As we all know, today we live in a world of increasing crimes. India is no exception.

This morning there was a news item about a school management in Kerala suspending a boy and girl for hugging each other. The parents have gone to court. Interestingly, the TV Channel (Times Now) brought an important question as to whether schools are moral guardians. The answer would be a definite "Yes".

I don't think that any k-12 School can be considered to impart education without giving importance to moral values.

Schools should be allowed to administer non- harsh punishment to students if they deviate from discipline. But before administering punishment the school ought to communicate moral values to children just like how affectionate parents would do.  (This is particularly essential today when grand parents are neglected and parents view monetary gains to be more important than disciplining their children).

Most of our schools teach how to make a living but not how to live.

India and the global movie fans will remember veteran actor Sashi Kapoor, who passed away yesterday, for years to come.

Today is an auspicious day in the Hindu calender.  This is the birth anniversary of Dattatreya, trinity avataar of Brahma, Maha Vishnu and Shiva. Following picture shows the vigrahaa of the Trinity and Shree Ganapathi Satchitananda Swamiji, a very well known devotee of Dattatreya at the Datta Peetam that he runs at Mysore (India).

A few weeks back I had applied for the renewal of my passport. A few days back, on the day fixed for appointment, it took not more than an hour or so at the passport Seva Kendra to get the formalities completed. Within a few days I received my passport.  Thanks to mobile technology and administration of offices such as Passport Seva Kendra.  Mr Narendra Modi and his team deserve applause.

Gita Jayanti

Today is a very auspicious day in the Hindu calender.  According to Scriptures, this is the on which Shree Krishnaa  (avataar of Shree Mahaa Vishnu) communicated His Baghavat Gita (meaning 'Divine Song of His Almighty) to Arjuna at Kurukshetraa nearly 5000 years back.

Day before yesterday was a very auspicious day for Vaishnavites.  This day is known as 'Uththaana Dwaadashi'. This day is important in many aspects. One of them is the Divine Wedding between Kaarthika Daamodaraa (Manifestation of Shree Hari in this Kaarthika month) and Tulasi Devi (Holy Basil plant manifestation of Shree Mahaa Lakshmi). Devotees, particularly home makers, worship Tulasi Daamodaraaa in the evening on this day.

I fondly remember my beloved mother who used to perform daily Tulasi Pooja almost regularly and special Poojaas on important days such as day before yesterday.

Let me share a photograph of one such pooja performed by my beloved mother. I and my sister are in the photograph. My beloved father had taken the photo.

Attitudinal dislocation in Government Offices

In my previous post written this morning, I mentioned about the lack of response by AADHAAR office on my application for change of address.

Later in the afternoon at 2.24 pm I received an sms that my application is rejected due to "invalid documents" despite the fact that the supporting documents that I sent are 100% valid and as per the Government rules and regulations.

I think that someone in AADHAAR office may also be expecting a bribe from me just like someone in the police department, to do the work and help a law abiding citizen. I never bribe any one to get my work done. It doesn't matter if I don't get my AADHAAR card in time. I have decided to sue the AADHAAR office in court if there is a need.

(By the way, many years back one of my former colleagues in a high school told me as to how she obtained her B.Ed. degree from Annamalai University by bribing Rs. 6000 through a middle man who was a physical education teacher in the school. I don't understand how such teachers can impart values in children. During the same period, Madurai Kamaraj University officials expected Rs. 10,000 from me, to receive my M.Ed. degree though I had cleared both the theory and project parts of the course according to rules and regulations. Obviously I didn’t get my degree and I don't regret for having done so. I have mentioned about the harassment meted out to me by the University in an earlier post. It is a disgrace that even education imparting organisations are filled with corrupt people).

It is high time that corrupt officials are dismissed and replaced by honest ones in all offices.

It is nearly two weeks since I applied for a change in my residential address incorporated in my AADHAAR card.

As the Govt. website didn’t function in my mobile phone, I had to apply through a nearby browsing centre. I haven't got any response from AADHAAR so far.

I think that our Central Government should consider those areas of development that have direct impact on the well being of common folk rather than spend tax payers' money on Bullet Trains (in a situation where our coventional Train Systems seem to  be running at loss according to media reports).

Koti Deepotsavam's programme of this evening, as I view it, includes the recital of Hanumaan Chaaleesaa  (40 verses of Hanumaanjee in praise of Lord Shree Raam and his consort Seethaa Devi) by a very popular Telugu gentleman who usually sings it in Telugu. His scteenshot as seen on Bhakti TV is as shown below. (I forgot his name).

I fondly remember my beloved mother who used to listen to his renderings. (Many years back when she was healthy and had time, she used to recite Hanumaan Chaaleesaa regularly).

