Wednesday, 19 October 2016

What Are These Insights All About...

Wonder what make us move
Deep down the firmer paths of life
Is that a fire, or burning passion ignited
In the deep insides of our soul

Why is it numb at times
Why is it hidden amidst facts
Found never when searched for
Blessed never when meditated upon

Is that a spark in the head
Or a blurred halo of awareness
That dawns only for a split second
But makes a great difference.

Sunday, 16 October 2016

World Food Day

I was tuning in to the Dooradarsan news at 6.30 pm when I was making preparations for supper. Dosa maavu made of mixing urad dal flour and  rice powder with water mixed with little salt poured on the charcoal black Dosakkallu making d sweet sound of 'sssshhhiii' accompanied with a sweet aroma of ghee melting over the soft round dosas is really appetising which invites my hungry son and  husband several times into the kitchen asking to serve an early supper.

News discussed several things....Prime Minister Modiji's signing of pacts with Russia, rising terrorism, drastic climatic changes worldwide etc...But the thing that caught my attention is that Today is World Food Day...

The food we eat, though it seems to come naturally, though hard-earned, to us, we never imagined a situation when food becomes a dream...food becoming a far possibility to get... Unconsciously tears flowed down my eyes seeing the lean sulky figures of small children in many poor countries like Somalia...How cruel life are to them...it says they go without food for days...many don't survive...it happens even in many parts of India...

Life don't satisfy anyone...It tests people in one way or the other...But how injustice it is, being denied even of basic needs like food...and  many failing to survive for the same reason...Just imagine the volumes of food being wasted in the luxury get-togethers and grand marriages stuffing up the dining hall with more than hundreds of dishes...most of them eaten by none...and wasted, when thousands of budding children die for the lack of water and  nutritious food ...How unequal is our economy...Where is justice???...

Thus a day to remember the value of the food we eat, is indeed inevitable... Atleast we will on this day remember how valuable food is,  when we gulp every bit of food down our throat; and with tears in our eyes we realize how lucky we are, that our children are blessed with enough food and drinks they need...We have much to Thank God for...

Thursday, 6 October 2016

The Best Way To Predict Your Future Is To Invent it...

Innovation is indeed something special.We think that being innovative depends on a person's training, personality, upbringing...But it is my sincere belief that this is wrong.We all are builders. We all are innovators.All it takes is passion, curiosity, and strong desire to make even a small impact on the world. 

No approach towards life is the same. No view of the world is exactly the same. We need to trust our own personal lens of the world. And no matter what others think, we must pursue our dreams. That is what brings the  change and transformation.

Innovation is the spark of insight that is usually shaped by an observation of what appears to be true or the creative jolt of a new idea. Any moment can give you the spark of innovation...Only that you have to meditate on it and implement new ways to do a thing....Old roads wont lead you to new destinations...Innovation just needs a heart enthusiastic enough, and a mind that never quits till it sees the desired outcome. It is our mind that should be molded to do things differently than how we used to do it, when things don't work out our way...Only when we are ready to come out of our comfort zone and get ready to fight our chance like a great warrior, that we can be a great innovator and can relish success.

Monday, 3 October 2016

Aims Get Bigger When You Try...

We need everything in our fingertips...Life today has taken a lot of speed and we don't even have much time to stop and wonder. Nothing fascinates us, bcoz we are all busy living a life where we have put for ourselves many taken-for-granted constraints...be it in job, in family, in faith or in  love...we r prejudiced in our notions...firstly bcoz we forget the basic concept dat nothing in this world is constant or perfect...

We are not willing to think beyond the invisible fences tht we have built around our aims...
For eg... After a long tiresome day in office, we decide to give our fatigued body and mind, a break, by taking a stroll around the park...we enjoy looking around, see many innocent faces of children playing around, envy the rich costumes of the affluent people relaxing in d park,  then again, we are set to think of many problems that worry us in office and at home...

We fail to enjoy the beauty of the clear blue sky, the greenness of the trees around us, the soothing of the gentle breeze that blows now and then, the crispness of the fresh morning air...and many other wonders that God has incorporated in the bosom of nature...

It is only when we can cherish the beauty of the little wonders around us that we will be capable to deal with more complex problems that come to us in everyday life...

Sunday, 2 October 2016

How Life Changed...

Almost all changes are gradual. If we take a speck of our life from the perpetual flow of time, u can see tht nothing has changed much from what was before. But change do exist...And we can visualise it if we take a glance at how we were, say a ten years before...Hw different are we frm that person who we were ten years ago...in thoughts...in beliefs...in reactions...in courage...in faith...

Sometimes we can't even recognize us from the veils of time that has shrouded us...Though time maintains a consistency, it reminds us that all changes are gradual.... Nothing happens in a day...

We yearn to make a lot of changes in life...fight for it...but fails to realise that a day or a week, or a month of work even is incapable to produce abnormal results...

