GURU NANAKA.

Guru Nanak. (1469-1539)

Nanak's message can be briefly summarized as a doctrine of salvation through disciplined meditation on the divine name.

Salvation is understood in terms of escape from the trans-migratory round of death and rebirth to a mystical union with God.

The divine name signifies the total manifestation of God, a single Being, immanent both in the created world and within the human spirit.

Meditation must be strictly inward, and all external aids such as idols, temples, mosques, scriptures, and set prayers are explicitly rejected.

The Muslim influence is relatively slight; the influence of Hindu mystical and devotional beliefs is much more apparent.

Always, though, the coherence and beauty of Nanak's own expression dominates early Sikh theology.

KAILAS-MANSAROVAR YATRA.

Kailas Man-Sarovara Yatra.

There are no mountains like the
Himalaya, for in them are Kailas
and Mansarovar. As the dew is
dried up by the morning Sun, so 
are the sins of mankind dried up
by the sight of the Himalaya."
                        =Skanda Puran.

People have been visiting Kailas - Mansarovar for centuries. Almost all the major passes of Uttarakhand lead to Kailas-Mansarovar but we have to cross over through the Lipulekh pass.  

Kailas - Mansarovar,is  525 miles from Delhi,    Many of  our myths are associated with this unusual mountain and lake. The Buddhists, the Jains and the Bonpas of Tibet too,  consider this place as abode of  Lord Shiva and Parvati  and  the lake  born  from  the  mind  of  Brahma to be a sacred place. 

Therefore, it is not surprising that one often comes across Om  Mani  Padme  Hum, hail  to  the  Jewel of creation.

One  has  to  walk  32 miles to go around  the  Mount  Kailas  6675 mts.   which    is   also   known  as  the  centre of   the   universe   in  the   Hindu  Puranas and the  Buddhist   texts ,  Astpaad  in  Jain   texts  and  Yungdruk  Gu Tseg  nine storey  Swastika Mountain  in  Bonpa tradition.  Its highest point is   Polma-pass at 19000  feet  (4515 mtrs).  South  of   Mount Kailas are Rakastal (4515 m), Mansarovar (4530 m), and  further  south  the   peaks   of Gurla   Mandhata   (7683m).  The circumference of Mansarovar is  58 miles, its  depth  is 90 m and total area is 140 square miles. The lake freezes in the winter  and    melt only   in   spring.  It   looks unbelievably    fascinating   on    moonlit    nights. The circumference  of   Rakastal ,  also   known  as Ravan Hrid, is 12 miles from the corner of which originates the Sutlej river.

To see the grandeur of a mountain one must keep one's distance to understand its form one must move around it, to experience its moods one must see it at sunrise and at sunset. But to truly know it, one must journey the mountain with a Master, an Enlightened Being.

Regarded as the spiritual centre of the universe, Mt. Kailash is revered by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains alike. For Hindus it is on top of this wondrous peak that Lord Shiva resides in an eternal state of meditation, creating the sustaining force that holds the universe together. Tibetans have aptly named this mighty rock as 'The Precious Jewel of The Snow". It is here that the great Tibetan mystic, saint, and poet Milerapa wrote a hundred thousand poems on Buddhism. For Jains, Mt. Kailash is the site where their first Tirthankara achieved enlightenment. For the ancient religion of Bon, it is where their founder descended from the heaven.
Legend according to Tibetan tradition has it, that whenever a certain number of realized beings gather in this location, Gautama Buddha physically manifests himself.

This pilgrimage offers the rare privilege to discover with us the beauty and sacredness of Mt. Kailash. Guided and enveloped by intense meditation process and satsang, the seeker can feel the explosive power of these sacred mountains and the saints who reside in them, thus unraveling the forces of life and our own ultimate potential.

Twelve miles away from Mt. Kailash lies Manasarovar, the most beautiful and sacred lake in the world. It is named by the Tibetans as The Unconquerable Lake' and sits at a height of 15015 ft, with a circumference of 56 miles. Being the highest source of fresh water in the world, this blue and emerald green lake is attributed with healing properties.

The path to Mt. Kailash and Lake Manasarovar takes the seeker through Tibet, where an array of temples and stupas, ancient architectures and colorful bazaars are explored and enjoyed.  You have to exchange Indian currency into Chinese Yuan (1 yuan =INR 8) Indian Currency of denomination 500 1000 is banned. Duration 28 days.