Past week passed on with a good note as far as Indian sports is concerned with laurels won by our hockey team and by Kidambi Srikanth (in badminton).

They deserve praise and encouragement so that their motivation and hard work are sustained.

Koti Dheepotsavam

As I write this post, I have the joy of listening to a brief speech by my favourite spiritual speaker Shree Chaganti Koteshwara Rao at the Koti Deepotsavam Venue, Hyderabad. (I have mentioned about this Fest earlier on a few occasions).

As I experience Divine Joy by viewing Shree Chaganti Koteshwara Rao's speech,  I fondly remember my beloved mother but for whom I wouldn't have known about spiritual people such as Chaganti Koteshwara Rao.

Edible embroidery

As someone used to delicious, non-spicy, hygienic vegetarian eatables since childhood, I tried to order a few snacks online recently.

Although there are excellent manufacturers such as Udupi Ruchi and Sree Krishna Sweets who also supply the items to customers, they accept online payment via debit or credit card but not via net banking in which I am relatively comfortable.

I fondly remember my beloved mother who used to make snacks such as murukku, masterpieces of edible embroidery.

Indian Classical Music: End of one chapter

Demise of the 88 years old legendary Hindustani classical singer Smt. Girija Devi last night marks the end of one chapter in the history of Indian Classical Music.

Although not as knowledgeable in Indian Classical Music as my beloved parents, I do inherit my interest in it, from them.

Bharath TV Channel telecast a wonderful programme known as 'Naad Bhed' (compered by the celebrated actress Shabana Azmi), over the past few years featuring eminent musicians such as Smt. Girija Devi. The programme was a great treat to the eyes, ears and minds of classical music fans.

I fondly remember my beloved mother with whom I used to view this great programme.

3rd language learning in K-12 schools

This morning I viewed a news report that Kannada is going to be made compulsory in all K-12 schools in Karnataka and that private schools are going to respond by taking the matter to court.

I tried to find out as to whether Kannada is going to be mandatory as 1st, 2nd or 3rd language. As the TV report was not clear I tried to Google and get information from the horse's mouth. But my search result for 'Karnataka Board of Secondary Education" listed only websites of Karnataka Board of Secondary Education Examinations.

Instead of aspiring not only for education to make a living, parents should aspire for education for living, which is more important. Precisely put, learning a local language while in school can help children to communicate better and take part in the community in meaningful ways, instead of learning a foreign language, which they can, at any time, outside school.

I think that the Government's move is good unless the language is made compulsory as 1st language.

A few weeks back, an inspector from the crime branch of a police station near my residence called me to say that he was asked to follow up a police complaint that I lodged neary 2 years back against a former employer (for breach of contract and cheating me without paying salary due to me).

Since then I have gone to the Inspector's office a few times only to find that he was not there in spite of the fact that I always make a prior appointment.

Yesterday I received an sms from the police station that my has been "completed" and it is "disposed". The police department took no action at all on my complaint.

I think that I spent (rather than used) a lot of time and my energy in trying to follow up my complaint in vain.

I think that Narendra Modi and his team should consider law and order as priority and set aright the prevailing oddities in State Government Administrations if the latter cannot do it.

These are some situations when I cannot help comparing law and order situations in countries such as Bhutan and Ethiopia where, to my knowledge, crimes were never heard of, when I worked there.

I think that our Government Administrations should learn from other countries leaving aside any biases.

Yesterday one of my neighbours, a midlle aged guy, requested me as to whether I could teach him spoken English in my spare time. (There had been many such instances previously). On such occasions my reply had always been a polite "I'm sorry. I neither have time nor inclination to teach spoken English. I don't think that you can learn spoken English by getting taught as effectively as by viewing good English language movies, serials, documentaries and news telecasts".

But learners should be careful enough to filter out meaningless phrases or sentences such the following one from the BBC WORLD SERVICE telecast of yesterday:

Wealthy businessman turned very humble devotee

It was a nice treat for my eyes, ears and the mind to view a dramatised version of Shree Purandara Daasaa (a wealthy businessman who became one of the greatest devotees of Shree Hari and composed numerous songs on Shree Mahaa Vishnu and His Consort Mahaa Lakshmi).

My beloved mother used to sing Purandara Daasa's songs. I fondly remember her.

The Story of God

All documentary enthusiasts would place a lot of importance to channels such as National Geographic. I think that this channel takes viewers even to remote parts of our planet.

As I am writing this post, I have the pleasure of viewing "The Story of God" featuring the legendary Afro-American actor Morgan Freeman as narrator. Such programs are like oases in today's media desert. 

As someone interested in viewing meaningful documentaries, I am a somewhat regular viewer of NHK TV. As I write this post, I am viewing a program that lets us know as to how volunteers take care of the elderly in their 80s and above in Japan.

