Welcome to Janhavee's Space of Life: January 2012

What was anticipated of 2011 globally, locally or personally will just wind down by setting some new expectations for 2012.Not sure how much of 2011 i could cover with the limited bandwidth of attention span of the reader. I am just going to make few swatches of the news and happenings that i got to read and notice. There may be quite a few that have gone unnoticed, its just me.

2011 Personally:

2011, has been quite challenging for me. During the tail end of 2010 we decided to move to India for good.It was a major, major move especially after living in the US for 16+ yrs. I was asked to make this decision at the blink of an eye, just had to let go all the things that i cherished. To keep the family intact and to make this move easy on my lovely kids, it was fair enough to let go few things, for the two treasures of my life. I am an optimist and i am happy to ride the wave of this adventure with my family. Only time will tell.

2011 Globally

As we were planning on our big journey to India, we were supposed to do a stop over at Japan and see its awesomeness, for its natural beauty, Studio Ghibli Anime center, Pokemon Center or travelling in the worlds fastest bullet trains. We were pretty excited and were looking forward to it. But our travelling plans had to be changed due to the major earth quake in Japan. Japan being so resilient to earth quakes had not experienced something as major as the one in March 2011. Come to think of it, my move to India was not as earth shattering as this one. It was heart breaking to watch this wonderful country go into ruins, cause they are on the fault, i mean on the earth's fault. This is one country who has defied disaster, be it natural or being on a war zone. They have always springed back into action and rebuilt their country to such an extent that the world is at awe seeing their determination. Ironically, Japan has some ties with my life. Every year Japan mourns the bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki we celebrate our wedding anniversary.

March 2011 : Earthquake in Japan

A massive 8.9 magnitude quake hit northeast Japan on causing many injuries, fires and a ten-metre (33-ft)tsunami along parts of the country's coastline.10-meter tsunami swept away everything in its path, including houses,ships, cars and farm buildings. There were several strong aftershocks which also caused buildings to shake violently in the capital Tokyo.Light planes and vehicles sit among the debris after they were swept by a tsunami that struck Sendai airport in Japan.

USA lowered its flag in Iraq; Marking end of war in Iraq.

Just before Xmas 2011 President Obama has finally ended the most un-wanted war that Mr.Bush Jr started. The conflict, launched by the Bush administration in March 2003, soon became hugely unpopular, as the claims that Saddam was hiding weapons of mass destruction and supporting al-Qaeda militants turned out to be untrue. The war has costed US some $1trillion dollars ,4,500 US soldiers lives and more than 100,000 Iraqis have died in the war. Some 1.5 million Americans have served in Iraq since the US invasion in 2003.In addition to those who died, nearly 30,000 have been wounded. The Iraqis feel that they are left in a total mess. They feel betrayed because they were promised of security and stability. Now they are fearful as they cannot manage their own security, because they lack strong political structure and they are quite weak to defend their borders. This war has left ruins in Iraq, innocent lives lost for the wrong cause both in Iraq army and the US army. Bin-laden and Saddam Hussein were captured dead, but terrorism still prevails. This war has been one of the contributors for the current financial crisis, that has affected the world economy. The majority of the sane people around the world, thought this war was insane.

2011 Locally

Locomotive for Bangalore: Namma (our) Metro

Bangalore's much awaited Metro experience started at the tail end of the year, during Diwali 2011. Ride on the train, gave a nice feel, especially during the night, since the dirt and trash around the city is hidden under the carpet called NIGHT. This will supposedly bring down the heavy traffic congestion, if and when all the routes are up and running. Its a waiting game. All i have to say is, Bangalore has sacrificed its beauty and charm for this locomotion, lets wait and watch if its worth the sacrifice.

Cricket : Much loved sport in India,

India, proved to the cricket world that it is back with full throttle and they did grab the 2011 world cup under Dhoni's leardership. It was a wonderful experience to watch Cricket in India, while it was on its winning streak. Matches against Pakistan and Sri Lanka was just thrilling and great. Whole of India would agree that India had the best team in the tournament, whatever challenges was thrown their way, be it Australians, the Pakistanis or the Sri Lankans, the remarkable MS Dhoni and his team were equal to it and performed with full spirits. 2011 cricket season was like never ending Diwali season. Fire crackers bursting in every nook and corner of the city. India definitely deserved

this victory.

2011 Losses :

Like any other year, 2011 also had to bid goodbye to a lot of much-loved personalities and luminaries, those who've inspired us, entertained us and given us food for thought over the years. They've left behind rich legacies that will continue to inspire generations to come.

