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Friday 27 November 2015

The Rules Of Engagement


He could hardly ignore the demure cow eyes she cast him, or her gentle graceful ways, could he now? Nor could she resist the charishma of his strong resonating voice or towering persona, as he and his friends ambled past her home every morning and evening on their way to and back from work.

Ganga could scarcely believe her ears when she heard her father announcing one day, that he had fixed up her wedding with one of the most eligible bachelors in her village, Prakash, the star of her dreams! It was going to be the talk of the town, her wedding, her father declared jubilantly, and to himself he promised,  it would be a union that would bring them all some much-needed luck and good fortune.
Everyone loved them. Theirs was a match made in heaven, predestined, controversy-free and bound to generate much enthusiasm in the society.

They had never been formally introduced, but both were intensely aware of the other’s presence whenever they met on common grounds. After the news of the forthcoming wedding was made public, both of them were thrilled and it was difficult to contain their excitement!

A leisurely trek along the verdant tracts of land belonging to her father, was their first date, overseen of course by the inevitable herd of their mutually close family and friends.

Prakash could hardly take his eyes of her milky white complexion and soft languid eyes, while pretending to listen to his friends banter, and Ganga couldn't restrain coy glances at Prakash’s majestic build and the lure of his powerful voice. 

Finally, they found themselves alone under the cool canopy of the large banyan tree at the end of her father’s land.
Prakash’s words of love rumbled off his mouth in a torrent, and hearing them Ganga was gently nodding her head as one entranced in listening to some timeless music! 




They wandered further; Ganga took Prakash to her favorite haunt, the little gurgling brook beside the mango grove belonging to her father’s close friend, he wouldn’t mind if they ventured into his land. The air was pregnant with possibilities and laden with the intoxicating perfume of fresh foliage. They partook of the sweet clear water of the brook. It slaked their thirst but their passions only heightened!

Looking at Ganga’s limpid, beseeching eyes that conveyed all her yearning, Prakash felt his own control slipping. He admonished himself over his frail self-control and resolved that they both had to stay strong; after all they had waited so long for this union to happen. Now that it was all in place, he would have to garrison all his tumultuous emotions, to stay true to his own set of rules of engagement that would eventually benefit them both.

He gently nudged her, pretending to hear someone call out to them in the distance. Ganga understood his subtle body language and was heartened to see that he possessed such integrity, believing in old-fashioned agendas, like rules of engagement, while here she was wantonly offering herself to him. She smiled to herself and joined him and the others, exulting in the realization that this was The One she would be happy to spend an eternity with.

As promised by her father Gopal Patwari, Ganga and Prakash were happily united in a spectacular celebration that hosted more than 5,000 guests from all the neighboring villages near Indore in Madhya Pradesh on April 14, 2014 in a celebration that was both lavish and unparalleled to anything you've ever seen!

This is a real-life love-story that is truly unique! Nothing unique you say? I beg to differ,
Read the following links and you will understand how one-of-a-kind this love story is!!


A lavish £ 10,000 wedding

And once you are done with the links, run through the story again :)




This post was written in response to a #WritePrompt #RulesOfEngagement from @blogchatter - a wonderful platform for bloggers from every genre, that encourages, motivates and educates on everything blogging!


I am sure your Savoir Faire quotient has upped a bit more, with this off-beat trivia you read today!

Do share such trivia and tell me what you thought of this love story…would love to hear!!






Copyright © 2015 KALA RAVI

Monday 23 November 2015

A Dawn to Darkness


The old man in a dirty hooded raincoat, was trudging along slowly, bent with the effort of carrying a large burlap sack on his back. Phlegm laden cough racked his entire body at intervals, releasing puffs of vapor from his mouth. The miserable weather spell didn’t seem to let up. It had been grey skies with chilly winds and rain all week long. He paused at intervals, gently laying down his burden to catch his breath, and proceeded again. He had a long way to go to the railway station, at the village outskirts. No vehicles were about at this hour, that he could hitch a ride on.

