NOVEL~*Hiding behind a Stranger*~THREAD 48 - CHAPTER 53

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Shraddha

@lashy

Trailblazer

+ 4

Posted: 6 years ago

#1641

Originally posted by: Testmytest
BTW the weather is not good, a big dip in the temperatures
40 F, feels like 35F, it is only October, this is not good at all. All my winter gear (gloves, scarf, long socks, thick jacket, of course cap) has come out already 😲

Not to intend to make you jealous, but yesterday we were roaming about in sandals, without even sweaters on... it was warm😲

But today's it back to Londony grey skies😆

@ Yes - nice to see 'James' here😊

Appu -🤗 no no we shall keep BB just for fun re... I did it hoping Bond would join (she's a BB additc)

Nevertheless, the fact that Jhanu attempted it is no less than a trophy for all of us me thinks 🤣

Edited by lashy - 6 years ago

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Unbeknown

@Unbeknown

Navigator

Posted: 6 years ago

#1642

Originally posted by: Testmytest
BTW the weather is not good, a big dip in the temperatures
40 F, feels like 35F, it is only October, this is not good at all. All my winter gear (gloves, scarf, long socks, thick jacket, of course cap) has come out already 😲

Rekha, its been 2 weeks already for us that the temperatures are in 40s and 50s 😔 All the winter gear is out of storage shelves and plants indoors 😒

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Shraddha

@lashy

Trailblazer

+ 4

Posted: 6 years ago

#1643

Originally posted by: Unbeknown
There are days when I don't even get a wink of sleep and have to be at work in the morning

As a person who gets quite grumpy without sleep, when I knew there were going to be phases with less sleep, I found NOT thinking about it the best way to deal with it... 😆

the more I thought or kept count 'only 3 hours sleep' 'only 4 hours sleep' etc, I think it hit home harder... and made me ''

The less I thought about it, it helped me get along the day better😆

Since a newborn's transition to 6-hour sleep patterns, is not going to happen overnight, maybe you just sleep when you can/she does... without keeping count and see if it helps with the coping part of it🤗

Edited by lashy - 6 years ago

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Unbeknown

@Unbeknown

Navigator

Posted: 6 years ago

#1644

Originally posted by: lashy

Not to intend to make you jealous, but yesterday we were roaming about in sandals, without even sweaters on... it was warm😲

>>>Lucky you 😆

But today's it back to Londony grey skies😆

>>>And not so lucky🤣

@ Yes - nice to see 'James' here😊

Appu -🤗 no no we shall keep BB just for fun re... I did it hoping Bond would join (she's a BB additc)

🤗 Okies. Isn't Bond having holidays for Ashtami, Navami and Dasami? For Government employees and schools in Telangana, its a complete 10 day holiday, I think, since this is a State Festival. I think she works for a Private firm na. She might be busy in the festive mood re 😃

Nevertheless, the fact that Jhanu attempted it is no less than a trophy for all of us me thinks 🤣

I agree. When I saw her, I went THUD and thought of asking about the update for PBD but then thought it would be weird asking here in this thread and she doesn't even know me 😆

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Sandhya.A

@Sandhya.A

Sparkler

Posted: 6 years ago

#1645

This is an older TOI article. Reminded me of Lavi's lament a few days ago. Just thought of sharing. 😕

In the latter half of the 16th century, when Elizabethan England was persecuting Catholics and the Spanish Inquisition had become an instrument of terror, one Indian ruler had established the first nursery of Indian secularism at Fatehpur Sikri. He held socio-religious and spiritual discussions with men of different faiths at the ibadatkhana. That was Mughal emperor Akbar, a man far ahead of his time

But the emperor's legacy is now under siege. Last week in Delhi, members of a Hindutva outfit defaced the signage of a road named after Akbar and several other Muslim rulers. They wanted these roads renamed after Hindu rulers like Shivaji and Maharana Pratap.

Days later, Union home minister Rajnath Singh demanded the epithet great' for Rana Pratap. He also said that the rest of the country should follow Rajasthan's example and devote a full chapter to the Mewar ruler in history textbooks. Many interpreted this as an official signal to knock down one of India's most remarkable rulers.

A smear campaign against the emperor seems to be currently running on social media. Tweets, Facebook posts, blogs and chainmail are calling Akbar a "rapist, looter and killer coming from a family of drunkards, illiterates, homosexuals and child molesters. And all sorts of falsehoods culled from TV serials, myths, legends, and propaganda are being passed off as the "real history of Akbar.

"It's unfortunate that people are so gullible that they lap up fiction as fact. While there can be no doubt that Maharana Pratap was an important figure in history, it's unfair to compare him with Akbar, says archaeologist and historian Dr KK Mohammed, who discovered Akbar's ibadatkhana at Fatehpur Sikri in the 1980s.