CAN WE DO IT?

                          

HAVE WE PROGRESSED ?

Can we make blood ?     

Any type of blood, human or animal ?

Can we make it ?

The answer is in the negative.

We cannot do so.

Can we make bones?

Can we make eyes?

Can we make the nose?

Can we make parts of our body?

The answer is in the negative.

We can not do so.

Nature has gifted fish and under-water living beings

With a special type of nose, a contrivance in their nose that it can segregate oxygen from water.  They can  breathe while remaining under water.

They do not come to surface to breathe for fresh air.

Human divers need oxygen cylinders with them to breathe under water.

Can we make such a contrivance in human nose, that it can breathe under water?  So that he has not to carry a cylinder with him under water?

The answer is again in the negative.

We can not do so.

Do you know Russia experimented on thousands of POWs to change their nose with a fish-like contrivance so that he can remain underwater and breathe.?  They failed.

They were not successful.

They could not do it.

Then what are we boasting about our achievements?

What authority we have to disturb the balance of Nature?

Let the Nature remain undisturbed?

FACE READING- IS IT A SCIENCE OR AN ART?

FACE READING-   AN ART OR A SCIENCE?

Face Reading is both.  It is an art and also a science.

You see a face and you can tell everything about him/her/it.

It needs  observation.  It needs study.  It needs practice.

It needs experience.  A doctor merely looks at the patient.

He can tell the illness of the patient.

Science of Face-Reading got developed in India .

The Philosopher Samudri was its founder.

By Face Reading you can tell  characteristic, profession,

attitude, efficiency, ability  of a particular person.

1.     A goldsmith, a Jeweler has certain visible physical

characteristics.  You can make out by his appearance.

He speaks certain catch-phrases. He talks in terms

of carat, purity, prices of gold and diamonds.           

2.     Sportsman has certain body build, height and

physique.  He is always on the run.

3.     A lawyer can be spot without much effort.

He raises his hands, moves his body and

speak as if he addressed a gathering.  He uses

certain catch phrases relating to law.

4.     A leader or a political man is surrounded by

plain-clothed bodyguards and is always on a run.

5.     An actor, actress is always slow, publicity conscious,

crowd-attracting. The car stops at the studio-gate,

they come out of it quite late ready for cameras to

click on their arrival.

6.     A cop.  He is not in uniform. He has no gun.

He is not in a police-car. But you can make out.

His walk, steps, his words  are with authority.

He orders everyone around. He cites law in his

day- to-day life.

DID YOU KNOW THIS?

Did U know?

It was India who taught the World:-

Sign Zero was introduced in India as an arithmetical unseen achievement by Arya Bhat.

Planets, stars and position of Sun Earth Moon was ascertained by Indian astronomers.

India educated the world to keep the body clean by  taking water bath with soap.

Cotton was separated from cotton seed and cotton dress was  introduced by India.

By Meditation and Yoga lessons India taught the world to keep the body fit and active.

World knew the utility and importance of Ayurvedic plants and herbs to eradicate diseases.

Invented Fire by stone and steel and showed how to cook food to the raw-meat eating world.

Made various musical instruments and appraised the world of different raag and modes of music.

When there was no existence of cranes and heavy lifting machines, built temples and  Stone  metal and wood carving of statues in Temples at height of thousands of feet on mountain heights.

It explained to the world the art of love in sex-life by Vatsayana Kam-sutra.

It gave the world the gift of epics Ramayana, Maha-Bharat.  It is said it reflects every attitude of human nature and human goodness and weakness. The mention of Pushpak Aeroplane, Brahmastra missile and fire-bomb Sanjaya showing the war-zone to Dhritrashtra on line live telecast was unknown to the world.

Kautilya’s economic principles, political agenda by Chanakya was a gift to the world.

Vedas were written on metal sheets and engraved on stones to reach the message to the people

And  religious books were narrated on papires.

The concept of open-university education was in existence by Maharshis and Rishies imparting

Education in physical fitness and use of weapons and study of puranas and religion.

It taught the world how to grow food in agriculture and how to eat it to the best of its use and taste.

It offered the world the taste of eating by use of spices, cloves cardamom salt and other spices.

It invented the round wheels of the cart enabling to make moving carts and chariots for easy transport.

It made boats and ships and cargo-plains of wood for sea-transport of goods to the world.

Sanskrit was the universal language for communication with other world countries.  From it

All other languages have sprouted.

