WHO BUILT BOMBAY ?

According to ancient history, a grouping of seven islands comprising Colaba, Mazagaon, Old Woman's Island, Wadala, Mahim, Parel, and Matunga-Sion formed a part of the kingdom of Ashoka the Great of Magadh, ironically in North India .
The seven islands of Mumbai passed through many hands, the sultans of Gujarat , the Portuguese and the British. Every ruler left behind proof of residence in Mumbai.
The Mauryans left behind the Kanheri, Mahakali and the caves of Gharapuri more popularly called Elephanta. The sultans of Gujarat built the Dargahs at Mahim and Haji Ali, the Portuguese built the two Portuguese churches, one at Prabhadevi and the other St Andrews at Bandra.
They built forts at *Sion, Mahim, Bandra and Bassien*. The Portuguese named the group of seven Islands *Bom Baia*, _Good Bay_ . The British built a city out of the group of seven islands and called her Bombay .
The original settlers of the seven islands, the Koli fishermen, worshiped Mumbaidevi, her temple still stands at Babulnath near Chowpatty. The Kolis called the island Mumbai, 'Mumba, Mother Goddess'.
In 1662, King Charles II of England married the Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza, and received the seven islands of Bom Baia as part of his dowry. Six years later, the British Crown leased the seven islands to the English East India Company for a sum of 10 pounds in gold per annum. It was under the English East India Company that the future megapolis began to take shape, after the first war for independence Bombay once again became a colony of the British Empire .
History has forgotten this but the first Parsi settler came to Bombay in 1640, he was Dorabji Nanabhoy Patel. In 1689-90, a severe plague epidemic broke out in Bombay and most of the European settlers succumbed to it. The Siddi of Janjira attacked in full force. Rustomji Dorabji Patel, a trader and the son of the city's first Parsi settler, successfully defeated the
Siddi with the help of the Kolis and saved Bombay .
Gerald Aungier, Governor of Bombay built the Bombay Castle , an area that is even today referred to as Fort. He also constituted the Courts of law. He brought Gujarati traders, Parsi shipbuilders, Muslim and Hindu manufacturers from the mainland and settled them in Bombay .
It was during a period of four decades that the city of Bombay took shape. Reclamation was done to plug the breach at Worli and Mahalakshmi, Hornby Vellard was built in 1784. The Sion Causeway connecting Bombay to Salsette was built in 1803. Colaba Causeway connecting Colaba island to Bombay was built in 1838. A causeway connecting Mahim and Bandra was built in 1845.
Lady Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy, the wife of the First Baronet Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy donated Rs 1, 57,000 to meet construction costs of the causeway. She donated Rs. 1,00,000 at first.. When the project cost escalated and money ran out half way through she donated Rs 57,000 again to ensure that the vital causeway was completed. Lady Jamsetjee stipulated that no toll would ever be charged for those using the causeway. Today Mumbaikars have to pay Rs 75 to use the Bandra-Worli Sealink, connecting almost the same two islands. Sir J J Hospital was also built by Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy.
The ship building Wadia family of Surat was brought to Bombay by the British. Jamshedji Wadia founded theBombay Port Trust and built the Princess Dock in 1885 and the Victoria Dock and the Mereweather Dry Docks in 1891. Alexandra Dock was built in 1914.
A Gujarati civil engineer supervised the building of the Gateway of India . The Tatas made Bombay their headquarters and gave it the iconic Taj Mahal Hotel and India 's first civilian airlines, Air India . The Godrejs gave India its first vegetarian soap.
Cowasji Nanabhai Daver established Bombay 's first cotton mill, 'The Bombay Spinning Mills' in 1854. By 1915, there were 83 textile mills in Bombay largely owned by Indians.
This brought about a financial boom in Bombay . Although the mills were owned by Gujaratis, Kutchis, Parsis and Marwaris, the workforce was migrant Mahrashtrians from rural Maharashtra . Premchand Roychand, a prosperous Gujarati broker founded the Bombay Stock Exchange. Premchand Roychand donated Rs 2,00,000 to build the Rajabai Tower in 1878.
Muslim, Sindhi and Punjabi migrants have also contributed handsomely to Mumbai.
Apart from its original inhabitants, the Kolis, everyone else in Mumbai, are immigrants, so there is no valid justification for any single Community to call others outsiders or immigrants and vitiate the Cosmopolitan Character of this Great City ! We are all Indians First & Mumbaikers afterwards please !

Rama & Krishna - managerial styles

Rama & Krishna - managerial styles
What's your managerial style: like Lord Ram or Lord Krishna? Nice one... Read on..

