Destination Infinity's Blog, page 43
May 7, 2016
Help Chennai get a Huge Monumental Indian Flag: Chennai Tricolor Initiative
Chennai Tricolor Initiative is a citizens’ initiative to crowdfund and install one of the largest Indian flags, a Monumental Flag, at a public place like the Marina beach in Chennai. A 207-feet tall flag post is being planned at a cost of Rs. 40 Lakhs. To know what a monumental flag looks like, see the above embedded video or the below photo.
It seems there are many monumental flags in multiple Indian cities, including the above shown flag in Delhi. But there are none in the metropolitan city of Chennai! This is why a few people have come together and are trying to install a monumental national flag in our city.
You can contribute by spreading the word or by donating a small amount. Help them reach their target of Rs. 40 Lakhs sooner so that we can see a gigantic Indian flag in our city. The largest Indian flag I have seen in Chennai is at the Rajiv Gandhi Memorial at Sriperumbudur.
Destination Infinity
Image credit: Wikimedia commons. Image published under public domain.
Whom to Vote for this TN Assembly Elections 2016?
The Tamil Nadu Assembly polls are scheduled to be held on 16th May 2016. I got my voter ID during the last national elections and it was easy to decide which party to vote, then. But deciding whom to vote for this TN assembly elections 2016 isn’t that easy or simple!
Let’s look at the options –
Ruling AIADMK party: Apart from the disastrous handling of the floods last December and a few party caders insisting on sticking Amma photos even on the relief materials from other states/private companies, there doesn’t seem to be much against the ruling Govt. The current rule seems to be satisfactory and there is not much law and order issues either. Many new initiatives have been started by this Govt. but having Amma name in every initiative is not very appealing. At least, that might become the reason for its discontinuation if there is a change in the Govt.
DMK & Congress combine: Even during the last elections when DMK lost with a huge margin, we ought to remember that they still had over 22% vote share. Besides, we have seen people of Tamil Nadu having this habit of changing the ruling party every five years, and with DMK being one of the two main parties, this combine has a strong chance. If they are not able to form a Govt. by themselves, they might align with the below-mentioned combine or independent parties, post elections. But why form an alliance with Congress in spite of what happened during the previous state elections, I don’t understand.
Makkal Nala Kootani: DMDK, MDMK, CPI, CPI(M), VCK, TMC are the major parties in this alliance. This is an interesting and strong combine but I am not sure if they will come close to winning a majority during this election. They may or may not become the King but may very well become the King Maker!
BJP and PMK are contesting independently. Hmmm…
I am now thoroughly confused on whom to vote for. Hope I will decide something before the election date for TN assembly polls! 
Do you believe in Good Times & Bad Times in a day? Indians do!
Traditionally, people of India divided time into 1.5 hour chunks called Muhurthams. Here is a video by a famous Indian Director Naga that explains the concept of time in the Indian perspective. Considering there are multiple 1.5 hour chunks each day, using astrological calculations, Indians determined which time(s) maybe good/auspicious to do some important work, start a new venture, get married, etc. (Guligai.). And they also determined which time(s) may not be good. (Rahu Kaalam, Yama Gandam.)
For each day, there are good times (muhurthams) and bad times, and each time chunk/muhurtham stretches for 1.5 hours. These times are fixed based on the day of the week. Have a look at the below embedded video to understand when these times occur for each day and how to remember the timing. If you do some important work, it has a better chance to succeed if you do it in a good time, is what people of India traditionally believed in.
Do subscribe to Mystic Traditions Youtube Channel to get further updates and information on traditional Indian systems and why they were put into place. These videos are available under ‘Know Ancient India Series’ in the above-mentioned channel.
Destination Infinity
See a Musical/Singing Birthday Greeting Card!
If you thought physical greeting cards have lost to e-greetings or virtual cards, think again. Paper greeting cards are also evolving with features that are unique and interesting, that can never be replicated by ecards. Here is one singing/musical greeting card wishing happy birthday. The music starts once you open the card and stops as soon as you close it. Beneath the right side of the folded card, there is a small electronic circuitry and a battery which makes the magic happen.
This an innovative birthday card that’ll make the recipient smile and feel special, don’t you think?
