Indian doctor kills self after parents reject British fiancee

London, Dec 17 (IANS) A heartbroken India-born doctor in Britain committed suicide after his parents, citing cultural differences, disapproved of his wish to marry a fellow physician.

Anaesthetist Madhu Honnaiah, 33, from a hospital in Swansea, a coastal city in Wales, where he worked after splitting with fiancee Emma Wrighton, swallowed drugs, Daily Mail reported. 

An inquest heard that Honnaiah's parents, from Karnataka's Bangalore city, had objected to his engagement to British-born Wrighton, 32, who had refused to have a Hindu wedding.

Honnaiah had begun a relationship with fellow doctor Wrighton in 2008 while working in Liverpool. She later got a job in Australia but they stayed in touch and moved in together after she returned to Britain. The two doctors got engaged in 2010. But he did not inform about it to his parents.

He was wary of telling his parents about the relationship due to their cultural beliefs, investigating officer PC Huw Evans told the inquest.

"During a visit to Britain from India, his parents learned of the relationship and said they weren't happy about it. It was said his parents wanted him to marry someone from his caste or from the Bangalore area of India where he grew up," Evans said.

Honnaiah was alone when he injected himself with two drugs used in surgery seven months after their split.

"After the breakdown of his relationship, concerns about Dr Honnaiah's state of mind were raised by his colleagues," Evans said.

An eight-page hand written letter made it clear that Honnaiah intended to take his own life.

Best honeymoon destination by sun sign

Getting married is just part of the fun. After the formal event, the bride and groom take time off to learn about each other by enjoying a honeymoon in a fun distant location. Usually the groom arranges the honeymoon as a surprise for the bride but you can decide on the location together too. Here are is a fun astrological way to choose your destination.

    Aries, Leos and Sagittarians love fun and spontaneity. That means they are more than willing to let their mate decide their honeymoon location believing them to set up a romantic fun honeymoon. But to surprise them and have fun at the same time, an amusement park honeymoon such as Disneyworld, African safaris, surfing on the high seas would be the best to catch their attention and please them.
  

  Taureans, Virgos and Capricorns are old fashioned and simple as they are called the Earth Signs. For them, spending a day with their family is the ideal vacation. To suit them, a quite week at a romantic inn would be ideal. But ensure that you set up romantic dinners and outings like park visits and cruises to keep then entertained. Keep the thought frugal but romantic in mind; and you can’t go wrong
   

 Geminis, Librans and Aquarians like spontaneity and intellectual stimulation. Esthetic, cultural and romantic locations such as Europe, wine tasting in France and a food tasting vacation in Europe are ideal.
   

Water signs such as Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces are strongly attracted to water. A beach vacation is ideal for them just because they tend to sit and percolate next to water. For them Fiji, the Caribbean island and even Bora-Bora would be ideal.

Top 10 British hairstyles for a special occasion

Glamorous British hairstyles

You're all frocked up and your rosy red pout looks perfect, but no British special occasion outfit is complete without a beautiful barnet. A study by Yale University revealed that new acquaintances judge your character on your hairdo within the first three seconds of meeting you — no pressure then! We've got the lowdown on the top hairstyles loved by British beauties that radiate charisma, from the demure Duchess of Cambridge to the feminine and feisty late Amy Winehouse.

