thought. You had everything that 100 commercial Tamil movies put together could not offer – flying submarines (made possible by the sheer will of a man – one of the heroes), missiles hanging in mid air without knowing which way to go, people who can change shape and form as and when they like (this was not a Harry Potter film), flame throwers etc. And, the audience was clapping, I too enjoyed it, no one talked about logic. Not just X Men, almost every Hollywood action movie has these typical stunts. Every Spiderman sequel, Batman etc... you can keep counting. Of course, there are other very well made movies too; we are not talking about them.
When Rajnikanth swiveled his right foot to cause a mini cyclone underneath in Chandramukhi it evoked sniggers and many subsequent movies made comedy scenes based on this. Cut to The Last Airbender, a bald 13 year old boy was creating storms from his palm, aided by stylishly choreographed Kung Fu moves – audience clapped – no one demanded logic – because it was fantasy.

So, what is it about Hollywood movies? They have a fairly simple agenda, to entertain, to present a spectacle on screen that will make you forget everything else. That is pretty similar to what Indian movies want to do. But, Hollywood does its homework better. Yes, they create the better excuses for presenting all the impossible things on earth – mutated men, extraterrestrials, superheroes bitten by spiders, creatures from the portal of hell, second world war radiation victim turned zombies etc…. And hey, they no longer have to worry about any kind of logic – the hero can fly, walk upside down, blast through walls, cut down swords, stop aeroplanes with his fist and anything that the director wants and CGU finds possible.
It is in this department that Indian cinema falls short. Indian filmmakers just don’t know how to find excuses that will lead them around the necessity to think about logic. Why can’t we have good enough excuses? We have a rich enough history, lots of myths, the Himalayas which are known to have all kinds of powerful herbs, poisonous snakes etc.. Get a hero to eat one of these herbs, or a snake to bite him, or invoke some hidden power locked up by some magician in the 15th century (can be shown in an animated flashback) and the director will no longer have to break his head over the lack of logic in his scripts.
Yes, the Indian film makers are waking up to the necessity of finding good excuses to make great action films. That is why we had Enthiran where Shankar used the Robot excuse to make Rajnikanth do all things impossible, but that was not good enough, people still demanded logic. Now, there is Ra One which again will try offering us an excuse to make Shah Rukh Khan fly and make cars fly, we’ll see how good that one is.
With money and technology no longer a barrier, it is just a question of finding good enough excuses for Indian cinema to make action flicks that are as good as Hollywood. We have started, we will get there, till then we will have to make do with the Hollywood excuses!

Got the ticket finally: Its time for Transformers 3

Well remember the previous post about Super 8, ya sure you would if u read it. when i was purchasing the ticket for Super 8 movie last week, i was wondering would i be able to get the tickets for transformers?, so at the same time i asked the ticket counter guy for booking the tickets this week. Surprisingly the tickets are being booked a week earlier, and without thinking anymore i asked him to book the ticket for me on 30th night. its getting more excited when i hold the tickets with my hand. therefore same to you guys, go grab your tickets now. don't go buy them at last minute to avoid disappointment. this is my ticket, im going with my cousin brother and sister.

The most awaited movie this year: Transformers 3 Dark Of The Moon.

Directed by
Michael Bay

Produced by
Don Murphy
Tom DeSanto
Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Ian Bryce

Written by
Ehren Kruger

Based on
Transformers action figures by
Hasbro

Starring
Shia LaBeouf
Josh Duhamel
John Turturro
Tyrese Gibson
Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Patrick Dempsey
Kevin Dunn
Julie White
John Malkovich
Frances McDormand

Music by
Steve Jablonsky

Cinematography
Amir Mokri

Editing by
Roger Barton
William Goldenberg

Joel Negron

Studio
di Bonaventura Pictures

Distributed by
Paramount Pictures

Release date(s)
June 23, 2011 (MIFF)
June 29, 2011(United States)

Running time
153 minutes

Country
United States

Language
English

Budget
$195 million

 

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (also known as Transformers 3) is the 2011 film in the Transformers film series, directed by Michael Bay and produced by Steven Spielberg. It is the sequel to Transformers and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and is scheduled for release on June 29, 2011. The film will be presented in regular 2D, Real D 3D and IMAX, featuring Dolby Surround 7.1 sound.

Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and John Turturro are set to reprise their starring roles, with Peter Cullen returning as the voice of Optimus Prime and Hugo Weaving returning as the voice of Megatron. Ehren Kruger, who collaborated in the writing of the last film, was again involved in the writing. Despite having initially been confirmed for the film, and with the film already into principal photography, it was announced that Megan Fox would not be reprising her role from the previous two films. With Fox's character Mikaela being dropped, Sam was assigned a new love interest, who will be played by English model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Also, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, having written the last two films, did not return for this installment in the series, which Orci had earlier somewhat anticipated, fearing the duo would "risk getting stale". Bay has stated this would be his last installment in the series. In May 2011 it was announced that Paramount Pictures had bumped Transformers: Dark of the Moon 's release date of July 1, 2011 two days earlier, June 29, in order to receive an early response to footage. It has been announced that Transformers: Dark of the Moon will be released one day earlier, June 28, in 3D and IMAX theatres, nationwide.

Plot

When the war on Cybertron between the Autobots and Decepticons appears lost to the Autobots, their leader, Sentinel Prime, attempts to launch the Ark from their planet, containing technology that could have saved his kind. Attacked by Starscream, it crashes on Earth's moon in 1961. President John F. Kennedy makes his famous promise to the nation to put a man on the moon. The 1969 NASA moon landing is actually an investigation of the wrecked spacecraft.
As Sam Witwicky goes into adulthood and tries to move on from Mikaela, the Autobots are busy as they learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft on the Moon and must race against the Decepticons to find it and learn its secrets, which could turn the tide in the Transformers' final battle.

Release

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is set to be released on June 29, 2011 in 3D. Originally set to be released in both conventional and IMAX theaters, it was announced in November 2010 that no IMAX 3D shots were made for the film. The filmed premiered at the Moscow International Film Festival on June 23, 2011. Linkin Park performed a special outdoor concert at the Red Square in Moscow on the same night in celebration of the event.

Marketing
Most of the characters returned for Hasbro's new toyline, which came out on May 16, 2011. In October 2010, Entertainment Tonight previewed the behind-the-scenes filming in Chicago. Following that, the official film website was changed with the logo and the release date under it. A two-minute teaser trailer was announced on November 27, and was posted to the web on December 9, 2010. A thirty-second television advertisement for the film aired during Super Bowl XLV on FOX on February 6, 2011. The first full theatrical trailer was released on April 28, 2011. A 3D trailer is expected to be released on May 20, 2011 with the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides 3D, which would complete the promotional campaign for Dark of the Moon. The very first clip was released on May 18th. A second clip was released the next day on May 19th.

Soundtrack
The album was released on June 14, 2011. Linkin Park's song "Iridescent" is the lead single for the film, continuing the streak of the band's songs as the theme songs of the film series. The single follows "What I've Done" being used in the 2007 film, and "New Divide" for the 2009 film. The music video for "Iridescent" was directed by Joe Hahn.Two other singles were released specifically for the soundtrack, "Monster" by Paramore and "All That You Are" by the Goo Goo Dolls. Several other unreleased songs make their debut on the album, including "The Pessimist" by Stone Sour and "The Bottom" by Staind.
The release date for the film's musical score is currently unknown.

