Festives, Good and Bad

I had been away for a long while, as my personal and professional commitments had taken a higher priority. And I’m back to my good world of blogging, which sadly had to take a backseat.

Writer’s block, I should say, is one which anyone would hate, when trying to type out a good post, and that too after an exile. And I keep thinking, observing, little bit of rolling too, to come out with something worth posting about, to celebrate my return to Words and Lines. And there, I get a sudden flash from a block of memory.

The holy nights and celebrations of Navaratri have started and it’s supposed to be the time for spiritual ‘reconciliation’. Well, if one is ready to explore the unknown and is ready accept the outcome, any time would be a good period of celebration, for such reconciliations and realizations that follow.

The Navaratri celebrations signify the victory of Goddess Durga over the tyrant Mahishasura, the victory of Sri Rama over Ravana, or more precisely the victory of ‘good’ over ‘bad’

The concept of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ has always been and should always be debatable. What’s seemingly good to one is bad to another and the vice versa holds good too. What’s good in a situation might be a bad one in a different situation, from the same point of view that held it as good, earlier!

Mahishasura, a strong willed, tough devout, noble enough to receive boons of greater strength and power, turned into an arrogant bundle of vile, to unleash his powers over the unparalleled. Well, the neurons inside Mahisha’s brain would justify how being a ruthless tyrant, would be for a noble cause! That’s how perspectives work! But rising over good, bad, right, or wrong, one level headed cause must create a balance from every known and unknown relativity, which is denoted here by Durga, who adorns a third eye over her forehead, that could see the unseen and foresee the not to be seen.

Anyway, the twenty eyed Ravana couldn’t view the better horizons as seen by the ‘dual’ eyed Rama, and it paved way for his victory, or more aptly, the balance as denoted by the bow he carries! A similarly different perspective, with a differently similar example!

So, in my ways, Navaratri can more aptly be put as a celebration of the restoration of the erstwhile fallen balance, than the victory of ‘good’ over ‘bad’

Such realizations, celebrations culminate in on the eve of Vijayadasami, the last day of the Navaratri, and the day for new beginnings.

Preparations under way for celebration of Dasara/Navaratri at Mysore.

Festivals are about celebrations, relationships, realizations, knowledge, colour, food, pomp, splendour, sharing, giving, receiving, and so many other things, abstract. And for a long festival, the preparations for which begin even long before, there is so much to do within.

I wish a Happy Navaratri. I also seek blessings for more knowledge, and time, and to blog regularly.

This work of words comes from my level of knowledge and understanding. I’m always ready for any correction or discussion.

Cheers
God Bless

Two Thousand 15

A post with specially picked photos from my phone, that defined the year 2015 for me

Its twenty days since the beginning of 2016, and a budding procrastinator is here with a recap of 2015!

It began with a ritualistic screenshot of my mobile screen…

One of the first events of the year, The Hindu Lit for Life in the month of January…

A wonderful trip to Kumbakonam in March…

Sketching, shading, twists and surprises in April…

Realization of the fluidity of life in July…

Cheers_________________________________________
God Bless

Body – Mind – Soul

As the prayers, rituals, celebrations of the holy month of Maargazhi are on in full swing, and as one melts to the recitations of the divine Thirupaavai, we come across this line – Ongi Ulagalandha Uthaman Paer Paadi.. (Singing the name of the Lord, who grew and, who conquered the worlds..), which is in reference to Lord Vamana, who measured with his feet, earth, heaven and King Mahabali‘s head!

The beauty of these lines gave rise to the sprouting of an astounding meaning of the references, hidden in the fields of divinity.

Body, Mind and Soul comprise a trio. The Soul, whom we are; the Body, in which we reside; and the Mind, a bridge which guides, and misguides, balances and unbalances as well, the connection between the Body and the Soul.

The Body can be considered as the earth. Tough, physically sense-able, measurable, easier to understand, and conquerable. And Mind, the sky or the heavens. Undefinable, difficult to perceive, immeasurable, and not that easy to understand, and yet not unconquerable. And finally, the Soul, totally beyond any definitions (Mind, though had adjectives such as undefinable, immeasurable, etc)

King Mahabali had conquered the earth and the heavens. It was then that Lord Vishnu came in the form of a dwarf and asked for three feet of land as alms, from the King who was ruling the earth and the sky! When the King agreed, Lord Vamana grew to a gigantic size and measured the entire conquest of Mahabali‘s earth in a foot, and the sky in another. When nothing was left over, He asked the King for the third foot, when he offered his head, to be ‘conquered’. And the Lord obliged.

