Homa Cafe

T6, 15 Karepiro Drive, Whangaparaoa, Auckland.

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Updated on 20 August 2008: Cindy & Peyman finally sold the cafe business to an Iranian couple. All the best in their future undertakings. :)

In a moment of pure television, an Indian rationalist has challenged a black magician to kill him on live TV---and survived to tell the tale.

On March 3, Sanal Edamaruku of Rationalist International found himself opposite Pandit Surinder Sharma, a tantrik who claims to be a consultant for top Indian politicians and is a wellknown face on TV.

During a discussion on "Tantrik power versus Science" on the ultra-tabloid India TV run by Rajat Sharma, Sharma claimed he was able to kill any person he wanted within three minutes using black magic.

The rationalist challenged him. The tantrik chanted special mantras, used water, his fingers and a knife, but failed. All this, while the TV station ran the item as "Breaking News" with a super in Hindi that read, "Now Everything Will Happen Live". Then the tantrik claimed that the technique worked only at night.

The rationalist accepted the challenge again, and the TV show spilled well over its scheduled time. This time, the tantrik used mantras, paper, butter oil, peacock feathers, mustard seed, wheat flour dough, and his finger nails. But he failed again.

Over a couple of hours, a dangerous and widespread Indian superstition had been slayed in the studios, while the channel laughed all the way to the top of the ratings' chart.

Photographs: courtesy India TV/ Rationalist International

Read the full story: The only place black magic works is in your mind

When he was dumped by the JDS for a second time last November, the BJP's B.S. Yediyurappa provided an obscurantist spin to his physical wellbeing by claiming that he was facing a "death threat" and that former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda and his family were indulging in maata-mantra (black magic) to get rid of him.

"I am facing a threat to my life. I am aware of the places where they are performing the pujas to finish me off. Many of his opponents have suffered this fate fate in the past, and I could be the latest victim," the ten-day chief minister of the "hi-tech state" said, with a desperation that beggared belief.

Soon after, Yediyurappa's former party colleague, Uma Bharati, too accused her political opponents of using tantrik powers to inflict damage upon her. In fact, within a few days, she had lost her favorite uncle, hit the door of her car against her head, and found her legs covered with wounds and blisters.

But does black magic work? How does it work? Who makes it work? Should politicians be allowed to get away with such ridiculous claims in 21st century India?

***

Earlier this month, Sanal Edamaruku, the president of Rationalist International, challenged Pandit Surinder Sharma, who claims to be a tantrik of top politicians and is a wellknown face on Hindi television, to demonstrate his powers on him. Thus began an unprecedented experiment in rationalism---and television.

On Rajat Sharma's ultra-tabloid channel India TV, the tantrik and the rationalist were invited for a "Tantrik power versus Science" discussion.

During the discussion, the tantrik showed a small human shape of wheat flour dough, laid a thread around it like a noose and tightened it. He claimed that he was able to kill any person he wanted within three minutes by using black magic. Sanal challenged him to try and kill him.

The tantrik tried. He chanted his mantra: “Om lingalingalinalinga, kilikili” But his efforts did not show any impact, not after three minutes, not after five. The time was extended and extended again....

Now the tantrik changed his technique. He started sprinkling water and brandishing a knife in front of him. Sometimes he moved the blade all over his body. Then he touched Sanal’s head with his hand, rubbing and rumpling up his hair, pressing his forehead, laying his hand over his eyes, pressing his fingers against his temples. When he pressed harder and harder, Sanal reminded him that he was supposed to use black magic only, not forceful attacks to bring him down. The tantrik took a new run: water, knife, fingers, mantras.

But Sanal kept looking very healthy and even amused.

After nearly two hours, the anchor declared the tantrik’s failure. The tantrik, unwilling to admit defeat, tried the excuse that a very strong god whom Sanal might be worshipping obviously protected him. “No, I am an atheist,” said Sanal Edamaruku. Finally, the disgraced tantrik tried to save his face by claiming that there was a never-failing special black magic for ultimate destruction, which could, however, only been done at night.

Bad luck again, he did not get away with this, but was challenged to prove his claim this very night in another “breaking news” live program.

The encounter took place under the open night sky. The tantrik and his two assistants were kindling a fire and staring into the flames. Once the ultimate magic was invoked, there wouldn’t be any way back, the tantrik warned. Within two minutes, Sanal would get crazy, and one minute later he would scream in pain and die.

Didn’t he want to save his life before it was too late?

The countdown begun. The tantriks chanted their “Om lingalingalingalinga, kilikilikili” followed by ever changing cascades of strange words and sounds. The speed increased hysterically. They threw all kinds of magic ingredients into the flames that produced changing colours, crackling and fizzling sounds and white smoke.

While chanting, the tantrik came close to Sanal, moved his hands in front of him and touched him, but was called back by the anchor. After the earlier covert attempts of the tantrik to use force against Sanal, he was warned to keep distance and avoid touching Sanal. But the tantrik “forgot” this rule again and again.

Now the tantrik wrote Sanal’s name on a sheet of paper, tore it into small pieces, dipped them into a pot with boiling butter oil and threw them dramatically into the flames. Nothing happened. Singing and singing, he sprinkled water on Sanal, mopped a bunch of peacock feathers over his head, threw mustard seed into the fire and other outlandish things.

Nothing happened, and time was running out. Only seven more minutes before midnight, the tantrik decided to use his ultimate weapon: the clod of wheat flour dough. He kneaded it and powdered it with mysterious ingredients, then asked Sanal to touch it. Sanal did so, and the grand magic finale begun.

The tantrik pierced blunt nails on the dough, then cut it wildly with a knife and threw them into the fire. That moment, Sanal should have broken down. But he did not. He laughed. Forty more seconds, counted the anchor, twenty, ten, five, it’s over!