The milkman, on his morning rounds earlier than usual, made him out through the thin mist, a solitary selcouth figure along the sleepy village alley. He was surprised to see anyone about at this early hour, given the hostile weather. He wondered idly whether it could be one of the tradesmen from the town here to sell his wares at the Sunday Village Fair. They seldom wandered the streets this early, and most pushed carts with their wares to the Village Market. This one seemed quite old, by his gait and definitely seemed to be carrying a load. He should enquire to ascertain the nature of the stranger’s presence at this hour, but he was already pressed for time. Thirty more deliveries to be made and he had to make it sooner than his usual speed. He had promised his son a treat trip to the Fair, and he couldn’t afford to be late. He dreamily rode past the old man his mind imagining his son’s excited face when he would buy him his first pull-along toy at the Fair today.

The old man slid down his hood and a rasping chuckle ensued. What an irony it was, the only person he should encounter be the one, whose most precious belonging was in his possession now! Collecting this last one from this obscure village had been a cinch he mused.





Saturday Word Play 8: Selcouth

Selcouth-(Archaic) Uncommon, Strange 


#SaturdayWordPlay -Weekly word prompts of forgotten words, being revived by my friend Aditi Kaushiva, the brain behind this interesting initiative!



Copyright © 2015 KALA RAVI

Saturday 21 November 2015

Confess I do








There, I confessed!! So what's your confession? 
Share your confessions with me - A self-professed Agony Aunt!




This post, echoing a #WritersWoe, a #WritersCrime, was written in response to a #WritingPrompt #CanIConfess as a part of the #Blogbuddy initiative by @Blogchatter a wonderful platform for bloggers from every genre, that encourages, motivates, educates on everything blogging!








Copyright © 2015 KALA RAVI

Wednesday 11 November 2015

Why I Blog?



A deceptively simple question methinks! Well, why does anyone blog? 
As a hobby? If you are rather fond of penning down every wisp of thought that pops in your head, into words, blogging is what you should be doing! I think of my blog as my web-diary that records my ravings. My blog gives me the flexibility to share my random thoughts and musings with persons/groups I choose.

Many a time, you would like to imagine yourself as a writer, you can’t do it overnight can you? What better than a blog to see your ramblings on the net - traced by a few search/tag words.
It helps a beginner, a budding writer to test out his tunes on the small stage blogging platform as a player catering to a select audience, till you think you are big enough to venture on the big author/writer stage with an orchestra of publishers, editors, and bigger audiences who can totally make or break you. Basically it boils down to blogging being your baby steps that format, nurture and encourage you  to understand your strengths and fortify you to take on the big guys! 
Rather like the journey from being a small screen television artist to a mainstream cinema actor!

Every blogger on the blogosphere shares this common empathy link: To share his views, reach out/create an audience, be recognized for his talent, and eventually fulfill his dream of of seeing his works in print!
At this point, I also think aspirations are a great thing, but without true passion and talent - gift of the gab, there is only short distance that any platform can take you. So blogging in that respect, helps me introspect on whether this is just a passing fancy or is this what I would like to do on a more consistent basis. Call it escapist if you will, but liberating I would like to call it, as one is not constrained in thought and expression on a free blogging platform, the output is unrestrained, free-flowing, genuine and original.

Having said that, I think I find myself utterly addicted to this wonderful scribing platform. Besides being a haven for one's thoughts and words, Blogging is also a virtual world that connects you to some of the most brilliant writers and bloggers, reaches out to a wide-spread audience of lovely readers
, and thereby enriches your journey in this fantastic world of words!




This  post was written in response to a #WritingPrompt #WhyIBlog as a part of the #Blogbuddy initiative by @Blogchatter a wonderful platform for bloggers from every genre, that encourages, motivates, educates on everything blogging!



Copyright © 2015 KALA RAVI

Wednesday 4 November 2015

Just Nosing Around



A Nose is just a Nose, who knows what his Nose means? Forgive him who knows not what his nose means!

We are here discussing the Nose: the part projecting above the mouth on the face of a person or animal, containing the nostrils and used for breathing and smelling.
And this post here, is probably one of the most exhaustive (hopefully not exhausting) ones about THE NOSE!

Origin: Old English nosu, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch neus, and more remotely to German Nase, Latin nasus, and Sanskrit nāsā.
For purposes of clarity and simplicity, we will restrain our discussions to only the Human Nose.

Geeks, feel free to explore:


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy_of_the_human_Nose

A lovely poem I came across about The Nose,

Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face

by Jack Prelutsky

 


Be glad your Nose is on your face,
not pasted on some other place,
for if it were where it is not,
You might dislike your Nose a lot.


Imagine if your precious Nose
were sandwiched in between your toes,
that clearly would not be a treat,
for you'd be forced to smell your feet.