Home media
During Hasbro Investor Day, it was announced that the DVD and Blu-ray Disc will be released in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Novelizations
In May of 2011 the novelization, junior novel and graphic novel of Transformers: Dark of the Moon were released. Both the novel and the graphic novel featured Skids and Mudflap as supporting characters, but they were missing from the junior novel. None of them featured a character named Silverbolt. The graphic novel made reference to several Autobots from the IDW tie-in comics who died in the stories between Revenge of the Fallen and Dark of the Moon.

Video game
Activision is set to develop a video game for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS. The trailer for the Dark of the Moon video game was released in February 2011. The game will be developed by High Moon Studios, who previously developed Transformers: War for Cybertron. It has also been announced that the game will also feature "Stealth Force". Autobots Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Ratchet, Sideswipe, Warpath, Stratosphere, Breakaway and Mirage have been confirmed to be in the game, and so have Decepticons Megatron, Soundwave, Laserbeak, Starscream, Mixmaster and Shockwave.

DOWNLOAD THE TRANSFORMERS MOVIE WINDOWS T THEME PACK

Transformers 3 releasing one day earlier…..

 

“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” will open one day prior in 3-D and IMAX-equipped theatres across the United States.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon’ will be debuted in 3-D and IMAX-equipped theatres on June 28, while the movie will open wide across the United States on June 29, 2011. While the approaching flick is scheduled to open wide Stateside on June 29, movie fans can watch the film prior in those selected cinemas on June 28, starting 9 P.M. local time.

The Paramount’s Vice Chairman, Rob Moore apparently stated that this sci-fi film will ‘undoubtedly be among the most entertaining film going experiences’ during this season. He further detailed, providing movie fans an opportunity to see it early in 3-D is a great way to kick off the movie’s opening, a sources said.

On June 17, a new video from the ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’ sequel has landed online. With Linkin Park’s “Iridescent” helping as the background music, the sneak-peek offers new footage, including when Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Shia LaBeouf have to save their lives by hiding behind a wall, barely seen by a robot.

“Transformers: Dark of the Moon” turns around a risky space race between the United States and Russia, which involves the Decepticons and Autobots.

As the disarray blow up human Sam Witwicky has to come to the help of his robot friends once again. Shia reprises his role as Sam, with Rosie playing Carly, Sam’s new love interest.

Other supporting movie actors include Ken Jeong, Patrick Dempsey, Tyrese Gibson and Josh Duhamel.

Megastar Chiranjeevi visits Superstar Rajinikanth

Even tough actor Rajinikanth’s family have kept his being in Chennai under wraps, two days ago, star-turned-politician Chiranjeevi visited superstar Rajinikanth at his residence to enquire about his health.

He spent around 30 minutes on Wednesday morning with the ailing actor and found the superstar’s health to be satisfactory and that he was recouping faster than expected.

“Despite his 60-plus age, Rajnikanth has responded to the treatment well and the improvement in his health was evident. But he has been advised a couple of months rest,” says a source close the Telugu star.

He claims that Chiranjeevi was upset about speculations about his friend’s health, so he decided to get first hand information and after visiting him, he found all the rumours to be baseless.

The star-politician will return to Hyderabad and start work on his upcoming 24-hournews channel, which is tentatively titled Power News. If everything falls into place, it is expected to be launched on Chiranjeevi’s birthday (August 22).

Super 8: Superb

Well its movie time this week. Since i don't know which movie should i watch, i opened my browser and start looking for popular movies this week and not only on the net, through newspapers and word of mouth, finally i decided to watch SUPER 8..!!. The ticket is on the Thursday midnight and after i came back from work, i went with my cousin brother ahead to the Sunway Carnival Mall at Seberang Jaya, Penang. The results was amazing, its true wat people say as well as the net and newspapers. it was SUPERB!!. and its worth to go watch at cinemas..trust me..!!

 

HERE ARE THE BRIEF DESCRIPTION ABOUT THE MOVIE

Super 8 is a 2011 American science fiction film written and directed by J. J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg. The film, starring Joel Courtney,Elle Fanning, and Kyle Chandler, was released on June 10, 2011 in conventional and IMAX theaters. The film tells the story of a group of children who are filming their own Super 8 movie when a train derails, releasing a dangerous presence into their town. The movie was filmed in Weirton, West Virginia land surrounding areas.

Plot

In the fictional town of Lillian, Ohio, early 1979, a factory worker at the local steel mill changes the number of days since the last accident from 784 days to 1 day. Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), a 13-year-old boy living in town, has lost his mother in the accident and holds his mother's locket which contains a picture of her holding him as an infant. Louis Dainard (Ron Eldard) comes to the funeral but Joe's father, Deputy Jackson Lamb (Kyle Chandler), puts Dainard in handcuffs. It is later revealed by Alice (Elle Fanning), Dainard's daughter, that her father, an alcoholic, had been drinking the morning of the accident. Since Joe's mother was a kind woman, she stayed to cover his shift that day. Unfortunately, doing so resulted in her being fatally crushed by a steel beam.

Four months later, as summer break begins, Alice uses her father's car to take Joe and his friends Charles (Riley Griffiths), Preston (Zach Mills), Martin (Gabriel Basso), and Cary (Ryan Lee) to an old train depot. The group is shooting a scene there for Charles's low budget zombie movie on Super 8 film. During the shoot, Joe witnesses a pick-up truck drive onto the tracks towards an oncoming train, which causes a massive derailment. Recovering from the accident, the kids find the wreck littered with strange white cubes. The kids approach the truck and discover Dr. Woodward (Glynn Turman), their biology teacher, behind the wheel of the truck. He instructs them to never talk about what they saw; otherwise, they and their parents will be killed.

Soon, the U.S. Air Force, led by Colonel Nelec (Noah Emmerich), arrives to secure the crash site while the kids flee. After days of strange phenomena (pets running away, kitchen appliances, car engines, and power lines disappearing; people being abducted), the Air Force deliberately starts a wildfire outside of town. This gives them a pretense to evacuate the entire town to the local Air Force base. At the base, Joe runs into Louis, who tells him that a creature abducted Alice.

Joe, Charles, Cary, and Martin sneak back into town and head to their school, where they break into Woodward's stash of confiscated items, thinking he may have hidden in the stash documentations about the creature that might help them save Alice. In the papers, film, and audio recordings they find, they discover that the government imprisoned an extraterrestrial (Bruce Greenwood) that crashed on Earth in 1958. The alien only wished to rebuild its ship using the shapeshifting white cubes, and return home, but was instead imprisoned and tortured by the Air Force in order to learn from the creature's advanced technology and intellect. One film shows Woodward, a researcher at the time, being attacked by the alien. This physical contact caused him to form a telepathic bond with the alien, through which he learned that it only wanted to go home. By colliding with the train, he hoped to free the alien.

Colonel Nelec and his men storm the school and capture the boys. They place the children on a security bus and head back to the Air Force base but are attacked by the alien on the way. Nelec and his men are killed while Joe and his friends escape. The kids head through the town, which is now under heavy fire from malfunctioning military equipment as the military attempts to battle the alien. They find the alien's subterranean lair near the cemetery where his mother is buried, along with dozens of missing people who have been trapped there by the alien. In the lair, they discover that the alien was using the town's missing electronics to create a large device around the water tower base.

