Happy New Year 2017

Wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year!

Handling Payday Rush Post Demonetisation

Banks, private sector, governments and public sector enterprises are bracing up to face the challenges that will unfold during the first payday season since the sudden notes ban announcement. Banks across India are getting ready, though reluctantly, to face a massive rush for cash.

Though salaries get credited to the accounts of employees, they need to withdraw cash either from banks or ATMs. This will double or triple the queues that are still found before ATMs and bank branches. Additionally, a vast number of ATMs are still not recalibrated and hence unusable. Added to that, even before the expected payday rush, ATMs used to be emptied out no sooner than they were replenished with cash.

That means, longer queues, and a huge loss of working days on a national level. Besides, the restrictions on withdrawal of cash will be another impediment. This will put additional pressure on banks to fill up their ATMs and to permit higher withdrawals to reduce the queues.

The demonetisation of high value currency notes announced on November 8 took 86% of cash out of circulation all on a sudden. The result is a huge cash crunch affecting almost all people, especially the lower middle class, farmers and the poor.

So, whoever could manage to exchange old notes or withdraw from their accounts are hesitating to spend except for basic and urgent necessities. This resulted in an artificial cash shortage because money as usual did not go into circulation. That means, newly printed notes would not get back to the system as fast as expected.

Well before the payday season, the government and banks have been preparing to deal with the situation, but not, expectedly, enough. As per reports, banks are expected to see disbursal up to 30% more than usual due to withdrawals from accounts of salaries and pensions.

Ever since demonetisation was announced, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was planning to meet the challenges of the first payday rush. Accordingly, the RBI has promised ‘there will be improvement in cash supply’ to meet the rush, and there will be more new Rs. 500 notes.

However, several bank branches did not get the new Rs. 500 notes at all. Only adequate supply Rs 500 notes will ease the banking system. It is because this particular denomination has been the standard one for easy transactions. People are reluctant to receive Rs 2000 notes as they are difficult to use for daily transactions.

After cash crunch hit people, Rs 100 notes took the role of Rs 500 notes too. Banks too were dispensing this smaller denomination, making its circulation increase by 150% since demonetisation. And, people have started hoarding Rs 100 notes also, resulting in more crisis.

Though the weekly withdrawal maximum limit has been fixed at Rs 24,000, several banks have imposed their own limits, saying they cannot allow more than Rs 10,000 for shortage of notes. Even withdrawals from Jan Dhan accounts have been limited to Rs 10,000 a month, at least for now.

What can be understood from various reports is that, though government security presses are trying hard, they are unable to print enough currency to replace the banned notes to meet the demand. The problem is not with disbursing banks, but with the supply of notes. So, till the government can supply sufficient number of notes of the required denominations, the problems are likely to continue. And the withdrawal restrictions will also continue.

Let us see how the payday rush worsens or eases the current crisis.

Bankers Blues and Customers’ Woes

The Axis Bank Currency Conversion Case

Officials Axis Bank in Kashmiri Gate, Delhi, converted scraped notes worth Rs 30 crore for a hawala operator. On Friday, the Income Tax (I-T) department searched the bank premises and the residences of two senior bank officials who exchanged new Rs 500 and Rs 2,000 notes for old notes worth Rs 30 crore. The bank officials took 30% commission in gold bars from the hawala operator. Delhi Police had alerted the I-T officials after the arrest of a person with Rs 3.5 crore on November 21. According to Axis Bank, the customer who deposited the amount has been operating a current account for four years and deposits were made in his accounts. According to I-T officials, red flags were raised since a Gujarat bank official was caught receiving bribe of Rs 4 lakh in new Rs 2,000 notes on November 18. This is the first case of direct evidence of bank officials’ involvement in illegal conversion of banned notes and their collusion with hawala operators.

Four Employees of Bank of Maharashtra Suspended

Udgir is a small town in Latur district of Maharashtra. Four employees of the Bank of Maharashtra branch in Udgir exchanged invalid currency notes worth Rs 15 to 20 lakh fraudulently. They were caught and suspended. These bankers simply made unauthorized entries in the accounts of several customers. They too charged a commission of 30% from a local trader – seems to be the standard rate. Another employee of the bank promptly alerted the customer whose account was manipulated. The victim customer got frightened, rushed to the bank and made a hue and cry thereby alerting the manager and other staff. Inspector Balaji Sontakke of the crime branch of Latur said that their teams reached the bank where an audit was going on. He said depending on the outcome of the audit, a case would be registered.