Your Nose would be a source of dread
were it attached atop your head,
it soon would drive you to despair,
forever tickled by your hair.


Within your ear, your Nose would be
an absolute catastrophe,
for when you were obliged to sneeze,
your brain would rattle from the breeze.


Your Nose, instead, through thick and thin,
remains between your eyes and chin,
not pasted on some other place--
be glad your Nose is on your face!





Beyond its location, that is hopefully common knowledge, a few who paid attention in their primary school will be aware that this sensory organ composed of nasal bones and cartilage, performs the following normal functions:
  • Breathing
  • Preventing from infection
  • Determining sense of smell
  • Determining sense of taste
  • Affecting the resonance of your voice
  • Detect More Than 10,000 Scents
Bet many of you didn’t know about the last two!

Okay, way too much knowledge I know, but trust me if you’ve read this far, including the links I’ve supplied, you are practically on your way to becoming a local GP!

And why this sudden obsession with Noses you ask? After all, they’ve been around since forever! It’s just that I am currently mired in an annoying situation, traumatized by not one, but a cluster of unsightly pimples right at the summit of this elite, upstanding member of my visage! It has outraged, humiliated and upset me for ruining the best of my features! I am not sadistic enough to insert any graphics of the wretched sight; the same consideration however has not been extended to my family. They have to put up with my Witchly-Avataar till the blasted zits fizzle out. Just when you thought you were well-past your uncouthly youth phase and on the threshold of a well-rounded, mature middle-age free of such teenage nightmares, these wretches spring on you unawares! No warnings, hints whatsoever!

Experts will comment that it is the effect of hormonal fluctuation or the hormones in umbrage doing their dying act! All I can say is I don’t care for the reasons, I want results, just make ’em disappear, kaput! Through experience with such repeated inflictions, particularly on the Nose, I have sagely inferred, though not yet found solace in the fact that these pustular carbuncles will take leave only of their own accord. These agents of facial disfigurement operate on their own free will. All known Anti-acne products, face-washes, toothpastes, detox-stomach lavages have proven futile against them! Sigh!! 

My grievance towards my outstanding olfactory apparatus also stems from its rapid deviation from its natural color to a non-flattering shade of pink at the slightest hint of a cold! A nice barometer for cold, I must say! A full-blown bout of the same, earns me the pet name of Rudolph!
All this worrying about my sorry state of Nose, led me to investigate……

Let’s Nose About…well, Noses!

Getting back to healthy muzzles, free of congestion and acne, I came across very interesting observations as to how there are fourteen different Nose shapes identified and that each shape says something about the person beholding it.

Some Nose shapes


Courtesy: Internet





The shape of the Nose is determined by the positions of nasal bones, and its two cartilages. Any combination or differences in these three areas can create a truly unique appearance of the Nose, which can be even more depending on ethnicity. 

Nose shapes based on Ethnicity

 



AFRO                     S.E.ASIAN                     ASIAN



Know your Nose: Which Celeb-Nose is like Yours?



So which Snout with Clout is like yours?

And fret not my friend if your muzzle doesn’t resemble any you see above! Yours could be a unique, individual combination of two or more types. You could be sporting one which starts off as an Aquiline (Daniel Radcliffe), build up to a Roman (Tom Cruise) and taper off as a Snub (Wayne Rooney)!!

And what do you think about this exceptional Snout of French actor Gerard Depardieu? Yeah right, I know yours is way better!!


French actor Gerard Depardieu


  
External References & Personal Compilation:




Too good to be true?



How many of the Celeb-Noses are Original and how many have been corrected by a Nose-job or Rhinoplasty is debatable. On the trail of the elusive and ethereal Nose scores of them and even normal mortals are undergoing these procedures in ever-increasing numbers.

What is Rhinoplasty?






To improve your pretty-nez you could try some of these interesting exercises for the Nose:

Nose-worthy news from history

Historically, references to some famous Noses have been made, for instance Cleopatra, the Queen of ancient Egypt, was purported to have a very fine/strong Nose.
A French philosopher named Blaise Pascal who lived in the 1600s, wrote:

"If Cleopatra's Nose had been shorter, the whole face of the world might have been changed."

This statement has intrigued generations of scholars since, and even the creators of Asterisk refer to it in their own witty way.

