Gandhi and The SUN...

Sun gives light to us and nurtures every living thing on this earth. Gandhi, Meaning a Sun, which gave light to the entirety of India. The light which illuminated to us, the path of freedom and independence. Gandhi gave us the path of non-violence, followed by other revered leaders like Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, and others. 

It's a known fact that the sun burns itself to give light to us. In this context what has our Gandhi burnt to provide us with light? As my friend who visits the Gym opines "No pain no gain", What was the pain that Gandhi had to undergo?.. What did he sacrifice for the fire?.. ... Nehru's life is always quoted in letters to Indira Gandhi. Although Gandhi had four sons and also India was a patriarchal country, what happened to them.. ?.. I feel these questions remain unanswered in our history books. The answer lies in Gandhi's own life. They were his children that he burned. Yes, I am talking about Harilal, Manilal, Ramdas and Devadas Gandhi.

The story of Harilal Gandhi resonates with how strictly Gandhi was forcing his son to be part of his team. But, Harilal Gandhi was an adamant child. He wanted to become a father and a barrister, just like his father. This Gandhi saw as a Not-as-per-plan idea and rejected it. This insulted the poor guy and he fell into the trap of addiction to liquor, ultimately ruining his career. 

This story throws up some interesting facts about how Gandhi was for his family. He even quoted "I was a slave for my passions when Harilal was conceived". He considered his children as a curse for him. My inference from these was he considered his children a burden for carrying out his fight for independence which was his life's ultimate goal. Whoever was in the path was burned, including his sons. Manilal was sent back to South Africa as per the orders of Gandhi. Ramdas didn't like Gandhi's idea of asceticism and finally, Devadas continued to be with Gandhi.

I love coffee...

Do you like coffee? I do, it's taste and aroma make my mornings so much better! But I heard that regular coffee drinking can have some negative effects on my health, so I decided to do my own little research and here is what I have found:

Coffee Pros

• 1. Antioxidants. Coffee is rich in antioxidants like chlorogenic acid and melanoidins. Antioxidants help prevent oxidation, a process that causes damage to cells and contributes to aging.
• 2. Parkinson's disease. Regular coffee drinking reduces the risk of Parkinson's disease. A number of studies [1],[2] have demonstrated that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are significantly less likely to develop Parkinson's disease.
• 3. Diabetes. Coffee drinking has the potential to protect against the development of type 2 diabetes. A prospective study[3] as part of the US Nurses Health Study found that moderate consumption of both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes in younger and middle aged women.
• 4. Liver cirrhosis. Coffee drinking may protect against liver cirrhosis, especially alcoholic cirrhosis.
• 5. Gallstones. There is some evidence [4] that coffee drinking may be protective against gallstone formation in both men and women.
• 6. Kidney stones. Coffee consumption lowers the risk of kidney stones formation. Coffee increases the urine volume, preventing the crystallization of calcium oxalate, the most common component of kidney stones.
• 7. Improved mental performance. Caffeine in coffee is a well-known stimulant. Coffee promotes alertness, attention and wakefulness. The cup of coffee can also increase information processing.
• 8. Alzheimer's disease. Regular coffee drinking may help to protect against Alzheimer's disease. Recent study [5] in mice showed that caffeine equivalent to 5 cups of coffee per day reduced the build up of destructive plaques in the brain.
• 9. Asthma. Caffeine in coffee is related to theophylline, an old asthma medication. Caffeine can open airways and improve asthma symptoms.
• 10. Caffeine safety. In 1958, caffeine was placed on the Food and Drug Administration's list as generally recognized as safe.

Coffee Cons

• 1. Heart disease. This is somewhat controversial. Most prospective cohort studies haven't found that coffee consumption is associated with significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

  On one hand, diterpenes cafestol and kahweol present in unfiltered coffee and caffeine each appear to increase risk of coronary heart disease. High quality studies [6] have confirmed the cholesterol-raising effect of diterpenes. Also, coffee consumption is associated with an increase of plasma homocysteine, a risk factor for coronary heart disease.

  On the other hand, a lower risk of heart disease among moderate coffee drinkers might be due to antioxidants found in coffee.