The Noida Banker Helping a Friend Caught

Manoj Sharma, the branch manager of Oriental Bank of Commerce, Noida Phase 2, Uttar Pradesh, was caught by police while to helping a ‘friend’ change his black money. Sharma was caught while handing over Rs 1 lakh to the friend who had come with 25 ID proofs to cheat RBI rules on exchanging scrapped notes. The manager closed the bank on the pretext of running out of cash. Alert and aggrieved customers informed the District Magistrate N P Singh that ‘a few people were being entertained inside the branch’. Immediately Singh asked police to raid the branch. Police nabbed Sharma red-handed, while a long queue was waiting outside. Singh said that the police had shot a video of the incident as evidence and that a report had been sent to the bank’s Chairman and the finance ministry. According to the local people, black money hoarders do not have to stand in queues because they have their ‘friends’ in the bank, who help them by accepting several IDs provided either by the bank staff, or obtained from mobile phone shops. Another bank manager from Meerut reported that some persons approached him for IDs in bulk to exchange Rs 5 lakh worth of old notes, but he refused the offer.

Bank Accounts for Hire

Financial Intelligence agencies have dug up over 1,650 bank accounts which are on hire. Some people have been letting out their scarcely operated accounts for monthly rents from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 to black money hoarders. One person had hired as many as 115 accounts. Agencies, which are scanning deposits made since November 8, issued show cause notices to such account holders. Agencies are trying to find out whether it is an organised racket, or run with connivance of bank staff. They are also looking into the role of bank staff in letting out accounts to convert black money. Reportedly, some bank officials were demanding 20% to 25% commission for depositing black money. On Thursday, agencies analyzed Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) from various states. They found 462 accounts from Bihar, 308 from West Bengal and 98 from Punjab had sudden surge of operations since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the demonetisation drive.

Jan Dhan Account Holders Caught Unawares

Jan Dhan account holders in Ludhiana alleged that they are refused withdrawals from their bank accounts. Bank officials said the trouble is only for accounts showing ‘dubious transactions’ and they had frozen such accounts. They said they have noticed that “gullible people are depositing hoarded cash into their Jan Dhan accounts”. The officials also said the frozen accounts are of people who have not fulfilled the Know Your Customer (KYC) norms and deposited cash after November 9.

Are Bank Officials Trading Your KYC Documents?

Several customers are stumped as bank officials tell them that they have already exchanged old notes, though it may be their first visit to the bank after demonetisation was announced. They allege that bank officials may be misusing their KYC documents. Some customers suspect that some bank officials may be misusing photocopies of KYC documents submitted with their banks. A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) official said that customers are not required to submit photocopies of any such documents but they can just show bank officials any of their identification proofs. If banks have customer’s KYC details, there is no need to provide additional proof. The official advised if there is any instance of manipulation, customers can approach the banking ombudsman.

Are Jan Dhan Yojana Accounts Repository of Black Money?

News reports indicate that there is a sudden surge of deposits in Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana accounts following demonetisation of Indian currency announced on November 8. The deposits since have soared by around Rs. 27,198 crore in 14 days.

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was launched on August 28, 2014 for promoting financial inclusion by providing banking services to the disadvantaged segments of society and with the objective of ensuring at least one bank account for every household.

As on 23 November 2016, total balance in 25.68 crore Jan Dhan bank accounts was Rs. 72,834.72 crore, as against the total balance of Rs 64,252.15 crore on 9 November. Out of 25.68 crore accounts 22.94 per cent are zero balance accounts, though the number of zero balance accounts have slightly declined.

However, the government and RBI have been alerting Jan Dhan account holders not to misuse their accounts by allowing black money hoarders to deposit the scrapped bank notes into their accounts, or allowing conversion of black money.

There are also reports that the Income Tax department is looking into the sudden surge in deposits, though the final data on the deposits will be available only after December 31. However, as the RBI has asked banks to send comprehensive reports, including denomination-wise deposits, these account holders need to be cautious and not misuse their accounts.

Also, there are various reports showing that unscrupulous hoarders of currency notes, hawala operators and even some business men using the Jan Dhan accounts, paying even a commission to the account owners.

The problem with many account holders is that many of them are either poorly educated or illiterate. They simply do not understand the implications of illegal currency conversion. For a poor person, money is only money and he or she cannot differentiate between black and white money.

What makes situation serious for these account holders is that the accounts were almost dormant for quite a long time and all of a sudden, when high value currency could not be exchanged elsewhere, most of them went and deposited the money accumulated with them in their bank accounts. Within limits, they are safe, but exceptionally bulged accounts may not stand the scrutiny of the tax sleuths.

And it is quite normal for rural India to keep whatever savings they have at their own houses. Even money for the marriage of girls are saved and accumulated in cash. Several people buy and sell land and other high value items using cash. That is the kind of economy in rural India. So, these people can be easily exploited by money lenders, cash hoarders, blade companies and other illegal operators.

Demonetisation of banknotes in India: some political reactions

Queue at an ATM for money in Howrah, West Bengal, on 8 November 2016

Since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes invalid on Tuesday in a sudden and unexpected move for demonetisation of high value banknotes and replacing them with newly printed notes of denominations Rs 500 and Rs 2,000, he has got a mixed bag of reactions. Some are hailing the move while some others are severely criticizing it. How some of the politicians reacted to the move are below.

