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picture taken by Sokol Ferizi

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We Aussies certainly have some slang which baffles others around the world so here's a test for those of you interested in trying to understand our lingo (Aussie word for language).

British people will probably understand the most as I'm sure much of our slang is based on theirs.

Otranto - Cattedrale di Otranto by Martin

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Otranto occupies the site of an ancient Greek city. It gained importance in Roman times, as it was the nearest port to the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea.

After the end of the Roman Empire, it was in the hands of the Byzantine emperors until it surrendered to the Norman troops of Robert Guiscard in 1068. The Normans fortified the city and built the cathedral, that got consecrated in 1088. When Henry VI., son of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, married Constanze of Sicily in 1186 Otranto came under the rule of the Hohenstaufen and later in the hands of Ferdinand I of Aragón, King of Naples.

Between 1480 and 1481 the "Ottoman invasion" took place here. Troops of the Ottoman Empire invaded and laid siege to the city and its citadel. Legends tell that more than 800 inhabitants were beheaded after the city was captured. The "Martyrs of Otranto" are still celebrated in Italy, their skulls are on display in the cathedral. A year later the Ottoman garrison surrendered the city following a siege by Christian forces and the intervention of Papal forces.

Otranto had been one of the last Byzantine strongholds in Apulia, but finally Robert Guiscard could take it. It had probably been such a stronghold, as Otranto had hosted an autocephalous bishopric, only dependent of the patriarchal see of Byzantium since 968. So (Roman) Catholicism had to perform something "convincing" for the so long (Byzantine) Orthodox christians. One was to erect a huge church. The Otranto Cathedral was erected, over ruins of a Paleo-christian church from 1080 on and was consecrated in 1088. It is 54 metres long by 25 metres wide and is built on 42 monolithic granite and marble columns.

I had come to Otranto, to see the mosaic. I had planned to stay one night in Otranto, I spent three nights - and still had not seen all the details. I was so overwhelmed, that I took hundreds of photos, but the mosaic is "endless". I will upload only a couple.

It was created by a monk named Pantaleon and his workshop between 1163 and 1165. Pantaleon lived at the monastery San Nicola di Casole, located a few kilometres south of Otranto.

The mosaic covers the nave, both aisles, the apse and the presbytery. This sums up to a total of 1596 m². About 10 000000 (10 million!) "tesserae" were used.

There are scholars, who have counted up to 700 different "stories", that are told here. Though, these "stories" are often disputed, as today's interpretations are mostly very "vague". German historian Carl Arnold Willemsen published the most important book about the mosaic in Italian " L'enigma di Otranto", that since the 1970s is translated in many languages. I followed his theories.

As the church is a parish church, there are benches placed on the mosaic floor. Only for the Sunday service, the ropes are open so that the parishioners can reach the benches. I stayed up to Sunday to mix with the locals.

Noah's Ark

பன்னிருதிருமுறை விழா by Kapaliadiyar Thirumayilai

Thirumurai(Tamil:திரு முறை, meaning holy division) is a twelve volume compendium of songs or hymns in the praise of Shiva in the Tamil language from 6th century to 11th century by various poets in South India. Nambi Andar Nambi compiled the first seven volumes by Appar, sampandhar and sundarar as Tevaram during the 12th century. During the course of time, a strong necessity was felt by scholars to compile Saiva literature to accommodate other works. Tiruvacakam and Tirukovayar by Manickavasagar is included as eighth, nine parts are compiled as ninth Tirumurai out of which most are unknown, tenth as Tirumandiram by Tirumular the famous Siddhar. Eleventh is compiled by Karaikal Ammaiyar, Cheraman Perumal and others. The contemparary Chola king was impressed by the work of Nampi and included Nampi's work in the eleventh Tirumurai. Sekkizhar's Periya Puranam, composed a century later, contains the life depiction of all the 63 nayanmars. The response for the work was tremendous among Saiva scholars and Kulothunga Chola I that it was included as the 12th Tirumurai. Tirumurai along with Vedas and Saiva agamas from the basis of Saiva Siddantha philosophy in Tamil Nadu.

The Shaiva Tirumurais are twelve in number. The first seven Tirumurais are the hymns of the three great Shaivite saints, Sambandar, Appar and Sundarar. These hymns were the best musical compositions of their age.

The first three Tirumurais (meaning parts) of Tevaram are composed by Sambanthar, the next three by Appar and the seventh one is composed by Sundarar. There is a famous saying about the Saiva trio that "Appar sang for me, Sambanthar sang for himself and Sundarar sang of gold". Appar and Sambanthar lived around the 7th century, while Sundarar lived in the 8th century. During the Pallava period these three travelled extensively around Tamil Nadu offering discourses and songs characterised by an emotional devotion to Shiva and objections to Vaishnavism, Jainism and Buddhism.

Sambanthar is a 7th-century poet born in Sirkali in Brahmin community and was believed to be suckled by the goddess Parvathi, whereupon he sang the first hymn. On the request of queen of Pandya Nadu, Sambandar went on pilgrimage to south, defeated Jains in debate, the Jains' provocation of Sambandar by burning his house and challenging him to debate, and Sambandar's eventual victory over them He was a contemporary of Appar, another Saiva saint. Information about Sambandar comes mainly from the Periya Puranam, the eleventh-century Tamil book on the Nayanars that forms the last volume of the Tirumurai, along with the earlier Tiruttondartokai, poetry by Cuntarar and Nambiyandar Nambi's Tiru Tondar Tiruvandadi. A Sanskrit hagiography called Brahmapureesa Charitam is now lost. The first volumes of the Tirumurai contain three hundred and eighty-four poems of Campantar (in 4181 stanzas), all that survive out of a reputed more than 10,000 hymns. Sambanthar is believed to have died at the age of 16 in 655 CE on the day of his marriage. His verses were set to tune by Nilakantaperumalanar who is set to have accompanied the poet on his yal or lute.

Appar's (aka Tirunavukkarasar) was born in the middle of 7th century in Tiruvamur, Tamil Nadu, his childhood name for Marulneekiar. His sister, Thilagavathiar was betrothed to a military commander who died in action. When his sister was about to end her life, he pleaded with her not to leave him alone in the world. She decided to lead an aesthetic life and bring up her only brother. During boyhood, Appar was very much interested in Jainism and started studying its scriptures. He went away from home and stayed in their monastery and was renamed Darmasena. Details of Appar's life are found in his own hymns and in Sekkizhar's Periya Puranam (the last book of the Tirumurai). Appar had travelled to nearby Patalipura to join a Jain monastery where he was given the name Dharmasena. "Seeing the transient, ephemeral world he decided to probe into truth through renunciation." After a while, afflicted by a painful illness, Dharmasena returned home. He prayed for relief at the Siva temple where his sister served and was cured. He was also involved in converting the Pallava king, Mahendravarman to Saivism. This was also the period of resurrection of the smaller Shiva temples. Appar sanctified all these temples by his verses and was also involved in cleaning of the dilapidated temples called uzhavarapadai. He was called Tirunavukkarasu, meaning the "King of divine speech". He extolled Siva in 49,000 stanzas out of which 3130 are now available and compiled in Tirumurais 4-7. When he met Campantar, he called him Appar (meaning father). He is believed to have died at the age of 81 in Tirupugalur.

Sundarar (aka Sundaramurthi) was born in Tirunavalur in a Brahmin family during the end of 7th century. His own name was Nambi Arurar and was prevented from marrying by the divine grace of Siva. He later married a temple girl namely Paravi and a vellala community girl by name Cankili.[17] He is the author of 1026 poems compiled as 7th Tirumurai.

Manikkavasagar's Tiruvacakam and Tirukovayar are compiled as the eighth Tirumurai and is full of visionary experience, divine love and urgent striving for truth. Manickavasgar was the king's prime minister and renounced his post in search of divinity.

The ninth Tirumurai has been composed by Tirumalikaittever, Sundarar, Karuvurttevar, Nampikatava Nampi, Gandaraditya, Venattatikal, Tiruvaliyamutanar, Purutottama Nampi and Cetirayar. Among these the notable is Gandaraditya (950-957 CE), a Chola king who later turned a saivite saint.

Tirumandiram by Tirumular unfolds siddantha (attainment) as a fourfold path - virtous and moral living, temple worship, internal worship and union with Siva. Tirumular worked out an original philosophical system and southern scholl of Saiva siddantha draws its authority from Tirumandiram, a work of 3000 verses. Tirumandiram represents another school of thought detailing agamic traditions, which run parallel to the bhakthi movement. It does not glorify temples or deities as in the case of other Tirumurais.

The eleventh Tirumurai has been composed by Karaikkal Ammeiyar, Ceraman Perumal, Pattinattu p-pillaiyar, Nakkiratevar, Kapilateva, Tiruvalavaiyudaiyar, Nampiyantarnampi, Iyyadigal katavarkon, Kalladateva, Paranateva, Ellamperuman Adigal and Athirava Adigal. Nambi's Tirutottanar Tiruvanthathi followed an exclusive style of mincing Tamil and Sankrit verses in anthati meter similar to Tevaram of the trio. Karaikkal Ammaiyar (550-600 CE)is the earliest of the woman Saivite poets who introduced the kattalai-k-kali-t-turai meter, which is a complicated structural departure from the old classical Tamil meters. The other meter used by Ammaiyar was old venba and also antathi arrangement in which offset of one line or stanza is identical with the onset of next line or stanza.

Periya Puranam (Tamil:பெரிய‌ புராண‌ம்), the great purana or epic, sometimes also called Tiruttontarpuranam(read as "Tiru-Thondar-Puranam") (the purana of the holy devotees) is a Tamil poetic account depicting the legendary lives of the sixty-three Nayanars, the canonical poets of Tamil Shaivism. It was compiled during the 12th century by Sekkizhar. It provides evidence of trade with West Asia Sekkizhar compiled and wrote the Periya Puranam listing the life stories of the sixty-three Shaiva Nayanars, poets of the God Shiva) who composed the liturgical poems of the Tirumurai, and was later himself canonised and the work became part of the sacred canon. Sekkizhar was a poet and the chief minister in the court of the Chola King, Kulothunga Chola II.

Raja Raja Chola I (985-1013 CE) embarked on a mission to recover the hymns after hearing short excerpts of Tevaram in his court. He sought the help of Nambi Andar Nambi, who was a priest in a temple. It is believed that by divine intervention Nambi found the presence of scripts, in the form of cadijam leaves half eaten by white ants in a chamber inside the second precinct in Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram. The brahmanas (Dikshitars) in the temple opposed the mission, but Rajaraja intervened by consecrating the images of the saint-poets through the streets of Chidambaram.Rajaraja thus became to be known as Tirumurai Kanda Cholan meaning one who saved the Tirumurai. Thus far Shiva temples only had images of god forms, but after the advent of Rajaraja, the images of the Nayanar saints were also placed inside the temple. Nambi arranged the hymns of three saint poets Campantar, Appar and Sundarar as the first seven books, Manickavasagar's Tirukovayar and Tiruvacakam as the 8th book, the 28 hymns of nine other saints as the 9th book, the Tirumandiram of Tirumular as the 10th book, 40 hymns by 12 other poets as the 10th book, Tirutotanar Tiruvanthathi - the sacred anthathi of the labours of the 63 nayanar saints and added his own hymns as the 11th book. The first seven books were later called as Tevaram, and the whole Saiva canon, to which was added, as the 12th book, Sekkizhar's Periya Puranam (1135 CE) is wholly known as Tirumurai, the holy book. Thus Saiva literature which covers about 600 years of religious, philosophical and literary development.

Karneval in Bremen 3 by Hoddel

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Body Language by SkyWartooth

View large preeaze

Katja is a German Language Tutor in London, UK by Ðariusz

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Some commercial, professional photography of Katja for her website and advertisement.

A revisit to an artisans’ village of "Pattachitra" in September, 2015 : Nayagram, West Midnapore, India. by Biswarup Sarkar

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A hard working lady with her baby and a painting brush. I took a series of shots while she was painting on a saree in her courtyard. I was truly impressed by the tenacity and dedications of these women in their artwork and looking after their families as well.

Nayagram is a small village in Pingla, Paschim Midnapur, West Bengal , India, where a number of families having a traditional form of inherited folk art called 'Pattachitra', reside together.They use organic colors and paint a series of paintings, usually depicting a story from Indian Mythology. Pattachitra is a general term for traditional, cloth-based scroll painting, based in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. In the Sanskrit language, "Patta" literally means "cloth" and "Chitra" means "picture". They paint on a variety of materials like sarees, stoles, and many other materials especially for wall hangings. I was very much impressed by the fact that almost all the female members of the families are involved in this traditional art and have taken it as the major source of family income. For the last few years, State Government is promoting a number of handicraft fairs inviting artists from all over the states. Many products are sold directly from the village round the year, and are widely acclaimed in the country and abroad for its ethnic beauty and simplicity.

There is a resource centre belonging to 'chitrataru' cluster formed by the Pattachitra artists of Pingla,Paschim Midnapur. This was built with the support of the European union, as part of the project 'Ethno-magic Going Global' undertaken by banglanatak dot com.

sou uma diva haahha by cristina streciwik

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naples, florida 2007

Hands and language by Johan Van Moorhem

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Thesis for MC Black&White,

"the language of hands" photos + haikus (sorry only in dutch)

Put the music on and relax

Sign Language by Renee Rendler-Kaplan

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Toward a new written language by William Wood

Marking the way home

Sign Language by Erik Wilson

HIS HOLINESS Hazarat RIAZ AHMAD GOHAR SHAHI(M.A) addressing in Mochi Darwaza Lahore 1996 part 32 by waseem ahmad

The word Allah

The Semitic language which is spoken in the celestial spheres, is the language in which the angels and God address each other. Adam Safi-Allah spoke the same language in paradise. Adam and eve then came into the world and settled in Arabia. Their children also spoke the same language. Then as a result of the descendants of Adam spreading in the world, this language passed from Arabic, Persian, Latin and into English and God was then known by different names in the different languages. As Adam lived in Arabia, there are many words of the Semitic language which are still found in the Arabic language. God addressed the Prophets, Adam as Adam Safi-Allah, Noah as Nuh Nabi-Allah, Abraham as Ibraheem Khalil-Allah, Moses as Musa Kalim-Allah, Jesus as I’sa Ruh-Allah and Mohammed Rasul-Allah. All these titles, in the Semitic language were written on the Tablet before the arrival of the Prophets. This is why the Prophet Mohammed said: “I was a Prophet even before I came in to this world.”

Many people believe that the word Allah is a name given by Muslims, this is not so.

The Prophet Mohammed’s fathers name was Abd-Allah, at a time when Islam did not exist. Prior to the advent of Islam the Name Allah was announced with the title of every Prophet. When the souls were created, the first Name on their tongue was Allah and when the soul entered the body of Adam, it said, Ya-Allah, and only then it entered the body. Many religions understand this enigma and chant the Name Allah and many others because of doubt are deprived of the Name.

Any name which is used to point towards God is worthy of respect.

In other words, which points towards God. The mystical effect of the Name of God has been diversified due to the different names. Every letter of the alphabet has a separate numeric value. This is also a celestial knowledge. All the numeric values are connected with all of the human race. Occasionally the numeric values do not agree with the astronomical calculations as a result of which people become afflicted. Many people go to astrologers and experts of this knowledge and have charts prepared based on the stars. They name their children on this basis.

Just as the letters (a, b, j, d,) (1, 2, 3, 4) when added have the numerical value of ten. Similarly every name has a separate numeric value. As God has been given so many different names, this has caused a conflict between the numeric value of the different names. If all the people called upon God by the same name, then despite the fact that they would all have separate religions, they would all be united inwardly. They too, like Nanak Sahib and Baba Farid would then say:

“All the souls have been created by the light of God, even though their environment and communities are separate.”

The angels that are assigned tasks in the world are also taught the languages of the people of the world.

It is important for the people of every Prophet that they recite, chant and affirm the Title of their Prophet which was granted by God to the Prophet at his time, for the recognition, spiritual grace and purification of his people. The recital and affirmation should be in the same method and in the language of their Prophet.

The entry of any individual into any religion is subject to the condition that the individual accepts and affirms the Title of the Prophet of that religion. Just as the affirmation and the verbal vows are a condition of any marriage.

Entry into the heavens has been made subject to the acceptance and affirmation of the Titles of the Prophets. In the western world many Muslims and Christians have no knowledge of their Prophet’s Title furthermore many do not even know their Prophets original name (in the original language of the Prophet.)

People who only verbalize the affirmation of their Prophet’s Title rely upon their good deeds. Those that reject and do not affirm their Prophet’s Title are refused entry to paradise. Those individuals in whose hearts the affirmation of their Prophet’s Title has descended (entered) they will enter paradise without any accountability.

The revealed celestial Scriptures, whichever language they are in so long as they are in the original form, are a means to finding God. Where the texts and the translations that have been adulterated, just as adulterated flour is harmful for the stomach, the adulterated books have become harmful and people of the same religion and the same of Prophet have divided into so many sects.

To be sure of the straight and guided path it is better that you are guided by the Light (of God) also.

The method of producing light.

In prehistoric times stones would be rubbed together to make fire. Whereas a spark can also be produced by rubbing two metals together. In a similar way electricity is made from water. Similarly by the friction of the blood inside the human body, in other words electric energy is produced by the vibrating heartbeat. In every human being there is present, approximately one and a half volts of electricity due to which the body is energetic. As the heartbeat slows in old age, this reduces the electricity in the body and this in turn also causes a reduction of the energy level in the body.

Firstly, the heartbeat has to be made vibrant and pronounced. Some do this by dancing, some by sports and exercise and some people try to do this by meditating and chanting the Name of God Allah.

When the heartbeat becomes vibrant and pronounced then by chanting the Name Allah try to synchronize it with every heartbeat. Alternatively try to synchronize Allah with one heartbeat and Hu with the other. Some time by placing your hand on the heart and when you feel your heartbeat, again try to synchronize the Name Allah by chanting it with the rythm of the heartbeat and imagine that the Name Allah is entering the heart.

The chanting of Allah Hu is better and more effective but if anyone has an objection, or a fear of chanting Hu, then instead of being deprived one should solely use the Name Allah, repetitively in the chanting. It is beneficial for people who chant and practice this discipline and who read mantras to physically remain as clean as possible as the:

“disrespectful are unfulfilled and the respectful are fulfilled.”

The first method for producing light.

Write Allah on a paper in black ink, and do this exercise for as long as you wish on a daily basis. Soon thereafter, the Word Allah will be transported from the paper and hover over the eyes. Then with one-pointed concentration, attempt to transport the word from the eyes to the heart.

The second method for producing light.

Write Allah on a zero watt bulb, in yellow. Whilst you are awake or just before sleep, concentrate and try to absorb it into the eyes. When it appears on the eyes then try to transport it to the heart.

The third method for producing light.

This method is for those people who have perfect spiritual guides and teachers and who due to their spiritual connection are spiritually assisted by them.

Sit alone and imagine that your index finger is a pen. Using your finger and with your concentration, attempt to write Allah on your heart. Call upon your spiritual teacher (spiritually), so that he too may, hold your finger, and write Allah on your heart. Continue to do this exercise everyday, until you see Allah written on your heart.

By the first and second method, the Name Allah becomes inscribed on the heart, just as it was written and seen by you but when it becomes synchronized with the heartbeat, then it slowly starts to shine. In the synchronized method, the assistance of the spiritual teacher is provided and for this reason it is seen shining and well written on the heart right from the beginning.

Many Prophets and Saints have come into the world, and just for the sake of testing this, if you feel it appropriate, concentrate or call upon all of them when you are practicing your meditation.

Whilst concentrating on any Prophet or Saint, during your meditating practice, if the rhythm of your heartbeat increases, in its vibration or you feel an improvement then this means that your destiny (spiritual fruits) lies with that Prophet or Saint.

Thereafter it is beneficial to concentrate on that same person whenever you practice your meditation as spiritual grace is transferred in this way, because every Saint is spiritually connected to a Prophet, even if that Prophet is not physically living.

The spiritual fruit (grace) of every illuminated person is in the hands of one Saint or another. It is essential that the Saint is living. Sometimes a very fortunate person is gifted with celestial spiritual grace by a perfect Saint who is not living, but this is very rare. However Saints not living in our human realm can provide worldly spiritual grace and assistance to people from their tombs. This is known as Owaisi spiritual grace.

The recipients of such spiritual grace often get entangled in their spiritual insights, visions and dreams because the spiritual guide providing the assistance is in the spiritual realm and so too is Satan and the recognition of the two becomes difficult.

Along with the spiritual grace it is important to have knowledge, for which a living Saint is more appropriate. If a person (Saint) possesses spiritual grace but is without knowledge, that person is known as a Majzoob (Godly but abstracted due to the complete absorption into the Essence of God and who is not in full control of his faculties).

A person (Saint) having spiritual grace and knowledge is known as a Mehboob (literally, loved one). Such people (Saints) as a result of their knowledge provide worldly spiritual assistance as well as spiritual grace and benefit. Whereas the Majzoobs are known to provide worldly spiritual assistance to people by their unusual but accepted practices of shouting obscenities and poking people with their wooden sticks.

If any (Prophet or Saint) appears but does not help or assist you then put Gohar Shahi to the test.

You may belong to any religion, there is no condition in this respect as long as the individual is not eternally ill-fated.

Many people have received the spiritual grace of Qalb meditation from the Moon. This is obtained when there is a full Moon from the East. Look at it with concentration and when you see the image of Gohar Shahi on it say Allah, Allah, Allah three times and you will be blessed with this spiritual grace. Thereafter without any fear or reservation practice the meditation as described.

Believe (the fact) that the image on the Moon has spoken to many people in many different languages. You can try looking and speaking to it also.

About Muraqba

(transcendental meditation)

(Literally. journey. Meditation in which the soul leaves the human body)

Many people without having acquired the illumination of the spiritual entities (‘Lata’if/Shaktian’) and without attaining spiritual strength and prowess try to engage in this meditation. They either fail to reach the meditative state or become the subject of Satanic interference. This type of meditation is for illuminated people, whose spiritual entity of the self has been purified and the Qalb has been cleansed. The practice or attempt at this type of meditation is foolish no matter what type of physical worship is used to achieve this. To collect and gather the strength of the soul and the spiritual entities and then to travel to a place is what is known as meditation.