3D Modelling, 3D & 2D Graphics and Animations: CG Square Art Works
CG Square Art Works offers 3D Modelling, 3D & 2D Animations, Graphics & Web Design services, App design and development services, Broadcast video and templates. Have a look at the above embedded video to see a sample the creative work that is offered by them. Also, don’t forget to check their website linked above.
This is a venture by a friend, so I thought why not spread the word… If you need any graphic services or if someone you know needs them, do refer them to this page.
Destination Infinity
May 1, 2016
Why do Parents Hit/Slap Kids?
During some evenings, I go walking around my area. Within the last one month, I noticed two cases where a small kid (less than 3 years) was slapped hard by a parent on the cheeks. In both cases, it was the mother.
In one case, the child came out of the gate when the mother was outside. So the mother shouted and slapped on the kid’s cheek with full force. The intensity of the hit stunned me. The helpless kid cried and went back inside. In another case, the kid was asking something to the mother and the mother slapped telling the kid not to disturb without a proper reason.
Both these incidents happened on the road, not even inside their houses. In both cases, I feel the reason to hit the child was trivial. Based on the tone used by the mothers, I could guess they were in a bad mood or facing some other problem, and were ‘taking it out’ on the kid.
I wonder how society has allowed such incidents to happen, that too in public? Does the parent have the right to do anything in the name of disciplining?
I wonder if there are any laws preventing parents from doing such things. Even if there are, enforcement will be a challenge. I heard that in countries like US and in Europe, society members will complain against parents if they know of such incidents, and punishments are stern – kids could even be taken away from parents.
In India, we may hesitate to implement such strict laws, but needn’t we at least discourage such things? With the rise of nuclear families, even familial monitoring by elders is not there in many cases.
I wish, at least in these two cases, the mothers are thrown into old-age homes that are cramped and poorly maintained, when they are old. That might teach them a lesson or two about KARMA.
Destination Infinity
Book Launch: Ganga Bharani’s Young Adult Romance/Coming of Age Novel
Today I went to the book launch event of Author Ganga Bharani. She launched her third book, ‘A Sip of Love and A Sip of Coffee’, at AVM Studios. The book has been published by Story Mirror and is a Young Adult Romance cum Coming of Age novel.
The book was launched by Director Balaji Mohan (center, white shirt), Director Nanda Kumar (left, red shirt), GB’s close friend Deepthi, GB’s husband, GB’s father, and Devendra Jaiswal of Story Mirror. All of them can be seen in the above photo.
That’s GB’s 10-year old intelligent nephew who reviewed GB’s earlier books on the stage! Many of GB’s family, friends, and relatives were present to encourage the young author while a few of us from Chennai Bloggers Club were also there for the same reason.
The event was hosted by another upcoming author Kavipriya. Future star singer Pavithra Vasudevan inaugurated the event with a devotional song, and continued with a nice medley. Here is a short video clip with one of the songs sung by her,
I hope readers will encourage young writing talent by buying a copy of Ganga Bharani’s latest book – A Sip of Love and A Sip of Coffee. Here is the video trailer for the book.
Destination Infinity
Inside an Indian IT Company (#LifeatRamco)
Last Friday, we had a Blogger’s meet @ Ramco systems, an IT product company based out of Chennai, India. The theme was #LifeatRamco. They wanted to show off a few employee amenities and recreation options they have in their office to us bloggers, so that we can show it to the world. I am not sure why they did this. Maybe they wanted to entice people in our network to work for them? 
Pics: Chitlapakkam Lake & Walkway, Chennai
I went to the Tambaram Sanitorium/Chitlapakkam lake, which is a huge lake right inside the Chennai city. It measures more than 46 acres and they have built a beautiful walkway all over one side of the lake. This lake is near the Temple on the Chitlapakkam main road.
t seems you can see birds from Apr-Sep, but I didn’t find many when I went. The Govt. is planning to construct a garden and introduce boating, shortly. Till then you can go and casually walk along the perimeter walkway. Here are some pics taken there:
Destination Infinity
Photo(s) credit: By Destination8infinity (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
Guys, Try Paperboat’s Latest Drink – Panakam
Around the time of Ram Navami, I got a surprise package from Paperboat. It was their latest drink – Panakam. I have tasted this before – in some neighbor’s house or Temple. It was great to revisit that taste.
The drink is sweet and refreshing, and more importantly brings long lost memories. Try this limited edition cool/refreshing/healthy drink guys, it’s almost perfect