Indian National Congress criticised the central government's move to ban Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi said that it shows how little Narendra Modi cares about ordinary people. On November 11 Gandhi stood in queue outside the State Bank of India on Parliament Street in New Delhi to experience the ‘pain of the people’. He talked to some people to know their troubles. He said to news reporters who interviewed him, “Poor people are in trouble, I am here to get Rs 4, 000 exchanged. Neither you (the reporters) nor your crorepati owners nor the Prime Minister will understand the problems faced by people.”

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday criticised the manner in which the government handled demonetisation. Singh said, “Though the move was a step in the right direction in order to curb corruption, terror funding and black marketing, the way it had been handled had led to chaos, with the small farmers, traders, daily wagers and the poor the worst hit.”

West Bengal Chief Minister and the chief of Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee tweeted, "I want to know from the PM how my poorest brothers, sisters who've received their week's hard earned wage in one Rs 500 note will buy atta, chawal, tomorrow?" She told the press in Kolkata on Saturday that despite ideological differences she is ready to work with CPI (M), Congress, Samajwadi Party, and Bahujan Samaj Party ‘to save the country’.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (AAP) alleged, "Demonetisation is a big scam... People close to BJP were alerted in advance. There were heavy deposits in banks in July-September quarter. Who deposited these thousands of crores suddenly?"

Mulayam Singh Yadav, the chief of Samajwadi Party (SP) that rules Uttar Pradesh, said on Thursday at a press conference in Lucknow, “The sudden ban on high denomination notes has caused immense hardships to commoners, farmers and the poor, the demonetisation has been done by the NDA government with an eye on elections, and not keeping plight of people in mind.” He further said, “We are against black money. SP has fought against it. We do not want use of black money in elections.” He demanded a rollback of the ban ‘for a few days in view of the wedding season’.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav (SP) asked the government to ‘take all possible steps to minimise inconvenience to common people’, adding, "Central government must set up special banking counters in villages and district centres to assist the public, villagers and farmers."

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati told reporters in Lucknow, “Economic emergency like situations have been created by the government to hide their inefficiency. Poor people, middle class citizens, small businesses and farmers have been hit the most and not the people who have black money.”

The Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPI (M), on Wednesday alleged that the move will burden ordinary people and increase bureaucratic harassment of people. Sitaram Yechury, the CPI (M) General Secretary, described it as ‘poorly planned’. He tweeted, "To uncover the illicit money trail, we demand that the govt release the name of Top 100 defaulters of bank loans". "This demonetisation is attempted as a gimmick to divert attention from serious social and political failures of this govt in past 2.5 years."

Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala - ruled by the CPI (M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) - criticized the demonetisation saying, “It has to be understood that those who are having black money were aware of this earlier and hence they have not been affected with this. It has only affected the common man the most. The Centre has implemented this without looking into the practical difficulties face by the people." He wanted time till December 31 for people to use the existing notes.

Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar (BJP) told reporters on Wednesday the demonetisation would not affect tourists who had arrived in the state. He said, “Like other people, the tourists can convert up to Rs 4,000, and usually they avail the facilities using credit cards. The inconvenience will be only for a day. From day after tomorrow, they can withdraw from ATMs”. He said he was personally happy with the ban which was to curb corruption, black money and terrorism. “There are some politicians who have stashed black money in their go downs. They are now having the sleepless nights,” he said, further adding that the clampdown on black money will also ensure that there is a ‘cleaner pre-election period’”.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu described it as bold step. However, he suggested that reintroduction of high denomination notes should be revisited and urged the government to look for alternatives.

Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav tweeted, "Positive move against counterfeit currency. Govt overplaying impact on black money. Opposition overplaying transitional problems."

It appears that demonetisation was initially welcomed by the people and political parties in India, with a few exceptions. But it is usually alleged that black money is used by politicians to influence voters during elections. State Assembly elections are going to be held in UP, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur early next year. So, experts see a political angle in the move. However, the negative reaction to the government’s order, claiming to curb black money and counterfeit banknotes, is not as much as it should be for such a drastic move.

As a result of demonetisation, most people ran short of cash, and there was no way to exchange the higher value notes. Neighbourhood shop keepers and other traders refused to accept the banned notes. Banks were closed immediately after the currency ban to replenish their old currency stocks with the newly printed series of 500 and 2000 rupee notes.

According to political analysts, its impact is expected to show up in the assembly election outcomes in the five states of Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Manipur to be held early next year.

Meghwals, the pre-Aryan settlers of India

The Megh (also called Meghwal or Meghwar) people are an ethnic community who claim to be of pre-Aryan origins, and who currently live mainly in northwestern parts of India and a small population live in Pakistan. As of 2008, their total population was estimated to be about 2,807,000.

In India, though they live predominantly in Rajasthan, they are also present in the Indian States of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana.

In some regions, the Meghwal people are also known by names such as Balai, Bhagat, Bhuiyar, Ganeshia, Julaha, Kabirpanthi, Koli, Kori, Meghvanshi, Mihagh, Rakhesar, Rakhia, Rikhia, and Rishia.

