Normal And Abnormal

"Therefore , if you offer your gift at the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there, before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to your brother, and then you may approach and offer your gift." (Mathew 5:23-24) This is what Jesus Christ taught us to resolve the dispute with our brothers.  This Christian community split ino Jacobite and Orthodox in 1912. However they came together in Kottayam following a Supreme Court ruling for a brief period between 1958 and 1970. From 1970 they have been at war over church control. After a long trial the apex court gave its final verdict in 2017. What I would like to say is not about the history or the real causes of the dispute between the two. I wish to remind all concerned that neither any of the church nor a single member of the church nor any form wealth available with the church belongs to anyone in this world. The sole owner of all these are Lord Jesus Christ. On

Norman Lloyd Date of birth - November 8, 1914 Age as on March 2020 - 106 years plus Birth place - New Jersey, USA Years active - 1932 to present Success - Acted in good numbers of notable films. Betty White Date of birth - January 17, 1922 Age as on March 2020 - 99 years plus Birth place - Illinois, USA Years active - 1939 to present Success - She is the oldest actor ever appeared in the TV screen with the longest span of career as TV actor. (Courtesy for data and images - oldest.org) K V George

Though the press is said to be the fourth pillar of democracy,  in the recent times it does not seem to be doing justice to the people as expected. While legislature and executive are slanted towards ruling political parties, these two pillars are removed and reerected from time to time by political ideologies and sometimes by even individual preferences, people have left faith in only one pillar, judiciary. While most of the print media were often bringing  only truth to the people until a few decades ago, atleast some of those have now silently expressed solidarity with their political parties and ignored the truth and justice of what they say. Over and above these some of them have started to express their integrity to those business group by whom they have economic gains.  There are incidences that some of these business houses when committed criminal offences, those left unreported by these media. It has also become a practice that when a criminal offence is committed

Asha Parekh  is one of the most prominent actress of Bollywood screen. Most of her films were commercially successful. She was the shining star during 1960s and 1970s. She is also a director and producer. Kati Patang, Teesri Manzil, Love in Tokyo, Dil Deke Dekho, Aan Milo Sajna, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Sajan, Shikar, Caravan, Do Badan, Aye Din Bahar Ke, Kanyadaan, Chirag etc are some of the ever remembered films of Asha Parekh. She could pair with all prominent heroes of her time. Asha was born in Gujarat on 2nd October 1942. She could learn classical dance at a young age. The renowned director Bimal Roy happened to witness her dance and that brought her to the screen at the age of 10 in the film Maa in 1952. That was the beginning of a most successful race. Later period of her acting career she accepted supporting roles. She stopped acting in 1995. She won the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. She won the Kalakar Award in 2004 and the International Indi

Nicholas Brendon and Kelly Donovan Date of Birth - April 12, 1971 Place of birth - Los Angeles, California Famous for - Popular TV serial artists Mark and Scott Kelly Date of birth - February 21, 1964 Place of birth - West Orange, New Jersey Famous for - American astronauts Jessica and Lisa Orgliasso Date of birth  - December 25, 1984 Place of birth - Queensland, Australia Famous for - renowned album Drew and Jonathan Scott Date of birth - April 28, 1978 Place of birth - Vancouver, British Columbia Famous for -  Host of reality TV show - "Property Brothers" Cameron and Tylor Winklevoss Date of birth  - August 21, 1981 Place of birth - Southampton, New York Famous for - Sued Mark Zuckerberg; First Bitcoin billionaire Camilla and Rebecca Rosso Date of birth - July 6,.1994 Place of birth - London, England Famous for - Appeared in popular TV show (Images and data courtesy to Wall St Staff) K V George

