he predicted himself to be able to live past 96. but he was dead at the age of 84.
PUTTAPARTHI (India) - INDIAN spiritual leader Sai Baba, one of the country's most famous gurus, died in hospital on Sunday, triggering an outpouring of grief from devotees around the world.
He was 85 and succumbed to heart problems, his doctors said in a statement, after being in critical condition for more than three weeks.
Thousands of Hindu followers massed at the Institute of Higher Medical Sciences hospital where Sai Baba was being treated in his hometown of Puttaparthi, in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Police used barriers to hold back mourning crowds, and appealed for public calm after the death was announced.
'Sai Baba is no more with us physically. He breathed his last at 7.40 am and died due to cardio-respiratory failure,' the hospital statement said. 'His body will be kept for public worship for two days on Monday and Tuesday.' Devotees congregated in the town over recent weeks to hold special prayers asking for a miracle to allow Sathya Sai Baba - as he was properly known - to recover.
He was credited by millions of followers around the world with having supernatural powers, including an ability to conjure objects out of thin air, remember past lives and cure terminal diseases.
He counted former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, judges, actors, generals and other politicians as devotees, as well as Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar and Hollywood star Goldie Hawn. Sai Baba claimed to be the reincarnation of a former holy man, Sai Baba of Shirdi, who died in 1918. -- AFP
Monday, April 25, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
better dead than alive :(
my poor auntie was directly forced to death by NTUC which robbed her of her meagre living of selling provisions in the market.
before the appearance of NTUC supermart just next to the market, she was doing pretty well. later NTUC came in and her biz was all downhill.
poor auntie was ever so worry for her livelihood. she had to support two sub-normal middle-aged boys who helped out in her market stall. things just went from bad to worst. her goods could't compete with those fr the nearby NTUC supermart.
every month, she would incur a small loss. in the end, hdb advised her to give up her stall and compensated her some money. without her stall which was part of her life, she was saddened disillusioned and erratic thoughts began to run wild.
one day, she just fainted. the neighbours called for an ambulance and sent her to the hospital emergency. she was put in intensive care. when she awoke. she had became a "zombie". her expression was totally blank. she would just stare and quietly lied on the bed with feeding and breathing tubes connected into her nostrils.
how could such a sad tragic state be happening to my poor, kind and once cheerful widowed auntie who was once full of life and a jovious person??
when mum and some of the lady cousins visited auntie in the ward, they couldn't help it. they wept profusely and kept calling her name but to no avail. she just stared blankly......
i was there too and almost close to tears. i held her hands and stroke her forehead hoping she could respond. yes, she responded!! she gripped my hand tightly and tears was flowing down her eyes.
it was a torturous and heart-wrenching moment for me and all those who were present. my poor auntie was now just a empty human shell. her once cheerful and chatty spirit had left her. she just stared.....staring blankly...
last week she passed away in her sleep. it could be a blessing for her that she was now in eternal peace.
the relatives now doing her funeral rites. they ordered big paper houses incorporated with paper maids and even security guards which were to be burned as offering to my demised auntie. along with it, they burned paper casket of "gold and silver", paper mercz and all the peper luxuries that she never get to enjoy when she was alive. all she did when she was living was to work very hard and long hours to get enough money to support her 2 retarded sons.
poor auntie!! how could life be so harsh and merciless to you? i asked myself. i asked heaven.....the only thing i could do for her now was to chant some sutras hoping that if ever she would be reincarnated as human, may she lead a better and happier well-deserved life.
for now, it appears that she is better dead than alive - she is living in big paper houses and all the paper luxuries the relatives had bought and burnt to her.
emptiness is form....form is emptiness.
my aunt was a very decent and hardworking selfless lady. once her provision business was thriving and she would work through every chinese new year eve. i remember during chinese new year, she would visit grandma and my mum who was her sister and gave tins of abalones. her ang pows used to be the biggest. and now she died as a desolated woman at the age of 81.
and hallelujah!! 8118 just came out lst prize. auntie sure blessed my mum and the rest of the relatives who striked lst prize!! guess there would be another burning offering soon.
it seem that in sgp it would be better off dead than alive. at least when dead, paper bungalow and all the paper luxuries would be offered and burnt. whether there is an afterlife and the dead receives all those offerings is another matter. it's all the forms that are created to pacify the sentiments of the living.
and yes auntie, i strike too
before the appearance of NTUC supermart just next to the market, she was doing pretty well. later NTUC came in and her biz was all downhill.
poor auntie was ever so worry for her livelihood. she had to support two sub-normal middle-aged boys who helped out in her market stall. things just went from bad to worst. her goods could't compete with those fr the nearby NTUC supermart.
every month, she would incur a small loss. in the end, hdb advised her to give up her stall and compensated her some money. without her stall which was part of her life, she was saddened disillusioned and erratic thoughts began to run wild.