We do have increasing number of Agencies that send attendants to take care of the elderly, in cities such as Chennai. One of the main differences between those in Japan and here is that the latter is 100% commercial with no human consideration.

The fact is that many of our elderly are helpless  (as I have experienced in my beloved mother’s case) with daughter in law's attention only on mother in law's money and jewellery but never on her (mother in law's) well being.

Koti Deepotsavam (Divine Light Fest)

As I am writing this post I am viewing the Koti Deepotsavam Festival 2016 on Bhakti TV. I have mentioned about this festival organised by Shree Narendra Chaudary, Chairman, Bhakti TV, in my earlier post/s. I fondly remember my beloved mother from whom I inherit my spiritual interest.

Gandhiji and Lal Bahadur Shastriji Jayanthi

Today is the birth anniversary of Mahaatma Gandhi (Father of our Nation) and Shree Lal Bahadur Shastri (one of our honest, simple and dedicated Prime Ministers. I have mentioned about these two leaders in my earlier posts.

Today is an auspicious day for Hindus. It marks the end of Navaraathri and this day is known as Vijaya Dashami (meaning 'victorious tenth day). Today is also the day when Shree Mahaa Vishnu took avataar as Buddhaa. This day is also the birth anniversary of Shree Madhvaachaarya. I have mentioned about the spiritual significance of this day in my earlier post/posts.

Nine Divine Nights Fest

Navaraathri festival began on last Thursday according to Hindu Calender.  In Sanskrit, 'nava' and 'raathri' mean nine and night respectively.  I  have mentioned about the spiritual significance of this Fest in my earlier posts.

My beloved mother's birthday

According to the English calender, today is the birthday of my beloved mother. I fondly remember her.

Computer Aided Chaos

A few days back I received a text message that my Aadhaar card would be sent to me and that I can access it from their website a link of which was included in the message.

But when I tried to access it, even the enrolment number was not displayed properly (for example when I typed '4321', it displayed '1234').

I have experienced similar problems when trying to renew my passport and driving licence on line.

None of the Government websites seem to be consumer friendly.

It is nice to hear Government plans to digitalise our country but the reality is different.

It is important that efficient work ethics is instilled in employees in all Government offices. One of the best ways to do this would be to incorporate stringent recruitment and Performance Appraisal mechanisms consistently.

Crime in K-12 School Systems

Nowadays TV and newspapers are flooded with news about child abuse. What is shocking is the pace at which crimes increase, including those in our K-12 School Systems.

We can easily find that our Police and Judiciary are not effective enough even after culprits are identified on solid evidence. 

Situation will improve only if culprits are sentenced to death or at least life imprisonment without any VIP benefits or any form of leniency.  This is the only way to instil a fear in evil people so that they don't even imagine committing crimes. 

My beloved father's birthday

Today is the 95th birthday of my beloved dad according to the Western calender.  I fondly remember him (and my beloved mom).

Onam Fest

Today is celebrated as Onam by people in Kerala and Malayaalees all over the world.  I have mentioned about the spiritual aspect of the Fest in an earlier post. My best wishes for a happy Onam to Jose, Sreejith and other Malayaalee friends.

Pre-conceived fantasies and Public policies

This afternoon, I heard a news report on Podhigai TV about NIIT Aayog's proposal for private public partnership in K-12 sector. Any right minded, honest and dedicated School Education Management Professional without vested interests would know that this proposal is based on a very commonly (and WRONGLY) perceived notion that private schools are better than government schools in India in terms of quality. There are exceptions, but these are very small in proportion.

In the same bulletin, there was a news report that those who drive without valid licence would have to pay a fine of Rs 500 or undergo one week's imprisonment or both, according to Tamilnadu Government rules. I think that the punishment is very very negligible considering the arrogant or corrupt attitudes of people, value of money and the 'VIP' status accorded in prisons by corrupt officials. Any kind of punishment should be severe enough  so that culprits never even imagine committing such offence/s again.

In this post I have the pleasure of sharing a photo sent by Jose (a friend about whom I have mentioned in my earlier posts). The photo shows him lighting the divine lamp at a function held to celebrate Onam recently at a college where he teaches English. Onam is the day when King Mahaa Bali  (grandson of Prahlaadha, legendary devote of Lord Narasimhaa) is believed to visit Kerala every year.

Dhanvanthri and Balaraama Jayanthis

In my physical in disposition past week, I forgot to mention that past Wednesday was a very auspicious day in the Hindu calender.

This day was the birth anniversary of Balaraama  (elder brother of Shree Krishnaa, an Avataar of Shree Mahaa Vishnu); this was also the day when Shree Mahaa Vishnu descended as Lord Dhanvanthri (Good of Good Health and Medicine) millions of years back during the Divine churning of the Ocean of Milk.

