Do you know in India you can get married to a tree?
Indians are known for their superstitious beliefs and when it comes to Bollywood celebs they are nowhere to be left behind. There were rumours that former Miss world 1995 Aishwarya Rai married a tree before getting married to an actual person. Although she denies it, many are talking about it. The reason why people get married to a tree is because of "Manglik Dosh".
In Indian astrology, Mangal Dosha is an astrological combination that occurs if Mars(Mangal) is in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th, 8th, or 12th house of the ascendant chart. A person born in the presence of this condition is termed a manglik.
This condition is astrologically believed to be unfavourable for marriages, causing discomfort and tension in relationship, leading to severe disharmony among the spouses and eventually to other bigger problems. This is attributed to the "fiery" nature of Mars, the planet of war. Also, if two mangliks marry, the negative effects are believed to cancel each other out. However, Mars is not the only planet in Vedic Astrology that is supposed to affect the relationship and these effects should be seen in a broader perspective of overall astrological compatibility.
There is also a belief that the negative consequences for a single-manglik marriage can be resolved if the manglik first performs a ceremony called a kumbh vivah, in which the manglik "marries" a banana tree, a peepal tree, or a silver or gold idol of the Hindu God Vishnu.
So people affected by this astrological combination married a tree which is considered her first husband. She can later divorce her husband tree and remarried their true intended human husband. However, this practice is considered illegal by the government of India.
Man Marries Dog To Cure Curse - Monday, August 1st, 2011
P. Selvakumar beleievd he was a man cursed. Being physically fit 15-years ago, he attacked and killed two dogs by stoning. This violence caused him,
in the eyes of him and his family, to be stricken by the inability to move his
limbs freely and loss of hearing. He tried salves and other such cures to make
him better, but nothing would work. However, 3 years ago, he went to an astrologer.
This astrologer gave him some advice: marry a dog.
By marrying a dog, he would appease the spirits and show that he had
atoned for his crimes. This is actually quite a common aspect of Indian
culture, with many people marrying animals and sometimes objects to appease
spirits.
The bride, named Selvi, who you see picture above was dressed in an
orange sari, was taken to the temple where vows were exchanged, somehow,
the couples were married. The villagers cheered the newly-weds, and soon
enough, Selvakumar alleges he was cured.
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| Man marries Dog |
Woman With Two Wombs Births Two Healthy Boys - Monday, August 22nd, 2011
In the northern Indian city
of Patna, a woman with has given birth to twins. However, these twins were not
normal twins. Well… the twins themselves are, but the way they were born
wasn't. Rinku Devi, 28, conceived her sons a month apart with eggs
from different ovaries.
Wait a minute, but biologically reminds us this is not
possible. Once an egg has been fertilized, the womb is lined with a uterus
lining that stops other eggs from being carried. Normally, this is true.
However, in Ms. Devi’s case, another conception was possible because of her two
wombs.
When having the babies, she was surprised to learn that they were not
twins, as she had been led to believe. She stated…
“I didn’t know how to react. I was in pain and quite scared. I had not
heard of anything like this before. I got to know about the rarity and severity
of this condition days after my delivery…I am very happy and feel proud to have
survived this,”
Defying odds, Devi had the children through a C section, beating odds of
1 to 50 million that the children would survive. The condition, known as uterus
didelphys, or double uterus meant that the children had to be born at 4
months, meaning that they are very premature, but the two children are healthy
which Devi is happy to see.
We’ve all heard horror stories about domestic abuse. Husbands hitting
wives, and wives hitting husbands. Its a terrible thing, and we aren’t going to
make fun of that today.
However, we are going to make fun of this: In Andhra Pradesh, a region
of India, a bounty is being offered on spouse abusers. To quote the minister
that came up with this brilliant idea…
“Beat your drunken husband blue and black if he touches you. I will pay
you a Rs 1,000 reward per slap. The more you beat him the better, because you
can win up to Rs 10,000,”
Basically, he’s saying that if your husband hits you, you can beat him
10 times back , and get Rs 10,000 back, which is comparable to about $200.
