The Muslim PIr who Impregnated over 300 Women in Punjab

Islam came to the sub-continent nearly 1300 years back and a lot of mixture of the Islamic faith with Hindu and Buddhist religions took place leading to Sufism a more benign form of Islam. The Sufi’s produced a series of godmen called Pirs who were supposed to be in communion with God.
The Pir’s

The Pir's are revered in India and Pakistan by both Hindus and Muslims. Many Pirs is hereditary and I have been following a Pir in Mumbai for 25 years.
The hold of the Pir over Muslims is hypnotic and many feel he will solve their problems
The Pir from Lahore
A true story about the powers of a Pir has been reported by Pak Newspapers and also there is a video on YouTube about it. The man, a youngish Pir of about 30 years of age is alleged to have impregnated over 300 women.
In the East to be childless is a sin and not having a son is an equivalent sin. This is a hangover of a feudal mind but people in India and Pakistan are swayed by these thoughts. This Pir propagated that any women who could not conceive or wanted a son could approach him and he would intercede with Allah and see that the wish of the women was granted.

The Noor Bed
It so happened that a few desperate women approached the holy man and were completely hypnotized by him. In a trance, they were led to large bed which he referred to as the “Noor Bed” and there he copulated with them. A few conceived and the word spread that the Pir had magical powers. The fact that a woman had slept with the Pir was never told.  Women who were childless also approached the Pir. He duly obliged and over a period of a few months impregnated over 300 women.
The end
Somebody got a whiff of it and informed the police who went and arrested him. But no charges could be leveled or framed as no woman was willing to give evidence. In any case, the Sharia laws are so lax the charge of rape can never be proved. The Pir is now on bail  I wonder if any research can be done to really find out how many got pregnant from the Pir and how many had boys. A friend from Lahore told me that the Pir did a good social service as he saved the lives of many women who suffered abuse at home. What a thought !.

Russian Airline Aeroflot after end of Communism

Aeroflot is the state air carrier of Russia and has its pedigree from Communist days. The airline launched under communism was not initially treated as a commercial venture. During Soviet rule, the stress of Aeroflot was not commercial, but after the collapse of the Soviet Union, commercial considerations came to the fore. The airline is one of the biggest airlines in the world and flies to 800 destinations from Cuba to USA and China to India. It covers most of the globe and is Russia’s official flag carrier.

The airline’s safety record is suspect and a number of accidents have occurred. In addition, in-flight catering also needs a revamp. But it is the best airline to fly to the far corners of Russia.

 Competitive Airline
The fares charged by the airline are competitive and this is one of its strong points. The airline also has a cargo division which transports goods to the far corners of the globe.
Aeroflot allows a refund and tickets can be canceled. Patrons can expect a full refund in case the booking is canceled 24 hours prior to the flight. The refund policy is fairly liberal and the airline allows a full refund up to the flight time departure.
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The Aeroflot head office is in Moscow at Aeroflot Head Office
10, Arbat Str.,
Moscow, Russia, 119002
Phone: +7 (499) 500-6905
Fax: +7 (499) 500-6867,
Feedback
During the days of Soviet rule, the airline laid very less stress on customer care.Aeroflot has improved its service and is a monolith carrier. Its advantage is its reach all around the globe. Passengers are divided at about 50% about the efficacy of the airline. Another bonus is the Russian girls as air hostesses. Nobody can beat them and if you play your cards right you may land one for a date after she finishes duty.

Dining at NAYAB HANDI in Dubai

It's best for eating varied types of beef and other meats.  A Pakistani restaurant it opened 3 years back.  Here are some photos.

You can't get a better spread of meats with authentic Pakistan food anywhere else. Don't go there with inhibitions as this a pure delightful eating joint.  The king size mounted on stand is a highlight I have not ever seen. 

Legend of Gyges of lydia and Power of Sex

Plato in his book "Republic" recounts a lovely tale that has intrigued me to a great extent. I have interpreted it as a realization of a dream of man and sexual conquest. Nobody can deny, that men even the most puritan of them do have lascivious thoughts of women and in this context, the tale related by Glaucon, who was the brother of Plato needs to be read. 

