Nature Series: Part Two - Water

In the second installment of the Nature Series, I want to talk about Water. Everyone knows about it. Sixty percent of our body is Water. Seventy percent of Earth is water. Man cannot live without drinking water for three days. blah... blah. I don't want to go gaga into all those details which everyone knows. I want to talk about things which people do not know and about things which people know but tend to ignore.

Water serves not only as a purpose and means for living but it also has an important role to play in our beliefs and religions. Almost every religion in this world has an important place for water. The great holy books of Hindus say that all the wealth and prosperity of the world emerged from Sea or Water. Hindus treat water with most respect and many hindus believe that sacred rivers like Ganga pave the way for Moksa, the realm of Nirvana. In Christianity, Water is linked with Baptism where it is used for purification and cleansing the original sin as stated in the bible. The Koran of Islam says "We have created everything from Water" and according to Prophet Mohmed, the founder of Islam, giving water to drink is the most praiseworthy deed. Whatever may be the religion or belief, Water is treated as a symbol for purity and source of all life. Water is life.

Water in its original form always comes with beauty. The wonderful colors of a rainbow, the smell of earth when mixed with the initial rain drops and the first rain after a hot summer remain unforgettable in everyone's life whoever have experienced it. Just imagine the gentle sound of waves on a silent beach, just imagine the soothing sound of water flow early in the morning and try to remember the rhythmic sound of the droplets of water falling from your rooftop after the rain. It's all beauty.

Our Earth is called Blue Planet as seventy percent of it is covered with water. It's no wonder that the number of species living in the water is greater than the number of species living on land. Water also plays a major role in keeping our body sound and healthy. Drinking less amount of water may lead to constipation and can have adverse effects on the functioning of Kidneys. On the other hand drinking good amount of water helps in replacing Oxygen lost due to allergies and helps activating fiber thus preventing atherosclerosis, cancer, diabetes and other diseases. Weight loss diets wont work without enough water. Water can also help you relieve the common cold and Flu. Water is Energy.

Pure and safe drinking water provides lot of benefits and advantages as mentioned. But, at the same time polluted water can make things worse. Most of the common diseases in this world are caused by polluted and unsafe water. 90% of the child deaths in poor countries are related to polluted water and in developing countries a child dies every 15 seconds because of water related issues. Even in the so called developed world, it's very unfortunate that pure drinking water comes at a price.

Nearly 98% of water on earth is Undrinkable or covered in icecaps. Only 2% of it is suitable for drinking, agriculture and other residential needs. So, one should feel very lucky to have an opportunity to get pure and safe water. It's our responsibility to make sure that this percentage does not go down. Water once polluted is irreplaceable at any price. We can only try to minimize the wastage of water. We can only try to reduce the pollution of water. But, unfortunately we cannot stop it. There is same amount of water on Earth today as there was when we first came to know about Earth. Because of increase in demands and decrease in the percentage of safe drinking water, everyone in this world is not able to get the privilege of enjoying his or her share of pure water. It is our duty to preserve the most precious and the most limited natural resource given to us. The water tables are depleting and the percentage of pure and safe drinking water is going down. Most of the countries in the world use recycled water for daily use. It's time to realize that we are slowly moving towards Global Water Crisis and it’s in our hands to stop it.

Water is Life. Water is Beauty. Water is Energy. And most important of all Water is limited. Let's not waste it.

-Venks

Nature Series: Part One - Earth

As promised in the previous blog, here I come with the 'Nature Series'. So, what is this 'Nature series'? This is something I want to write about the surroundings we live, we play, we enjoy, we appreciate and we destroy. We interact with nature each and every second of our life. We take something from it and give back something to it. We inherit it from our past generations and pass it on to our future generations. It's our duty and responsibility to protect it and preserve it. But, what are we doing?

******

Earth - The third biggest planet in our Galaxy and the only planet known to man till date where life exists. Earth is home for almost thirty million species and a place for all other natural resources created by god. It's one of the first and oldest deities prayed by humans before various religions came into picture. Earth has always been personified as goddess and often referred as 'Mother Earth'. I don't want to go into all those Geographical aspects of Earth as I myself am very poor in Geography. You can refer to Wikipedia or ask google to know more details.

In the beginning, Earth was believed to be flat. As the times changed and technology developed the true nature of Earth was discovered. They say Man has infinite thirst for knowledge and infinite courage to explore new horizons. The exploration for knowledge and new horizons started with Earth. And soon new places, new species and new resources for energy were discovered. It's no wonder that there is almost no place left on earth not known to man.