The scholar elaborates his point with a historical anecdote: "Once in Hormuz, some Portuguese had tied a copy of the Quran around the neck of an ass and released it in the market. Akbar's advisors asked the emperor to tie the Bible around a dog's neck and release it in Agra. Akbar refused. If the actions of the Portuguese were wrong, then this would be wrong too, he reasoned. His stance showed his remarkable mind and spirit.

Professor Jos Gommans of Leiden University says for the cohesion of India as a nation, Akbar will do a much better job as a hero than Rana Pratap or Shivaji. "Akbar inspired even Dutch liberals in the mid-19th century to build a secular society without religious interference.

Dirk Collier, author of The Emperor's Writings: Memories of Akbar the Great points out that historical facts are being ignored in the debate. "The resistance of Maharana Pratap against Akbar has often been portrayed as a desperate and noble struggle for Hindu independence against the overwhelmingly superior forces of a Muslim invader, but, as most historians agree, it was hardly that. The Hindu kings of Amber, Bikaner and Bundi sided with Akbar, and even Rana Pratap's own brother Sagaraj did the same. Pratap's army, on the other hand, included large Afghan contingents. Only 30 years before the fall of Chittor, an earlier Rana of Mewar had marched against the neighbouring king of Malwa in alliance with the Muslim sultan of Gujarat. In other words: the Mewar conflict was essentially one of local rivalries, he says.

A current television serial eulogises Rana Pratap and vilifies Akbar as an ever-scheming, bloodthirsty bigot. Its impact has been such that one blogger says her five-year-old neighbour is yet to study history but already hates Akbar. But, argues historian Tripta Wahi, Akbar's secularism remains unmatched even today. "He separated religion from the state his Tauheed-i-Illahi or Din-i-Illahi was essentially a reflection of that policy. It was Akbar who had abolished slavery in India. He also abolished sati in his empire, centuries before Sir William Bentinck, she says.

Wahi also points out that in the 1560s, when the Mughals were trying to create a bigger state system, the indigenous states, Hindu as well as Muslim, were resisting it. "Akbar was resisted by the Sharqis of Jaunpur, the Afghan sultans of Bengal, the Bahmani kingdom and its splinter states, Gujarat and Malwa all these were Muslim kingdoms. And some of them resisted for far longer than Mewar. Yet you don't hear the proponents of Hindutva talking about Chand Bibi or Malik Ambar of Ahmednagar sultanate.

Across the border in Pakistan, Akbar is not seen as a great ruler either. Islamic hardliners there sometimes dismiss him as the "infidel king for his secular views. All of Pakistan's missiles or weapon systems are named after Babur, Ahmed Shah Abdali, Mahmud of Ghazni or Muhammad Ghori but none after Akbar.

Edited by Sandhya.A - 6 years ago

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Unbeknown

@Unbeknown

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Posted: 6 years ago

#1646

Originally posted by: lashy

As a person who gets quite grumpy without sleep, when I knew there were going to be phases with less sleep, I found NOT thinking about it the best way to deal with it... 😆
the more I thought or kept count 'only 3 hours sleep' 'only 4 hours sleep' etc, I think it hit home harder... and made me ''
The less I thought about it, it helped me get along the day better😆
Since a newborn's transition to 6-hour sleep patterns, is not going to happen overnight, maybe you just sleep when you can/she does... without keeping count and see if it helps with the coping part of it🤗

That's so true what you said, Lashy. If I think of the hours I got to sleep, then I feel more tired. If I don't think about it, I'm just fine. Get my coffee and finish off the work 🤗

Its going to be a while for her to get to sleep for longer hours. Just like you say for our questions, I've to wait and watch 😆

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Testmytest

@Testmytest

Voyager

Posted: 6 years ago

#1647

Originally posted by: Unbeknown

Rekha - When is your b'day? (23rd) I know you mentioned its in October. Even Lana's is coming up.

Originally posted by: Unbeknown

Rekha, its been 2 weeks already for us that the temperatures are in 40s and 50s 😔 All the winter gear is out of storage shelves and plants indoors 😒

Well it was in the 60s two days ago and now in the 40s 😡 but yes you guys have it much worse than us, my sister always complains, it is all the lake effect over there

Originally posted by: Unbeknown

I agree. When I saw her, I went THUD and thought of asking about the update for PBD but then thought it would be weird asking here in this thread and she doesn't even know me 😆

OMG Aparna these were the same thoughts I had when I saw her attempting the quiz yesterday. I have read PBD, great novel, thought of saying something but she does not know me and hence I kept quiet!

Edited by Testmytest - 6 years ago

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Unbeknown

@Unbeknown

Navigator

Posted: 6 years ago

#1648

Originally posted by: Sandhya.A
This is an older TOI article. Reminded me of Lavi's lament a few days ago. Just thought of sharing. 😕

So true, Sandhya. Its sad to see, he is hated by both Hindus and his own religious people for his secular ideas. Though he had his grey days but he should be applauded for his secular beliefs and abolishing slavery.