Examine what is said, not her who speaks

The worst thing about being away from home hits you when festivals arrive, I think. Here I am today, on a festival day, getting ready to go to work and no celebration at all. Today is the RAKSHA BANDHAN DAY; translation "PROTECTIVE BOND"day. It's the day for brothers and sisters and I'm far away from my brother. I will miss the joy and celebration happening back home not to mention all those sweets!!!

My blessings and best wishes are with them though. Hope they get all the happiness in the world and remain healthy and level-headed.

Rushing to work now. See ya all later!

a mixture of cheer and a hint of sadness.

A friend of mine, left Braunschweig yesterday to go back to his country. His work here was over and his study semester starts soon. He's gone to Finland but will be sorely missed. A poker-faced young man but loads of wit and a health freak. I was inspired to eat lots of salad only cos I saw him do it many a times.

Cheerfulness, cos I see a romance blossoming up between two of my friends and they look so cute together!!

This weekend was quite fulfilling actually, come to think of it. Went to Wolfsburg and visited the VolksWagen factory. Test ride of Golf 5 was amazing. Had fun out there. No reminder of the man who promoted VW of course. I was expecting somebody to come and announce that they will now give a small history on the glorious nature of the man who promoted VW.

(YAWN) I think it's time to say goodnight. Another week starts and let's see what this one brings. Rain or sunshine.
Have a good night all!!

Don't know why but today I felt compelled to read something more on Zeus, the Lord of Sky, according to Greek mythology. Then, I could connect him to our colourful character among Gods(we have so many, after all!). He is called Indra, the Lord of Thunder and he carries a thunderbolt too, as his weapon. But what a coincidence!

And then, I found this article. I enjoyed reading it. Maybe you would too.

INDRA - GOD OF FIRMAMENT AND KING OF THE ABODE OF GODS
Indra, the god of firmament and the king of the abode of gods, is probably the most colorful character in Hindu mythology. The ebb and tide of his career, the rise and fall of his power provides a very fascinating story to all, who are interested in the lives of Hindu gods and goddesses. His parents were the sky god DYAUS PITA and the earth goddess PRTHIVI; he was born fully-grown and fully armed from his mother's side. His wife was INDRANI, and his attendants were called the MARUTS. His sons are named as JAYANTA, MIDHUSA, NILAMBARA, RBHUS, RSABHA, SITRAGUPTA, and, most importantly, ARJUNA.

In the Vedas - rather early Vedic age - Indra stands as the top-ranking figure among gods. Still he is not equivalent to OMKAR or Brahma because he has a parentage.

He was the leader of the Devas, the god of war, the god of thunder and storms, and the greatest of all warriors, the strongest of all beings. He was the defender of gods and mankind against the forces of evil. He had early aspects of a sun god, riding in a golden chariot across the heavens, but he is more often known as the god of thunder, wielding the celestial weapon VAJRA, the lightening bolt. He is the ruler of the atmosphere and the weathers are at his command. Whenever and wherever he thinks proper Indra sends rains as well as thunders and lightning. He is also represented having a big bow with long pointed arrows as well as a big hook and a net, in which he is said to entrap his enemies.

Indra - meghavahana - the rider of clouds
MEGHAVAHANA - THE RIDER OF CLOUDS
He shows aspects of being a creator god, having set order to the cosmos, and since he was the one who brought water to earth, he was a fertility god as well. He also had the power to revive slain warriors who had fallen in battle. As a high ranking god he had been shown as the preserver and rescuer of cows, priests and even gods. He once killed a demon named VALA, who had stolen cows so that men would not use the milk for themselves or for religious ceremonies. He killed this demon and saved the cows. In the earlier Vedic period he is a very great warrior, who subdued the enemies of Aryans and conquered their forts. During his warfare against enemies of gods he was assisted by other lesser gods-especially MARUTS. He has got more hymns of praise than other gods in Vedas and he was widely worshipped for his kindness and as the granter of rains and the giver of fertility. He was known as a great drinker of Soma; sometimes he did this to draw strength, and when he did he grew to gigantic proportions to battle his enemies, but more often he merely wanted to get drunk. When not in his chariot, Indra rode on the great white elephant AIRAVATA, who was always victorious, and who had four tusks, which resembled a sacred mountain. He was given numerous titles including SAKRA ("Powerful"), VAJRI ("the Thunderer"), PURANDARA ("Destroyer of Cities"), MEGHAVAHANA ("Rider of the Clouds"), and SWARGAPATI ("the Lord of Heaven").

Indra's most notable exploit was his battle with the asura VRITRA. Vritra took the form of a mighty dragon, and had stolen all the water in the world for himself. No one could do anything about this until Indra was born. Upon hearing what had happened, Indra vowed to take back the life giving liquid. He rode forth to meet him the terrible Vritra. He consumed great amounts of Soma to give him the strength needed to fight such a foe. Indra smashed through Vritra's ninety-nine fortresses, and then came upon the dragon. The two clashed, and after a long battle Indra was able to destroy his powerful enemy. Vritra had been keeping the earth in a drought, but when Indra split open the demon, the waters again fell from the skies. So Indra became a hero to all people, and the gods elected him their king for his victory.

There's still a lot more but you'd probably be bored so I won't go any further. But it also talks of a lot of things his affairs and all.
Funny thing is, Indra is still a very inferior god and worshipped only when it comes to atmospheric changes. The rest is still controlled by gods with capital G.