• 2. Cholesterol. Heavy consumption of boiled coffee elevates blood total and LDL ("bad") cholesterol levels [7]. Unfiltered coffee contains two cholesterol-raising compounds cafestol and kahweol. In Filtered coffee, the risk is less.
• 3. Blood vessels. Coffee negatively affects the blood vessel tone and function.
• 4. Heart rhythm disturbances. Coffee can cause rapid or irregular heartbeats (cardiac arrhythmias).
• 5. Blood pressure. Although coffee drinking is not a significant risk factor forhypertension, it produces unfavorable effects on blood pressure [8] and people prone to hypertension may be more susceptible. Recent Italian study found that coffee drinking can slightly increase the risk for development of sustained hypertension in people with elevated blood pressure.
• 6. Osteoporosis. Coffee intake may induce an extra urinary excretion of calcium. Heavy coffee consumption (600 ml or more) can modestly increase the risk of osteoporosis, especially in women with a low calcium intake [9].
• 7. Heartburn. A cup of coffee can trigger the heartburn.
• 8. Sleep. Most are aware of the stimulatory effects of caffeine. High amounts of caffeine taken before going to sleep can cause difficulty falling asleep, tendency to be awakened more readily by sudden noises, and a decreased quality of sleep. However, some people can drink coffee and fall right asleep.
• 9. Dehydration. The caffeine in coffee is a mild diuretic and can increase urine excretion. This effect may be easily neutralized by drinking an extra glass of water.
• 10. Dependence. Although "generally recognized as safe" by the FDA, caffeine is still a drug, a mild central nervous system stimulant, and it produces dependence. Caffeine withdrawal is a real syndrome. You may get a few days of headache and irritability if you choose to quit drinking coffee, however, it is relatively easy to break this habit, and most people are not addicted to caffeine.

Ey hai Election Time.. again..

Folks! It's "Election time" in India. But, I would like to extend the phrase to "The Election Time Again." You may wonder why "Again" is so important. In reality, it's because of the number of times we have this "Election" taking place in our country. Regional Election, Panchayat board Election, and National Election to name a few. Schools, colleges, and offices are also not spared. They have their own elections. I would often think: For God's sake! How many elections do we have!..

Well, here are the facts about our national elections.

1. India spends more on elections. We all know this. They spend more than the US presidential election. I am converting from rupees to dollars. Still, India spends more.

2. Fewer educated people contest elections in most places.

3. Most people vote for the leaders. They personify the party's essence, transcending their roles as lawmakers. The problem is that most people don't know who MLA or MP is.

4. The number of people voting would be the highest ever recorded in the country's history.

I've identified these points as the most prominent ones upfront. A statistician would recognize many more points within them.

Credentials should be the basis for electing a person. You earn these credentials by public service over time. You earn them by listening and solving people's needs. By doing this, the person would become recognizable in a group. Afterward, he contests an election. People would accept him as their representative at a higher level. They would do so because of his good deeds. You'd now be thinking, what the heck, who's doing these things nowadays? 

We Indians have grown accustomed to shortcuts. We have a lot of them. Shortcuts in keyboards, mathematics, and roads. Shortcuts can save time. Yet, using them, we often lose the main point. For instance, we use the shortcut in math to get the results faster. Now we get the right result. But, when the actual situation for these problems arises, it seems quite spooky. Our so-called leaders use the shortcut in our context. Mass media introduces them to people. Then, they gain stardom and run for elections. But, the right way is the other way around. Movie actors, rowdies, and religious figures dominate our leadership positions.

The need of the hour is a leader who is charismatic, and who can take the country forward for some years to come. I would say a leader like Nehru in the Indian context after independence. I have met no leader with Nehru's captivating presence. They were able to envision a united India. This is key for a prime ministerial candidate. A candidate from a regional party is not good at seeing the problems from a national perspective. Many divides exist in our country. Region, caste, and religion form the basis for them. They will hinder the rise of a true national leader. But for the betterment of the country, this has to happen in reality.

The quest for the national leader has begun. But, human history is peculiar. Leadership emerges only when we are in a crisis. This has always happened, and sometimes this fact seems strange. Martin Luther King Jr. faced the crisis of discrimination. Nehru and Gandhi fought for Indian independence. Hitler led Germany out of World War I's destruction. The US turned to Obama to help them out of recession. This crisis has not hit India till now, so will that mean we have to wait for the leader till the crisis strikes us? Or can we make history by bringing out the leader without a crisis? ..... ??