The Unflinching Belief In Allopathy Is Part Of My Genes

This is the link from which the image has been used in this blog

For any ailment, my first instinct is to consult an allopathic doctor. During 2007, I had depression. Instead of turning to a witch doctor, or some naturopathy, I decided to visit a psychiatrist. He prescribed allopathic drugs to handle the initial situation and subsequently other methods. Other methods did not include the one that involves twisting your body in various angles. I could have messed up my life had I not thought from a scientific angle.

Recently, when I was affected with COVID, I got tested when the first symptom became too obvious to ignore. On being tested positive, I got myself treated through Allopathy. I just wondered why I never get influenced by any other system of medicine in any illness, and I traced it back to the influence of my Father.

He was not a highly educated person. But had a great mind to understand that only Allopathic medicine treatment is based on an examination, testing and researched medicines. When he had a partial paralysis, he trusted only Allopathy. When I had a severe problem with liver jaundice, he did not rely on native medicine but only on Allopathy, and for this, he sold whatever little assets he had. The same was the case when my eldest brother (late) had a kidney failure. He decided to go in for dialysis and understood by reading what a cadaver transplant was. He believed only Allopathy could cure. We would be taken to the corporation dispensary or to a private doctor even for common fever, but no other form of medicine was given.

I came to know about Ayurveda and Allopathy only after the age of 15. By that time, I had learned about X-rays, blood reports, surgery, great leaders of the World/India, systems of governance, fundamental rights, etc. Influenced by my Father, till she breathed her last, my mother too relied only on Allopathy.


I learned the importance of reading books from my Father. Similarly, the genuineness of Allopathy was drilled into my mind and heart by him. Thus, when I write `Allopathy is the only form of medicine that can be proved/disproved with facts, based on results of an experiment, and these results can be validated across the world', it is something that has been imbibed into me from the cradle you could say.

Dr BR Ambedkar's 130th Birth Anniversary

Today is Dr BR Ambedkar's 130th Birth Anniversary. 

April 14th is my new year, and it is the day on which every festival occurs for me.

It is the day that made August 15th and January 26th more applicable to me.

It is the day that ensured that Dalits too get educated. 

Today opened up respectable jobs to us other than manual scavenging, skinning dead buffaloes, and such mean positions. 

His fight against caste discrimination ensured that some of my brethren got to pray gods that they were denied access to for centuries. That too it is not universal, but this itself has satisfied the hungry.

Babasaheb Ambedkar came to ensure that Dalits are also recognised as human beings. 

A Study On The Plastic Bag And Indian Family

 `Don't be plastic' is a cliche monotonously being used for someone who is emotionally cold. However, something plastic conveyed a lot of emotions in an Indian family, and it was the now scorned `plastic bags'.  The meme below is a true representative of that fact.

Image obtained from internet and does not belong to me.

Each household worth its salt had a panoply of plastic bags. Bags were stored in different plastic bags, as per their genre. Bags used to be held under beds, in almirahs and most of them in a big bag and hung to the kitchen's hinges. There were the lucky bags, stylish bags, the sturdy ones, and the cheap ones. Needless to say, the bag from a foreign country in which the stray relative brought some gift was the pride of the family.

The bag from the luckiest shop used to be the vault for the precious documents of the household. Clothes purchase from big brands was stored in the same cover, just to enhance the family prestige and as a seal of authenticity. And it hardly mattered that nobody got to see the cover in which the garment was stored. I have seen people pleading with a salesman for an extra bag.

In families prone to confabulations, job-seekers in the households got the bag from a prominent brand to carry their testimonials to an interview. It was believed that such an act ennobled the individual, his education, and also his family.

The sturdy bags were reserved for buying vegetables from the market. Usually, these bags came along with the footwear you brought. They were also used to carry a lunch box to school and offices. Few of them who could not afford school bags used plastic bags instead. There was always a plastic bag in every office/ school goers lunch box, carrying bag to double up as a rain cap to counter the omnipresent rains in Bangalore.

The cheap ones found their purpose to dispose of garbage or give it to visitors to carry stuff. If a visitor was given a precious plastic bag, it indicated their propinquity to the family.