Joe manages to rescue Alice, but as they make their escape, the alien grabs Joe. He tells the creature: "I know bad things happen.... But you can still live." The alien, through its tactile telepathic ability, understands and lets go of Joe, allowing him and his friends to escape just as the machine the alien constructed starts to run. Shortly after, all the cubes as well as loose metal from around the town are attracted to the water tower. The cubes begin to align and a ship begins to take form around the town's water tower. Joe's metal locket is also sucked upwards and, after a moment, he decides to let it go. After this, the locket completes the pile and everyone watches as the ship takes off toward space.

While the end credits play, the movie that Charles and his friends were working on, The Case, is shown.

UniMAP: Institut Nanoelektronik

KUALA LUMPUR, 15 Jun – Institut Kecemerlangan Nano Elektronik Universiti Malaysia Perlis (INEE UniMAP) yang ditubuhkan pada tahun 2008 hari ini diiktiraf sebagai salah sebuah Pusat Kecemerlangan Nano Malaysia oleh Kementerian Sains Teknologi dan Inovasi Malaysia.

Menterinya, Datuk Seri Dr. Maximus Johnity Ongkily dalam ucapannya berharap kelima-lima Pusat Kecemerlangan yang dipilih ini akan terus menyumbang kepada pembangunan penyelidikan dalam bidang Nano Teknologi.

Ujar beliau, di peringkat awal sebanyak 17 Pusat Penyelidikan Nano Teknologi telah disenarai pendek tetapi buat masa sekarang, hanya 5 yang terpilih sebagai Pusat Kecemerlangan atas kecemerlangan penemuan dan penyelidikan dalam bidang Nano Teknologi.

``Pemilihan kelima-lima Pusat Kecemerlangan ini dibuat oleh satu panel khas dan harus saya akui proses pemilihan adalah sangat sukar memandangkan kesemua 17 pusat penyelidikan Nano Teknologi di Malaysia mempamerkan prestasi yang sangat membanggakan.

``Selepas beberapa tapisan, kita bersetuju dengan pemilihan lima Pusat Kecemerlangan ini (buat masa sekarang) dan tidak menolak kemungkinan akan ada penambahan di masa akan datang. Kesemua lima Pusat Kecemerlangan ini akan memfokuskan kepada bidang kepakaran masing-masing dengan pemantauan berterusan daripada Kementerian dan juga Direktorat Nano Teknologi Kebangsaan (NND),” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian pada sidang media selepas Majlis Perasmian Nano Malaysia Summit And Expo 2011 serta Penyampaian Pengiktirafan Pusat Kecemerlangan Nano Malaysia di PWTC di sini hari ini.
Pada majlis tersebut, UniMAP diwakili oleh Naib Canselornya, Brig. Jen. Dato Profesor Dr. Kamarudin Hussin dan Pengarah INEE, Prof. Dr. Uda Hashim.

Selain INEE UniMAP, turut terpilih sebagai Pusat Kecemerlangan Nano Malaysia ialah, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia dan SIRIM Malaysia Bhd.
Dr. Maximus seterusnya berkata, pihaknya juga akan menjadi perantara dalam mewujudkan kolaborasi pintar antara kelima-lima Pusat Kecemerlangan ini dengan agensi swasta dalam usaha pengkomersialan produk Nano Teknologi.

Beliau bagaimanapun berkata, setiap Pusat Kecemerlangan ini telah memiliki Unit Pengkomersialan masing-masing tetapi, Kementerian dan NND akan membuka lebih banyak peluang terutama di peringkat antarabangsa selain turut membimbing kesemua Pusat Kecemerlangan ini dalam bidang pembangunan tenaga kerja dan kepakaran serta koordinasi program.

Ditanya mengenai dana yang bakal diberikan kepada Pusat Kecemerlangan yang dipilih ini beliau berkata :
``Buat masa sekarang, jumlah dana tidak akan dimaklumkan, tetapi saya memberi jaminan bahawa kelima-lima Pusat Kecemerlangan ini akan diberi keutamaan dalam pemberian dana.”

( 15/6/2011 )

INSTITUT KEJURUTERAAN NANO ELEKTRONIK UniMAP DIIKTIRAF SEBAGAI PUSAT KECEMERLANGAN NANO MALAYSIA

Live Healthy: Indian Herbs and Spices

Curry leaves : Chalcas koenigii

They are used as a seasoning in Indian Cooking. The currey leaves lose their delicate fragrance when dried, you should try to obtain them fresh, don't waste your time with the dried stuff!

Indian Name:

Kari patta, Kareapela, Karuveppilai, Karuvepila, Katneem, Bursunga, Bowala, Karepeku, Karivepaku, Girinimba, Suravi

 

Chilly : Powder/fresh/dried : Cayenne Pepper

Now a basic Indian spice, used mainly for its pungent and fiery taste, one may use fresh green or red chilies instead.

Indian Name:

Lal mirch, Hari mirch, Morich, Lanka, Lal marcha, mulagu, Marichiphala Ujjvala, Mirapakaya

 

Cardamom Pods : eliachi

Used to flavor curries, masala chai and certain vegetables and Indian desserts and is one of the spices in Garam masala. Used for its strong but very pleasing flavor.

Indian Name:

Eliachi, Choti elaichi, Yellakai, Elathari, Elakkaai, Yalukalu, Ellakai

 

Cinnamon : Cinnamomum verum

Used for its sweet and pleasing flavor. It is the bark of the cinnamon tree and one of the spices in Garam masala. It is normally used to flavor curries, masala chai and certain vegetables and Indian desserts.

Indian Name:

Dalchini, Erikkoloam, Dalochini, Durusita, Twak, Illavangam, Lavanga pattai, Lavangamu

 

Clove : Eugenia caryophyllata

Used for its pleasing flavor. and is one of the spices in Garam masala. It easily loses its flavor and is used to flavor curries, masala chai and certain vegetables.

Indian Name:

Laung,Lavang, Lavanga, Labango, Grampu, Krambu, Shriisanjnan, Lavangalu

 

Black Pepper : Kala Mirchi

Black pepper are used in Indian cuisine at all stages of the cooking process and as a table condiment.

Indian Name:

Kala mirchi, Gulki, Menasu, Kuru mulagu, Marichan, Vella, Krishnan, Krishnadi, Savyamu, Miriyalu

 

Ginger : Rhizoma Zingiberis

A basic but not essential Indian spice, used for its warming properties and wonderful aroma and taste.

Indian Name:

Adrak, Sonth, Alla, Inchi, Ada, Adraka, Shringaveran, Sringaaran, Allam, Ingee

 

Tamarind Pulpa Tamarindorum

The Juice of dry Tamarind are adequate to add a touch of sourness in the curry. It is extensively used in south indian cuisine and is normally used as a replacement for tomatoes.

Indian Name:

Imli, Amla, Huli, Hunise mara, Puli, Imbli, Tintiri, Tintiddii

 

Fenugreek : Semen Foenugraeci

This is a basic but not essential Indian spice which is actually a lentil and is used for its strong, bitter taste. After turmeric it has the most medically useful item in the Indian kitchen. If it is burnt it gets very bitter and should be thrown away.

Indian Name:

Methi (seeds), Kasoori methi, Sag methi (leaves), Mente, Methri, Vendayam, Mentikura, Mentula

Be a responsible parent

 

Is your child developing well?

TRACKING your child’s learning progress can be a lengthy process. However, to raise smarter, healthier and happier children, it is crucial that parents keep track of their child’s physical and mental progress, and watch out for early signs of possible problems.