Wednesday itself is a very auspicious day as Shree Mahaa Vishnu and His Consort Shree Mahaa Lakshmi are specially worshipped on this day every week.

Thanks to Technology

Though technology leads to negative end results if abused, most of us know that it is indispensable and very user friendly if used sensibly and properly.

I stay in a Senior Citizens Home away from Chennai.  I went to Chennai a few days back and returned this afternoon.  I started from my sister's house at 1.45 pm and reached my residence (SCH) by 3.15 pm (early enough for my evening snacks and tea). The cost of travel was just Rs 332, much less than that for Chennai autos.

Thanks to Ola, Google maps and Technology in general.

Fond remembrance of my beloved parents

Today  is the death anniversary of my beloved father.  I miss him and my beloved mother who passed away nearly five months back.

From L to R: My maternal aunt's daughter in law and son, my maternal aunt and my beloved parents, in March 1987, just before my leaving for Southern Africa 

Ganesh Fest

Today is an auspicious day for Hindus.  This day is celebrated as Ganesh Chathurthi.

Blue Whale and Schools' role

There are lots of debates and round table discussions on how to monitor children's Internet surfing activities, particularly in the past few days during which two teenagers committed suicide after watching the online game 'Blue Whale' in our country.

In a discussion telecast on NDTV, I heard the participants (adults) coming up with a wide range of solutions which proved that many of us are good in commenting about things which we don't know much; I mean Application aspects of Internet and Cyber security.

One of the main culprits are the schools themselves. Many elitist schools assign homework and projects by specifically asking children to do Google search.  When they do so, two odd things happen: children's creativity is severely compromised and they are given unreasonable green signal to visit websites.  One way of averting the problem would be to let children use the Internet meaningfully during lunch time in the presence of teachers in the school itself.

It was disappointing that none came with the following simple solution in the NDTV programme: Ensure that children don't delete 'Browsing history' in any circumstance until you (parent, guardian or any responsible adult in the household) visit the websites yourself and monitor children's surfing activities.

It may be time consuming and some times monotonous, but the excercise is very effective.

Content and communication

I continue viewing good Telugu and Kannada language TV channels for their spiritual content. But as the captions are in Telugu or Kannada, both of which I don't know to read or write, I am unable to know the details of programmes. When my mother was alive,  she used to clarify my queries because she was fully conversant in these two languages. I miss my beloved mother.

Elvis Priestly

Yesterday was the death anniversary of Elvis Priestley, one of the most popular rock and roll singers in the 50s and 60s. If I remember well, youngsters of the 60s used to emulate him in growing long side burns on their faces and wearing bell-bottomed trousers. He will be remembered for his songs like 'Heartbreak Hotel'.

Cellulose fibre or safe technology?

According to a news report in this morning's edition of 'THE HINDU', researchers at Kyoto University are working on cellulose nanofibres as a viable alternative to steel in automobiles as these are five times stronger and weigh only one fifth of steel. In countries like India where most people don't use seatbelts, light weight cars can be dangerous. Moreover I am not sure as to whether such vehicles would be apt, considering our local road conditions with generally erratic and speedy driving.

(Any middle school physics student would be able to visualise the impact of light weight vehicles on passengers without their seatbelts on, as my students had been able to, after doing simple experiments with toy cars, dolls and rubber bands in my Physics classrooms years back).

Indian Independence Day

Today is the 70th independence day of our country. Well though it is a happy occasion, whatever successive governments have accomplished toward national development is very little compared to what they could have achieved in reality. I wish that our politicians and government officials work honestly so that the living standards of all Indians are good. It is high time that evil politicians and their second fiddling government officials are replaced by good ones.

Shree Krishna Janmaashtami

Yesterday was an auspicious day for Hindus all over the world. It was celebrated as 'Krishna Janmaashtami'. His Almighty Shree Mahaa Vishnu took avataar as Shree Krishnaa on this day, nearly 5000 years back.

Courts in contrast

This morning I read a newspaper report that all the 7 persons accused in a fire accident that burnt several children in a school in Tamilnadu got released consequent to a court order. I think that the judge who pronounced the order should himself/herself be severely punished by court of law. By the way, in addition to the school correspondent/owner, officers attached to the State Board (who overlooked violations and granted recognition to run the school despite lack of even basic safety) should have also been punished severely.

The same paper also carried a news item mentioning a petition to release 2 life imprisonment convicts involved in Rajiv Gandhi murder case and consequent rejection of the petition by the judge.  I think that this judge deserves praise.

At least now, 70 years since independence, wrong people should be replaced by honest and dedicated professionals like Mr Nagaraj (Former Deputy Secretary, CBSE Souther India Region), Mrs Latha (Former Chief Education Officer, Chennai) and Mr Dasarathi (Former District Magistrate, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh) in politics and all areas of development, particularly in law and order,

Glenn Campbell

Country and Western music has lost one of its popular performers in the death of guitarist singer Glenn Campbell. His songs such as 'Rhinestone Cowboy' with simple lyrics and nice music will be remembered by Country and Western music fans for years to come.