In Hindu mythology there are two great epics. One is called Ramayan and other is called Mahabharata. The centre story of both these books is around victory of good on evil. In one story Lord Ram leads his army to defeat Ravana in his land,
While in the second Lord Krishna oversees Pandavas defeat Kauravas in the battle at Kurushektra.

In Ramayan, Lord Ram is the best yodhaa of his side.
He leads his army from the front. Strategizes & directs different people to do things which will meet the objectives. His people are happy to follow orders & want to get all the appreciation for being the best executors. Lord Ram set direction & also tells people what to do during difficult times.

Ultimately they won the war & the final outcome was achieved.

On the other hand Lord Krishna told Arjuna, I won't fight the battle. I won't pick up any weapon; I would only be there on ur chariot as a charioteer. And he did what he said. He never picked up the weapon & he never fought.

Still, Pandavas won the war & final outcome was achieved.

So, what was different? It was their managerial style & it was also the type of people who were being lead.
Lord Ram was leading an army of 'MONKEYS' who were not skilled fighters & they were looking for direction. While on other hand,

Lord Krishna was leading Arjuna who was one of the best archer of his time. While Lord Ram's role was to show it & lead from the front,

Krishna played the role of a coach whose job was to remove cobwebs from his protégée's mind. Krishna couldn't teach Arjuna archery but he could definitely help him see things from a very different perspective.

Here are some of the basic differences in two styles:
Lord Ram- A skilled warrior, lead monkeys, was emotional, gave precise roles & instructions, motivated the army to fight for his cause

Lord Krishna: works with best the professionals, provides strategic clarity, allows team members to take lead, fights for the cause of the team, did not depict his true emotions

Look at ur team/family & reflect what type of leader/parent u are, One who keeps answering/solving problems for people/kids Or Who asks relevant questions from their people/kids so that they can find their own solution.

Are u someone who tells/directs all the time Or
Someone who clarifies doubts & allows their people/kids to find their own ways.

Are u someone who has monkeys in the team & the way u deal with it Or u have the brightest experts in their area getting stuck with issues?

Younger generation doesn't want you to tell or show how things are done, they want to know the meaning of their task and how it makes a difference in this world.

They are Arjuna's who don't necessarily seek more skill/knowledge but they need someone to clarify the cobwebs in their mind, if u still apply Lord Ram's style on them, u are bound to fail as a manager.

On the other hand if there are people who aren't skilled enough but rely on ur expertise to sail u through Lord Ram's style is appropriate.

Isn't it good for us to reflect & think what managerial style will bring the best result for u and ur team/family ?

Is it Lord Ram or Lodrd Krishna?

The Managing Leader vs the Coaching Leader!

नमस्ते सदा वत्सले मातृभूमे

नमस्ते सदा वत्सले मातृभूमे
त्वया हिन्दुभूमे सुखं वर्धितोहम् ।
महामङ्गले पुण्यभूमे त्वदर्थे
पतत्वेष कायो नमस्ते नमस्ते ।।१।।

प्रभो शक्तिमन् हिन्दुराष्ट्राङ्गभूता
इमे सादरं त्वां नमामो वयम्
त्वदीयाय कार्याय बध्दा कटीयं
शुभामाशिषं देहि तत्पूर्तये ।
अजय्यां च विश्वस्य देहीश शक्तिं
सुशीलं जगद्येन नम्रं भवेत्
श्रुतं चैव यत्कण्टकाकीर्ण मार्गं
स्वयं स्वीकृतं नः सुगं कारयेत् ।।२।।

समुत्कर्षनिःश्रेयस्यैकमुग्रं
परं साधनं नाम वीरव्रतम्
तदन्तः स्फुरत्वक्षया ध्येयनिष्ठा
हृदन्तः प्रजागर्तु तीव्रानिशम् ।
विजेत्री च नः संहता कार्यशक्तिर्
विधायास्य धर्मस्य संरक्षणम् ।
परं वैभवं नेतुमेतत् स्वराष्ट्रं
समर्था भवत्वाशिषा ते भृशम् ।।३।।
।। भारत माता की जय ।।

FIR based on FaceBook comment quashed

May be useful for those who use these( FACEBOOK)

2015 (7) SCC 423

(Supreme Court)

Manik Taneja & another - Vs- State of Karnataka & another

Facebook Postings against police - Criticising Police on Police's Official Face book Page - F.I.R Lodged by Police

HELD - Facebook is a Public Forum - it Facilitates Expression of Public Opinion- Posting of One's Grievance Against Government Machinery Even on Government Facebook Page does not by itself Amount to Criminal Offence -
F. I.R. Quashed.