Signs of visual, motor, and language development can be detected from the first few years of life. In fact, by the time a child reaches two to three years of age, he should be able to identify different colours, sizes, and shapes; can run, jump with both feet, and even hold crayons/pencils and scribble on paper; can make short sentences, with a vocabulary of up to 50 words.

As children enter school and progress through the years, their intellectual and language comprehension becomes more refined. At the ages of four to six years, your child should be able to talk more fluently and confidently, able to draw quite well, with a certain amount of detail, develop reading skills, and even write independently.

If these milestones are not achieved by a certain age, then your child may need some extra help.

IQ tests: There are a few tests that psychologists use to check your child’s intellectual development.

The intellectual development of a child is the process of a child’s learning as he grows older. Some parents may question why their friend’s child is smarter than theirs when they both go to the same preschool, or why another child at age one has started talking before their own has.

It is important to remember that each child develops at a different rate, but if you suspect a delay, there are a few tests that psychologists use to check your child’s intellectual development (IQ).

Is intelligence ‘pre-set’?

In the past, the brain, and hence intelligence, was thought to be determined mostly by genetics. However, recent studies have shown that a child’s brain development can be influenced by his environment, such as nutritional, medical, emotional, and intellectual factors during his childhood.

A child’s brain is impressionable and can easily be influenced by different experiences, which can cause his brain to develop in different ways.

As your child grows, his ability to understand language, solve problems, and get along with other people is influenced by what he has experienced as an infant and young child. Good experiences will help his brain develop well, while neglect or abuse may cause normal children to develop various problems, such as delayed IQ or serious emotional difficulties.

 

How parents can help boost a child’s mental development

Parents are the primary caregivers for their children, and it is mainly through them that children are able to learn and develop. Stimulation and interaction are the most important aspects of brain development. Here are some ways in which you could help encourage your child to further learn and develop:

·When he starts to “talk”

Your child looks to you for response as he loves to hear the different sounds your voice produces. Respond to his sounds and smile enthusiastically, talk to him and name familiar objects that you touch or that he plays with.

Reading to him also helps him learn the importance of speech before he can even understand or repeat the words.

·When he starts to take an interest in what he sees

Your child becomes curious about the things that surround him. You can encourage his curiosity and help stimulate his thinking and learning by giving them simple toys to play with, such as blocks that are in different shapes and colours.

Engage him with pictures of various animals, fruits, vegetables or vehicles. You can also describe the different things you come across daily.

·When he starts to move around

You can help to develop your child’s sense of touch by providing objects or toys that have different textures, sizes and shapes. You can also hang a mobile/moving toy over his cot to help develop his motor skills by encouraging movement of his arms and legs as he tries to touch the objects.

As he reaches 13 to 17 months, you can start holding his hand and walk him along as he explores his surroundings. Give him free reign to do so on his own as well, but make sure that the environment is safe and childproof.

Good nutrition supports mental development

In addition to stimulation and interaction, a good foundation for brain growth and development includes a healthy diet rich in essential nutrients. Some nutrients have been said to be crucial for proper brain development, and these include phospholipids, omega-3 and omega-6, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and arachidonic acid (AA).

These nutrients are most abundant in soy, eggs, oily fish such as tuna and sardines, as well as walnuts.

Taurine, choline, and iron are important micronutrients for the network connections between brain cells. Food sources that contain these nutrients include legumes, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, broccoli, egg yolks and red meat.

Other nutrients that are equally important are antioxidants (ie lutein, selenium, vitamins A, C and E and zinc), which function to protect the brain cells. You can get these from fruits and vegetables, tea, prunes, and even cheese.

Do remember, however, that children need to eat a wide variety of foods to get all the nutrients required for overall growth and development. Milk products are a good source of all nutrients. Mothers should find a formulation that has been scientifically researched and tested in children.

Is your child different?

All children grow at different rates, but in some cases, a child may develop at a slower rate compared with the average child. There can be several reasons for this, which may include being born prematurely, poor nutrition, accidental exposure to drugs prior to birth, or even if he grows up in an environment he does not feel secure in.

The first few years of your child’s life are very important for all types of development, including brain growth. Encourage your child through activities that can stimulate his learning and growth, as his brain is greatly influenced by his interactions with others and his surroundings.

Also, provide your child with a balanced, moderate and varied diet according to the Food Pyramid, to help him obtain proper nutrition for healthy growth, both mentally and physically.

> Professor Dr Norimah A. Karim is a nutritionist, while Woo Pei Jun is a developmental psychologist. This article is courtesy of the Positive Parenting Programme by the Malaysian Paediatric Association (MPA) and supported by an educational grant from Abbott Nutrition International. For more information, please visitwww.mypositiveparenting.org.

Kajal Agarwal the hottest star in south Indian Cinema

Kajal Agarwal might now be known as one of the most popular heroines in South Indian cinema. From being a nobody in her blink and miss debut in Hindi film"Kyon...Ho Gaya Na", she has come a long way.

And it is South Indian cinema that gave her an identity in the glam world. Infact, she bagged her big ticket, Bollywood project, " Singham," with Ajay Devgn, only thanks to her popularity down South. But looks like Kajal, in all her B-Town excitement, is keen on leaving her South days behind. Talking to media in Mumbai for the promotion of herfilm "Singham," she was quoted as saying, "I have never considered myself a South Indian actress."

The industry is fuming at her statement. A co-star of Kajal, who also hails from the North and has worked with Kajal more than once, says, "This is insane.We don't get good roles in Hindi films and so we start off our career with South Indian movies. This industry gives us our fame and grooms us and then we bag Hindi films.We shouldn't forget where we began. I still can't believe she could say such a thing."

Many insiders feel that Tollywood producers are to be blamed for encouraging these Mumbai imports and putting up with their tantrums, only for them to turn their backs at the industry, as soon as Bollywood beckons. "These actresses use the South Indiancinema only as stepping stones to Bollywood career," a Tollywood insider says.

Filmmakers who worked with Kajal express their dismay and disbelief at her statement. While many were not willing to go on record against her, a few demand an apology from the actress.
"Two weeks ago she said that she knows the greatness of Hyderbadi biryani. When these stars are in Hyderabad,they say they love this city, pearls and biryani. When they are in Chennai, they say they love Tamil language. It is alright for her to say that she loves Mumbai for the sake of promoting her movie. But it is insane to say she never considered herself to be a South Indian actress. Now that we know her attitudetowards our industry, we have to treat her similarly," says director Sreedhar Reddy.

A few however, still give Kajal the benefit of doubt. "I cast anyone who suits the role without regional feelings. I don't discriminate. Shriya was from Delhi.  Kajal is from Mumbai. This is a creative industry and we need to work together. It doesn't matter to me what her feelings about South are as long as she suits the role. It is her perspective," says Sravanti Ravi Kishore, senior producer who worked with Kajal.

The Universe

The standard package

The theories and discoveries of thousands of physicists over the past century have resulted in a remarkable insight into the fundamental structure of matter: everything in the Universe is found to be made from twelve basic building blocks called fundamental particles, governed by four fundamental forces. Our best understanding of how these twelve particles and three of the forces are related to each other is encapsulated in the Standard Model of particles and forces. Developed in the early 1970s, it has successfully explained a host of experimental results and precisely predicted a wide variety of phenomena. Over time and through many experiments by many physicists, the Standard Model has become established as a well-tested physics theory.

Matter particles

Everything around us is made of matter particles.These occur in two basic types called quarks and leptons.

