Tuesday, June 16, 2009

An Obituary to Common Sense

An Obituary printed in the London Times - Interesting and sadly rather true.

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, *Common Sense*, who has
been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his
birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be
remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair;
- and maybe it was my fault. *

Common Sense *lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more
than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in
charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but
overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy
charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from
school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding
an unruly student, only worsened his condition. *

Common Sense *lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job
that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent
to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform
parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. *

Common Sense *lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and
criminals received better treatment than their victims. *

Common Sense *took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a
burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault. *

Common Sense *finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to
realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her
lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. *

Common Sense *was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his
wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers;
- I Know My Rights
- I Want It Now
- Someone Else Is To Blame
- I'm A Victim *

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you
still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.*

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Purano Shei Diner Kotha




This Bengali song is originally a work of Rabindranath Tagore and sung by Hemanta Mukherjee.

I tried to find some online translator which I can use to convert the English fonts to Bengali but didn't find anything that worked. Google should have worked on Bengali fonts too. They have not added any other Indian font support for Blogger since Hindi and then four regional languages. When I have the time, I'll have to search and install a program that would do the work of translation.

The lyrics are so simple and yet so profound. Memories about simple joys of life, shared with someone you love. Memories that are old but cant be forgotten. Memories of meeting of the eyes, heartfelt talks, picking flowers together early morning, swinging on a swing, and singing under the shade of a tree. Can one really forget those olden days?

Purano shei diner kotha
Bhulbi kii re
Hai o shei chokher dekha, praaner kotha
Shaykii bhola jaaye

Aaye aar ektibar aayre shokha
Praner majhe aaye mora
Shukher dukher kotha kobo
Praan jodabe tai

Mora bhorer bela phuul tulechi, dulechi dolaaye
Bajiye baanshi gaan geyechi bokuler tolai
Hai majhe holo chadachadi, gelem ke kothaye,
Abaar dekha jodi holo shokha, praner majhe aai