जानिए आरती के बाद क्यों बोलते हैं कर्पूरगौरं मंत्र

किसी भी मंदिर में या हमारे घर में जब भी पूजन कर्म होते हैं तो वहां कुछ मंत्रों का जप अनिवार्य रूप से किया जाता है, सभी देवी-देवताओं के मंत्र अलग-अलग हैं, लेकिन जब भी आरती पूर्ण होती है तो यह मंत्र विशेष रूप से बोला जाता है l

*कर्पूरगौरं मंत्र :*

*कर्पूरगौरं करुणावतारं संसारसारं भुजगेन्द्रहारम्। सदा वसन्तं हृदयारविन्दे भवं भवानीसहितं नमामि।।*

*ये है इस मंत्र का अर्थ :*

*इस मंत्र से शिवजी की स्तुति की जाती है। इसका अर्थ इस प्रकार है :*

*कर्पूरगौरं-* कर्पूर के समान गौर वर्ण वाले।

*करुणावतारं-* करुणा के जो साक्षात् अवतार हैं।

*संसारसारं-* समस्त सृष्टि के जो सार हैं।

*भुजगेंद्रहारम्-*  जो सांप को हार के रूप में धारण करते हैं।

*सदा वसंतं हृदयारविन्दे भवंभवानी सहितं नमामि-*  जो शिव, पार्वती के साथ सदैव मेरे हृदय कमल में निवास करते हैं, उनको मेरा नमन है।

*मंत्र का पूरा अर्थ :-*

जो कर्पूर जैसे गौर वर्ण वाले हैं, करुणा के अवतार हैं, संसार के सार हैं और भुजंगों का हार धारण करते हैं, वे भगवान शिव माता भवानी सहित मेरे ह्रदय में सदैव निवास करें और उन्हें मेरा नमन है।

*यही मंत्र क्यों….*

किसी भी देवी-देवता की आरती के बाद कर्पूरगौरम् करुणावतारं….मंत्र ही क्यों बोला जाता है, इसके पीछे बहुत गहरे अर्थ छिपे हुए हैं। भगवान शिव की ये स्तुति शिव-पार्वती विवाह के समय विष्णु द्वारा गाई हुई मानी गई है। अमूमन ये माना जाता है कि शिव  श्मशान वासी हैं, उनका स्वरुप बहुत भयंकर और अघोरी है। लेकिन, ये स्तुति बताती है कि उनका स्वरुप बहुत दिव्य है। शिव को सृष्टि का अधिपति माना गया है, वे मृत्युलोक के देवता हैं, उन्हें पशुपतिनाथ भी कहा जाता है, पशुपति का अर्थ है संसार के जितने भी जीव हैं (मनुष्य सहित) उन सब का अधिपति। ये स्तुति इसी कारण से गाई जाती है कि जो इस समस्त संसार का अधिपति है, वो हमारे मन में वास करे। शिव श्मशान वासी हैं, जो मृत्यु के भय को दूर करते हैं। हमारे मन में शिव वास करें, मृत्यु का भय दूर हो।

New Definitions of old words !!

ADULT
A person who has stopped growing at both ends and is now growing in the middle.

COMMITTEE
A body that keeps minutes and wastes hours.

DUST
Mud with the juice squeezed out.

EGOTIST
Someone who is usually me-deep in conversation.

HANDKERCHIEF
Cold Storage.    

YAWN
An honest opinion openly expressed.  

INFLATION
Cutting money in half without damaging the paper.  

RAISIN
A grape with a sunburn.

SECRET
Something you tell to one person at a time.

SKELETON
A bunch of bones with the person scraped off.

TOOTHACHE
The pain that drives you to extraction.

TOMORROW
One of the greatest Labor saving devices of today.  

WRINKLES
Something other people have,similar to my character lines

LAW OF KARMA

After Kurukshetra war,
Dhritrarashtra asked Krishna,
“I had 100 sons.
All of them were killed.
Why?

Krishna replied,
“50 lifetimes ago,
You were a hunter.
While hunting,
You tried to shoot a male bird.
It flew away.
In anger,
You ruthlessly slaughtered the 100 baby birds in the nest.
Father-bird had to watch in helpless agony.
Because you caused that father-bird the pain of seeing the death of his 100 sons,
You too had to bear the pain of your 100 sons dying.