India was a highly civilized and prosperous continent spreading almost more than half of Asia.

The Sandal wood was in great demand from Egypt and other countries to preserve the mummy.

Columbus and many others spent their life to find India. Instead he found America.

JC Bose proved that plants and trees have life.

Invention of the radio was done by an Indian but politics and dirty games made it for Marconi.

India recently released 10 satellites  in the orbit and created a record.

Shakuntala Devi  is a living computer to compute any sums manually at the same speed of a computer.

India has contributed in the areas of:

It is the Oldest and developed and rich civilization.

Its Cultural centers and renown temples and universities.

Its palaces and huge mansions.

Its contribution in astronomy, astrology and religious power.

Its contribution in evolving and developing Politics,Economics and Administration.

Its gift of Sanskrit language which is the lingua franca of the world.

Its contribution in the filed of literature in Ramayana, Maha Bharata and Bhagvat Gita.

Its contribution in the areas of music dancing and cultural activities.

Its contribution in medical field.

INDIAN SCHOOLS OF DANCING.

Dancing Indian Schools.

Just as music can enhance the mood of a dance and influence the way in which the spectator interprets its dramatic content, so visual elements such as costume, makeup, masks, props, lighting, and stage sets may also amplify certain qualities of dance movement. Because set and design are vital elements of theatre, they are most important in those types of theatre dance, whether dramatic or abstract, in which dancers perform before nonparticipating spectators. Therefore, most discussion of the use of visual elements in dance centres on theatre dance.Such visual elements as costume and makeup do play a role in participatory social and ritual dances, however. In most war and hunting dances the participants not only imitate the movements of warriors or prey but also use weapons, masks, makeup, and animal skins to heighten the realism of the dance. The wearing of animal skins is a common means in many such dances to magically acquire the animals' strength or agility--hence the eagle feathers worn in the headdresses of many North American Indians or the deerskin shoes traditionally worn by the Scots.In other ritual dances the dancers' clothes may well possess magical or religious significance. The Sufi dancer begins his ritual by divesting himself of a black cloak that is symbolic of the tomb. Body painting in symbolic colours is characteristic of many tribal dances as a means of keeping away evil spirits, while the embroidery on a number of European national costumes is often a relic from the days when it functioned as a magic charm. Most important of all, the wearing of special clothes in ritual dances, as in rituals not involving dance, is a way of signaling and preserving the sacred quality of the occasion and removing it from ordinary life.In festive dances, too, clothes and ornamentation play an important role in embellishing the movement and heightening the atmosphere of gaiety, pomp, or excitement. Social dances frequently have special clothes associated with them--such as the evening suits and voluminous sequined dresses of ballroom dancing or the tight, black clothes of rock and roll. Such clothes are not only the fashion of the era but also the uniform that identifies the dancer more strongly with the dance and the other dancers. Like music, clothes can help dancers surrender their everyday selves to the dance.In theatre dances everywhere, the use of visual effects is crucial to the power of the dance. In the Indian kathakali, facial makeup is central to the portrayal of character. Differently coloured beards are used to represent good or bad characters, while the colour of the makeup is even more revealing: a green and red painted face represents an evil and ferocious character, a green and white face is for heroes and noblemen, a pinkish-yellow face is for women characters and sages, and black and red makeup is used for female demons.The bharata natya dancer relies more purely on the mudras for character portrayal, but makeup and costume are still highly important. The graceful, sinuous lines of the dancer's movements are emphasized by the bare torso and flowing skirt or trousers, while the intricate detail of the mudras is reflected in the rich jewels, flowers, and decoration of the costume.

SMUGGLING AND CUSTOMS WING.

           The new outlook of the Customs Wing.   

                                                    By: Arvind J.Raval. Advocate.

Customs-all over the World, is considered unique, due to its position, the role it plays at the

borders, and ports of entry, and the authority to inspect exports and imports, and charge

appropriate duties. Although the traditional role of the Customs administration is revenue-collection,

customs operations are rapidly evolving to include trade-facility, combating commercial fraud,shady

deals, international links of crime etc.  Invariably the shady deals lead to fraud which is often linked

to organised crime practised in a variety of ways to include revenue and fiscal evasion, through false

declaration, misuse of exemptions and even money laundering.