What is the expected gain of this 48 hours strike? Why it is 48 hours? Why not 12, 24 or 96 hours? Why all trade unions are not taking part in this? Honest answers to these shall certainly tell us it is a mere gimmick in front of the people. If it is not a mere gimmick but good returns are expected, why the trade unions belonging to the ruling party is not associating? With the same issues, when another goverment is in power, they may strongly involve. As such it is not the issues concerning the people that matters but merely concerned with the political parties sponsoring this strike. It is also a matter of deep concern that when many of the states have a cool response to this, it is being  made a total success in Kerala. There are reports that autorickshaws and other vehicles are damaged across the state.  While the judiciary in the state is strongly reacting against these illegal activities, no efforts are being made by the government machinery, the strikers at their wil

      (Top monument in Colombo) Economic  crisis in Sri Lanka is not a sudden outburst.  It was started from 2010. By the year 2019 the foreign debt reached an alarming 88% of the GDP. The Covid 19 pandemic induced the situation to be worsened. External liability of the island country reached to 101% of the GDP in 2021. Under the 2017 agreement, Sri Lanka Port Authority created  Hambantota International Port Group which then became a joint venture after China Merchant Port brought an 85% stake in HIPG as part of the Chinese Company's US$ 1.12 billion investment into the port. This has terribly affected the Sri Lankan economy. In fact China's  intention was not to help the island country but create a naval base close to India. More than that it is a clear example of mismanagement of a country by it's own government. All that is over. Now, Sri Lanka cannot stand by it's own, but need a helping hand of someone else. Can India help Sri Lanka to get over this eco

Sigmund Freud's home When Sigmund Freud and family escaped from Austria after Nazi annexation in 1938, they came to Hampstead London. This home was occupied until the death of his youngest daughter Ann in 1982. George Washington's Mount Vernon Mansion This is the home of the first American president George Washington. The tomb of Washington and his wife Martha is situated in the compound of this mansion. Close to their tomb is the Cemetry of slaves worked for this mansion in 1700 and 1800 AD. A working distillary manufacturing whisky is situated in this compound. Albert Einstein's Einsteinhaus Albert Einstein, his wife and son stayed in the second floor of this apartment in Bern, Switzerland. from 1903 to 1905. Now it is a Museum called Einsteinhaus. The spiral staircase from first floor to the second is retained as it was.  The third floor is also part of the museum displaying the life  and all important records belong to the physicist.

Chateau de Trecesson in France is one of the most haunted houses in the world. A young woman who was believed to be buried alive on the premises, is alleged to be that causing horror there. For decades this place is believed to be visited by many ghosts. People even now feared to visit the mansion. Chaonei Church in Beijing, China is a terribly haunted house. Numerous people have been disappeared from this property. At the entrance of the building a notice is placed stating that there is no ghosts on the property, but the legends say otherwise. One of the most common tales about the house is that of a mistress of a government official who committed suicide in the house. Another story purports that the house was built by a British priest who wanted this building to be a church but the priest was found missing before the completion of the construction. However, the property still remains as a haunted place. K V George 

The above images are of Vande          Bharat Express (180 km/h) The government of Kerala is offering a fast train to the.people of the state. Unfortunately the people reject the offer, but the government is firm on the proposal. The estimated cost of the K-Rail project as per the rates of the Railway Engineering Department of 2019-20 is Rs 64,000/- crores. There are widespread discussion on this project for and against. Huge investment required for the project, paucity of fund in the state, large area of land required, vast number of people to be evacuated etc are shown as the negative factors against the project. Here comes a question. Can we overcome all these negative aspects, yet run the superfast train between Thiruvananthapuram and Kaseragode, that too within the expected time schedule. Now let us find the super fast trains Indian Railways have. 1. Vande Bharat Express, between New Delhi and Varanasi (First

As  per 2021 statistics there are 22,172 rape cases reported to the police in India. With a population of 1.39 billion it comes 1.8 per lakh. While it appears to be a low figure comparatively, in numbers it is a huge amount considering the fact that in many states of our country even ten percent of cases are not reported to the police. The most shameful aspect of it is that in many such cases politicians are involved. According to media reports the ruling governments were found to be reluctant to take appropriate actions against the offenders sheerly on political considerations. It is a very serious situation. Women constitutes about 50% of the population of the country. In most of the Indian societies they are looked down as the weaker ones. Yet, they are denied security and justice. We must certainly find an end to these types of culture in our country. The worst part of it is that the most literate state of the country, Kerala has reported 627 child abuse cases in the ye