one day, she just fainted. the neighbours called for an ambulance and sent her to the hospital emergency. she was put in intensive care. when she awoke. she had became a "zombie". her expression was totally blank. she would just stare and quietly lied on the bed with feeding and breathing tubes connected into her nostrils.
how could such a sad tragic state be happening to my poor, kind and once cheerful widowed auntie who was once full of life and a jovious person??
when mum and some of the lady cousins visited auntie in the ward, they couldn't help it. they wept profusely and kept calling her name but to no avail. she just stared blankly......
i was there too and almost close to tears. i held her hands and stroke her forehead hoping she could respond. yes, she responded!! she gripped my hand tightly and tears was flowing down her eyes.
it was a torturous and heart-wrenching moment for me and all those who were present. my poor auntie was now just a empty human shell. her once cheerful and chatty spirit had left her. she just stared.....staring blankly...
last week she passed away in her sleep. it could be a blessing for her that she was now in eternal peace.
the relatives now doing her funeral rites. they ordered big paper houses incorporated with paper maids and even security guards which were to be burned as offering to my demised auntie. along with it, they burned paper casket of "gold and silver", paper mercz and all the peper luxuries that she never get to enjoy when she was alive. all she did when she was living was to work very hard and long hours to get enough money to support her 2 retarded sons.
poor auntie!! how could life be so harsh and merciless to you? i asked myself. i asked heaven.....the only thing i could do for her now was to chant some sutras hoping that if ever she would be reincarnated as human, may she lead a better and happier well-deserved life.
for now, it appears that she is better dead than alive - she is living in big paper houses and all the paper luxuries the relatives had bought and burnt to her.
emptiness is form....form is emptiness.
my aunt was a very decent and hardworking selfless lady. once her provision business was thriving and she would work through every chinese new year eve. i remember during chinese new year, she would visit grandma and my mum who was her sister and gave tins of abalones. her ang pows used to be the biggest. and now she died as a desolated woman at the age of 81.
and hallelujah!! 8118 just came out lst prize. auntie sure blessed my mum and the rest of the relatives who striked lst prize!! guess there would be another burning offering soon.
it seem that in sgp it would be better off dead than alive. at least when dead, paper bungalow and all the paper luxuries would be offered and burnt. whether there is an afterlife and the dead receives all those offerings is another matter. it's all the forms that are created to pacify the sentiments of the living.
and yes auntie, i strike too
Friday, April 1, 2011
I WANT TO VOTE ON THIS GE!!!
the mrbrown show: election day
did the paps machinery deprive most singaporeans the rights to vote OR there isn't any authentic opposition opponents to challenge the paps? why then the need for GRCs even though paps has already a winning streak? paps could be the origin and mother of KIASUISM & KIASEEISM unigue to singapore :( would i be able to exercise my rights to vote this GE or another walkover?? :(( I WANT TO VOTE, PLEASE!!
did the paps machinery deprive most singaporeans the rights to vote OR there isn't any authentic opposition opponents to challenge the paps? why then the need for GRCs even though paps has already a winning streak? paps could be the origin and mother of KIASUISM & KIASEEISM unigue to singapore :( would i be able to exercise my rights to vote this GE or another walkover?? :(( I WANT TO VOTE, PLEASE!!
Monday, February 28, 2011
take mrt, can c
c is not the alphabet here. it's hokkien for die. taking the mrt now really can c or die. it's so infuriating and unpleasant and a total contradiction to SMRT's "have a pleasant journey..."
nothing's pleasant taking mrt now. from the control station, the ticket vending machines, through the gates and waiting for mrt to the destination, it's usually quite unpleasant.
if u ve any query, the control station staffs are the grumpiest fuck-faced anyone would love to avoid. cold, unsmiling, unfriendly. they give u a "hey, why don't u F off" kind of feeling. the caveman's version of ticket vending machine pisses u when u r trying to buy a ticket and pisses u again when on reaching your destination u need to recover that $1 coin from the ticket deposit. it's such time waster!
the escalators break down very often and the lift jammed pack. when the trains come, it would be sardine-packed. last time, it occurred only during peak hours. now it seems that that's the standard norm.
does service in smrt improve? no. at least not what i m experiencing but the fares keep going up. there's no where and no other choices for the commuters. we are like herds hurdled into the slaughterhouse.
taking mrt now really can c (die). perhaps some might just drop dead from the stress just by boarding and alighting the mrt or worst develop serious chronic sickness later in life for the daily unpleasant routine.
nothing's pleasant taking mrt now. from the control station, the ticket vending machines, through the gates and waiting for mrt to the destination, it's usually quite unpleasant.