Today plastic bags have given way to the more dangerous `polypropylene bags'. Like our beliefs, we have jumped from the scorching desert into the mouth of a volcano.

What is your take?

I am starting a restaurant with a new theme, any sponsors? Sarcasm Alert.

Theme based restaurants are running out of concepts. I have a novel idea named "Overnight Food."

The restaurant tag line can be:-

No fresh food available here

Food not older than two days is served here.

The old food is heated in the same vessel in which it was prepared. That will add authenticity to the overnight food served. The utensils will be shown on the payment of extra charges. 

One day old biryani will be at a premium. Two days old biryani will be served to the highest bidder. Similarly, uncovered overnight food and beverage also is the right of the highest bidder. 

To maintain hygiene, we clean the plates daily and the vessels on completion of the overnight food. However, the floors of the restaurant are wiped once in three days to maintain the aroma.

Please bring valid credit cards not elapsed ones. 

A Few Good Books I Read in 2020

 

2020 was a unique year for me. In the early stages of the year, I had to relocate from Hassan to Dehradun. I had planned to continue to my intermittent visits to the Himalayas, to wander in its majestic presence, and stifling my worries in the beautiful sceneries. However, it ended being confined to the campus, thanks to the lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19. Not to feel undone, I decided to read 100 books in the year. During this journey, I realised my urge for reading is best pursued when other things are equal or to say it simply, when life is hectic as ever. The lockdown got to me after a few weeks, and picking up a book again became a humongous task. I did not do too badly, having managed to read 55 books, and around 12,000 pages during the year. However, I can't control being querulous that this was the best year to read 100 books in a year. However, I started using Audible, which helps me feel good because I catch the technology bus more often than not.

The first book I want to discuss is `Republic of Rhetoric' by Abhinav Chandarchud. This book is for those to whom democracy matters. The book elicits the reason why restriction on Freedom of Speech was placed in India. Read this book to find out who was responsible for introducing a law against hate speech in India. The portion on obscenity is a good read.

Coming out As Dalit by Yashica Dutt was a book with which I could relate to a lot. I have written a blog on this, and you can click on this link to read it.

How `Coming Out As Dalit' By Yashica Dutt Resonates With My Life? 

Mahabharata is not just an epic, it is the story of life. It is a lesson in management, strategies, and personal management. Shakuni is the most egregious of all the villains who come in it. I feel he is the pivotal character of Jaya beside Krishna, especially when it becomes Pandavas and Kauravas' story. I always yearned to read a version of Bharata from the perspective of Shakuni, and Mallar Chaterjee's `Shakuni & Dice of Doom' was an exciting read. The quagmire of the relationship between Kunti, Shakuni, and Vidhura was new to me. The relationship between Shakuni and his wife Arshi is on expected lines. The role of Devapi in shaping Mahabratha was another interesting revelation. Bheeshma it seems had his own reasons in letting Shakuni stay on in Hastinapur. This book is a must-read for all the aficionados of Mahabharatha 

Chaturanga by Anand Neelakantan. He is a master storyteller. I couldn't put down this book till I finished it. The relevance of certain situations in this book cannot be missed. 

Ants among Elephants by Sujatha Gidla – This is a must-read for all Dalits who can read and write English. The book exposes the underbelly of casteism and is a telling tale of the author herself.

Promised Land By Barack Obama is an autobiography of his tryst with politics. The Presidential years, the troubles he faced, and the obstacles he had to overcome as POTUS, especially in dealing with the sub-prime crisis, Health Care, etc. are well documented. A spoiler, the much-expected portion is at the end. I heard it on Audible, and in his booming voice, it was worth listening. This is the story of a politician told by himself, so take it with a pinch of salt.

The Hand of Destiny by Srividya Srinivasan is a heart-warming book. The author is known more for her revolutionary poetry and holds no bar views on politics. It has weaved a wonderful tale involving two youngsters, their death in a terror accident, and how their families are impacted. This book makes you laugh, cry, rage with anger, and generally gladdens your heart.

The Man from Mandu by Manoj V Jain is an amazingly well-written book. It portrays how marketing can apotheosis an ordinary person. This book touches many raw nerves without inflaming them. 