Almost all the things that happen in the universe move with time and has a normality... Everything in nature dances to the tune of Time, and all follows one step after the other and maintain the rhythm of time.W e humans seems to have developed a sixth sense to visualize in mind the next step in every stage of life.
But all changes...evrything change...including change...

Success lies in accepting this fact in life, and rowing the boat of life to safety and even taking risks at times to maintain the equilibrium, and to accept and love the changes...In you...and also in the Way Of  The World

Saturday, 1 October 2016

Compromise

Life is but a compromise for the loved ones...Finding happiness in it is the great fortune dat we can earn in life...Try to enjoy it...

Wednesday, 28 September 2016

Tuesday, 27 September 2016

The Little Traveller In Me

Today is September 27th; World Tourism Day.....

Life is monotonous without travel...To move from our place to some exquisite place for a sojourn...We must walk on that unknown soil, relishing the weather of the place, scorched by their sun, inhaling deir air, nourishing deir sweet water, enjoying the smells of the place, tasting it's food delicacies and mingling with the people of the place. Even the idea is rejuvenating...

Travel tempers man...make him broad-minded to accept different kinds of people as they are...
It is like taking a deep dive into life which lulls before us with lot of experiences and possibilities...It teaches us the value of life ...Life is not jst about existing...it is a symbiosis...it is a process of give and take...where we learn a lot of vital lessons of survival by coexisting...

Thus travel is a pursuit...a pursuit of a long cherished goal...in d midst of which many difficulties can arise...success is in overcoming d obstacles and reaching the destination.
Thus going on a journey enlivens ur spirit and rekindles our soul. To set about your dream journey is a blessing...Bcoz inside every human being there is a  thirsty unquenched traveller...who aims at distant destinations...

Wednesday, 21 September 2016

Childhood I Lived Through...

The memories of a treasured childhood
Has rotten under the weight of the thousand memories placed over it...
Good and bad; grim and gay

Reminiscences of the rainy mornings
When daylight was just peeping out too slow,
All faded images flood and fleet behind my closed eyes
The long slender legs on pedals of the bicycle
Making way to the tuitions and den to the school
With thick long hair plated and tied in knots
On both sides of the head
Clad in neatly ironed uniform, school tie and shoes
With an innocent sweet face, knowing nothing of the atrocities of the world I live in
Inhaling the cool crisp air of the foggy morning

Adieu, to that pleasant childhood that made ME
Now only one me exists
And that is the one that stands perplexed
Amidst the real life ahead of me and
The unreal world that unfolds before me
Shoud I hide behind the bushes of unseen virtuality
Or should I face the thorns of the imminent reality...
I know not...

Monday, 19 September 2016

How long can I lament...

How long
can I lament
with this depressed
heart and soul

how long
can I remain
a sad autumn
ever since my grief
has shed my leaves

the entire space
of my soul
is burning in agony

how long can I
hide the flames
wanting to rise
out of this fire

how long can one suffer
the pain of hatred
of another human
a friend behaving like an enemy

with a broken heart
how much more
can I take the message
from body to soul

I believe in love
I swear by love
believe me my love

how long
like a prisoner of grief
can I beg for mercy

you know I'm not
a piece of rock or steel
but hearing my story
even water will become
as tense as a stone

if I can only recount
the story of my life
right out of my body
flames will grow

                          --Jalal ed-Din Rumi 

Sunday, 18 September 2016

Onam Season Ends Thus...

Every Onam is special...Enjoyed it well...Eagerly waiting for many more beautiful celebrations...

Saturday, 17 September 2016

Pulikkali...The Parade Of Tigers in Multicolors...

This Pulikkali, which is conducted on the fourth day of Onam festival...is a unique custom of Thrissur...mostly that makes Thrissur famous...Men with huge bellies, with the image of Puli(Tiger) painted on their bodies in different colors...parade through the Thrissur Round dancing to the rhythm of music...with thousands of people buzzing around with curious eyes to watch the beautiful sight...This time women are also allowed to parade as Tigers...So it is special this time...

Early Morning Walks...A Revitalizing Experience...

Today, as I am able to walk on my on, and as almost a month of immobility gave me a strong desire to move on with a new venture...I wanted to free myself completely from the shackles of inactivity... So I decided upon a new routine...Walking...

I am not supposed to overstrain my leg. So I decided to take a short walk...slow...but my aim was to fix it as a routine. Today was the first day...Evry long journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step. So today I did put my best foot forward towards the aim of acquiring a healthy body...

I woke up at 5.45; brushed, changed to my track pants and Tshirt and got out of my house at 6.15. Took only a walk of 25 minutes today...as my legs have to still get used to the new conditions...

Today was very fresh and vibrant...I think, the sweet morning air outdoors, which I inhaled has worked wonders for me...filling me with lot of energy and vitality...I was more active and cool...such stimulating was my experience today...

Friday, 16 September 2016

Health is Freedom...Health Is Wealth...

I became free today...free from insufficiency...free from immobility...free from inactivity...free from sympathy of others...above all...free from boredom...Today September 16th Friday...is the day when the plaster taped around my fractured left leg was cut open...drilled and chiseled out, actually. This ends one month of inactivity and uncertainty. Tomorrow I will go back to office once again...