if u ve any query, the control station staffs are the grumpiest fuck-faced anyone would love to avoid. cold, unsmiling, unfriendly. they give u a "hey, why don't u F off" kind of feeling. the caveman's version of ticket vending machine pisses u when u r trying to buy a ticket and pisses u again when on reaching your destination u need to recover that $1 coin from the ticket deposit. it's such time waster!
the escalators break down very often and the lift jammed pack. when the trains come, it would be sardine-packed. last time, it occurred only during peak hours. now it seems that that's the standard norm.
does service in smrt improve? no. at least not what i m experiencing but the fares keep going up. there's no where and no other choices for the commuters. we are like herds hurdled into the slaughterhouse.
taking mrt now really can c (die). perhaps some might just drop dead from the stress just by boarding and alighting the mrt or worst develop serious chronic sickness later in life for the daily unpleasant routine.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
pap's CNY angpows, sharkfin, silver coin....
there was a very big event at the INDIAN GLOBAL SCHOOL in mei chin rd today. baey yam keng was giving all the senior citizens in queenstown a cny treat.
anyone above 50 was invited. unlike SDP, it was free.
initially thought it was just a simple yusheng tossing affair, but no! it was a 10 course meals! it began with the yusheng or raw fish tossing - traditional of cny celebration. instead of raw fish, strips of abalone was substituted. no kidding! abalone.
the next dish was sharksfin, again with abalone strips, craps - i mean shredded crabs and etc. then followed by louhan chai or a vegetarian dish. surprise again! it wasn't any cheapskate simple vegetarian dish but one that contained fa cai or the hair-liked black moss which was quite expensive. it wasn't done yet. emperor chicken in herbal soup was next. then seabass in spicy assam gravy. then abalone and spinach. yep! u heard it right!! ABALONE again!
it wasn't really top quality abalone but a very much cheaper version which u could buy fr the market at about $8 for one big piece. looked like abalone. tasted like abalone, closely related to abalone (?)...but definitely NOT the authentic abalone.
didn't stay until the end cos the heat was really killing me! left the place with a door gift good bag which had 1 commenmorative RABBIT silver coin, 2 mandarins and a notice to register for free health screening. needed to be excused cos baey yam keng was going to every table to distribute ang pows and it wasn't a misery angpow. it contained $10.
was ushered to a counter to register for FREE PASSION CARD.
and there u have it. 10 course meal, silver coin, angpow, free PASSION CARD and lots of stage amatuerist entertainment to celebrate CNY.
what was my impression for the entire affair?
hmm.....VOTE BUYING. GE is nearing and lau lee, the mother hen might not be around to back his little chicks.
while munching the food and slurping the yummy sharksfin, i couldn't help thinking about opp parties. how could they outdo the pap? it was a massive event and there seemed to be no lacking in manpower. there were the volunteer entertainers who were mostly PRC-converted sgporeans. they danced, they mcee, sang and even did acrobatic stunts.
though not really stage quality standard but it was still passable. later a bunch of aunties went up to croak their TIAN MI MI. my god!! i nearly choked on my sharksfin! at least mp was usually gracious enough to bear and grimace grotesquely along with those old croakers.
there were many ??? question marks that curiously intrigued me. who were paying for all those? the humongous tent which housed so many senior residents was amazingly spartacus! then there were the food, the door gifts and what about $10 for an estimated 3000 guests. (that was what i overheard from some uncle.) ok. 2999. i skipped the angpow cos i won't be voting for pap.
seriously, how are the opp parties going to counteract such generous public relation activites which the paps are going out all strength to push for votes?
anyone above 50 was invited. unlike SDP, it was free.
initially thought it was just a simple yusheng tossing affair, but no! it was a 10 course meals! it began with the yusheng or raw fish tossing - traditional of cny celebration. instead of raw fish, strips of abalone was substituted. no kidding! abalone.
the next dish was sharksfin, again with abalone strips, craps - i mean shredded crabs and etc. then followed by louhan chai or a vegetarian dish. surprise again! it wasn't any cheapskate simple vegetarian dish but one that contained fa cai or the hair-liked black moss which was quite expensive. it wasn't done yet. emperor chicken in herbal soup was next. then seabass in spicy assam gravy. then abalone and spinach. yep! u heard it right!! ABALONE again!
it wasn't really top quality abalone but a very much cheaper version which u could buy fr the market at about $8 for one big piece. looked like abalone. tasted like abalone, closely related to abalone (?)...but definitely NOT the authentic abalone.
didn't stay until the end cos the heat was really killing me! left the place with a door gift good bag which had 1 commenmorative RABBIT silver coin, 2 mandarins and a notice to register for free health screening. needed to be excused cos baey yam keng was going to every table to distribute ang pows and it wasn't a misery angpow. it contained $10.
was ushered to a counter to register for FREE PASSION CARD.