Sainthood is the one fourtieth part of Prophecy.

Every dream, meditative journey, inspiration or revelation of a Prophet is accurate and authentic and does not need verification. Only fourty out of a hundred dreams, meditative journeys, inspirations and revelations of Saints are accurate the remaining sixty percent are inaccurate.

God cannot be understood without knowledge

The lowest type of meditative journey is started only after the illumination and awakening of the spiritual entity of the Qalb. This is impossible without first achieving the meditation of the Qalb (meditation with the vibrating heartbeat synchronized with the Name Allah). It takes one jerk or shake to bring the person out of this meditative state and back to consciousness. The faculty of the augury (foretelling the future by reading verses or looking into designated books) is also connected to the Qalb.

The next stage is the meditative journey of the soul. It takes three jerks or shakes to return a person back to normality from this meditative state.

The third stage of the meditative journey is done by the spiritual entity, Anna and the soul together. The soul travels along with the spiritual entity Anna, to the realm of souls just as the Archangel Gabriel accompanied the Prophet Mohammed to the realm of souls.

People who are in this meditative state are sometimes even taken to be buried in their graves and they are unaware of this happening to them. Such a meditative state and journey was taken by the “Companions of the Cave” as a result of which they remained asleep in the cave for more than three hundred years.

When this meditative state and journey was undertaken by the Sheikh, Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, in the jungle, the occupants of the jungle would regard the Sheikh as dead and would take him to a grave for burial but the meditative journey would break just before the burial (the Sheikh would return to consciousness).

How to recognize a special inspiration and revelation from God.

When a person has awakened and illuminated the spiritual entities in the chest and is worthy of receiving the rays of the Grace of God, then at that point God communicates with that person. God is All-Powerful and can do as he pleases and thus communicate with the human being in any way fit, but he has made a special method for his recognition so that his friends can be saved from the deception of Satan.

Firstly, text in the Semitic language appears on the seekers heart and its translation is seen in the language of the seekers mother-tongue. The text is white and shiny and the eyes close automatically and look at the text (internally). The text then passes the Qalb and moves towards the spiritual entity Sirri as a result of which it shines even more. Then the text moves towards the spiritual entity, Akhfa and from here it shines more and then moves onto the tongue. The voice then spontaneously starts to repeat that text.

If this inspiration is from Satan then an illuminated heart will dull the text and if the text is strong and prominent then the spiritual entities Sirri or Akhfa destroy that text. Further if due to the weakness of the spiritual entities the text does arrive at the tongue, then the voice will prevent it from being spoken into words.

This type of inspiration is for special types of Saints, whereas in respect of ordinary Saints, God sends messages to them through the angels or other spiritual entities. When the Archangel Gabriel accompanies the special and inspired text, this is known as revelation which is confined to the Prophets.

For more detail visit www.goharshahi.org or visit asipk.com and for videos visit HH rags

Body Language by Teresa's Place

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Athens, 2015

Body language by Lika Avaliani

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Hall of Languages by nywheels

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Located on the campus of the prestigious Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York.

The Hall of Languages was designed by Horatio Nelson White and built in 1871-73. It is made of Onondaga limestone and features three large towers or cupolas. It was the first building constructed on the Syracuse University campus and the building originally housed the entire university.

Where The Vale of Onondaga Meets The Eastern Sky, Proudly Stands Our Alma Mater, On Her Hilltop High, Flag We Love! Orange! Float for Aye, Old Syracuse. O'er Thee, Loyal Be Thy Sons & Daughters, To Thy Memory

by judi

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Body Language by 麻口

美果影像視務所

meigostudio.com/

www.wretch.cc/blog/maco0085

美術設計•人像写真•婚紗撮影•網拍商品•孕婦写真•婚禮紀錄

Photography：美果 Marco

hibiscus shower head by David Callihan

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language of flowers

The National Gallery by lukedrich_photography

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Gallery

The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900.

The Gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Its collection belongs to the government on behalf of the British public, and entry to the main collection is free of charge. It is among the most visited art museums in the world, after the Louvre, the British Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Unlike comparable museums in continental Europe, the National Gallery was not formed by nationalising an existing royal or princely art collection. It came into being when the British government bought 38 paintings from the heirs of John Julius Angerstein in 1824. After that initial purchase the Gallery was shaped mainly by its early directors, notably Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, and by private donations, which today account for two-thirds of the collection. The collection is small compared with many European national galleries, but encyclopaedic in scope; most major developments in Western painting "from Giotto to Cézanne" are represented with important works. It used to be claimed that this was one of the few national galleries that had all its works on permanent exhibition, but this is no longer the case.

The present building, the third to house the National Gallery, was designed by William Wilkins from 1832 to 1838. Only the façade onto Trafalgar Square remains essentially unchanged from this time, as the building has been expanded piecemeal throughout its history. Wilkins's building was often criticised for the perceived weaknesses of its design and for its lack of space; the latter problem led to the establishment of the Tate Gallery for British art in 1897.

The Sainsbury Wing, an extension to the west by Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, is a notable example of Postmodernist architecture in Britain. The current Director of the National Gallery is Gabriele Finaldi.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London

London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

London is considered to be one of the world's most important global cities and has been termed the world's most powerful, most desirable, most influential, most visited, most expensive, innovative, sustainable, most investment friendly, most popular for work, and the most vegetarian friendly city in the world. London exerts a considerable impact upon the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transportation. London ranks 26 out of 300 major cities for economic performance. It is one of the largest financial centres and has either the fifth or sixth largest metropolitan area GDP. It is the most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the busiest city airport system as measured by passenger traffic. It is the leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. London's universities form the largest concentration of higher education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted three modern Summer Olympic Games.

London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2016 municipal population (corresponding to Greater London) was 8,787,892, the most populous of any city in the European Union and accounting for 13.4% of the UK population. London's urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The population within the London commuter belt is the most populous in the EU with 14,040,163 inhabitants in 2016. London was the world's most populous city from c. 1831 to 1925.

London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; Kew Gardens; the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret's Church; and the historic settlement in Greenwich where the Royal Observatory, Greenwich defines the Prime Meridian, 0° longitude, and Greenwich Mean Time. Other landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square and The Shard. London has numerous museums, galleries, libraries and sporting events. These include the British Museum, National Gallery, Natural History Museum, Tate Modern, British Library and West End theatres. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world.

The modern dialects of Basque language by EyeQido

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Upper Navarrese

Lower Navarrese–Lapurdian

Souletin (Zuberoan)

other Basque areas ca 1850 (Bonaparte)

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This image is taken from United States Naval Medical Bulletin Vol. 3, Nos. 1-4, 1909 by Medical Heritage Library, Inc.

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Title: United States Naval Medical Bulletin Vol. 3, Nos. 1-4, 1909

Creator: U.S. Navy. Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

Publisher:

Sponsor:

Contributor:

Date: 1909

Language: eng

Table of Contents

Number 1

Preface vii

Special articles 1

The artificial illumination of naval vessels (a study in naval

hygiene), by J. D. Gatewood 1

A simple operation for hemorrhoids, by H. F. Hull 22

Suggested devices 25

A metal suspensory, by W. B. Grove 25

A short and accurate method of calculating the age in years and months,

by E. M. Brown 25

Card for index system to be used in preparing smooth quarterly form

"X" at recruiting stations, etc., by C. R. Keen 27

Clinical notes 29

A case of angina Ludovici, by W. S. Pugh 29

A case of Vincent's angina, by G. F. Clark 31

Rupture of the iris; two cases, by R. K. Riggs 32

Wood alcohol poisoning; 13 cases, 3 deaths, by R. A. Baehmann 33

A case of virulent chancroids, by D. C. Gather 36

A case of septicemia successfully treated with Steam's streptolytic

serum by M. F. Gates . 39

An unusual case of undescended testicle, by E. M. Brown 39

Current comment 41

United States Pharmacopeial Convention 41

Concerning extracts or abstracts for publication 4l

Measuring the height of recruits 43

Suggestions for the study of heat exhaustion 44

Perfected routine of dosage, etc., in the treatment of tuberculosis by

the administration of mercury, by B. L. Wright 46

Has the chemical examination of water practical value to the military medical

officer? by P. '.T'. Waldner 47

An aid in throat and laryngeal examinations, by E. M. Brown 50

Progress in medical sciences 51

Laboratory —An anatomical peculiarity noted in specimens of hook worm

from Culebra 51

Preliminary note on the lesions of anchylostomiasis in the intestines of

dogs, by O. J. Mink 51

Preliminary note on nematode found in the liver of a wild rat, by O.

J.Mink 52

Chemistry and pharmacy — Note on the disintegration of tablets;

influence of benzoic acid and benzoates on digestion and health: address on the

clinical examination of urine, with especial reference to estimation of urea;

determination of pepsin by the edestin test, E. W. Brown and P. J. Waldner 52

Surgery —Review of advances; the operative treatment of recent

fractures of the femoral shaft; the treatment of fractures by mobilization and massage;

has surgical treatment lessened mortality from appendicitis; when to operate

for appendicitis; diffuse septic peritonitis, due to appendicitis; local

anesthesia of a limb by venous transfusion after expulsion of blood; on

narcosis under an artificially restricted circulation; the correlation of

glands with internal secretion; improved technique for the detection of

tubercle bacilli in the urine; relief of the wounded during battle, H. C. Curl

and H. W. Smith 54

Pathology and bacteriology —On the so-called fatty degeneration of the adrenals;

three cases of squamous celled carcinoma of the gall bladder; the practical

value of the demonstration of spirochaeta pallida in the early diagnosis of

syphilis; C. 8. Butler and O. J. Mink 65

Medical zoology — Plague in ground squirrels (a review); the prevalence

and distribution of the animal parasites of man in the Philippine Islands, with

a consideration of their possible influence on the public'

health; preliminary note on a protozoan in yaws; the intestinal protozoa

of man, R. C. Holcomb • 67

Tropical medicine — Ankylostomiasis in the Tropics; bilharziasis among women

and girls in Egypt; a report of several cases with unusual symptoms caused by

contact with some unknown variety of jellyfish; the diagnosis of latent

malaria; haemolysins and antihaemolytic substances in the blood of malarial

patients, E. R. Stitt 73

General medicine —The direct inspection of the gastric mucous membrane;

toxemia from the standpoint of perverted metabolism; a rapid method of

test-meal removal, lavage, and inflation; the therapeutics of diseases which

involve the internal secretions (mercury in the treatment of tuberculosis — its

mode of action —a warning); Flexner's serum in the treatment of epidemic

cerebrospinal meningitis; vascular crises; the curative influence of extracts

of leucocytes upon infections in animals, R. M. Kennedy 77

Hygiene and sanitation —Koch's standpoint with reference to the

question of the relation between human and bovine tuberculosis; the prevention of

tuberculosis; tropical lands and white races; sanitary report of the operations

of the naval expeditionary corps (German) in southwest Africa and in east

Africa; growth and naval military service; a study in measurements of cadets at

the naval school; on growth in height of youths serving their time in the army;

the value of fencing as a sport from hygienic and ethical point* of view; on-

the significance of the ophthalmo-reaction for the army; hematuria caused by a

parasite akin to bilharzia; the complex nature of typhoid etiology and the role

played by animals and man in the spread of the typhoid group of diseases; amoebae

carriers, H. G. Beyer 90

Reports and letters 195

Annual meeting of the American Pharmaceutical Association, Alrik Hammar,

delegate 105

Report of an epidemic of typhoid on the U.S.S. Maine, by M. S.

Elliott. 106

Report of an epidemic of grippe on the U. S. S. Charleston, by M. F.

Gates. 109

Number 2

Preface vii

Special articles 111

The treatment of tuberculosis and the results observed during the year 1908

(at the United States Naval Hospital, Las Animas, Colo.), by B. L. Wright 111

Laboratory studies and observations during the year 1908 (at the United

States Naval Hospital, Las Animas, Colo.), by A. B. Clifford 114

Tonsillar hypertrophy; a menace to the service, by B. F. Jenness 120

The ice bag in the treatment of typhoid fever, by G. Tucker Smith 122

Treatment of typhoid fever by colon irrigations, by the late C. G.

Alderman 124

Suggested devices 129

Description of a pit incinerator furnace, by R. C. Holcomb 129

Clinical notes 131

Report of a case of malignant endocarditis, following chancroid, by I.

Franklin Cohn 131

A case of multiple infected wounds from bear bite, by C. C. Grieve 132

A case presenting successive liver abscesses, by H. C. Curl and H. W. Smith

134

Cerebro-spinal fever, by J. G. Field 135

Current comment 141

Gangosa in Haiti 141

Hookworm disease in recruits from the Southern States 141

Care of ears and eyes in the Japanese navy 142

The question of ear protection in the British navy 142

Report relative to a series of experiments conducted on board the U. S.

S. Ohio during target practice, with "Plasticine" for the protection

of the ear drums during heavy gun fire, by W. M. Garton 142

Hygienic rules, with particular reference to venereal prophylaxis, in

the Austro-Hungarian navy 144

Experiments with gonococcic vaccine, by W. M. Garton 145

Thyroidal enlargement among applicants for enlistment in the Northwest,

by W. A. Angwin 147

Progress in medical sciences 148

Laboratory — Sterilization of catgut, by H. W. Smith 148

Chemistry and pharmacy — Fluidglycerates, pharmaceutical and physiological

aspect; the importance and significance of the chemical examination of the

gastric contents after a test meal, with a new method for estimating the

ferment activity of the gastric contents; demonstrations of enzymes and

antienzymes; studies on the chemistry of anaphylaxis; the clinical value of

viscosity determination; the viscosity of the blood; the detection and

quantitative determination of B-oxybutyric acid in the urine; a new method for

the quantitative estimation of albumin in the urine; concerning the diagnostic

value of Cammidge crystals in pancreatic diseases, E. W. Brown and P. J.

Waldner 150

Surgery — Review of advances; cerebral decompression; operative treatment

of acute gonorrheal epididymitis; appendectomy in diffuse septic peritonitis;

concerning technique of skin grafting; treatment of hypertrophy of the prostate

by injections of alien blood; the value of the Cammidge reaction in the diagnosis

of pancreatic disease; the Cammidge reaction in experimental pancreatitis; the

syphilis case sheet; the thymus in Basedow's disease; the effect of mammalian

pituitary on tetany after parathyreoidectomy, and upon the pupil; hemorrhage in

jaundice controlled by blood transfusion; on the haematogenic origin of

purulent nephritis through the staphylococcus; the snapping hip; three cases of

liver abscess treated by aspiration and injection of quinine, H. C. Curl and H.

\V. Smith: 156

Pathology and bacteriology — Widal’s

reaction with sterilized cultures; a new medium for typhoid work; report on a

further series of blood cultures from seventy-four cases of typhoid and

paratyphoid fever; the histology of liver tissue regeneration; typhoid bacilli

and gall bladder; the occurrence and distribution of the spirochaeta pallida in

congenital syphilis; experiments on the differentiation of cholera and

cholera-like vitrios by complement fixation;

C. S. Butler and O. J. Mink 166

Medical zoology —What is "schistosoma mansoni;" pulmonary

bilharziasis; filariasis and elephantiasis in southern Luzon; the diagnosis of African

tick fever from the examination of the blood; the parasite of

Kula Azar and allied organisms; a new human nematode-strongylus gibsoni;

report of the Permanent Commission for the Suppression of Uncinariasis; on the

supposed occurrence of the filaria immitis in man, R. C. Holcomb 174

Tropical medicine —An inquiry concerning the etiology of beriberi; have

trypanosomes an ultramicroscopical stage in their life history?; atoxyl as a

curative agent in malaria, E. R. Stitt 179

General medicine —The treatment of acute inflammatory conditions by

Bier's hypertemia; treatment of tetanus with subarachnoid injections of

magnesium sulphate; the serum diagnosis of syphilis; tubercle bacilli in the

sputum; a summary of the most recently published work on the doctrine of

opsonins; experimental investigation on "simple continued fever," H.

M. Kennedy 182

Hygiene and sanitation —On the application of heat for the purification

of water with troops in the field; catarrhal icterus of eberthian origin; the epidemic

of typhoid fever on H. M. S. Regina Elena; the treatment of sweat-foot in the

army; a contribution to our knowledge of the spread of cerebro-spinal

meningitis; on book disinfection on the large scale; the etiology of impetigo

contagiosa; tuberculosis in the British army and its prevention; symptoms that

may be attributed to soldering with the oxyhydrogen

flame; tactics and the health of the army, H. G. Beyer 189

Reports and letters 203

Seventeenth annual meeting of the Association of Military Surgeons,

Manley H. Simons, delegate 203

Report and recommendations of a board of officers, convened at the navy-yard,

Mare Island, Cal., on the precautionary methods to be taken to prevent the invasion of bubonic

plague at that station 205

Number 3

Preface VII

Special articles 211

Notes on the treatment of elephantiasis by the internal administration

of tinctuia ferri cbloridi, by P. S. Rossiter 211

A few notes on syphilis, by W. J. Zalesky 215

A note on the pathology of epidemic asthma, by O. J. Mink 222

Report on sixteen cases of heat prostration, with remarks on etiology,

by A. G. Grunwell 223

Reviews 231

Liver abscess from the point of view of etiology and prophylaxis; pathology

and differential diagnosis; and treatment (3 papers), by G. B. Crow,, J. A. B.

Sinclair, and J. F. Cottle 231

Suggested devices 245

Appliances improvised on sick bay bunks, by C. M. De Valin 245

Clinical notes 247

A case of fracture of patella, with operation at sea, by N. J.

Blackwood.. 247

A case of n current nasal hemorrhage, by Raymond Spear 250

A case of traumatic pneumonia, by C. F. Sterne 252

A case of liver abscess, by M. A. Stuart 254

Current comment 255

Hospital corps efficiency report 255

Physical defects found on reexamination of recruits 255

Some observations on the berthing of enlisted men of the navy, with suggestions

for improvement, by L. W. Curtis 256

The value of a chemical examination of water, by E. R. Noyes 257

Progress in medical sciences 267

Laboratory —A method for the preparation of flat worms for study, by O.

J. Mink and A. H. Ebeling .. 267

The formalin method for the clinical estimation of ammonia in the

urine, by E. W. Brown 269

Bang's method for estimation of sugar in the urine; the Edestin method for

the estimation of pepsin in stomach contents 273

Chemistry and pharmacy — Concerning the fractional precipitation of

albumin in the spinal fluid of normal cases luetics, functional and organic nervous

diseases and their bearing upon the differential diagnosis of dementia

paralytica, tabes dorsalis, tertiary and late syphilis; quantitative determination

of several sugars in the presence of each other in diabetic urines; the butyric

reaction for syphilis in man and in the monkey; excretion of amino acids in

pregnancy and after parturition; the relation between the protein content of

the blood serum and that of serous fluids; the further separation of antitoxin

from its associated proteins in horse serum, E. W. Brown and P. J. Waldner...276-279

Surgery —The Hodgen splint; surgical anemia and resuscitation; mechanism

underlying artificial respiration; a new theory of surgical shock; carbon

dioxide snow in the treatment of augioma; bursitis subacromialis, or

periarthritis of the shoulder joint; report on the local anesthetics recommended

as substitutes for cocaine; further researches on the etiology of endemic

goiter; auto- and iso-transplantation, in dogs, of the parathyroid glandules;

partial, progressive, and complete occlusion of the aorta and other large

arteries in the dog by means of the metal band; C. F. Stokes, R. Spear, and H.

W. Smith 279-289

Pathology and bacteriology —A simple method for the diagnosis of

syphilis; differential methods for detecting the typhoid bacilli in infected

water and milk; a peculiar intralobular cirrhosis of the liver produced by the protozoal

parasite of kala azar; the pathological anatomy of atoxyl poisoning; an

observation on the fate of B. Bulgaricus in the digestive tract of a monkey; a

contribution to the pathology of the spleen; a note, on the histology of a caue

of myelomatosis with Bence-Jones protein in

the urine; a new method for the recognition of indol in media; the rapid

diagnosis of rabies (a new stain for negri bodies); C. S. Butler and O. J. Mink

289-297

Medical zoology —Anew intestinal trematodeof man; some applications of the

precipitin reaction in the diagnosis of hydatid disease; bilharzia, hematobia,

and circumcision; trichocephaliasis; R. C. Holcomb ...... 297-306

Tropical medicine — Rice and beriberi; on the etiology of ulcerative

granuloma of the pudenda; amaebic dysentery with abscess of the liver in a patient

who had never been out of England; E. R. Stitt 306-308

General medicine —The dietetic treatment of diabetes; artificial

hyperemia in the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis; remarks on the treatment of

gastric ulcer by immediate feeding; present status of the tuberculin tests; T.

W. Richards S0S-315

Hygiene and sanitation — On 'a new and practical method of securing bodily

cleanliness for our men on board ship; on the heat-conducting power of linoleum

as compared to that of floors made of wood or of

betone; on the discrimination of unrecognized diseases and on a disease

of overcrowding in ships, especially at

Malta; H. G. Beyer 315-320

Reports and letters 321

Guam; reports on health and sanitation for the years 1907 and 1908, by F.

E. McCullough and G. L. Angeny. 321

Number 4

Preface vii

Special articles 335

The hospital camp at Norfolk, Va., by P. A. Lovering 335

The teaching of tropical medicine outside of the Tropics, by E. R.

Stitt 308

Ethyl chloride as a general anaesthetic, by L. W. Johnson 344

Chronic nephritis in recruits, by B. F. Jenness 347

Supplementary report on the investigation of Samoan conjunctivitis, by P.

S. Rossiter 349

Points on embalming practicable on board ship, by C. Schaffer 351

Reviews 355

Surgical shock; a review of recent literature, by H. W. Smith 355

Suggested devices 365

Installation of an X-ray apparatus on the U. S. S. Maryland, by A.

Farenholt 365

Method of fumigation of vessels at Hamburg 368

An oxygen apparatus 370

An easily constructed bunk tray, by C. M. Oman 371

Clinical notes 373

Operations upon the kidney. United States naval hospital, New York, by G.

T. Smith 373

A report on two cases of dentigerous cysts, by D. N. Carpenter 374

A case of mammary development in the male, by E. M. Brown 376

Operative treatment of epididymitis, by W. S. Pugh, Jr 376

Two cases from report of U. S. S. Hancock—1908: (1) Retinal hemorrhage,

(2) myocarditis with rupture, by P. Leach 377

A case of fracture of the skull; operation and recovery, by F. W. F.