British hairstyle 1: Bold beehive
The beehive was a big look during the 1960s and was popularised by American girl group, The Ronettes. More recently, the late great Amy Winehouse was renowned for her big black beehive, which was an integral part of her image. Standing at an impressive five inches tall, Ms Winehouse apparently loved the classic pin-up hairdo because of its ability to give such height.  The beehive hairstyle certainly adds a touch of volume for any special occasion.
British hairstyle 2: Loose waves
The loose waves hairstyle is a firm favourite among the Brits. Even the beautiful Duchess of Cambridge sports the look on a daily basis and employed it for her very own special occasion: her marriage to Prince William in 2011. The nation went crazy over her beautiful shiny hair and loose curls and the look has soared in popularity ever since.
British hairstyle 3: Quirky quiff
The classic quiff is a favourite hairstyle for British ladies and gentlemen alike. David Beckham regularly gives his hair some volume with a quiff, proving that this is a hairdo that all stylish Brits love.  This is a great style for the quirky characters who'd like to radiate a bit of their wacky personality but it works equally well if you're going for a demure look; simply adjust the height of your quiff depending on which look you're going for.
British hairstyle 4: Elegant chignon
As classic as it is timeless, the chignon is a popular choice for brides because it radiates elegance and femininity without going out of style. The name derives from the French phase "chignon du cou" which means "nape of the neck". Former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham sported a super stylish centre-parted chignon at the British Fashion Awards 2011 where she scooped the 'Designer of the Year' award — if that doesn't pay homage to how stylish the chignon is then we don't know what does.
British hairstyle 5: Grecian braid
Beach-friendly or city chic, the Grecian braid is an impressive little 'do that can be either dressed up or dressed down depending on the occasion. One beauty who rocked the Grecian braid for a special occasion recently is Sienna Miller, when she looked every inch the Greek goddess at the Golden Globe awards. The style appears complicated but with a little practice, it's easy to create the catwalk look yourself.  The braid can be worn with either curly or straight hair as long as it is mid length or longer.
British hairstyle 6: Tumbling curls
Big curls are big news for Brits when it comes to show-stopping hair as they create a gorgeous full, glossy look. British beauty Kate Winslet is renowned for her big tumbling curls and wore her hair in this glamorous style during her unforgettable role as Rose in the film Titanic.
British hairstyle 7: Sexy bed hair
Bed hair was big in the 1960s and thanks to a few heated rollers, a lot of backcombing and a spritz of hairspray, it's super easy to create. Some Brits prefer to ditch the heated rollers and just give it a bit of backcombing and some wax. This just-rolled-out-of-bed look was a favourite of 1960s sex kitten Brigitte Bardot, and barely a year goes by without a celebrity or fashion designer using the Bardot barnet for themselves.
British hairstyle 8: Pretty plait
The single plait is a simple hairstyle to take the hair off your face and look like you spent a long time on it at the same time. Coleen Rooney, the glamorous wife of Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney, stunned her fans when she stepped out sporting a plait recently. Coleen gathered her hair underneath one ear and braided it for a sexy side style to accentuate her beautiful face.
British hairstyle 9: Sleek and straight
A classic look perfect for any last-minute meltdowns before a big event, as it can be achieved in under half an hour. After a good wash and blow-dry, apply some heat protection spray and get straightening your locks, finishing with some shine mist. Pippa Middleton, sister of Kate Middleton, sports this look on a daily basis, but always makes it look special-event-worthy.
British hairstyle 10: The pixie crop
Harry Potter star Emma Watson recently made the transition from long, flowing waves to cute pixie crop — and what a transformation it made! A hairstyle like this is a sure-fire way to accentuate feminine features and give an air of sophistication. Either ruffled with some wax or kept sleek and shiny in a 1920s-esque style, this hairstyle has maximum effect when worn with a backless dress to your special event.

Mysticism, Internet fuel Mexico's Maya 'Armageddon' fears

CHICHEN ITZA, Mexico (Reuters) - A few words by an American scholar, a crumbling Mexican monument and the love of a good yarn were all it took to spawn the belief that the world could end this week.

December 21 marks the end of an age in a 5,125 year-old Maya calendar, an event that is variously interpreted as the end of days, the start of a new era or just a good excuse for a party.

Thousands of New Age mystics, spiritual adventurers and canny businessmen are converging on ancient ruins in southern Mexico and Guatemala to find out what will happen.

"No one knows what it will look like on the other side," said Michael DiMartino, 46, a long-haired American who is organizing one of the biggest December 21 celebrations at the Maya temple site of Chichen Itza on the Yucatan peninsula.

It is not the world but "the way we perceive it" that will end, said DiMartino, who pledged his event at ground zero for 2012 acolytes will be a "distilling down of various perspectives into a unified intention for positive transformation, evolution and co-creation of a new way of being."

A mash-up of academic speculation and existential angst seasoned with elements from several world religions, the 2012 phenomenon has been fueled by Hollywood movies and computer games, and relentlessly disseminated by Internet doom-mongers.

Mass hysteria in a Russian prison, a Chinese man building survival pods for doomsday and UFO lovers seeking refuge with aliens in a French mountain village are just some of the reports that have sprung up in the final countdown to December 21.

Robert Bast, a New Zealander living in Melbourne who wrote a book called "Survive 2012" on how to cope with the possible catastrophe, believes the Maya may have sent out a warning.

"The most likely thing for me is a solar storm, but that's not going to kill you straight away. It's more of a long term disaster," said Bast, 47, noting a flu pandemic could also strike the planet. "I feel the world isn't as safe as we think it is. The last couple of generations have had it very cosy."

When dawn breaks on Friday, according to the Maya Long Count calendar, it marks the end of the 13th bak'tun - an epoch lasting some 400 years - and the beginning of the 14th.

This fact would probably have languished in academic obscurity had not a young Maya expert named Michael Coe written in the 1960s that to the ancient Mesoamerican culture the date could herald an "Armageddon" to cleanse humanity.

Since then, the cult of 2012 has snowballed.

