Whiskey

To all my class-fellows of yesteryears.......

This calls for a peg boys.

An old one but still worth a repeat

You don't have to enjoy whiskey to love this.
If the story is not apocryphal it'll only prove that politicians will be politicians - speaking from all sides of their mouth at the same time.

Subject: Whiskey
*Here my friends is a choice between the devil and divine!*
Choice is yours, no one can explain it better than Armon did half a century ago.
*WHISKEY*
In 1952, Armon M. Sweat, Jr., a member of the Texas House of
Representatives, was asked about his position on whiskey. What follows is his answer, taken from the State Archives:
"If you mean whiskey, the devil's brew, the poison scourge, the
bloody monster that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean that evil drink that topples Christian men and women from the pinnacles of righteous and gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, shame, despair, helplessness, and hopelessness, then, my friend, I am opposed to it with every fiber of my being.
However, if by whiskey you mean the lubricant of conversation, the philosophic juice, the elixir of life, the liquid that is consumed when good fellows get together, that puts a song in their hearts and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer, the stimulating sip that puts a little spring in the step of an elderly gentleman on a frosty morning; if you mean that drink that enables man to magnify his joy, and to forget life's great tragedies and heartbreaks and sorrow; if you mean that drink the sale of which pours into Texas treasuries untold millions of dollars each year, that provides tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our dumb, our pitifully aged and infirm, to build the finest highways, hospitals, universities, and community colleges in this nation, then my friend, I am absolutely, unequivocally in favor of it."
This is my position, and as always, I refuse to compromise on
matters of principle."

--
Maxwell Pereira IPS (Retd.)
3725 Sector-23, Gurgaon-122017

9871263322

Fwd: first words on gramaphone

The First Words recorded on Gramophone.....

Not many are aware of this!

 

HMV Company had once published a pamphlet giving the history of the gramophone record. Gramophone was invented by Thomas Alva Edison in the 19th century. Edison, who had invented many other gadgets like electric light and the motion picture camera, had become a legend even in his own time.

When He invented the gramophone record, which could record human voice for posterity, he wanted to record the voice of an eminent scholar

on his first piece. For that he chose Prof. Max Muller of Germany, another great personality of the 19th century. He wrote to Max Muller

saying, "I want to meet you and record your voice. When should I come?"

Max Muller who had great respect for Edison asked him to come on a suitable time when most of the scholars of the Europe would be

gathering in England.

Accordingly, Edison took a ship and went to England. He was introduced to the audience. All cheered Edison's presence. Later at the request of Edison, Max Muller came on the stage and spoke in front of the instrument. Then Edison went back to his laboratory and by afternoon came back with a disc. He played the gramophone disc from his instrument. The audience was thrilled to hear the voice of Max Muller from the instrument. They were glad that voices of great persons like Max Muller could be stored for the benefit of posterity.

After several rounds of applause and congratulations to Thomas Alva Edison, Max Muller came to the stage and addressed the scholars

and asked them, "You heard my original voice in the morning. Then you heard the same voice coming out from this instrument in

the afternoon. Did you understand what I said in the morning or what you heard this afternoon?"

The audience fell silent because they could not understand the language in which Max Muller had spoken. It was `Greek and Latin' to them as they say. But had it been Greek or Latin, they would have definitely understood because they were from various parts of Europe. It was in a language which the European scholars had never heard.

Max Muller then explained what he had spoken. He said that the language he spoke was Sanskrit and it was the first sloka of Rig Veda, which says "Agni Meele Purohitam." This was the first recorded public version on the gramophone plate.

Why did Max Muller choose this? Addressing the audience he said, "Vedas are the oldest text of the human race. And Agni Meele Purohitam is the first verse of Rig Veda. In the most primordial time, when the people did not know how even to cover their bodies and lived by hunting and housed in caves, Indians had attained high civilization and they gave the world universal philosophies in the form of the Vedas."

Such is the illustrious legacy of our country!

When "Agni Meele Purohitam" was replayed the entire audience stood up in silence as a mark of respect for the ancient Indian sages.

This verse means:

"Oh Agni, You who gleam in the darkness, To You we come day by day, with devotion and bearing homage. So be of easy access to us, Agni, as a father to his son, abide with us for our well being.

It is sad that such a GREAT civilization has degenerated today into a country brimming with lost values, corruption, and discord in every aspect.