Happy New Year!

May 2009 bring peace and happiness to you all!

Lingering Aftermath

After 26/11, I have read various posts, several e-mails forwarded, watched quite a few TV programs and read the news. I feel compelled to add my own POVs to the babel out there, partly to clarify my own thoughts and partly to see if anyone out there agrees with some of these POVs.
1. In a democracy, there ought not to be any 'us and them' between government and the people. A poster I saw on TV said it aptly--politician, you are our (the people's) servant'.
2. Therefore from point 1 above, we have to vote to get the government we want (to some extent).
3. The politician is just another citizen of our country like you or me. If he is corrupt/is interested only in himself and family, that obviously shows that the vast majority of us are like that. Now if somebody says that only the worst kind go into politics, what's to stop somebody with better morals from going into it?
4. In one of those TV discussions in the aftermath, somebody suggested that we should not pay taxes. I don't see how not paying taxes punishes our politicians. We punish ourselves. If we want the policeman to have a decent salary and for him to be trained and armed properly, that money has to come from taxes, or is anybody planning to sponsor the upgrading of our policemen? Why is there so much tax evasion in the country?

I feel when we criticize our politicians, we should also think about changing ourselves. Let's not decry someone's outlook based on their caste/religion. Let's all turn out to vote at every election. Let's not use influence/money to get us out of a queue or out of a tight spot. Let's teach our children to follow the laws of our country, not implying that those who follow rules are wimps. Let's each of us work together in our work places, without using office politics to put someone else down. Let's realise that sometimes for the good of all, we have to give up a bit of ourselves.

That's my POV. Feel free to add what you feel.

Smiley in the sky

On a lighter note, I was able to get this photograph of this event (thanks Esbee).



Not too good, being a phonophoto. But it really made me smile! I didn't know about this event then. Just saw this happy smiley face in the sky and loved it. Made me feel Mother Nature was telling me she's still around--whatever else we human beings were doing to each other.

The fighting in the Taj Hotel--the last point of terrorist resistance--is now officially over they say. But the horror of it will take a long long time to be dimmed and for Time to apply it's healing balm.
For all of us who have had contact with Mumbai, Mumbai is a living, breathing entity. I was born there and most of my family have lived there at some point of time. What has occurred in the last 2 and a half days has saddened me so deeply.
The modern face of terror is very frightening, because reason truly seems to have taken a back seat. Is this the kind of situation we are going to see more of, as life on our planet gets more difficult to live in(due to our consumerism and conspicuous consumption),and we get to be more like rats in an overcrowded cage, running through an endless maze? I truly hope not.

A nightmare.

What is happening in Mumbai is a nightmare. We have been following the news from 10.30 p.m last night. you kept hoping that it would end soon. When we went to bed at 4 a.m, it was with the hope that when we woke up it would be over. Vain hope! Even now, at 6.15 in the evening, the firing and explosions are going on. I pray it ends soon.
I do not feel anger, but only deep sorrow, that young men--almost boys- of 21 or so, should perpetrate these kind of acts, when they should be spending time on growing up.
My prayers go out to the brave Mumbaikars. May the nightmare end soon.
Peace.

Tagged yet again.

This is another tag that 3inone tagged me with.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Yes. My paternal grandmother.
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Today, after reading someone’s blog.
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sort of.
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT? Meat, fish, eggs--not fussy.
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes, 3.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Maybe
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Sometimes
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No—not now.
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL? Breads-made of any cereal.
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Hmmm. Yes.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM? Anything but Vanilla.
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their expression.
15. RED OR PINK? Red.
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVOURITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? Lots of things.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST ? My children when they aren’t around, my mother and my mum-in-law.
18. WHAT COLOUR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Violet sarong and black slippers.
19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Bread
22. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Gordon Lightfoot—‘If you could read my mind now’ on Youtube.
23. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE? Sea -green.
24. FAVOURITE SMELLS? Morning coffee, powdered cinnamon, jasmine or mahogany flowers on the night air and freshly grated lemon rind.
25. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? A niece
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yes.
27. FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Nothing really, but will watch anything just to keep company.
28. HAIR COLOUR? Pepper dusted with salt.
29. EYE COLOUR? Almost black.
30. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No.
31. FAVOURITE FOOD? Breads and Bengali sweet curd (mishti doi).
32. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings.
33. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? At the theatre? Quantum of Solace.
34. WHAT COLOUR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Light blue.
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Cool weather.
36. FAVOURITE DESSERT? Fruity desserts of any kind, chocolatey desserts and Bengali sweets.
37. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND ? Respond to what?
38. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Just finished Inheritance of Loss.
39. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? No mouse pad..
40. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? ‘The Proof’ a sweet movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Anthony Hopkins. (this was done on 23rd)
41. FAVOURITE SOUND? A baby’s gurgling laugh.
42. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.
43. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? California, USA
44. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Well…..maybe singing
45. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Bombay(was still Bombay then), Maharashtra, India.

