My Thoughts, Observations and Readings

  Sheela, my PG course friend, was also my hostel roommate. She will not wash her clothes and keep accumulating them. When I ask her,  She says, “I hate to do that, will do it later”.  She hated washing clothes and kept on postponing that! Recently, my sister was complaining that her son was not completing the assignment in Mathematics and the teacher had called her for that. When asked he says it’s very difficult and he feels he is not capable of doing it, so he is postponing that and doing other work. When we ask someone who has not done the work on time we usually get one of these as the reply: I hate to do that… I’m not capable of doing that...it’s hard for me… so let me put the work aside and do some other work now . Isn’t it?   What? Sounds familiar to you? Sometimes (or for some people... it is always... ) because the work is boring or if they feel it’s hard to do that they will try to postpone the work giving their own excuses to escape from doing that. That...

  I was talking to my dear friend Sai Brindha yesterday evening. We were talking about many things and slowly the talk came to the climate. I told her that, now itself, even before the start of May, the heat waves here in Chennai are very exhausting and we should come to her house only as she is living in Bangalore. She laughed and said you come to our house, you are most welcome but don’t come here expecting the chill weather of Bangalore 😄. Further, she added they are facing water scarcity as well. I could not believe it, water deficiency in Bangalore? How could it be possible? She said everywhere she could see only the cement roads, even the pavements and the crowded buildings. Maybe that could be a possible reason! Last month I was there at Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh. I stayed with Niranjana and Devesh for a few days. Actually, it’s a village named Rakkar, where they are living, which is  a 20-minute drive from Dharamshala. That is at the base of the Dhauladhar range o...

  Today, the 23rd April is celebrated as World Book Day! The theme for World Book and Copyright Day 2024 is “Read Your Way”. This day is dedicated to the celebration of literature in all forms and to promote the enjoyment of reading books. One of the reasons behind choosing this day is, famous authors like Shakespeare, Cervantes and Vega died on this same day. This date was unanimously selected in the UNESCO’s General Conference, held in Paris in the year 1995, to pay a worldwide tribute to books and authors on this day, encouraging everyone to access books (unesco.org) I am happy to share my thoughts on reading books on this special day, World Book Day! I used to read a lot of books, particularly when I read historical novels, I did get a good scolding from my mother for continuously reading without eating or doing any other work! But, I could not keep the book down until I completed it. I would not know what’s happening around me if I was  reading a book! That is the pleasur...

  After these many years of a strong belief in God, visiting temples, and worshiping intensely, in my mid fifties, I am getting this doubt! Whether there is someone by the name Lord Shiva or Lord Vishnu or Ma Kali…! The Gita says Lord Krishna is the ultimate and other Gods and Goddesses are part of Him, the other stream of people say Shiva is the creator and another set of people believe that Ma Kali is the one who created Shiva, Vishnu, and also Brahma. There is yet another ideology that states that Lord Ganesh is the Supreme God and anything and everything is part of Him! Why so many Gods / Goddesses and the relationship among them also?  I had an opportunity to attend the Universal Human Values sessions wherein I understood that: The Existence is in the form of Co existence, where all the units are submerged in space. The units are limited in size and they are active. The space is unlimited, all pervading and there is no activity. The units are self organised in space, ener...

  She is the reason for my existence.. All my life she is the one I am living for.. My friend Keerthi is talking about her daughter!  I also have the same feeling in me for Niranjana. Of course, for whom I have to live other than my daughter, and now one addition, Devesh!.  But, the daughters’/sons’ perceptions are different! Her response to my feeling is “Ma, you live your life, for your own self” with all the love.  She wanted to get a massage done at Kottakkal Ayurveda Hospital and I accompanied her. When she understood that I was going to wait there until her massage was completed she said “Don’t do that ma, don’t simply wait for me. If you have some work to do, stay. Otherwise how will you spend the whole one hour waiting here? Do not keep me as your center”. I was surprised by her concern and her thought process. Again today when we were talking over the phone, in a different context, she said to keep  the focus on myself. In her own words, “Do not keep m...

  Recently we had been to Farrukhabad for the wedding reception of our daughter conducted by the groom’s family and that was the time the locals were celebrating Vasanth panchami . People were flying kites of various various designs and different colours. It was a feast for our eyes watching the children playing with the kites, flying very high and trying to cut each other’s kites. Niranjana was wondering how far the kites were going and the kites cut by the children were stuck on the tall trees. We were looking into the way the children were playing, I could observe a few things that we can relate to our lives! The success of the kite depends on its qualities and it also depends on the flyer - The success of any of our initiatives depends on our knowledge and efficiency. The kite needs a good wind favourable for it to fly - Ensure that the environment is favourable for doing the activity proposed.  The kite can fly in the same way and reach the same height irrespective of it...