Today is the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Naga saki in the 1940s. Yesterday was of Hiroshima. Despite the nasty effects of perverted use of Science and Technology, nuclear and atomic energy seems to be continually abused at global level despite international efforts.

I read in a write-up in 'THE HINDU' that today is the 150th birth anniversary of veteran veenaa vidwaan Veenaa Dhanammal. My beloved parents were ardent fans of this accomplished musician. I fondly remembered my parents as I read the write up.

Shree Vara Lakshmi Fest

On this auspicious day every year, married Hindu women with good intentions worship Shree Mahaa Lakshmi, wife of Shree Hari Mahaa Vishnu, for the prosperity of their husband, in-laws, children and their parents.

I fondly remember my beloved mother worshipping the Goddess; I attach a photograph of her performing Pooja on this day many years back. I and my sister are also in the picture. My beloved father took the photograph.  I think that my brother was too young to be there in the picture.

Unfortunately in the past few decades, women who are deceptive in their attitudes and action misuse this previlege and enact a drama.

There are some areas in which I am never interested; one of these is politics.

Our Central and State Government Administrations may be bringing in many reforms. But unless poor people and ordinary common folk (like me) are not benefitted, there is no point in the Governments' Action Plans due to their skewed list of priorities.

Even today, our law and order situation hasn't improved,  Education for all children is not achieved, etc. etc.

Let me narrate my personal experience in the past fortnight in my attempt to  apply for Aadhaar card, when I find time.

What I mean to say is that our Government Administrations at the Centre and here at the State level are no better. There was one exception which people with right sense of mind would easily spot: Tamilnadu Governance under the leadership of Shri M G Ramachandran many years back.  This was a golden period with least corruption and other evils.

Teacher Fest

Today is an auspicious day in the Hindu calender. It is the birth anniversary of Veda Vyaasaa,  an incarnation of Shree Mahaa Vishnu. I'll try to provide relevant links when I use my computer (the operating system of which crashed).

As I am writing this post, I have the pleasure of viewing a fabulously interesting TV programme on how Governments in countries such Singapore and Taiwan popularise cycling.  I think that policy makers in our country should learn lessons from such programmes and implement them here as well.

In this post, I am glad to share a recent photo of my good friend Jose, about whom I have mentioned in earlier posts. 

Divine Marriage

As I write this post, I have the joy of viewing the divine marriage of Shree Raama with Shree Seethaa Devi at the famous Bhadraachalam temple, thanks to Bhakthi TV channel.  (If my beloved mother were alive, she would have derived the joy of viewing the program).

An oasis in the TV media desert

Any sensible person knows that most of our TV programs are meaningless.

One of my most favourite TV channels is Tokyo based NHK. This morning I had the pleasure of viewing an interesting program known as 'FIRST CLASS'  on this channel. It involved a Stanford University professor and a few students. The professor was involving students into identification of problems and finding out meaningful and cost effective solutions.

The program took me down the memory lane to all my students and colleagues in different countries toward a common goal: Need based innovation and Quality education.

(I have mentioned about my experiences in my earlier posts).

Today we see that children don't listen to their parents, teachers and elders. Well, this used be the case when we were young too. 

When men of my age were of school going age, in most households mothers used to be religious whereas fathers were busy in going to work, going to the bank and shouldering other home related administrative responsibilities. 

In general, boys used to emulate fathers more than mothers, when it came to attitudes and behaviour. I was no exception.     

I think that if I had developed spiritual interest like my mother, I would not have come across many difficulties in life. For example, if I had done Sandhyaa Vandanam every day immediately after my Upanayanam, I would not have got into a wrong marriage in 1982. This would have made my life and thereby my parents' lives, happier.

Similarly if I had listened to my father and took English Literature as my main subject in my first degree, I would have done my master's and probably Ph D and helped many students excel in the language (My father used to be proud of my English language skills). But as memorisation was very important in first degree exams in English Literature in those days, I dreaded taking up English Literature. (Even today in most Universities in India, English Literature and not English Language Teaching is offered as Main Subject at the first degree level).

As a Sanskrit verse says, mother, father, teacher and guest should be treated like God.

Divine Solace to a depressed mind

As I write this post, I am experiencing the Joy of viewing Shree Lakshmi Nrusimha Sahasra Naama (Thousand Names of Shree Lakshmi Nrusimha) paaraayana congregation in Bangalore via Sankara TV channel. It is a solace to my depressed mind with nearly a month having gone by since my beloved mother passed away.