Dhritarastra said,
“Ok,
But why did I have to wait for fifty lifetimes?”
Krishna answered, “You were accumulating
' Punya' during the last
fifty lifetimes to get 100 sons -
Because that requires a lot of Punya .
Then you got the reaction for the 'Paap' (sin) that you have done fifty lifetimes ago.”

Krishna says in the Bhagavad-gita (4.17) "Gahana Karmano Gatih"
The way in which action and reaction works is very complex.
God knows best which reaction has to be given at what time in what condition.
Therefore,
Some reaction may come in this lifetime,
Some in the next and Some in a distant future lifetime.

There is a saying,
*“The mills of God grind slow;*
but,
*They grind exceedingly fine.”*
*So, every single action will be accounted for*,
*SOONER OR LATER*

Srimad Bhagavatam gives example:
If we have a cowshed with 1000 calves and
If we leave a mother cow there,
She will easily find out where her calf is among those thousands.
She has this Mystical Ability.

Similarly,
*Our karma will find us among the millions on this planet.*
*There may be thousands going on the road but only one meets with an accident*
*It is not by chance,*
*It's by KARMA.*

*Thus,the LAW OF KARMA works exceedingly fine;*
it may be
*'SLOW TO ACT',*
but
' *NO ONE CAN ESCAPE '*

So be very careful about your words, actions and thoughts
God bless you all....

An amazing interpretation of the Mahabharata...and it is so true...

It was said in the texts that eighty percent of the fighting male population of the civilization was wiped out in the eighteen days of the war.

Sanjay , at the end of the war went to the spot where the greatest war took place; Kurukshetra.
He looked around and wondered if the war really happened, if the ground beneath him had soaked all that blood, if the great Pandavas and Krishna stood where he stood.

“You will never know the truth about that!” said an aging soft voice.

Sanjay  turned around to find an Old man in saffron robes appearing out of a column of dust.

“I know you are here to find out about the Kurukshetra war, but you cannot know about that war till you know what the real war is about.” the Old man said enigmatically.

“What do you mean?”

“The Mahabharata is an Epic, a ballad, perhaps a reality but definitely a philosophy.”

The Old man smiled luring Sanjay into more questions.

“Can you tell me what the philosophy is then?”
Sanjay requested.

Sure, began the Old man.

“The Pandavas are nothing but your five senses, sight, smell, taste, touch and sound and do you know what the Kauravas are?”
 he asked narrowing his eyes.

 “The Kauravas are the hundred vices that attack your senses everyday but you can fight them and do you know how?”

Sanjay shook his head again.
“When Krishna rides your chariot!”
 The Old man smiled brighter and Sanjay gasped at that gem of insight.

“Krishna is your inner voice ,your soul, your guiding light and if you let your life in his hands you have nothing to worry.”

Sanjay was stupefied but came around quickly with another question. “Then why are Dronacharya and Bhishma fighting for the Kauravas, if they are vices?”

The Old man nodded, sadder for the question.

“It just means that as you grow up your perception of your elders change. The elders who you thought were perfect in your growing up years are not all that perfect. They have faults.  And one day you will have to decide if they are for your good or your bad.
Then you may also realize that you may have to fight them for the good. It is the hardest part of growing up and that is why the Geeta is important.”

Sanjay slumped down on the ground, not because he was tired but because he could understand and was struck by  the enormity of it all.

 “What about Karna?” he whispered.

“Ah!” said the Old man. “You have saved the best for last. Karna is the brother to your senses, he is desire, he is a part of you but stands with the vices. He feels wronged and makes excuses for being with the vices as your desire does all the time.

 Does your desire not give you excuses to embrace vices?”

Sanjay nodded silently. He looked at the ground, consumed with a million thoughts, trying to put everything together and then when he looked up the Old man was gone.

He seemed to have disappeared in the column of dust.........
Leaving behind the great philosophy of Life .

अर्धनारीश्वर अवतार की कथा

अर्धनारीश्वर अवतार की कथा---

“शीश गंग अर्धंग पार्वती….. नंदी भृंगी नृत्य करत है” शिव स्तुति में आये इस भृंगी नाम को आप सब ने जरुर ही सुना होगा। पौराणिक कथाओं के अनुसार ये एक ऋषि थे जो महादेव के परम भक्त थे किन्तु इनकी भक्ति कुछ ज्यादा ही कट्टर किस्म की थी। कट्टर से तात्पर्य है कि ये भगवान शिव की तो आराधना करते थे किन्तु बाकि भक्तो की भांति माता पार्वती को नहीं पूजते थे।