Alrighty then, will leave you for today and go off to bed. Need to get up at 6:30 tomorrow morning. Goodnight bloggers!

Hey! I forgot to tell you guys something. I started with Kapoiera classes on Friday evening. I swear to God, after not exercising for almost a year; by the time I finished learning trying to learn only the basics, every part of my body was making itself known to me. opS: But I'm determined. I shall go there every Friday evening (when I'm not travelling) and practice. After all, it only is fair that I keep myself in shape for the upcoming events of my life. Who knows, I might need to be in absolutely fit condition.

Hugs to all!

I say sleepiness but I feel far from being sleepy. I slept quite a bit yesterday and finished almost 3/4 of the second paper from my study assignment.

I need to finish all the 8 papers PLUS the project report by the end of August (a dead line I've kept for myself) and send everything to my Indian University. Too much to do these days.
At work, vacation time will be over tomorrow and the students will be back so that's that. Mind you, I like teaching and love using my management and leadership skills upon other trainers but sometimes, I wish for more adventure. My boss, a motherly lady; very strong headed wants us to start an Indian corner in SprachenGalerie and we are working towards it.

In other news, here's the link for pics from my weekend in Denmark and France and some from my birthday and so on. Lets hope you like the pics. I think, personally, I've gone fat. You can tell me otherwise.
http://picasaweb.google.com/felicia.myers/UntitledAlbum

My flame from France is still burning bright, despite my backing a step away. I get messages on my phone everyday, telling me, how much I am missed. Despite my intention of not getting in touch with the present attraction, I'm very tempted. Not that I message back. Nope. That would break the intensity. What say?

According to the Hindu calender, the month of Shravan has started, which means, prayer times and fasting times have started. It is a month dedicated to the lord of destruction and overall God-SHIVA. Since I'm a brahmin and he is considered to be our ISHTDEV (premier God), we worship him everyday. Now, I'm not a very religious person but this month brings peace of mind and so.... I pray. Fasting is not my forte so I try to do it one day a week. I must be the worst case of my family in this, I think. Lost cause, as my uncle would say, shaking his head in despair. But I believe, if you pray with your heart and soul, it doesnt matter where you pray from or when you pray; it reaches Him just as it should. Isn't it?

Well, time for me to do some serious work. Ahem..meaning cleaning my room up, getting ready, praying, cooking (more like conjuring something up from the tin) and then a visit to the Natural History Museum. Shameful but true; I've been living close to it now for three months and still haven't been there. I'll change it today.

See you all! Have a great Sunday.

Hmmm...after a lot of thinking, I have decided that I will not stay put in Braunschweig again this weekend. I will go to Bremen to meet my old housemates. They have been messaging me constantly so something is cooking up there.

It is amazing how I never get to spend a weekend in Braunschweig since the last four weeks. Of course, it is my choice in the end but almost all the time, there is something better than a weekend all by myself, in my small room.
Four weeks back, I went to Paris. Was cool meeting this friend I was supposed to meet. It was a decisive meeting which helped me take another step towards a good path but future alone will decide how it turns out to be.
Three weeks ago, I went to Bad Harzburg with about 20 friends from Braunschweig. We were going to climb about 1382 meters up and then go down again to a lake closeby and then get back. One day plan. While coming down the mountain, my leg gave up on me. My knees swelled like potatoes and I was unable to walk for about three days. Everything went well after that (apart from the time I almost screamed when I climbed stairs).
Two weeks ago, I went to Copenhagen with friends and for the first time in my life I slept in a small damp room and paid a fortune. (Summer time is doubly expensive and anyway, Denmark is more expensive than Central Europe as I saw it) The next two nights, I slept in the car. Wasnt too nice to sleep but who cares? I enjoyed myself visiting this cool but not so clean city. Heard some good live Jazz after a long time. Will tell you more later. The only snag was, it bloody rained more than it does in Braunschwieg!!! I will post the pics here soon.

Last week, it was Paris again. Last time, I had taken a step forward, this time, I retraced my steps. Maybe tis not the right time yet. So my waiting period begins. I got my laptop of course and am highly relieved.
(Pics come in later) I enjoyed my week in Paris of course, to the fullest. I mean, you cant go to Paris and NOT enjoy.

Will let you guys know how this week goes..lets hope it is a peaceful weekend (I dont mind an occasional dance club visit and so on)

Wish you all a very enjoyable weekend. Nick, I havent heard from you yet. Hope you're alive???

Hello everyone!

Hope all of you have been doing well in my long absence. I know you'd have been....it being summer and sun shining across the globe for all (forget Braunschweig, it rains a lot out here).
I got my laptop back at last from Paris. Yup, went again to Paris last week and got it back. So now, it works but it's not the same anymore. And I also have to wait for internet to be reinstalled in my room so ....hmmm..lets say, it is very irritating.

I spoke to Meme and Antsy sometimes via mail but with my laptop gone, I couldnt check the mails at all. Internet cafes are always there but I was kept at bay with work and travel.
Generally, been having loads of fun and psstt...something else too!

Drat, the guy is closing the internet cafe. Just my rotten luck. (My English is going to the dogs out here!)I will be back tomorrow and tell you all about my month and also read more of what you guys have been upto. All right there Mrs. F? Nick? Mr. S?
I wonder if Vicstravels is already married now? IF yes, Congratualtions darling...may the best of life come to you. (Hugs Vic)
See y'all!