In previous posts, I have mentioned about Shree Ganapathi Satchitananda Swamy; he founded and runs the Avadhoota Datta Peetham. Today is celebrated as the 75th birthday of this great spiritual master. The swamy's 3.5 square metres book 'Bhagavath Geetha' (meaning 'God's Song') in 18 languages entered Guinness Book of World Records today.

A few years back he organised a one crore Hanumantha Japa congregation in Andhra Pradesh. This service too got recognised in Guinness Book of World Records.

Had my beloved mother been alive today, she would have seen the proceedings on Bhakti TV and would have experienced the joy. (I inherit my interest in religious aspects from my beloved mother).

Reema Lagoo

Heartfelt condolences to the family members of talented actress Reema Lagoo who passed away before dawn this morning. As far as I have known, she was one of the few dignified artistes such as Satish Shaw, Mohan Ghokale, Om Puri, Jaspal Bhatti and Mrs Jaspal Bhatti. I think that her TV comedy serials such as 'Thoo thoo mein mein' will be remembered by people for years to come.

Mother's day

Google's gesture today on their 'Search' page is a fitting tribute to all mothers. As their communique puts it, every day can be mother's day, as it used to be in India. I read in a newspaper that men in a village in West Bengal  (India) wash their mother's feet every morning and sprinkle that water on themselves; I am ashamed that most of us don't show our respect like this. Although these men may not be rich in materialistic terms, they are exemplary.

School, home and child friendly science

As I'm writing this post I am watching a 'Tech 24' on France 24 TV channel.  It is an interesting programme illustrating simple school science activities that can be done by children in their own homes with adult supervision.  I think that our school systems in India have a long way to go even in implementing such simple programmes in their curriculum, let alone involving all parents across barriers in school processes.

Following are a few photographs about which I had mentioned in my previous post:

From L to R: Madhu (my maternal aunt's son), my mother and Ramesh (my brother) when Madhu visited us past month

From L to R: My mother's attendant, my mother and Ramesh (my brother) nearly two months back

From L to R: My mother, Ramesh (my brother) and my maternal uncle when he visited us a few years back

My beloved parents in 1997 nearly a month before my father passed away (due to cardiac arrest) 

My beloved mother passed away at around 8.30 pm on past Thursday. As she had her own pension, she had never been dependent on any one financially. I'll post a few recent photographs of her and my beloved father (who passed away 20 years back) when I find time.

Saturday Softrock

As I write this post in a sunny afternoon viewing a musically magnetic performance by a Softrock band called "Boy", my memory takes me back to the softrock era. I think that Softrock fans like me would be glad that Softrock hasn't gone away from the performing arts scenario.

New year's day

Today is celebrated as new year's day in many regions of India as well as in countries such as Cambodia.

Hanumaan ji's birthday

Today is celebrated as Hanumad Jayanti (meaning birth anniversary of Hanumaanjee). Hanumaanjee is the greatest devotee of Lord Shree Raam.

Shree Raam Fest

Today is a very auspicious day for Hindus.  It is celebrated as Shree Raama Navami.  This is the day on which Shree Mahaa Vishnu took avataar as Lord Shree Raam and descended on the Earth during Trethaa Yugaa. On this auspicious day, marriage of Lord Shree Raam with Seetha Devi  (an Avataar of Shree Mahaa Lakshmi) is also performed in many temples.

Mark Knopfler to Milow

As I write this post, I have the pleasure of viewing a nice performance by a popmusic group known as 'Milow' on DW TV. Their music resembles that of Mark Knopfler in its simplicity and magnetism.

Madhu and meaningful media

My cousin Madhu (about whom I have mentioned in an earlier post) shares very meaningful pieces of information with me once in a while. One such (probably a quote) is shown below:

Knowledge and Experience

This morning in his spiritual discourse Poojyashree Sudhanshuji Maharaaj mentioned two examples to explain the difference between knowledge and experience.

It takes just a minute to let someone know how to drive a car. But unless this knowledge is put into practice, the former has no value.

Once there was a very famous heart surgeon in Mumbai. He used to perform at least 2 to 3 surgeries per day. One day he himself died of heart failure. He had the habit of drinking and smoking. Thus the knowledge that drinking and smoking are bad for health was useless because he didn't put it in practice. (This guy reminds me of a former neighbour with whom my cordiality was always at a certain 'minimum distance' due to his drinking and smoking habits).

Apt advertisements in academic settings

This morning I happened to see an advertisement on Bhakti TV Channel about a high school in Hyderabad (India). It lists "Inspiring potential" as one of the many positive factors developed in the school. I do know that characteristics such as behaviour, humility can inspire but not characteristics such as attitudes and potential as these are innate. These can become inspiring only when they are displayed externally as hard work, good behaviour etc. I think that schools should use language correctly.