Would anyone like to do this tag?

Hiphop Grandmom's tag

Hiphop Grandmom tagged me.

My oldest memory:
Going to nursery school in Bombay; being taken after school to an older cousin’s house, where I drew on their wall and was scolded for it.

Ten years ago:
My husband’s 50th birthday and when I told my husband that our now son-in-law wanted to marry our daughter.

My first thought this morning:
It’s a holiday and so I have more than an hour to spend online.

If you built a time capsule, what would it contain:
An 33rpm LP record—to show what that looked like, a newspaper (Nov. 5th 2008), an old book, a picture of our present picture tube PC and a couple of magazines—one news mag, one showing gadgets of today and one woman’s mag.

This year:
Has been full of events and has gone by at a crazy pace. The financial meltdown has been a big topic of discussion, as also the election. It’s an ok year.

14 years from now:
I hope that I am as ambulatory and healthy—mentally and physically—as I am today.

Now to tag 3 people--Mrs. T, Mallika and Dot?

'You've got to be carefully taught'

I heard that the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical 'South Pacific' (based on James Michener's book) has been revived recently. The New York Times gave the revival a good review.
We had the LP of the Broadway show at home and were familiar with all the songs long before the movie came to India in '64/'65. I knew and loved all the songs. The subtle anti-war and not so subtle anti-racist attitudes in the movie resonated with me.
Then I got to watch the movie again when my mother got a DVD of the original movie. Somehow I never thought that it would be revived now, because the issues seemed to be from so long ago and so was really surprised to hear about the revival. I have heard some of the songs on online radio.
After my post on Bigotry and some of the comments, particularly Usha's comment, this song from 'South Pacific' came to mind---

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear
You've got to be taught
From year to Year
It's got to be drummed
in your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught

You've got to be taught
To be Afraid
Of people whose eyes
are oddly made
And people whose skin
Is a different shade
You've got to be carefully taught

You've got to be taught
Before it's too late
Before you are 6 or 7 or 8
To hate all the people
your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught.

Well, still relevant I think.

Been Away

Been out of the loop for a bit; was baby-sitting my grandson over in his home town, as his parents had both to be out of town. So my husband and I were with him for around 4 days. But as I didn't get much computer time then, I find I am totally behind in my blogging world :) There have been so many posts, while I was gone, that I still haven't done reading. I found that I have been tagged with 2 different tags too, both of which I will do.

'Yes we can'

A young Indian friend wondered why so many of us in this country were getting so excited about this time's US election. The answer that came to me was "A beacon of hope".
For people like me, there were several events that I never thought would take place in my lifetime. But this is one of three events which, to me, signal hope and the feeling that goodness can prevail. The first of the three events was the breaking of the Berlin Wall, then the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa and now this--that the US can elect a president without race getting in the way. Every time I think about it, it brings tears to my eyes.
Whether we like it or not, US values/attitudes/prevailing ethics, do have an impact on the rest of the world. In the last so many years--particularly from the Reagan era--there seems to have been a sharp rise of materialism, which permeated the whole world. I am not saying that the US is responsible for what the rest of us did; but somehow the message being conveyed, was that materialism was the only way to go. Barack Obama's election seems to bring back a warm fellow feeling for other people, a concern for each other, which is an essential in attempting to reverse the damage Man has done to Mother Earth, in his pursuit of this selfish materialism. Increased concern for others also brings hope for kindness to all people, irrespective of whether they believe in the same religion as you do or not.
Cheers to the American people.