Some do not like to pay readily and willingly. Some are out to cheat by smuggling, under-invoicing,

over-invoicing as the case be. Domestic and international trade over the years has significantly

increased the volume of export and import of goods of our country. This has led to increased

opportunities to increase revenue to the exchequer. It has increased responsibilities of Customs.

These additional responsibilities on the Customs wing has increased their volume of

duties,alertness,compilation of information and over and above a very very vigilent eye at all times.

This is especially true in the country's present circumstances when it is passing through an acid

test of its economic-progress. It is now a challenge for the Customs wing to save every rupee and

strengthen the hands of the Government in light of the fact that India is a candidate for Super-

Power in the next coming years.

In our Country, and indeed, in many other countries also, the mere mention of the word Customs

and Customs operations evokes images of corruption, graft, greed, bureaucracy, to the extent

that, even commercial fraud is attributed erroneously to Customs officials in the the minds of

general public.  There are certain notorious elements in the business circle who are the prime

perpetrators of commercial fraud.There are some traders, travellers even  in some isolated cases 

offences were perpetrated with the connivance of port-authority police or the customs officials.

We have to attempt to improve our image at large in the eyes of the public and change the world

opinion about us. All know that maintaining free and expedious flow of goods and traffic and at

the same time observe to apply controls checks and counter-checks for safeguard of revenue and

security is not an easy task. Happily we have been moving towards a developed framework of a

standard to secure and facilitate global trade from the country-of-origin to the country-of-

consignment. These standards do promote customs-to customs networking, and customs

to business partnership. It includes use of pre-arrival information, application of risk management

automated systems and the establishment of effective consultative relationship with customs

trading counterparts and other stake-holders and providing a dispute settlement system in

customs related matters especially valuation and capacity building. It will provide the Customs

sleuths to deliberate and develop new strategies and instruments to provide support with new  

instruments. The new crop of Customs Officers have endeared themselves to the public by their

efficiency friendliness and firmness with which they have performed their duties at International

Airports.  Foreigners who came into contact with them have recognised this. The approach is now

shifting from exclusive movement control to more audit-based controls.

India is a continent with one billion of its population. It is a peninsula. Our land borders touch many

neighbourly countries. We have a very large sea-coast. India is susceptible to anything and

everything, and any type of mischief at the hands of unscrupulous elements is possible.

We have to guard our borders which runs into thousands of miles. Punctuality, devotion and the

spirit for a kill (not that we have to actually kill anyone in the course of duty); that do-or die spirit, 

are pre-requsites of a dedicated sleuth of customs. It is learnt reliably that chaos happens at the

the end of a shift-duty. The out-going staff is in a hurry to leave; the incoming leisurely lot is not

mentally ready to take over.  It is said a wise cop always reports five minutes early than his

scheduled duty time. Similarly he leaves five minutes late after end of his duty shift. Everything

can happen in that small period which can make your life, or ruin your life. The under-world has

deeply studied the methods and practices and they have a list of your minutest details of your likes,

your weakness etc. The officers have to be watchful in the areas which include vigilant eye

against drug-trafficking counterfeiting, piracy, money-laundering and terrorism.         A.M.D.G.

              

THE COUNTRY IS IN NEED OF DRASTIC OVERHAUL.

COUNTRY NEEDS DRASTIC OVERHAUL.

Can anyone remember and tell?

“When times were not Hard?”

“When money was not Scarce?”

For chaos in the country, at the back of everything,

All alliance-led Governments are responsible.

“NO becomes YES for money.”

Today the country suffers from Crisis of Governance.

The selfish lot has put the Country to a Point of No Return.

Dictators Fascists and Autocrats and Emergency were far

better than this day lot of Ministers at the Helm of Affairs.

Each Minister has turned a Fascist and a Dictator to loot

the Country’s wealth in one form or the other.

Both the Major Parties have encouraged Corruption.

When in Power, all Parties have cashed in for their gain.

Be it at Central level, State Level, District level or

Panchayat level or Corporation level, or Boards level,

the extent of Corruption has been on an increase.

A nexus of party workers, public servants and police is

formed to share the spoils of whatever comes to their hands.

There is intentional deliberate pampering of Minority.

The Vote Game and Vote Bank politics is everywhere.

“Our country has to be the source and fountainhead

in the world arena.  In all matters it has to excel others.”

No businessman would invest his fortune in a place,

where the government skims 20% of the top, or,

where the top of the Port Authority is corrupt.

Laws were made like cobwebs,

where small flies got caught,

and the big ones broke through.