It is no wonder, for the comparisons are so obvious. One can rule over one’s body and mind. But conquering our soul, conquering ourselves, might seem easy, but not so; might seem tough, but not so, again! Definitely confusing, and that’s the beauty (or ugliness) of it! We think that we are our body and we are our mind. What we fail to recognize most of the times, is that we are the souls. We reside in a mind, and within a body.

King Mahabali had conquered the body and was owning it, to offer it to the Lord. He was ruling the mind, and was made into a good offering too! But conquest of the soul remained uncomplete. Once he gave up the so called possessions, the light of knowledge dawned and he offered himself (read soul; read head) to the Lord, which was the best of all offerings!

This conclusion is definitely, not immune from defects or debates. And view is always different and unique too. A lotus on a pond doesn’t look the same from different viewpoints, and so is a thought.

So much of thoughts from a single line of the thirty stanza long Thirupaavai. No wonder, it is referred to as the seed which contains the gigantic tree of the Veda!

Cheers

God Bless

LoveWins, Oh but really?

In a significant judgement, the Supreme Court of the US has recognized the equal status of its LGBT citizens. It’s nice to see people offering their support by various means. There is so much positivity, hope, warmth shown all around in the social media. But how much of it is genuine? Is India ready for such a change? Are Indians willing to accept such a reform wholeheartedly? All I had to say about this were 5 things, as tweets.

Status updates, profile pic changes, etc are good and give a positive feel, but how many actually support LGBT wholeheartedly? (1)

Constitutions, courts can give mandates, but it’s up to the people to overcome prejudices! (2)

Talking about India, when just tweeting about gay things can fetch rude, ‘well-wisher warning’ messages, miles to go ahead! (3)

Anyway, people judge, hate, love, accept according to their capabilities but one leads their own lives 🙂 Smile and cheers! (4)

Finally, plant rights didn’t make me a plant, hence gay rights won’t make me gay! Thanks and sorry for the ranting-tweeting spree! (5)

Hope i’m clear headed and have summarized my thoughts.

Again emphasizing that there is so much positivity, love and warmth all around. Wishing and praying that it lasts genuinely forever and Love Wins always. Union of souls is beyond the spectrum of gender, orientation, religion, caste, creed, *whatever differences have been created by humans* and we have a long way to reach there!

P.S. Supporting gayness doesn’t make me gay (if i’m not already, actually 😉 ) And the term gay actually means happiness (if you don’t know already) Special cheers!

Cheers

God Bless

Vacation Chronicles ~ 2

The stones are alive!

Continuing from my previous post – Vacation Chronicles ~ 1, here I go with my second post. Without any explanation, by the end of this post, you would know why ‘The stones are alive!’

Standing at the threshold
of the mighty and impressive
Chennakeshava Devasthana*,
I wonder,
Do I bow to the Lord
Or the spirit of the sculptors?
Then, I feel His charm
And I bow to the Lord,
who dwells in and as
the soul of the sculptor,
And of the stone!

The following pictures were taken at the ChennaKeshava Temple complex at Belur, Karnataka. ChennaKeshava expands to ‘Chennagi Iruva Keshava’ which means the Handsome Keshava, in Kannada. His temple is beautiful, but His charm is matchless!

Chronicle to be concluded in next post Vacation Chronicles ~ 3 – Melkote

*Devasthana = Place of God ~ Temple

***The pictures included in this post were taken by me***

Cheers

God Bless

Kumbakonam Chronicle

This was a post pending for long, and finally I’ve got time to post. An office colleague who is also a good friend got married few days back, at her hometown Kumbakonam. Few guys of us not just attended the wedding, but also had a good time roaming about at Kumbakonam.

kolam_kumb1

A town known for temples and festivals, it also had some of the warmest people i’ve ever met. The town, its streets, temple, people, their hospitality, wedding, food, ponds, fun, etc, etc could be elaborated over a series of lengthy posts! So rich was our experience in a short stay of two days. And here goes my short picture chronicle on our Kumbakonam trip…

Sarangapani Temple undergoing renovation. We had a pleasant time praying to the handsome Sarangapani, with the temple not much crowded while we visited on the Saturday morning.