Each group consists of six particles, which are related in pairs, or ‘generations’. The lightest and most stable particles make up the first generation, whereas the heavier and less stable particles belong to the second and third generations. All stable matter in the Universe is made from particles that belong to the first generation; any heavier particles quickly decay to the next most stable level.

The six quarks are paired in the three generations – the 'up quark' and the 'down quark' form the first generation, followed by the 'charm quark' and 'strange quark', then the 'top quark' and 'bottom quark'. The six leptons are similarly arranged in three generations – the 'electron' and the 'electron-neutrino', the 'muon' and the 'muon-neutrino', and the 'tau' and the 'tau-neutrino'. The electron, the muon and the tau all have an electric charge and a mass, whereas the neutrinos are electrically neutral with very little mass.

Forces and carrier particles

There are four fundamental forces at work in the Universe: the strong force, the weak force, the electromagnetic force, and the gravitational force. They work over different ranges and have different strengths. Gravity is the weakest but it has an infinite range. The electromagnetic force also has infinite range but it is many times stronger than gravity. The weak and strong forces are effective only over a very short range and dominate only at the level of subatomic particles. Despite its name, the weak force is much stronger than gravity but it is indeed the weakest of the other three. The strong force is, as the name says, the strongest among all the four fundamental interactions.

We know that three of the fundamental forces result from the exchange of force carrier particles, which belong to a broader group called ‘bosons’. Matter particles transfer discrete amounts of energy by exchanging bosons with each other. Each fundamental force has its own corresponding boson particle – the strong force is carried by the ‘gluon’, the electromagnetic force is carried by the ‘photon’, and the ‘W and Z bosons’ are responsible for the weak force. Although not yet found, the ‘graviton’ should be the corresponding force-carrying particle of gravity.

The Standard Model includes the electromagnetic, strong and weak forces and all their carrier particles, and explains extremely well how these forces act on all the matter particles. However, the most familiar force in our everyday lives, gravity, is not part of the Standard Model. In fact, fitting gravity comfortably into the framework has proved to be a difficult challenge. The quantum theory used to describe the micro world, and the general theory of relativity used to describe the macro world, are like two children who refuse to play nicely together. No one has managed to make the two mathematically compatible in the context of the Standard Model. But luckily for particle physics, when it comes to the minuscule scale of particles, the effect of gravity is so weak as to be negligible. Only when we have matter in bulk, such as in ourselves or in planets, does the effect of gravity dominate. So the Standard Model still works well despite its reluctant exclusion of one of the fundamental forces.

So far so good, but...

...it is not time for physicists to call it a day just yet. Even though the Standard Model is currently the best description we have of the subatomic world, it does not explain the complete picture. The theory incorporates only three out of the four fundamental forces, omitting gravity. Alas, Newton would be turning in his grave! There are also important questions it cannot answer, such as what is dark matter, what happened to the missing antimatter, and more.

Last but not least, an essential ingredient of the Standard Model, a particle called the Higgs boson, has yet to be found in an experiment. The race is on to hunt for the Higgs – the key to the origin of particle mass. Finding it would be a big step for particle physics, although its discovery would not write the final ending to the story.

So despite the Standard Model's effectiveness at describing the phenomena within its domain, it is nevertheless incomplete. Perhaps it is only a part of a bigger picture that includes new physics that has so far been hidden deep in the subatomic world or in the dark recesses of the Universe. New information from experiments at the Large Hadron Colliderare sure to help us find more of these missing pieces.

what’s the dark matter…do GOD would reveal his image?

Recipe for a Universe

Take a massive explosion to create plenty of stardust and a raging heat. Simmer for an eternity in a background of cosmic microwaves. Let the ingredients congeal and leave to cool and serve cold with cultures of tiny organisms 13.7 billion years later.

To understand the basic ingredients and the ‘cooking conditions’ of the cosmos, from the beginning of time to the present day, particle physicists have to try and reverse-engineer the ‘dish’ of the Universe. Within the complex concoction, cryptic clues hide the instructions for the cosmic recipe.

Slowly simmer

Space, time, matter... everything originated in the Big Bang, an incommensurably huge explosion that happened 13.7 billion years ago. The Universe was then incredibly hot and dense but only a few moments after, as it started to cool down, the conditions were just right to give rise to the building blocks of matter – in particular, the quarks and electrons of which we are all made. A few millionths of a second later, quarks aggregated to produce protons and neutrons, which in turn were bundled into nuclei three minutes later.

Then, as the Universe continued to expand and cool, things began to happen more slowly. It took 380,000 years for the electrons to be trapped in orbits around nuclei, forming the first atoms. These were mainly helium and hydrogen, which are still by far the most abundant elements in the Universe.

Another 1.6 million years later, gravity began to take control as clouds of gas began to form stars and galaxies. Since then heavier atoms, such as carbon, oxygen and iron, of which we are all made, have been continuously ‘cooked’ in the hearts of the stars and stirred in with the rest of the Universe each time a star comes to a spectacular end as a supernova.

The mystery ingredient

So far so good but there is one small detail left out: cosmological and astrophysical observations have now shown that all of the above accounts for only a tiny 4% of the entire Universe. In a way, it is not so much the visible things, such as planets and galaxies, that define the Universe, but rather the void around them!

Most of the Universe is made up of invisible substances known as 'dark matter' (26%) and 'dark energy' (70%). These do not emit electromagnetic radiation, and we detect them only through their gravitational effects. What they are and what role they played in the evolution of the Universe are a mystery, but within this darkness lie intriguing possibilities of hitherto undiscovered physics beyond the established Standard Model.

KL bourse lower on weak sentiment

 

The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI fell by 4.16 points, or 0.27 per cent, to close at 1,563.19 after opening 1.31 points lower at 1,566.04.
The 30 large-capitalised stock index moved between 1,562.20 and 1,567.19.
RHB Capital led the decline among financial stocks. It fell 57 sen, or 5.94 per cent, to RM9.03 on news CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and Malayan Banking Bhd may abort their plans to acquire the bank. CIMB declined 4 sen to RM8.51 and Maybank fell 2 sen to RM8.82.
A dealer said sentiment on the broader market was weak, tracking the weaknesses in Asian stocks following overnight losses on Wall Street.

The Finance Index fell 128.61 points to 14,579.69, Plantation Index declined 31.14 points to 7,857.11 and the Industrial Index was 9.66 points lower at 2,797.22.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Emas Index slipped 24.34 points to 10,723.90 and the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Mid 70 Index dropped 21.63 points to 11,642.71.
The FTSE Bursa Malaysia ACE Index, however, gained 1.27 points to 4,206.60.
Trading volume increased to 875.69 million shares valued at RM1.43 billion from 847.12 million shares valued at RM1.52 billion on Wednesday.
Market breadth was negative with 393 losers compared with 330 gainers.
Lion Group of companies - Lion Corp and Lion Diversified - were actively traded on news that Baosteel Group Corp, China's second-biggest steelmaker, was in talks to buy a stake in a steel unit of the group for about US$1 billion (RM3.03 billion).
Lion Corp declined 1.5 sen to 28.5 sen while Lion Diversified gained 1 sen to 45 sen.
Among heavyweights, Petronas Chemicals rose 1 sen to RM7.08, Sime Darby was 2 sen lower at RM9.17 while Axiata was unchanged at RM5.00.
Meanwhile, the FBM KLCI futures contracts on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed lower in line with the easier cash market.
June 2011 declined half-a-point to settle at 1,563, July 2011 dipped two points to 1,562.5, while both September 2011 and December 2011 slipped 1.5 points each to 1,560 and 1,557, respectively.
Volume was lower at 4,303 lots as compared to Wednesday's 5,627 lots while open interest rose to 25,505 contracts from 25,164 contracts previously. - Bernama
Read more: KL bourse lower on weak sentiment http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/klshare24/Article/#ixzz1QCpJRXG9