It is when I was made to sit down like this for quite some time, that, I was made aware of how lucky we all are...to be healthy...Even when we r brimming with all energy nd goodness...wht spurs us ahead is our good health and well-being. The promptness to attempt new things and readiness  to complete the tasks we undertook...for each of these the source of energy comes from a healthy mind...A healthy mind resides only in a healthy body...Any kind of threat to our physical well-being greatly obstructs free thinking. It is our thoughts that lay foundation to our our actions. What we think today is what we execute tomorrow...

But we don't realise the value of health until we lose it...I did not have a hint of it until I was trapped thus in disguise of a leg-fracture. Now that  I came to realise this...I take this opportunity to thank the Almighty, for the healthy life he has bestowed upon me...Thank you God...Health Is Wealth...So all of U...Stay Healthy...

Thursday, 15 September 2016

Life Is Also About Friendship...

We would have lot of people around us, who love us...who shape us...who are our life and blood...Our Parents, our Spouse, our Children, our Grandparents...Their interests, needs, passions... all form the most important part of our life...But there is always some thing else...that add flavour to our life....It is friendship...

This is a beautiful poem on friendship by Moylom enterprises....

I dedicate it to my best friend who always enliven my spirits even when I am down and desperate...

Finding strength in friendship

In the silence
When I can’t hear your voice
I try to imagine the direction
I should look to find you.

I’m not great
With such spacial orientations.
North,  South,  East, West?
They all seem to leave me puzzled.

But somehow, without fail,
I seem to find your heart
Because you are searching
For mine too.

Your soul reaches over
The many obstacles
Which others find daunting
And it finds mine.

I keep thinking
One day your eyes
Would dig too deep
And see unsightly parts of me,

And just like that
Your soul would finally stop
Searching for mine
And disappear into the shadows.

So I try to think of reasons
You shouldn’t look so closely,
But you’re not the superficial type
You live for depth, you’re not afraid.

You don’t mind getting messy
And it amazes me
That you aren’t deterred
By the state of my garden.

You’re willing to help me
Till the stubborn soil
To soften and mulch,
To plant new seeds of love.

Like the seasons
My Spring will soon come.
And hopefully,  those seeds
Will bloom into something wonderful.

So I hope you’ll stick around
To bear witness to your handiwork,
To see how much I’ve grown
Because of you.

Wednesday, 14 September 2016

Happy Onam...

Onam is a beautiful festival. I will call it a festival of unity and togetherness...All those who loves you and values you by heart visits you and those who are too far away calls you over the phone...To hear the voices of our loved ones is indeed a tingling sensation...

Feasting together is another beautiful and exciting feeling that holds relations together...Also to feast in plantain leaves and eating your heart out, clad in our very new Onapudavas, feasting on your favourite dishes sitting squatted down on the floor...eating rice mixed with sambar, licking the mango pickle, with papad steamed banana, upperi and kootukaris, aviyal, thoran, kaalan, olan...sipping the hot steaming payasam...and many more...

Thus Onam is more than a festival, a great feeling...a much awaited moment...a long cherished dream come true...

Tuesday, 13 September 2016

Thrikkakkarappan... Uthradam Special...

BEHIND THE MYTH:

A clay pyramid structure with four faces and a flat top used during Onam celebrations symbolizes Thrikkakara Appan or Thrikakkarappan. This unique structure represents Vamana, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. For some people the pyramid represents both King Maveli and Vishnu. It is also referred as Onathappan. Thrikkakarappan is the presiding deity in the famous Thrikakkara temple in Ernakulam District of Kerala and is closely associated with the Onam myth.

It is believed that Vamana had sent Mahabhali to Patalam at Trikkakara. The place where the holy feet (Trikkal) of Vishnu touched came to be known as Trikkalkara. This later became Thrikkakara.

According to Onam Story and popular belief, Lord Vishnu in his Vamana Avatar unjustly pushed King Mahabali into the netherworld or pathalam. But Lord Vishnu granted King Bali the boon to visit his subjects once in a year. It is also believed that King Bali got ‘Vishnu sayujyam’ or reached the Vaikunta. Due to this both King Mahabali and Lord Vishnu in the Vamana avatar are welcomed during Onam. This makes Onam a unique festival in which the victor and the vanquished are both worshipped.

Thrikkakara Appan structure is made using clay or mud and generally it has four faces with a flat top. In some places the structure is in the shape of a cone. Nowadays ready-made Thrikakkarappan structures are available for sale during Onam festival.

While welcoming King Mahabali to the homes, people place Thrikkakara Appan on a bed made of rice flour and is decked with flowers and pujas are performed. It is also placed along with the Athapookalam – the special floral arrangement done during Onam.

Some people believe that the unique shape of Thrikkakara Appan – the four faces – represents the four stages in the life of a man.

Usually, people place three structures which represent the three steps of land asked by Vamana to King Mahabali.