Wieber. 378

Carron oil in the treatment of otitis media suppurativa (acuta), by R.

E. Riggs 379

Fracture of skull and gunshot wound of lung, with recovery, by W. S.

Pugh, Jr ..... 381

Two unusual appendix cases, by R. R. Richardson 382

Proctoclysis in typhoid fever, by C. F. Stokes 384

Current comment 385

Subscription price of the Bulletin 385

Note on New York Post-Graduate Medical School 385

Note on contributions to the Bulletin 385

Note on annual meeting of American Medical Association on revision of pharmacopeia

386

Note on inquiry concerning clothing in the Tropics 386

Note on publicity concerning venereal disease in California 387

Review of Gatewood's Naval Hygiene 387

Note on the work at Tay Tay 388

Medical examination of army recruits, by A. E. Peck 389

Notes on the treatment of syphilis, by W. S. Hoen 391

Views on the treatment of typhoid fever, by H. A. May 393

Progress in medical sciences 397

Laboratory —Benedict's method for the estimation of glucose in the

urine; estimation of uric acid in the urine, Folin-Schaffer; clinical method

for the estimation of uric acid, modification of the Folin-Schaffer process; test

for blood in the urine; two methods for the estimation of albumin in the urine,

by O. J. Mink and E. W. Brown 397

Chemistry and pharmacy —The excretion in urine of sugars other than

glucose; experiments and experiences, pharmacological and clinical, with

digitalis, squill, and strophanthus; a reagent for the detection of reducing

sugars; on the antagonism of alcohol to carbolic acid ; the antitoxic activity

of iodine in tuberculosis; new experiments on the physiological action of

sulphuric ether; contribution to the physiology of the glands —further

contributions on the function of the spleen as an organ of iron metabolism;

modifications in the chemical composition of the blood serum in victims of

carbon dioxide poisoning, by P. J. Waldnerand C. Schaffer 402

Pathology and bacteriology —Studies on typhoid fever; chloroform

poisoning — liver necrosis and repair; the importance of blood cultures in the

study of infections of otitic origin; the cultivation of the spirocheeta

pallidum; the cultivation of the bacillus leprae; the chemistry of the liver in

chloroform necrosis; the present status of the whooping-cough question; the

conveyance of whooping cough from man to animals by direct experiment; serology

of syphilis, by C. S. Butler and O. J. Mink 407

Medical zoology — Schistosomiasis at Bahia; contribution to the study

of schistosomiasis in Bahia, Brazil; notes on malaria and kala-azar; endemic

amoebic dysentery in New York, with a review of its istribution in North America; filaria

(microfilaria) philippinensis; the distribution of filaria in the Philippine

Islands; acariens and cancers—acariens and leprosy; necator americanus in

Ceylon; anaemia due to trichocephalus dispar; study of the protozoa of J. H.

Wright in sixteen cases of Aleppo boil, by R. C. Holcomb 411

Tropical medicine — Infantile kala-azar; on the identity of beri-beri

and epidemic dropsy; Malta fever in South Africa; leprosy in the Philippine

Islands and its treatment; the various types of plague and their clinical

manifestations, by C. S. Butler 417

Hygiene and sanitation —The means by which infectious diseases are

transmitted; a critical study of the value of the measurements of chest expansion

and lung capacity; notes on the sanitation of yellow fever and malaria; the

house fly as a disease carrier, by H. G. Beyer 419

General medicine —A study of the aural and laryngeal complications of

typhoid fever, especially as observed in hospital practice; the problem of

cancer considered from the standpoint of immunity; nine cases of typhoid fever

treated with an antiendotoxic serum, by T. W. Richards 425

Surgery —Some practical points in the application of the bismuth paste

in chronic suppurative diseases; the sequence of the pathological changes in appendiceal

peritonitis; direct blood transfusion by means of paraffin-coated glass tubes;

the use of animal membrane in producing mobility in ankylosed joints, by C. F.

Stokes and R. Spear 431

Reports and letters 489

American Medical Association, by M. F. Gates 439

Report on the Second International Conference for Revision of Nomenclature

of Diseases and Causes of Death, by F. L. Pleadwell 445

Report upon medical relief measures at Messina, Sicily, by M. Donelson.

. 449

Reports of medical relief measures at Adana, Turkey, by J. T. Miller

and L. W. McGuire 452

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HIS HOLINESS Hazarat RIAZ AHMAD GOHAR SHAHI(M.A) addressing in Mochi Darwaza Lahore 1996 part 4 by waseem ahmad

1. The spiritual entity Qalb

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Adam

In the Urdu language the fleshy meat, (the heart) is known as dil, and in Arabic it is called fawad. The spiritual entity that is next to the heart is the Qalb and according to a Prophetic statement the heart and the Qalb are two separate entities.

Our solar system is the physical human sphere. There are other realms and spheres, for example the realm of the angels, the realm of the throne of God, the realm of the soul, the realm of the secrets, the realm of unification and the realm of the essence of God. These spheres and life forms inhabiting these spheres have existed before the eruption of the ball of fire, our Sun, which created our solar system. Ordinary angels were created alongside the creation of the souls when God commanded "Be" but the Archangels and the spiritual entities (which are placed inside the human body at birth) have existed in these realms before the formation of our solar system.

Many planets in our solar system were inhabited but subsequently these life forms became extinct. The remaining planets and their inhabitants are awaiting their destruction. The Archangels and the spiritual entities (of the human body) were created seventy thousand years before the command "Be."

Of these spiritual entities God placed the Qalb in the realm of love. It is with this that a human being is able to become connected with God. The Qalb acts like a telephone operator between God and the human being. A human being receives guidance and inspiration through it. Whereas the worship and the meditation done by the spiritual entities themselves can reach the highest realm, the Throne of God, with the aid of the Qalb. The Qalb itself, however cannot travel beyond the realm of the angels, as its place of origin is the Khuld, the lowest heaven in the realm of the angels.

The Qalb’s meditation is from within and its vibrating rosary is within the human skeleton (the heartbeat). People that failed to achieve this meditation of the Qalb in this lifetime will be regretful, even though they may be in paradise. As God has stated regarding those who will go to paradise, that do they, the inhabitants of paradise think that they will be equal to those who are elevated (reached higher realms by practicing the spiritual disciplines and becoming illuminated). As those that have achieved the meditation of the Qalb, they will enjoy its pleasures even in paradise when their Qalb will be vibrating with the Name of God.

After death physical worship ceases to exist and the people whose Qalb and spiritual entities are not strengthened and illuminated with the light of God are afflicted and distressed in their graves and their spiritual entities waste away. Whereas the illuminated and strengthened spiritual entities will go to the realm where the righteous will wait before the final judgement.

After the day of judgement a second body will be given, the illuminated spiritual entities along with the human soul will enter that body. The people that taught their spiritual entities, meditation, whereby the entities chanted the Name of God Allah in this life time will find that the spiritual entities will continue with this meditation even in the hereafter. Such people will continue to be elevated and exalted in the hereafter.

Those that were “blind of heart” (not illuminated) in this life time will be in darkness in that realm also, as this world was the place of action and effort. Those in the latter category will become quiescent.

Besides the Christians and the Jews the Hindu faith also holds a belief in these spiritual entities. The Hindu faith refers to them as Shaktian and the Muslims know them as Lata’if.

The Qalb is two inches, to the left of the heart. This spiritual entity is yellow in colour. When it is illuminated in a person, that person sees the colour yellow in their eyes. Not only this but there are many practitioners of alternative medicine who use the colours of these spiritual entities to heal people.

Most people regard their heart’s word, “inner feeling” to be truthful. If the hearts of people were indeed truthful, then why are all the people of the heart not united?

The Qalb of an ordinary person is in the sleeping or unconscious state and it does not possess any appreciation or awareness. Due to the dominance of the spirit of the self, the ego, and the Khannas, or due to the individual’s own simple- mindedness the heart can make judgements in error. Placing trust in a sleeping Qalb is foolish.

Only when the Name of God Allah, does vibrate in the heart does an appreciation of right and wrong and wisdom follow. At this stage the Qalb is known as the awakened Qalb. Thereafter due to the increase in the meditation by the Qalb, of the Name of God Allah, it is then known as the God-seeking Qalb. At this stage the heart is capable of preventing the person from doing wrong but it is still incapable of making a right or just decision. Thereafter and only when the Light and the rays of the Grace of God (theophany) start to descend upon that heart, is it known as the purified and illuminated Qalb that stands in the presence of God (witnessing Qalb).

A Prophetic statement:

“The mercy of God descends upon a broken heart and an afflicted grave.”

Thereafter when the heart reaches this stage then one must accept whatever it dictates, quietly without question because due to the rays of the Light and the Grace of God the spirit of the self, (ego) becomes completely illuminated, purified and at peace. God is then closer to that individual than that person’s jugular vein.

God then says, “I become his tongue with which he speaks and I become his hands with which he holds.”

2. The Human Soul

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Abraham

This is on the right side of the chest. This is awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it. Once it becomes illuminated, a vibration similar to the heartbeat is felt on the right side of the chest. Then the Name of God, Ya Allah is matched with the vibrating pulse. The meditation of the soul is done in this way. At this point, there are now two spiritual entities meditating inside the human body, this is an advancement in rank and status and is better than the Qalb. The soul is a light red in colour and when it is awakened, it is able to travel to the realm of the souls (the station of the Archangel Gabriel). Anger and rage are attached to it that burn and turn into majesty.

3. The spiritual entity Sirri

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Moses

This spiritual entity is to the left of the centre of the chest. This is also awakened and illuminated by the meditation and one-pointed concentration on it with the Name of God, Ya Hayy, Ya Qayyum. Its colour is white and in the dream state or by spiritual separation from the physical body “transcendental meditation” it can journey to the realm of the secrets. Now there are three spiritual entities meditating within a person and its status is higher than the other two.

4. The spiritual entity Khaffi

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Jesus

This is to the right of the centre of the chest. It too is taught the Name of God Ya Wahid by meditation. It is green in colour and it can reach the realm of unification. Due to the meditation of four entities one's status is further increased.

5. The spiritual entity Akhfa

Prophecy and knowledge relating to this was granted to the Prophet Mohammed

This is situated at the centre of the chest. It is awakened by meditating on the Name of God, Ya Ahad. It is purple in colour and it too, is connected to that veil in the realm of unification behind which is the throne of God.

The hidden spiritual knowledge relating to these five spiritual entities was granted to the Prophets, one by one and half of the knowledge of every spiritual entity was granted from the Prophets to the Saints of their time. In this way there became ten parts of this knowledge. The Saints in turn passed this knowledge on to the spiritually favoured (Godly) who then had the benefit of the sacred knowledge.

The apparent knowledge of the seen is connected to the physical body, the spoken word, the human realm and the spirit of the self, this is for the ordinary mortals. This knowledge is contained in a book that has thirty parts. Spiritual knowledge was also given to the Prophets by revelation brought by Gabriel and for this reason it is known as the spiritual Holy Scripture.

Many of the verses of the Qur’an would sometimes be abolished, since the Prophet Mohammed would sometimes mention matters relating to this “hidden spiritual knowledge” before ordinary people, which was only meant for the special and Godly. Later this knowledge passed on spiritually from the chest of one Saint to another, and now it has become widespread by its publication in books.

6. The spiritual entity Anna

This spiritual entity is inside the head and is colourless. It is by the meditation on the Name of God Ya Hu that this spiritual entity reaches its pinnacle. It is this spiritual entity that when it becomes illuminated and powerful it can stand in the Presence of God, face to face, and communicate with God unobstructed. Only the extreme lovers of God reach this realm and station. Besides this there are a few and extremely exalted people who are granted additional spiritual entities, for example the spiritual entity Tifl-e-Nuri or a spiritual entity of the Godhead, Jussa-e-Tofiq-e-Ilahi, the spiritual status of such people is beyond understanding.

With the spiritual entity, Anna, God is seen in the dream state.

With the spiritual entity of the Godhead, God is seen in the “physical meditating state” when the spiritual entity itself leaves the human body and transcends to the essence of God.

Those possessing the spiritual entity, the Tifl-e-Nuri, see God whilst they are fully conscious.

It is these people who are the majesty and power of God in the world. They can either occupy the people by prescribing worship and austerities or by their spiritual grace send a person straight to the realm of God’s love. In their sight, concerning dispensing spiritual grace the believers and the non-believers, the dead and the living are all the same. Just as a thief became a Saint, in an instant, by the passing glimpse of the Saint Sheikh Abdul-Qadir al-Jilani, similarly, Abu-Bakr Havari and Manga the thief, became instant Saints by the passing glimpses of such Saints.

The five major Messengers were given knowledge of the five spiritual entities separately and in order of their appearance, as a result of which spirituality continued to prosper. With whichever spiritual entity you practice meditation you will be connected to the corresponding Messenger and become worthy of receiving spiritual grace (from that Messenger).

Whichever spiritual entity receives the rays of the Grace of God (favour), the Sainthood granted to that spiritual entity will be connected to the corresponding Prophet’s spiritual grace.

Access to seven realms and gaining elevated spiritual status in the seven heavens is obtained through these spiritual entities.

The functions of the spiritual entities inside the human body

Akhfa: Due to the spiritual entity, Akhfa a person is able to speak. In its absence a person may have a normal tongue but will be dumb. The difference between human beings and animals lies in the presence or the absence of these spiritual entities. At birth, if the entity, Akhfa was unable to enter the body for whatever reason, then a Prophet appointed for the rectification of this ailment would be called to treat the condition as a result of which the dumb would start to speak.

Sirri: A person is able to see due to the spiritual entity, Sirri. If it does not enter the body the person is blind from birth. An appointed Prophet had the duty to find and place the spiritual entity into the body, as a result of which the blind would start to see again.

Qalb: Without the spiritual entity of the Qalb, in the body, a person is like the animals, unacquainted, far from God, miserable and without purpose. Returning this entity into the body was the task of the Prophets also.

The miracles of the Prophets were also granted to the saints, in the form marvels and mystical wonders as a result of which even the impious and liberal became close to God. When a spiritual entity is returned by any allocated Saint or Prophet, the deaf, dumb and the blind are healed.

Anna: When the spiritual entity, Anna, fails to enter the body, a person is regarded as insane even though the brain may be functioning normally.

Khaffi: In the absence of the spiritual entity, Khafi, a person is deaf, even if the ears are opened wide.

These conditions can be caused by other defects in the body, and can be treated. There is no cure in the case, where the defect is caused by the absence of the associated spiritual entity except where a Prophet or a Saint intervenes and cures the defect.

Nafs, self: As a result of the spiritual entity of the self (ego) a persons mind is occupied with the material world and it is because of the spiritual entity Qalb that a persons direction turns towards God. For more detail visit www.goharshahi.org or visit asipk.com and for videos visit HH rags

springtime daffodil by Margret Maria Cordts

14 12

Case 8: Meet the Conlangers, center by donaldboozer

(Top)Meet the Conlangers: The World-wide Community of Language Creators

8.A. Text: Introductory paragraph

Conlanging transcends national boundaries and enjoys a global community of enthusiasts. A “census” of the Zompist Bulletin Board reveals members from the USA, Finland, France, New Zealand, Germany, UK, Hungary, Scandinavia, and South America. Conlanging is also multigenerational with ages of language creators and enthusiasts ranging from teens to senior citizens. Take a look at the attendees of the Language Creation Conference in this exhibit case. So, without further ado, may we introduce...

(Top left) David J. Peterson

Conlanger Extraordinaire

California

One of the most active conlangers on the web is David J. Peterson. He wrote the "Conlanger's Manifesto," was one of the speakers at both Language Creation Conferences so far (2006 and 2007), has been a vocal member of the CONLANG listserv for well over five years, has one of the finest web sites (http://dedalvs.free.fr) on the Internet devoted to conlanging (and his other various pursuits), and was President of the Society of Linguistics Undergraduates (SLUG) at UC Berkeley. In addition to creating languages like Kamakawi, Zhyler, Wasabi, Megdevi, and many others, David also created SLIPA (Sign Language International Phonetic Alphabet), a detailed system for representing all possible gestures in any signed language which can also be used to create a constructed sign language. Currently, David is also a member of the Board of Directors, as well as Treasurer and Secretary of the Language Creation Society (http://www.conlang.org) and is a contributor to The Speculative Grammarian (http://specgram.com), an online journal of linguistics humor.

David is a University of California (UC), Berkeley, alumnus (where he majored in English and linguistics); his Master's degree in Linguistics is from UC San Diego. David is currently adjunct professor of English at Fullerton College in California: the "Writing Guide" section of his web site is humorous as well as highly informative. He was also engaged last year to a fellow UCSD graduate, Erin McPherson. In his 2-man band, Number 6, David plays guitar, bass, and ukulele, and he sings. David is a devoted Mac user when it comes to computers: "I very use a Mac (try to make sense of that one, Chomsky!)."

Several Babel Texts translated by David are included throughout this exhibit, as well as the "Conlanger's Manifesto," (Exhibit Case #2) and his Amazon.com review of Describing Morphosyntax (Exhibit Case #3).

The Babel Text in Kamakawi (transliteration)

1.Ka peka i ape kalaka oi oalala poi.

2.Kau imawawakaiu upea a ie ku neva'a i ava ae peka Tinala pe, ku hepale ae pe.

3.Ku hekala i ika ti, "He'ea, he lama ue i timitiú u kava i uamo." Kae timitiú i leya ka iele i i'iele poupea.

4.Ku hekala poiu ti, "He paki ue i paleumi oi penute i ue a kopu ono o penute iu kawi, au atau ue, heoku u kawakawa'u heva e ave o peka."

5.Ka kau Takepolilao ele mata ie paleumi oie penute kau paki mali tiemi i.

6.Ke hekala poiu ti, "He! Ape peka, a ape kalaka i upea uila, au hepaka upea i iko. Oku li'u eleumi au takepo'u upea i hoa liwi'u upea a.

7.Ima! He kau ei e mimile ie kalaka o upea pe, aupe kala upea ioku ika.

8.Ke kawakawa Takepolilao i upeape heva e ave o peka, kau pu'uke upea ie paleumi.

9.Ape tomi'u amo ti "Imimile", ale mimile Takepolilao ie kalaka o inotu uila pe, e kawakawa i upeape heva e ave o peka.

Translated by David J. Peterson

(http://dedalvs.free.fr/kamakawi/babel.html)

(Top right) Mark Rosenfelder

"The Zompist"

Illinois

Mark Rosenfelder, a.k.a. “The Zompist” or “The Zomp”, has been creating languages and worlds since he was in grade school. One of The Zomp’s major gifts to the conlanging community is his Language Construction Kit (http://www.zompist.com/kit.html), often the first stop for beginning conlangers. The Kit provides a step-by-step approach to creating one’s own language compiled from resources gathered by Mark while attempting to learn linguistics on his own. Topics as diverse as what sounds to use in a conlang to how to construct language families and dialects are covered. The Zompist Bulletin Board, one of the Internet’s main forums for conlangers and con-worlders, is yet another of Mark’s contributions and is available at www.spinnoff.com/zbb.

Mark’s monumental online work, Virtual Verduria (http://www.zompist.com/virtuver.htm), began as a Dungeons & Dragons setting in his college days. It is the result of over twenty years of tinkering with concepts as diverse as language, history, chemistry, biology, and mythology. Virtual Verduria provides myriad details of Mark’s fantasy world of Almea, from the creation of its planetary system to the evolution of its indigenous inhabitants, and includes comprehensive maps, native stories, and myths of the various nations. There are a dozen individual languages or language families with grammars, vocabulary, and text samples. Mark has succinctly explained how he does all this by saying, “I have no kids and I don’t watch TV.”

Although The Zomp’s day job may be as a programmer, he has assured himself a spot in the Pantheon of Conlangers with his selfless activities in support of the art.

(Photo courtesy of Mark Rosenfelder)

(Bottom left) The Official Conlang Flag

The idea of a “conlang flag” was proposed by David J. Peterson on the CONLANG listserv in a message on Aug. 29, 2004. The next day, Adrian Morgan responded by saying: “Right, it's time to take this seriously,” and a rough sketch was submitted. Discussion on the topic was brisk, over twenty designs and revisions were submitted, and the results were announced on September 23, 2004. The basic layout was suggested by Leland Paul, but the winning flag’s final design was created by Christian Thalmann. Paul’s posting provides some of the symbolism: “Against a purple sky, signifying creativity, an orange sun rises, orange signifying energy, imagination, and communication. It sheds its light over a dark, not-yet-seen world. Silhouetted against the sun is the Tower of Babel, proclaiming the noble nature of the linguistic diversity.” The Tower of Babel also brings to mind the ubiquitous Babel Text often used as a translation exercise. The Conlang Flag has been displayed prominently at the Language Creation Conferences and can be seen on numerous conlangers’ web pages.

(Bottom Middle) Andrew Smith

Creator of Brithenig

New Zealand

Born in Invercargill, New Zealand, in 1965, Andrew currently lives in Dunedin, New Zealand. He is an Archives Assistant for the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand Archives. His native language is English, and, although he speaks several languages, Andrew admits that none are to "conversational level." Brithenig is the result of Andrew's attempt to create an alternative Romance language akin to French and Spanish: namely what would have happened to Latin if it had become established in the Celtic areas of Britain and evolved accordingly. "The earliest known record of Brithenig dates back to 1997," Andrew states. "It was inspired earlier by a reference to a Celtic-influenced romance language I discovered in a book on Celtic languages in 1990, my last year of study at the University of Otago. It would take me another four years before I returned to Dunedin to re-read the reference and create the language. The rest is history. Ill Bethisad is legacy." Ill Bethisad is the imaginary country where Bethisad is spoken. The extensive site dedicated to the imaginary nation and language can be found at www.bethisad.com. With maps, history, grammars, and more, Andrew's site rivals that of Mark Rosenfelder's Virtual Verduria.

Andrew continues: "As well as Brithenig I keep a journal in a conlang based on Old English. In recent years I have started on an eclectic language based on my collection of Teach Yourself Language books. I have about 40 of them. They are getting harder to find."