There is another TV commercial by a dish TV company with similar problem. The setting is a school classroom. One of the children has a vision problem and uses a telescope to view the chalkboard. At one point of time, the the teacher says,"Keep quiet" pronouncing the phrase as if it is spelt "Keep quite". Even well educated adults make such mistakes in pronunciation. This problem can easily be averted if teachers give importance to factors such as stress and intonation.

I don't know as to how children's linguistic capabilities can be developed in linguistically skewed circumstances.

Appropriate advertisements are indispensable in highly competitive consumer driven scenario.    

New year's day

Today is celebrated as the first day of new year known as Ugaadhi by some Hindu communities such as those in Maharaashtraa, Andhra Pradesh and Karnaatakaa. Best wishes for a happy Ugaadhi  to all these people.

This day is also celebrated as Mathsya Jayanthi  (the day on which Shree Mahaa Vishnu took His first Avataar as fish to save Vedaas from bad elements).

Sir Derek Walcott

Global village has lost an accomplished poet in the passing away of Sir Derek Walcott.  Sir Walcott, Sir Vidyasagar Naipaul and many other West Indian writers will always be remembered by literature fans and enthusiasts for their multi-racial writings with good objectives.

I think that West Indian writing in English (English literature developed by completely local writers) has a longer history than our own Indian writing in English though we got independence from the British earlier than most countries in the West Indies.

One important reason for this is the fact that we didn't recognise our local talent until a few decades back. (As far as I can remember, when I was doing my school final, our English textbook contained only 2 poems by our own writers namely Rabindranath Tagore and Sarojini Naidu. All others were by British or American writers).  We should encourage local talent as well as respect others'.

Full Moon Fest

Today is an auspicious day for Hindus.  This evening is celebrated as Holikaa Paurnami.

Arun

Recently, I heard that a brother of my divorced wife passed away. He was a gentle guy with exemplary personality. All of us liked him. I have mentioned about Arun in my earlier post/s.

International Women's Day

Yesterday was International Women's Day. Most men think that the works that men do are more difficult than those that women do. They think that men travel to work sometimes long distance, manage colleagues and bosses and return home tired. They think that women's household works are not difficult at all. I too thought exactly the same way. (Just before I got married, when my mother advised me to help my `would be' wife in the household, I asked her,"Why haven't you asked dad to help you in household works anytime?". She just smiled and replied that she just didn't need his help. I understood my mother's advice when I saw my colleagues like Ulrich Klaussen helping their wives in household chores).

It is only in the past few years that I changed my `male chauvinistic' attitude since handling household chores as my mother became weak. Now I am more than convinced that the amount of work that men do is nothing compared to what women do in their homes. Men usually do the same kind of work in their work places every day whereas women do different works (including multitasks) without much time to relax. Women's work in the household is certainly far more superior than men's work in their work places. 

Women deserve due respect from us.

In an earlier post I mentioned about my police complaint against a fraudulent company based near New Delhi (with offices in the US). Such companies exist and flourish by cheating in developed countries as well. In every community there are good people as well as bad people. We get into problem when we trust a person or Company from what person or Company `looks’ like. When we experience the reality, it is often too late. I have been cheated many times. Let me describe my experience so that those who read my blogs wouldn’t make the mistakes that I committed in trusting a wrong person or Company.

In the early 90’s, I desired to migrate to Australia or New Zealand. By then I had my professional qualifications and experience recognized by New South Wales Department of School Education and New Zealand Teacher Registration Board. As it wouldn’t be easy to get a job without face to face interview (during those pre Skype and Internet days) I applied for visitor’s visa for New Zealand stating the reason “To visit places of tourist interest and to attend job interviews if I am legally permitted”. Within a few weeks, New Zealand Immigration Department replied by sending .the Application Form for Permanent Residence instead of the one for Tourist Visa stating that the former was more appropriate for me. As I was about to apply, one of my friends suggested me to apply through a Migration Consultancy Firm so that things could move faster. I too thought so and contacted the Chennai office of an Australia based Migration Consultancy Firm known as Todd International. The guy who managed its Chennai office said that I stood a better chance for Australia. As teachers’ salary in Australia was more than that in New Zealand, I preferred Australia. I had paid nearly US$ 4000 for processing my application. Every time I approached the Company to know the status of my application, the reply was “Please wait”. “It is being processed by the Immigration Department”, “Don’t worry” etc. Even after 3 years, I never got the document for which I applied. By the time, I tried to sue the Company, it had already disappeared. US$ 4000 was not a small amount in the `90s. 

By the time I realised that Todd International was a fraudulent Australian Company with branches in many countries including in India and that I should have applied through the Australian Government’s Immigration Department directly instead of relying on Private Migration `Consultants’, it was too late. 