Tharoorosaurus by Shashi Tharoor is a peek into his immense vocabulary. It is a great read, but I dare not use any of the words elicited in the book.

My Grandmother Sends Her Regards & Apologies by Fredrik Backman. This book is written by the author of `A Man Called Ove'. If you liked that book, you would adore this one. It is lively, funny, and straightforward. The story is about Elisa, a seven-year-old girl and her crazy grandmother. It takes us through the land of almost awake; the kingdom of Miamas; and the letter of apologies that Elisa has to deliver after her grandmother dies.

Books that disappointed me.

The Sceptical Patriot by Sidin Vadukut is an excellent book. Still, somewhere the author seems to have taken the easy route.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I love dystopian novels, but this one went over my head.

Happy Reading in 2021

69 Lessons Of Life I Learnt From Animal Farm By George Orwell

I came to know through a good friend of mine that `Animal Farm by George Orwell completed 75 years of publication on August 17^th 2020. It is the shortest thesis on dictators but is presented as a fiction. This book is around 70 odd pages but each line is a learning, and has something startling to offer. I hope this becomes irrelevant and true democracy prevails. That fancy thought is just a pipe dream, and this book has become more relevant than ever before. These are the 69 lessons of life I learnt from Animal Farm. Don’t ask me why 69 lessons, you know the answer.

1. It was written to ridicule Joseph Stalin’s regime but megalomaniacs across the globe have used it to shape their own schemes than those who believe in believe in democracy. It has become a manual for the authoritarians.

2. All those who believe in democracy but do nothing to save it are nothing but Benjamin, the donkey who appears in this work.

3. Old Major is sanctified because he hardly gets tested with the fruits of power.

4. Every horse and donkey loves a rebellion.

5. The aim of the uprising is to remove one common enemy.

6. The initial objective is not to become like him.

7. All rebellions require a squealer to turn black into white with words.

8. Be Napoleon if you want to rule society.

9. If you are Snowball, you will get steam-rolled.

10. There is always a Moses who tells tales to make people feel good. Though he seems to be anti-rebellion, he will be useful in the future, keep him at his place.

11. Rebellion is planned, but usually, something trivial sparks the outrage. When the rebellion succeeds, change the name of the society which you are living in. Name it identifying with the genesis of the revolution e.g. Animal Farm. This helps people to nail the thought in mind, how society has changed.

12. Make your own rules, later they can be amended as per your requirements.

13. The leaders always take the cream or milk, whichever is essential or even both.

14. Leaders lead, they don’t work.

15. Workhorses like Boxer toil for nothing’s sake. Keep them in good humour, you don’t have to do anything for them.

16. Donkey’s like Benjamin know your script, but they won’t harm you. This lot includes well read sceptics who are scared of any draconian laws.

17. The main leaders disagree, and that starts the discord. It is usually the ruthless, power-hungry, and insolent guy who is the opponent.

18. After the revolution succeeds, a lot of skill development is done, but don’t worry, it will taper off, like a new broom’s performance when it becomes an old one.

19. Shrink the rules to reduce it to a binary. This impresses the sheep, and when the sheep is impressed no intellectual and critical analysis matters. They just go on bleating and can outshout even an elephant.

20. If you are a Napoleon, cultivate the hounds.

21. Management knows how to justify the unjust perks it enjoys.

22. A successful anti-establishment movement is always discredited by its enemies.

23. A hero emerges after the first war of the new independence. He has to be abused, and chased if you are a Napoleon. Remember what Chekov said about guns appearing in the first act.

24. Usually, the educated leader of the successful uprising talks of technological development to sustain freedom.

25. Donkeys are sceptic, and the converse is true.

26. Use the hounds for the first time as a surprise. The maxim `shock your rivals to make the public suckers’ always works.

27. Squealers are useful in turning the tide.

28. Never stop promoting hatred against the common enemy.

29. Once you become the leader, you should repackage the old regime’s plans, that you had criticised when you were not in the saddle.

30. Squealers will sell the old repackaged plan as the new plan, as initially your project. Remember, a lie said a thousand times becomes a truth.