Parliament has turned more or less an expensive big house,

where more or less it is a resting place of idlers.

Opposition has admitted that Anna’s fasts achieved

what they could not by Parliament Stand Off for a month.

Why did Opposition Leader wasted Public Money for one Month by undue stand off ?

Why did he not proceed to unto death fast for 2G Scam

Parliamentary Committee?  What stopped Him?

Why cheat the Nation in the name of Ram- Mandir?

India has not asserted itself as a world country in International matters.

Indian Diplomats have failed to project India as a super power player in the 21^st century.

At the back of everything, there is lack of diplomacy and farsightedness in each issue.

Our media and lobby activity is very poor in international media and lobby.

We lack drive and force to project country’s issue.

We are meek and mild and docile and submissive.

We have to be aggressive and initiating in the cause of issues relating to our interest.

A policy of compromise and submissiveness is seen at each issue.

Every year, every term, new faces are inducted in the ministry.

None can do the magic.  The present set of machinery, rules, regulations and principles of justice come in the way of fast track course of action required to be adopted in important matters.  Our very existence is at a threat, as

a Nation.

There were incumbents before them on the same post.

They were better.  That is the quality of the present lot.

There is nothing like moral and immoral in issues at international level.  There is nothing ethics and non-ethics in issues relating to the security and solidarity of the country.

There are three kinds of lies.

Lies. Damn lies and statistics.

Statistics are generally used to lie to the public.

Damn lies are used to keep the lower rank and file in order.

Lies are common among colleagues.

There is lack of trust and confidence.

All can be bought and sold like commodity.

Everything is for sale. There must be a buyer.

A DIALOGUE BETWEEN COMPUTER AND PIANO MAESTRO

Following is recent dialogue between Man and Machine.

The COMPUTER:- A Piano is an apparatus, It is a machine. It produces various sounds.

THE MAESTRO:- Oh! What a pity! What a tragedy! A Piano is an instrument that produces sounds of gradual pitch depth and tone. The Piano-players were world-known celebrities. There are quality pianos used by celebrities. The world knew they never played except before a vast audience. They received astronomical sums for such concerts in advance. The pianos were concert-size grand and majestic. Some are known as PLEYEL, RIPPEN, BENTLEY, GAVEAU, SCHIMMEL, ERARD, SCHINDLER, BECHSTEIN. The best is the BECHSTEIN.

It can be played singly or by a group. It is an art. The computer does not know art. Art moves men.

THE COMPUTER:- A Piano is a set of wires of different thickness struck by felt covered hammers working by manually operated levers arranged horizontally.

THE MAESTRO:- It is a cold-blooded description of men's nobler works. The Computer makes world celebrities in the field of playing the Piano, mere laboratory technicians.

The Maestro, his fingers gliding and weaving the ivory bars, drew back from the keys and thread of melody melted into silence. The hands fluttered over the keys. At its sound, it looked as if everything else had stopped as the strains of the great Waltz in G-flat Major rose and  blended in the faint murmur of the hall.

THE MAESTRO to COMPUTER:- How was that? It is called music. It rings like merry bells in our ears.

THE COMPUTER:- The sounds were well-formed. They did not jar the auditory senses.

THE MAESTRO :- These sheets of paper indicate a sound to be made. The maestro fed in the computer the co-relation between the dots in the papers and the levers of the panel into the memory bank. It was as if he installed the Muse into metal and machinery.

He started with Beethoven as a test case. He installed all the fundamentals of musical notations in the computer memory book, the compact dish.

The Maestro retired for the night. The maestro fell asleep with a smile on his face. In between sense and sleep, his ears listened to the tunes. Someone was at the piano. It had the touch of a professional.

The computer had already begun to create sounds with the keyboard. A torrent of sound rippled from the keys spreading in the room reaching to his ears.

It was something the Maestro knew, had played himself over and over and again and again. His lips framed a silent 'O' as the sound rose and fell, half gay, half sad,a timeless melody- the Debussy- the immortal Arabesque. The music ebbed and flowed, changed mood and entered more solemn phases then, again a merry ripple, higher, ever higher; but at last with a descending scale, dissolving, vanishing disappearing slowly slowly slowly, far far away in the distant past.

In his half sleep he felt the music had resumed. This time a Chopin prelude, mournful and quite passionate. Chopin indeed waltzes in any key. It was saying the thousand things that it wanted to say but it can not say verbally. Within a few hours the music rack was empty. There was a pile of sheet-music on the Piano, which was empty and used. The copy of Beethoven's Appassionato lay closed on the disc.