Manasara: 2010 telugu film that would change your perception about love

• Movie Name : Manasaara
• Rating : 2.25/5
• Banner : Moving Images
• Casting : Vikram, Sree Divya, Bhanuchander, George Vincent, Ramaraju, Annapurna, Usha Sree, Krishnamohan, Anitha, M S Narayana and others
• Music : Sekhar Chandra
• Cinematography : N Sudhakar Reddy
• Producer : K Prakash Babu
• Director : Ravi Babu
• Release Date:10 Dec, 2010

A routine romantic tale, the story is about Vikram (vikram) who lives in Hyderabad and he is basically a very chicken hearted guy. His family gets transferred to Rajapalayam in Kerala and this is a small place where ancient customs and traditions are followed. The settlement of issues is usually done by a fight of Kalari, the ancient martial art. Vikram sees Anjali (sree divya) and falls in love with her and soon, she also reciprocates. However, Anjali's aunt harasses her while her 'bava' Rajan Pillai (George) has got a lecherous eye on her. Rajan is also a famous Kalari champion. What happens from there forms the rest of the story.

one of the best song which i like the most:

listen to this song while ure reading….

as you know director ravi babu is a talented cinematographer and he had also presented good screenplay of the movie. even though the movie has some minor errors but it does not effect the storyline and the movie performed very well in my feelings about love.

you don't have to be a strong, muscular and wealthy for a person to fall in love. to love u need just love to be expressed and not by showing our wealth and impressing them with tricks and lies. in fact girls nowadays, like this king of persons a lot, they are falling in love by considering the guys wealth first before getting into the relationship. the only reason for them is ‘secure’ , girls would be secure if a guys is able to fulfil a girls needs and the mentality now is getting common until people are demanding for wealthy groom so that he is able to provide his wife with a better life and security all in the name of money…..

and im not saying money is not important, its just a need and love in family should be the always first. its the responsibility of a guy to earn money for the family and its the must. the girls should be responsible for the love in family. this is the nature of the humankind that it is need to be reminded always.

hope after watching this movie people would realize.

divya the cute girl in the movie

Kalki avatar and the end of the world

 

   Appearance of Kalki Avatar

The Apocalyptic Horse Rider

"Thereafter, at the conjunction of the two yugas, the Lord of creation will take His birth as the Kalki incarnation and become the son of Visnu Yasa. At this time the rulers of the earth will have degenerated into plunderers." [SB 1.3.25]
0 Kesava, O Hari, who have assumed the form of Kalki! You appear like a comet and carry a terrifying sword for bringing about the annihilation of the wicked barbarian men at the end of the Kali-yuga.
[ Sri Dasavatara Stotra, 10th Sloka]

"Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, riding His swift horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, will travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic powers and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequalled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves and rogues who have dared dress as kings." [SB. ]
The Appearance of Lord Kalki, the Avatar or incarnation of Godhead, is foretold in the Srimad Bhagavatam 12th Canto and described also in detail in the Brahmanda-purana. Therein it gives predictions as to where he will appear (the village name), who his parents will be, what his mission will be, and when he will appear.
It is described that he will appear at the conjunction of the two yugas, namely at the end of Kali-yuga and the beginning of Satya-yuga. The great cycle of the four yugas, namely Satya, Treta, Dvapara and Kali, rotates like the calendar months. The present age of Kali-yuga lasts 432,000 years, out of which we have passed only 5,000 years after the Battle of Kuruksetra and the end of the regime of King Pariksit. So there are 427,000 years balance yet to be finished, till the advent of Lord Kalki. Therefore at the end of this period, the incarnation of Kalki will take place, as foretold in the Srimad-Bhagavatam. The name of His father, Visnu Yasa, a learned brahmana, and the village Sambhala are also mentioned.

shambhala-grama-mukhyasya brahmanasya mahatmanah
bhavane vishnuyashasah kalkih pradurbhavishyati

"Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminent brahmana of Shambhala village, the great soul Vishnuyasha."

ashvam ashu-gam aruhya devadattam jagat-patih
asinasadhu-damanam ashtaishvarya-gunanvitah

"Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will mount His swift horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulence's and eight special qualities of Godhead.

vicarann ashuna kshaunyam hayenapratima-dyutih
nripa-linga-cchado dasyun kotisho nihanishyati

"Displaying His unequalled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings."

atha tesham bhavishyanti manamsi vishadani vai
vasudevanga-ragati- punya-gandhanila-sprisham
paura-janapadanam vai hatesv akhila-dasyushu

"After all the imposter kings have been killed, the residents of the cities and towns will feel the breezes carrying the most sacred fragrance of the sandalwood paste and other decorations of Lord Kalki, and their minds will thereby become transcendentally pure."

yadavatirno bhagavan kalkir dharma-patir harih
kritam bhavishyati tada praja-sutish ca sattviki

"When the Supreme Lord Hari [Krishna] has appeared on earth as Kalki, the maintainer of religion, Satya-yuga [the age of truth] will begin, and human society will bring forth progeny in the mode of goodness."

The mission of Kalki Avatara is to re-establish the religious principles, which have disappeared by the end of Kali Yuga, the iron age of hypocrisy and quarrel.

yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati bharata
abhyutthanam adharmasya tadatmanam srijamy aham

"Whenever and wherever there is a decline in religious practice, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of irreligion--at that time I descend Myself."
"In order to deliver the pious and to annihilate the miscreants, as well as to re-establish the principles of religion, I advent Myself millennium after millennium." [BG 4.7-8]

By the End of Kali Yuga, the population of the whole world will be so much reduced to animalism that there will be no more power to understand what is God, or what is spiritualism. And it is already there, the Kali-yuga. It will increase. People will have no power to understand this philosophy, God consciousness. So at that time, when there are no more religious principles, there is no other alternative than to kill them all.
At that time the Kalki avatara will come, and He'll take a sword on the horseback, just like a king send from heaven, He'll simply go on killing all these non-believers, Godless creatures and usher in another Satya-yuga, the golden age of righteousness and truth.

Kalki avatara is the last of the ten major incarnations of Lord Vishnu who will appear in the end of this Kali Yuga to protect religious principles.

Kalki: The Next Avatar of God and the End of Kali-yuga

by Stephen Knapp http://www.stephen-knapp.com/

(An excerpt from The Vedic Prophecies)

The age of Kali-yuga is said to start from the year 3102 BC, after the disappearance of Lord Krishna. Lord Caitanya appeared 500 years ago, at which time the Golden Age within Kali-yuga is supposed to start and last another 10,000 years. As the Golden Age within of Kali-yuga comes to a close, the lower modes of material nature will become so strong that people will lose interest in spiritual topics. It is said that everyone will become godless. Whatever devotees, bhaktas, and sages are left on the planet will be so unique in character and peculiar compared with the rest of society that they will be ridiculed and hunted down in the cities for sport like animals. Thus, they will flee the cities to live underground in caves or high up in the mountains, or simply disengage from the earthly plane of existence. In this way, they will disappear from the face of the earth. That is the time when the dark influence of the age of Kali-yuga will become so dominant that its full influence will manifest without hindrance.