Sathya Sai Baba

( Nov 23^rd 1926 –Apr 24^th 2011)

Sathya Sai Baba, the Godman from Puttparthi died on April 24^h earlier this year, he left behind an empire estimated at Rs 40,000 crore, and no will. Sai Baba had millions of followers all over the world. His devotees included some of the popular celebrities and powerful politicians. The biggest contribution of the seer was his philanthropic activities. He has provided many villages with clean drinking water through his organization. He set up the Sri Sathya Sai University, which delivers high-quality education with three colleges under its belt. His setting up of Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s Super Speciality Hospital has been very well received, where thousands of patients have been treated free of cost.

MF Hussain

( 17^th Sept 1915 -9^th June 2011)

MF Hussain was hailed as India’s Picasso, he played a significant role in putting Indian art on the world map. Known for his use of vibrant colour and depictions of dynamic movement, frequently featuring women and horses, Husain was the first living Indian artist to command a price of $1million for his work.

In the month of October 2011 we lost 2 great people, one from the Tech world and another from the Music World. Both of them made a difference in their own special way. Both had a troubled past but came out big and spectacular.

Steve Jobs: (February 24^th 1955 – October 5^th 2011)

The man who took a bite of the Newton's Apple. Newton discovered Gravity by the fall of an Apple. Steve took a bite of it and viola you have a master piece Logo and many many wonderful products. Apart from the Apple computing...he is most famously known and will be known for his "i" series....ipod, itouch, ipad. He was a true visionary and a perfectionist. He believed in this quote by Wayne Gretzky 'I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been. And we've always tried to do that at Apple. Since the very very beginning. And we always will"

Jagjit Singh : ( 8^th Feb 1941 – 10^th Oct 2011)

He was revered as King of Ghazals by the eastern music lovers all over the world.He was truly a voice of emotions. He was awarded India's third highest civilian honour, the "Padma Bhushan" , in 2003 for his contribution to the fields of music and culture. There are pearls of songs sung by him, that can leave you mesmerized.

11.11.11 was much talked about, but passed by as any other day:

Anything significant that you remember happened on this day ? As far as i know, it just went by as any other normal day. Some said that it is a magic number and many meditated for the universal peace, i was one of them :-). Collective positive thoughts does make changes for the better good. This is something stumbled upon and I picked this up at " http://paradigmsearch.hubpages.com"

11*11*11: There are three possible scenarios:

Most predictions and opinions concerning 11/11/11 are based on or rooted in its mathematical uniqueness as a number.

1. Something good happens— There is absolutely no scientific basis for this belief. There are no known logical premises for this belief.

The belief that something good will happen is based solely on faith and/or innate optimism. This belief is not necessarily false; we don’t know everything; the probability is not zero.

2. Nothing happens— This is the most likely scenario. Just because an unusual date number sequence occurs doesn’t mean that something extraordinary will happen. Usually it’s a non-event.

3. Something bad happens— There is absolutely no scientific basis for this belief. There are no known logical premises for this belief. The belief that something bad will happen is based solely on faith and/or pessimism of reality. This belief is not necessarily false; after all, things are generally/usually a mess. The probability is not zero

What is Expected of 2012 and Beyond ??

Its is the Birth of New Time. We have been on the teeter totter / seesaw...in terms of world finance, world power, World peace and freedom for a many generations now.One country has too much of everything, while the other lacks and lags behind. A balance in nature has to come, even mother Earth is unable to sustain this imbalance. Changes for the good is happening lots of people are coming together to fight against the corrupted Govt, the Wall Street, the so called Powerful nation etc etc. Asian countries who were called under developed are becoming the economic powers of the world. There is a shift happening which will restore the long awaited balance on the physical realm, the Nature, global economy and Human Values. This will lead to Spiritual surge and greater connection to the Source.

Apart from all this, here are some of predictions or expectations for all and sundry...

The list is very long, but i will limit myself to few things, as i have some resolution list that i would like to maintain and keep up with :-)

2012 Presidential Polls: Obama Expected to Win Re-election

Apple will release its much awaited i-Phone 5, iPad Mini, iPad3 in 2012

Some Movies that would be released during 2012......

There is definitely a long list of movies that are going to be released...

Here are a few that i would be interested in

•" Dark Knight Rises" • ( I'll watch it for my Son)

•"The Bourne Legacy" • " ( Watch it for myself)

•" The Secret World of Arrietty" • ( For My Daughter)

•" The Lorax" seems to be clean as Clorax :-) ( For the Whole Family)