In the morning, the Maestro was shocked to see the speed and strength. He decided to call all conductors, concert-pianists, composers, managers- in short all the musical giants. There appeared an alert on the computer-screen.

"The computer has the option to reject any action which it considers harmful to the general public at large."

THE COMPUTER:- "These nobler art is not for a machine." -the computer inscribed.

The computer can translate notes into sounds in a jiffy. But. Music is not for computer, to transform the sheets of musical papers into musical sound. It is for man. It is easy for the computer. It was not meant to be easy. It is meant to be tough and impossible for all.

The computer rejected the data. Music is an art. All arts are meant to be testing, hard, and laborious. There is no end. It is immortal.

The computer refused to interfere in areas in competition with arts like music dancing painting etc.

GOLD PRICES.

 GOLD WILL HIT US $ 1600, AN OUNCE.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                  

It is History.  The price of gold bullion in the year 1980, had surged to US $ 873 an ounce. It was the record highest.  The record was broken, and bullion had hit $1600 an ounce mark during 2013 thereafter it had fluctuated and steadied at 1200 $ an ounce.

Some investors buy gold, to preserve their purchasing power. It is speculation. Reliable news agency reports that gold bullion may rise to its highest level in the near future. At the beginning of the 21st century gold price was around 250$ an ounce, and it appeared that it would still go high.   The tendency of the investors is to buy Bullion as a safeguard against inflation.  The public demand for purchase of jewellery is seen rising.  The jewelers therefore have stocked up gold stock to meet with the rising demand. World gold prices may rise in the next coming months.  It will boost its price as the hedge fund managers and other large speculators have increased their net long position by  5%.

"There is pressure to raise gold price to from all quarters including some last minute people jumping on the bandwagon" said New York Stock Exchange spokesperson.  The world currencies are declining. The investors  therefore purchase more gold as a hedge against declining prices of world currencies.  Gold may still gain in future on speculation demand which may exceed the production from gold mining companies, all around the world.

Our country is in the danger of losing its position in the rank of gold producing countries. Our gold finds, depleted resources in mining gold within the country are due to lack of exploration. The last decade was a decade of lost exploration. Unless new discoveries are made, reserves for gold under mining would be depleted at the end of this decade. This will mean closure of smelters and refineries and the havoc it will reap on our economy.  To reverse this sorry state of affairs and catch-up internal gold production, it is necessary to form a cabinet rank ministry for gold.  We have vast highly prospective geology much of which is still largely unexplored.  However the need for increased exploration is not the only challenge that has threatened the gold mining process.  The aging population and shortage of skilled workers are also worries and a problem.

It is reported that world's largest hoarders of gold are a few parties from India. The princely states are foremost among them.

It is learnt from reliable sources that pressure to auction 500 tons of gold is mounting on the IMF.  India purchased 200 tons of it. The UNO at the behest of Uncle Sam wants funds to help the third world nations for natural calamities.  There is chance for fluctuations in the prices of gold. Economists hold different views on such an eventuality.  Some believe that the gold prices would have no or at the most nominal effect. Some say that in the past, when such auctions were held, it gave rise to higher prices.                              

SAINT RAMAN MAHARSHI.

Raman Maharshi.(1879-1950)

Born to a south Indian, Brahman family, Venkataraman Aiyer, read mystical and devotional literature, particularly the lives of South Indian Shaiva saints and the life of Kabir.

He was captivated by legends of the local pilgrimage place, Mt. Arunachala, from which the god Shiva was supposed to have arisen in a spiral of fire at the creation of the world.

At the age of 17 Venkataraman had a spiritual experience from which he derived his vicara technique: he suddenly felt a great fear of death, and, lying very still, imagined his body becoming a stiff, cold corpse.

Following a traditional "not this, not that" (neti-neti) practice, he began self-inquiry, asking "Who am I?" and answering, "Not the body, because it is decaying; not the mind, because the brain will decay with the body; not the personality, nor the emotions, for these also will vanish with death."

His intense desire to know the answer brought him into a state of consciousness beyond the mind, a state of bliss of a samadhi. He immediately renounced his possessions, shaved his head, and fled from his village to Mt. Arunachala to become a hermit and one of India's youngest gurus.