The famed Mahamaham pond, right at the heart of Kumbakonam, getting decked up for the Mahamaham festival to be held next year.

Porthamarai pond behind the Sarangapani Temple. The temple seen here behind this pond is AdhiKumbeshwarar Temple. Kumbakonam is a town with so many temples, that when you exit from a temple, you enter into another!

Another enchanting view of the Porthamarai pond.

Nageshwarar Temple. Another hub of peace and serenity.

The elephant of AdhiKumbeshwarar Temple, who was dancing with joy and was only happy to bless us too!

A bright and colourful view of the Kumbakonam skyline at twilight. Can you spot a lone star twinkling?

The A/C bus stop here. Chennai needs some of these very badly!

As stated earlier, it’d take a series of lengthy posts to talk about the rich and awesome experiences we had at Kumbakonam. And these pictures talk about few of them!

Cheers

God Bless

Favourite Fictional Women

As I was typing my previous post on women, a sudden thought led to the creation of this post too. I wanted to publish on three of my favourite fictional women from movies. (Please don’t ponder or question on ‘why three’? For some odd reason I love the number three, and making a short list in three’s 😀 ) And here I go…

Shanichari – Rudaali

This movie depicts the life of a Rudaali – profession mourner, played by Dimple Kapadia. I watched this movie on a women’s day, telecast on Doordarshan, few years back. (I still remember, my annual exams were a week apart, and I was going to watch an ‘old and boring’ movie) The movie is a slow moving one, but deeply touching. Shanichari (character portrayed by Dimple) faces a lot of trouble in her life – she loses her husband, falls in debt, her son deserts her, but nothing can dampen her spirit. She wonders throughout the movie, how can someone(referring to the profession mourners) mourn for some unknown and unrelated person, until an incident changes her life. Shanichari from the movie Rudaali is still one of my favourite fictional character.

Madhura – Sringaram

This movie portrays the life of devadasis, set in the pre-independence era. The character Madhura (played by Aditi Rao Hydari) is a bold, young, beautiful, talented devadasi. She loves and craves for a life of freedom, which is denied to her, given her profession and status in the society. All the riches that she possess doesn’t bring any meaning to her life. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she moves away from the clutches of the society, to lead a life that she wishes. The story unfolds as a flashback story heard by Madhura’s daughter, Varshini (also played by Aditi Rao Hydari) Madhura is one character gracefully portrayed, that i’d love watching her again and again.

Elsa – Frozen

Queen Elsa is a bit more popular, that she needs not much of an introduction. She is my favourite Disney character after Mickey Mouse. Elsa didn’t need a charming dude to make her life beautiful, she had to fight evil and demons within herself, there were things she had to Let it Go, she had powers that were amazing but fearsome too, and these make her a queen, and not a princess! And ‘Let it Go’ could be listened to a thousand times, yet bring out the emotions, powerful every time ~ (The song of judgement)

Image source

A common thread that connects the story of these women is that, they wanted a life where they could be themselves, not hiding anything of theirs, just because the society didn’t accept or approve of the facts! They never let fate take over, and fought back to lead a life of their own.

Cheers

God Bless

Women

Today is March 8th – Women’s Day. There are many posts about women making rounds. Yes, it is special to be a woman, so it is to be a man. We need to celebrate women, we need to celebrate men, and we need to celebrate the people who don’t fall under these spectrums too! Celebrate life, including all your near and dear, irrespective of where you fall on any of the ‘scales’ created by ourselves or God.

Women have the ability to create life, from within them. Men have the ability to create life, from outside of them. Let’s not get into debate on which is the greater ability. Both are awesome and needed to work in unison to sustain life.

A very happy and awesome Women’s Day to all wonderful women. And tons of thanks too.

There are umteen ways in which i’ve been indebted to many women, who have helped me, either directly or indirectly.

My grandmother, mother, sister, aunts, cousins, bff, relatives, teachers, friends, acquaintances, colleagues, the aunty who supplies milk to my home every morning, the flower selling granny who smiles at me, the aunty who sells tender coconut near office, the aunty at office pantry, the authors who enlighten with their books, the singers who bring peace with their mesmerizing tone, the artists who amaze with their skills, the aunties who sweep my street every morning, the aunties who help in maintaining the cleanliness at office, my English teachers who made me strong in the language, my history mam who brought out my love for history, my maths mam who eradicated my aversion to the subject, Mother Goddess, and the list can only stretch to infinity…i’m indebted to them. I’ve got some opportunities to thank them directly, but unfortunate often for I couldn’t do it. Every one of them command respect in their own way, and keep the (my, our) world moving!