Waiting....

I have butterflies in my tummy, want to watch all the live coverage, but at the same time feel nervous. I know the US is not the country I live in, but even so, feel so deeply involved in this election--as I think so much of the rest of the world is. I cannot bring myself to go to bed--at 12.16 a.m. our time--because I'm reading different news sites. I cannot wait for tomorrow morning--Indian time--to know the results.

All creatures great and small

This is one of the smallest butterflies in my garden and on a really small flower.

Now for the creepy looking thing below....
It's a pupa that we saw on a mango leaf at school.




Can you see how the web around the erstwhile caterpillar is the exact same green of the mango leaf? What really excited me was the fact that there is a rib along the middle that is just like the rib of the mango leaf. The teacher who was showing the kids different leaves, didn't even notice it, till she touched the leaf and felt it was something soft, it was so beautifully camouflaged. Most pupae hide under leaves. But this is so blends into the background, that it can afford to be on top of the leaf.

Change--again!

As you can see, I've taken down the pink page. I've been enjoying tweaking my blog--in fact having a blast at it. I wanted to do my own thing with a local picture. So the background is a photo from our own backwaters, taken by a niece and saved on my computer. Hope you like it.

Pink October

This pink blog is for Sweetannee over at Can I be Pretty in Pink. For this courageous and inspirational blog friend and for others like her, my blog is pink for this week.

Bigotry

Several articles that I have read recently, both online and in print, have made me reflect on bigotry. Bigotry I think begins with not questioning the prejudices one may have  grown up with, which then harden over time into intolerance of the ‘other’ and then into hatred of the ‘other’—bigotry.

During hard times, like what is happening at present, I think intolerance of the ‘other’ increases.  When there is worry all around, the easiest way is to find somebody else to blame and so it becomes easy to become intolerant of the other.  And then unfortunately, we become targets of wily politicians, who use the basic fear of the unknown ‘other’, which is at the back of this bigotry.

But intolerance and bigotry lie at both ends of the spectrum.  Whether one is a religious fundamentalist or a left-wing ideologue, (or somewhere in between),  if we cannot accept that someone can have a view different from ours, we are on the road to bigotry and then when we reach a point of being intolerant of the other view, we are well on the way to becoming bigots.  We have every right not to listen to points of view that we dislike, as long as we do not deny—in our minds firstly—the right of that other person to have his own view, however misguided we hold that view to be.

I think that if one does not want to become a bigot, one must address one’s own fears of the unknown, the ‘other’ and often on a daily basis, during tough times.  This holds good from thinking that one’s househelp might steal because they are in need or are from a ‘particular’ caste or region, to the thinking that somebody who believes in the Almighty in a different way to mine, is more intolerant than me.  I have been sadly watching the build-up of bigotry on all sides of the spectrum and felt the need to address these issues in myself.  Hence this post.

Small town manners?

What do you do/say when someone tells you "How have you gotten so fat"? It's not like this lady is a bosom pal or anything.Mind you, it was after a funeral!
Anyway, one thing I should mention--when I told my husband (on our way back from the funeral) he bristled mildly on my behalf and told me "No, no, you haven't put on any weight or anything. She was just being mean." which was very sweet of him :)

Rain clouds

Our state gets quite a bit of rain--though this year it was less than normal so far.

US Elections

The way the campaigning is getting so attacking, made me decide not to watch the last debate between Obama and McCain. I decided I didn't want to see these 2 grown adults trading insults. Besides, after coming across Global Voices through my friend Onedia's blog and coming across the fact that there were other candiates in the coming election--apart from Ralph Nader who's been running for ever--I was wondering why there was no debate with all the candidates standing for election, rather than just from the 2 main political parties. I think the US electorate should be given the opportunity to at least hear other views. I'm sure that if there was a multi-party democracy in the US, instead of just the two party one, there would be more checks and balances and some of the mess that happened may not have happened--my view.

Sunsets

Sunset at the beach on Onam.


Sunset here last evening. Hand shook a little and hence crescent moon got blurred.