and there u have it. 10 course meal, silver coin, angpow, free PASSION CARD and lots of stage amatuerist entertainment to celebrate CNY.
what was my impression for the entire affair?
hmm.....VOTE BUYING. GE is nearing and lau lee, the mother hen might not be around to back his little chicks.
while munching the food and slurping the yummy sharksfin, i couldn't help thinking about opp parties. how could they outdo the pap? it was a massive event and there seemed to be no lacking in manpower. there were the volunteer entertainers who were mostly PRC-converted sgporeans. they danced, they mcee, sang and even did acrobatic stunts.
though not really stage quality standard but it was still passable. later a bunch of aunties went up to croak their TIAN MI MI. my god!! i nearly choked on my sharksfin! at least mp was usually gracious enough to bear and grimace grotesquely along with those old croakers.
there were many ??? question marks that curiously intrigued me. who were paying for all those? the humongous tent which housed so many senior residents was amazingly spartacus! then there were the food, the door gifts and what about $10 for an estimated 3000 guests. (that was what i overheard from some uncle.) ok. 2999. i skipped the angpow cos i won't be voting for pap.
seriously, how are the opp parties going to counteract such generous public relation activites which the paps are going out all strength to push for votes?
Thursday, January 27, 2011
the abuse of mei ling
poor mei ling! the once a simple hawker centre which pride itself for selling good honest to goodness hawker foods is no longer that innocent.
after the upgrading of this airy spacious h c, many of the pioneer hawkers decided to call it quit. they took their meagre monetary compensation and vacated their stalls. hence, that was the end of their honest to goodness inexpensive food.
baey yam keng had promised "better business" in a makeover mei ling. there was a lift and a pair of escalators. that is good. and there is the terribly increase in rental and super hike in conservancy fee. now that's terribly bad!!
all food prices go up! that's worst! and the final stab into mei ling's heart: there are lesser patronage. die! what baey bragged about before the upgrading is going the reversal.
now our poor makeover mei ling is more deserted than before. more stalls are closed or some even give up. they refrain from doing business as there is no business enough to tide over the day's expenses and overhead. so opening for business mean incurring more losses.
now what? mei ling is lamenting everyday: "where are my old customers? where are the more new customers i was promised??"
sad!
mei ling hc is waiting for more stallholders to close. lunch time. the old soyabean drink stall uncle who is one of the pioneer hawkers laments. he even stops selling his superduper black sesame paste or his tao suan. why? not enough customers. his desserts were once a daily sold out at a honest to goodness 80c a bowl. but now all his good stuffs end up in the longkang! so he stops selling but laments.
some of the stalls that u may see now would be bankrupt when u come again say in a couple of months time. new stalls would take over...new stalls close and newer stalls could replace.
what's happening to our poor mei ling? a better fengshui was promised but it seems to be more cursed now than before.
the answer lies in the rental.
baey has done a good job to upgrade mei ling. what he has fatally left out is he didn't fight to maintain the rentals, the conservancy charges and some advertisement to promote a prettier mei ling.
in fact, i would dare say, baey is slowing killing mei ling. poor mei ling! when would she ever shines through?
after the upgrading of this airy spacious h c, many of the pioneer hawkers decided to call it quit. they took their meagre monetary compensation and vacated their stalls. hence, that was the end of their honest to goodness inexpensive food.
baey yam keng had promised "better business" in a makeover mei ling. there was a lift and a pair of escalators. that is good. and there is the terribly increase in rental and super hike in conservancy fee. now that's terribly bad!!
all food prices go up! that's worst! and the final stab into mei ling's heart: there are lesser patronage. die! what baey bragged about before the upgrading is going the reversal.
now our poor makeover mei ling is more deserted than before. more stalls are closed or some even give up. they refrain from doing business as there is no business enough to tide over the day's expenses and overhead. so opening for business mean incurring more losses.
now what? mei ling is lamenting everyday: "where are my old customers? where are the more new customers i was promised??"
sad!
mei ling hc is waiting for more stallholders to close. lunch time. the old soyabean drink stall uncle who is one of the pioneer hawkers laments. he even stops selling his superduper black sesame paste or his tao suan. why? not enough customers. his desserts were once a daily sold out at a honest to goodness 80c a bowl. but now all his good stuffs end up in the longkang! so he stops selling but laments.
some of the stalls that u may see now would be bankrupt when u come again say in a couple of months time. new stalls would take over...new stalls close and newer stalls could replace.
what's happening to our poor mei ling? a better fengshui was promised but it seems to be more cursed now than before.
the answer lies in the rental.
baey has done a good job to upgrade mei ling. what he has fatally left out is he didn't fight to maintain the rentals, the conservancy charges and some advertisement to promote a prettier mei ling.
in fact, i would dare say, baey is slowing killing mei ling. poor mei ling! when would she ever shines through?
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
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