evidence of reincarnation

here's the ultimate evidence to prove the theory of reincarnation beyond any doubt - my own kids!

my son, prasann, is going to turn 7 in october. after my daughter, sunanda, who completed 3 in may, was born, we suddenly realised how much of an angel our son is :-)

(click one of the following links to see their pic - http://picasaweb.google.com/ckguruprasad/TripToMahabaleshwar/photo#5063979959940848338
http://picasaweb.google.com/ckguruprasad/Picsmar2006/photo#5008812688469998018)

prasann and sunanda are as similar as chalk and cheese.

1. prasann might protest vehemently, but will not do anything that he is not supposed to unless he has got permission from his mother. (he knows who's the boss at home!)

but sunanda will stare her mother in the eye and continue to do what she pleases.

2. prasann is not a very social person. he would rather sit and watch a movie, or play a computer game, or go through some car magazines than go out and play with the other kids.

sunanda prefers to stay out or go to her friend's house than come home on her way back from her 'day care centre'.

3. prasann can't stand the sight of fruits. he just about manages to eat some mangoes (the alphonso variety). he eats without a fuss but is quite choosy about his food and rarely experiments.

sunanda likes fruits and is quite game to try out some new variety of fruit even if it doesn't look very appealing. she would take a bite of whatever it is that we are eating, diplomatically say it is good, and then politely decline another serving.

4. prasann is currently into his 'cars' phase. this was preceded by planes, trains, auto-rickshaws, and cooking utensils.

sunanda never went through any of these phases. she prefers books, puzzles, animals.

5. prasann is deeply influenced by religious practices and he instinctively prostrates to swamis & brahmacharis (monks).

sunanda does not quite the like the idea of doing this at all, nor does she feel any pressure to ape her brother.

6. and the clinching evidence is displayed in full glory at the dining table. after prasann finishes his meal, which usually ends with a generous serving of curd-rice (here's the recipe - http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/3925/recipe_rice_15.html), you would not be blamed if you assumed that a mini-typhoon hit his plate which also smacked his face while retreating! the effects can be seen over a significant radius beyond his plate.
and sunanda, the way she expertly handles the cutlery, can be easily mistaken for someone the 'brits' left behind when they departed indian shores. she is neat, meticulous and a dainty eater.

all of us have our own views about reincarnation. but most parents with more than one child will agree that our children make us pause and wonder about this theory, if convince us about it!

reality shows you will soon see!

this posting was inspired by two things.

first, i read this article about some british tv company (i thought this was one of those examples of brit humor) doing a reality show where they would get someone with a disfigured face and then get some corrective & plastic surgery done to reconstruct the face. and all this would be on prime time!

and second, within the next day or two, i read an article by anil thakraney who writes in mumbai mirror. (this is the second time i am referring to the mirror in my blog! tells you a lot about the junk i read! :-) ) here he mentioned that we would see weirder reality shows in the near future.

i made a list of shows that would be thrust upon us. and each would have their own following of enthusiasts!

1. a full season of the next big celebrity wedding. right from the courting to the engagement and the run-up to the d-day including the shopping and all that. and not to forget the pre-nuptials!

2. a 24-episode version of how your wet garbage gets converted to manure. and this would be telecast to coincide with your dinner time. bon appetit!

3. a 3-5 year show with a daily one-hour episode on the progress of the mumbai metro phase I. for the first few months the camera would just follow the file as it moves through the various ministries at mantralaya. (a competing channel could cover the progress of the worli-bandra sea-link construction.)

4. a year with the indian cricket team! the camera would follow the cricket team as they go through the motions of training, playing (on field and off), etc. each month one player would be the 'chosen one'. this would be a daily episode for an hour each day. i am sure there would be more action seen on this show than in the matches played by these players!

5. and then there would be live feeds from 2 cameras from the compartments of our mumbai local trains. one would be in the ladies compartment while the other would be in the gents compartment. obviously the ad tariff would be higher on those days when the transmission is from the ladies compartment. this would be one of the most popular reality shows with transmissions to many tv stations around the world!
on this show you would see action, drama, suspense, tragedy, romance, thrills, etc. which would beat any of the mainstream potboilers hollow.

6. and of course, sooner or later, we will have a show just like 'the truman show' where someone is filmed right from their birth and would live life without realising that he (or she) is on tv 24X7!

do you agree that it wouldn't be the least bit surprising if these kind of shows get announced sooner than later?

do you have any wackier suggestions you want to list here? who knows, some of the readers here might actually end up using your idea and make a show... or maybe star in one! ;-)