The wonders of modern technology

Modern communication technology is truly wonderful. This has been a constant refrain in my mind during the past week................
When I watched the US House of Representatives vote on the bailout bill, just as I watched our Lok Sabha vote on the Confidence motion in this Government around 2 months back. Both were unthinkable even 10 years back;
When I went online and talked to family half way across the world and could see them and talk to them with almost no lag;
When I thought of the fact that I have gotten acquainted with and made friends with people from so many different countries and living so far away from me;
When I found that I could listen to music from way before I was born, all lovingly preserved and then uploaded to the Internet;
And of course whenever I have gone to the Internet for information on anything, from how to wrap a present, to recipes local and international, to pictures, to meanings of words, to health issues--you name it. Once that would have meant referring to so many different books and probably in so many different places, now all available at my finger tips--literally.
I know that there are many negatives as well. But at present--maybe because there are no young children in this house--I see only the positives.

This post by Mary Ann over at Desperately Seeking Serenity made me think.  She talks about maybe overdoing the introspection and self-improvement thing.  It so resonated with me.
I realised that I pay way too much attention on self-improvement, on becoming the 'perfect' me.  But then again, a person actually has complete control only over oneself.  There have been times in my life when I have felt that I had no control over many of the happenings in my life.  But I knew that I could always have control over me.
But , I so often wish my mind would be still, without the constant barrage of critical appraisal going on for each of my actions--'That was a dumb thing to do';  'What a stupid thing to say'; 'This is pure drivel' [:(] There are moments of 'That came out good' positive stuff too.   Sometimes I so desperately wish my mind would shut up and let me do something without any appraisal going on.
Anyway, at my age, there is one thing I realise, I have come to a pretty good acceptance of my physical self, which I probably achieved with all the self-talk.  So, in everything there's some good and some bad and moderation is the key I suppose.

There seems to be so much bad news in the News these days. There are floods in the North East of our country with really bad floods in Orissa, and not showing signs of getting better; the floods in Bihar have receded but people are still living in camps; there have been the cyclones that hit Cuba and the US; then there have been the terror attacks here in India and the one in Islamabad in Pakistan at the Marriott; then there is the financial meltdown in the US, which shows signs of imapcting the rest of the world and attacks against Christians in many states.
When I see the suffering on the TV of those devastated by the floods, typhoons and the terror attacks I feel helpless and depressed. I know that I am not the kind who will jump onto thenext train for Orissa to go and help in person. I can at the most donate (you can find out about donating for Orissa here). But I do know that I too am responsible, in whatever small way, for the climate change that has brought on such devastating floods and upped the frequency and strength of typhoons.
So, I can do my little bit to try and reduce my impact on our planet. I can also do my bit in not letting myself get into a beleagured mentality, where one, out of fear, typecasts all those who maybe of the same religion/ethnicity of those who have perpetrated incidents hurtful to others. That is such an easy mentality to fall into when one feels helpless at hurtful incidents perpetrated by other people, which then leads to prejudices and intolerances.


"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
.................
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow
domestic walls;"
Into that heaven of freedom, let our world awake!

Onam vacation

There are so many posts in my mind, that I don't know where to begin.
So first I'll start with my Onam vacation. It was good. Having my daughter and grandson around was invigorating. We had wanted to do all the traditional things like put up a rope swing and put an athappoo (flower carpet) and fly kites and I had even got a kite. But it just poured!
For the days of Onam (10th to 12th) we went to a beachside resort. As the monsoon hasn't completely gone, there was very little beach due to the sea erosion. But my grandson was happy with the pool. Anway at least from Onam, for a week after, it stopped raining and we were able to enjoy the traditional Onam nilavu (moonlight). Onam itself was on Friday 11th. But then daughter & grandson had to go to away on Monday to her in-laws and so, when the breezes blew, he wasn't here to fly the kite.
We grandparents had a lovely time for sure and I know daughter did too. Grandson certainly looked like he had a good time--he told me today that he had told his teacher at Pre-school, all about his trip to his grandparents for his holiday. So that should mean he had fun :) Only wish I had thought of taking a picture of him in his Onam finery--mundu and jibba--a miniature version of this picture but without the shawl around the neck.