As the man grew, the technology grew with him. The exploration of earth which started on its surface saw no bounds to discover the vast riches hidden inside the surface of earth. Natural riches hidden inside the earth were extracted and exploited. As man became more and more greedy, the fight for the hidden riches and thus the fight for the Earth began. Boundaries were made and wars were fought to conquer those boundaries. Thanks to Real Estate and the growth of population, our own 'Mother Earth' became the most costly affair in day to day life.

The growth of technology and innovations may have provided us with modern comforts and fast paced lifestyle but they are proving fatal to our own 'Mother Earth'. Man with his selfishness and greediness is exploiting the limited natural resources available and forgetting the need to preserve them for future generations. In search of comfort and pleasure, we are destroying our own earth by filling it with artificial waste that is harmful to earth - the Bio-chemicals, the plastic, the nuclear waste... the list goes on. The natural forests are destroyed to replace them with artificial condos. The natural food is used to generate bio fuels to meet the growing energy demands.

Who is responsible for this? It is us. In search of artificial comforts, we are ignoring the natural comforts provided by god. 'Mother Earth' is being taken for granted. In the past, wars were fought to own Earth. Now, we are fighting against our own Earth. We have failed to respect one of our oldest deities. We have failed to recognize the value of the only planet which can support life. We have failed to preserve the wealth given to us by our past generations. We have failed to pass a clean and green planet to the future generations. We have failed to protect our own home.

What are the consequences? The food crisis, the global warming, the shortage of natural resources are all the results of our negligence. Our very own Earth is not happy the way we are treating her. We have to act fast before she abandons us. It's high time we recognize our mistakes and change our habits. Let's not waste food and natural resources. Let's help in reducing or recycling the artificial waste as effectively as we can. Let's not forget the strength of the nature and Earth. Let's not mess with it. Remember that we all can live happily only if we treat our planet with care and respect. After all, we have only one Earth to live on.

-Venks

My Phone - iPhone

Before writing this blog, I thought of starting 'Nature Series' from this week (more on that later).  But, I had to change my mind to accommodate a write-up on something which I admire most and lucky enough to be a part of its journey. It changed my perception of mobiles and I could not resist myself from writing something on this. It's Apple's all new iPhone.

I don't want to go into all those reveiews or features or what iPhone offers etc. You can refer to any website or any apple store to know more about this remarkable product. I want to share my experience and my thoughts on this masterpiece.

First of all, I am not a big fan of mobiles and I never cared about any hi-fi fundoo mobiles in the market. All I thought was I need a mobile to stay in touch with my friends and family. If my mobile can make calls and receive calls, it's good enough for me. I never bothered about any other features and never used any extra features in my mobile. I did not see a need for them to be on my mobile. Blackberry, Windows mobile, Nokia N series - nothing could grab my attention and I always saw them as a waste of money. I used to have Nokia 3500 in India and When I came to USA, I bought the cheapest mobile available at that time - Motorola V3 RAZR which I got for free from my service provider - T Mobile.

When Apple first announced its iPhone in 2007, it became a sensation. Everyone talked about it. Long queues were formed in front of the apple showrooms weeks before it reached the stores. It was an instant hit and became the most sought after mobile of the decade. I wondered what the fuss is all about. The hype, the publicity and the amazing reviews caught my attention. One day I went to the apple store to see what this iPhone is all about. And once I laid my hands on the 'Phone of God', there is no turning back.

It's been a year since my association with iPhone began. This master piece still amazes me. It's amazing features and applications that come along with it makes it lot more superior than all the electronic gadgets of its kind. They say that the technology can change your life. It's true. iPhone has been a true eye opener. It's not just about making and receiving calls. It's about connecting yourself to the world. And now I wonder how the hell I lived all these years without this thing in my hand.

Usage of personal mails is blocked at work. I don't care. I have an iPhone.
I never get lost while travelling. I have an iPhone.
I don't need to buy an mp3 player. I have an iPhone.
I can download a movie and watch it while traveling. I have an iPhone.
The whole world is open before me. I have Safari. I have an iPhone.

In my entire life, no other device has exceeded my expectations and made me feel that it's worth every penny except for my beautiful iPhone. Once me and my friend were driving down to Miami from Orlando. We found that the weather was not good and had to make sudden change of plans. We decided to go to Atlanta. Thanks to my iPhone, I pulled up the route to Atlanta and booked a hotel then and there while I am on road. You may argue that all these things can be done in other phones too. It's not what you do but it's how you do makes all the difference. And that's where iPhone raises the bar.

