CAL(A)M AFTER NILAM……(part – 1)

The beach has always been a matter of immense fascination for me. I have told this a number of times, but would re-assure. During my morning walks (which I am judiciously following for several years, come rain or come sun), every day is an experience. You can see some hundred people warming up for some charity run..................., 

or someone taking a loud pledge on ‘World Heart Day’ (you have so many ‘days’ these days what with brother’s day, or sister’s day friendship day, or valentines’ day, and their hundreds of cousins in all shapes and sizes), 

or someone venturing on his motor bike on an All-India drive in 41 days or so, aiming for a Guinness record, or some volunteers of the less known hospitals stopping you for a ‘fat’ check up, luring with a 500 ML mineral water bottle, or a copy of the day’s Deccan Herald, or Times of India. Sometimes, it will be a Beach Volleyball tournament between some of the reputed corporate houses in Chennai, or may be a ‘Frisbee’ tournament on the sands. And, if you are lucky, you can even witness some film shooting with your favorite heroine drenching and dancing to background cacophony, in the artificial rains……                 

 But today was different. As expected, the regular beach walkers, most of whom exchange a ‘hi’ or a half hearted smile with me every day, had taken a detour, ignoring the usual 1 km stretch of the beach road. Destination was Urur Kuppam, and beyond, towards Foreshore Estate, along the unwieldy and unhygienic beach sand with the fisher folk hutments on one side and the frothy waves kissing your feet on the other. 

 Everybody wanted to get a close glimpse of the grounded Oil Tanker “Pratibha Kaveri”. 
I too joined the crowd, but despite a two kilometer walk straining your calf muscles, the ship, though visible, looked more like a mirage. Apparently, the tanker which was pushed by the storm last evening was drifted close to the Besant Nagar beach, but slowly moved away in the massive waves when “Nilam” crossed the shores near Mahabalipuram in the late evening hours. And the ship quietly settled down in its present position near Foreshore Estate. 

Obviously, the public was extremely disappointed that they got only a ‘distant’ vision of the ship. They had come with the hope of a closer encounter, having come in all types of conveyance – cycles, mopeds, scooters, bikes, cars of all shapes and sizes & colors….  

How sad !!!!!

A lone helicopter and another barge was hovering around, hoping against hope to locate the 5 ‘missing’ crew of the ill-fated ship. I too returned, with a heavy heart – not because I was unable to get a closer view, but because I was able to empathize with the unfortunate inmates of the sea bird. 
I could understand, and clearly visualize the panic and pathos of the moments, when the ship’s anchoring mechanism failed when the mammoth waves hit her from the ‘port’ side and ‘starboard’ side. I could feel the ‘roll’ and ‘pitch’ during those dark moments when the generators might have failed….

HEAVY HEART, BECAUSE..............., BECAUSE  I TOO HAVE GONE THROUGH SIMILAR CHILLING EXPERIENCE – NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE……….. AS A FIFTH ENGINEER IN A SHIP, WHEN I STARTED MY ENGINEERING CAREER WAY BACK IN A SHIPPING COMPANY IN CALCUTTA.

I shall tell you about it all in my next blog

“Calm after the storm – Part 2”

Till then, good bye.

Meantime, some of the pictures showing the havoc caused by 'Nilam'

 

 

a n a n d . . . . .
for ever..........

 

Friendship isn't about who you have known the longest.
It's about who come and never leave your side.

INCREDIBLE INDIA

ABSOLUTELY 'INCREDIBLE'....

Neatly folded

During my usual morning walk towards my most favorite spot ( the Elliots Beach front ) the other day, I happened to see the horrible sight of a motor bike in mangled condition – literally.. This was ULTIMATE – The  bike neatly folded into two, like a piece of card board…. See the picture  

As per the newspaper reports, death was instantaneous for the two students riding the bike. Can’t be otherwise, as the picture shows. 

What a sight..!

TRAVELLER - Incredible India

The speeding van was coming in the right side from opposite direction and there was ‘head on’ collision. Obviously, the van driver has decided that ‘right’ was right, and left was not right. Result? Two budding engineers’ life was cut short for no fault of theirs. Driving has really become nightmarish these days, what with the increase of vehicle population in geometric proportion, pathetic road conditions, scant respect for signals, road rage etc., etc. 

No doubt, accidents, unlike incidents, happen at the most unexpected moment, and for thoroughly unpredictable logic or reasons…., forcing you to wonder, on hind sight, “if only……”  But then, it’s too late.