          (Hakata port of Japan) The Mongols  wanted to conquer Japan in the 13th century. They arrived full fledged at the Hakata port of Japan. They were received by a typhoon and that forced them to leave. They returned in the summer season heavily prepared. Surprisingly, soon after they reached there came another typhoon. Superstitious Mongols believed that Japan is a blessed land they cannot have victory over them. They never attacked Japan again.Most shocking thing is that these types of storms do not come in summer season. It may be a divine intervention! K V George kvgeorgein@gmail.com

For quite sometime people from some corners come out with their opinions about English medium schools in India. They say we do not need any English medium schools. Prima facie it looks to be a suggestion worth considering. The English have kept us as slaves for centuries.  We have fought against them for long and earned the freedom. When we have become free, do our best and climbing fast on the ladder of progress to be a developed country why should we learn the language of our so called masters of yesterday. We Indians are in no dearth of language. About 78% of Indians speak different languages from the family of Indo-Aryan language and about 19% speak Dravidian languages. When we have our own traditional languages used for milleniums why should we adopt a foreign language. However, the youth of today not only try to learn English but also many European, American, African and Asian languages for their livelihood. We have all the resources to deploy entire youth of India ir

 1. (Above) The new 600 kmph maglev train of China  2. (Below) Gordon Danby and James Powell. China  has very recently introduced the magnetic levitation train capable of reaching a speed of 600 kmph. When it crosses the 603 kmph speed set by Japan it can become the fastest train in the world. This maglev may create an intense competition for technical supremacy in the high speed train field. CRRC the world's biggest manufacturer of train cars, informs that the train can make a trip from Beijing to Shanghai a distance of 1318 km in three and half hours including the wait time, which is less than two hours from the conventional bullet trains. This is said to have a capability of reaching a speed of 620 kmph. (CRRC earned a net profit of $1.74 billion last year.) China has started the construction of a test line in Shanxi Province to handle maglev trains operating at speeds of upto 1,000 kmph. North Central University School of Electrical and Control Engineeri

"And now God found that earth was full of men's iniquities, and that the whole frame of their thought was set continually on evil; and he repented of having made men on the earth at all." (Genesis 6:5-6) God repented for men's iniquities and for having made men on the earth. God the Father being the Supreme Judge took the responsibility of the iniquities of man on Himself and repented for those. And that repentance of God ended at Golgotha in the form of sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That is the only remission of sins for human as shown by Jesus Christ. The forgiveness of sins is well explained in Matthew 26:28. "Drink, all of you, of this, for this is my blood, of the new testament, shed for many, to the remission of sins." Jesus Christ says here with absolute clarity. Jesus says: 'In contrast to the old testament, wherein you were offering your blood or blood of other life beings, for the forgiveness of your sins, which had not accepted by God

Abdulrahman Hussain an Egyptian boy named 'Smartest Child in the world'. He won the first place in a global competition. The Intelligent Mental Arithmetic International Competition took place in Malasia in 2017 December to celebrate the 20 th anniversary of the founding of the Intelligent Education Group. 3,000 children took part in the competition. Abdulrahman Hussain, the 13 year old boy from Egypt solved 230 complex arithmetic problems in a mere eight minutes to win the coveted prize. Children from 70 countries took part in the competition. (Indebted to a report by Independent TV) K V George

(Painting of king Bindusara with his 4 wives) The  number of wives had by different Kings of India: Emperor Ashoka - around 500 wives Wajid Ali Khan (last ruler of Avadh) - around 370 wives Maharaja Ranjit Singh - 616 wives Akbar - had 9 legally married wives              and total 35 wives. His               harem had about 100              women. Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of              Patiala had 365 queens               including 10 authorised              queens. Shajahan had 7 wives. Mumtaz              was his 4th wife. Raja Uday Singh of Marwar had               27 wives. Nizam of Hyderabad had 600               wives. (Indebted to various reports from newspaper, wikipedia, different journals etc) K V George