“Once you do this, your husband will come home early instead of visiting
the toddy shop and will also respect you and spend time with the family,” he
added.
The minister advised women to carry out the act in front of as many
people as possible so that their husbands would be shamed that much more.
This is insane. Its telling people to start brawls for payment, kind of
like the Wild West. If you are beaten by your husband, you have the right to
hit him back, and get paid Rs 1000 for each slap, up to ten slaps. You’re also
told to beat them in public, which is quite frankly, terrifying. It should
deter people from spouse-abusing, but to be honest, its a little depressing
that its so necessary for this measure.
India Offers Gifts If You Get Sterilized - Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
Recently, we hit the seven
billionth person on the planet. India already has 1.3 billion, and doesn’t want
more. This has resulted in a special giveaway. If you only go into the hospital
and opt-into sterilization, you can win prizes. Yes, you read that right.
Prizes to have your junk snipped. Now, some people would do this for free,
which is understandable. And of course, you need to be perfectly and absolutely
sure that you want to get sterilized, but when you do, oh the gifts that you
will win.
Hospitals have begun to
offer prizes including televisions, cash, motorcycles, and even cars. Yes, they
are giving away cars for sterilization. A local charitable trust apparently
donated a Nano, the world’s cheapest car, five motorcycles, and a bunch of
televisions and blenders (for whatever reason), while other participants can
receive cash incentives. This follows on the heels of a similar program wherein
approximately 150 men received vasectomies in exchange for gun licenses in a
region that has been described as “bandit-invested.” That’ll end well.
India’s population has been
growing out of control, and is currently on track to surpass China’s population
within the next 20 years. Currently, India’s population is at around 1.21
billion.
Not a bad deal if you’re
100% certain you never want children. But is a television, or even a new car,
worth the ol’ snip snip?
To get the Rs 1000, you have to make sure that you are beaten with an
eye-witness insight, so they can verify that you deserve the bounty. This means
that you need to make sure you’re abusing spouse hits you while people can see.
Bags of Snakes Released in Tax Office to Reap Revenge - Friday, December 16th, 2011
In one tax office in India, what was an ordinary day turned into chaos
as three bags of snakes were released in a tax office. Yes, three BAGS of
snakes. A state official from Utter Pradesh stated that around 40 snakes were
unleashed in the office, including several deadly cobras. The office workers
stood on desks and chairs, not unlike a cartoon, to escape the serpentine
onslaught.
Thankfully, no one was injured in the attack, which officials say was
due to the tax office allegedly withholding tax records from the farmers in
exchange for bribes. Yes, the farmers decided to unleased a swarm of venomous
serpents on the corrupt tax officials, which is now how I’m going to deal with
all my problems when people don’t give me the money I’m owed.
Apparently, this reptilian revenge is a common practice, as people have
recently taken to extreme forms of demonstration to combat the rampant bribery
from officials. Over one thousand videos have been uploaded detailing the names
of supposedly corrupt officials, while others have been lobbying for the
creation of a watchdog group.
The two men responsible for this dastardly deed, Hukkul Khan and Ramkul
Ram, are still being sought. Khan is known locally as a snake charmer, so it is
a seemingly fitting method of revenge for him to choose.
I see weird this like everyday, when I look through my own cultural glasses. However, something is just too weird to ignore.
Moving Houses - well this is not a weird news
Well the temperature is picking up and I am moving houses. A friend of mine is going aboard for a year and he wants me to look after his place. The great thing is that I have to pay half the rent. The new place is quite a posh place. There are 22 Towers next to one another. each Tower has 12 levels and each level has 3 apartments. So there is 792 apartments. Many of the occupants are from middle class to high class citizens. The complex is well fenced and maintained. I hope to make some few friends but during summer people hardly come out. They all cuddle inside their flat near an A/C.
Packing is no fun .. I discovered how many things I have accumulated in a years time. Now, I don't think I need anything more.
Anyway, I better log off here. Catch up with you next month after my trip to South Korea to attend a conference for two weeks.
Regards
Ravi
