(In this article, the first part tells the real story of Mohammad Azam Khan’s April 2013 trip to the US, and the second part is fictional.)

Part I
This astonishing story is from 2013 AD. That year, Akhilesh Yadav, 39, the young chief minister of an Indian state, Uttar Pradesh, and his urban development minister, Mohammad Azam Khan, 64, were invited along with a 12-member delegation to attend a symposium on South Asia at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The subject of the symposium was. "Harvard Without Borders: Mapping the Kumbh Mela." As the chief minister of UP, Akhilesh Yadav had successfully hosted the Maha Kumbh, a 55-day religious congregation, which takes place every 12 years in the sacred city of Allahabad at the confluence of the rivers Ganga and Yamuna, and is attended by tens of millions of people from India and abroad.

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All of you must be aware that scientists keep on experimenting and publishing results of new studies. For example, one of the studies taught me that if I put a foot in front of the other foot, I will move forward. I am a great fan of such studies. So you can imagine my excitement when a study proved that pessimists live longer, happier lives. Now I am also a sucker for all sorts of tips and advice that promise longevity because I feel my life has just begun and I still have many unfulfilled dreams.

It gives me shivers to think how foolishly optimistic I have been until now. It could have cut my life short any day in the past. Hence after reading how optimists die early and pessimists live long and happy lives, I decided to change my attitude.

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Maya Kodnani and Narendra Modi (via countercurrents.org)

We trusted you all these years and now you betray us. Why you no save Maya Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi? Why you want death penalty for these brave warriors?

We have heard many stories of royal intrigues, conspiracies, and Machiavellian designs from the past, but this is the most shocking tale of betrayal in the recent history. Just because we called you Hindu Hridaya Samrat, you have started acting like those samrats or kings from the past, who used to kill their own brothers and fathers to acquire thrones? You have dealt a severe blow to all the Hindus.

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(Picture via nytimes.com)

The recent bombing incidents at Boston Marathon in the US and at the BJP office in Bangalore (India) have left me sad and dismayed. I am disappointed at the decline in quality and quantity of such terrorist attacks.

It is very important for countries like India and the US to have more homegrown terrorists as it has become increasingly difficult for the terrorists from outside to carry out terror attacks on foreign soil. There are many websites that teach people how to make bombs, but very few that clearly demonstrate how to make terrorists out of ordinary people. Who will make these bombs if there are no terrorists?

Here are a few easy-to-follow tips to radicalize simple peace-loving idiots and turn them into terrorists.

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For some time now, Dinesh had considered himself the most eligible bachelor in the town. It was a realization that had dawned on him lately, as all of his friends had become householders. Not that he had intended to remain unmarried. It was just that he couldn't find a bride to his liking. He had wanted a wife as beautiful as Madhuri Dixit, who would also get along well, working with his mother in their joint household and not spout abuses all day long like his two sisters-in-law.

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(via nytimes.com - link below)

All of us know that helping others makes a person a better human being. We also keep hearing stories in which good always triumphs over evil. In fact, we are born in this world not only amid a cacophony of wise sayings passed on from generations of philosophers and thinkers, which is blasted from public platforms, but also mean and selfish talks that goes on in the confines of privacy. Thus most people remain confused, and are skeptical of helping others.

This is the reason that we need, from time to time, new-age gurus to interpret and reaffirm the wisdom of our ancestors. Adam Grant, 31, a professor at Wharton, has proved, with the help of extensive social-science research and experiments, that people who help others are inclined to be more successful and reach the top in the long run as compared to selfish and mean people.

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