"Apart from creating languages I have created imaginary worlds, attempted writing, been involved in Mediaeval Re-enactment, work out at the gym for cardio, and practise religion. I have never travelled outside my country. I collect books, CDs, RSS-feeds, and occasionally hats."

(Photo courtesy of Andrew Smith. Quotes taken from an email to Don Boozer.)

The Babel Text in Brithenig

1.Hures il munn inter hav yn linghedig e yn cant commyn.

2.Sig il pobol summoden di'l est, ysses ligavan yn luin in Sennar e lâs'ysteblivan.

3.Ysses digevan il yn a'l altr, "Gwenitz, gwans a fager brics e cogher les interevent." Ysses ysavan brics in log di bedr, e arill per chelcin.

4.Afos ysses digevan, "Gwenitz, gwans a eddifigar per nos yn giwdad, cun yn tyr che tang a'ls cels, sig nos fagians yn novn per nos e no scians ysparied pas syss la fag di la der inter."

5.Mais il Tiern gweniv a vas a widder la giwdad e'l tyr che'l pobol eddifig.

6.Il Tiern digev, "Ec'h, altresi yn pobol che barol il linghedig medissiv, ysses yst han gyvnidiad a fager. Hures ys lâ no haverai negarad ren a les che ysses provassen a fager.

7.Gwenitz, gwans a vas a ystyrddir sew linghedig di les sig ysses no c'hompruinnessen ren di'l yn a'l altr."

8.Sig il Tiern yspariav di lâ syss tud la der, e ysses calvavan a eddifigar la giwdad.

9.Ho es perc'he sa afell Babel -- perc'he lâ il Tiern ystyrddiv il linghedig di'l munn inter. Di lâ il Tiern les yspariav syss la fag di la der inter.

Translated by Andrew Smith

(http://hobbit.griffler.co.nz/babeltext.html)

(Bottom right) Dr. Sarah L. Higley

a.k.a. Sally Caves

Academic Conlanger

New York

Earning her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, Dr. Sarah L. Higley is currently Associate Professor of English at the University of Rochester and a teacher of medieval languages and literature. She is also known by her alias, Sally Caves, which is the name you'll see on her website (http://www.frontiernet.net/~scaves/teonaht.html) outlining her conlang Teonaht. According to her site, Sally began documenting her language creation in 1962 at the age of nine. Dr. Higley goes on to say that in "the Fall of 2000, she co-taught an independent study with linguistics Professor Jeffrey Runner, wherein then freshman (and linguistics major) Douglas Ball was allowed to develop grammar and text for his invented language Skerre." Sally was a presenter at the first Language Creation Conference, has been interviewed by her local NPR radio station about conlanging, wrote an article entitled "Audience, Uglossia, and CONLANG" for M/C Journal (available online at journal.media-culture.org.au/0003/languages.php), and, in December 2007, published the definitive study of St. Hildegard of Bingen and her Lingua Ignota entitled Hildegard of Bingen's Unknown Language: An Edition, Translation, and Discussion. (For more information on St. Hildegard, see Exhibit Case #4). Dr. Higley is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Language Creation Society (http://www.conlang.org).

The Babel Text in Teonaht

1.Send tand potom takrem tefye uõnim kalalya, uõnim mongwyf.

2.Send seawim il plevvysta elai renek, he twe esteratwe armmandy; rilua-il twe nrinarem celil hea Hsinnarid, send eldwav hovar endõ.

3.Send euab ouarje eldwa jane: "Mantets! Nittaopra uents, uo ad õ potemaht flehhtyzmats." Send nittaopra eldwav uen to mimmivua uo nerik to cicya.

4.Send eldwav ebra: "Mantets! Tesa-ilz lirifel-jo hadhhamats ta mehuen aid kempa ar Erahenahil, send rõ tyr aittearmats, ta vera listsõ hyny il takrem ro ssosyarem.

5.Send Le Hrel elo hsommante sa lõ kerem il tesa liriffel-jo hadhhama-uarrel ihhain le plevvysta.

6.Send Le Hrel elo ebra, "Keyts, il plevvysta somad, uo uõnim kalalya twavhha; aibba estwa mippa: to vokraikarem, send vawem dihhai twav kare deytwav dal ai sebrarem esai lis.

7."Hsobmmantets; send twe kalalya vilvviglats ta vera pre-twav twe mongav rin euab ouarjo."

8.Le Hrel ad hyny il takrem elo toaaiba sossya, send il tesa eldwa beg hadha.

9.Evvaiba Bavel li'aittear ilid lirifel, uanner Le Hrel il uõm kalalya ilid potom takrem elo vilvvigla, send il plevvystan eldwa hovvandy sossyab.

Translation by Sally Caves

(http://www.frontiernet.net/~scaves/babel.html)

Language of Passing by B. R.

Washington D.C.

Language is not the only way by 六爺

16 1

Myanmar - Yangon - Streetlife - 3 by Manfred Sommer

Yangon (Burmese: ရန်ကုန်, MLCTS rankun mrui, pronounced: [jàɴɡòʊɴ mjo̰]; formerly known as Rangoon, literally: "End of Strife") is the capital of the Yangon Region of Myanmar, also known as Burma. Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government relocated the capital to the purpose-built city of Naypyidaw in central Myanmar. With over 7 million people, Yangon is Myanmar's largest city and is its most important commercial centre.

Yangon boasts the largest number of colonial-era buildings in the region, and has a unique colonial-era urban core that is remarkably intact. The colonial-era commercial core is centred around the Sule Pagoda, which reputed to be over 2,000 years old. The city is also home to the gilded Shwedagon Pagoda — Myanmar's most sacred Buddhist pagoda. The mausoleum of the last Mughal Emperor is located in Yangon, where he had been exiled following the Indian Mutiny of 1857.

Yangon suffers from deeply inadequate infrastructure, especially compared to other major cities in Southeast Asia. Though many historic residential and commercial buildings have been renovated throughout central Yangon, most satellite towns that ring the city continue to be profoundly impoverished and lack basic infrastructure.

ETYMOLOGY

Yangon (ရန်ကုန်) is a combination of the two words yan (ရန်) and koun (ကုန်), which mean "enemies" and "run out of", respectively. It is also translated as "End of Strife". "Rangoon" most likely comes from the British imitation of the pronunciation of "Yangon" in the Arakanese language, which is [rɔ̀ɴɡʊ́ɴ].

HISTORY

EARLY HISTORY

Yangon was founded as Dagon in the early 11th century (c. 1028–1043) by the Mon, who dominated Lower Burma at that time. Dagon was a small fishing village centred about the Shwedagon Pagoda. In 1755, King Alaungpaya conquered Dagon, renamed it "Yangon", and added settlements around Dagon. The British captured Yangon during the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–26), but returned it to Burmese administration after the war. The city was destroyed by a fire in 1841.

COLONIAL RANGOON

The British seized Yangon and all of Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, and subsequently transformed Yangon into the commercial and political hub of British Burma. Yangon is also the place where the British sent Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal emperor, to live after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Based on the design by army engineer Lt. Alexander Fraser, the British constructed a new city on a grid plan on delta land, bounded to the east by the Pazundaung Creek and to the south and west by the Yangon River. Yangon became the capital of all British-ruled Burma after the British had captured Upper Burma in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of 1885. By the 1890s Yangon's increasing population and commerce gave birth to prosperous residential suburbs to the north of Royal Lake (Kandawgyi) and Inya Lake. The British also established hospitals including Rangoon General Hospital and colleges including Rangoon University.

Colonial Yangon, with its spacious parks and lakes and mix of modern buildings and traditional wooden architecture, was known as "the garden city of the East." By the early 20th century, Yangon had public services and infrastructure on par with London.

Before World War II, about 55% of Yangon's population of 500,000 was Indian or South Asian, and only about a third was Bamar (Burman). Karens, the Chinese, the Anglo-Burmese and others made up the rest.

After World War I, Yangon became the epicentre of Burmese independence movement, with leftist Rangoon University students leading the way. Three nationwide strikes against the British Empire in 1920, 1936 and 1938 all began in Yangon. Yangon was under Japanese occupation (1942–45), and incurred heavy damage during World War II. The city was retaken by the Allies in May 1945.

Yangon became the capital of Union of Burma on 4 January 1948 when the country regained independence from the British Empire.

CONTEMPORARY YANGON

Soon after Burma's independence in 1948, many colonial names of streets and parks were changed to more nationalistic Burmese names. In 1989, the current military junta changed the city's English name to "Yangon", along with many other changes in English transliteration of Burmese names. (The changes have not been accepted by many Burmese who consider the junta unfit to make such changes, nor by many publications, news bureaus including, most notably, the BBC and foreign nations including the United Kingdom and United States.)

Since independence, Yangon has expanded outwards. Successive governments have built satellite towns such as Thaketa, North Okkalapa and South Okkalapa in the 1950s to Hlaingthaya,

Shwepyitha and South Dagon in the 1980s. Today, Greater Yangon encompasses an area covering nearly 600 square kilometres.

During Ne Win's isolationist rule (1962–88), Yangon's infrastructure deteriorated through poor maintenance and did not keep up with its increasing population. In the 1990s, the current military government's more open market policies attracted domestic and foreign investment, bringing a modicum of modernity to the city's infrastructure. Some inner city residents were forcibly relocated to new satellite towns. Many colonial-period buildings were demolished to make way for high-rise hotels, office buildings, and shopping malls, leading the city government to place about 200 notable colonial-period buildings under the Yangon City Heritage List in 1996. Major building programs have resulted in six new bridges and five new highways linking the city to its industrial back country. Still, much of Yangon remains without basic municipal services such as 24-hour electricity and regular garbage collection.

Yangon has become much more indigenous Burmese in its ethnic make-up since independence. After independence, many South Asians and Anglo-Burmese left. Many more South Asians were forced to leave during the 1960s by Ne Win's xenophobic government. Nevertheless, sizable South Asian and Chinese communities still exist in Yangon. The Anglo-Burmese have effectively disappeared, having left the country or intermarried with other Burmese groups.

Yangon was the centre of major anti-government protests in 1974, 1988 and 2007. The 1988 People Power Uprising resulted in the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of Burmese civilians, many in Yangoon where hundreds of thousands of people flooded into the streets of the then capital city. The Saffron Revolution saw mass shootings and the use of crematoria in Yangoon by the Burmese government to erase evidence of their crimes against monks, unarmed protesters, journalists and students.

The city's streets saw bloodshed each time as protesters were gunned down by the government.

In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit Yangon. While the city had few human casualties, three quarters of Yangon's industrial infrastructure was destroyed or damaged, with losses estimated at US$800 million.

In November 2005, the military government designated Naypyidaw, 320 kilometres north of Yangon, as the new administrative capital, and subsequently moved much of the government to the newly developed city. At any rate, Yangon remains the largest city, and the most important commercial centre of Myanmar.

GEOGRAPHY

Yangon is located in Lower Burma (Myanmar) at the convergence of the Yangon and Bago Rivers about 30 km away from the Gulf of Martaban at 16°48' North, 96°09' East (16.8, 96.15). Its standard time zone is UTC/GMT +6:30 hours.

CLIMATE

Yangon has a tropical monsoon climate under the Köppen climate classification system. The city features a lengthy wet season from May through October where a substantial amount of rainfall is received; and a dry season from November through April, where little rainfall is seen. It is primarily due to the heavy rainfall received during the rainy season that Yangon falls under the tropical monsoon climate category. During the course of the year 1961 to 1990s, average temperatures show little variance, with average highs ranging from 29 to 36 °C and average lows ranging from 18 to 25 °C.

CITYSCAPE

Until the mid-1990s, Yangon remained largely constrained to its traditional peninsula setting between the Bago, Yangon and Hlaing rivers. People moved in, but little of the city moved out. Maps from 1944 show little development north of Inya Lake and areas that are now layered in cement and stacked with houses were then virtual backwaters. Since the late 1980s, however, the city began a rapid spread north to where Yangon International airport now stands. But the result is a stretching tail on the city, with the downtown area well removed from its geographic centre. The city's area has steadily increased from 72.52 square kilometres in 1901 to 86.2 square kilometres in 1940 to 208.51 square kilometres in 1974, to 346.13 square kilometres in 1985, and to 598.75 square kilometres in 2008.

ARCHITECTURE

Downtown Yangon is known for its leafy avenues and fin-de-siècle architecture. The former British colonial capital has the highest number of colonial period buildings in south-east Asia. Downtown Yangon is still mainly made up of decaying colonial buildings. The former High Court, the former Secretariat buildings, the former St. Paul's English High School and the Strand Hotel are excellent examples of the bygone era. Most downtown buildings from this era are four-story mix-use (residential and commercial) buildings with 4.3 m ceilings, allowing for the construction of mezzanines. Despite their less-than-perfect conditions, the buildings remain highly sought after and most expensive in the city's property market.

In 1996, the Yangon City Development Committee created a Yangon City Heritage List of old buildings and structures in the city that cannot be modified or torn down without approval. In 2012, the city of Yangon imposed a 50-year moratorium on demolition of buildings older than 50 years. The Yangon Heritage Trust, an NGO started by Thant Myint-U, aims to create heritage areas in Downtown, and attract investors to renovate buildings for commercial use.

A latter day hallmark of Yangon is the eight-story apartment building. (In Yangon parlance, a building with no elevators (lifts) is called an apartment building and one with elevators is called a condominium. Condos which have to invest in a local power generator to ensure 24-hour electricity for the elevators are beyond the reach of most Yangonites.) Found throughout the city in various forms, eight-story apartment buildings provide relatively inexpensive housing for many Yangonites. The apartments are usually eight stories high (including the ground floor) mainly because city regulations, until February 2008, required that all buildings higher than 23 m or eight stories to install lifts. The current code calls for elevators in buildings higher than 19 m or six stories, likely ushering in the era of the six-story apartment building. Although most apartment buildings were built only within the last 20 years, they look much older and rundown due to shoddy construction and lack of proper maintenance.

Unlike other major Asian cities, Yangon does not have any skyscrapers. Aside from a few high-rise hotels and office towers, most high-rise buildings (usually 10 stories and up) are "condos" scattered across prosperous neighbourhoods north of downtown such as Bahan, Dagon, Kamayut and Mayangon. The tallest building in Yangon, Pyay Gardens, is a 25-story condo in the city's north.

Older satellite towns such as Thaketa, North Okkalapa and South Okkalapa are lined mostly with one to two story detached houses with access to the city's electricity grid. Newer satellite towns such as North Dagon and South Dagon are still essentially slums in a grid layout. The satellite towns - old or new - receive little or no municipal services.

ROAD LAYOUT

Downtown Yangon's road layout follows a grid pattern, based on four types of roads:

Broad 49-m wide roads running west to east

Broad 30-m wide roads running south to north

Two narrow 9.1-m wide streets running south to north

Mid-size 15-m wide streets running south to north

The east-west grid of central was laid out by British military engineers Fraser and Montgomerie after the Second Anglo-Burmese War. The city was later developed by the Public Works Department and Bengal Corps of Engineers. The pattern of south to north roads is as follows: one broad 30 m wide broad road, two narrow streets, one mid-size street, two more narrow streets, and then another 30 m wide broad road. This order is repeated from west to east. The narrow streets are numbered; the medium and broad roads are named.

For example, the 30 m Lanmadaw Road is followed by 9.1 m-wide 17th and 18th streets then the medium 15 m Sint-Oh-Dan Road, the 30-foot 19th and 20th streets, followed by another 30 m wide Latha Road, followed again by the two numbered small roads 21st and 22nd streets, and so on.

The roads running parallel west to east were the Strand Road, Merchant Road, Maha Bandula (née Dalhousie) Road, Anawrahta (Fraser) Road, and Bogyoke Aung San (Montgomerie) Road.

PARKS AND GARDENS

The largest and best maintained parks in Yangon are located around Shwedagon Pagoda. To the south-east of the gilded stupa is the most popular recreational area in the city – Kandawgyi Lake. The 61-ha lake is surrounded by the 45-ha Kandawgyi Nature Park, and the 28-ha Yangon Zoological Gardens, which consists of a zoo, an aquarium and an amusement park. West of the pagoda towards the former Hluttaw (Parliament) complex is the 53-ha People's Square and Park, (the former parading ground on important national days when Yangon was the capital.) A few miles north of the pagoda lies the 15-ha Inya Lake Park – a favorite hangout place of Yangon University students, and a well-known place of romance in Burmese popular culture.

Hlawga National Park and Allied War Memorial at the outskirts of the city are popular day-trip destinations with the well-to-do and tourists.

Yangon Book Plaza, the first and biggest book shop in Myanmar was opened on February 26, 2017 on the fifth floor of Than Zay Market in Lanmadaw Township, Yangon.

ADMINISTRATION

Yangon is administered by the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC). YCDC also coordinates urban planning. The city is divided into four districts. The districts combined have a total of 33 townships. The current mayor of Yangon is Maung Maung Soe. Each township is administered by a committee of township leaders, who make decisions regarding city beautification and infrastructure. Myo-thit (lit. "New Towns", or satellite towns) are not within such jurisdictions.

TRANSPORT

Yangon is Burma's main domestic and international hub for air, rail, and ground transportation.

AIR

Yangon International Airport, located 19 km from the centre, is the country's main gateway for domestic and international air travel. The airport has three terminals, known as T1, T2 and T3 which is also known as Domestic. It has direct flights to regional cities in Asia – mainly, Doha, Dubai, Dhaka, Kolkata, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, Guangzhou, Taipei, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Kunming and Singapore. Although domestic airlines offer service to about twenty domestic locations, most flights are to tourist destinations such as Bagan, Mandalay, Heho and Ngapali, and to the capital Naypyidaw.

RAILWAYS

Yangon Central Railway Station is the main terminus of Myanmar Railways' 5,403-kilometre rail network whose reach covers Upper Myanmar (Naypyidaw, Mandalay, Shwebo), upcountry (Myitkyina), Shan hills (Taunggyi, Lashio) and the Taninthayi coast (Mawlamyaing, Dawei).

Yangon Circular Railway operates a 45.9-kilometre 39-station commuter rail network that connects Yangon's satellite towns. The system is heavily utilized by the local populace, selling about 150,000 tickets daily. The popularity of the commuter line has jumped since the government reduced petrol subsidies in August 2007.

BUSES AND CARS

Yangon has a 4,456-kilometre road network of all types (tar, concrete and dirt) in March 2011. Many of the roads are in poor condition and not wide enough to accommodate an increasing number of cars. The vast majority of Yangon residents cannot afford a car and rely on an extensive network of buses to get around. Over 300 public and private bus lines operate about 6,300 crowded buses around the city, carrying over 4.4 million passengers a day. All buses and 80% of the taxis in Yangon run on compressed natural gas (CNG), following the 2005 government decree to save money on imported petroleum. Highway buses to other cities depart from Dagon Ayeyar Highway Bus Terminal for Irrawaddy delta region and Aung Mingala Highway Bus Terminal for other parts of the country.

Motor transportation in Yangon is highly expensive for most of its citizens. As the government allows only a few thousand cars to be imported each year in a country with over 50 million people, car prices in Yangon (and in Burma) are among the highest in the world. In July 2008, the two most popular cars in Yangon, 1986/87 Nissan Sunny Super Saloon and 1988 Toyota Corolla SE Limited, cost the equivalent of about US$20,000 and US$29,000 respectively. A sports utility vehicle, imported for the equivalent of around US$50,000, goes for US$250,000. Illegally imported unregistered cars are cheaper – typically about half the price of registered cars. Nonetheless, car usage in Yangon is on the rise, a sign of rising incomes for some, and already causes much traffic congestion in highway-less Yangon's streets. In 2011, Yangon had about 300,000 registered motor vehicles in addition to an unknown number of unregistered ones.

Since 1970, cars have been driven on the right side of the road in Burma, as part of a military decree. However, as the government has not required left hand drive (LHD) cars to accompany the right side road rules, many cars on the road are still right hand drive (RHD) made for driving on the left side. Japanese used cars, which make up most of the country's imports, still arrive with RHD and are never converted to LHD. As a result, Burmese drivers have to rely on their passengers when passing other cars.

Within Yangon city limits, it is illegal to drive trishaws, bicycles, and motorcycles. Since February 2010, pickup truck bus lines have been forbidden to run in 6 townships of central Yangon, namely Latha, Lanmadaw, Pabedan, Kyauktada, Botahtaung and Pazundaung Townships. In May 2003, a ban on using car horns was implemented in six townships of Downtown Yangon to reduce noise pollution. In April 2004, the car horn ban was expanded to cover the entire city.

RIVER

Yangon's four main passenger jetties, all located on or near downtown waterfront, mainly serve local ferries across the river to Dala and Thanlyin, and regional ferries to the Irrawaddy delta. The 35-km Twante Canal was the quickest route from Yangon to the Irrawaddy delta until the 1990s when roads between Yangon and the Irrawaddy Division became usable year-round. While passenger ferries to the delta are still used, those to Upper Burma via the Irrawaddy river are now limited mostly to tourist river cruises.

DEMOGRAPHICS

Yangon is the most populous city by far in Burma although estimates of the size of its population vary widely. All population figures are estimates since no official census has been conducted in Burma since 1983. A UN estimate puts the population as 4.35 million in 2010 but a 2009 U.S. State Department estimate puts it at 5.5 million. The U.S. State Department's estimate is probably closer to the real number since the UN number is a straight-line projection, and does not appear to take the expansion of city limits in the past two decades into account. The city's population grew sharply after 1948 as many people (mainly, the indigenous Burmese) from other parts of the country moved into the newly built satellite towns of North Okkalapa, South Okkalapa, and Thaketa in the 1950s and East Dagon, North Dagon and South Dagon in the 1990s. Immigrants have founded their regional associations (such as Mandalay Association, Mawlamyaing Association, etc.) in Yangon for networking purposes. The government's decision to move the nation's administrative capital to Naypyidaw has drained an unknown number of civil servants away from Yangon.

Yangon is the most ethnically diverse city in the country. While Indians formed the slight majority prior to World War II, today, the majority of the population is of indigenous Bamar (Burman) descent. Large communities of Indians/South Asian Burmese and the Chinese Burmese exist especially in the traditional downtown neighborhoods. A large number of Rakhine and Karen also live in the city.

Burmese is the principal language of the city. English is by far the preferred second language of the educated class. In recent years, however, the prospect of overseas job opportunities has enticed

some to study other languages: Mandarin Chinese is most popular, followed by Japanese, and French.

