Chronicles of Nikhil Baliga

Swami Nikhilaananda was told: " Remember, actions have consequences " Just the other day, I was talking to one of my best friends who's in the USA. He said people simply refuse to step out of their houses to meet others and socialise, they would rather talk to the same group of friends online. The internet and social networking websites certainly have their advantages. Unlike over a decade back, talking to someone who lives hundreds of kilometres away from you isn't difficult today. In fact, you can see them too. And with social networking such as Facebook, the entire group of friends can see what others are doing, share and comment on photographs and chat together irrespective of where you are physically. While everything sounds hunky-dory, there are quite a few disadvantages associated with social networking. In this post, I am going to pick only one, deliberately skipping privacy, security and other equally important issues - " The Etiquette Of Posting &

Baba Gyani Triviani said: " I wonder if it is better to be fruitier than a nut-cake or nuttier than a fruitcake " The boring drivel continued unabated. My chum on my left was busy doodling what I could only imagine to be a grotesque version of a rabbit. Or was it a witch? I rest my case. " This bally lecture seems to be unending " I said through clenched teeth " It's not like anyone's listening ". He continued shading some areas carefully. " What do you think of it? I drew ginger " he said proudly. " Nice " I said to avoid the topic. Ginger? It looked like a dead rat. " You won't believe what happened to me yesterday " I told him. " I got an e-card from this girl I happened to meet recently. I don't know how to respond to it. What do you reckon I should do? " He made a face. But it seemed like I had finally caught his attention. " What ho! A girl you say? To you? Surely you didn't conco

Swami Gulagulaananda said: " No matter how good one can get, there is always someone who is better " [This story is based on an episode of Rurouni Kenshin - A beautiful anime/manga] During the days of the Samurai, there was a Dojo in the grand city of Kyoto where many students learnt the art of swordsmanship. Among them was the hero of this story. The students were mostly good, but only this young man stood out from the rest. He was able to beat all of them with ease. He hardly felt that they were a challenge. One dark night, as the wind blew with all its might, and the rain fell down in torrents, this young man, who was on his way home beheld a sight that would change his life. There was an eerie shriek, one that made him instantly alert. He quickly clasped his sword, ready to swing into action, slightly skeptical however, for he knew not who the foe was. The shriek was that of a young woman who had just been robbed. The masked bandit who had relieved her of her jewe

Swami Gulagulaananda said: " Horn, ok... pleeze! " [In this post, I am making an attempt to mimic The Local Tea Party , which by the way, is not a site to be missed.] This English no, it is a funny language. I know, I know you will say it is one old cliche. Look at that word, cliche. It is written like niche, but both are pronounced so differently. Not to worry, I am not going to bore you with some good old lines that I ripped off a bunch of sites ok ma? I am going to talk about some experiences I myself had, and some experiences my friends had. Let me start with one that my friend had. It seems she and her fiance and some friends went to this restaurant somewhere in Bangalore. The waiter came and asked what you want? This fiance guy told it seems, ' Bring me one mo h ito... ' Waiter gave one dirty look, then smugly told ' Saar, it's pronounced mo j ito '. See what happened there? Fiance was right in pronouncing mojito as mo h ito . But he seemed

Baba Gyani Triviani said: " By the end of this post, don't wonder if YOU are Jack... You most likely aren't. I learnt this trick from that book I have mentioned at the end... " I recently had the misfortune of speaking to a 'hyper-sensitive narcissist' - Let's call this person Jack (Although John Doe or John Smith are more standard). Now let's assume you have met this person Jack and you are having a conversation. As the conversation proceeds, you start noticing that Jack has all the qualities of a megalomaniac but not actual qualities... Just grandiose notions about himself. But in the conversation, Jack also mentions that he is extremely sensitive, which you notice when you made a crack which was taken very seriously. Now we come to an interesting juncture - The narcissism reaches such annoying heights that it makes you barf, and yet you cannot say anything on this person's face because, well, because you aren't Dr. House and because &#

Swami Gulagulaananda quoted: " When you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount " ( You might want to listen to 'Into Dust - Mazzy Star' in the background while reading this ) I was on my knees as I held her head in my arms. I didn't remember how I got there, but I certainly was aware that it all was very strange. The ground was white... sheer white. There was no grain of sand, just absolute  white. And at that one fraction of a second when I raised my head, it hit me, and etched into my mind the vast expanse of whiteness. It seemed to stretch in all directions, and there was nothing apart from the two of us in the middle of what seemed to be a great void. The two of us, wearing layers of white, were in the middle of nothingness. But it was not this bizarre environment that startled me. It was her. I kept staring at her face. That lifeless countenance. For a fleeting moment, I could see her fair face with the slight blush in her cheek. Th