हालांकि उनकी भक्ति पवित्र और अदम्य थी लेकिन वो माता पार्वती जी को हमेशा ही शिव से अलग समझते थे या फिर ऐसा भी कह सकते है कि वो माता को कुछ समझते ही नही थे। वैसे ये कोई उनका घमंड नही अपितु शिव और केवल शिव में आसक्ति थी जिसमे उन्हें शिव के आलावा कुछ और नजर ही नही आता था। एक बार तो ऐसा हुआ की वो कैलाश पर भगवान शिव की परिक्रमा करने गए लेकिन वो पार्वती की परिक्रमा नही करना चाहते थे।

ऋषि के इस कृत्य पर माता पार्वती ने ऐतराज प्रकट किया और कहा कि हम दो जिस्म एक जान है तुम ऐसा नही कर सकते। पर शिव भक्ति की कट्टरता देखिये भृंगी ऋषि ने पार्वती जी को अनसुना कर दिया और भगवान शिव की परिक्रमा लगाने बढे। किन्तु ऐसा देखकर माता पार्वती शिव से सट कर बैठ गई। इस किस्से में और नया मोड़ तब आता है जब भृंगी ने सर्प का रूप धरा और दोनों के बीच से होते हुए शिव की परिक्रमा देनी चाही।

तब भगवान शिव ने माता पार्वती का साथ दिया और संसार में महादेव के अर्धनारीश्वर रूप का जन्म हुआ। अब भृंगी ऋषि क्या करते किन्तु गुस्से में आकर उन्होंने चूहे का रूप धारण किया और शिव और पार्वती को बीच से कुतरने लगे।

ऋषि के इस कृत्य पर आदिशक्ति को क्रोध आया और उन्होंने भृंगी ऋषि को श्राप दिया कि जो शरीर तुम्हे अपनी माँ से मिला है वो तत्काल प्रभाव से तुम्हारी देह छोड़ देगा।

हमारी तंत्र साधना कहती है कि मनुष्य को अपने शरीर में हड्डिया और मांसपेशिया पिता की देन होती है जबकि खून और मांस माता की देन होते है l श्राप के तुरंत प्रभाव से भृंगी ऋषि के शरीर से खून और मांस गिर गया। भृंगी निढाल होकर जमीन पर गिर पड़े और वो खड़े भी होने की भी क्षमता खो चुके थे l तब उन्हें अपनी भूल का एहसास हुआ और उन्होंने माँ पार्वती से अपनी भूल के लिए क्षमा मांगी।

हालाँकि तब पार्वती ने द्रवित होकर अपना श्राप वापस लेना चाहा किन्तु अपराध बोध से भृंगी ने उन्हें ऐसा करने से मना कर दिया l ऋषि को खड़ा रहने के लिए सहारे स्वरुप एक और (तीसरा) पैर प्रदान किया गया जिसके सहारे वो चल और खड़े हो सके तो भक्त भृंगी के कारण ऐसे हुआ था महादेव के अर्धनारीश्वर रूप का उदय।

Short stories. Horror.

Shortlisted entries in a competition for short horror stories wrapped up in two sentences or less...

1. Husband  kills  his wife while their 5 yr old son was still sleeping.
The weird thing was that kid didn't ask 4 his mom even 3 days after she went missing.
Father:" Is there something that you want   to ask me ? "
Kid : "I just wonder, why mom is always standing behind you?"

2. I woke up to hear knocking on glass. At first, I thought it was the window until I heard it come from the mirror again.

3. The last thing I saw was my alarm clock flashing 12:07 before she pushed her long rotting nails through my chest, her other hand muffling my screams. I sat bolt upright, relieved it was only a dream, but as I saw my alarm clock read 12:06, I heard my closet door creak open.

4. In all of the time that I've lived alone in this house, I swear to God I've closed more doors than I've opened.

5. A girl heard her mom yell her name from downstairs, so she got up & started to head down. As she got to the stairs, her mom pulled her into her room & said "I heard that, too."

6. My wife woke me up last night to tell me there was an intruder in our house. She was murdered by an intruder 2 years ago.

7. I always thought my cat had a staring problem. she always seemed fixated on my face. Until one day, when I realized that she was always looking just behind me.

8. There's nothing like the laughter of a baby. Unless it's 1 a.m. & you're home alone.

9. I begin tucking him into bed & he tells me, "Daddy, check for monsters under my bed."
I look underneath for his amusement & see him.. another him, under the bed, staring back at me quivering and whispering, "Daddy, there's somebody on my bed."

10. You get home, tired after a long day's work & ready for a relaxing night alone. You reach for the light switch, but another hand is already there.

11. There was a picture in my phone of me sleeping. I live alone.