Sharing lines from a poem in my older blog that I had written on Women’s Day, two years back…

Epitome of Courage,

You are no Mirage..

Oh beautiful Sthree,

There’s no parallel to Thee..

This, a dedication by me.

Cheers

God Bless

The song of judgement

One can have cool head, not reacting much to the happenings around. But mind is one thing which is ever inquisitive to travel deep into the forbidden areas. One fine afternoon I was travelling in bus, listening to Let it Go and then this poem happened.

There are things that aren’t perfect,
In and around me.
The cause of which,
Doesn’t trace its roots to me.
I’m told to accept them
And embrace too.
As nothing can be
And should be perfect.
I understand and agree.

But where were and are
These voices,
When I did things
That weren’t perfect,
That didn’t meet the standards
Which I didn’t set.
When I was judged,
And accepted not
For meeting not
Their standards.

Well, the past is in the past.
The stones that stand
The test of time,
Will live, to sing
The song and the story
Of the past.
The wounds have healed
But the scars remain.
And these may disappear too,
Along with a serene sunset.

Here I stand,
Accepting the judgement
Of none, but One.
Raised by the hands,
That wanted to make a gentleman.
Will live so forever,
Not succumb to the pressure.
Let the world respect a unworthy.
But I will stay true to those
Whom I consider worthy.

Cheers

God Bless

A harmony of past-present-future

I’ve posted about CBC – Chennai Bloggers Club many times earlier. CBC is a group of some amazing bloggers connected to Chennai. Many interesting activities are initiated and all of us participate in it enthusiastically. The latest one is ‘The CBC Tablog – 3’ where each person posts on the topic ‘Chennai – A blend of the traditional and the modern’ every day, for a series of days. Today i’m publishing this post as a part of ‘The CBC Tablog – 3’.

The previous post in this tag was published by Deepak Raghuraman here – ‘Chennai – A Pendulum Swinging Between Tradition & Modern‘. Deepak is an awesome blogger. His blog Namma Area is a one-stop for anything and everything that you need to know about Chennai. And not just that, there is a load of useful information required for day-to-day activities posted by him. So please do check out his blog.

Madras~Chennai – A harmonic blend of the past-present-future

Waiting for Puliyodharai packet~ Thiruvallikeni Parthasarathy Temple,
Checking the darshan ticket ~ T.Nagar TTD.

Jogging in the morning ~ Panagal Park,
Relaxing in the evening ~ Semmozhi Poonga.

Having a Sumptuous breakfast ~ Mylai Karpagambal Mess,
Planning a fast catch up ~ Hard Rock Café.

Slurping at home ~ Strong Filter Coffee,
Flirting as you roam ~ Café Coffee Day.

A full plate of ~ Idly,
Also a plateful ~ Momo.

Of yesterday romance ~ Pilot Theatre,
Or 3D every Dimanche* ~ Luxe Cinemas.

With four different chutneys ~ Masala Dosa,
While four different toppings ~ Pizza.

Peeking at the past ~ Royapuram Railway Station,
Gazing at the future ~ Ashok Nagar Metro Station.

Old than a century ~ Armenian Church,
Bold and glittery ~ Injambakkam ISKCON.

Fun and frolic ~ VGP Golden Beach,
Come and few alcoholic ~ ECR Resort.

Wonder of the past ~ Spencer Plaza,
Wander as you pass ~ Express Avenue.

Rangapuravihara ~ Margazhi Utsavam,
Rock and Roll ~ Rock Fest.

Pure vegetarian ~ Udupi Hotel,
Pasta and Italian ~ Themed Restaurants.

Sundal and seashore ~ Marina Beach,
Sure this doesn’t bore ~ Elliot’s Promenade.

Chepauk is the base ~ Test Match,
Kilpauk is the case ~ CSK.

The big bold brother ~ Suburban Railway,
The little in making brother ~ Metro Network.