  

 

Shivaa Fest

Yesterday (rather last night) was an auspicious time for Hindus. The time was celebrated as Mahaa Shiva Raathri.

Seethaa Jayanthi

Yesterday was a very auspicious day for Hindus
 It was the day when Mahaa Lakshmi, beloved wife of Shree Mahaa Vishnu, took avataar as Seethaa Devi during Thretaa Yugaa.

A few days back in a Hindu  religious discourse, while narrating the story of Sudhaamaa, a boyhood friend of Lord Krishna, Gaurav Krishna Goswamiji Maharaaj mentioned that Porbandar (the birth place of Mahaatma Gandhiji) was where Sudhaama lived during Dwaapara Yuga and that the town used to be known as Sudhaama Nagar then. (A very interesting piece of information that I heard for the first time).   

Madhwa navami

Today is celebrated as Madhwa navami by a community of people who follow Dwaitaa school of Hinduism. 

Today is the death anniversary of  Gandhiji.  

Purandara Daasa

Yesterday was an auspicious day for Vishnu devotees who follow Dwaitaa School of Hindu Philosophy. It was the aaraadhanaa day of Saint Purandara Daasa.

Past Monday and today were historically important dates to Indians. These two days were celebrated as birth anniversary of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose and 68th anniversary of Republic Day..

In my posts written this month, I mentioned about Jose (a friend who was my colleague in Bhutan way back in the late '70s) and my first cousins Madhu (Madhusudhan Rao) and Shreedhar. 

Jose

Jose with President of Maldives

Madhu

Shreedhar

Madhu is a retired Bank Manager settled in Bangalore. Shreedhar works at a Bank in Andhra Pradesh. Jose worked as School Principal in Maldives and at Senior levels in Kenya. He now teaches English in a college in Rajamundry, Andhra Pradesh.

Thyaagaraajaa Music Fest

Past Tuesday was a very important day to devotees of Shri Raam, an Avataar of Shree Mahaa Vishnu. This day was celebrated as aaraadhanaa day of Thyaagarajaa, Saint, Composer, Musician and more importantly a great devotee of Lord Shree Raam and Seethaa Devi, the divine couple.

Swamy Vivekananda

12 January was the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

Sankraanthi Fest

In India, Hindu people in states such as Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Punjab offer special worship to Sun God and celebrate 3 days (13 to 15 January) to mark the end of rice harvesting season. More importantly they celebrate it as anniversary of several important incidents as mentioned in Hindu scriptures. I'll write about them when I find time. 

Software, sensibility and Shreedhar

We all know that sharing messages and media has become very easy with WhatsApp and that it is also misused like other technology backed social media tools. But fortunately as in other media platforms, there are exceptions in WhatsApp too. As I have mentioned in my posts earlier, effects of these tools depends on the user.

I and two of my first cousins share greetings with each other somewhat regularly. These two guys viz. Madhusudhan Rao (Madhu) and Shreedhar are sons of my late maternal aunt who was very straight-forward and non-gossipy like my mother (for which reasons some people didn't like the two ladies).

It is amazing that Shreedhar finds time in early mornings before going to a bank for work to select very nice `Good Morning’ pictures and videos. Many of the pics centre round simple and meaningful themes and are very rich in quality (colour contrast, background etc etc). Following is one such picture sent by him, thanks to Shreedhar and WhatsApp: 

Vaikunta Ekaadashi

Yesterday was a very auspicious day for most people who worship Shree Lakshmi Naarayanaa. The day, which comes annually, is known as `Vaikunta Ekaadashi'. Devotees of Lord Lakshmi Naaraayana celebrate it today according to their traditions.

Shree Lakshmi Naaraayanaa

Post production problem

In general, we all take pride in what we produce (such as a good book, a meaningful painting etc). It is human nature. But it doesn't work positively in the toilet particularly so in apartments where toilets face each other. I don't understand why some people don't flush their toilets immediately after every time they defecate. I think that it will be nice if we humans can use our ability to reason (that does not exist in other animals) properly.     

A few days back, there was a news item on TV that the former pension chief got arrested in South Korea on charges of corruption. The culprit was handcuffed and taken to prison. (In 1981, nearly 150 school teachers from India were recruited to work in Government schools in Ethiopia. Sebastian (Sebastian Perumcheril John) and I were posted to Endaselassie, a remote village. On the first day, when we locked our rooms as we left for school, our local colleagues were surprised. They told us that none in the village locked their doors as there was no security problem at all. They said that police always kept guard in civilian dress all the time and if they saw any one indulging in crime, they would punish the person severely. This kept people away from indulging in crimes).

R to L: Sebastian and I with a colleague's daughter in front of our rooms

I think that such a form of punishment should be followed in our country, whoever is the culprit. The punishment should be severe enough that none would dare even to imagine going against law and order.