RELIGIONS

The primary religions practiced in Yangon are Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. Shwedagon Pagoda is a famous religious landmark in the city.

MEDIA

Yangon is the country's hub for the movie, music, advertising, newspaper and book publishing industries. All media is heavily regulated by the military government. Television broadcasting is off limits to the private sector. All media content must first be approved by the government's media censor board, Press Scrutiny and Registration Division.

Most television channels in the country are broadcast from Yangon. TV Myanmar and Myawaddy TV are the two main channels, providing Burmese-language programming in news and entertainment. Other special interest channels are MWD-1 and MWD-2, MRTV-3, the English-language channel that targets overseas audiences via satellite and via Internet, MRTV-4 and Channel 7 are with a focus on non-formal education programs and movies, and Movie 5, a pay-TV channel specializing in broadcasting foreign movies.

Yangon has three radio stations. Myanmar Radio National Service is the national radio service and broadcasts mostly in Burmese (and in English during specific times.) Pop culture oriented Yangon City FM and Mandalay City FM radio stations specialize in Burmese and English pop music, entertainment programs, live celebrity interviews, etc. New radio channels such as Shwe FM and Pyinsawaddy FM can also be tuned with the city area.

Nearly all print media and industries are based out of Yangon. All three national newspapers – two Burmese language dailies Myanma Alin (မြန်မာ့အလင်း) and Kyemon (ကြေးမုံ), and the English language The New Light of Myanmar — are published by the government. Semi-governmental The Myanmar Times weekly, published in Burmese and in English, is mainly geared for Yangon's expatriate community. Over twenty special interest journals and magazines covering sports, fashion, finance, crime, literature (but never politics) vie for the readership of the general populace.

Access to foreign media is extremely difficult. Satellite television in Yangon, and in Burma, is very expensive as the government imposes an annual registration fee of one million kyats. Certain foreign newspapers and periodicals such as the International Herald Tribune and the Straits Times can be found only in a few (mostly downtown) bookstores. Internet access in Yangon, which has the best telecommunication infrastructure in the country, is slow and erratic at best, and the Burmese government implements one of the world's most restrictive regimes of Internet control. International text messaging and voice messaging was permitted only in August 2008.

COMMUNICATION

Common facilities taken for granted elsewhere are luxury prized items in Yangon and Burma. The price of a GSM mobile phone was about K1.1 million in August 2008. In 2007, the country of 55 million had only 775,000 phone lines (including 275,000 mobile phones), and 400,000 computers. Even in Yangon, which has the best infrastructure, the estimated telephone penetration rate was only 6% at the end of 2004, and the official waiting time for a telephone line was 3.6 years. Most people cannot afford a computer and have to use the city's numerous Internet cafes to access a heavily restricted Internet, and a heavily censored local intranet. According to official statistics, in July 2010, the country had over 400,000 Internet users, with the vast majority hailing from just two cities, Yangon and Mandalay. Although Internet access was available in 42 cities across the country, the number of users outside the two main cities was just over 10,000.

LIFESTYLE

Yangon's property market is the most expensive in the country and beyond the reach of most Yangonites. Most rent outside the centre and few can afford to rent such apartments. (In 2008, rents for a typical 60 to 70 m2 apartments in the centre and vicinity range between K70,000 and K150,000 and those for high end condos between K200,000 and K500,000.)

Most men of all ages (and some women) spend their time at ubiquitous tea-shops, found in any corner or street of the city. Watching European football (mostly English Premier League with occasional La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga) matches while sipping tea is a popular pastime among many Yangonites. The average person stays close to his or her residential neighbourhood. The well-to-do tend to visit shopping malls and parks on weekends. Some leave the city on weekends for Chaungtha and Ngwesaung beach resorts in Ayeyarwady Division.

Yangon is also home to many pagoda festivals (paya pwe), held during dry-season months (November – March). The most famous of all, the Shwedagon Pagoda Festival in March, attracts thousands of pilgrims from around the country.

Yangon's museums are the domain of tourists and rarely visited by the locals.

Most of Yangon's larger hotels offer some kind of nightlife entertainment, geared towards tourists and the well-to-do Burmese. Some hotels offer traditional Burmese performing arts shows complete with a traditional Burmese orchestra. The pub scene in larger hotels is more or less the same as elsewhere in Asia. Other options include karaoke bars and pub restaurants in Yangon Chinatown.

Due to the problems of high inflation, the lack of high denomination notes, and the fact that many of the population do not have access to checks, or credit or debit cards, it is common to see citizens carrying a considerable amount of cash. (The highest denomination of Burmese currency kyat is 10 000 (~US$10.)) Credit cards are only rarely used in the city, chiefly in the more lavish hotels. Credit cards are also accepted in the major supermarket and convenience store chains.

SPORTS

As the city has the best sporting facilities in the country, most national-level annual sporting tournaments such as track and field, football, volleyball, tennis and swimming are held in Yangon. The 40,000-seat Aung San Stadium and the 32,000-seat Thuwunna Stadium are the main venues for the highly popular annual State and Division football tournament. Until April 2009, the now defunct Myanmar Premier League, consisted of 16 Yangon-based clubs, played all its matches in Yangon stadiums, and attracted little interest from the general public or commercial success despite the enormous popularity of football in Burma. Most Yangonites prefer watching European football on satellite TV. Teams such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City are among the favorite European teams among the Yangonites. It remains to be seen whether the Myanmar National League, the country's first professional football league, and its Yangon-based club Yangon United FC will attract a sufficient following in the country's most important media market.

Yangon is also home to annual the Myanmar Open golf tournament, and the Myanmar Open tennis tournament. The city hosted the 1961 and 1969 South East Asian Games. During colonial times, cricket was played mostly by British officials in the city. First-class cricket was played in the city in January 1927 when the touring Marylebone Cricket Club played Burma and the Rangoon Gymkhana. Two grounds were used to host these matches, the BAA Ground and the Gymkhana Ground. These matches mark the only time Burma and Rangoon Gymkhana have appeared in first-class cricket, and the only time first-class cricket has been played in Burma. After independence cricket all but died out in the country.

Yangon has a growing population of skateboarders, as documented in the films Altered Focus: Burma and Youth of Yangon. German non-profit organization Make Life Skate Life has received permission from the Yangon City Development Committee to construct a concrete skatepark at Thakin Mya park in downtown, and plans to complete the park in November 2015.

ECONOMY

Yangon is the country's main centre for trade, industry, real estate, media, entertainment and tourism. The city represents about one fifth of the national economy. According to official statistics for FY 2010–2011, the size of the economy of Yangon Region was 8.93 trillion kyats, or 23% of the national GDP.

The city is Lower Burma's main trading hub for all kinds of merchandise – from basic food stuffs to used cars although commerce continues to be hampered by the city's severely underdeveloped banking industry and communication infrastructure. Bayinnaung Market is the largest wholesale centre in the country for rice, beans and pulses, and other agricultural commodities. Much of the country's legal imports and exports go through Thilawa Port, the largest and busiest port in Burma. There is also a great deal of informal trade, especially in street markets that exist alongside street platforms of Downtown Yangon's townships. However, on 17 June 2011, the YCDC announced that street vendors, who had previously been allowed to legally open shop at 3 pm, would be prohibited from selling on the streets, and permitted to sell only in their townships of residence, presumably to clean up the city's image. Since 1 December 2009, high-density polyethylene plastic bags have been banned by city authorities.

Manufacturing accounts for a sizable share of employment. At least 14 light industrial zones ring Yangon, directly employing over 150,000 workers in 4,300 factories in early 2010. The city is the centre of country's garment industry which exported US$292 million in 2008/9 fiscal year. More than 80 percent of factory workers in Yangon work on a day-to-day basis. Most are young women between 15 and 27 years of age who come from the countryside in search of a better life. The manufacturing sector suffers from both structural problems (e.g. chronic power shortages) and political.

problems (e.g. economic sanctions). In 2008, Yangon's 2500 factories alone needed about 120 MW of power; yet, the entire city received only about 250 MW of the 530 MW needed. Chronic power shortages limit the factories' operating hours between 8 am and 6 pm.

Construction is a major source of employment. The construction industry has been negatively affected by the move of state apparatus and civil servants to Naypyidaw, new regulations introduced in August 2009 requiring builders to provide at least 12 parking spaces in every new high-rise building, and the general poor business climate. As of January 2010, the number of new high-rise building starts approved in 2009–2010 was only 334, compared to 582 in 2008–2009.

Tourism represents a major source of foreign currency for the city although by south-east Asian standards the number of foreign visitors to Yangon has always been quite low - about 250,000 before the Saffron Revolution in September 2007. The number of visitors dipped even further following the Saffron Revolution and Cyclone Nargis. The recent improvement in the country's political climate has attracted an increasing number of businessmen and tourists. Between 300,000 and 400,000 visitors that went through Yangon International in 2011. However, after years of underinvestment, Yangon's modest hotel infrastructure - only 3000 of the total 8000 hotel rooms in Yangon are "suitable for tourists" - is already bursting at seams, and will need to be expanded to handle additional visitors. As part of an urban development strategy, a hotel zone has been planned in Yangon's outskirts, encompassing government- and military-owned land in Mingaladon, Hlegu and Htaukkyant Townships.

EDUCATION

Yangon educational facilities has a very high number of qualified teachers but the state spending on education is among the lowest of the world. Around 2007 estimate by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies puts the spending for education at 0.5% of the national budget. The disparity in educational opportunities and achievement between rich and poor schools is quite stark even within the city. With little or no state support forthcoming, schools have to rely on forced "donations" and various fees from parents for nearly everything – school maintenance to teachers' salaries, forcing many poor students to drop out.

While many students in poor districts fail to reach high school, a handful of Yangon high schools in wealthier districts such as Dagon 1, Sanchaung 2, Kamayut 2, Bahan 2, Latha 2, and TTC provide the majority of students admitted to the most selective universities in the country, highlighting the extreme shallowness of talent pool in the country. The wealthy bypass the state education system altogether, sending their children to private English language instruction schools such as YIEC or more widely known as ISM, or abroad (typically Singapore or Australia) for university education. In 2014, international schools in Yangon cost at least US$8,000 a year.

There are over 20 universities and colleges in the city. While Yangon University remains the best known (its main campus is a part of popular Burmese culture e.g. literature, music, film, etc.), the nation's oldest university is now mostly a graduate school, deprived of undergraduate studies. Following the 1988 nationwide uprising, the military government has repeatedly closed universities, and has dispersed most of undergraduate student population to new universities in the suburbs such as Dagon University, the University of East Yangon and the University of West Yangon. Nonetheless many of the country's most selective universities are still in Yangon. Students from around the country still have to come to study in Yangon as some subjects are offered only at its universities. The University of Medicine 1, University of Medicine 2, Yangon Technological University, University of Computer Studies and Myanmar Maritime University are the most selective in the country.

HEALTH CARE

The general state of health care in Yangon is poor. According to a 2007 estimate, the military government spends 0.4% of the national budget on health care, and 40% to 60% on defense. By the government's own figures, it spends 849 kyats (US$0.85) per person. Although health care is nominally free, in reality, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even in public clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals including the flagship Yangon General Hospital lack many of the basic facilities and equipment.

Wealthier Yangonites still have access to country's best medical facilities and internationally qualified doctors. Only Yangon and Mandalay have any sizable number of doctors left as many Burmese doctors have emigrated. The well-to-do go to private clinics or hospitals like Pun Hlaing International Hospital and Bahosi Medical Clinic. Medical malpractice is widespread, even in private clinics and hospitals that serve the well-to-do. In 2009 and 2010, a spate of high-profile deaths brought out the severity of the problem, even for the relatively well off Yangonites. The wealthy do not rely on domestic hospitals and travel abroad, usually Bangkok or Singapore, for treatment.

WIKIPEDIA

India - Sikkim - Namchi - Siddhesvara Dham - Lord Kirateshwar (Hunter Incarnation Of Shiva) - 104dd by Manfred Sommer

Shiva, meaning "The Auspicious One"), also known as Mahadeva ("Great God"), is a popular Hindu deity. Shiva is regarded as one of the primary forms of God. He is the Supreme God within Shaivism, one of the three most influential denominations in contemporary Hinduism. He is one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta tradition, and "the Destroyer" or "the Transformer" among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine.

Shiva has many benevolent and fearsome forms. At the highest level Shiva is limitless, transcendent, unchanging and formless. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash, as well as a householder with wife Parvati and his two children, Ganesha and Kartikeya and in fierce aspects, he is often depicted slaying demons. Shiva is also regarded as the patron god of yoga and arts.

The main iconographical attributes of Shiva are the third eye on his forehead, the snake Vasuki around his neck, the crescent moon adorning, the holy river Ganga flowing from his matted hair, the trishula as his weapon and the damaru as his instrument.

Shiva is usually worshiped in the aniconic form of Lingam. Temples of Lord Shiva are called shivalayam.

ETYMOLOGY & OTHER NAMES

The Sanskrit word Shiva (Devanagari: शिव, śiva) comes from Shri Rudram Chamakam of Taittiriya Samhita (TS 4.5, 4.7) of Krishna Yajurveda. The root word śi means auspicious. In simple English transliteration it is written either as Shiva or Siva. The adjective śiva, is used as an attributive epithet not particularly of Rudra, but of several other Vedic deities.

The other popular names associated with Shiva are Mahadev, Mahesh, Maheshwar, Shankar, Shambhu, Rudra, Har, Trilochan, Devendra (meaning Chief of the gods) and Trilokinath (meaning Lord of the three realms).

The Sanskrit word śaiva means "relating to the God Shiva", and this term is the Sanskrit name both for one of the principal sects of Hinduism and for a member of that sect. It is used as an adjective to characterize certain beliefs and practices, such as Shaivism. He is the oldest worshipped Lord of India.

The Tamil word Sivan, Tamil: சிவன் ("Fair Skinned") could have been derived from the word sivappu. The word 'sivappu' means "red" in Tamil language but while addressing a person's skin texture in Tamil the word 'Sivappu' is used for being Fair Skinned.

Adi Sankara, in his interpretation of the name Shiva, the 27th and 600th name of Vishnu sahasranama, the thousand names of Vishnu interprets Shiva to have multiple meanings: "The Pure One", or "the One who is not affected by three Gunas of Prakrti (Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas)" or "the One who purifies everyone by the very utterance of His name."Swami Chinmayananda, in his translation of Vishnu sahasranama, further elaborates on that verse: Shiva means "the One who is eternally pure" or "the One who can never have any contamination of the imperfection of Rajas and Tamas".

Shiva's role as the primary deity of Shaivism is reflected in his epithets Mahādeva ("Great God"; mahā "Great" and deva "god"), Maheśvara ("Great Lord"; mahā "great" and īśvara "lord"), and Parameśvara ("Supreme Lord").

There are at least eight different versions of the Shiva Sahasranama, devotional hymns (stotras) listing many names of Shiva. The version appearing in Book 13 (Anuśāsanaparvan) of the Mahabharata is considered the kernel of this tradition. Shiva also has Dasha-Sahasranamas (10,000 names) that are found in the Mahanyasa. The Shri Rudram Chamakam, also known as the Śatarudriya, is a devotional hymn to Shiva hailing him by many names.

The worship of Shiva is a pan-Hindu tradition, practiced widely across all of India, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

ASSIMILATION OF TRADITIONS

The figure of Shiva as we know him today was built up over time, with the ideas of many regional sects being amalgamated into a single figure. How the persona of Shiva converged as a composite deity is not well documented. According to Vijay Nath:

Visnu and Siva [...] began to absorb countless local cults and deities within their folds. The latter were either taken to represent the multiple facets of the same god or else were supposed to denote different forms and appellations by which the god came to be known and worshipped. [...] Siva became identified with countless local cults by the sheer suffixing of Isa or Isvara to the name of the local deity, e.g., Bhutesvara, Hatakesvara, Chandesvara."

Axel Michaels the Indologist suggests that Shaivism, like Vaishnavism, implies a unity which cannot be clearly found either in religious practice or in philosophical and esoteric doctrine. Furthermore, practice and doctrine must be kept separate.

An example of assimilation took place in Maharashtra, where a regional deity named Khandoba is a patron deity of farming and herding castes. The foremost center of worship of Khandoba in Maharashtra is in Jejuri. Khandoba has been assimilated as a form of Shiva himself, in which case he is worshipped in the form of a lingam. Khandoba's varied associations also include an identification with Surya and Karttikeya.

INDUS VALLEY ORIGINS

Many Indus valley seals show animals but one seal that has attracted attention shows a figure, either horned or wearing a horned headdress and possibly ithyphallic figure seated in a posture reminiscent of the Lotus position and surrounded by animals was named by early excavators of Mohenjo-daro Pashupati (lord of cattle), an epithet of the later Hindu gods Shiva and Rudra. Sir John Marshall and others have claimed that this figure is a prototype of Shiva and have described the figure as having three faces seated in a "yoga posture" with the knees out and feet joined.

This claim has been criticised, with some academics like Gavin Flood and John Keay characterizing them as unfounded. Writing in 1997 Doris Srinivasan said that "Not too many recent studies continue to call the seal's figure a 'Proto-Siva'", rejecting thereby Marshall's package of proto-Siva features, including that of three heads. She interprets what John Marshall interpreted as facial as not human but more bovine, possibly a divine buffalo-man. According to Iravatham Mahadevan symbols 47 and 48 of his Indus script glossary The Indus Script: Texts, Concordance and Tables (1977), representing seated human-like figures, could describe Hindu deity Murugan, popularly known as Shiva and Parvati's son.

INDO-EUROPEAN ORIGINS

Shiva's rise to a major position in the pantheon was facilitated by his identification with a host of Vedic deities, including Purusha, Rudra, Agni, Indra, Prajāpati, Vāyu, and others.

RUDRA

Shiva as we know him today shares many features with the Vedic god Rudra, and both Shiva and Rudra are viewed as the same personality in Hindu scriptures. The two names are used synonymously. Rudra, the god of the roaring storm, is usually portrayed in accordance with the element he represents as a fierce, destructive deity.

The oldest surviving text of Hinduism is the Rig Veda, which is dated to between 1700 and 1100 BCE based on linguistic and philological evidence. A god named Rudra is mentioned in the Rig Veda. The name Rudra is still used as a name for Shiva. In RV 2.33, he is described as the "Father of the Rudras", a group of storm gods. Furthermore, the Rudram, one of the most sacred hymns of Hinduism found both in the Rig and the Yajur Vedas and addressed to Rudra, invokes him as Shiva in several instances, but the term Shiva is used as an epithet for the gods Indra, Mitra and Agni many times. Since Shiva means pure, the epithet is possibly used to describe a quality of these gods rather than to identify any of them with the God Shiva.

The identification of Shiva with the older god Rudhra is not universally accepted, as Axel Michaels explains:

Rudra is called "The Archer" (Sanskrit: Śarva), and the arrow is an essential attribute of Rudra. This name appears in the Shiva Sahasranama, and R. K. Sharma notes that it is used as a name of Shiva often in later languages.

The word is derived from the Sanskrit root śarv-, which means "to injure" or "to kill", and Sharma uses that general sense in his interpretive translation of the name Śarva as "One who can kill the forces of darkness". The names Dhanvin ("Bowman") and Bāṇahasta ("Archer", literally "Armed with arrows in his hands") also refer to archery.

AGNI

Rudra and Agni have a close relationship. The identification between Agni and Rudra in the Vedic literature was an important factor in the process of Rudra's gradual development into the later character as Rudra-Shiva. The identification of Agni with Rudra is explicitly noted in the Nirukta, an important early text on etymology, which says, "Agni is also called Rudra." The interconnections between the two deities are complex, and according to Stella Kramrisch:

The fire myth of Rudra-Śiva plays on the whole gamut of fire, valuing all its potentialities and phases, from conflagration to illumination.

In the Śatarudrīya, some epithets of Rudra, such as Sasipañjara ("Of golden red hue as of flame") and Tivaṣīmati ("Flaming bright"), suggest a fusing of the two deities. Agni is said to be a bull, and Lord Shiva possesses a bull as his vehicle, Nandi. The horns of Agni, who is sometimes characterized as a bull, are mentioned. In medieval sculpture, both Agni and the form of Shiva known as Bhairava have flaming hair as a special feature.

INDRA

According to Wendy Doniger, the Puranic Shiva is a continuation of the Vedic Indra. Doniger gives several reasons for his hypothesis. Both are associated with mountains, rivers, male fertility, fierceness, fearlessness, warfare, transgression of established mores, the Aum sound, the Supreme Self. In the Rig Veda the term śiva is used to refer to Indra. (2.20.3, 6.45.17, and 8.93.3.) Indra, like Shiva, is likened to a bull. In the Rig Veda, Rudra is the father of the Maruts, but he is never associated with their warlike exploits as is Indra.

The Vedic beliefs and practices of the pre-classical era were closely related to the hypothesised Proto-Indo-European religion, and the Indo-Iranian religion. According to Anthony, the Old Indic religion probably emerged among Indo-European immigrants in the contact zone between the Zeravshan River (present-day Uzbekistan) and (present-day) Iran. It was "a syncretic mixture of old Central Asian and new Indo-European elements", which borrowed "distinctive religious beliefs and practices" from the Bactria–Margiana Culture. At least 383 non-Indo-European words were borrowed from this culture, including the god Indra and the ritual drink Soma. According to Anthony,

Many of the qualities of Indo-Iranian god of might/victory, Verethraghna, were transferred to the adopted god Indra, who became the central deity of the developing Old Indic culture. Indra was the subject of 250 hymns, a quarter of the Rig Veda. He was associated more than any other deity with Soma, a stimulant drug (perhaps derived from Ephedra) probably borrowed from the BMAC religion. His rise to prominence was a peculiar trait of the Old Indic speakers.

LATER VEDIC LITERATURE

Rudra's transformation from an ambiguously characterized deity to a supreme being began in the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (400-200 BCE), which founded the tradition of Rudra-Shiva worship. Here they are identified as the creators of the cosmos and liberators of souls from the birth-rebirth cycle. The period of 200 BCE to 100 CE also marks the beginning of the Shaiva tradition focused on the worship of Shiva, with references to Shaiva ascetics in Patanjali's Mahabhasya and in the Mahabharata.

