CULTURALQA 03-2024-14 Allthe below QA are from Quora DIGEST tome on 14-03-2024.
SelectedQuora answers by scholars and generallyinteresting jokes are included. Still they need not be 100% correct answers Iam only a compiler. Compiled and postedby R Gopalakrishnan,80, on 14-3-2024 Q1 Can youname the three sons of Varuna? A1 JosephTaylor, Handsome guy 2h Yes, I without any hesitation can name the three sonsof Varuna. In Hindu mythology, Varuna, the Vedic deity associated with water, issaid to have three sons. These sons are: 1. Shesha (also known as Ananta): Shesha is oftendepicted as a serpent and is considered to be the cosmic serpent who supportsthe universe. 2. Vasuki: Vasuki is another serpent deity in Hindumythology. He is often depicted wrapped around Lord Shiva's neck as a necklace. 3. Takshaka: Takshaka is a serpent king and aprominent character in various Hindu epics, including the Mahabharata. He isknown for his role in the Kurukshetra war. These three sons of Varuna play significant roles invarious mythological narratives and are often associated with the cosmic orderand the elements of creation and destruction. Q2 What aresome of the most interesting little-known things? For example: fast foodrestaurant ketchup cups are expandable. A2 AmitSingh,19h The Indian coins (for that matter, coins anywhere inthe world) have a mark at the bottom, (under the date of issue of coin) whichtells where it was made. In India, coins are minted in four cities: The Bombay (Mumbai) Mint Bombay (Mumbai) Mint has a diamond under the date ofthe coin (year of issue). The Calcutta (Kolkata) Mint Calcutta mint has no mark under the date of the coin(year of issue). The Hyderabad Mint Hyderabad Mint has a star or a diamond under the dateof the coin (year of the issue). The Noida Mint Noida mint has a dot under the year of issue (coindate). Source: India Government Mint My note-Once there was coin mint in Chennai (madras) The grant for Madras in 1639 came with permission forsetting up a mint. In the early years, the East India Company minted coins thatbore the Vijayanagar emblem of the boar (varaha), which is why priests atweddings refer to all gifts as 'varahan' even today!18 Nov 2016 The first mint was established in Madras in 1640, andfinally closed in 1869.( by Google search) Q3 What isthe most memorable incident you have had during your stay in another country? A3 VijayaLakshmi,Have experience in life for 68 years.5y Our first trip to the USA was in 2006. We went thereto attend the graduation ceremony of our son. Since I was in service then, we could stay there foronly few days (about 20 days). Both our son and daughter in law became very busyduring that period because of the thesis submission and subsequently shiftingfrom California to Boston for our son’s new posting. So they could not accompany us for most of ouroutings. On one particular weekend they booked tickets for usfor ‘Boston tour’ on a bus. We were somewhat reluctant to go alone. There are reasons for that. The American accent wasnew for us and the use of some English words by them with other meaningconfused us. For example: at the customs clearance at airport, theofficer asked us what was there in our suitcases. We listed all the items inthe suitcases. Then he said “Sorry”. We thought he is saying sorry because he was notgoing to allow that luggage into the USA. We just stared at him without knowing what to speak.Then he again said “Will you please repeat what you have said just now?”. Then we came to know that ‘sorry’ also means that theperson did not get what we said. Now coming to the story.... We refused to go alone and told them that we wouldrather prefer to stay at home and help them in unpacking things. But they insisted us to go, saying that we need notworry because in this tourist kind of things generally there would be moreAsians than Americans. We agreed. It was a small bus with 20 seats. By thetime we boarded the bus, it was almost full, only three seats being vacant.Those three seats were adjacent to our seats. We looked around in the bus. As our children told,except 2-3 people, all were Asians. But there were no Indians! In the next stop, a couple in their thirties with a 5year (girl) kid boarded the bus. They were speaking in Bangla (Bengali) amongthemselves while searching for their seats! Both of us at once felt ‘at home’ hearing a languageof our country. The feeling was similar to the feeling when we met aTelugu family in Kolkata (then Calcutta) for the first time after our marriage. “Namaste” theysaid before they occupied their seats. We were delighted! All the loneliness in us gotsuddenly vanished. Then we had a long conversation about food habits,USA, work culture in America, tourist places in America, how we are proud