31. The tactic is the word to be used for every foolish move of yours.

32. If you have ferocious hounds, the chances of acceptance of your ideas increase by 100%.

33. Make sacrifice look voluntary but ensure that non-sacrifice has many crippling penalties.

34. Workhorses like Boxer will always be your side.

35. Tell your people that trade and enmity are two different sides of wholly different coins.

36. The hounds and sheep who bleat in your praise will always keep the rebellion down. Give the sheep something easy and straightforward to suck on, just like `Four legs good, two legs bad’. They will repeat it ad nauseam, and no stratagem against you will prevail. The hounds will put away those who are contemptuous of the sheep.

37. If dogs create fear, the sheep are there to spread the cacophony. They can’t absorb much, so give them something catchy to bleat.

38. Keep your slogans catchy. You need not talk factual nor pleasing. Your talk should create a buzz in the air.

39. People love popular images. In this book, it comes as four legs giving orders to two legs. If you wondered why a politician takes a public servant to task in full public view, the answer is to create a favourable vision of himself.

40. Change the rules frequently, introduce more and more new schemes, put merely, often keep changing the goal post. Before people question on what happened to this scheme, announce another programme, and so on and so forth.

41. Earmark public vision to a grand illusion. In this case, it is the windmill.

42. For everything that goes wrong, blame the previous. In this book, Napoleon blames Snowball for all the wrong, and succeeds in diverting the attention of the animals, from his abject failures.

43. Keep in the horizon, the impending threat of the enemy.

44. Spread the rumour that `all is well’ especially when there is a catastrophe. Convince the sheep, and they will sell the concept.

45. Use false narratives, and frequently compare yourself with a deposed leader to prove how benevolent and assertive you are.

46. If you cannot crack the hard nuts, use the dogs to make them confess of crimes they have never committed.

47. Break the unity among people. Get one animal to kill another animal.

48. Create a blood bath, and exploit those sentiments to perpetuate your regime.

49. Erase all the signs, ideals, and monuments of the rebellion, which got your independence.

50. Manipulate the figures of the economy. Get the squealers to do the groundbreaking, and later you can take on.

51. Get squealers to apportion even the most insignificant achievements to yourself.

52. Create an ugly image of your rival or neighbour in the minds of your people.

53. Keep the scare of attack from them evergreen. Create a few fake ones.

54. Don’t allow discussion on the intelligence failure that caused the attack or lack of security. Focus on the farce of a victory after much bloodshed on your side. Don’t allow fixing accountability for your failures, raise the crescendo, and whip up the rhetoric. Once you whip it up enough, the squealers, dogs, and sheep will ensure it becomes more significant than Mount Everest.

55. New adversity helps people to forget the old ones.

56. Learn how to convince people to accept what you earlier projected as evil, is a good one now.

57. Don’t call any cut as reduction but label it as re-adjustment.
58. People harried, confused, and bullied will act that things are better now than before.

59. Frequently give speeches without reason.

60. Have a con godman like Moses, who keeps telling people a lot of fables. The believers will be fixated to him, and the non-believers will be busy making mince-meat out of his logic.

61. Over time, make friends with your sworn enemies. Learn how to shift people from saying `Four legs good, two legs bad’ to `Four legs good, two legs better’.

62. All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal.

63. Never lose your acerbic talk and pungent humour.

64. Be so ruthless with your people that even your enemies mistake it as efficiency.

65. Discard the workhorse when they lose their utility, send them to the slaughterhouse.

66. Make your goal the wish of a soldier or a workhorse.

67. Keep the lies going. Remind the people of their glorious past and hard-working ways.

68. At times, tell the people that stories of attacks by the enemy are untrue.

69. Make the first leader, the secret agent of your enemy.

The Advanced Art of Getting Offended

To suggest that getting offended is a phenomenon of the 21st Century would be apotheosising the previous generation. People were as mean-minded, as they are today. There was no shortage of idiots who used to get offended at everything. There were countless conspiracy theories about everything. If you were used to long-distance travel in trains before 2010, you would nod your head in agreement to this statement. I know this statement, will offend a few from the 80s and 90s, trying to assume a holier than thou attitude. That itself is the proof how people were always offended with trivial statements.
 