And, many a times, we come across miraculous escapes in the case of massive injuries. And, some of the most ordinary-looking injuries turning fatal.

A couple of weeks back, our cook ‘mami’ was coming to our place in the evening. She was a few blocks away from our flat, when a speeding auto rickshaw hit her. Obviously, the driver was in full ‘spirits’ and many testified later that he was driving in a most reckless manner. Now, in the impact, the lady was thrown off, and fell on an old flower vendor lady sitting on the road side. Total chaos. The flower vendor fainted in shock, and the cook fell on the platform, and suffered head injury. Both were taken to the nearby hospital. 

The doctor attending on them said the flower vendor had a massive heart attack, and she had no pulses, and it is better to take her back. As for the cook lady, she was still bleeding, and sutures were not possible without an MRI Scan etc. After all those diagnostic tests, she was admitted in the GH, and surgery was recommended since the skull had a crack, and apparently blood had got spilled all over the brain. She was put on a ventilator etc. However, the lady breathed her last after two days of suffering.

Now, look at the irony of fate..! The flower vendor lady’s body was brought back in an auto rickshaw, wading through bumpy roads. You won’t believe, the jerks were so intense, that at one point, she coughed, and her heart beats started all over again!!!! Immediately, she was rushed to a nearby clinic, administered first aid etc., and she was back to business in another two days………................ For once, the horrible Chennai road was instrumental in causing a “Punar Janma” (re-birth) to an accident victim – Long live Chennai roads…….. 

TAIL PIECE:

In Lok Sabha, a congress MP during his speech told a story.....

"There was a father who gave 100 rupees each to his 3 sons and asked them to buy things and fill up a room completely.

First son bought hay for Rs. 100 but couldn't fill the room entirely.

Second son bought cotton for Rs. 100 but couldn't fill the room entirely.

Third son bought a candle for Rs. 1/- and lit it up and the room was filled with light completely."

The MP continued,  "Our Prime Minister is like the third son. From the day he has taken charge of his office, our country is filled with the bright light of prosperity".

A voice from the backbench asked
"Where is the remaining Rs. 99 ???"

Enjoy......................

 

a n a n d . . . . .
for ever..........

    

FACE TO FACE WITH NATURE

FACE TO FACE WITH NATURE

BEGINNING OF ANOTHER DAY...

GANESH TEMPLE - BESANT NAGAR
PRIOR TO THE 'KUMBHABHISHEKAM'

There are two types of energies that lurch around us – always. Positive and Negative. It is up to us which one we take.

I have been enjoying  my morning walks along the beach for last few years. Could be because your mind and body are fresh after a good night’s sleep..... And, I try to imbibe as much of +ve energy as possible. And, this is freely available in the atmosphere. Also I get lot of ideas for my blogs during  my morning Tete-a-tete with mother nature.

These days, I wear my head phone which is hooked on to my mobile – all those super duper FM Radio stations of namma Chennai…….

·         Radio City 91.1 MHz

·         Aahaa FM 91.9 MHz (Kumudam Publications)

·         Big 92.7 MHz (Anil Dhirubai Ambani Group)

·         Suryan FM 93.5 MHz (Sun Network) 

     (93.5 FM – nnA innA thereemA? TheriyAdu?   93.5, First Mark……..!!!)

·         Radio One 94.3 MHz (Mid-Day)

·         Radio Mirchi 98.3 MHz (Times Group)

·         Gyan Vani (IGNOU) 104.2 MHz

·         FM Gold (AIR) 105.0 MHz

·         Hello FM 106.4 MHz (Malar Publications)

·         FM Rainbow (AIR) 107.1 MHz

You may recall that initially there were only 'valve' radios. And, only two brands, Murphy, Philips.When I talk about Murphy, I must say how upset he was with the marketing 'consultants' who took away a major chunk of his earnings, when he put in his brains to assemble his radio sets.That was when he created the "invisible monkeys" (Don't confuse with our another friend, Adsel Murphy, who invented "Murphy's Law"). 

Any way, I don't want to go tangential, and would rather stick on to the subject of this blog.

