ASYLUM - For all mankind

Most of us have had a crush on our teachers at some time or the other in our school lives. But a 16 year old school boy has really pushed the envelope further. How? Well he ran away and married his 21 year old Science teacher.

The boy's parents who hail from the Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh, only learnt of the wedding when their new "daughter in law" called to say that she had tied the knot with their son at a local temple. The boys parents then requested the couple to return home for a formal wedding reception only to hand them over to the cops on their arrival.

Needless to say, the parents were keen on filling a case against the teacher. The police however thought it was better to take on the role of counsellors than implement the law. So now they are trying to coax the couple into staying apart till the boy turns 18, the legal age to get married.

Ever heard of "Situs Inversus"? No that's not the name of a new character from Transformers. It is actually a biological term to describe a rather unique birth condition. So unique in fact, that a 64 year old Mumbai man Mr.Ashok Shivnani could possibly be the only person in the world with this condition.

Mr.Shivnani, who has already had two Hernia operations and a thorough check up for a chronic lung disease, went under the surgeons knife again for a tumour on his kidney. But this time around, the doctors found a lot more than what they were looking for.

Most of Mr.Shivnani's chest and abdominal organs as well as many of his blood vessels are on the opposite side of the body.The positions of Mr.Shivnani's aorta and the inferior vena cava too are reversed and he has two livers and three vessels supplying blood to his kidney. He also doesnt have a small intestine.

Now what is even more incredible is the fact that Mr. Shivani has lived to be 64 without the knowledge about his rare biological condition. That too after having gone under the knife on multiple occasions in the past. But if you think about it, we can't really blame him for if we had the same condition, we would be the #1 advocates of the saying, "Ignorance is bliss!"

If there's one thing that Hussain Ali feels is never enough, it has to be his children! The 80 year old man from Mohkuli, Assam is expecting his 31st child from the third of his four wives. His fourth wife bore his last child just 2 months ago.

Ali firmly believes that he is only fulfilling God's wish by accepting his "gifts". His first wife is the proud mother of 8 sons and 3 daughters. His eldest son is 40 and about half of his children are now married and living separately. When asked how he supports such a big family, Ali says his sons help him out financially.

But the million dollar question here is how Ali has managed to keep all his wives happy for they all claim that he is a responsible husband and caring father. So he elaborates saying, they all stay in separate huts in the same compound and he splits his time equally amongst four of them.

Now to see how a good a father he is, Ali was asked to name his 30 children. Ali could only name 15 but casually waved that off with a smile saying that he may forget their names at times but remembers each one by their face.

Honestly, we are not sure what kind of husband or father he really is but Ali's "young at heart" approach sure makes for a strong case to solve impotency and infertility issues of men.

Blasphemy has a new face; that of Jesus Himself, albeit holding a beer can in one hand and a cigarette in another. This is the picture that young students at a private school in Shillong, came face to face with, in their cursive writing copies. Needless to mention, this has now sparked a huge row in Meghalaya and the state is currently thinking of taking legal action against the New Delhi based publisher of the books.

The Archbishop of Shillong, has expressed shock and hurt on behalf of the community, at what they believe is total lack of respect for their religious sentiments by the publisher, Skyline Publication. The issue is likely to assume great proportions and attract a lot of attention, owing to the fact that by some twist of fate this happened in Meghalaya, the state that has amongst the largest populations of Christians in the country. Of an estimated 23 lakh population of Meghalaya, approximately 72% are follow the Christian faith.

The Meghalaya minister for education said that all the books carrying the image in question have been confiscated, despite the fact that private school books are not prescribed by the Government.

You've probably heard before that too much of a good thing can be bad. But for one 55 year old Kolkata businessman, it was a first hand experience.

The problem started when the man, a father of two, had an erection. You may think that a 55 year old with an erection is a miracle, not a problem. But when the erection lasts 21 days, things can get somewhat ugly. And that's exactly what happened. But before you jump to any conclusions, let us clarify, there were no pills involved here. It was in fact the result of a known and documented neurological disorder called "priapism"

The blood flow to the penis of a normal male, ceases during an erection. Blood flows out of the penis once sexual excitement is overcome and thus the erection subsides. But in victims of priaprism, the penis fails to return to its normal state. If the erection prolongs and blood flow remains cut off too long, the organ could turn gangrenous, get damaged and even lead to a fatal condition.

Quite luckily for the gentleman, doctors at the Workhardt hospital in Kolkata were able to save his life despite his prolonged ordeal. The down side however (no pun intended) is that he might never have an erection for the rest of his life. Oh well, you win some, you lose some!

All over the world death is seen as a passage into a better world. It is seen as the journey into the land of enlightenment and bliss. Either we are getting suckered or we are being told the divine truth. Either ways, some rituals associated with funeral rites are down right weird at this time of mourning. We understand the concept of it being a celebration. But when you have just lost someone you love and you are expected to dance with jot at it, it gets slightly disturbing.

Presenting some of the strangest rituals currently in practice all over India:

Dance your way through the pearly gate: The Chettiyars are a renowned caste known for wealth, power and much more. But what has us all wonderstruck is the level they take to treating death as a celebration. Like we said, the whole concept of it not being finality is true, but hiring people to dance in front of the funeral procession takes some getting used to. Hooting, singing and uninhibited dancing is something that is taken for a fact when it comes to their funeral procession.

Get devoured: The Parsi custom may seem gruesome to some people. To have the dead body cleaned, purified and left outside to be torn and eaten up by vultures may seem slightly harsh (especially since studies have shown that the vulture population is dying from all the toxins they devour from the human bodies at this age of pollution and unhealthy lifestyles). But when you do spend time mulling over it; at least we are doing some good even at death, providing food for those who need it. And some might say that being burnt or allowed to rot away underground is no less gruesome.

The tribal dance of death: The Rengma tribe in the Nagaland buries the spears and shields of the dead alongside the bodies. After which they have a session of lamentation and dancing which is to signify accompanying the souls of the deceased on their long walk to the next world. This is followed by joyous feasting which shows that the walk to the new world was successful and hey anything successful deserves a good feast!

The Rudaalis of Rajasthan: Having professional mourners is an accepted custom all over the world. But the Rudaalis are on a class of their own! The singing and lamenting conducted by them are perfect sprinkled with just the right amount of tragic woe. So the next time you see someone crying at a funeral don't be quick to assume that they are the relatives.

A lot of parents get jittery about leaving their newborn alone with the family dog. So here's something that might just help to set their minds at ease. A family from the Beed district of Maharashtra, has no qualms about leaving their 6 month old baby girl with what has reported to be a "benign" Python.

Yes you read that right! We're talking about a fully grown specimen of a giant snake here. Pythons can swallow preys that are as large as a baby Hippo. But this doesn't stop the little girl from hopping on to the monster and playfully patting it while it patiently sits outside soaking up some sun.

So if your dog gives you the jitters, just adopt a python today to baby sit your newborn!!

What's the worse thing a Chapati could do to you? Make you sick? Wrong! As an Uttar Pradesh woman found out, a Chapati can pack quite a punch.

Rubina, a resident of Ramgarh near Lucknow, was performing the simple daily task of making a chapati when it exploded causing burns on her arms, face and midriff. While Rubina is now out of danger, initial suspicion is that the flour used may have been contaminated with explosive materials. All the available stock of the branded flour that was used has been seized. Investigations are also underway at the Shahjahanpur flour Mill, but its future sure looks bleak. Meanwhile, we can't help but wonder if Exploding Chapati's are the next terror threat to watch out for!

So the next time you use the phrase "mind blowing food", think again! You might just get more than you bargained for.