The number of people getting offended has increased because idiots of the previous generations have left behind the legacy of offended minds, and also multiple off-springs. These imbeciles have evolved from filling withdrawal forms to paying through the scan of a barcode; sending telegrams to transmitting instant messages, and ruing month end to cursing EMIs but their thought process is rapidly going back to when hominoids thrived. To be a learned and rational person was considered a forte, and such a person could snub in public anyone who possessed a regressive thought process. Today, unfortunately, the roles have reversed. To be well-read, with critical and scientific thoughts, is to expose yourself to abuse.
 
Technology has across the globe united people with thoughts worth a caveman. They can link ideas; learn new abuses for their opponents, and raise a crescendo for their invective thoughts, and obfuscation of truth to be accepted. Previously in a group of friends, if there was only one with the retrogressive thought process, gasping due to lack of company, he used to turn into a social animal. However, today he can log on to the internet, and improve his repertoire. He learns how to get offended, more and more. My blog has had fewer views ever since its inception, and I am desperate to increase it. Thus, evolved this blog, how to get offended by everything, and anything. I hope this blog goes viral, and my blog has more than the customary ten views.
 
You can get offended by this blog. It is within your right to ask whether the writer of this blog thinks only he has ideas on how to get offended with trivial things. You can get hurt at a few of the `Shashi Tharoorian’ words I have pinched from his books and used them here out of context.
 
You can get offended at a colleague or friend who waves at you, and says `Hi, how are you?’. He was possibly expecting you to be doing poorly, and it is but natural to get ticked off by him.
 
Being a good citizen, you wear masks lowered, and secure it when a cop comes within your eye-line. The guy who is coming from the opposite direction is also a dutiful one like you. When he is at a kissing distance, he gives a hard sneeze and sends you in a frenzy. You are in a mood to drink a bottle of sanitiser when another half masked guy walks towards you with a smile on his face. There is no need to give a second thought, and it is time to activate the O word.
 
To each, his way, and so is the way one eats. You can get offended by the eating method of others. It doesn’t matter if you eat like an earth mover at work.
 
There are various methods to spend our free time. Right, from the healthy habit of walking, to the filthy pursuit of listening to the journalist who wails and quails on behalf of the nation. In such a scenario, the reason behind a few individuals preferring to read books is sinister. Why do these individuals want to be informed and objective? Why can’t they be uninformed and gross like us? There you go and have another option to feel scorned. 
 
It is hygienic to brush your teeth as soon as you wake up, and later have a cup of tea or coffee. However, a few incorrigibles have their morning cup of beverage and then attend to the essentials. Such different behaviour is one more option to get offended.
 
Do you know a middle-aged colleague, friend or relative who wears flashy spectacle frames or dress up trendily? The unwritten laws of our nosey society require that a person acts his age, and any other behaviour is considered unacceptable. It is imperative that as a social human being, you should get offended by this deviant behaviour.
 
The usual places to go to a holiday are religious shrines, a beach, the mountains or even a historical monument. A few of them go to nondescript places and write about their experiences. The unique choice is another avenue to get displeased.
 
I invite suggestions, what another human/animal/alien behaviour can get an individual or group of individuals offended? You can also get offended at me for asking ideas, and ask me back `If you don’t have the idea of offending science, why did you write this blog?’.
 
 
 
 
 

A Dummies Guide To Excelling in WhatsApp University - Part I

Everything about WhatsApp university is gross and random. Why should a guide on how to excel in this institute of eggs-silence be any different! Thus, we will have in the First Part, the crucial lessons.

He who controls the past controls the future said, George Orwell. He was a visionary, and possibly had the WhatsApp University in mind when he wrote those lines. To control the past, you don’t require a time machine. All that you need are a smartphone, data connection, WhatsApp installed, a fertile imagination, and friends/families who are on a high without IQ. 

You can alter history by glorifying the obscure. Let’s assume your country in the past has got freedom from foreign rule. A lot of people would have laid their lives fighting them. Some of them would have played the role of leaders. Pick and glorify to the hilt, a guy who was on the sidelines, or even prostrated before the invaders. Use chest-thumping phrases and anagrams, to edify him. If it is the first copy, make a suggestion that the country would have never been freed but for his bravery. In subsequent versions, change the tone from suggestive to assertive. 

