James Bond

According to media reports, Sean Connery, 90 years old Scottish  actor who was famous for his roles in James Bond 007 movies died today. He will be remembered by his fans.

World Teachers Day

I had forgotten that 5th October was World Teachers Day (as designated by the UNO). Let us remember our good teachers.

Madhwa Jayanthi

Today is an auspicious day to a community of Brahmins known as Madhwas. This community spread all over the world, considers Madhwachaaryaa, a saint who established 8 Mutts at Udipi with Shree Krishna as  the presiding Deity, as it's Guru. Madhwaacharyaa is considered to have been born on this day. He is considered to have been an incarnation of Bheema, one of the five Paandavaa brothers who lived in Dwaapara Yugaa and of Hanumaanjee, the greatest devotee of Lord Shree Raam, an incarnation of Lord Shree Mahaa Vishnu. Hanumaanjee is revered and considered to be a chiranjeevi. Jai Shree Raam.

Dusserah Fest

Yesterday marked the end of a 10 day and 9 nights festival known as 'Dusserah' and 'Nava raathri' in Hindu households all over the world. As with many Fests, there had been colourful public celebrations too, for example the famous Raam Leela Fest in Delhi and Dusserah Festival in Mysuru, Karnataka.

During this period, Shree Paarvathi, Shree Mahaalakshmi and Shree Saraswathi are worshipped. During the last three days Shree Vedavyaasa, Shree Raam, Shree Krishna, Parashurama, Lord Hayagreeva and other avatars of Shree Mahaavishnu, as well as Shree Mahaalakshmi, Shree Durgaa and saints, residing in the heart of Shree Saraswathi are worshipped as 'Saraswathi Pooja'. You can read my earlier posts to know more about this annually occurring auspicious Festival.

Gandhiji and Shastriji

Today is the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhiji (fondly remembered as father of our nation) and Shree Lal Bahadur Shastriji, our former prime minister. 

A friend in need

Just an hour after I wrote my previous post, my brother phoned me to let me know that Manohar, one of his old friends during school days, phoned him and conveyed his wishes to me. Manohar's elder brother Thyagu was of my age. While Manohar worked in State Bank of India in senior positions, Thyagu did his B Tech in Metallurgy (like Google's Sundar Pitchai) in IIT, Chennai, worked as Senior Executive in the then Minerals and Metals Trading Corporation of Govt of India, went to Tanzania and continued in the Tanzania Government Service. It is nice to hear from old friends after a long time, and to renew friendship (friendship that is sincere unlike the one described in my previous post). I thank God for my sincere friends such as Sreejith, Jose, Selwynn and a few others.

A 'friend' in need

I think that many of us are misled by people whom we trust as good friends. In 1983, when I got admission into the M.Sc. Physics Education Degree Course of the University of Reading in the UK, I applied for scholarship, but didn't succeed. My father asked me to apply for a bank loan by pledging our house (built by hard earned and saved money by my beloved parents). Though I was reluctant to place the symbol of my parents' sacrifices as collateral for the bank loan, after some contemplation and discussion with my parents, I accepted my dad's advice. Soon I visited the local branch of Indian Overseas Bank (Vellore) and met the Branch Manager. He was my neighbour, classmate and a close friend by name V Pandurangan. When I explained the purpose of my visit, he told me that the bank would provide a loan but on one condition that the amount should be repayed within three years, failing which the house would be confiscated by the bank. As I was not sure as to whether I would be able to satisfy this condition, I abandoned the idea. I asked my brother in law (my sister's husband) who was employed in the State Bank of India, as to the rules and regulations for bank loan. He replied that he had no idea about bank loan rules and regulations. Many years later I came to know that what my 'friend' told me was not correct. A few days after I wrote about this episode in this blog a few years back, I received an email from Pandurangan saying how happy he was to know about me from my blog after many years and that he liked to renew our friendship. He also denied what he told me at the bank and asked me to remove the post. I removed the post thinking that it was ethics. But now I think on the contrary. I think that if some one does any thing evil deliberately, his/her action deserves exposure so that others can learn a lesson. Hence I am writing about the incidence now in this post. When he sent his email to me, I didn't reply. I think that he understood the meaning that I was not interested in renewing our friendship.

Doctor's demise

The passing away of Dr P R Krishna Kumar proprietor of Arya Vaidya Shala, Coimbatore, due to comorbid conditions and Covid19 on day before yesterday, is a loss to humanity in general and Ayurvedic fraternity in particular. He was two months younger than me.

This week

This week marks the birth anniversaries of my beloved parents (13th and 17th) according to the English Calender. I fondly remember them.

David Rocco's Durban

David Rocco's 'DOLCE AFRICA' on Foxlife is one of my favourite channels for it takes us to different places and people. This morning's program featured Durban, a city that I liked and visited a few times.

The program took me down my memory lane to Southern Africa, where I worked for a few years nearly 30 yeas back.