Vacations are over

My Onam vacation is over and my daughter and grandson left yesterday. So I'm feeling a little blue, though we had a very good vacation. Now life goes back to the usual.

Onam vacation

Schools here are closed for the Onam festival. So I'm on vacation. Both schools I go to had their Onam celebrations before school closed. One was on Friday and the other one on Saturday. AThapoo--flower carpets are an essential part of Onam. These are flower carpets done at the 2 schools. Everybody gets together to do this and the children have a lovely time, because you pull the flowers and leaves to pieces and then arrange them. They enjoy the pulling apart!

It so happens that my grandson has his vacation at the same time, although he doesn't live in Kerala. It turned out that way because our Onam is very late this year. So, my daughter and grandson are here for about a week. It's been a very long time since my daughter has been able to come and stay for a week--in fact not since she had her son I think. So she's really happy to be at home and realx and take it easy.
But---I may not be able to post (not that I've been posting that often recently). But I promise to post some pictures after they leave maybe.

More night walks

The other day the power cut was at 8p.m. When I went for my night ramble, the stars were out--very rare to see during these monsoons. There was a patch of sky over in the South just full of stars. It was beautiful and as there was a power cut there was no light pollution from the street lights. How I wished I knew more constellations. Since I rarely get to see the night sky during this part of the year, I'm not familiar with many of the stars. But I did see Scorpio spread out over a large patch of clear sky that I could see. It was lovely evening.
Walking beneath the stars always makes me feel close to the infinite. When I contemplate the vastness of space and think that here I am, a tiny spot in the universe it meakes me breathless at the thought of how small I am, yet a thinking, sentient being, who can think about what I see. Somehow in this feeling of being insignificant in relation to this whole universe, which I still a part of, makes me feel the presence of the Almighty, the Infinite, so much more.

An Award.

You could have knocked me down with a feather when I saw that Usha, at Ageless Bonding, had given me this award---"The Brilliant Weblog award" - given to sites and blogs that are smart and brilliant both in their content and their design.I am really touched and am flying Usha! Thank you so much.

The purpose of the prize is to promote as many blogs as possible in the blogosphere. The rules are:
1. Put the logo on your blog;

2. Add a link to the person who awarded it to you;

3. Nominate 7 (minimum 5) other blogs;

4. Add links to them on your blog;

5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blogs.

Well, as had happened to Usha, happened to me too--many of my favourite blogs have already received the award, including Usha's :)
Here is my list then:

1. Annie Bluesky over at BlogU. She is amazing. She maintains 4 blogs actually, one a purely photgraphic blog, one a recipe blog, one of photographs and comments on her life in Florida and of course BlogU from where I got all the help in tweaking my blog.

2. Dot at Dot's Thoughts. She is one energetic senior! She maintains her blog as well as gardens, does carpentry, cooks and copes with life's difficulties cheerfully.

3. Desperately Seeking Serenity for her sharing of her personal growth and--in her own words--" Seeking world peace and personal tranquillity through words".

4. Beks over at Beks & Ro for so many reasons, one being that she is very special to me.

5. Deena at Can I be Pretty in Pink . She is a very brave lady, putting up a tough fight against the enemy of cancer.

6.Onedia's Bull Shoals Backyard Habitat for being a real 'greenie'. She certainly has beautifully designed blogs.

7. Rohini's Mama Says So, where Rohini shares her life as a busy working mother.

I am adding this blog of somebody dear who passed away a year ago, but was amazing in her ability to tackle new technology. She was almost 90 when she passed away.

Yet another brave lady's blog I want to add here is Literally Blind-sided and Bimbimbie from Australia--if you are interested in birdlife.

Hope the readers of this blog find these blogs as interesting--in content and/or design as I do.