You could also try your hand at glorifying a tyrant king, who belongs to your religion/region or language, by attributing various welfare measures that were done by kings, 500 years before or after him. Here patriotic phrases alone will not work, but you need to add liberal portions of abuse and ridiculing of all those historians who presented the correct picture of this tyrant after due research. 

If your cardboard character has to be looked upon to, the genuine leader has to be obfuscated and ridiculed. It is tough for a novice to undo the achievements of an authentic leader. That will be taken care of by the Deans and Professors of the University backed by fertile research cells, with a big budget. 

However, this does not mean you can do nothing about it. When in despair, remember `Every man or woman has a dark or grey side of himself/herself’. The best of follies to highlight is the active libido of a genuine leader. Pick that one and link it to all the mistakes he or she did as a leader. 

Next, you can build conspiracy theories. This is the easiest and examples are a dime a dozen in any country’s history.

The most exciting part of being a part of WhatsApp University is when you understand how to modify mythology into history, and later conclude it as science or social structure of your country. 

It is mentioned in Nordic Mythology that Asgard had 540 halls. Further, it also talks about Rainbow as being a bridge between Earth to Heaven. If you are a Nordic person, you can use this to showcase the development of civil engineering in your country during the pre-historic times, and claim that all the civil engineering concepts were already known to your ancestors. Further, Skíðblaðnir is a fabulous ship that always moves in the right direction, and its carrying capacity was humongous. It could change shape and size. Using this myth, you can claim that your culture had knowledge of GPS, mega-ships, and even submarine technology.

If you are coming from a Greek or Egyptian background, you can have a whale of a time in apportioning everything in modern science to your culture.

If anyone questions the scientific basis of these claims, you can quote from your holy scriptures. It is always easy to strangulate the dissenter if he/she is from within your country because you can question the patriotism of the person who is being sceptic of the claim. If the laws of your nation permit, you can get the individual punished for destabilising the country.

These are broad case studies. The scope for a WhatsApp University citizen is unlimited. You can create content on nuclear science, space technology, economics, severe ailments, etc. However, to be successful at WhatsApp University, you have to follow specific basic commandments. Those are given below:-

• Reason is thy enemy. To do so is the equivalent of eating the forbidden fruit.
• Thou shall forward every public interest message that thou gets on your WhatsApp.
• Thou shall accept the fact that, if your herd believes it to be accurate, it is the truth.
• Thou shall lie, rant, and abuse to assert your country’s culture/ religion’s/ language’s glorious and ancient past.
• The ideology and its leaders that thou believe in are spotless and pristine.
• Thou shall stoop to any level to defame the ideology and leaders thou doesn’t agree with.

 You are now ready to Fart err Forward the unholy child of your imagination into the atmosphere of WhatsApp University. You will get better at your art with time. May the Fakes be with you. If you are in a hurry to be on my blocked list, forward your learnings from the WhatApp University. 

A Dummies Guide To Excelling in WhatsApp University - Part II

Credit must be given where it is due. The impact that WhatsApp University has had on the knowledge base is unquantifiable. Is there any aspect of life on which the institution has had no effect. It is the true definition of an open university, there are no students nor teachers nor a campus, yet it has impacted our life beyond comprehension. The other day, I received a message from one of the WhatsApp university students about sunrise. I had to scurry to check on the fact whether the sun does rise in the east or not. To begin with, I had to decipher whether is it the sun which is sustaining life on Earth or life here is illuminating the sun. 

Students/Faculty/Professors and Doyens of all universities would have knowledge in limited areas.  It is the students/teachers of this renowned university who have expertise in all the fields. In all other universities, the syllabus is based on certain validated studies. In WhatsApp university, the sky is the limit, and sensibility is what it demits.

WhatsApp University offers a unique opportunity for students not only to learn but also create their own knowledge. However, as in every other sphere of excellence, content creation has its own rules and methodology. I am unfortunately too sceptic to become a part of the WhatsApp University. However, there is no shortage of students from this e-light university in my friends and family circle. Based on this understanding, I have come up with a dummies guide to being an expert participant in WhatsApp University. This is, in fact, the second part of the guide.