They say Imitation is the best form of Flattery. Many others tried to follow the lines of iPhone by introducing touch-screen capabilities and other applications. But, they are only the disciples and no one is able to match the true class of the jedi of mobiles. It never disappointed me and always exceeded my expectations whenever I needed it. It's a phenomenal invention and truly the baap of all mobiles.

Today, after one year of its success, iPhone moves to new horizons with its latest version iPhone 3G. It has raised the bar even higher and I see no phone matching its sheer brilliance in the near future.

-Venks

My Sweet memories

It's July 4th. It's my Birthday. So, American Government declared a Holiday across the country to celebrate my Birthday. So, I am off to Chicago. Here is my birthday treat. This is a short story written by me. Hope you like it.

*****

I don't know when it all started but one fine day I realized that I am in Love. I am in Love with her. I wonder how it happened. I think its the eyes of her that did the magic or should I say its her smile. I don't know. I don't remember when I first saw her. I don't even remember how and when we first met. All I remember is her beautiful innocent smile with some magic in her eyes. It's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

Love is a strange thing. It makes you feel happy all the time. It makes you wonder how you lived without it all these years. I am not a writer or a poet to describe it. And I sometimes think how one can describe Love. It's an eternal feeling above all words. I think it's the only feeling which can be described without any words. Just a silent message from the heart through the eyes would do it.

She used to talk a lot. First I ignored her, later I got used to it and one fine day I started appreciating it and now I am loving it. She never came in my dreams as they say but she was always with me whenever I thought of her. She never helped me in anything but always supported me in each and every step of my life. She never bought me a gift but left me memories worth a million gifts. She was never like a typical girl friend but she is the best friend one can ever get.

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if our paths never crossed. I don't know where she lives but I know where to find her. I don't know what she hates but I know what she likes. I don't know what makes her cry but I know what makes her laugh. I don't even know her name. All I know is I love her. I love her more than anyone in this world. She is the precious part of my life and I can't imagine me without her.

Life, like love, is a strange thing. It has many hidden surprises and unexpected twists. You never know when you come across one. Some see it as an adventure, some call it a gift, some say it a way god lets you know that he exists. Whatever it is life, like love, cannot be described. It just goes on but one thing is for sure, it is not a happy ride all the time. Some day somewhere you have to meet with an accident and that is what makes all the difference.

'This has to be a perfect love story' I always thought. She is my princess. I almost forgot the basic principles of life. As someone aptly said 'Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans'. One day she told me that the time has come for her to leave. She told me that this cannot continue forever. I begged her not to leave me. I told her how much I loved her. But she did not listen. She left me with no option but to forget her. She stopped talking to me. She avoided me. Slowly she moved far away from me and one day she disappeared completely.

Love is a strange thing. It makes you do terrible things. I loved her. But somewhere I knew that one day or the other this is going to happen. I always knew that one day she is going to leave me. I knew that this is the only way it can end. But, I never thought that it would cause me so much pain that I started hating everyone who is responsible for this including me. I don't want her to leave. I don't want this to happen. But, Is there any option? No. I have to let
her go though it is not what I want.

Why? Why is this happening to me? Why is it that love which gives you so much happiness causes unbearable pain? Why doesn't all love stories have a happy ending? Will I ever get through this? I don't know. I don't want to think about it. I am trying my best to forget her. But still sometimes I see her. She comes to me and sits besides me. She is not like before. She does not talk much. She is not with me always.

My heart says 'Don't leave her..'
My mind says 'Forget her...'
My friends say 'You will get over with it..'
My doctors say 'I am responding to their treatment..'

I am a Schizophrenia* patient. I am suffering from a rare Paranoid Schizophrenia. They say that I am having hallucinations about a girl which never existed. I did not believe what they said in the beginning. But I had to believe it. It is one of the so called lessons the life teaches - 'Truth is stranger than fiction.' I see her sometimes. She comes to me and smiles at me. But I am not the same guy any more.

I never felt happier after that. It's been six years since I was detected with this disease. Even after all these years I could not able to forget her. One day I may be cured. I may stop seeing her. But I will never forget her. Till then Its just me and my sweet memories...

-Venks

*This story was inspired from the true life story of John Forbes Nash, the Noble award mathematician who suffered from Paranoid Schizophrenia. You can watch the movie "A Beautiful Mind" which is based on the biography of John Forbes Nash. Schizophrenia is the most persistent and disabling of the major mental illnesses. There are many variations of this disease. In some of the extreme cases, the person effected with Schizophrenia sees hallucinations. One keeps seeing, hearing, feeling, touching smelling or tasting things that aren't there. To know more about this disease visit http://www.medicinenet.com/schizophrenia/article.htm.