Night walks

This past week, our power cuts have been scheduled from 7.00 to 7.30 pm. Since our generator will not support the computer, I have been walking outside at that time during the last couple of days, as it hasn't been raining.
AT 7 pm it is really dark here (as it is the second half of the year). But I walk without a torch. There are a couple of porch lights and that's all. But I do love the dark. Besides since I have 2 doggie companions, I don't worry about snakes. Snakes are supposed to stay away with vibrations. So, since the younger dog (not mine, but from next door)being young and peppy, literally pounds the road, I bet the snakes keep far away.
Last night was pretty. The sky was very cloudy and there was far away lightning. At a particular spot on my walk, in a clump of trees, I saw these fairy lights blinking--fireflies. An owl hooted somewhere in the undergrowth. Beautiful! Unfortunately, my nose wasn't functioning too well. So can't tell you the scents.
Funny thing is I searched other areas for the fireflies, but I couldn't see them. It was probably because that was that was the only place-near tarmacked road--that was really dark.

Am sitting at my computer listening to Ella Fitzgerald with a background of the monsoon frog chorus. My computer screen is a magnet (in this otherwise dark room) for tiny insects, which manage to come in, in spite of the mosquito netting. Wish I had a fancy camera that could take pictures at night. Well, we have our half-hour power cut in 5 minutes. So before that here are a couple of pictures taken around here (and in school).

I was reading the latest Outlook magazine and came across this article on our women ambassadors--26 of them now apparently. The article was all about the yeoman service these women are doing and.....I started tearing up. I felt so proud of my fellow countrywomen and what they're achieving and the fact that all this is so much more possible now, and the tears just kept rolling down my face. I was looking at myself and thinking 'For heaven;s sake, why cry!' but I couldn't help myself.

"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake."
(Rabindranath Tagore)

This poem is in the new song book at school and when I was re-reading this much loved poem, it made all the more heart-rending, all that has happened in India in the past few days--beginning from the 'Tamasha' in Parliament to the sadness of the bomb blasts. Tagore was against the idea of even Nationalism, believing truly in a world without borders. But oh oh, what our world has become, where intolerance for others who are different in thought (which comprises religion, politics, point of view) or speak a different language or look different, has increased.
But I do see a new hope dawning. Somehow, with the whole problem with climate change and how it is really affecting ALL of us, maybe the people of the world will be forced to accept that we are all one and truly need each other for our individual survival.

An allegorical Tale

The Great Spirit was busy this morning.  It was the time of the filling of the bottles.Rows of bottles lay on the grass at the stream's side ready to be filled with the cool, sweet waters from the Mighty River's source.  The bottles were of many shapes and sizes and in myriad hues.  Some of the bottles were of the finest crystal, while others were just plain glass.  Some once held perfume and still held a slight remembrance of them.  Once the bottles were all filled (and lightly stoppered), the Great Spirit gently lowered them into the stream, to float downriver towards the Great Sea.
The bottles all bobbed and floated downstream.  The crystal bottles sparkled and shone in the sunlight; the coloured bottles diffused colour into the surrounding water, the bottles that once held sweet perfumes emanated a slight scent.  Some of the bottles thought they were wonderful, some felt thy were plain and ugly and the Great Spirit saw this and smiled because they had all been filled from the same sweet water source.
As they all rushed along on their journey, some of the bottles smashed against rocks early into the journey, the water inside joining with that of the river.   Some of the bottles got pulled down by weeds and plant roots; some got stuck on mud shoals, of which some got nudges from passing frogs and fishes or even other bottles and so managed to get back into the stream.  Some went on far ahead, carried along by currents and some spun round and round, caught in whirlpools.  All gave up the water inside, back into the Mighty River.
Of the many bottles that had started the journey together up in the hills, at the River's source, only some made it to the Great Sea, their sweet water mingling with the salt of the Sea.  Only a very few realised that in reality they were all the same, because they had all been filled from the same source and made the same essential journey, with the essential purpose of giving back to the Great River the water they carried in them.  Whatever the outer shape and colour, whether long or short the journey, whether the giving back to the River was sudden and catastrophic or gradually ebbing out, they were all of the same essence and the purpose of the journey was the same, to carry the sweet water, keeping it sweet as long as possible, and then giving it back to the River.

May we all realise our purpose before the end of our journeys.

My last post was about getting rid of one's ego. This is something I have been trying to do as part of my personal growth. When I read about Mahatma Gandhi's attempt to do that and some little bit of Buddhist philosophy, it has been a goal of mine. I feel that when one's ego is no longer important, one is truly able to see the Godliness in all human beings and in all creation.