ofIndia etc etc... They were talking in Bengali accent English, hearingwhich we felt heavenly! Then that little girl whispered something into herpapa’s ears. “She says thatyou resemble her grandparents. She wants to sit with you for some time” hesaid. “Sure” wesaid. She sat with us for some time. She was very cute...We were very happy... At every stop, the driver would tell everybody in thebus, how much time they could spend at that place. In most of the places, both our families would roamaround together. But whenever their daughter wanted to play at a play station,we would depart in our ways. We had one cell phone with us (ourdaughter-in-law’s). The young man would call us to remind about the time,whenever we went separately. In ‘museum of fine arts’ both our families wereroaming separately. We forgot our time. When it was time for boarding thebus, he called us on the phone. While coming out, we lost ourway. We called him and told about our plight. He requested the bus driver to wait, came to us andtook us to the bus. The entire tour ended in a very happy note. That day we learned a great lesson. When we are in our own state, there will be fightsbetween castes and religions. But when we move out of our state we forget aboutcaste or religion. All that matters is “That person belongs to our state”. But then there would be fights between states! But when we move out of our country, we forget aboutour states, all that matters is “That person belongs to our country” But then there would be fights between countries! May be after a thousand years human beings if settleon or tour another planet (of another star), then we may feel happy when we seea ‘human being’ on that planet among all the aliens. :) Then there would be no fights between countries! Letus wait for that day! Q4 Is therea weight limit for horseback riding? A4 Jean-MarieValheur, love me some yummy animals2h A Dutch woman recently complained in a newspaperabout being rejected at an equestrian facility she used to attend. The lady,38, had gained a significant amount after the birth of her third child. One ofthe trainer at the stable asked her if she planned to go riding again. Yes, shesaid. She was then informed that the facility has a “weightlimit” in place. A horse cannot carry someone for a ride around the property,or even through a forest, when that person is morbidly obese. Seeing as thoughthe would-be rider weighed about 250 pounds, it would have been too much forthe horse to handle. As a rule of thumb, a horse should carry a rider that isbetween 10% and 20% of the horse’s weight, with 20% being the absolute maximum.For a thousand pound horse, the limit would be about 200 pounds. But that’salready pushing it. At certain equastrian facilities and stables, thereare weighing scales. The stable roughly knows the weight of each horse and willmake an estimation. If a rider is very tall and heavy, or very obese, they maybe provided with a significantly larger, stronger horse. If no such horse isavailable, they cannot ride. Because it would be animal abuse to force theanimal to carry such a load. Q5 Whokilled Joan of Arc? A5 “SilkRoad”,AI Expert20h Known as Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans, she wasnot killed by a single person but by a system. A system of power, politics, and religious zealotrythat saw a young woman leading men into battle, claiming divine guidance, anddoing the unthinkable: winning. This was the 15th century, and such things justdidn't sit well with the powers that be. Joan was captured by the Burgundians, who were alliedwith the English, at the Siege of Compiègne. They didn't kill her right away. No, they sold her to the English, who were more thaneager to get their hands on this pesky girl who had rallied the French againstthem. The English then handed her over to an ecclesiasticalcourt at Rouen led by Bishop Pierre Cauchon, a man whose loyalty to the Englishcrown was as clear as the political motivation behind the trial. You see, this trial was basically bullshit, a seriesof trumped-up charges ranging from heresy to witchcraft, all because she daredto wear men's clothing and, you know, kick some serious English ass. But, the verdict was a foregone conclusion. Joan was condemned and burned at the stake in Rouen'sOld Market Square on May 30, 1431. She was 19.But let's be real here.It wasn't just theEnglish or the Burgundians or even Bishop Cauchon who killed Joan. It was fear. Fear of change, fear of the other, fear of a worldwhere a peasant girl could be more than her station, more than her gender. They killed her because sherepresented something that threatened the very fabric of their society. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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