The devotional songs, and subhashans broadcast in the various channels listed above, are usually  interspersed with the day’s prediction for the different zodiac signs, or Rasi – as is better known down south. The 'Rasi Palan', that is. The 'expert' would always predict only the nicest of nice things for your rasi, as you might have noticed. How do you know which is YOUR rasi? i.e. Mesha, Rishabha,………..Meena etc.? For this, you should know that there are 27 stars, starting with Ashwati and ending with Revati, and they are divided into 12 Rasis. If you know your birth star, things become simple. But then, there is a small problem. How to divide the 27 stars equally into 12 rasis? 

For this, you need a bit of brilliance like our Birbal, the ‘wise’ minister in Akbar’s court, who divided 10 elephants of the king equally between the king’s 3 sons – giving 3 pachyderms to each of them, and finally adjusting the remaining one as his ‘consultation’ fee. These days, we too have ministers who are ‘vice’ (?) and not wise (or too wise….!) and they too share the wealth – yours and mine, among their own kith and kin. If any of today’s ministers was asked to divide the 10 elephants, he would have first kept aside 4 (may be even 7) elephants as his fee and divided the remaining ones equally between the three sons of Akbar. 

Let me explain how the stars are divided into the 12 rasis. All the birth stars are divided into 3 pAdAs, first, second, and third. Based on which pada you are born, the Rasi is decided. For example, Aswati, Bharani, and Karthikai (1/4) comes under Mesha rasi. Karhikai (3/4), Rohini, and Makiram (1/2) comes under Rishabha Rasi. Makiram (1/2), Tiruvathirai, and Punarpoosam (3/4) comes under Midhuna Rasi, and so on......... Confusing?

OK. Forget it. There is a simpler method. Go to the link below, and type your date of birth, and instantly you get the result.

http://www.chennaiiq.com/astrology/rasi_nakshatra_calculator.asp

In case, you are interested in "Western" Zodiac sign of Aries, Taurus etc., click this link.

http://www.findyourfate.com/indianastro/rasis.htm

TOO HEAVY?

So much for now.............! I am also as much tired after generating this blog. 

May be a much simpler blog next time.

Enjoy......................

 

a n a n d . . . . .
for ever..........

    

Friendship isn't about who you have known the longest.
It's about who come and never leave your side.

Week-end Musings

The other day, I was at the beach front from 7 – 9 PM. The occasion was to hear the upcoming singing sensation Karthik who was giving a fusion concert as part of the week-long Chennai Musical extravaganza organized by Times of India every year. It was a Sunday evening. On the one side, the Bay of Bengal was entertaining the crowd with her lavish waves wetting them. On the other side was the Bay of (human) Beings….! Forget about getting a slot to park my vehicle, it was extremely difficult for me to wade through the hundreds of people who had literally occupied the sands, walkways, and even both the sides of the road. Believe me, it took me almost 15 minutes to reach the venue of the concert.

The program started off with ‘Mahganapathim’ with a western tinge neatly fused. Karthik’s troupe consisted of a Keyboard artist, Flutist, Drummer, two Guitarists, and a Percussionist (who was handling Tabla, Mridangam, Bongos, and other timing instruments in turns). This was followed with some of his popular peppy Tamil numbers. His Gazal rendered as a tribute to Mehdi Hassan didn’t evoke the expected appreciation.

Many in the audience were busy munching and enjoying the ‘sundal’, ‘Bajjis’, Chola, and fried non-veg delicacies. The crowd numbering 1000 on a most conservative estimate consisted mostly of youngsters anticipating rock, and fast music. As such, even some of the slow melodious Hindi numbers didn’t go very well with the public. The highlight however, was the ‘Abheri’ kriti ‘Nagumomu..’ aalap by the Flutist, culminating in an enthralling Swara & thani aavaartan by all the all the accompaniments. Overall, it was an evening well-spent.

Today morning, I went for my usual stroll at the same beach front which wore a deserted look. The same place which was bubbling with hundreds of people of all ages just the previous evening, had hardly 100 to 150 regular beach walkers…………. Being from Thrissur, the land of festivals, I was reminded of the pathetic sight of the Poora Parambu (venue of all the gaieties that go with the famous Thrissur Pooram), on the next day of the Pooram festival. The same town which had entertained lakhs of people just the previous day, hardly would see a few dozen people roaming about on the deserted roads…………………

More about Thrissur Pooram on a later occasion, perhaps….

Water fronts had always been favorite spots for me. During my childhood days, I would spend hours and hours swimming at the river / ponds close to our village. Even the huge well in our palatial ancestral house in Palakkad was a subject of extreme curiosity and I would peep into the nearly full Twelve Feet diameter well, during monsoon time, and keep looking at my reflection and enjoying it till my dad would silently come from behind and twist my ears till they become red, and drag me out…………….!