If India wishes to have an all-round improvement of the coming generations our first priority should be to recast the school syllabus. Whether it is state sponsored schools or CBSE or any other mode of management the syllabus from Pre KG to Class 12 should be common for the whole country. The following subjects should be included in all classes from Class 4 to 12 according to the capabilities of students of each class. However in the case of state syllabus the concerned states may be allowed to add  inevitable subjects if any without leaving any of the following. 1. What to do and what not during pregnancy. Also what to eat and what not during pregnancy. This should be prepared in such a way that we may have physically and mentally strong future generations. 2. How the parents should nurture their children. 3. Preservation of flora and fauna. 4. Waste disposal. 5. Environmental protection. 6. Tourism development. 7. Democracy and politics 8. Bribery and corruption. 9. Publi

As  per the statistics available with Registrar General of India Kerala has 3715 beggars on it's streets. 1,533 of them are literate. 1,115 are below matriculation. 198 are below graduation, 24 are graduates and 16 hold technical diploma certificates. Five persons hold technical degree and one among them is a female. According to a social worker from Kochi, addiction to drugs, liquor and extravaganza in life brought many educated people to perdition. A rescued person was a graduate from BITS Pilani. A beggar is informed to have an earning of ₹200/- to ₹2,000/- a day. For the sake of money some are involved in criminal activities. Begging is also a business for some. It is understood that people from other states come to Kerala with beggars for this business. Government of Kerala may come forward for the rehabilitation of the beggars. The existing Poor Homes, Destitute Homes etc can accommodate some of them. Religious organisations, Social organisations and NGOs can a ta

  India to remain fastest growing major economy in the world in 2021-24. Indian economy is estimated to grow by 9.2% in real terms in 2021-22 after a confirmation of 7.3% in 2020-21; Economic Survey, cites World Bank, IMF. According to the annual survey, the above projection is comparable with the World Bank's and Asian Development Bank's latest forecast of real GDP growth of 8.7 per cent and 7.5 per cent respectively for 2022-23. (Indebted to Zee Media Bureau report dated February 01, 2022. Image Courtesy to Shutterstock) K V George

                  (Helen 2013) Helen Ann Richardson an Indian national was born in Rangoon, British Burma, in November 1938. Helen was a shining star in the Hindi cinema in supporting roles, guest appearances and as dancer in a career spanning over seventy years. She has appeared over 700 films. In her prime time people rushed to the theatres all over India irrespective of the significance of other cast. So much was her establishment as a star in Indian cinema. Helen is the winner of Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award and Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award. She was also bestowed with Padma Sri Award in 2009. Helen will be long remembered for her films. Howrah Bridge (1958), Hum Hindustani (1960), Ganga Jamuna (1961), China Towen (1962),  Upasana (1971), Anamika (1973), Allahuddeenum Atbuda Vilakkum (1979 Tamil and Malayalam), Josh (1981),  One Room Kitchen (2011 Marathi), Heroine (2012), Pagli Shadi Go Dadi (2021) etc are some of the films. K V George

We may find below the most disciplined countries in the world. 1.Iceland One of the most progressive nations with high level of literacy and tolerance among population, this country has low crime rate, low violence rate and low police/military expenditures. Iceland is the most peaceful country in the world. 2. New Zealand Low crime rate and police/military capability, sound political stability, respect for human rights and freedom. All these put together make this country second most disciplined and peaceful country in the world.   3. Switzerland Switzerland is the third most peaceful country in the world. In order to attain this status the country invest heavily for the people, health services, education and considerable assistance for employment for the people. When these much is done by the country for the people certainly peace will prevail in the whole country. There are more such countries  in the world. While seeing these countries  we Indians may ask ourselves, can