Early historical paintings at the Bhimbetka rock shelters, depict Shiva dancing, Shiva's trident, and his mount Nandi but no other Vedic gods.

PURANIC LITERATURE

The Shiva Puranas, particularly the Shiva Purana and the Linga Purana, discuss the various forms of Shiva and the cosmology associated with him.

TANTRIC LITERATURE

The Tantras, composed between the 8th and 11th centuries, regard themselves as Sruti. Among these the Shaiva Agamas, are said to have been revealed by Shiva himself and are foundational texts for Shaiva Siddhanta.

POSITION WITHIN HINDUISM

SHAIVISM

Shaivism (Sanskrit: शैव पंथ, śaiva paṁtha) (Kannada: ಶೈವ ಪಂಥ) (Tamil: சைவ சமயம்) is the oldest of the four major sects of Hinduism, the others being Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism. Followers of Shaivism, called "Shaivas", and also "Saivas" or "Saivites", revere Shiva as the Supreme Being. Shaivas believe that Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer, revealer and concealer of all that is. The tantric Shaiva tradition consists of the Kapalikas, Kashmir Shaivism and Shaiva Siddhanta. The Shiva MahaPurana is one of the purāṇas, a genre of Hindu religious texts, dedicated to Shiva. Shaivism is widespread throughout India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, mostly. Areas notable for the practice of Shaivism include parts of Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.

PANCHAYATANA PUJA

Panchayatana puja is the system of worship ('puja') in the Smarta sampradaya of Hinduism. It is said to have been introduced by Adi Shankara, the 8th century CE Hindu philosopher. It consists of the worship of five deities: Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Surya and Ganesha. Depending on the tradition followed by Smarta households, one of these deities is kept in the center and the other four surround it. Worship is offered to all the deities. The five are represented by small murtis, or by five kinds of stones, or by five marks drawn on the floor.

TRIMURTI

The Trimurti is a concept in Hinduism in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahmā the creator, Vishnu the maintainer or preserver and Śhiva the destroyer or transformer. These three deities have been called "the Hindu triad" or the "Great Trinity", often addressed as "Brahma-Vishnu-Maheshwara."

ICONOGRAPHY AND PROPERTIES

ATTRIBUTES

Shiva's form: Shiva has a trident in the right lower arm, and a crescent moon on his head. He is said to be fair like camphor or like an ice clad mountain. He wears five serpents and a garland of skulls as ornaments. Shiva is usually depicted facing the south. His trident, like almost all other forms in Hinduism, can be understood as the symbolism of the unity of three worlds that a human faces - his inside world, his immediate world, and the broader overall world. At the base of the trident, all three forks unite.

Third eye: (Trilochana) Shiva is often depicted with a third eye, with which he burned Desire (Kāma) to ashes, called "Tryambakam" (Sanskrit: त्र्यम्बकम् ), which occurs in many scriptural sources. In classical Sanskrit, the word ambaka denotes "an eye", and in the Mahabharata, Shiva is depicted as three-eyed, so this name is sometimes translated as "having three eyes". However, in Vedic Sanskrit, the word ambā or ambikā means "mother", and this early meaning of the word is the basis for the translation "three mothers". These three mother-goddesses who are collectively called the Ambikās. Other related translations have been based on the idea that the name actually refers to the oblations given to Rudra, which according to some traditions were shared with the goddess Ambikā. It has been mentioned that when Shiva loses his temper, his third eye opens which can destroy most things to ashes.

Crescent moon: (The epithets "Chandrasekhara/Chandramouli")- Shiva bears on his head the crescent moon. The epithet Candraśekhara (Sanskrit: चन्द्रशेखर "Having the moon as his crest" - candra = "moon"; śekhara = "crest, crown") refers to this feature. The placement of the moon on his head as a standard iconographic feature dates to the period when Rudra rose to prominence and became the major deity Rudra-Shiva. The origin of this linkage may be due to the identification of the moon with Soma, and there is a hymn in the Rig Veda where Soma and Rudra are jointly implored, and in later literature, Soma and Rudra came to be identified with one another, as were Soma and the moon. The crescent moon is shown on the side of the Lord's head as an ornament. The waxing and waning phenomenon of the moon symbolizes the time cycle through which creation evolves from the beginning to the end.

Ashes: (The epithet "Bhasmaanga Raaga") - Shiva smears his body with ashes (bhasma). The ashes are said to represent the end of all material existence. Some forms of Shiva, such as Bhairava, are associated with a very old Indian tradition of cremation-ground asceticism that was practiced by some groups who were outside the fold of brahmanic orthodoxy. These practices associated with cremation grounds are also mentioned in the Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism. One epithet for Shiva is "inhabitant of the cremation ground" (Sanskrit: śmaśānavāsin, also spelled Shmashanavasin), referring to this connection.

Matted hair: (The epithet "Jataajoota Dhari/Kapardina") - Shiva's distinctive hair style is noted in the epithets Jaṭin, "the one with matted hair", and Kapardin, "endowed with matted hair" or "wearing his hair wound in a braid in a shell-like (kaparda) fashion". A kaparda is a cowrie shell, or a braid of hair in the form of a shell, or, more generally, hair that is shaggy or curly. His hair is said to be like molten gold in color or being yellowish-white.

Blue throat: The epithet Nīlakaṇtha (Sanskrit नीलकण्ठ; nīla = "blue", kaṇtha = "throat"). Since Shiva drank the Halahala poison churned up from the Samudra Manthan to eliminate its destructive capacity. Shocked by his act, Goddess Parvati strangled his neck and hence managed to stop it in his neck itself and prevent it from spreading all over the universe, supposed to be in Shiva's stomach. However the poison was so potent that it changed the color of his neck to blue. (See Maha Shivaratri.)

Sacred Ganges: (The epithet "Gangadhara") Bearer of Ganga. Ganges river flows from the matted hair of Shiva. The Gaṅgā (Ganges), one of the major rivers of the country, is said to have made her abode in Shiva's hair. The flow of the Ganges also represents the nectar of immortality.

Tiger skin: (The epithet "Krittivasana").He is often shown seated upon a tiger skin, an honour reserved for the most accomplished of Hindu ascetics, the Brahmarishis.

Serpents: (The epithet "Nagendra Haara" or 'Vasoki"). Shiva is often shown garlanded with a snake.

Deer: His holding deer on one hand indicates that He has removed the Chanchalata of the mind (i.e., attained maturity and firmness in thought process). A deer jumps from one place to another swiftly, similar to the mind moving from one thought to another.

Trident: (Trishula): Shiva's particular weapon is the trident. His Trisul that is held in His right hand represents the three Gunas— Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. That is the emblem of sovereignty. He rules the world through these three Gunas. The Damaru in His left hand represents the Sabda Brahman. It represents OM from which all languages are formed. It is He who formed the Sanskrit language out of the Damaru sound.

Drum: A small drum shaped like an hourglass is known as a damaru (ḍamaru). This is one of the attributes of Shiva in his famous dancing representation known as Nataraja. A specific hand gesture (mudra) called ḍamaru-hasta (Sanskrit for "ḍamaru-hand") is used to hold the drum. This drum is particularly used as an emblem by members of the Kāpālika sect.

Axe: (Parashu):The parashu is the weapon of Lord Shiva who gave it to Parashurama, sixth Avatar of Vishnu, whose name means "Rama with the axe" and also taught him its mastery.

Nandī: (The epithet "Nandi Vaahana").Nandī, also known as Nandin, is the name of the bull that serves as Shiva's mount (Sanskrit: vāhana). Shiva's association with cattle is reflected in his name Paśupati, or Pashupati (Sanskrit: पशुपति), translated by Sharma as "lord of cattle" and by Kramrisch as "lord of animals", who notes that it is particularly used as an epithet of Rudra. Rishabha or the bull represents Dharma Devata. Lord Siva rides on the bull. Bull is his vehicle. This denotes that Lord Siva is the protector of Dharma, is an embodiment of Dharma or righteousness.

Gaṇa: The Gaṇas (Devanagari: गण) are attendants of Shiva and live in Kailash. They are often referred to as the bhutaganas, or ghostly hosts, on account of their nature. Generally benign, except when their lord is transgressed against, they are often invoked to intercede with the lord on behalf of the devotee. Ganesha was chosen as their leader by Shiva, hence Ganesha's title gaṇa-īśa or gaṇa-pati, "lord of the gaṇas".

Mount Kailāsa: Mount Kailash in the Himalayas is his traditional abode. In Hindu mythology, Mount Kailāsa is conceived as resembling a Linga, representing the center of the universe.

Varanasi: Varanasi (Benares) is considered to be the city specially loved by Shiva, and is one of the holiest places of pilgrimage in India. It is referred to, in religious contexts, as Kashi.

LINGAM

Apart from anthropomorphic images of Shiva, the worship of Shiva in the form of a lingam, or linga, is also important. These are depicted in various forms. One common form is the shape of a vertical rounded column. Shiva means auspiciousness, and linga means a sign or a symbol. Hence, the Shivalinga is regarded as a "symbol of the great God of the universe who is all-auspiciousness". Shiva also means "one in whom the whole creation sleeps after dissolution". Linga also means the same thing—a place where created objects get dissolved during the disintegration of the created universe. Since, according to Hinduism, it is the same god that creates, sustains and withdraws the universe, the Shivalinga represents symbolically God Himself. Some scholars, such as Monier Monier-Williams and Wendy Doniger, also view linga as a phallic symbol, although this interpretation is disputed by others, including Christopher Isherwood, Vivekananda, Swami Sivananda, and S.N. Balagangadhara.

JYOTIRLINGA

The worship of the Shiva-Linga originated from the famous hymn in the Atharva-Veda Samhitâ sung in praise of the Yupa-Stambha, the sacrificial post. In that hymn, a description is found of the beginningless and endless Stambha or Skambha, and it is shown that the said Skambha is put in place of the eternal Brahman. Just as the Yajna (sacrificial) fire, its smoke, ashes, and flames, the Soma plant, and the ox that used to carry on its back the wood for the Vedic sacrifice gave place to the conceptions of the brightness of Shiva's body, his tawny matted hair, his blue throat, and the riding on the bull of the Shiva, the Yupa-Skambha gave place in time to the Shiva-Linga. In the text Linga Purana, the same hymn is expanded in the shape of stories, meant to establish the glory of the great Stambha and the superiority of Shiva as Mahadeva.

The sacred of all Shiva linga is worshipped as Jyotir linga. Jyoti means Radiance, apart from relating Shiva linga as a phallus symbol, there are also arguments that Shiva linga means 'mark' or a 'sign'. Jyotirlinga means "The Radiant sign of The Almighty". The Jyotirlingas are mentioned in Shiva Purana.

SHAKTI

Shiva forms a Tantric couple with Shakti [Tamil : சக்தி ], the embodiment of energy, dynamism, and the motivating force behind all action and existence in the material universe. Shiva is her transcendent masculine aspect, providing the divine ground of all being. Shakti manifests in several female deities. Sati and Parvati are the main consorts of Shiva. She is also referred to as Uma, Durga (Parvata), Kali and Chandika. Kali is the manifestation of Shakti in her dreadful aspect. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Since Shiva is called Kāla, the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" (as in "time has come"). Various Shakta Hindu cosmologies, as well as Shākta Tantric beliefs, worship her as the ultimate reality or Brahman. She is also revered as Bhavatārini (literally "redeemer of the universe"). Kālī is represented as the consort of Lord Shiva, on whose body she is often seen standing or dancing. Shiva is the masculine force, the power of peace, while Shakti translates to power, and is considered as the feminine force. In the Vaishnava tradition, these realities are portrayed as Vishnu and Laxmi, or Radha and Krishna. These are differences in formulation rather than a fundamental difference in the principles. Both Shiva and Shakti have various forms. Shiva has forms like Yogi Raj (the common image of Himself meditating in the Himalayas), Rudra (a wrathful form) and Natarajar (Shiva's dance are the Lasya - the gentle form of dance, associated with the creation of the world, and the Tandava - the violent and dangerous dance, associated with the destruction of weary worldviews – weary perspectives and lifestyles).

THE FIVE MANTRAS

Five is a sacred number for Shiva. One of his most important mantras has five syllables (namaḥ śivāya).

Shiva's body is said to consist of five mantras, called the pañcabrahmans. As forms of God, each of these have their own names and distinct iconography:

Sadyojāta

Vāmadeva

Aghora

Tatpuruṣha

Īsāna

These are represented as the five faces of Shiva and are associated in various texts with the five elements, the five senses, the five organs of perception, and the five organs of action. Doctrinal differences and, possibly, errors in transmission, have resulted in some differences between texts in details of how these five forms are linked with various attributes. The overall meaning of these associations is summarized by Stella Kramrisch:

Through these transcendent categories, Śiva, the ultimate reality, becomes the efficient and material cause of all that exists.

According to the Pañcabrahma Upanishad:

One should know all things of the phenomenal world as of a fivefold character, for the reason that the eternal verity of Śiva is of the character of the fivefold Brahman. (Pañcabrahma Upanishad 31)

FORMES AND ROLES

According to Gavin Flood, "Shiva is a god of ambiguity and paradox," whose attributes include opposing themes.[168] The ambivalent nature of this deity is apparent in some of his names and the stories told about him.

DESTROYER AND BENEFACTOR

In the Yajurveda, two contrary sets of attributes for both malignant or terrific (Sanskrit: rudra) and benign or auspicious (Sanskrit: śiva) forms can be found, leading Chakravarti to conclude that "all the basic elements which created the complex Rudra-Śiva sect of later ages are to be found here". In the Mahabharata, Shiva is depicted as "the standard of invincibility, might, and terror", as well as a figure of honor, delight, and brilliance. The duality of Shiva's fearful and auspicious attributes appears in contrasted names.

The name Rudra (Sanskrit: रुद्र) reflects his fearsome aspects. According to traditional etymologies, the Sanskrit name Rudra is derived from the root rud-, which means "to cry, howl". Stella Kramrisch notes a different etymology connected with the adjectival form raudra, which means "wild, of rudra nature", and translates the name Rudra as "the wild one" or "the fierce god". R. K. Sharma follows this alternate etymology and translates the name as "terrible". Hara (Sanskrit: हर) is an important name that occurs three times in the Anushasanaparvan version of the Shiva sahasranama, where it is translated in different ways each time it occurs, following a commentorial tradition of not repeating an interpretation. Sharma translates the three as "one who captivates", "one who consolidates", and "one who destroys". Kramrisch translates it as "the ravisher". Another of Shiva's fearsome forms is as Kāla (Sanskrit: काल), "time", and as Mahākāla (Sanskrit: महाकाल), "great time", which ultimately destroys all things. Bhairava (Sanskrit: भैरव), "terrible" or "frightful", is a fierce form associated with annihilation.

In contrast, the name Śaṇkara (Sanskrit: शङ्कर), "beneficent" or "conferring happiness" reflects his benign form. This name was adopted by the great Vedanta philosopher Śaṇkara (c. 788 - 820 CE), who is also known as Shankaracharya. The name Śambhu (Sanskrit: शम्भु), "causing happiness", also reflects this benign aspect.

ASCETIC AND HOUSEHOLDER

He is depicted as both an ascetic yogi and as a householder, roles which have been traditionally mutually exclusive in Hindu society.[185] When depicted as a yogi, he may be shown sitting and meditating. His epithet Mahāyogi ("the great Yogi: Mahā = "great", Yogi = "one who practices Yoga") refers to his association with yoga. While Vedic religion was conceived mainly in terms of sacrifice, it was during the Epic period that the concepts of tapas, yoga, and asceticism became more important, and the depiction of Shiva as an ascetic sitting in philosophical isolation reflects these later concepts. Shiva is also depicted as a corpse below Goddess Kali, it represents that Shiva is a corpse without Shakti. He remains inert. While Shiva is the static form, Mahakali or Shakti is the dynamic aspect without whom Shiva is powerless.

As a family man and householder, he has a wife, Parvati and two sons, Ganesha and Kartikeya. His epithet Umāpati ("The husband of Umā") refers to this idea, and Sharma notes that two other variants of this name that mean the same thing, Umākānta and Umādhava, also appear in the sahasranama. Umā in epic literature is known by many names, including the benign Pārvatī. She is identified with Devi, the Divine Mother; Shakti (divine energy) as well as goddesses like Tripura Sundari, Durga, Kamakshi and Meenakshi. The consorts of Shiva are the source of his creative energy. They represent the dynamic extension of Shiva onto this universe. His son Ganesha is worshipped throughout India and Nepal as the Remover of Obstacles, Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles. Kartikeya is worshipped in Southern India (especially in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka) by the names Subrahmanya, Subrahmanyan, Shanmughan, Swaminathan and Murugan, and in Northern India by the names Skanda, Kumara, or Karttikeya.

Some regional deities are also identified as Shiva's children. As one story goes, Shiva is enticed by the beauty and charm of Mohini, Vishnu's female avatar, and procreates with her. As a result of this union, Shasta - identified with regional deities Ayyappa and Ayyanar - is born. Shiva is also mentioned in some scriptures or folktales to have had daughters like the serpent-goddess Manasa and Ashokasundari. Even the demon Andhaka is sometimes considered a child of Shiva.

NATARAJA

he depiction of Shiva as Nataraja (Tamil: நடராஜா,Kannada: ನಟರಾಜ, Telugu: నటరాజు, Sanskrit: naṭarāja, "Lord of Dance") is popular. The names Nartaka ("dancer") and Nityanarta ("eternal dancer") appear in the Shiva Sahasranama. His association with dance and also with music is prominent in the Puranic period. In addition to the specific iconographic form known as Nataraja, various other types of dancing forms (Sanskrit: nṛtyamūrti) are found in all parts of India, with many well-defined varieties in Tamil Nadu in particular. The two most common forms of the dance are the Tandava, which later came to denote the powerful and masculine dance as Kala-Mahakala associated with the destruction of the world. When it requires the world or universe to be destroyed, Lord Śiva does it by the tāṇḍavanṛtya. and Lasya, which is graceful and delicate and expresses emotions on a gentle level and is considered the feminine dance attributed to the goddess Parvati. Lasya is regarded as the female counterpart of Tandava. The Tandava-Lasya dances are associated with the destruction-creation of the world.

DAKSHINAMURTHY

Dakshinamurthy, or Dakṣiṇāmūrti (Tamil:தட்சிணாமூர்த்தி, Telugu: దక్షిణామూర్తి, Sanskrit: दक्षिणामूर्ति), literally describes a form (mūrti) of Shiva facing south (dakṣiṇa). This form represents Shiva in his aspect as a teacher of yoga, music, and wisdom and giving exposition on the shastras. This iconographic form for depicting Shiva in Indian art is mostly from Tamil Nadu. Elements of this motif can include Shiva seated upon a deer-throne and surrounded by sages who are receiving his instruction.

ARDANARISHVARA

An iconographic representation of Shiva called (Ardhanārīśvara) shows him with one half of the body as male and the other half as female. According to Ellen Goldberg, the traditional Sanskrit name for this form (Ardhanārīśvara) is best translated as "the lord who is half woman", not as "half-man, half-woman". According to legend, Lord Shiva is pleased by the difficult austerites performed by the goddess Parvati, grants her the left half of his body. This form of Shiva is quite similar to the Yin-Yang philosophy of Eastern Asia, though Ardhanārīśvara appears to be more ancient.

TRIRUPANTAKA

Shiva is often depicted as an archer in the act of destroying the triple fortresses, Tripura, of the Asuras. Shiva's name Tripurantaka (Sanskrit: त्रिपुरान्तक, Tripurāntaka), "ender of Tripura", refers to this important story.[216] In this aspect, Shiva is depicted with four arms wielding a bow and arrow, but different from the Pinakapani murti. He holds an axe and a deer on the upper pair of his arms. In the lower pair of the arms, he holds a bow and an arrow respectively. After destroying Tripura, Tripurantaka Shiva smeared his forehead with three strokes of Ashes. This has become a prominent symbol of Shiva and is practiced even today by Shaivites.

OTHER FORMS, AVATARS IDENTIFICATIONS

Shiva, like some other Hindu deities, is said to have several incarnations, known as Avatars. Although Puranic scriptures contain occasional references to "ansh" avatars of Shiva, the idea is not universally accepted in Saivism. The Linga Purana speaks of twenty-eight forms of Shiva which are sometimes seen as avatars. According to the Svetasvatara Upanishad, he has four avatars.

In the Hanuman Chalisa, Hanuman is identified as the eleventh avatar of Shiva and this belief is universal. Hanuman is popularly known as “Rudraavtaar” “Rudra” being a name of “Shiva”. Rama– the Vishnu avatar is considered by some to be the eleventh avatar of Rudra (Shiva).

Other traditions regard the sage Durvasa, the sage Agastya, the philosopher Adi Shankara, as avatars of Shiva. Other forms of Shiva include Virabhadra and Sharabha.

FESTIVALS

Maha Shivratri is a festival celebrated every year on the 13th night or the 14th day of the new moon in the Shukla Paksha of the month of Maagha or Phalguna in the Hindu calendar. This festival is of utmost importance to the devotees of Lord Shiva. Mahashivaratri marks the night when Lord Shiva performed the 'Tandava' and it is the day that Lord Shiva was married to Parvati. The holiday is often celebrated with special prayers and rituals offered up to Shiva, notably the Abhishek. This ritual, practiced throughout the night, is often performed every three hours with water, milk, yogurt, and honey. Bel (aegle marmelos) leaves are often offered up to the Hindu god, as it is considered necessary for a successful life. The offering of the leaves are considered so important that it is believed that someone who offers them without any intentions will be rewarded greatly.

BEYOND HINDUISM

BUDDHISM

Shiva is mentioned in Buddhist Tantra. Shiva as Upaya and Shakti as Prajna. In cosmologies of buddhist tantra, Shiva is depicted as active, skillful, and more passive.

SIKHISM

The Japuji Sahib of the Guru Granth Sahib says, "The Guru is Shiva, the Guru is Vishnu and Brahma; the Guru is Paarvati and Lakhshmi." In the same chapter, it also says, "Shiva speaks, the Siddhas speak."

In Dasam Granth, Guru Gobind Singh have mentioned two avtars of Rudra: Dattatreya Avtar and Parasnath Avtar.

