Is there a Santa Claus?

I have recently moved to Virginia with my whole family. We along with my daughters (5 and 3 years old) are learning about the festivals out here. First we learnt about the Halloween and enjoyed it very well. We went to the Fashion mall in pentagon on the day of Halloween and my daughters liked the concept (obviously because they got candies). Christmas is around the corner now. We were expecting to do some shopping on the weekend but there was a surprise in store for us. It was all snow this weekend and at the time of writing there is at least 18 inches of snow outside our home. My kids loved it again, as they got a chance to play in snow and refresh their memories of Manali and Gulmarg in India.

My kids are eagerly waiting for Christmas now. They believe that the Santa Claus will bring many gifts (toys and chocolates) for them. It is an interesting feeling but at the same time, I thought to learn more about Christmas. I am not saying that I am not aware of Christmas but at the moment I am curious to know more about it. While reading, I stumbled upon a question asked by a little girl (eight year old) to the “The New York Sun” in 1897. She was curious to know whether Santa Claus really existed.

The query found its way into the hands of the veteran editor “Francis P. Church” who , amazed with the simplicity in which this question was asked” made a reply which later became one of the most memorable editorials of the newspaper history.

Here I am reproducing the question asked by the little girl and the response from the veteran editor [look at reference]. This is simply amazing

"DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old.
"Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus.
"Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.'
"Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?

"VIRGINIA O'HANLON.
"115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET."

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except [what] they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.
Reference: http://beebo.org/smackerels/yes-virginia.html This was published in The New York Sun, 1897 "Yes, Virginia, There is a Santa Claus,"

When a candidate looses his Security Deposit

This morning, while reading the daily newspaper, I noticed news which mentioned that during the current Lok Sabha Elections, as many as 1155 out 1368 candidates, who were in fray in 80 constituencies from Uttar Pradesh, lost their security deposits.

We all know about this term ‘Security Deposit’ but very few know what does it mean and what are the terms and conditions when a candidate looses his security deposit.

I was more curious because I found that many stalwarts from UP have lost their security deposits. Therefore, I thought to explore a little on what it is all about.

So what does it mean by Security Deposit?
Each candidate has to deposit a certain amount as a security deposit at the time of filing papers for an election.

For Lok Sabha Election:
As per Section 34 1 (a) of R. P. Act, 1951, every candidate is required to make a security deposit of Rs. 10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand Only) for Lok Sabha elections. A candidate belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe is required to make a security deposit of Rs. 5,000 (Rupees Five Thousand Only).

For Assembly Election:
As per Sec. 34 (1) (b) of the R. P. Act 1951, a general candidate for contesting an Assembly election will have to make a security deposit of Rs. 5,000/-. A candidate belonging to Scheduled Caste / Tribe will have to make a security deposit of Rs. 2,500/- (Two Thousand and Five Hundred Only).
The amount deposited will either be returned back to the depositor or forfeited to the Government of India according to some conditions.
Following are the conditions when the amount would be returned back to the candidate

• The candidate lost the polls but secured 1/6th (and at least one more vote) of the total number of valid votes polled in that election.
• The candidate has won the election.
• The candidate has won the election even if he/she has not secured 1/6th of the total valid votes.

Apart from this there are other general conditions in which security deposit is refunded to the candidate. For ex. if his nomination paper are found to be invalid, if he takes his name back etc.

IPL Tournament – an exciting moment

After 2 weeks of intense cricket between 8 wildly distributed teams, IPL tournament has come down to an interesting moment where it is difficult to find which four teams would reach the final four. Look at the following points table.

Delhi Daredevils and Deccan chargers started with a bang, ran through each fixture in style and showcased that they are hard to beat. But Deccan has been beaten twice and Delhi has tasted defeat at least once so far.

Mumbai team looks equally good and apart from loosing two close games they have not done anything wrong but with 7 points in 6 matches they are not certainly sure of a birth in final four.

Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab and Bangalore have their positive and negative moments in the tournament and they need to do the hard work if they have to reach the final four.

For Chennai Supper Kings, it is simple, they have to win few big matches to remain in the tournament otherwise they should consider themselves out.

Some might not agree with me but with such a lackluster performance so far, I consider that Kolkata Night riders are out of the race and would not be in the final four. Obviously this is just a personal thought and I do not want to hurt any feelings.

I would bet that following is the equation emerging for the final four, though I should agree that it is too early to say all this:
Four teams which are most likely to reach the final four are Deccan Chargers, Delhi Daredevils, Mumbai Indians and Kings XI Punjab. Obviously, this equation might change if other four teams can show the grit to make a turnaround.

While, I am writing this, the match between Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super kings is on and the result would have a big impact on the fortunes of Chennai Super kings. This is sort of a must win match for Chennai team. Let us find out!

How Satan (devil) became successful in his schemes

Satan called a worldwide convention of demons.
In his opening address he said,

"We can't keep devotees from going to Temples/Churches/Mosques."

"We can't keep them from reading their holy books and knowing the truth."

"We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their saviour."

"Once they gain that connection with God, our power over them is broken."

"So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, BUT steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with God."

"This is what I want you to do," said the devil: "Distract them from gaining hold of their Saviour and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted. "Keep them busy in the non-essentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered.

"Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow."

"Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles."

"Keep them from spending time with their children."

"As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice from God."

"Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive." To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-devotional music constantly."

"This will jam their minds and break that union with God."

"Fill the drink tables with magazines and newspapers."

"Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Introduce more and more news channels."

"Invade their driving moments with billboards. When they go home, they should see advertisement of different home gadgets & appliances. When they go office, the bill boards should show about different policies. Keep there minds engaged."

"Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes.."

"Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives."

"Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night."

"Give them headaches too! "

"If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere."

"That will fragment their families quickly!"

"Give them tear flooding mega serials in TV to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of God's message."

"Give them illusion in attractive label so they won't talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death."

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive."

"Have them return from their recreation exhausted."

"Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead."

"Keep them busy, busy, busy!"

"Send them mobile calls and SMS of variety of products. Let these satanic sound vibrations enter there ears rather than trancedental sound vibrations of the Holy Names of God."

"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talks so that they leave with troubled consciences."

"Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from God."

"Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."

"It will work!"

"It will work!"

It was quite a plan!

The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing the disciples of God everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there.

Having little time for their Master or their families.

Having no time to tell others about the power of God to change lives.

I guess the question is, has the devil been successful in his schemes?

You be the judge!!!!!

Does "BUSY" mean:

B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke?

Life Makes You think !!!

Webinar - Distributed Development and Agile – Best Practices

Distributed Development and Agile – Best Practices by Mayank Gupta

Get your own Virtual Classroom