He was endowed with a spiritual title Ramana Maharshi, used by Venkataraman's disciples and his preaching attracted a number of notable students. Ramana Maharshi believed that death and evil were maya, or illusion, which could be dissipated by the practice of vicara, by which the true self and the unity of all things would be discovered. For liberation from rebirth it is sufficient, he believed, to practice only vicara and bhakti (devotional surrender) either to Shiva Arunachala or to Ramana Maharshi.

URDU ART AND STAGE DRAMA.

Urdu Art and Stage Drama.

During the second half of the 19th century, Urdu was the main spoken and written language of the northern half of the subcontinent and understood in almost all the principal cities.

The Parsi were the pioneers in establishing a commercial theatre, that lasted from 1873 to 1935 and influenced all the other regional theatres. Though located mainly in Bombay and Calcutta, the Parsi companies toured the subcontinent with huge staffs, sets, and an army of players.

The best known playwright of this period is Agha Hashr (1876-1935), a poet-dramatist of flamboyant imagination and superb craftsmanship. Among his famous plays are Sita Banbas, from the Ramayana; Bilwa Mangal, a social play on the life of a poet, whose blind passion for a prostitute results in remorse; and Aankh ka Nasha, about the treachery of a prostitute's love, with realistic dialogue of a brothel. Many of Hashr's plays were adapted from Shakespeare: Sufaid Khun was modelled on King Lear, and Khun-e Nahaq on Hamlet.

His last play, Rustam-o-Sohrab, the tragic story of two legendary Persian heroes, Rustam and his son Sohrab, is a drama of passion and fatal irony. Theatrical companies were large-budgeted affairs. Plays opened with the actors in full makeup and costume, their hands folded and eyes closed, singing a prayer song in praise of a deity, and generally ended in a tableau.

Sometimes at curtain call the director rearranged the tableau in a split second and offered a variant. Actors were required to know singing, dancing, music, acrobatics, and fencing and to possess strong voices and good physical bearing.

In improvised auditoriums with bad acoustics and packed with more than 2,000 people, actors' voices reached the farthest spectator.

Plays began at 10 o'clock and lasted until dawn, moving from comedy to tragedy, from pathos to farce, from songs to the rattle of swords, all interspersed with moral lessons and rhyming epigrams.

The droll humour and realism of the comic interludes remain unsurpassed in contemporary Urdu drama. Important playwrights of this period were Narain Prasad Betab, Mian Zarif, and Munshi Mohammed Dil of Lucknow.

All took inspiration from Hindu mythology and Persian legends, transforming these tales into powerful dramas. Imtiaz Ali Taj  was a bridge between Agha Hashr and contemporary Pakistani playwrights. His Anarkali, the tragic love story of  Anarkali, and Crown Prince Salim unfolds the love-hate relationship of a domineering emperor and his rebellious son. Brilliant in treatment and character analysis, this play has been staged hundreds of times by amateur groups and has entered the list of Urdu classics.

In the absence of a professional company, Urdu theatre has found it difficult to strike roots.

After 1947 many Muslim actors and writers were absorbed by the Indian film industry in Bombay, and they found it difficult to adjust their great talent to amateur theatrical clubs.

All the same, plays have been staged in Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi. The best productions have been those dealing with topical themes--refugee problems, new adjustments, the corrupt bureaucracy, the Kashmir issue, and other sociopolitical issues. Agha Babar in Rawalpindi produced Burra Sahib, an adaptation of Gogol's Government Inspector, setting it in Pakistan. Tere Kuce se Jub Hum Nikle by Naseer Shamshi, describes the pathetic condition of an aristocratic family in Delhi that is forced to leave home because of communal riots.

In Lal Qile se Lalukhet Tak, by Khwajah Moinuddin, the comedy arises out of the pitiable condition of the refugees who leave their well-settled existence in Delhi dreaming of prosperity, take a tedious journey, and arrive homeless in Karachi to find shelter in thatched hovels.

Ali Ahmed, an avant-garde actor-director in Karachi, presents his plays with polished stagecraft and esoteric appeal. Lahore remains the centre of amateur theatre based on the tradition of the late directors A.S. Bokhari and G.D. Sondhi, both former principals of the Government College in Lahore. In 1942 G.D. Sondhi built the Open-Air Theatre, situated on a small artificial hillock in the Lawrence Gardens and perhaps the best in all of South Asia. It has remained the centre of dramatic contests and festivals and is a favourite of visiting dancers and actors.

