while you are walking in the fields...

This can take you by surprise. But thankfully, usually no one is around to see.

.. while taking a swim...

This can get embarrassing. In a pool there is always someone around. Bring your legs slowly close together, and wait for the gravity flip effect to wear off. Don’t bother about the sniggers.

.. it can take you by surprise...

Keep your expression casual. If you appear stunned, people may decide to snap your pic and upload to Flickr. Girls normally stay away from those who flipped; don’t ask me why, its a girl thing.

... in a canoe...

This is not too bad. If you are in a canoe, usually you are with someone who knows you and may even care about you, despite the occasional flip that happens to you.

... while racing a motorcycle...

A gravity flip while racing on your hot motorcycle is not embarrassing, after all you were racing, and that means you are somewhat macho. But now you cannot see where you are going, and that can’t be a good thing.

.. Ursula Andress flipped...

A gravity flip is not a new phenomenon. Ancient records indicate this used to happen occasionally, like in photo of Ursula Andress who was posing for a front-gather underwire bra. Lesson: Underwire bra is good in locations where gravity flips are known to happen.

... not just humans...

Not a good thing at all when it happens to endangered species. But they don’t read blogs, so there is little we can do to help them. First you are endangered, and then gravity flips. Talk about fate.

... on the street..

Well, if a gravity flip hits you while you are on the street, obviously it is embarrassing. There are sometimes hundreds of people around, and you are a marked man. All you can do is to act normal. The flipped are people too, guys. Be normal around them, and behave as if nothing remarkable has happened. If you are a Flipped, act like this guy here. Once flipped, he realised there is not much he can do, and he managed to slide a bucket under his head, and waited it out. The best possible reaction if you get flipped in public.

... happens to everyone, as we said...

As they are normally made of clay, garden gnomes usually do not face any social ostracism once they get Flipped. If you are made of clay, an occasional Gravity Flip is the least of your concerns, anyway.

Hope you are prepared the next time you get Flipped. Take it easy. You are still the same person, and most of us know that.

Bhangarh: Signboard warning people off

There are ghosts, and there are haunted places. How many haunted places, though, have the distinction of being acknowledged by a government? None, we think.Take Bhangarh in the state of Rajasthan, India for example. Local mythology says the place is haunted, as local mythologies are wont to do. But in this case, the Archaelogical Survey of India (ASI) in charge of it warns people off the area!

The ASI is the official government body in charge across India of all the monuments and ruins.

Take a look at this ASI signboard in Bhangarh. The signboard is placed 1 Km away from the Bhangarh fort, which has been in ruins since the 17th century, when Bhangarh was deserted overnight. People do not enter the area as it is believed that if you do, you do not return.

What does the signboard say?

Here is a translation:

The Government of India
The Archeological Survey of India, Bhangarh

Important warning:
1. Entering the borders of Bhangarh before sunrise and after sunset is strictly prohibited.
2. Shepherds and woodcutters who enter Bhangarh area will face legal action.
3. The Kewda or Pandanus trees found in Bhangarh area belong to the Archaelogy Survey of India. Is it forbidden to subject this tree to any kind of harm.
Note: Anyone flouting of the rules mentioned above will face legal action.
By order
Supervisor, Archaelogical Survey Board

True, the signboard does not say that there are ghosts in the area, or the place is haunted. But the signboard is extremely unusual.

In and around Bhangarh

Photo courtesy

Locals give the Bhangarh fort, and the reasonably large area around it, a wide berth. And this is India, where there are people roaming about everywhere. But locals do not enter the area here due to some popular spooky stories associated with Bhangarh. And ASI has never denied the stories, despite everyone using the signboard as a recognition by the government of the paranormal nature of the place, or said that the signboard was placed for some other mundane reason.

Those who swear by the Bhangarh’s resident ghosts, say that the ASI too is scared of the parnanormal activity associated with the fort; hence the ASI board has been put up at a safe distance from the fort, next to a temple. Many locals and visitors claim that they have witnessed paranormal activities – like sounds of music and dancing and wierd color spots in photographs of chambers.

The mythology of Bhangarh

Story A – Standard of story of lustful wizard and beautiful maiden

One of the stories say that the Bhangarh  was cursed by a tantrik (a wizard who practices dark arts), Singhia, who was in love with the beautiful princess Ratnawati of Bhangarh. Singhia added a love potion to a bowl of oil that belonged to the princess, but Singhia’s hopes were dashed (literally) when Ratnawati hurled the bowl on a wall that collapsed and buried Singhia.

A dying Scindia cursed the kingdom of Bhangarh saying that the city would be wiped out overnight, and would never be inhabited again, except for the temples. Shortly after the death of Singhia, the whole city was sacked and destroyed in the Bhangarh-Ajabgarh wars.

Bhangarh was never inhabited again, but the area around it is dotted with temples. Believers consider this a living proof of the wizard’s curse.

