Somehow, the numbers of the DAY seem more welcome than before .. 1400 ! Though not an expert or a believer in any form of numerology, its science or its existence, we do tend to give attention to such facts when they are narrated to us. And in some peculiar manner you begin to allow it to enter into your thinking and psyche. Boarding a plane you count the gate number, flight number. A room in a Hotel. The number on your house and car. Car definitely, because people pay to get a certain numerical for there’s. What the roll call number is in class. Your birth date, year and month. Release date for a film – the count is endless … All because you wish it to be a successful, incident free and a positive number.

Numbers have now been attached to the alphabet. The English alphabet. And now we have complicated our lives even more. Since English is the most prevalent language in the world, our names, corporate or otherwise, despite being of local language, need some kind of justification in being translated to the English tongue.

Our dear Ef Rastogi is a firm believer and has learned knowledge of the science and shall disagree outrightly with this concept, but is it not factual that say a name like eg. MAYUR, though spelt correctly due to the phonetics of the English language, does not endeavor to  give it the Hindi language phonetics. For, if it did the name should be written as MAYOOR. But MAYOOR in written and perhaps pronunciation would be too close to MAYOR, which has an altogether different meaning and sound.

Now what, I ask, could possibly be the connotations on the numerology of the name if that were to take place.

Firstly I need to know, how when and why were the numbers attached to each alphabet in the English, derived from. Who set them up and why. I would love to spend some time with him/her, to understand the craft and ask a few questions pertinent to the subject.

And … if the phonetics were the reason for the construct of words and their pronunciation, why do those that speak and have great knowledge of the English language, a most developed entity, perhaps snigger and laugh at those not from their region pronounce say CHAMPAGNE, as ‘sham pug nee’ … written as it is, this would be the truest phonetic translation ..

Why does a British commentator insist on calling GAVASKAR as ‘ga vasker’, when the true pronunciation should be ‘gaavas kar’, with an elongation on the ‘gaa’ as opposed to the more snipped and cryptic design he gives. And this is just the Indian National Cricket team. Wait till you hear them when SriLanka plays … !!

Boy o Boy !! This shall invite great debate I am certain, but nevertheless a point that I encounter often and have often wondered on. The spelling is correct, but the stress on the particular alphabets, or whatever it is called in English grammar, is different. Or should I say, is according to the stress or meter used in the English language and not on the language of the origin of the name.

I leave that for the moment. We started on DAY 1400 being better suited than all the 13′s that were coming up for the past days and look where we are !!  Superstitious to 13 .. eh … MR B ??

Time to get off this rail road track ..

To matters more mundane – the doctors and hospital and treatments and ailments ! There seems to be a slight, very slight, upward push to the graph on recovery, though there is still an immense amount of work to be done and observed. Your prayers seem to be working. The fever stayed within control and a few blood readings brought a gentle smile on the faces of the medical team. A CT Scan planned to detect another nagging problem has been put off for today and shall be considered tomorrow. My intake has been improved upon – from three sips of water per day to four sips !! Thats like a couple of teaspoons full extra !! Blessed are they that lounge in the comfort of elegant and mouth watering cuisine, while a good 30 % of our populace still remains hungry and without meal. How great the dichotomy, how intensely unbalanced our living. Consider yourself privileged Shri Amitabh Bachchan for getting that increased sip of water. Many around you have never come across any ‘increased’ circumstances.

Amitabh Bachchan