The Megh are believed to be people of pre-Aryan origins and belonged to the Indus Valley Civilization. They came to the region from Assyria, the Semitic Akkadian kingdom (2500-608 BC) in the Upper Tigris river region in northern Mesopotamia (present day northern Iraq) and settled in the Sapta Sindhu, literally the land of seven rivers, often identified as the Indus river along with its five major tributaries, the mythological river Sarasvati, and the river identified as the Kubha. When the Aryans invaded the region, the Meghwal migrated to the Vindhyachal and areas of the present day Maharashtra during the Megalithic period (1400-1200 BCE), and later some of them migrated to Bihar and Orissa (Odisha).

They claim that they are the descendants of Rishi Megh. In the traditional folklores, they are also linked to the Suryavansh to which Lord Ram belonged.

Another version of their origin is associated with the Indian mythology according to which Rajarishi Vritra, the ruler of the Sapta Sindhu region, and who founded the Nagavansha dynasty which ruled over the entire India. They also trace their origin to the Hindu mythological characters such as Hiranyakasipu, Prahlada, Hiranyaksha, Mahabali, Banasura, etc.

They have been originally the worshipers of Lord Shiva and Naga (the Snake God). They also worship King Mahabali who ruled Kerala and in whose honor the people from Kerala celebrate the Onam festival. They also were followers of the atheist egalitarian saint Rishi Carvaka.

Some Meghwals of the present times follow the teachings of the Sant Mat, founded by the mystic poet Saint Kabir (1440-1518), based on the supremacy of an inner, loving devotion to a supreme divine power.

The traditional occupation of this ethnic group was mainly agriculture, weaving and woodcarving. In modern times, some of the educated people of the community are employed in government jobs and other white collar jobs, while some others work in factories. Some of them also run their own businesses and industrial units. The Megh women are famous for their mastery of the traditional embroidery and Ralli-making work. They are also master-weavers of wool and cotton fabrics.

Most of the Meghwals are followers of the Hindu religion, though they mainly worship Rishi Megh, Kabir, Ram Devji and Bankar Mataji as their principal gods. Their rituals are more or less similar to the ritual practices of the Brahmins.

According to some sources, in the 13th century AD many of these people became followers of the Nizari sect of Shia Islam, and some others became followers of Christianity.

Women are considered of low status in traditional Meghwal communities. Their marriages are arranged by their families before puberty, and after marriage, they move to their husbands’ families. Divorce is generally allowed, and maintenance or compensation is paid to the divorced woman. The custody and upbringing of the children of the divorced couples are the responsibility of the husbands.

Meghs enforce excommunication of persons who break the community traditions. This practice, allegedly, mostly affects their women, who are increasingly subjected to social discrimination on various grounds.

The Megh women in Rajasthan are famous for their intricately embroidered costumes and jewelry. Their costumes are distinguishable by the exquisite use of a primary red pigment extracted from crushed insects.

Exotic hand-embroidered costumes are essential part of the dowry of the Meghwal women. Married women usually wear gold earrings, nose rings and necklaces and other neckpieces made of silver or gold. The ornaments are mostly embedded with precious stones such as ruby, emerald, sapphire and other precious gems.

Lumbini Park, Hyderabad

Photo 1: Lumbini Park with visitors in day time

Photo 2: Lumbini Park Laser Show auditorium, showing the history of Hyderabad

Photo 3: Lumbini Park entrance gate

The Lumbini Park is a public urban park of 7.5 acres (0.03 squire km), adjacent to Hussain Sagar Lake, located in the center of Hyderabad, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh in India. It is in close proximity to other tourist attractions of Hyderabad such as the Birla Mandir and Necklace Road. The park attracts many thousands of Indian and international tourists, apart from local visitors throughout the year.

Constructed in 1994, at a cost of Indian Rupees 2.35 crores, the Lumbini Park is being maintained by the Buddha Purnima Project Authority that functions under the guidance of the Government of Andhra Pradesh.

The Lumbini Park is famous for its 2000-people-capacity laser show auditorium, boating facilities, beautiful gardens, musical fountains, along with other visually appealing features.

Meera Shankar: First Indian Female Ambassador to USA in 60 years

Photo: Meera Shankar presenting her credentials to President Barack Obama

India has now the first woman ambassador to Washington in 60 years; Meera Shankar, a career diplomat who was till recently posted in Germany.

Shankar, an Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1973 batch, succeeded Ambassador Ronen Sen. Earlier she had served as Director in the Prime Minister’s Office (1985-1991), Ministry of Commerce (1991-1995), and in the Ministry of External Affairs.

Now some of the core areas of her work involve India’s commercial negotiations with US companies for the supply of nuclear equipment under the landmark India-US civil nuclear deal, according to Meera Shankar’s statement to the press.

India’s nuclear spend is estimated at $150 billion, on which the US companies hoped for a major pie, but the biggest dampener for them turned out to be India's tough nuclear liability legislation that makes suppliers also potentially liable for eighty years.

