F O R E W O R D (NOT “forward” …..)
That is sunrise at the
Besant Nagar beach today morning.
Awesome!
There is a small change.
“Krishnarpanam” will come later, because, it is about music, and on a more
serious ‘note’. Now here is what happens this morning during my usual routine.
Let’s start with the
background. The other day, I had a haircut. That unfortunately made the barren
area more barren. The guy at the saloon had done some real terrible job. And he
charged 120/- which was too much to say the least.
Here, I must recall the
conversation I had with my elder son, some two years back when he was fresh after
his return from the US (for good). He had come down to Chennai from Bengaluru.
That day also, I had a haircut.
I kind of lamented to
him that these guys charge exorbitantly and 120 bucks for a haircut is
outrageous.
I was expecting at least
a ‘thso, thso..’
Instead, he said, “On
the other hand, you should be happy, Appa.”
“How do you say that?”
“What makes you think
so?” I
quipped.
“He should have charged
120/- first for locating the hair in your head, and then, 120/- for the cutting”
I wanted to tell him if
the dog has its day, the puppy’s day can’t be far off. But controlled myself
with great effort, for the fear that he may get annoyed, and go back to the
US…….
Any way, have you
noticed that in all the beach photos I send, there is a dog in the frame? (not
in the manger, thankfully!) May be a coincidence, or intentional perhaps, as in
the famous ‘Bobanum Moliyum’ cartoon by Toms in the Malayala Manorama Weekly –
Elsewhere among the blogs, you can find one I had penned on “Dog’s days”
I had, in fact, taken a
leaf from the hilarious “meen” scene of Kamal Hassan in the movie ‘Michael
Madana Kama Rajan’. Click the link below when you have the time.
I was telling that this
morning during my walk, I was donning a red cap in an obvious attempt to
camouflage the barren area. The oldies, that is, my beach acquaintances, (very
close, close, distant, hand-waving, and all varieties) were very lavish in
their smiles today, showing all their 20 odd teeth. Normally they give out a
wry half smile, or at best, a half-hearted hand wave. What is different today,
I wondered. May be they are jealous, “Who is this handsome young man?” I
consoled myself. Perhaps they were laughing to themselves “Romba Mukhyam …”
looking at my new red cap.
Jokes apart, ideas for
most of my blogs germinate during those hours. Many a times, I feel lazy to
record those thoughts somewhere in black and white, though. Perhaps your brain
cells are most active during the wee hours. That could be the reason why our
parents insisted on our going to bed early and get up before sun rise and study.
Tail piece:
In his classic
“Dasavatara Sthothra” (Gita Govindam), the great poet, Jayadeva sums up his
description of the ten avatars of Mahavishnu, like this. In one sloka, you get
to understand the avatara lakshya of all the ten incarnations of the lord.
Vedan udharate, jagan
nivahate, bhoogolam udbibhrate
,
Daithyam darayate, balim
jhalayate, kshatrakshayam kurvate,
Paulasthyam jayathe,
halam kalayate, karaunyam aathanvate,
Mlechan moorchayate,
dashakritikrute, krishnaya thubhyam namaha…..
“good bye” till then.