Story B – The real-estate obsessed wizard

The other story goes that Singhia the Wizard, practised his dark arts in the outskirts of the city. When the early Kings of Bhangarh built the city, Singhia warned them that he would not interfere with the city as long as the they did not infringe on his settlement. The kings were respectful of Singhia’s privacy, but one arrogant king refused to heed Singhia and paid for it. When the buildings overshadowed the wizard’s work area, the whole city collapsed and all its citizens were forced to flee. Since then, no one has dared to settle in the city again.

Some roofless constructions at Bhangarh Image Courtesy

Bhangarh was built in the 17th century, by Raja Madho Singh, younger brother of Man Singh, a general of Emperor Akbar’s army. At that time, Bhangarh had a population of over 10,000. Now, not a soul lives in the ruined but still beautiful city. Bhangarh was the precursor of the exquisite old city of Jaipur, with its havelis, colorful bazaars, and temples.

Havelis are elaborate residences, almost miniature palaces, built around large courtyards. The walls are painted in bright colors with detailed frescoes. If the old city of Jaipur is anything to go by, Bhangarh must have been an extremely prosperous city. Today nothing remains but the temples.

PS. We are not believers in ghosts or haunted places here at DWS. But we do sometimes wish there were ghosts!

Had heard about the blogathon, and never really knew what it meant. But then I noticed the topic on the blogathon India site, and found this topic – Is Bollywood overshadowing Regional Cinema?

Hey, this is good. I’ve always had a problem with this overshadowing business.

Basically there are many things that keep overshadowing me, since my childhood. When I focused on my books in school, the smart kids who did not bother but went about developing a personality overshadowed me. When I tried sports, I was overshadowed there too. When I were younger, I was overshadowed by the older ones. Now that I am older, the young overshadow me. When I think hey, I am doing good with Google money and stuff, Amit Agarwal overshadows me. The techies overshadow me every moment of my waking life. This overshadowing has to stop!

It is teh evil, fo sho.

Where were we? Yes, Bollywood. They do this too. Good Golly, miss Bolly – you can’t do that. Regional cinema is the sacred cow. No overshadowing it, please. Go overshadow French Cinema if you please. Hollywood already does that? Oh, go find someone else to overshadow, goddammit.

Last time I went home, I noticed this. In my own God’s own mallu land, Tamil Cinema is overshadowing Malayalam movies. Malayalam movies look like Tamil movies now. There are all those cute college romances, and dancing nymphets and superhero-style background music. A definite case of overshadowing.

Intra-regional overshadowing is probably fine, however. For example, Malayalam reality shows are overshadowing discussions on Pablo Neruda, or the proletarian revolution that is just around the corner. The few marxists I met this time were bitterly complaining about capitalism overshadowing communism. Chinese communism has been totally and unfairly overshadowed by capitalism, they said. They were thankful that Chinese dictatorship has not been humiliated thus, though.

Communists manage to do a bit of overshadowing themselves, too. For example, that shadow you see in Manmohan SIngh’s eyes – thats a reddish commie overshadow. And the 5 o’clock shadow on Kapil SIbal’s face is really a commie undershadow – a close cousin of the overshadow.

I tried talking about the unfairness of it all to Rohit Malik, my dear Punjabi friend. I complained bitterly about the salwar -kameez overshadowing our nice malayali half-sarees. He stood up, came close to me, stared down and advised, “Tell them to take off all the salwar-kameezes.” Not practical, Rohit. There are no half-sarees in Kerala Apparels anymore – it is not right to take off salwar-kameez without finding a replacement. I felt distinctly overshadowed this time by Malik.

Dear friend and Mumbaikar Beloseji had landed up the other day – and was pretty unhappy about how traces of traditional Marathi culture was being erased from Mumbai streets. I could sympathise, but he rejected my sympathy, so I pretended I never offered it.

Seems Bhojpuri movies are now overshadowing Marathi movies in Mumbai. MNS tried to stop some Bhojpuri movie shows in Mumbai, but quickly realised that Bhojpuri movie industry has a lot of Marathi technicians and quickly backed off. The Maharashtrian workers at the Bhojpuri cinema halls in Mumbai explained that if the movie shows are stopped, the shadows would fall on their households, and MNS was nice enough to give them an ear.

Marathi libraries too are disappearing – that is what happens if you allow overshadowing to continue. You cease to exist. So the libraries have gone. So have the Maharashtrians who used to peruse them – they have all gone over to the land of insecure people, USA. By the way, USA is where the greatest overshadower of them all comes from – Hollywood.

I don’t like all this. But I guess one should join the winning side. But every winning side seems to have someone else overshadowing them. Dog trainers often say that if you don’t know what to do, your dog will consider himself the lead dog, the top dog. So basically even a dog can overshadow you.

Cruel, cruel world.

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