OTHERS

The worship of Lord Shiva became popular in Central Asia through the Hephthalite (White Hun) Dynasty, and Kushan Empire. Shaivism was also popular in Sogdiana and Eastern Turkestan as found from the wall painting from Penjikent on the river Zervashan. In this depiction, Shiva is portrayed with a sacred halo and a sacred thread ("Yajnopavita"). He is clad in tiger skin while his attendants are wearing Sodgian dress. In Eastern Turkestan in the Taklamakan Desert. There is a depiction of his four-legged seated cross-legged n a cushioned seat supported by two bulls. Another panel form Dandan-Uilip shows Shiva in His Trimurti form with His Shakti kneeling on her right thigh. It is also noted that Zoroastrian wind god Vayu-Vata took on the iconographic appearance of Shiva.

Kirant people, a Mongol tribe from Nepal, worship a form of Shiva as one of their major deity, identifying him as the lord of animals. It is also said that the physical form of Shiva as a yogi is derived from Kirants as it is mentioned in Mundhum that Shiva took human form as a child of Kirant. He is also said to give Kirants visions in form of a male deer.

In Indonesia, Shiva is also worshiped as Batara Guru. His other name is "Sang Hyang Jagadnata" (king of the universe) and "Sang Hyang Girinata" (king of mountains). In the ancient times, all kingdoms were located on top of mountains. When he was young, before receiving his authority of power, his name was Sang Hyang Manikmaya. He is first of the children who hatched from the eggs laid by Manuk Patiaraja, wife of god Mulajadi na Bolon. This avatar is also worshiped in Malaysia. Shiva's other form in Indonesian Hindu worship is "Maharaja Dewa" (Mahadeva). Both the forms are closely identified with the Sun in local forms of Hinduism or Kebatinan, and even in the genie lore of Muslims. Mostly Shiva is worshipped in the form of a lingam or the phallus.

WIKIPEDIA

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Away From Reality Part 1: Agony (Part 1: The Dawn of a New Hero) by Kaleigh Guess

ATTENTION: There is very strong adult themes such as rape (I am trying to make people more aware family and child rape ), guts, language, and everything else under the rainbow. So here, don't say I didn't warn you. Also this is in its editing stage so point out any grammar mistakes.***

It is normal to think your life is insanity; even if it is not. It is normal to feel alone, but there is always somebody with you. It is not normal to break away from everything else when you get sucked into a portal-monster-thingy, and then travel thousand years into the future in a weird land. I learned that my home, Eve City, was destroyed a thousand years ago by a thing called Envy. Basically, I got sucked into this thing and now I am a thousand years into the future. Oh great. Now I have to learn about these new people and their new beliefs. I just want to go home.

Well, I’ve been stuck in this little town named Basil for two entire boring days. I got to know everybody here expect that derfecter girl, I thought her name was Yuko or Yuki or something like that, who was always inside the temple. She was all of the people’s hopes. They say if we hear her prayer song thing when outside the temple she could continue her journey to become a dumbldorian and then dumbldorians can defeat the evil monster Envy. “Tyler, come on you sleepy head get up!”

“Fine,” I responded to Wilden’s request. Wilden was a player on the local basketball team in Basil, and his team always won. But, I figured out that his younger brother just died a couple months ago because he was attacked by Envy because he was one of the warriors who protected South America with all his might. Yet, I did not know what the warriors were called.

“You aren’t up yet!” I hated that he kept annoying me to get up when it was only 6:30 in the morning, and I usually woke up at 1:00 in the afternoon. So, I always told that to Wilden before this, but he would never listen to me.

“I’m getting up, gosh!” Then I just forced myself to jump out of my comfy bed and my feet touched the ice cold ground. It felt kind of good, but now I was freezing my butt off.

“Get ready because...well because you need to because it is daytime.” He really didn’t need to tell me that because I already knew that. Well I was already because I didn’t have time to pack anything before I got stucked into Envy. “And, here is a new outfit because you were wearing that outfit for a really long time.” Wilden gave me a new outfit, and it was hideous, and he was also wearing it because it was his team uniform for basketball. Yellow jacket shirt thing and black skin tight shorts with a wacky design on it.

“Okay, can I be alone to change?”

“Alright,” he said while he left the room. Right then I just wanted to go back home to Eve City, back home. Back home I was a semi-famous actor in a t.v show named UnDead, and my character’s name was Mack. Now I knew that would be pointless in my new life. So, I changed after I was thinking a while about my old home and Mack McDonald.

“I need to get back soon or who knows what will happen...” After that, I opened the door to go outside. Who knew what awaited outside the door of density. But, it made my life change forever. It made me think about things more.

“Yuni, it’s her prayer hear it! HEAR IT!” A little girl pulled on my shorts signaling me to come with her to see the derfecter. The thoughts in my head said that this girl would be just a geek that would be dead in the first episode of UnDead. The girl was looking at me with such innocence.

“Alright, alright, I hear it.” She started to pull me over to the Town Square. I wondered where were her parents at this time. Of course I knew her because her name was Suki and she was the youngest of five children. Which that was weird because I was also the youngest of five children. But, my eldest sister, Jenna, disappeared ten years ago, and nobody knows what happened to her. I hated her. Then my father disappeared, Jack, five years later. I hated him also. Now I was missing, but the city was destroyed and the rest of my family probably was dead. Crybaby, that what them two always called me. They were right.

“Come on, Tyler!” Suki started pulling on my shorts again, so I decided to go with her. She was smiling. She was so happy that it made me happy inside. But, I still wasn’t that excited because I still thought this girl would be a stupid geek that was also an attention whore who wanted a boyfriend that had a weird bowl hair cut. Turns out I was wrong. Never judge something until you know what it is or you would be sorry; I learned that lesson the hard way, the very, very hard way that was well very hard.

We finally made it to Town Square where the derfecter was supposed to be. I didn’t see anything but a bunch of townsfolk standing there watching something that I couldn’t see. “I am proud to finally reach the name of dumbldorian. I will follow my mother’s path to defeat Envy and make this world peaceful once again!” I still couldn’t see Yuni’s face because of the big crowd of people.

“Oh, my god! This is so awesome, Tyler! I can’t believe this is actually happening. happening right now. We’re listening to Yuni give a freaking speech!” Suki yelled. This girl seemed to overreact to hearing Yuni--she did hear her talk everyday besides the last two days.

“I know, kid, I k-”

“The world will experience peace once again, and everybody will be happy. Envy will be defeated once again!” The crowd proudly clapped, and I still couldn’t see her face. I still thought she was just another attention whore, still.

“Now thou shall bring’st fourth a dumbldorian magician. An apprentice of Gandalia himself. A Renaissance Woman. Thee art thy best in all of the town. All of the land. All of the universe and life as we knowest ith. Thy is..... the one and only magista unicron...Yuni!!!! Now she shall perform thy traditional spell dance of Yunidfgkgc, thy first person to defeat Envy.” Now I thought was she, and was about to do one of those weird ballet dances only geeks did when they were forced to by their geeky parents. But, I was once again wrong. I always seemed to be wrong about everything then, but I was also naive back then.

“Alright Sir Hootsalot,” she responded. I still couldn’t see her face or clothes or anything. “Oh Madame Andrea you came!”

“Of course, I am one of your protectors. I was also your dad and mom’s protector. You know that I will never leave your side or the side of anybody else in your family. Elder Kirami is also here but you know he is way too shy to show his face here. I believe Commander Luka is in the crowd with her husband Captain Wilden.” Gosh, this Andera girl sure loved to talk. Then I heard footsteps, and a women I didn’t know exited Town Square, Andera. Her hair was red and short and her face was covered by her black cloth.

“Cool! Andera came! She is so cool but she will NEVER show her face to anybody!” Suki tried to run to Andrea, but I stopped her. Now I just wanted to know how Yuni looked like, but, once again, I couldn’t see her. So, I forced my way to the front with Suki. Then that was when I saw her face for the first time. Her hair was a color of a raven and so were her eyes and lips, unicron have naturally black lips, and her skin was like snow. The outfit she was wearing was a navy blue dress with glitter splattered all over it.

“Wow,” I whispered to myself.

“Ain’t she pretty, Tyler, I always thought was pretty.” The girl’s lips and eyes were big because she was a combination of a person and a unicorn, and all unicorns have big lips and eyes for some reason unknown. But, then she started dancing.

“Oh my god.” Everybody was in wow when Yuni started to float, and when magical balls started to surround her creating every color of the rainbow. She then created water out of thin air, so she put it in the ocean which was nearby. This dance took hours, but every moment I was in awe. It wasn’t because of the things Yuni was doing, but it was because of her beauty.

“I love it when I see this.” Suki told me that when I was staring at Yuni’s performance. “I knew you would like it too. It is just pretty looking at Yuni do this.”

“Yes, it is.”

“This is why I love it when people become powerful because I get to see them do this.” Yuni was still dancing in the beautiful afternoon sky, and it was 1:00. When things were normal this was when I would wake up to start my day because filming always started at 6:00 for UnDead. It was near the season finale I remember, and it was getting epic, which was a bummer because I would never figure out how it ended.

Hours later:

The show stopped, but I didn’t want it to stop. But, it was starting to get dark out, and that was when people were scared and hid in their homes. When Yuni got off the stage me and Suki ran to talk to her. “YUNI, THAT WAS AMAZING!”

“Well, thank you Suki,” she answered with a voice of a perfect angel. I loved her voice, her everything.

“You’re welcome! I am so sorry Rikku couldn’t come because she would enjoyed it. But, she joined the Ali Vran with dad and Andru.”

“I’m sure she-” A plane then landed in the middle of Town Square because all the other people were at their homes watching for Envy. Three people stepped out of the aircraft, one of them running towards us. The other two were just walking.

“OH MY GOD! Suki you grew up so much! I can’t believe you are seven because you are getting so big! Do you miss me?” The girl picked up Suki and tossed her in the air after hugging her.

“Yes I do, Rikku!” This girl had a cheery feeling around her. Her blonde hair was exactly like Suki’s, and well they looked exactly alike because they both also had tan skin and green eyes.

“Oh brother and pops are coming. They are tired after a long day of treasure hunting...OH MY THERE IS FINALLY SOMEBODY ELSE WITH BLONDE HAIR! Who is he?” She was clearly talking to me. Well, I knew this town enough to know that Suki’s family and I were the only people with blonde hair in the town Basil. It was annoying that everybody either had red, black, or brown hair in this town; I felt alone with my super blonde hair.

“Oh, hey Suki how’s my girl?” Suki came running up to a man who also had blonde hair, and the man next to him looked exactly like her. Tan, blonde, green. Seems like that all that family has those things in their appearance.

“Oh hey cuz, and hey sis,” the other man greeted. So, Yuni is Rikku, Suki, and Andru cousin...okay, they looked nothing alike. I didn’t know the other two siblings because they were always at home because they were sick or injured or something. They went to close to Envy when they were doing their pickup jobs at the park in Sentra Faira and were lucky they didn’t die painfully.

“Guys this here is Tyler Fern. He is from Eve City-”

“Wait, Suki Eve City was destroyed by Envy thousand years ago,” Yuni interrupted.

“Yeah, Yuni. Um, he is from a thousand years ago. Yeah,” Suki answered.

After that:

Because Andru, Rikku, Yuni, and Pops heard that I was from a thousand years ago they took me to Commander Lucka’s place to talk about it because it was weird. I finally arrived at Luka’s after watching Yuni all the time. We walked there, and I didn’t know how much time it took; if I had to guess it probably took thirty minutes. “Well, here is her place guys.”

“Knock on the door, Yuni,” Pops commanded. So, Yuni did, and Wilden answered it. I knew they had a little three year old named Violet, and I saw her playing with a teddy bear and a moxie girl.

“You are welcomed. Come in please.” We came into the house, well mansion thing. It was super huge and gothic. I guessed Lucka liked dark stuff because Wilden said she did a little while back. “What do you want?”

“We want Luka and Tyler to talk in private about...you know what probably.”

“About him being from a destroyed city called Eve. Let me get her.” He walked up the stairs to get his wife, and I waited with the others. Of course, I passed the time by looking at Yuni, nobody seemed to notice. Okay, I had a big crush on her. Somebody call the love police.

“Here I am. Tyler come over to my workroom.” Luka had black hair like Yuni and river blue eyes. Her baby looked a lot like her, but the child had Wilden’s facial features.

We, Luka and I, entered Luka’s workroom:

It was like one of those places that you go to get your hands read or cards picked or whatever else, told your future. “Sit down, Tyler. Anywhere, but the big purple seat.” I sat down in a blue seat, and it hurt my back it was very uncomfortable.

“What are we doing?” I asked Luka.

“Talk about your life. Talk about your family. Talk about anything you remember about Eve City. Talk about it now.” So, I told her about my childhood about my family and job and Eve City. “Now what about this place?”

“Um-”

“Don’t worry I won’t be offended about anything that you say, freaking anyTHING.” I didn’t trust this girl enough to tell her what I really thought. I didn’t trust her enough to tell about my feelings for Yuni.

“It’s fine, but I sure miss my home.” Gosh, I could've told her my real feelings; I could’ve I hated my place to my guts. The only reasons I still want to be in this place is Yuni; she was HOT with her revealing dress on.

“You’re lying, I can tell. You like Yuni, and you hate this place to your guts and want to get the h*ll out of here. Also you don’t trust me enough to tell me this type of information.” How did she know that, I wondered. “I can read minds you know, Tyler. I should’ve told you that.”

“That’s kind of creepy.”

“I can focus on one mind, and gather all the info I need, and then leave at will. Why do you think i’m so good at this? I could even read multiple at the same time.” Oh great, that's just freaky. No matter what she could read my mind and know all my dirtiest secrets I tell nobody. Looks like I got to learn how to trust her, I told myself. I needed to learn to have a better life in this new place.

“Well, can I go now?”

“You can go now or learn the truth that even I don’t know,” Luka answered. So, I went out the door thinking that this was a complete waste of time. Then Luka came out also. “I have to tell you something!”

“What?”

“You can come one of her protectors, you know? It would make you both happy if you joined her team,” she whispered so nobody else would hear. I didn’t think I was up for the job, but I accepted anyways by nodding my head. “Plus, something inside me tells me that you are in great danger that you cannot escape no matter what you do.”

“It is probably nothing, Luka.” But, she looked really serious when she said that I was in danger, and I should have listened to her more often because that would have solved many problems.

“You’re wrong, Tyler, you are in serious danger. That’s why Wilden and I are coming with you and Luka after the finals in basketball. Maybe you can come see the game?” Luka started to walk away to where the others were at. I knew she knew something I did not.

“But, Luka, who would take c-”

“Emmett, our friend, will take care of Violet. Now go home, Tyler. The finals for Wilden are tomorrow and he needs his sleep. You and your friends also need to go, and I will inform Yuni that you are coming with her.” She then continued her walk to where the others were at, the living room. I decided I can go because Luka was taking care of business for me, and I was tired because I wasn’t used to this type of stuff happening to me. Because, for the whole day I was standing up while I usually did nothing but act back in Eve City.

“Okay.” But, I had my doubts about leaving because I wanted to know what the complete truth was; I knew that it was too late to go back now. There was no turning back.

I went outside:

The sky was eaten by darkness and stars. I guessed that it was about 12:30 A.M. It was a new day, and no wonder Luka wanted me to go. The stars reminded me about Yuni’s eternal beauty, she was even more stunning than the stars themselves. “Tyler, wait up!” When I turned around I saw Yuni running towards me. I then wondered if Yuni could read my mind, probably not. But, it would be weird if she could.

“Okay,” I responded. That word seemed to be my response for every question that night. She caught up to me.

“I hate the dark, it reminds me of the Shade.” Even though she was complaining I still liked the moment. For Pete’s sake, I just learned something new about her. “But, I hate Envy even more. I will stop at nothing to stop that monster once and for all.” She stared into my eyes. Something then destroyed that moment.

“YUNIE, WAIT UP! DON’T WANDER ALONE IN THE FREAKING DARK NIGHT!” Rikku came sprinting down the path. She just had to ruin that moment, didn’t she? Her blonde hair was bouncing around like a ball being played by four year olds. “Look I found a sphere; a sphere that looks unique!” She took out a red shining circular object from out of her ball. “I wonder what’s in it and why it is so hot.”

“Me too. Play it, Rikku.” Yuni walked over to where Rikku was standing, and so did I. When Rikku squeezed the sphere it started to show a movie-like footage. I was standing there in awe because it was beautiful, but I still did not understand how a crystal ball thing can play a movie when it was just a normal sphere.

It was showing a man with a girl that looked a lot like Yuni less the uber-hotness. Everything was a reddish color, so you couldn’t tell what their hair, skin, or eye color was. They were warning the viewer about a thing they called Tusan, Nathan’s slave. Then they explained that when Envy is defeated it gets reborn by feeding off a host of a random person that was nearby Envy when it gets defeated, and the person hosted will technically turn into Envy without their free will. Just because Tusan, Nathan, was playing with the strings with a monstrous thing.

“What the! Mom...dad! Why didn’t you tell me this earlier,” Yuni yelled at the top of her lungs. After that, she began crying. Tears were flowing down her cheeks like they were rivers. She reminded me how I used to be ten years ago, but I was still like that now. Just nothing bad happened to me lately. “Tusan...I have to start my journey now to avenge my parents!”

“You promised Wliden you would go to the final, Yunnie. Plus, Andera and Kirami aren’t here. We will all meet at the finals, and then we can go on the journey altogether as one excited group.” Rikku put her hand on Yuni’s shoulder and wiped the tear off of Yuni’s face. Yuni stopped crying, looking at her cousin. It surprised me that they were COUSINS, Rikku wasn’t even a unicron.

“I just can’t believe my parents would hide something that big from me, their own daughter. We used to tell everything to each other.” Another tear went down Yuni’s amazing face. She once again started to cry. Crybaby, that word hunted my head. Forever and ever and ever. At least I was not the only crybaby in that cruel world.

“We have to go home, guys, it’s getting late,” I commanded. Yuni grabbed my hand.

“My home is the temple.”

“No, Yuni you can stay with me. You know where I live right, Tyler, right? Come on we have to go!” Rikku ran leaving us behind in the darkness. If she ran off in our journey, I wondered, would she do it for a good reason? I put that thought out of head, and then started walking.

“So you are from the infamous Eve City?”

“Yes.” I was a little annoyed about why she asked me that freaking annoying question. Didn’t Wilden tell her he found me on the bench unconscious, laying there all wet and sandy. He brought me back to his village to see if I was alright, and he discovered that I was from thousand years ago somehow. Like, I didn’t tell him, yet then I remembered Luka could read my mind. The girl with a man’s name could read my mind.

“How was it there? I heard they had tall buildings everywhere with lights all over the place with a stadium that shined like the sun along with a huge movie studio.” She let go of my hand. “And, they did this!” Her hands went up in the air, yelled like a fan girl, and she smiled. “I wished we did that.”

“Yes.” Now I was answering everything with yes. The basketball stadium there was the brightest thing I ever seen in my entire life. All the seats were filled when the people there were rooting for the team that they liked. It was loud. I lived near to it, and sometimes I couldn’t go to sleep at night because how loud and light the stadium was. I will always remember those sleepless nights filled with stupid people.

“It is very different now, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“You say yes to everything don’t ya?” she questioned me. Yes, that was my word of the night.

“No, I don’t say yes to everything.” All Yuni did was giggle. Well, I don’t know why she giggled, but I loved her giggle. It was one of those innocent types of giggles that were super high. All unicrons had that type of innocent laugh. I knew this because I read a book on unicrons. I didn’t know everything, gosh, I was a normal seventeen year old boy.

“I thought so, come on we have to go to Rikki’s house or she is going to freak out. You never want to see her freak out, EVER. Rikku gets freaking insane when she does.” Then we started to walk once again. Yuni was still more beautiful then all of the bright stars in the sky. But, something seemed wrong with her; it was probably because her parents hid that big secret from her and she was depressed about that.

After getting home:

My bed was calling for me because it was almost 1:oo in the mourning. Only five hours of sleep, crap. So, I went to bed because I didn’t have any pajamas to sleep in. The bed felt compty. “Time to go to bed.” I closed my eyes.

Five hours later:

I woke up, and somehow I was on a boat that was on the water. “Where am I!?” I screamed when I opened my eyes.

“A boat...oh no. Stay there!” I saw that Luka was the one with me, and though a small window I saw Envy, I could point out that giant circle thing with a face from anywhere. That freaking cloud monster thing was coming our way. We had to go. For some reason I got out of bed, I didn’t listen to Luka. I needed to check if Yuni was okay because I knew she was here. And, I saw her, standing on the deck.

“Help me, guys! We have to keep this boat floating or we all will die. Come on!” Recognizing that it was Yuni, I ran out of my room. Yuni was right there with her wooden staff. She had a red shirt with glitter on it and jeans.

“Yuni!”

“Tyler, help me here. Do you have anything to fight with?” Wilden then ran up to me with a sword. He put it the weapon in my hands, and ran off. Yuni nodded her head while I noticed her black hair was in a side ponytail.

“How can I help you?” It felt weird that I had a sword in my hands. The only sword I ever held before that moment was a fake sword for my television show UnDead. The blade was sharp, it was heavy, I could kill something with it. Then I looked up; Envy was still there, laughing at us ants with silence. Wait, that made no sense.

“We have to get away from Envy or he will kill us all. Plus, I don’t have the powers to kill it yet.” She started to rise up her staff. After that, she rose it above her head and she summoned a dragon. It was red like her shirt and beautiful like her. “But, just in case, we have to get ready to fight this thing. Come on, Fira, we have to do this!”

“Alright!” Luka came. The look on her face told me that she was angry, probably because I ignored her simple demand. Envy was getting closer and closer to the boat. Any second he would of been on top of us, overpowering the puny humans on board.

“Hold on,” Wilden demanded. The boat violently turned around in circles. The fast circling motion was like a ride in an amusement park people threw up on. Rikku was hoping tightly on a rope looking a little green.

“We are going to make this, we are going to make this.” I kept telling myself that over and over again. I thought it was the end for me. But, I looked over to Yuni. Even then she was simply stunning, even though she was about to throw up with all the spinning happening.

“Yeah,” Yuni answered. Her hands were holding onto the side of the boat. The wind made her ponytail go out of her hair and now it was down. I liked it better when her hair was down. Yuni slowly inched to me and held my hand. If I died I would die happy now. Our heads were together, but I didn’t know if she liked me or not.