Finally, after 432,000 years from the beginning of the age of Kali, Lord Kalki will appear as the twenty-second incarnation of God. This is very similar to what some people call the second coming of Christ.

THE APPEARANCE OF LORD KALKI

There are many incarnations of the Supreme Being as stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam(1.3.26): "O brahmanas, the incarnations of the Lord are innumerable, like rivulets flowing from inexhaustible sources of water." However, out of all the various incarnations of the Supreme, the Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.28) specifically states "krishnas tu bhagavan svayam," which means that Lord Sri Krishna is the original Supreme Personality of God. All others are His plenary portions, or parts of His plenary portions, who descend into this material world to carry out certain responsibilities and to do specific things. This is especially the case when the planets are overly disturbed by miscreants and atheists. In Kali-yuga many years go by in which constant disturbances and social upheavals are allowed to happen, but the Vedic literature predicts that at the end Lord Kalki will make His appearance to change everything, as described in the following verses:

"Thereafter, at the conjunction of two yugas [Kali-yuga and Satya-yuga], the Lord of the creation will take His birth as the Kalki incarnation and become the son of Vishnuyasha. At this time the rulers of the earth will have degenerated into plunderers." (Bhag.1.3.25)

"Lord Kalki will appear in the home of the most eminentbrahmana of Shambhala village, the great soul Vishnuyasha." (Bhag.12.2.18)

"At the end of Kali-yuga, when there exist no topics on the subject of God, even at the residences of so-called saints and respectable gentlemen of the three higher castes, and when the power of government is transferred to the hands of ministers elected from the lowborn shudraclass or those less than them, and when nothing is known of the techniques of sacrifice, even by word, at that time the Lord will appear as the supreme chastiser." (Bhag.2.7.38)

The Vishnu Purana (Book Four, Chapter 24) also explains that, "When the practices taught in the Vedas and institutes of law have nearly ceased, and the close of the Kali age shall be nigh, a portion of that divine being who exists of His own spiritual nature, and who is the beginning and end, and who comprehends all things, shall descend upon earth. He will be born in the family of Vishnuyasha, an eminent brahmana of Shambhala village, as Kalki, endowed with eight superhuman faculties."

The Agni Purana (16.7-9) also explains that when the non-Aryans who pose as kings begin devouring men who appear righteous and feed on human beings, Kalki, as the son of Vishnuyasha, and Yajnavalkya as His priest and teacher, will destroy these non-Aryans with His weapons. He will establish moral law in the form of the fourfold varnas, or the suitable organization of society in four classes. After that people will return to the path of righteousness.

The Padma Purana (6.71.279-282) relates that Lord Kalki will end the age of Kali and will kill all the wicked mlecchas and, thus, destroy the bad condition of the world. He will gather all of the distinguished brahmanas and will propound the highest truth. He will know all the ways of life that have perished and will remove the prolonged hunger of the genuine brahmanas and the pious. He will be the only ruler of the world that cannot be controlled, and will be the banner of victory and adorable to the world.

Here in these verses we find that Lord Kalki will come as a chastiser or warrior. By this time the planet will be filled with people who will be unable to understand logical conversations. They will be too slow-minded and dull-witted, not capable of being taught much, especially in the way of high philosophy regarding the purpose of life. They will not know what they need to do or how to live. And they certainly will be unable to change their ways. Therefore, Lord Kalki does not come to teach, but simply to chastise, punish, and cleanse the planet.

Furthermore, we also find the name of the place where Lord Kalki will appear and the name of the family in which He will be born. The family will be qualified brahmanas. This means that a disciplic and family line of spiritually qualified brahmanas will remain on the planet throughout the age of Kali, no matter how bad things get. Though they may be hidden, living in a small village somewhere, it will be this line of bhaktas, spiritual devotees, from which Lord Kalki will appear in the distant future. No one knows where this village of Shambala is located. Some feel that it is yet to manifest, or that it will be a hidden underground community from which Lord Kalki will appear.

In this connection we find in the Padma Purana (6.242.8-12) the prediction that Lord Kalki will be born in the town of Shambala near the end of Kali-yuga from a brahmanawho is actually an incarnation of Svayambhuva Manu. It is described that Svayambhuva performed austerities at Naimisa on the bank of the Gomati River for acquiring the privilege of having Lord Vishnu as his son in three lifetimes. Lord Vishnu, being pleased with Svayambhuva, granted the blessing that He would appear as Svayambhuva's son as Lord Rama, Krishna, and Kalki. Thus, Svayambhuva would appear as Dasaratha, Vasudeva, and then Vishnuyasha. Also, in the Padma Purana (1.40.46) we find Lord Vishnu admits that He will be born in Kali-yuga. Thus, He will appear as Lord Kalki.

THE ACTIVITIES OF LORD KALKI

The Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.2.19-20) describes Lord Kalki's activities as follows: "Lord Kalki, the Lord of the universe, will mount His swift white horse Devadatta and, sword in hand, travel over the earth exhibiting His eight mystic opulences and eight special qualities of Godhead. Displaying His unequaled effulgence and riding with great speed, He will kill by the millions those thieves who have dared dress as kings."

We should make note here that, as the Vedic literature explains, when the Supreme kills anyone, that person is immediately spiritually purified by His touch and because the person is focused on the Supreme Being while leaving his body. Thus, that person attains the same destination as those yogis who spend years steadying the mind in order to meditate and leave their bodies while focused on the Supreme. So being killed by the Supreme is a great advantage for those of a demoniac mentality who would otherwise enter lower realms of existence or even the hellish planets in their next lives.

The Vishnu Purana (Book Four, Chapter 24) continues to explain Lord Kalki's activities: "By His irresistible might he will destroy all the mlecchas and thieves, and all whose minds are devoted to iniquity. He will reestablish righteousness upon earth, and the minds of those who live at the end of the Kali age shall be awakened, and shall be as clear as crystal. The men who are thus changed by virtue of that peculiar time shall be as the seeds of human beings, and shall give birth to a race who will follow the laws of the Krita age [Satya-yuga], the age of purity. As it is said, 'When the sun and moon, and the lunar asterism Tishya, and the planet Jupiter, are in one mansion, the Krita age shall return.'" The Agni Purana (16.10) also relates that Hari, after giving up the form of Kalki, will go to heaven. Then the Krita or Satya-yuga will return as before.

Additional information that can help us understand the activities of the next coming of God is found in the Linga Purana (40.50-92), the Brahmanda Purana (1.2.31.76-106 & 2.3.73.104-126), and the Vayu Purana (58.75-110). In these texts we find descriptions of Lord Kalki as He will appear in the future and also as how He appeared in previous incarnations as Pramiti in this time period known as the Svayambhuva Manvantara. These texts tell us that as Kali-yuga comes to a close, and after the death of Bhrigu (or in order to slay the Bhrigus), Kalki (Pramiti) took birth in the Lunar dynasty of Manu. He will wander over the planet without being seen by any living being. Then he will start His campaign in His thirty-second year and roam the earth for twenty years. He will take with Him a big army of horses, chariots, and elephants, surrounded by hundreds and thousands of spiritually purified brahmanas armed with weapons. [Being brahmanas, these weapons may be brahminical weapons that are activated by mantras, such as the powerfulbrahmastra rather than base weapons of combat such as knives, swords, and spears, or even guns and ordinary explosives.] Though they may try to do battle with Him, He will kill all of the heretics [and false prophets] and wicked, mleccha kings.