Among the sun-bleached pyramids, shaded mangroves and deep cenotes of the Maya heartland, there are hopes December 21 will bring a spiritual re-birth.

Nobody seems quite sure what to expect on Friday, but it has not stopped people getting their hopes up.

"This is the Arab Spring of the spiritual movement," said Geoffrey Ocean Dreyer, a 52-year-old U.S. musician wearing a sombrero and mardi gras beads. "We're going to create world peace. We're going to Jerusalem and we're going to rebuild Solomon's temple."

ANXIETY ATTACKS

The words of Coe, a highly respected Maya scholar, were published in 1966 at the height of the Cold War, stirring fears in a world haunted by the prospect of nuclear holocaust.

Coe could not be reached for comment for this article, but friends and academics who know him insist he never meant to inspire a vision of apocalypse when he committed them to paper.

Stephen Houston, a Maya expert at Brown University in Rhode Island and student of Coe's, said too much has been read into the end of the 13th bak'tun, which was little more than a "dull mathematical declaration" used to bracket dates.

"I see it all as an expression of present day anxiety and not much more than that," Houston said.

Few remaining inscriptions refer to the event, and the best known one is part of a monument recovered from a Maya site in Tabasco state called Tortuguero - much of which was torn down in the 1960s to make way for the construction of a cement factory.

Still, the mix of religion, ancient inscriptions and media-driven speculation about impending doom remains potent.

"I got an email the other day from a mother who was contemplating taking her own life, because she didn't know what was really going to happen, she didn't want her children to live through this ordeal," said David Stuart, a Maya expert at the University of Texas. "We can dismiss it as a kooky idea, which it is, but they're still ideas and they still have power."

U.S. space agency NASA has sought to allay fears of impending catastrophe, noting that "our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012."

Nothing has given the 2012 theories more oxygen in the run-up to the big day than the Internet, noted John Hoopes, a Maya anthropologist at the University of Kansas.

"Computers come straight out of the same people who were smoking pot and protesting at Berkeley and Stanford," he said, referring to U.S. student movements in the 1960s.

"This Maya calendar stuff has been part of hacktivism lore for 40 years, since the beginning, and with every significant change in computer technology, it's gotten another boost."

Many of those gathering in Chichen Itza praised the Internet as a discussion forum and organizing tool for New Age events.

"We don't need leaders now we have the Internet," said Muggy Burton, 66, who had traveled to Mexico from Canada with her 15-year-old, blue-haired granddaughter, Talis Hardy.

The two, who communicate with each other by whistling, plan to live in Mexico for six months, according to Burton, who is going to homeschool Hardy. "It's the end of the world for her, and the beginning of a new one," she added.

MAYA SKEPTICS

Mexico's federal government is not officially marking the phenomenon, but the country's tourism agency has launched a "Mundo Maya 2012" website with a countdown to December 21.

Up to 200,000 people are expected to descend on Chichen Itza alone for the night of December 20.

Among modern descendants of the Maya, the idea it could all come to an end on Friday generally raises a wry smile - but they are happy to play along if it makes money.

"It's a psychic epidemic," said Miguel Coral, 56, a cigar salesman in Merida, a colonial town and capital of Yucatan state. "It's all about business, but that's fine. It helps our country. I think it's excellent we've exported this idea."

Nearby, workers built a pyramid of spray-painted polystyrene blocks for the opening of the town's Maya festival.

"If people who believe in this joke want to come, let them," said Jose May, a Merida tourism official of Maya descent. "Nobody here believes that. Those people were sold an idea."

Hazy rumors have helped feed the sense of anticipation.

A few hours' drive south of Merida in the remote Maya town of Xul, which means "the end," media reports began circulating as early as 2008 that a group of Italians were readying themselves for impending doom by building apocalypse-proof bunkers.

Today, the settlement dubbed the "end of the world resort" is open for business as "Eco Spa Las Aguilas."

"There's no truth in it," said deputy manager Andrea Podesta, 45, referring to speculation it was a cult.

"Some people came here, took some hidden photos, and published some very unpleasant articles about us," he added, noting the glistening new spa was booked up well into 2013.

Inside, a group of elderly Italians, mostly dressed in white, were watching the path of an asteroid on a giant screen. A black-and-white image of Christ's face hung from the wall and a large stone statue of a robed woman greeted visitors.

Whatever lies in store for the planet, even Maya academics who have fought to play down the hype surrounding the passing of another 24 hours feel there could still be some surprises.

"I think there may be some mischief on December 21 because the whole world is watching," said Hoopes in Kansas, citing rumors hacktivist group Anonymous was planning a stunt. "It's a very fertile opportunity for a tremendous prank."