[Assam] Fwd: Re: Los Angeles Times on Northeast India

Tue Jun 3 00:47:56 PDT 2008

Despite all the filth we took dip in the holy river during our visit in
2006.. it does cleanse your soul..to clean the body we had to take showers
in the hotel........:)

My surprise was of course at Ayodhya. I suggest every Hindu (devout or not)
must visit and take a dip at the river Saruyu. I brought some sand from the
Ramghat and distributed among my pehis/jethais/khuris and got good PR
dividend. Its a huge place with over 7500 temples. There are temples built
by kings from time immemorial. Eg Hamuman Garhi temple was built by Maharaj
Bikramaditya. Its nostalgic...

manojda

On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 1:04 PM, umesh sharma <jaipurschool at yahoo.com> wrote:

> He He Manoj-da,
>
> You have a counter-point at the ready!!
>
> Well, water can purify - I never said that  filth can  purify.  In my sole
> visit to Kolkata  (when I  was  in seventh class/grade )  to attend my
>  Mama's  (maternal uncle)  marriage to a Bengali girl  I  went to
> Dakshineshwar  and took a dip  -- that  dip put me off  dipping for a long
> time.  Ganga river collects all the filth all along the way (from its origin
> at Gaumukh glacier which I visited 7-8  years later)  and dumps it at
> Kolkata -- so saw some hardened human  excreta  (yucks!!!)  floating  by my
> head when  I came  up after  my  lone dip there. That put me off Kolkata as
> well :-)
>
> Gaumukh of the Gangotri glacier has too fast water for any dip - but around
>  Hrishikesh I am told  water is clean and  not too fast . At Hrishikesh the
> river comes out of Himalayas and into the Gangetic plains.
>
> Umesh
>
> Manoj Das <dasmk2k at gmail.com> wrote: Rivers do...but if you look at the
> pollution of Yamuna and Ganga and the
> horrible sight of filth and sewage pouring into the river at
> Dasaaswamedhghat at Venaras, one has to be really diehard religious to
> consider that the water of Ganges that looks almost like crude petroleum
> can
> wash sins anymore....Its appalling...
>
> On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 12:20 PM, umesh sharma
> wrote:
>
> > interesting. I knew of Parshuram's matricide - the great Brahmin killing
> > his mother and all Kshatriyas (warrior caste)  - his birthday is
> celebrated
> > with great pomp and show in North India by his caste members.
> >
> > Also I was reminded of my 1992 visit to Gomukh glacier alongwith with
> boys
> > and girls of my college and three professors, including Dr Seema Parihar
> ,
> > who was at the India's premeir geography collehe dept (at my college
> > Kirormal Mal College, Delhi) . Gaumukh glacier as you might recall is
> where
> > Mother Ganges (Ganga Ma) originates.
> >
> > With or without the "creationist" stories - still popular in some US
> > biology school textbooks also - rivers are lifeline of humanity. Human
> > civilizations started on riversides.
> >
> > Rivers purify - inside and outside - don't they?
> >
> > Umesh
> >
> > Manoj Das  wrote: Well the story goes like this..!!
> >
> > Once Brahma was enamored by the beauty of the wife of a great sage (Can't
> > recall her name off hand). She however gave cold shoulder to Brahmaji's
> > advances as she was devoted and opposed to any EMI. In the lusty moment
> > however  '*Brahma Beej (sperms)*' fell on the location. The great sage
> > knowing all through his spiritual television, gave kudos to wife for the
> > fidelity, being no match to Brahma ignored his momentary lapse and
> > transferred the 'beej' into a depression in the Himalayas near the Kundil
> > river. The 'Beej' grew and grew and became a huge lake -'Sarovar', and
> came
> > to be known as Brahmaputra and became a seat of great public super sin
> > cleaner (*tirtha)* over time, 'brahma kund'.
> >
> > In another scene. Renuka, the wife of the great but short tempered Rishi,
> > Jamadagni once went to fetch a pail of water. On the river bank she saw
> two
> > 'yakshs' (you can say demi gods) in compromising position and in the act.
> > She forgot her duty and watched the full show. Jamadagni saw all these in
> > CCTV and grew wild. He ordered his 6 sons to behead his wife. All but
> > Parsuram (PR), the youngest and ambitious son , who later became nemesis
> of
> > all '*khastriya'*s (warrior class) obeyed his father and slashed his
> mom's
> > head with an axe. Having committed 'matricide'- one of the greatest sins,
> > the axe got super glued to his hands.
> >
> > Jamadagni soon rued loss of his wife and devised an escape route. He
> > granted
> > PR a boon. PR asked for mom's revival. However his condition remained