In a previous incarnation He killed the Udicyas (Northerners), Madhya Deshyas (residents of the middle lands), Purvatiyas (mountain dwellers), Pracyas (Easterners), Praticyas (Westerners), Dakshinatyas (of Southern India), the Simhalas (Sri Lankans), Pahlavas (the fair-skinned nomadic tribes of the Caucasus mountains), Yadavas, Tusharas (people of the area of Mandhata, India, or present day Tukharistan), Cinas (Chinese), Shulikas, Khashas, and different tribes of the Kiratas (aboriginal tribes living in north-eastern India and Nepal) and Vrishalas.

No one could stop Him as He wielded His discus and killed all the barbarians. When He was finished He rested in the middle land between the Ganges and Yamuna with His ministers and followers. He allowed only a few people to remain, scattered over the planet. These would be as seeds for the next generations that would follow in the next Satya-yuga. Thereafter, when Lord Kalki has made way for the next age of Satya-yuga, and delivered the earth and whatever is left of civilization from the effects of Kali-yuga, He will go back to His eternal abode along with His army.

Continuing with the description of Lord Kalki as described in the Linga, Brahmanda, andVayu Puranas, they explain that after Lord Kalki returns to His eternal abode, when those subjects surviving at the end of Kali-yuga are enlightened, the yuga changes overnight. Then the minds of all people will become enlightened, and with inevitable force Krita or Satya-yuga sets in. People will then realize the soul, and acquire piety, devotion, tranquility, and clear consciousness. Then those Siddhas [the enlightened and perfected living beings who had remained invisible on a higher dimension through the end of the age of Kali] return to the earthly dimension and again are clearly visible. They establish themselves with the return of the Saptarishis, the seven sages, who instruct everyone about spiritual life, Vedic knowledge, and the progressive organization of society for a peaceful and fulfilling existence. Then again people flourish and perform the sacred rites, and the sages will remain in authority to continue the advancement of the new Satya-yuga.

THE RETURN OF THE GOLDEN AGE -- SATYA-YUGA

Herein we can understand that Lord Kalki will simply chastise by killing all of the evil kings and rogues and thereby bring in a new era of enlightened beings, a race whose minds will be as clear as crystal. They will produce offspring that will follow the tendencies of real human beings as found in the age of Satya-yuga.

Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.2.21-24) further describes that after all of the devious and fake kings have been killed, the remaining residents of the towns and cities will smell the breezes that carry the sacred aroma of the Lord's sandalwood paste and decorations, and their minds will then become spiritually purified. When the Supreme Being appears in their hearts in His form of pure goodness, the remaining citizens will abundantly repopulate the earth. With this appearance of Lord Kalki, Satya-yuga will begin again and the remaining humans will produce children in goodness. Thus, when the moon, the sun, and Jupiter are in the constellation Kartaka, Cancer, and together enter the lunar mansion of Pusya, that is when the age of Satya-yuga will begin. Therefore, as related in theBhagavatam (12.2.34), after one thousand celestial years of Kali-yuga, Satya-yuga will again manifest. At that time the minds of men will be self-effulgent.

The Vishnu Purana (Book Four, Chapter One) also relates that the Vedas and the principles of sanatana-dharma, or the eternal nature of the soul, fade and disappear from the planet at the end of every four ages. The Bhagavatam (8.14.4-5) also confirms that there are saintly persons who help reestablish these principles in Satya-yuga along with the basis of varnashrama, which is the proper organization of society for humanity. TheVishnu Purana continues to explain that it is in the jurisdiction of the seven universal sages or rishis (the Saptarishis) to make sure the Vedic knowledge is given currency again, even if these rishis must descend from the higher planets to do so. So in every Satya-yuga the Manu [the demigod son of Brahma who is the lawgiver of humanity] of that age is the author of the body of law, while the sons of Manu and their descendants are sovereigns of the earth. This means that although the genuine spiritual knowledge or Vedic information may disappear from this planet, it is still dwelling elsewhere in the universe, and it is the duty of higher authorities to reestablish it on Earth.

To help in this regard, it is predicted in the Srimad-Bhagavatam (12.2.37-38) and theVishnu Purana (Book Four, Chapter 24) that there are two persons who are waiting for the end of Kali-yuga: Devapi of the race of Puru and brother of King Shantanu, and Maru, a descendant of King Ikshvaku. They will be great kings and will help in the process of reestablishing the proper principles in society. These two are alive even now by their great mystic strength obtained through the power of devotion. They have lived through all four of the yugas and reside in the village of Kalapa. They are waiting for the end of Kali-yuga. Then, at the beginning of Satya-yuga, under the instructions of the Supreme, they will return to society and be members of the family of the Manu and reestablish the eternal religion of humanity, sanatana-dharma, and the institution of varnashrama, which is the proper organization of society for its continued harmony in life, and its material and spiritual progress. They will become great kings and form proper government. Thus, by the arrangement of the Supreme Being, there are those who will always be the guardians of that spiritual knowledge that contains the genuine principles for attaining the real goal of human existence.

After all of this is accomplished, as related in the Bhagavatam (12.2.39), the cycle of the four ages of Satya, Treta, Dvapara, and Kali-yugas [a Caturyuga] will continue to repeat itself along with the same general pattern of events.

IS LORD KALKI PREDICTED IN THE BOOK OF REVELATIONS?

Here are some additional interesting points to consider. There are verses from the book ofRevelations in the Bible that are very similar to the above descriptions in the Puranasabout Lord Kalki. These verses are so similar that they cannot be ignored and may provide additional insight for Christians and similarities they may share with Vedic culture. In Revelations (19.11-16, & 19-21) it states:

"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, but no man knew but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat on the horse."

This sounds so much like the incarnation of Lord Kalki that it could hardly be anyone else. Surely, by the time Lord Kalki appears, no one will have the slightest expectation of Him or His appearance. No one will know His name. And His army of brahmanas will be as pure as if they had descended from heaven. At the time of Lord Kalki's appearance, He will kill the remaining miscreants and deliver the few saintly people from the present conditions of the earth, changing it back to the Golden Age of Satya-yuga. In this regard, Revelations(14.1-3) also describes:

"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb [a typical symbol for the Divine or an incarnation of the Divine] stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps; And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth."

One significant description in the above verses is that those who are redeemed from the earth will have God's name written on their foreheads. This is a widespread custom of thebrahmanas in India to write the name of God, such as Vishnu or Krishna, on their foreheads. This is tilok, which is usually put on with clay made from the banks of a holy river. We often see this in the middle of the forehead in the shape of a "V" which represents the name of God and that the body is a temple of God, or the three-lined markings of the Shaivites. The Vaishnava mark is made while reciting "Om keshavaya namaha," which means "Salutations to Lord Keshava," another name of Krishna.

So herein could be an indication that when the last of society is delivered from the earth during the end times, they will be those who wear the name of God on their foreheads, at least according to these verses. Also, as in accord with other Vedic prophecies, we can understand that there will be very few people left in the world who will have any piety at all. So it would fit in with the Vedic prophecies that by the time Lord Kalki appears, there may, indeed, be only 144,000 who will be left in the world worthy of being delivered from the godless and chaotic conditions of the earth. Or these may be the seeds of the new civilization that will start the beginning of the next age of Satya-yuga.