Reference to Cleopatra's nose by Julius Caesar in Asterix And Cleopatra
Monsieur Pascal knew that in the ancient world – and many periods since – a strong Nose showed strength of character. If her Nose had been weaker, maybe her character would have been weaker, too. Maybe her strong Nose was one of the things that attracted Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony, two of the most powerful men in the world then, to fall in love with her and marry her.

Bust of Cleopatra at Berlin


For more on Cleopatra: 


Back home in India, Surpanakha, the beautiful demoness a.k.a Meenakshi, Chandranakha-one with a divine Nose, was punished by her Nose & ears being sliced off by Lakshman, to protect Sita from her vicious attacks. In ancient times, Nose cutting was a punishment meted out to individuals as a mark of shame, for infidelity, improper advances and such other shameful acts.

Courtesy: Internet




References: 
 





Nasal Vanity

The Nose is seen as a medium of vanity, especially in Indian women. Nose rings in India are worn on the nostril, septum (the cartilage between the nostrils) or the bridge of the Nose. However, most commonly, Nose rings are worn on either the left or right nostril. Typically the left nostril is favored because in Ayurvedic medicine, the left nostril is associated with the female reproductive organs, and a piercing in that position is thought to make childbirth easier as well as lessen the amount of menstrual pain.

The legendary Carnatic Classical Diva always shone with her diamond studded Besari & Thalluku on her Nose

Rajasthani, Maharashtrian, South Indian, Punjabi Nath

A traditional Bharatnatyam Danseuse wears Nathu, Mookuthi & Pullaku on her Nose
While dancing, the breathing rate naturally increases. The Nathu, Mookuthi and Pullaku are worn on certain parts of the Nose to help regulate the breathing rate of a dancer while dancing. People considered the practice of piercing body parts like the ears & the Nose as surrendering oneself to God. Our early ancestors believed that punctures/ piercings along specific nerve points help in the removal of toxins from the body.

For more detailed information on Nose-piercings and their significance:





I am not too sure whether Miley Cyrus and her likes considered these aspects before getting their piercings done!!


PL.NOTE: This blog does not endorse any kind of body-piercing. The blog and its creator will not be held responsible for egging under-age nitwits to get body piercings done!


Sniff n Tell


Well, besides being a medium of vanity, your Nose also plays a pivotal role as the Olfactory receptacle of the body.
You are never more keenly reminded of this fact than when you are hosting a cold. A blocked Nose can deprive you of all the tantalizing aromas of the best prepared gastronomic fare. Your taste receptors too go on a sympathetic strike to show their solidarity in suffering. And, rest assured that you will not be worried by pedantic discussions of Sinuses and Nasal congestion!

Did you know that the key fragrance evaluators in the Perfume industry are one of the most highly paid jobs? Definitely sniffers that sell! A growing number of high-end Parfumeries pander and indulge your Nose with made-to-order perfumes:



The Nose-pincher

Spectacles in their older versions were called pince-nez literally meaning to pinch the Nose. They gloried in resting on the bridge of the Nose, further enhancing this member to a prominent distinction!




Life-long bespectacle-ment is the grief of many and yet gladly flaunted by many more. One cannot carry off this article of optical illumination without paying due obeisance to the Nose. Your Nose decries its due credit for hosting that pair of perfect designer glasses. No matter how alluring the glasses might be, your brand of Nose may disapprove of it, promptly letting it slide off, pinch and irritate you to distraction!

To understand how to get that perfect pair of glasses with due regard to you-know-what, read on:



Tale of a Naughty-Nose


And how can one not mention the delightful tale of the adorable, mischievous Pinnochio?! Pinnochio the poor little marionette, was constantly troubled by his bewitched Nose, that grew longer every time he lied & disobeyed!
Didn't read his story when you were little? Well, do now:

http://www.childrenstory.info/children-stories/fairy-tales/pinocchio/

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinocchio

Snore Lore

The Nose, is also the source of a universal bother, SNORING. Sounds soo harmless doesn’t it? Try sleeping with weird noises at unbearable decibels right next to your ear! You’ll have to try it personally: Sleep next to a snorer all night to believe it and understand what I am babbling about! And guys, don’t get ‘testy’ at the gender bias here, but it is a proven fact, that men take the crown at snoring! 


On the physiology of snoring please visit:






Cartoonists, Animators delight - playing with Noses!

 


Copyright © 2015 KALA RAVI