According  to a report by the Indian Express some time back 6.53 lakhs police cases were registered in Kerala in 2017. This must be the highest number in India at that time. As per the State Crime Records Bureau upto the third quarter of 2019 a total of 10,516 cases of atrocities against women were reported in our state of which 1,537 were rapes. Over 8100 prisinors are in Kerala jails now. These things do not sound good for the state of Kerala. Thus goes the crime in our state. Some are caught and a few are punished. Some are imprisoned for a few months and others for a few years. Finally all come out of the prison gate. But almost all are coming out as harder criminals. They all develop criminal relations with all co-prisinors and continue to commit more and more crimes. There is no result oriented efforts made by the government to reform the criminals. There was a report in the media in the recent past about a motor bike thief who had stolen a good number of bikes. Final

TV serials are one of the most popular entertainment means in the world. Some such serials have made unbeatable records too. We may pick some such serials. The longest shown serial. Guiding Light  is the longest screened TV shows in the world. The American daytime show started screening in 1937 and taken off in 2009. An amazing and unchallengeable 72 years on the air. One of the most successful TV shows Sienfeld   premiered in 1989 for nine seasons in NBC. By 2014 the show had generated $3.1 billion since entering syndication in 1995. (Image and data courtesy: web sources) K V George

In  India, we have our own standards to measure literacy. States are vying with each  other to reach on top in paper. Since long the state of Kerala is on top with about 90% literacy. The parameter for literacy now is, one should know to read and write ones own name. To start with it is good, but this standard should not remain for ever. This is  LKG standard. We must review this every two years and raise this to the next level. In our case it is UKG. Next levels should be Class I, II, III and so on. We must have a minimum target of Plus II. If we can progressively achieve this, the next generation can call themselves literates.  What we are doing is not acquisition of knowledge but show pieces to decorate ourselves. Let us get out of this mythical concept. Literacy should be recognition, understanding, knowledge and wisdom. Without these there is no meaning in proclaiming that we are the most literates in the country. KV George kvgeorgein@gmail.com

Sam Bankman-Fried Crypto entrepreneur American Age - 29 years Net worth - $22.5 billion He is the youngest billionaire in the world. Evan Spiegel Snap CEO American Age - 32 years Net worth - $13.8 billion Industry - Tech Bobby Murphy Snap CEO American Age - 33 years Net worth - $15.2 billion Industry - Tech (Indebted to the article by Ben Gilbert on October 5, 2021 in Business Insider) K V George

It may find incomprehensible and look strange, but is the truth. God may give us at the same measure at which we give others in the same situation. For instance, one has to construct a house for him. He has only little money with him. He prays the Supreme One for the remaining sum. The prayer has become routine for him. One day a poor man came to him. He told our man that he lost his small house in the recent flood and cyclone. His wife and children are in great trouble. Now, our man has few options to deal with the situation. He can give the whole money available with him to the poor man. Other option is to give half of what he has. The third option is to give little from what he has. The last is to turn the man away without giving anything. Let us find that God too have similar options with Him when we pray. Which option is to be chosen by Him is determined by the same option we choose in similar situations. If we look back our past thoroughly we can find many matching si

The state of Andhra Pradesh was formed on 1st November.1956.  This was the 306th day of 1956. After 58 years AP was divided into two states, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. This was on 2nd June 2014. And that was the 153rd day of 2014. Surprisingly 153 is half of 306. Divine mathematical equation. K V George kvgeorgein@gmail.com

We may find here the youngest professionals in the world. Balamurali Ambati Balamurali Ambati is a Indian American opthalmologist, educator and researcher. He won the Guinness Book of World Records on May 19, 1995 as the youngest doctor at the age of 17 years and 299 days. He graduated from New York University at the age of 13. He passed from Mount Sinai School of Medicine with distinction. He belongs to Tamil Nadu, India. Michael Kearney Michael Kearney holds the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest graduate. He graduated from University of South Alabama with adegree in anthropology at the age of 10 years in 1994. Tanishq Abraham Tanishq Abraham, an Indian American, graduated in engineering at the age 15 to become one of the youngest engineering graduates in the world. (Image and data courtesy to Web sources) K V George