Describing the deal as an instrument of transformation in India-US relations, Shankar said the growing defence cooperation between the two countries also reflected deeper mutual trust. ‘Bilateral defence trade between the two countries had rapidly risen to over $ 4 billion in the last few years with another $4 billion in the pipeline through the FMS route’, she said in an address on Tuesday on "Indo-US Relations: An Evolving Partnership" at Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University.

Another core area on which Shankar needs to concentrate on India’s interests is highlighting Indo-US common concerns of about terrorism and the closer counter-terrorism cooperation, the focus now being on strengthening exchange of intelligence and information sharing best practices and capacity building.

Miss Universe 2010: Miss India Ushoshi Sengupta in swimsuit

Ushoshi Sengupta, Miss India 2010, performs in her swimsuit by Dar Be Dar Swimwear during the Presentation Show for the 2010 Miss Universe Pageant at Mandalay Bay Event Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday, August 19, 2010. The Miss Universe 2010 competition will air live on the NBC Television Network at 9 PM ET, August 23, 2010. ho/Miss Universe Organization LP, LLLP

Yash Pal Ghai

Yash Pal Ghai born in Nairobi, Kenya (1938) is a scholar in constitutional law. As of 2007 he is the head of the Constitution Advisory Support Unit of the United Nations Development Program in Nepal and a Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in Cambodia on human rights. He has been a Fellow of the British Academy since 2005. In September 2008, he resigned his post in Cambodia, following bitter arguments with the Government of Cambodia.

He was the Sir YK Pao Professor of Public Law at the University of Hong Kong starting in 1989. He has been an Honorary Professor there since his retirement in 1995. Prior to that, Ghai taught and did research in law at the University of Warwick, Uppsala University in Sweden, the International Legal Center in New York, and Yale Law School. He has also taught courses at the University Of Wisconsin Law School, as part of an exchange program. He was the Chairman of the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (which attempted to write a modern constitution for Kenya) from 2000 to 2004.

Ghai has also advised and assisted NGOs in human rights law related work. He drafted the Asian Human Rights Charter - A People's Charter, a project of the Asian Human Rights Commission.

His grandparents came from North India, being parts of the waves of migration sponsored by the British Empire. His earliest memories of Kenya are about racial discrimination and hatred. His father sent Ghai to Oxford to study.

Ghai has written several books on law in Africa, the Pacific islands, and elsewhere.

Source/ for updates go to: Wikipedia

Chili pepper: Bhut Jolokia?

pep squad, originally uploaded by lilymox.

From the look of these chili peppers, especially the chocolate-colored ones, it seems these are the hottest chilies in the world, the Bhut Jolokia, often called Naga Jolokia (possibly erroneously) or the ghost chili by the Western media.

The chili pepper (aka Nahuatl chilli, chillie, chili, chile, etc.), a fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, although botanically are berries, peppers are considered vegetables or spices.

In February 2007, Guinness World Records published that the Bhut Jolokia was the hottest chili pepper ever submitted for judgment.

Snake Charmers in Morocco

Snake dancing, originally uploaded by Just a guy who likes to take pictures.

Snake charming, a typical performance in which snakes are made to sway or dance, is commonly attributed to India, but it has practiced for several centuries in Asian countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Malaysia, as well as North African countries such as Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia.

Ancient Egypt was home to a kind of snake charming, but the current practice is believed to have originated in India and then spread throughout Southeast Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. The popular species of snakes are the common snakes found locally, though various varieties of cobras are preferred by snake charmers and their audiences.

In India, the Indian cobra is commonly seen with snake charmers, though some charmers may also use Russell's vipers, Indian and Burmese pythons and some other local species of snakes. In African countries such as Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, Egyptian cobras, puff adders, carpet vipers and horned desert vipers are commonly featured in snake charming performances.

Swami Rama, enlightenment and alleged sexual abuses

"Be happy and fearless. Remember that you are a child of Divinity. Loss and gain cannot even touch your shadow" - His Holiness Sri Swami Rama

The American securities broker Robert Walter’s website Son of a Swami welcomes visitors with the announcement, ‘Robert Walter was 12 when he discovered that his real father was his mother's guru, the renowned Indian yogi Swami Rama - not his alcoholic dad, Arne Walter’, and adds, ‘Robert hoped he'd finally found the strong, wise, and loving father he'd always yearned for. But he quickly realized that he was the guru's dirty little secret: Swamis are Indian monks who take vows of celibacy, and Robert was living proof that "His Holiness Swami Rama" was not the otherworldly saint his followers worshipped’.

Robert Walter who claims to be the son of Swami Rama and his mother, Shirley Walter, plan to publish a book, "Son of a Swami: A Life of Lies", a double memoir of their relationships with Swami Rama and their involvement with The Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy. When Swami Rama landed in USA to spread the knowledge of Yoga, meditation, spirituality, etc., Shirley Walter’s Yoga center became his first base of his operations in the United States.