Shop and sweat ~ Parry’s Corner,
Drop and sweat ~ Siruseri IT Park.

Glorious Madras ~ Glamourous Chennai.

Truly a melting pot,
Come on, Give it a shot.

You will not regret,
For the experiences you get.

If you are uninitiated about Chennai, the first line in every stanza represents the face of the old Madras and second, the trend of modern Chennai. Both are thriving simultaneously today and that’s the beauty here.

Chennai is a beautiful harmonic blend of the past, the present and also the future. All are equally accepted and celebrated, which makes it a wonderful cosmopolitan city.

*Dimanche – Sunday in French

‘The CBC Tablog – 3’ is to be continued by Vid Dev, who would be posting on this topic tomorrow. She blogs at The Pensieve. A talented person, she posts about music, her myriad thoughts and many more in a fantastic way. Wishing all the best and waiting for her post tomorrow.

Cheers

God Bless

!!! Years

It has been three years since I registered in my blog here, and thanks to WordPress for reminding me of it!

Though I had registered three years back (used Blogspot previously), I’ve been active in WordPress only for the past two years (+ few months) and it has been an amazing journey!

I have met new people, made new friends, read amazing blogs, won great prizes, had great experiences, influenced some through blogging. I never thought I’d come this long when I start to blog initially.

Blogging is one form of letting the world know, of one’s emotions, opinions, thoughts, or anything our mind wants to yet and our hand wants to type. Some are successful in it and now I think I’ve got a taste of it too, all thanks to God, my good teachers and dearest blogging friends.

With a month more to complete 2014, new journeys to make, new vistas to visit, new people to come, life move ahead with lots and lots of hope!

Cheers

God Bless

Treasures #1

Temples are treasures that our forefathers have left behind. Many sciences, marvels, facts are spoken about these temples, some true and some not. But whatever, the serenity and comfortness that the temples offer is the same one experiences at home, and at times beyond!

One thing I love in temples are the temple tanks. Temple tanks are present in many big temples. These tanks are usually rectangular/square shaped artificial ponds. These ponds serve to harvest rainwater, add beauty to the temple, mesmerize the wanderer, and the list could keep extending.

I wanted to display three of my favourite temple tanks in Chennai and around, and here are they.

Thiruvallikeni Parthasarathy Temple Tank

Cheers

God Bless

LOL – Living Our Life

Last Friday evening, I was making plans for the weekend, when I received the following message over WhatsApp from my good friend..

I always observe my speed on stairs getting up or getting down, it will be better on Fridays than on the week days. Guess why ? the shoes and the dress makes the difference. Today afternoon I got an idea that can I beat the speed of the lift either downwards or upwards. Just an idea hmmm.

Evening while leaving home I went to EB 2 to see my friend, when I was about to enter the lift it was filled but little space was there but they didn’t move and didn’t give way.

Excited to beat the lift. Took the stairs crossing two steps at a time, non stop till 6th floor… When I checked the lift it was in 4 th floor and coming up… May be it would have stopped in every floor, but I won 🏆. Felt great with lot of gasping.

I don’t know what you would think about me after reading this, but I was happy that moment… and thought of sharing it…..

I don’t really give lengthy advices, but say just this thing..Happiness is something that should come from within and not outside. Our life is ours. Happiness and sadness, we must live them. We should live only our life, not anyone elses’ And no one can or should be allowed to disrupt us from living our life.

I was very happy that he found happiness within himself, with deeds to himself, even if insignificant to anyone else. And much more happiness because i’ve got a friend who could share his happy moments with me.

My reply to him was..

This is really awesome 🙂 life is like this..finding and living the happiness within ourselves rather than relying on someone else. And relishing every moment that happens in our life. Our life is ours and only we can live it.

Thanks so much that you wanted to share it with me :):)

Cheers

God Bless

Deepavali

Deepavali (Deepa-Avali..’row of lamps’ as in Sanskrit, Deepa-Oli..’brightness of lamps’ as in Tamil) is a well known festival or rather a celebration. Okay, there are numerous pages with the significance, happiness, etc etc associated with this awesome festival, flooded all over the internet. So let me not overfeed you with them. A long time since i’ve posted too, and here’s a quick doodle that I designed for this auspicious day.

Should be posting soon. A dozen posts yet in drafts. Happy Deepavali and celebrate every moment of life 🙂

Cheers

God Bless