Sreejith's birthday

Today is the birthday of my friend Sreejith about whom I have mentioned in my earlier posts. He is a nice young gentleman.

My best wishes for a very happy birthday to him.   

Birthday wishes to Dr L Subramaniam

Best wishes for a happy birthday to violin maestro Dr L Subramaniam

Guru Pournimaa: Teachers' Day in the Hindu Calender

Today is observed as Guru Pournimaa by Hindu people all over the world. Sage Veda Vyaasaa, an incarnation of Lord Naaraayanaa Himself presented the Divine Epic Mahaa Bhaarathaa that contains the Divine Words of Wisdom from Lord Krishna. Not content with what he wrote in Mahaa Bhaarathaa, the sage wrote Shreemadh Bhaagavatham at the request of Deva Rishi Naaradaa.   

Events on this day take Hindu people one step closer to spiritual goal from the `teacher - student' perspective. 

Prime Minister's tour to Africa

While there is no doubt that our Prime Minister's 4 nation tour of Africa recently would strengthen ties in areas such as trade and  investments further, it would be nice if it paves the way for closer cooperation in school education systems in general and teaching of Indian languages in African schools and African languages in Indian schools.

Jagannaath Fest

Today is a very auspicious day to Vaishnavites. Idols of  Lord Jagannaath, Bala Raam and their sister Shubadra are seated in chariots and pulled along by devotees as part of 15 days of festivities organized by Puri based Shree Jagannaath Temple. The fest, like other such fests, is humbly revered as spiritually enlightening. 

World Yoga Day

Today is World Yoga Day. Thanks to efforts by people like Baba Swami Ramdev and our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (However it is a pity that even today our school curricula do not contain Yoga as an important component). 

Sincerity and service to senior citizens

This morning I had a phone call from one of my former neighbours. Due to medical problems, he has an attendant to look after him round the clock. (Interestingly he and I are of nearly the same age). As he was speaking, he mentioned about how difficult it has been to hire a good attendant and how he needed to change 6 attendants in the past few months. I can very well understand his situation as someone who faces problem with lazy, insincere and incorrigible attendants. I have hired a female servant from 8 am to 8 pm to do daily household works and to take care of my ageing mother with a few medical problems. My experience with attendants is that they work sincerely for the first few days. I keep changing them for this reason. I myself administer medicines and serve food to my mother (like my cousin Shreedhar who took care of my maternal aunt after his wife passed away a few years back). Very often it is frustrating when the servant does not do even normal chores like washing utensils, mopping the floor, drying clothes on the clothes line etc. (If I were blessed with a good wife, I would have expected her to take care of our household so that the attendant and I can serve my mother from 8 am to 8 pm and the remaining time respectively). I wish that attendants do their work at least 75% sincerely.

Shree Hari's Avataars

Today is an auspicious day for Hindus. It is celebrated as Koorma Jayanti. Yesterday was no less auspicious as it was Narasimha Jayanti. `Jayanti' means `Anniversary' Shree Hari incarnated as a tortoise and Narasimha on these two days respectively. These are two out of ten main avataars of Shree Hari.

Cultural ties with Cambodia

Mekong is one of the longest rivers in our planet and it flows through many countries including Cambodia. (I nostalgically remember my frequent visits to the riverside in Phnom Penh and my morning coffee at Mekong river bank in Cambodian countryside during my official visits. But it never struck to me that 'Mekong' comes from 'Maa Gangaa' and that the Pallavaa kings who ruled ancient Cambodia considered the river to be as sacred as Maa Gangaa flowing in India, until I heard Dr. Krishnaswamy mentioning about it in his fabulous TV production 'Indian Imprints' on National Channel. (What we know is nothing compared to what we don't know).

British Bard 400 years on

Thanks to Sundar Pitchai and his wonderful team, we don't need to remember some important dates in history. Today is the 400th death anniversary of William Shakespeare whose works were core components of our English language curriculum during my student days. (I remember how I used to analyse commentaries by critics such as Granville Barker and Varity as part of my exam preparation).