In the proposed book 'Son of a Swami: A Life of Lies', the website says, "Robert explores his painful quest for a bond with his father… Robert becomes caught in a web of lies and false promises… Robert confronts the questions that have plagued him since he was 12, 'Is he the son of a sex addict, a yogi with extraordinary powers, or both?'" Shirley explores "how she became one of Swami Rama's earliest supporters and one of his sexual victims". She also details the price she paid for extricating herself from the Himalayan Institute, and examines the ways she failed to understand her son's need for a truthful reckoning until now.

Swami Rama (1925-1996), born as Brij Kishore Dhasmana, in the Garhwal Himalayas in India, became the lineage holder of the Sankya Yoga tradition of the Himalayan Masters, under guidance by his guru Bengali Baba. After many years of further practice in Himalayan caves, Swami Rama was encouraged by his guru to go to the West where he lived a considerable portion of his life.

Swami Rama is recognized as one of the first Yogis to allow himself to be studied by Western scientists. In the 1960s he allowed the scientists at the Menninger Clinic to research on his ability to voluntarily control body processes such as heartbeat, blood pressure, body temperature, etc., which are considered to be involuntary or autonomic. Thus Swami Rama had contributed enormously to yoga's surging popularity in the United States, as he could control his brain waves, heartbeat, etc. His feats were praised sky-high by the media across the United States, winning him many devotees, including Robert Walter's mother, Shirley Walter.

His first ashram was established at the outskirt of Kathmandu, Nepal, where he went on barefoot with nothing but a Kamandalu and a tiger skin mat. Known widely as His Holiness Sri Swami Rama, he founded the Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy which has its headquarters in Honesdale, PA and branches in the rest of USA, Canada, UK, Europe and India. The Himalayan Institute's headquarters are located on a 400-acre (1.6 squire km) campus in the Pocono Mountains of northeastern Pennsylvania, USA.

The Himalayan Institute declares its mission as 'to discover and embrace the sacred link - the spirit of human heritage that unites East and West, spirituality and science, and ancient wisdom and modern technology.' The institute uses techniques of Yoga, Ayurveda, integrative medicine, spirituality, and holistic healing.

Swami Rama authored several books during his lifetime, in which he described his journey toward becoming a Yogi and emphasized philosophy and benefits of practices such as meditation. One of the common themes expressed in such books as Enlightenment Without God and Living With The Himalayan Masters is the ability of any person to achieve peace without the need for an established religion. He criticized of the tendency Yogis to use supernatural powers to claim their enlightenment.

On September 4, 1997 in the United District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania a jury returned an award against the defendant Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy of the USA in the amount of $275,000 in compensatory damages and $1.6 million in punitive damages for the sexual misconduct of the Himalayan Institute's former 'spiritual leader' Brijkishor Kumar, popularly known as the 'Swami Rama'. The award was in favour of the 19-year-old Jasmine Patel (Jasmine Patel, plaintiff Vs. Himalayan International Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy of the USA).

Jasmine Patel was 13 or 14 years old, when she was introduced to Swami Rama by her parents who treated him as their enlightened spiritual guide and family guru. In the summer of 1989 Jasmine joined the Institute’s 'Self-Transformation Program' from when the swami started abusing her, ending up in full-blown sexual relationship, the American Court order states. It also states, several other women’s similar experiences with Swami Rama.

In the above quoted verdict, the American jury found that Swami Rama (a) had engaged in sexual relations with the plaintiff Jasmine Patel, (b) he had abused his position as the plaintiff's guru to secure her consent to the sexual relations; (c) he had breached the standard of care and fiduciary duties inherent in the relationship between him and the plaintiff; (d) he had intentionally inflicted emotional distress on the plaintiff; (e) had acted maliciously and with conscious disregard for the welfare of the plaintiff; (f) and he was acting within the scope of his agency relationship with the Himalayan Institute when engaging in sexual relations with Jasmine Patel.

Apart from holding the Himalayan Institute liable for compensatory and punitive damages on a respondent superior theory, the American jury also imposed direct liability on the Institute, finding that (a) it had been negligent in allowing Swami Rama to be a sexual predator for a number of years; (b) the actions and inactions of Himalayan Institute constituted the intentional infliction of emotional distress; and (c) the Himalayan Institute had acted maliciously and with conscious disregard for the welfare of the plaintiff.

According to some reports, Swami Rama is survived by a daughter and two sons, two of whom have been acknowledged in 'At the Eleventh Hour', a biography of Swami Rama written by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, the current head of the Himalayan Institute of the USA. The two are his son Mohit Dhasmana, and daughter Devyani Mungali, by Swami Rama's former wife in India, Lilu Kumar. Lilu and Mohit Kumar have been involved in several lawsuits in India, notably Original Suit No. 865 of 1997 filed in the Court of the Civil Judge, Senior Division, Dehradun, challenging the current leaders of the Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust, founded by Swami Rama.