In this night, one of the most dangerous and wide spread superstitions in India suffered a severe blow.

Also read: Cheaper jet fuel at Deve Gowda petrol bunk?

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How Big B pushed India to a regressive new low

Here's what the stars foretell for you---yes, you

 

Catarina Gushiken é desses talentos silenciosos que passa meio desapercebido pelos olhares que procuram apenas o hype antes mesmo de qualidade e inteligência na moda. Ela foi o nervo central de inúmeras bem sucedidas coleções da Cavalera, principalmente a do Museu do Ipiranga que uniu a idéia de street+couture+brasilidade em alto grau alquímico.Hoje, ela está em carreira solo e lança na Homa sua mais nova coleção, que com certeza deve mesclar suas experiências sempre com toques femininos e delicados. E exatamente no dia 3 de dezembro, segunda, ela lança nova coleção com desfile na loja. Vale muito a pena conferir.

"The Vikasa Soudha is spanking new. Why are you already going in for a renovation so soon?" I asked.

"I will explain when we get there. Let’s start with the Vidhana Soudha."

As we walked around I saw workers dismantling the cubicles of the ministers and secretaries.

"Why are you converting office rooms to conference rooms?" I asked.

"Nobody works here as they keep discussing the whole day over tea when the next Government will get formed. The conference rooms are of different sizes. During a BJP MLAs' meeting if, say, 40 of them turn dissidents, at the press of this button, this screen will divide the room into two sections. Nobody outside will ever know the MLAs bashed up each other and had a separate meeting. Both the groups can come out smiling as one group. Ditto for JDS; we have similar partitions for them. Congress MLAs can see the whole thing through this one-way mirror."

"That’s very clever of the Governor to have thought of that."

The advisor continued, "You don’t know how much Guv Thakur is concerned about our MLAs. Some rooms have secret trap-doors with a password for each MLA. If a JDS MLA wants to have a secret meeting with the leader of the BJP, or vice versa, he can access the room without anybody’s knowledge, seal a deal or secure a loan of five crores without anybody getting a whiff of that. Nobody will ever know, unless they fight and spill it into the open. Or if their legal advisor gives television interviews."

"Amazing! What are these hollow 2x2 square blocks doing here?"

"They are a kind of mobile homa kits for Anytime-Anywhere-Homas. Here, try this. It comes off and you can take it to next room put it on the sofa and do it all over again. It is fire-proof and ghee-proof."

"What is this small closet?"

"It is meant for small families. It has a three-way secret door. Appa-maga, maga-appa or anna-thamma can play games without the third person getting a clue. It is like ‘I-spy’. But when played within a family, it is a thriller."

"You have miniature temples all over this floor. You have made replicas of Tirupati, Mookambike, Srirangam and even Chamundi temples!" I exclaimed.

"They are scaled-down versions of the real thing complete with astrologers. During the discussions for the formation of a 'popular' government, if say, Yediyurappa feels like visiting Chamundi, he can press this button and the escalator will take him to the mini-Chamundi temple with purohits in position to do mangalarathi and have a quick calculation done by his pet astrologer. If somebody else wants to do black, white or grey magic, or magic in any other colour, we have kept lemons, some look-alike dolls and lots of pins. They can keep piercing the dolls as much as they want."

My head was reeling. Surely, you can’t get a kinder, more understanding governor than Thakur.

As we were coming out, I remembered about Vikas Soudha.

"What are your plans for Vikas Soudha?"

"Same as in the Vidhana Soudha. We are constructing resorts inside. We have a mini-golf course, where the MLAs can sit on the lawns and crunch numbers while munching sippe kadalekai. Some places have a 24x7 bar with a tap. They can drink and take bath simultaneously. All the famous resorts have opened their stalls here and each can hold 223 people."

"What is the long stage with steps on either side? It looks like a ramp for a fashion parade to me," I asked as we came out.

"It is a ramp. It is for parading the MLAs. The President or governor can sit here to watch it, no doubt cursing themselves what their jobs have come to," said the advisor.

Il y a quelques semaines, Guy A. Lepage et Dany Turcotte recevaient à l'émission Tout le monde en parle le jeune acteur Maxime Desjardins-Tremblay et la réalisatrice Anais Barbeau Lavalette pour la sortie du film "Le ring".

Maxime Desjardins-Tremblay vit dans Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. L'acteur idéal pour un film sur les quartiers défavorisés. Dany Turcotte s'étonne de la réalité d'Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. D'un ton un peu sarcastique il s'étonne de ce que certains avaient déjà dit qu'Hochelaga-Maisonneuve serait le prochain Plateau-Mont-Royal, que certains commençaient à appeler le quartier HOMA.

Dans les annonces classées, on peut voir des gens mentionner qu'ils ont un superbe appartement à louer dans HOMA. Plus snob que de dire qu'ils ont un appartement à louer dans Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. Même un commerce utilise maintenant le qualificatif HOMA dans sa dénomination commerciale.

Mais d'ou provient ce surnom HOMA? Une entrevue a été réalisée par un magazine il y a plusieurs années auprès des jeunes commerçants de la rue Ste-Catherine Est dans Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. Ces nouveaux commerces détonnaient avec la réalité d'Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. Stupéfiant les autres commerçants, une des participantes lancent au journaliste que le quartier est en train de changer et qu'il va devenir HOMA! Les autres commerçants n'avaient pas été consultés et étaient en complet désaccord avec cette nouvelle appellation.

Le journaliste a sauté sur l'expression et l'a publié. D'autres journalistes ont suivi. Au grand dam de plusieurs commençants concernés, l'expression HOMA est demeurée. Comme quoi il arrive que les médias couvrent la nouvelle et parfois il la crée!

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