“Yes.” I wanted to kiss her. I knew she wouldn’t like that because we just meet yesterday afternoon and she probably liked things to go nice and slow, not fast. The urge, it was so overpowering. Luckily, I fought the overwhelming urge to kiss her lips. The wind was fierce because Envy was close, and now we were stuck in a circular motion of the joy ride. We would be that way until we were too far away from Envy to make its random wind powers ineffective to us. The monster was coming closer and closer to us; it was time to play that legendary Jaws movies music. My final moments were about to come, the shark of the skies was about to take its bite of doom.

“We will live through this.” As she said that, Yuni closed her eyes in sheer terror. My eyes were still on her. Beauty was in the eye of the beholder. Yuni was the definition of beauty in the inside and outside. It was kind of wicked that I found somebody stunning when they were scared to death, but I did this moment. Even when she was frightened Yuni looked hot as the sun on the day of the end of the world.

“I know.”

“Guys, Envy is going the other way,” Rikku pointed out. The wind had stop blowing; we were all alright. “Is Yunnie okay Tyler?”

“Yes.”

“You say yes to everything, don’t ya?” Okay, now Rikku had also noticed that I said yes often. Somehow, they saying that made me think about my dad and my eldest sister. Crybaby, you ain’t nothing but a big crybaby. That was all they called me just because I used to get very emotional about everything they did to me when I was younger. But, then Yuni let go of my hand and went to her cousin Rikku. My perfect moment was over.

“No, I don’t, Rikku.” I said no to my dad and Jenna when they called me a crybaby. No, no, no. No i’m not one I am just having one of those things in my early life! Those memories will haunt me forever, but yet I would praise them for they were the only thing I had left of Eve City.

“Good.” She hugged Yuni and patted her on the back once again. Rikku was protective over Yuni, a little bit too protective.

“Yes.” Wait, there I went again with saying yes all the time.

“Are you sure yes isn’t the only thing you say?” Rikku and Yuni questioned at the same time.

“Yes.” Then I realized I shouldn't have just said that. It just proved their point about me saying yes about everything. I slapped myself in the head. Why did I just do that? Those girls were smart, way smarter than me. All they did was laugh when I answered their question.

“Guys, stop doing that back there we still have to see if Envy is anywhere near us,” Wilden commanded. Luka appeared again to stare us down with her soul piercing eyes. We needed to be more serious about our situation. She pointed to a broken rope and then looked at me. I knew she wanted me to do something with that rope.

“Replace that rope with this one, Tyler.” She placed a rope in my hand. Wilden and Luka sure liked giving stuff to me, but I did not like it whatsoever. It was getting annoying.

“Yes.” Why did I always say yes those days, those good old days? I wished I said okay or something like that. But, no I had to always freaking said yes or no back then.

“Well, don’t just stand there get to it because Envy can come back and that rope can be our d*mn demise. That would be REALLY bad and that b*tch, Dee, who is next in line, would have to take the freaking d*mn journey besides of Yuni, the only girl practicing that wasn’t a complete a*shole.” I always wondered where the rest of Wilden’s team was, but I guess they took different boats because they had families of their own to protect. And, dang, Luka loved to cuse a lot. Yeah, I was just going to stay on her good side.

new that whatever the reason was it was not good.

“Envy payed Mika and Kenzie a visit.” Then tears were falling from her eyes again. I wasn’t annoyed about her always crying because I used to all the time until dad and Jenna vanished from thin air at random times. Somehow that made me not cry anymore and I became a strong boy. But, I still hated them both with all my guts.

“What about Envy?” There was always something bad happening when people said that name. Gosh, I hated that name.

“He destroyed another town, Tolo Town. I had dear friends there and well they are probably all dead. Dead, they are all DEAD.” She couldn’t stop crying, so I knew she cared about her old friends.

“How do you know this?”

“Luka said she saw Tolo being destroyed and I have to make all the dead go to the Netherrealm, Shade’s liar, or Tauros, Shade’s hideout, or MARKA will take them.” Yuni rested her elbow onto the edge of the boat, and stared at the endless blue sea. I knew she really cared about other people’s safety, and she wanted nobody else to die or she would be in even more pain then she was in right at that moment.

“What does MARKA, whoever they are, do to them?” The thing they did to the dead shocked me. No wonder she wanted to go there immediately.

“They turn them into monsters or to the really powerful ones things they call dark priests.” She got something from out of her jean pocket. It was a round blue thing. It showed a picture of a normal person.

“Why are you showing me this?”

“To show you what they do to the innocent souls that should not belong to them.” She pressed a small button on her round thing. The picture showed a great beast that skin was scales and with teeth so sharp it would cut anything. It’s eyes were still human, but it was scary. Who would do this to a person? Wait, MARKA would. “We shouldn’t see them on our journey, but after that its fair game. Their leader, Nathan I believe his name is, will stop at nothing to kill all of us, the defeated of Envy.” Okay, I did not want to see these people, but if I did I would give them a piece of their own medicine or atleast try to beat them.

“Okay, we should go.”

“Wilden is going there. But, for some weird reason, now he wants us all to call him W.” That was weird especially for a guy who was all about being serious. It was totally nuts. Yuni started to walk away once again. Away from reality.

“Wait, what do the Dark Priest look like?” I asked. She turned suddenly around, and telling by the look on her face it was bad.

“Nobody knows. JK, they actually look like humans just covered with d*mn black Shade. At least, that is what people think they look like.”

When we arrived at Tolo Town:

The whole place was like a war zone. Houses were blown over and were in millions of pieces. Blood was everywhere you stepped and looked. The docks were mostly under water. Knowing kids and babies were there, I wanted to cry but I forced myself not to. I was no longer a crybaby; I was no longer a crybaby. “Rest in peace Kenzie and Mika,” Yuni cried. Everybody bowed their heads down but me.

“This is messed up.” All of the others looked at me funny after I made that remark. It wasn’t like I was saying I think they deserved it. They just were sad and all of them were mourning, oh, it wasn’t sad. These thoughts in my head were so d*mn confusing!

“Poor Kenzie, Mika, and Michelina; Suki would be so devastated when I tell her that they died because of Envy.” Rikku seemed most depressed out of all of them. There were a billion teardrops on my face, and I thought it was impossible to make Rikku cry, the puffball of the group. I guessed wrong again. I should have just stopped judging people before I knew them.

“I’m sorry for your lost, and i’m sure Kenzie, Mika, and Michelina were very good people with souls that belonged to the Good.” There were no survivors, Luka checked everywhere with her powers. Envy killed every single breathing soul in that village. Everybody was probably having a good day until Envy attacked. Then everybody screamed for help, but it was too late when help finally arrived. But, now we could do them a favor and make sure MARKA doesn’t turn any of them into monsters.

“I just need a little bit more time before I can send them to the other places, guys.” Yuni dropped to the ground. She didn’t care about the fact that she landed in a pile of blood; she just needed to have time to cope with her lost. Once again, Rikku comforted her grieving cousin. And, I did too. It seemed like it was the right thing to do.

“You can take as long as you like,” Rikku said while hugging her. I just patted her on the shoulder.

“Can I be alone?”

“Well, we only have four hours until the game starts, and we have to meet Andrea and Kirami there also before it starts,” Wilden answered. So, Yuni picked up her staff from wherever she kept it.

“I’m ready then, W.”

“You can have more time if you like, Yuni,” he responded. I really thought she needed more time to cope too, and so did Rikku. Yuni got up and then ran over to the ocean and went into it. The waves made her sandals and the bottom of her jeans wet. But, I was still admiring her hotness. Okay, I was really into her it freaking hurt.

“I can do it now. This game means a lot to you, and I won’t make you miss it because I was mourning old friends which I hadn’t seen for years.” Yuni raised up her staff above her head, crying.

“Wait, Yunnie! I want to get something here.” Rikku went running off to one of the destroyed houses. Then she appeared again with a pearl bracelet she found. The pearl were the color of clouds.

“Kenzie’s necklace! You can wear it I have enough bracelet,” Yuni shouted to Rikku.

“I will never take it off, ever.” The girl put the bracelet around her wrist. It looked really good on her, but it would have looked better on Yuni, of course. The pearls glistened in the sunlight. It could be the sparkle in the Shade.

“Can I start now?” Her staff was still above her stunning head. There were tears on her face because of her friends’ deaths.

“Yes,” I answered.

“Do you ever say anything but yes?” Luka questioned. Oh great, I thought, now she thinks I say yes too much. Just great.

“I actually do.” I finally learned how to not say yes. I was no longer a yes man, but now I was a clueless man. Even Einstein was once clueless, and then he became the wizkid of all time.

“I would like to start now. It would be bad of MARKA gets even more monsters. But, sometimes people live forever if unsent. If they don’t get captured by MARKA, and everything without a soul is useless to them.” I didn’t know why she was going on about MARKA and immortality.

“It is going to start, Tyler.” Luka put her hand on my shoulder. “Don’t be afraid by what you see.” Then, of all things, Yuni danced. The waves were dancing around her and souls of people came towards her.

“Kenzie! NO!” Rikku tried to grab a girl with short brown hair, tan skin, and green eyes but Luka let go of me to stop her. “No, no, NO! You too Mika.” She stared at a girl around Suki’s age who had brown hair, pale skin, and green eyes. The poor woman started to sob like how I used to when dad and Jenna yelled at me. The souls turned into shooting stars when they reached Yuni and go off in the distance. That was hard to watch.

“I told you to be prepared, but I see you’re crying.” Luka wiped away the tear that I cried off of my pale face. And, looked into my eyes. “Do not hide who you’re really are, Tyler.” She went onto the boat after she comforted me with Wilden. So, I decided to go to the boat since this was just creepy. People die, and Yuni dances. That is a little bit creepy. Yuni was going out of the water, and Rikku was on her knees. Rikku’s hand was still reached out.

“This is a reasonable time.” I was still looking at Yuni. This time she was the one comforting Rikku. “Completely reasonable.”

“It is going to be alright,” Yuni said to Rikku.

“No, it isn’t. All of us will die one time or another even if we’re immortal. Immortals can still die inside. Envy really out did himself this time.” She got up, and grabbed Yuni’s hand.

“I can give you more time if you like, Rikku.” Yuni got up, and stayed there, waiting for an answer.

“Yunni, I must go on.” Rikku grabbed onto her necklace, looking at it. It must of

been one of her friend’s favorite bracelet or something. “We need to go. MARKA is probably coming right this moment.” I wondered why MARKA knew where every dark soul was. But, I guess we still had to go.

“We can stay a little longer,” Yuni pleaded.

“No, for all we know MARKA can murder us in cold blood and turn us into one of them.” Rikku then got up, and ran over to the boat. I continued to walk towards the boat until I noticed Yuni wasn’t coming.

“Why aren’t you coming?” I questioned. She just stayed there glaring at something.

“MARKA monsters are here!” When I turned around I saw a foe right behind me, breathing down my neck. It wanted to end another life. So, I started to run, but Yuni wouldn’t come. She stood on her ground with her staff ready.

“Yuni, we have to go now!”

“Tyler, we have to fight now. There would be one less foe to worry about. The soul will go to its rightful place at last!” She summoned one of her dragon; both of them were ready to fight. Then another foe flew in front of me. “I will fight this one and you will fight that one over there. Come on, we’re trapped if we don’t fight these stupid things!”

“Alright.” Then there was a bright blinding light. Right before I could even hit that thing it fell onto the ground, and seconds later Yuni’s hit the ground before she could fight. “What the heck?”

“I never leave friends behind. They are coming; we have to go now!” I then saw that it was Rikku. Rikku defeated and killed the beasts in the matter of seconds. That was so awesome, she knew how to kick butt. “I ain’t waiting all day.” People came onto the island; it was the MARKA workers. So, we hurried onto the boat before any of the MARKA workers could see us. We ran as fast as the wind because we were scared; all of us were scared out of our mind. Then we reached the boat, rejoiced.

English language proficiency in England and Wales by Office for National Statistics

The 2011 Census included questions for the first time on English language proficiency for those who had a main language other than English. For residents who lived in Wales, the English category included those whose main language was Welsh.

The latest analysis from ONS has looked at how proficiency in English varied across the different main languages spoken, how health related to proficiency in English and looked at the proficiency of 3-15 year olds across local authorities in England and Wales.

www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/census/2011-census/detailed-charac...

body language by jov luke

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Narin (Narenj) Castle - Meybod - Iran | قلعه نارین - میبد - یزد by Pedram Veisi

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This building, which in colloquial language is called Narenj Castle, is one of the most important relics of the province dating back to the period before the advent of Islam to Iran, and has been recorded as one of the national buildings. This ancient castle has been constructed on the top of Galeen hill and overlooks the city. It seems that upper floors of the building have been reconstructed and belong to the Islamic era. A section of the building was destroyed in the course of road construction during the reign of Pahlavi II.

Source

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See also: Iran, Yazd, Meybod

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مهمترین بنای میبد، قلعه تاریخی و قدیمی آن است که ذکر آن در کتب قدیم بدین شرح مذکور افتاده‌است: روایتی که در تاریخ جدید یزد در باب قلعه میبد آمده بدین شرح است: «اما قلعه در زمان سلیمان پیغمبر علیه السلام ساختند و آن چنان بود که در زمان سلیمان علیه السام، فارس تختگاه سلیمان بود.... چنانکه مشهور و مذکور است سلیمان بفرمود که دیوان، در کوهی که قابل قلاع باشد به جهت حفظ خزینه، قلعه بسازند.... دال دیو بدین کوه رسید..... خبر به سلیمان رسید. فرمود که بر این پشته، از گل و سنگ، قلعه حصین دال دیو بسازد. دال دیو به فرمان سلیمان، قلعه میبد بساخت... و چون سلیمان وفات کرد بوم لرزی پیدا شد... و اکنون که حصار او کنده‌اند همچنان سخت‌ترین قلاع است و او را قلعه دالان خوانند....» مطالب تاریخ جدید یزد که در تاریخ یزد و جامع مفیدی هم با تفاوت‌های مختصر دیده می‌شود، حکایت از قدمت قلعه دارد.مشاهده قلعه و مخصوصاً خشت‌های قطور و بزرگ آن خود نیز موید کهنگی آن است. امروزه در محل، قلعه موجود را با نسبت «دالان» نمی‌خوانند و نامی است که متروک شده‌است. این تسمیه قدیم باید ماخوذ از «دال» باشد که نام مرغان بزرگ شکاری از نوع عقاب است. نظیر این اسم به شکل «دالدون» بر کوهی در نزدیک میمند شهر بابک اطلاق می‌شود. اهمیت قلعه میبد مربوط به عهد سلاطین آل مظفر است که در عمران و آبادی میبد کوشا بودند و قلعه آنجا پناهگاه محلی آنان بود و بنابر قول مولف تاریخ جدید یزد، محمد بن مظفر در سال ۷۳۷ «خزینه‌ای که در یزد بود تصرف کرد و لشکر را مرسوم داد و قلعه دالان میبد را عمارت کرد و خندق دور کرد.» بقایای کنونی قلعه میبد، با وجود خرابی‌هایی که به مرور ایام بر آن روی آورده دیدنی است و متاسفانه در این سال‌ها به سبب ایجاد خیابان، قسمتی از آن خراب و تسطیح شده‌است. قسمت‌های مختلف قلعه بر سطح تپه‌ای در چهار طبقه قرار دارد و هر طبقه بر طبقه دیگر اشراف دارد. بنای ارگ آن در مرتفع‌ترین نقطه تپه واقع شده‌است و یک طبقه هم در قسمت زیر قرار که اطاقک‌های کنده شده در دل خاک است از نوع بوکن یا بوکنه. اطراف قلعه، خندق عظیمی بوده که بعضی قسمت‌های آن به باغ تبدیل شده‌است.

LSF (SIGN LANGUAGE) "Au revoir" 003 by Framboisine Berry

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Current work about the sign language for a cursus at Brest's University (France) with my sister Danielle. Handmade (copyright).

Drawing with the arrow for the direction of the hand.

The Universal Language by Laurent Goldstein

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“Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.”

(Thich Nhat Hanh - Vietnamese Monk, Peace Activist and Writer, b.1926)

Saurabh is an architect in Delhi, he wanted his portrait by me so we met recently for lunch in Hauz khas village which is in South Delhi.

As he was living in Milano for a few years, we spoke Italian for fun, he had many expressions and most of all an amazing smile.

We went outside to the Deer Park and I took several shots.

I selected this one where everything on his face is smiling, it is the universal language in the world and a source of joy and happiness.

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Please do not use any photographs without permission (even for private use).

The use of any work without consent of the artist is PROHIBITED and will lead automatically to consequences.

body language by Joanna Kitchener

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by La Revolta

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Me encantaría morderte, deshacerte con mis labios, beso a beso. Saborear a cada instante, cada hueco, cada recoveco que dibujan los vértices de las esquinas de tus huesos...

DLIFLC Language Day 2015 by Presidio of Monterey

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PRESIDIO OF MONTEREY, Calif. -- The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center’s most colorful day of the year came May 8 as the Presidio opened its doors and welcomed a crowd estimated at more than 5,000 during its 31st hosting of Language Day. Attendees were treated to a diversity of songs, skits, dances, classroom demonstrations as well as food and wares that represented the cultures of 23 languages studied here at the military’s preeminent language training facility. Also in attendance were 54 combat veterans of the Vietnam War, honored guests during a “Welcome Home” ceremony led by Col. Paul Fellinger, Presidio of Monterey garrison commander, and Dan Presser, Military and Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee member, in commemoration of the war’s 50th anniversary.

Official Presidio of Monterey Web site

Official Presidio of Monterey Facebook

PHOTO by Steven L. Shepard, Presidio of Monterey Public Affairs.

The Royal hall : Reminiscence of a glorious past of Turtuk, Nubra Valley, Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir, India. by Biswarup Sarkar

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Turtuk is a village 205 km from Leh on the banks of Shyok River, in Nubra Valley, Ladakh, India. Turtuk gram panchayat is the northern most village of India. It was under control of Pakistan since independence of both countries. India took the control during Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Predominantly a muslim village. residents speak Baltistani, Urdu and Ladakhi Language.

The village of Turtuk which was unseen by tourists till 2010, is a virgin destination for people in Nubra Valley, who seek peace and an interaction with a tribal community of Ladakh. The village is stuffed with apricot trees and children. The local tribe, Balti, follows its age old customs in their lifestyle and speak a language which is just spoken and not written. Balti people, were part of Pakistan up-till 1972. For tourists Turtuk offers serene camping sites with environment friendly infrastructure.

Tourism

The village offers views of Beautiful Shyok River Valley. On clear days tourists can have glimpse of Mount K2 peak, the second highest peak, located across the border in Pakistan. Though a muslim village, there are few gompas located on the plateu above Shyok River. There is an old royal house to see in village.

Turtuk , as I saw it :

On 10th October, 2014, after a leisurely breakfast, we started off in the morning from Hundar and reached Turtuk at 1.30 pm. It was a bright and sunny day. The mountains and valleys, especially along the course of Shyok River, evoked in me romantic notions of adventure and discovery. As we reached Turtuk, a group of curious children with beautiful eyes and rosy cheeks, unlike typical mongoloid features of the Ladakhis, came out of their homes and welcomed us. I had always been fascinated to meet new people and their culture. The narrow alleys went up and down as we walked around the little village. I was struck by how graceful the women looked in their colorful tribal attire; many of them had startling blue eyes with sharp profile, resembling typical Aryans. While gathering information regarding remote villages in this region of Ladakh, I found one such beautiful remote village of Baigdandu, not very far from Turtuk. This village is known for its people with beautiful blue eyes, auburn hair and rosy cheeks. Local lore has it, that they were a Greek tribe who came in search of Jesus Christ’s tomb and eventually settled in Baigdandu . I have no idea whether such migration settled in Turtuk or not, but their features seemed very much like the European tribe. I found one woman grinding wheat grains in a small dark chamber, with her baby strapped to her back. Her face and eyelids were almost covered by the dusty grains, but that never tarnished her inherent beauty and innocence. Beside the bumpy and dusty lanes stood array of houses, one or two storeyed, with beautifully crafted wooden doors and windows, mostly made up of rosewoods. I met a small girl playing with her friends in that busy morning in one of the narrow alleys. She had divine eyes, rosy cheeks and a very innocent look. I took a series of candid shots as she was playing at her door. She looked like little Madona.

I had barely spent forty five minutes or more, hurrying through the village lanes and meeting village people, especially the children when I heard a loud voice of our tour manager, calling for a gathering at the old royal house. I rushed and reached a deserted courtyard, remarkably old, where I found broken earthen pots lay here and there on the floor. I climbed up the first floor, and reached a bare terrace, through the centre of which, you can see the courtyard below. At the end of the terrace there stood a big hall. By the time I entered the hall, our obedient group had already started listening to the talk of an old fellow, must be a septuagenarian, with a long brown beard . He was dressed in a long embroidered robe with a traditionally crafted wooden cane in his hand. He must have been the last descendent of the royal family. The room was decorated with antiques, pictures, ornaments and clothes used by the ancestors. On one wall the ancestral history was found. The old fellow narrated the whole history of his royal family in Urdu. We left the house finally waving goodbye to his beautiful grand-daughter, one of the cutest kids I have ever seen. We left the village, had our lunch, and set our journey back to Hundar with unforgettable memories. I hereby share many of my sweet moments of Turtuk with you through my photographs. Hope you will like them.

Speech-Language Hearing Clinic by Hofstra University

Speech-Language Hearing Clinic

Lakhota Language Booth by Little Green Dragon

Info Island International (233,205,33)

International Plaza-Rare languages booth area

The Lakhota Language booth serves as an awareness to a language still in usage and under going a revival. The Booth put together by Willow Shenlin presents a web-browser (menu), a glossary (translations), a dreamcatcher (SLURLs list) and a mustang (audio URLs)

The Language Stone by ELOCME

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'The Language Stone' by Gordon Young (White Marble) in Saltwell Park, Gateshead, England, UK. The marble was originally from Italy, but it lay on a Plymouth seabed for a century and a half after the ship carrying it to London sank in a storm. The text uses various languages to express the feeling of love.

Obscure languages by wonderferret

Possibly the most useless item in the Auckland library. Certainly the least borrowed item,

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