Miranda Marbaniang, another woman from Shillong, India, claims she is Swami Rama's oldest daughter. Swami Rama's devotees and followers have not acknowledged either Robert Walter or Miranda Marbaniang as the guru's children, as he was supposed to have taken vows of celibacy (Sannyas).

While he was alive, Swami Rama said on the allegations of sexual abuse, "Do not defend me", as part of the discipline of Asian Yogis to live up to their ideals.

Ramana Maharshi Ashram at Thiruvannamalai

Ramana Maharshi Ashram, originally uploaded by LonelyInSpace.

Sri Ramana Ashram, which was home to the modern sage and Advaita Vedanta philosopher Ramana Maharishi from 1922 till his death in 1950, is situated at the foot of the Arunachala hill, to the west of Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu, India. Thiruvannamalai itself is a pilgrimage town, home to the Annamalaiyar Temple which is one of the holiest Shiva Temples of Tamilnadu. The Sanskrit name for Thiruvannaamalai, Arunachala, became known worldwide mostly due to Sri Ramana.

Thiruvannamalai is well-connected to many cities and towns in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh by road. The town lies on the junction of the Chittoor-Cuddalore state highway and the Puduchery-Bengalooru national highway (NH 66). A railway line between Vellore and Villupuram passes through Thiruvannamalai. The nearest airport is at Chennai (170 km) and Bengaluru International Airport (200 km).

Yellow-footed green-pigeon on a fig branch

Delhi Rooftop - Yellow-footed Green-pigeon, originally uploaded by spiderhunters.

The yellow-footed green pigeon (Treron phoenicoptera) also known as yellow-legged green pigeon is a common species of green pigeon found in South Asia. The species feeds on fruits of fruit trees including a number of species of Ficus. "While these are pretty common they are rather inconspicuous and most non-birders are not even aware that these exist. There's one little peepul tree (Ficus religiosa) opposite the rooftop, where one or two of these will occasionally stop by to feed on the fruits of the fig tree. Location: Saakshara Apts, Paschim Vihar, New Delhi (July 31, 2009)".

Sun Yoga for more energy at sunset

Sun Yoga brings more energy., originally uploaded by Eric Lon.

This is a very popular photo on yoga that has been seen 20.523 times on January 17, 2010 on Flickr, according to this photographer. He says the model featured here is Janga, a 26-year-old Nepali, the spiritual son of French Eric Lon, 59 years old, masseur physiotherapist and yogi for 36 years. According to him, this tree posture connect the energy of the earth with the sea and the sky. He says, "Eric teaches yoga from sea level to the Himalayas; Nepal, India."

The Jeweled Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas

The Jeweled Hall of Ten Thousand Buddhas at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, situated in Talmage, Mendocino County, California, USA. The city was founded by Master Hsuan Hua. Constructed in 1982, the Jeweled Hall is adorned with streamers, banners, lamps and a 20-foot (6 m) statue of a thousand-handed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. The walls of the hall are adorned with 10,000 images of the Buddha molded by Master Hsuan Hua himself.

Avalokitesvara is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas, and one of the most revered bodhisattvas in mainstream Mahayana Buddhism. In China, Avalokitesvara is often depicted in a female form known as Guan Yin. In India, Avalokitesvara is also referred to as Padmapani, Lokesvara or Tara. In Tibetan, Avalokitesvara is known as Chenrezig, and is said to be incarnated in the Dalai Lama, the Karmapa and other high Lamas. In Mongolia, he is called Megjid Janraisig or Xongsim Bodisadva.

Polynesian Catamaran by John Webber

This image of the engraving by John Webber shows priests, wearing helmets, traveling across Kealakekua Bay for the first contact rituals (click to enlarge the photo). Each helmet is a gourd, with foliage and Tapa strip decoration. A feather surrounded Akua is in the arms of the priest at the center of the engraving. It is not known what the purpose of the ritual surrounding first contact with westerners was. Webber (1752-1793), the British artist best known for his images of early Alaska and Hawaii, was an artist aboard the ship of English explorer, navigator and cartographer James Cook (1728-1779). The image is scanned from page 20 of the book ‘Hawaii Looking Back: An illustrated History of the Islands (2004), by Glenn Grant (454pp, Mutual Publishing).

You can compare the shape of the Catamaran in this engraving with the shape of the hotel, Burj Al Arab, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Catamaran, a word derived from the word ‘kettumaram’ found in Tamil and Malayalam languages, is a type of multi-hulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls. Catamarans can be powered by sail or engine-powered.

Catamarans are used since time immemorial by the paravas, a fishing community in the southern coast of Tamil Nadu, India, and independently in Oceania, where Polynesian catamarans and outrigger canoes allowed seafaring Polynesians to settle the world's most far-flung islands.

In the 1690s the English adventurer and buccaneer William Dampier reached the southeastern coast of India, in Tamil Nadu on the Bay of Bengal and wrote about a kind of vessel he observed there. He wrote in 1697, “On the coast of Coromandel, they call them Catamarans. These are but one log, or two, sometimes of a sort of light wood… so small, that they carry but one man, whose legs and breech are always in the water.”

