Ram Setu

रामसेतू is quite hot these days. The bridge, approx 30 miles long, connects रामेश्वरम in India to मन्नार in Lanka. This bridge is visible in satellite images, and is made of limestone. The government of India has been shifting its stance on the issue of रामसेतू everyday. Too much of controversy has been created where there exists none. In my humble opinion, there are only two options here -

1. Either believe that रामसेतू existed, and continues to exist, and find some alternate route for the ships.
2. Or do not believe it at all, destroy it, and let the ships pass.

However, saying that Lord Rama himself destroyed the रामसेतू is asking for trouble.

I read an interesting article in TOI today. River तुंगभद्रा is currently flooded. Apparently, some monkeys had crossed the river over to the other side. I don't know how they did it, but they did cross over. Later, when the river started rising, they climbed tall trees to avoid drowning in the river. The villages saw the predicament of the monkeys, and alerted the forest authorities. As usual, forest authorities did not take any trouble, and paid no heed to the villagers' request to save the monkeys. The villagers took upon themselves the task of saving the monkeys. They built a bridge of barrels across the river. They then crossed over to the other bank in a paddle boat to woo the monkeys to cross the river. How do you woo the monkeys? With bananas of course. One person climbed the tree, and coaxed the monkey leader to cross the bridge. The rest of the gang followed the leader to the safety of the other bank.

Now, this looks like a story from पंचतंत्र, but it is indeed true. As true as reported by TOI.