The actor-playwright Rafi Peer, with his knowledge of Western theatre as a result of his training in Berlin in the 1930s, has helped to develop Pakistani theatre. Professional in approach, he has produced radio and stage plays and has been a critical colleague of A.S. Bokhari and Imtiaz in the revival of amateur theatre.

OUR RELIGION IS ALIVE.

DANCE.

Dance.

Dance is the movement of the body in a rhythmic way, usually to music and within a given space, for the purpose of expressing an idea or emotion, releasing energy, or simply taking delight in the movement itself.               Dance is a powerful impulse, but the art of dance is that impulse channeled by skillful performers into something that becomes intensely expressive and that may delight spectators who feel to dance themselves.

Dance is an art, a form of expression that utilizes bodily movements that are usually rhythmic, patterned and accompanied by music. Dance is one of the oldest of art forms, being found in virtually every culture and attested to in records of cultures long since extinct.

Dance is a part of all rituals. Farmers dance for a plentiful harvest, seasonal festivals, religious fairs, marriages, and births are celebrated by community dancing. A warrior dances before his Goddess and receives her blessings before he leaves for battle. A temple girl dances to please her God. The Gods dance in joy, in anger, in triumph. The world itself was created by the Cosmic Dance of Lord Shiva, who is the Nataraja, the king of dancers, and worshipped by actors and dancers as their patron.

Religious festivals are still the most important occasions for dance and theatrical activity. The Ram-Lila, Krishna-Lila and Ras-Lila in North, the Chhau masked dance-drama in Saraikela, in Bihar, and the Bhagavatha mela in Melatur village in Tamil Nadu are performed annually. During the Dashahara festival every village enacts for a fortnight the story of Rama's life, with songs, dances and pageants. The Jatra in West Bengal is a year-round dramatic activity, but the number of troupes swells too many thousands in Kolkata during the Puja festival.         The hill and tribal people dance all night to celebrate their community festivals and weddings rich in masks, pageants, and carnivals. For the usually all-night folk dramas, people come with their children, straw mats, and snacks, making themselves at home. At these performances there is a constant inflow and outflow of spectators. Some go to sleep, asking their neighbours to awaken them for favourite scenes. Stalls selling betel leaves, peanuts, and spicy fried items, adorned with flowers and incense and lighted by oil lamps, surround the open-air arena.

The clown, an essential character in every folk play, comments on the audience and contemporary events. Zealous spectators offer donations and gifts in appreciation of their favourite actor or dancer, who receives them in the middle of the performance and thanks the donor by singing or dancing a particular piece of his choice. The audience thus constantly throws sparks to the performer, who throws them back. People laugh, weep, sigh, or suddenly fall silent during a moving scene.

In both folk and classical forms of drama, the performer may lengthen or shorten his piece according to audience response. During a Kathak dance, the drummer, in order to test the perfection of the dancer, disguises the main beat of his drum by slurs and off-beats, a secret he shares with the audience and announces by a loud thump that is synchronized with the dancer's stamping of the foot. At this point in the dance the spectators shout, swaying their heads in admiration. They show their approval and disapproval through delighted groans or sullen headshakes as the performance goes on. In the Rasa-Lila, the audience joins in singing the refrain and marks the beat by hand clapping. At a climactic point the people rock and sway, rhythmically clapping and singing. These practices bind the performers, chanters, and spectators together in a sense of aesthetic pleasure.

In some classical dance forms, such as Kuchipudi, the dancer sings in voiceless whispers as she dances.           In Bharata-Natyam the dance movements are like sculpted music in space. In Kathak the rhythmic syllables beaten out by the dancer with her feet are vocalized by the singer and then chirped out by the drummer.           No folk dancing is complete without the use of drum and vocal singing. Women's folk singing such as the Giddha in the Punjab and the men's Kirtan in West Bengal takes the form of dance when the rhythm becomes fast.        In folk theatre this relationship is even more apparent. Raslila dance sequences are interspersed with the singing as a decorative frill, to accentuate emotional appeal, or to mark the climax of a song. The Yaksha-gana hero gives a brisk dance number to announce his entry. In many folk Bhavai, Terukkuttu, and Nautanki, the characters sing and dance at the same time or alternate. Ballad singers from Orissa and Andhra Pradesh dramatize their singing by strong facial gestures, rhythm of the ghunghru and execute dance phrases between the narrative singing.