> same.
> > Poor fellow was in pitiable condition with both his hands stuck to the
> axe.
> > Jamadagni couldnot help much and advised him to do a hit and trial by
> > visiting all tirthas of that time. PR visited all the tirthas in the cow
> > belt, with zero result. Ultimately he reached the 'brahma kund' on the
> > easrern Himalayas. By then he lost all hope and probably thought of
> > amputing
> > his hands.
> >
> > Tired and frustrated, PR dipped his hands into the holy waters of Brahma
> > Kund as the last try. ASA he lifted his hands, lo and behold! his sins
> were
> > erased and the axe came unglued. A grateful and obliged Parsuram now
> > thought
> > for greater good and breached one bank of the 'Brahma Kund". Thus
> > Brahmaputra which is known as 'Luit' there started to flow westward to
> wash
> > the sins of millions of people over millenniums. Brahma saw to it that no
> > other male river would ever be born, and granted his son to reign over
> the
> > harem full of all other rivers.
> >
> > Interesting na?
> >
> > On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 10:35 AM, umesh sharma
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Ram-da,
> > >
> > > I was guessing the same but the concept seemed unique :-)
> > > Brahma-putra - the Son of God  ( Brahma = the One and only God, Putra =
> > > Son)
> > >
> > > Umesh
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Ram Sarangapani  wrote: Umesh,
> > >
> > > That would be Brahmaputra or Brahma's son.Supposedly, the only male
> river
> > > in
> > > India, all the rest are feminine.
> > >
> > > I am not sure about a river like Ravi in the Punjab - sounds like a
> male
> > > name.
> > >
> > > --Ram da
> > >
> > >
> > > On 6/2/08, Manoj Das  wrote:
> > > >
> > > > hi Umesh
> > > >
> > > > This male river in question is our 'bor luit'- Only male river in the
> > > > world..mythologically though..:)
> > > >
> > > > On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 9:32 AM, umesh sharma
> > > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > what is this "male river"
> > > > >
> > > > > any misprints?  :-)
> > > > >
> > > > > Umesh
> > > > >
> > > > > Manoj Das  wrote: I was thinking this all along!
> > > > >
> > > > > When I shared this news with a Japanese thinker from ADB, he was
> > > > stunned..
> > > > > There are many players in this. Number one is Bangladesh, which is
> > > > > constantly frustrating India's efforts to get transit through the
> > male
> > > > > river. Secondly a grand politics of undermining Assam's destined
> > > position
> > > > > as
> > > > > the land bridge between giant Asian land and economic masses.
> > > > >
> > > > > mkd
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > On Mon, Jun 2, 2008 at 9:33 AM, Dilip&Dil Deka  wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > > > Forwarding.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Dilip&Dil Deka  wrote:  Date: Sun, 1 Jun 2008
> > > > > > 20:58:13 -0700 (PDT)
> > > > > > From: Dilip&Dil Deka
> > > > > > Subject: Re: [Assam] Los Angeles Times on Northeast India
> > > > > > To: baruah at bard.edu, cmahanta at charter.net
> > > > > >
> > > > > >  Dear Sanjib,
> > > > > >  You said, "But are they  producing or is it only assembling
> > > products.
> > > > I
> > > > > > don't know the answer. "
> > > > > >  Even Assembling products is better than not doing anything.
> Mexico
> > > is
> > > > > > making a lot of money assembling products for USA. Assembling
> > > products
> > > > > > eventually leads to local production if the local entrepreneurs
> > mean
> > > to
> > > > > take
> > > > > > part in the process.
> > > > > >  Car battery industry is a good example. As I understand, back in
> > > > > seventies
> > > > > > batteries were assembled in Assam. I heard that most of the parts
> > are
> > > > now
> > > > > > made in Assam. Is it true?
> > > > > >  Dilipda
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
>
>
> Umesh Sharma
>
> Washington D.C.
>
> 1-202-215-4328 [Cell]
>
> Ed.M. - International Education Policy
> Harvard Graduate School of Education,
> Harvard University,
> Class of 2005
>
> http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/index.html (Edu info)
>
> http://hbswk.hbs.edu/ (Management Info)
>
>
>
>
> www.gse.harvard.edu/iep  (where the above 2 are used )
> http://harvardscience.harvard.edu/
>
>
>
> http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/
>
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-- 
Manoj Kumar Das
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New Delhi 17 India
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