You should begin with generating quotes because this is the easiest thing to do. One of the safest methods to do is attribute it to Albert Einstein, who is long dead and cannot refute any of them. Further, his image is such that no one would question your quote. The important aspect is you have to garnish your random thoughts to make it look like it has been said by this noble soul. To do so, you should have reasonable language skills. It is not a problem, you can watch a few videos of Shashi Tharoor, and this problem would be solved. You can even attribute to the People’s President DR APJ Abdul Kalam. In his case, the language can be understandable but soft, keeping in tune with his nature. If you want to attribute the quote to someone like Alexander the Great, it has to be ferocious.

Next, you can upgrade your to content generation on the image front. To begin with, you should acquire some necessary photo-shopping skills. You should have an idea what to modify because if you try to modify the content, to mock those who are modifying the truth, you are bound to get invective reactions. It is essential to earn the peer respect of the `MAJORITY.’

To begin with, you can replace in a historical photograph or a picture from an iconic moment of another world leader with your favourite leader. To increase your wares amongst your `MAJORITY’ peers, you can superimpose the face of a leader who is hated by them, in a scandalous situation or place. Use some photo-shopping skills to make it look authentic.

The senior level in this field would be to morph the image of your religious artefacts, on the monument of another religion.  Then you can begin a rant and claim that location as yours. Do it at an obscure portion of the memorial from an obtuse angle. The `MAJORITY’ gang will take care of the rest even if the job is half well done. Add a few quotes from some unheard of scripture to claim authenticity. Never mind the mayhem it will create.

If you want to excel at Medicine in WhatsApp University, Corona Virus era is the best. You can cook up any remedy, attribute it to a doctor from China or a World Bank Economist or a character from science fiction to give it credibility. To make it unquestionable, assign it to your country’s cave age medical system. You have to add a few exotic concoctions, and a simple process to arrive at the medicine. To make it look authentic, just mention so and so native medicine expert has offered a price of Rs.50,000 to anyone who can disprove this theory. Don’t mention this expert's contact details anywhere in your material. The incorrigible rationalist's head will go for a spin, searching in google for this expert. 

With this ends, Part-II of the guide.  In the next blog, we will see the Part-I of this guide.

A Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe Can Resonate With What Michael Holding and Ebony Rainford- Brent Spoke

Michael Holding and Ebony Redford Speaking on Racism

I can resonate with what Michael Holding and Ebony Rainford spoke. Every SC/ST will identify with what these two super achievers spoke.

There have more than a few upper caste persons who have been good to me in life despite knowing that I belong to Scheduled Caste. This has been the case even at work place, there have been a lot of seniors and colleagues who have helped me out knowing well that I belong to Scheduled Caste, and interacted socially well. However, I cannot forget two individuals, one who is long retired, and had the gumption to check with my colleague, whether I knew to read and write English well enough. This was because I had qualified under the reserved quota, though the written test marks were marginally less than the general candidate who was successful. The other occasion was again by an individual, who no longer can affect neither my career (hopefully!) or mental balance, he could not take the fact that a person belonging to the deprived could stand up to him, and show him the mirror. There were numerous occasions when caste played a role but there were minor incidents so I will not highlight it.

I believe in forget and forgive but whom do I forgive for the sub-human treatment my ancestors, and less fortunate brothers and sisters receive even today. What do I forget? Do I forget that we were told that we were born from the feet of Brahma. How to overlook the fact that we were made to believe that menial jobs were only meant for us. Is it humanly possible to ignore that still many of my brothers cannot go on a horse as a groom? What sort of individual would I be to be tranquil about the fact that my sister in some village is considered a sex toy for an upper caste? For age, we were told it is a crime against God to get educated? We were given to believe that entering a place of worship made the place lose its sanctimoniousness. There is nothing that can be forgiven nor anything will be forgotten. I will carry these wounds to my grave.

We are referred to as `Government Brahmins’ by a particular community from Tamil Nadu. This entitled community feels that after 3500 years us getting reservation was the biggest folly that independent India could have committed. They remind us this, day in and day out in office spaces. Every mistake we do is linked to the fact that we came up through reservation. When their kids commit mistakes, they are trying to be innovative but when we do it we are genetic idiots. We are basically considered unintelligent creatures who cannot understand most of the rules and procedures.