More about my ‘adventures’ and ‘misadventures’ on the water front in my next blog………………

ANAND..........

Friendship isn't about who you have known the longest.
It's about who come and never leave your side.

MUSINGS IN THE MORNING……

        

The other day, somebody was telling me that he has named his child “Samanyu”

I thought it was a good name – bit different and unique. Parents these days do a lot of research before finally arriving at a nice name for their new born darling. (They invite suggestions from all and sundry, but finally zero in on the name that appeals to them best – fair enough. However, in olden times, matters were much simpler – son gets the name of his grandfather, and daughter inherits her grandmother’s name…… Matter ends there!

The name, ‘Samanyu’ kind of kindled some interest in me. If you break the word, it will read as “Sa + Manyu”, the one who carries ‘manyu’ with him. Manyu in Sanskrit means ‘Anger’. In other words, one of the meanings of the name happens to be “one with extreme anger” as given in the web page that I saw:

http://www.birthvillage.com/Name/Samanyu

Obviously, I didn’t tell my friend about it – after all, I would not lose his friendship on this issue! And, most of the web sites carrying meaning of names say Samanyu means ‘Lord Siva’. Somewhere, I have read that you should address people by their names, as far as possible, for your name is supposed to be the sweetest music to your ears – as researchers have found out. Let us come back to ‘manyu’. Brahmins in South observe one day in the year as “Samvatsara Praayaschitha” or the “annual confession”– excuse the crude translation. The idea is to openly announce to the world what all ‘non-sense’ you committed during the year that went by. According to Hindu philosophy, all our dushkarmas are supposed to emanate from one or more of the following six vices,

Kaama (meaning lust),

Krodha,or Manyu (meaning anger),

Lobha (meaning micerliness),

Moha (meaning passion or desire)

Madha (meaning illusion or headweight / ego) &

Maatsarya (meaning envy or unwanted competition)

However, the first two vices (lust & anger) are supposed to be most damaging. This is the reason why the rituals on the “Samvatsara Praayaschitha” day start with a confession on a broad perspective. (The day falls on Avittam – Sravishta star in the Tamil month of Aavani - Sraavana). You start with the mandatory Sandhya Vandhan, followed by reciting the mantra “Kama: aakarsheed, Manyu: aakarsheed” – popularly recited in the convenient format - ‘Kamokaarsheed, Manyuraakarsheed’. In simpler terms, the mantra means that “I was attracted by ‘Kama’ (lust) and ‘Manyu’ (anger), which are the main cause for all my wrong-doings in the past one year. This is followed by ‘tharpan’ to all the sages, devas, & forefathers. Thereafter, apologize for all kinds of sins committed during the year – sins include most of the seemingly innocent actions like eating non-vegetarian food to indulging in sex with own spouse (?) and extra-marital actions – physical as well as conceited or symbolic (!). The so-called sins included anything and everything one can think of….Having done the “confession”, and with a pure mind, you start veda aarambha, all over again. The rituals end with ‘homa’ and Haarathi.

Surprisingly, this concept of ‘confession’ you can find in Christianity also. The ‘sinner’ fixes up a date with the priest (father). At the appointed time, the priest enters a special cubicle and places his ear at the (only) small opening through which the devotee admits his sin (which can be anything from murder to illicit relationships or a wide range of wrongs), repents for his act and seeks forgiveness from God through His representative - the priest. Obviously whatever has been confessed will remain confidential and will not be divulged under any circumstance. I am not aware of any such practice among Muslims, Sikhs etc. I am sure they might also be practising some such rituals. Polishing the shoes / chappals of devotees at the Gurudwara entrance as a form of repentance is one such act we know of. I do not know about majority Hindus. May be they think that mere going to temple, and praying would absolve them of all their sins! Or, at a higher level, they put part of the booty from their business in the hundi at Tirupati, Guruvayur etc. I know many businessmen include Balaji as their partner. Luckily, these days, He does not take physical form and act upon matters that are done without His consent…. And thankfully, it only happens in films.

Point is, once you realize your mistakes and sincerely and honestly feel sorry for them, 90% of problems are solved. However, more often than not, the ego comes into play - “why should I?” You will be surprised to see that this ‘first person, singular’ is the root cause of many of the problems we see around us today.

More later……………

a n a n d . . . . .
for ever..........