The legend runs something like this. There was a lesser vassal called Gyges, who paid allegiance to the King of Lydia. Gyges was infatuated with the queen, the wife of the king of Lydia. He longed to possess her and have carnal knowledge of her body The more he saw the queen in court the more he lusted for her.

Providence took a hand and one day while he was roaming about in the countryside an earthquake took place. This earthquake had a magical effect and a small cave opened. Gyges went inside the cave and saw a large horse made of bronze. This horse was a cover for a tomb of a man and Gyges saw the corpse was wearing a ring. He removed the ring and wore it. In a moment he was aware that he had astonishing powers and once he wore the ring he became invisible.

Gyges wearing it entered the king's palace and proceeded to the chamber of the queen. As he entered, he saw the queen now nude and he seduced her. Plato does not explain how he seduced her as he was invisible. But in all probability, his invisibleness added to his charm as he made love to the queen. After having satiated his desire he went to the king's chamber and killed him.He came back to the Queens chamber and again made ferocious love. 

He later married her and became king. The desire for a woman can lead you anywhere. Right?

The Cemetery at Calcutta( Park Street) from the Days of the Raj

A Relic of the Raj

The cemetery shows that many Englishmen who came to India fell in love with India and its culture. Many converted to Hinduism as they felt that it gave them greater insight into the cosmic dance of life and death.The cemetery is a relic of the Raj and a visit to Kolkata will never be complete without a visit to this lovely place and old world charm.

The cemetery is open 6 days in a week, except Sunday.The Cemetery is looked after by the ASI, but it does require a facelift. There is no entrance charge and one can spend hours moving around the cemetery and imbibing the glorious history of that period. It's a pity that this cemetery is not so well known in the west. There is no doubt that the cemetery is a treasure of the greatest value and I hope the ASI spends some more money and brings the monument into proper shape.

The cemetery shows that there is much more that happened during the Raj beside imperialism. It's a wonderful place to spend a morning and then one can hop over to Flury's or Magnolia for some sandwiches and cold beer. It will be a great way to spend a day.

The cemetery shows that many Englishmen who came to India fell in love with India and its culture. Many converted to Hinduism as they felt that it gave them greater insight into the cosmic dance of life and death.The cemetery is a relic of the Raj and a visit to Kolkata will never be complete without a visit to this lovely place and old world charm.

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Evolution of Military Law in America

To start with, the new state adopted the British codes for the US armed force. The US army now adopted what is known as the Articles of War 1775. These were derived from the British law and consisted of 69 sections. the American military code  is credited to John Adams , who was a lawyer at that time. Later he became the President of the United States.  The Articles of War found wide acceptance and at the Conference of the Continental Army they were ratified.

The Articles of War which were an copy of the British law, underwent a change and some amendments were incorporated in 1806. A team of military experts and lawyers studied codes of many nations including the French and raised the sections from 69 to 101. The code provided for summary execution and in some cases the Commanding Officer of Unit at the time of battle if  convinced, could  order execution of a combatant.  There was no appeal. The code was effective and it instilled discipline in the US army. it was widely used in the US civil war from 1861-65.

The beauty of this code was that it continued for almost 150 years, without any questions being raised. The first time the code was questioned was in the period of the First World War when 13 black soldiers were summarily hanged for " mutiny". Later it came to notice that the punishment was excessive and as there was no appeal the sentence was carried out immediately. It was also mentioned that the bigger crime of the soldiers was that they were black.

To avoid a dip in morale the Secretary of defence  Newton D Barker intervened. He ordered that henceforth no executions could be  carried out without referring the matter to Washington. Thus a major change was effected in the military code.

After the end of the Second World War, the 3 Chiefs of Staff appointed a committee to stream line US military law. The committee came up with the Unified Military Code which became law from 1951. One significant change was that a series of checks and balances was introduced and the code made more humane. Death was  made an exception and not a rule. This code is now in vogue in the USA. I