Though the name is of Indian linguistic origins, the modern catamaran came from the South Pacific nations (where Polynesians settled), writers on design of boats and ships claim. Also, the English travelers applied the Tamil-derived name ‘catamaran’ to the swift, stable sail and paddle boats made out of two separated logs and used by Polynesian natives to get from one island to another.

Amitabha Buddha meditating in Yoga posture

Amitabha (also known as Amida Buddha or Great Buddha), is the Buddha described in the scriptures of the Mahayana Buddhism. Amitabha is the principal Buddha in the Pure Land Buddhism (also referred to as Amidism), a branch of Mahayana Buddhism which is one of the most popular schools of Buddhism in East Asia, along with Zen Buddhism. According to the Mahayana scriptures, Amitabha possesses infinite merits resulting from good deeds over countless past lives as a bodhisattva named Dharmakāra. Amitabha is translatable as ‘Infinite Light,’ hence Amitābha is often called ‘The Buddha of Infinite Light.’

The bronze statue of Amida Buddha meditating in Padmasana Yoga posture is located in Kōtoku-in, a Buddhist temple of the Jōdo shū sect in the city of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The height of the statue is 13.35 meters and weighs approximately 93 tons. The statue is hollow, and visitors can view the interior of the statue for a small payment.

It is believed that the statue was originally cast in 1252, in the Kamakura period, as conceptualized by the priest Joko, and sculpted by One-Goroemon and Tanji-Hisatomo. The statue was built inside a wooden temple, but that building washed away in the tsunami of September 20th, 1498 during the Muromachi period. But the statue survived the tsunami. Since then the statue has been in the open air. Repairs were carried out in 1960-1961, when the neck was strengthened and precautionary steps were implemented to protect it from earthquakes.

Yoga, the traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India, is associated with meditative practices in eastern religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. In Hinduism, it also refers to one of the six orthodox schools of Hindu philosophy. Buddhism yoga is associated with meditative methods. In Jainism it refers to the sum total of all activities; mental, verbal and physical.

Ancient expression of Yogic ideas can be found in the early sermons of the Lord Buddha. A key teaching of Buddha was that meditative absorption should be combined with the practice of mindfulness. Buddha taught meditative states alone are not an end and even the highest meditative state is not liberating. Instead of attaining a complete cessation of thought, some sort of mental activity must take place such as a liberating cognition based on the practice of mental awareness.

The Buddha also departed from earlier Yogic thought in discarding the early Brahminic notion of liberation at death. Liberation for the Brahminic Yogi was thought to be the realization at death of a non-dual meditative state anticipated in life. In fact, old Brahminic metaphors for the liberation at death of the yogic adept were given a new meaning by Buddha. Yoga is of much importance to many branches of Buddhism.

Yogachara Buddhism, also spelled Yogacara Buddhism, is a school of philosophy and psychology that developed in India during the 4th to 5th centuries. Yogacara received the name as it provided a Yogi a framework for engaging in the practices that lead to the path of the bodhisattva. The Yogacara sect teaches Yoga in order to reach enlightenment.

Ch'an Buddhism, also known as Seon or Zen: The name Zen derives from the Sanskrit word ‘dhyaana’ via the Chinese ‘ch'an’, and it is a form of Mahayana Buddhism noted for its proximity to Yoga. In the west, Zen is often set alongside Yoga. The two schools of meditation display familiar resemblances, and it merits special attention since the Zen Buddhist school of meditation has some of its roots in Yogic practices. Certain essential elements of Yoga are important both for Buddhism in general and for Zen in particular.

Indo-Tibetan Buddhism: Yoga is central to Tibetan Buddhism. In the Nyingma tradition, the path of meditation is divided into nine Yanas, or vehicles. The last six are described as ‘Yoga Yanas’; Kriya Yoga, Upa Yoga, Yoga Yana, Mahā Yoga, Anu Yoga and Ati Yoga. The Sarma traditions also include Kriya, Upa (Charya) and Yoga, with the Anuttara Yoga class substituting for Mahayoga and Atiyoga.

Other Tantra Yoga practices include a system of 108 body postures practiced with breath and heart rhythm. The Nyingma tradition also practices Yantra Yoga (in Tibetan: Trul khor), a discipline which includes breath control (or Pranayama), meditative contemplation. The body postures of ancient Tibetan Yogis are depicted on the walls of the Dalai Lama's summer temple of Lukhang. An account of Tibetan Yoga by Chang (1993) refers to caṇḍalī (Tibetan: tummo), the generation of heat in one's own body, as being ‘the very foundation of the whole of Tibetan Yoga’. Chang also claims that Tibetan Yoga involves reconciliation of apparent polarities, such as Prana and mind, relating this to theoretical implications of Tantrism.

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Holi Festival in India - Welcoming Flowers with Colours