I was refused admission in a prominent degree college of Bangalore just because I belonged to the SC community. It is no coincidence that the same community I referred to above controls this college. Till early 2000s, there were certain identified areas in Bangalore from where SC/ST came. The boys from these area were labeled as rowdies and their job application was always declined. Many of them used to give address of relatives in peaceful areas. SC/ST fake themselves as upper caste to escape the ignominy. Some say SC/ST too have gotra but most of us who have to get a pooja done in the temples lie about our gotra.

I despise most those who say to me `Do we practice casteism with you’?. Should I take it as a blessing or acceptance of my social position that refrains them from doing so.

George Floyd is one amongst us, and nobody knows racism better than the SC/ST. I don’t what the future holds for black in America and Europe but I am sure it will be a lot better if they co-exist for 3500 years with the whites. Meanwhile, when we point out cases of caste discrimination, we will be called out for sensationalism and perverted mindsets. It will be told to us in no uncertain terms that we should have an open mind, guess what they were doing with their minds for 3500 years or are still doing?

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Horror-Scope Predictions In Corona Virus Times By An Atheist (Sarcasm Alert)

The health experts are telling that Coronavirus cases are yet to peak in India. The Government is doing its best to to develop a vaccine by Independence Day to liberate us from this scourge. Meanwhile, people are losing patience with the need to be disciplined to avoid the virus. To awaken and enlighten the public, despite being an Atheist, I have brought out for the `first-time' Corona Virus forecast for various star signs. This is serious stuff, so please give the predictions a go by, and read for the fun of it. This piece has been written with the disingenous of research possible.

Aries (March 21 − April 19) – Aries is self-centred, courageous, and bold, Be self-centred on maintaining social distancing. Don't think it is courageous not to wear a mask, or you have to be brave enough to get treatment for COVID-19 in a government hospital.

Taurus (April 20 − May 20) – The entry of your star sign usually wrecks a China shop, but you be careful of this virus from China. Practise SMS (Social distancing, Mask wearing, and Social Distancing).

Gemini (May 21 − June 20) – Just because your star sign is represented by the immortal twins' Castor and Pollux doesn't mean you too are eternal. COVID-19 can asphyxiate and kill you, so the moment you notice any symptoms, get a test done and get yourself treated.

Cancer (June 21 − July 22) – You rarely mingle with people, so social distancing comes to you naturally. Don't be emotional about wearing a mask.

Leo (July 23 − August 22) – You are a born leader but that in no way permits you to infect a lot of people. If you suspect you have any of the symptoms, call 1075.

Virgo (August 23 − September 22) – You are practical, meticulous and cool-headed. Don't rely on WhatsApp Gyan about COVID-19. Not wearing a mask is not being cool-headed, but it means you are Jughead.

Libra (September 23 − October 22) – You are carefree in nature. If you don't practise SMS, you may become a record in the Registrar of Births and Death LIBRAry.

Scorpio (October 23 − November 21) – People are easily attracted towards you but keep them at 6 feet distance or more. The infection of Novel Coronavirus can be as venomous as the sting of the scorpion.

Sagittarius (November 22 − December 21) – Your star sign symbol is an arrow. Beware of the arrow of droplets sneezed at you by a COVID patient. Practise SMS and protect yourself.

Capricorn (December 22 − January 19) – 

Whatever the challenges are, you always remain ready and keep attaining your desired goals. However, when there is a lockdown or your place is declared as a containment zone, respect the orders. Otherwise, you may get COVID-19 or even be booked under NDMA or both.

Aquarius (January 20 − February 18) – Aquarians like to be master of their wills. However, to contain the Corona Virus spread, you have to comply with the restrictions imposed by the Government. Else, find a good lawyer who can defend you under Sections 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act and Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code. A piece of free advice, it is cheaper to follow the Government restrictions than pay for a lawyer or be infected with Corona Virus. It is better not to be infected by the Corona Virus as well to fight a case against the Government.

Pisces (February 19 − March 20) – You are passionate about being alone, and sleeping. You are the sort of guy the authorities would be projecting as a role model. Practise SMS at work and public places. When you don't have to go out, pursue your passions