Why do I need to feel appreciated?
Why do I feel the need to be valued?
Why do I feel the need to be validated?
Why do I feel the need to be thought of highly?
It is my ego, my ego that doesn't let go.


May I learn the lesson of egolessness in this life.

Another Tag

Hiphop Grandmom tagged me.

I had already seen this tag a while back on somebody else’s blog, before I was tagged with it and thought it looked interesting.

Here are some of my favourite literary characters…

Jo or Josephine from Louisa M Alcott’s ‘Little Women’ series, particularly in 'Little Men'. She is my all time favourite I think, I identified so much with her and so wanted to be like her too.

Anne from the ‘Anne of Green Gable’ series by L.M. Montgomery,

Jane from Jane Eyre,

Pollyanna, though she’s got bad press in the US now—too goody-goody,

Heidi—how I loved Heidi;

The witches from the Discworld series

Just too many characters from the Harry Potter series,

Frodo and Gandalf—Tolkien

Jane Austen’s sensible heroines (I’m an absolute sucker for sensible heroines)

Gerald Durrell—he’s not a fictional hero of course, but was a person I truly admired and along with him I add James Herriot.

As you can see, most of my favourite characters are women! I always loved strong women, who didn’t let circumstances get them down and whose characters grew and expanded through their experiences.
I forgot to add Kunti Devi from Mahabharatha.
This tag I want Beks to do as also Geeta A J.

More pictures

These are pictures of chillies that grow in the backyard. They are very small-less than an inch long-but very hot. They are called 'kandari' in Malayalam. These chillies are the ones that grow easiest.
Incidentally, we rarely use the ripe ones.

Ok, at last, as my very own computer is back in action, here are some pictures that I took....

This guy came into school, when we were going to start singing! He was a beautiful green and as we watched his tail started turning colour. But we had to chase him out before he completely turned colour.

This beautiful spider is just outside our mosquito netting and I don't have the heart to kill it, because it's so beautiful--a brilliant yellow, with black stripes--and makes a really intricate web. It's position just outside the netting is a terrific hunting ground--all those insects and mosquitoes trying to fly in!

Summer was beautiful and fun-filled for me. Some pictures here.....

It's strange, posts I expected views on like the one about Mr. Beattie and the more recent post, where I expected some views, got no comments but the tag about some aspects of me, got so many comments. I truly found that strange.
On another note, I had got some pictures on my phone particularly of a lovely green chameleon; but I am unable to post because my regular computer is not working and to upload pictures on another computer means I have to go through the hassle of installing my phone and so on on another computer. Will post that picture as soon as I can.

I've been reading, on the online newspapers and in the real newspapers, about the oil crisis and the consequent inflation and when you read the news, commentaries and views, the world seems to be spiralling downwards rapidly into a Great Depression and an end to life as we know it almost. It brought to mind a book, 'On the Beach', by Nevil Shute

a book which I found very compelling when I read it, way back in my youth, about the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. The story is based in Australia of the 60s (though published in 1957). As life as we know it breaks down, there is no more oil too. The story is one of despair though, as all life is extinguished gradually, due to radiation exposure.
But then, in contrast, I also now come across articles on alternate energy sources, about how so many people are coming up with newer ways of dealing with a life without petroleum and of newer ways to feed all the people on the planet and there is hope. But I do think that we have each of us to examine ourselves--if we are capable of it--and see how we can change our lives, albeit in small ways, to tackle the future, a future which maybe very different from what we were used to.

Mallika, over at Eve's Lungs, had tagged me with this tag about myself quite a while back. It required a lot of thought and was done over quite a long period.
I hope this is what you envisaged Mallika.

I am: me, mother, wife, sister, teacher; the sum of all these and yet not just that. There’s an inner me, irrespective of my life roles, added to the sum, growing, learning, just me.
I think: therefore I am. Sorry for the cliché; just wish that I was better adept at keeping my mind still.
I know: that I am only an ordinary woman but unique all the same.
I want: very little--in fact I really can't come up with what I want.
I have: a life for which I'm very grateful.
I wish: for peace on earth, for people everywhere to know each other's humanness.
I hate: unpleasant scenes. I am a total wimp.
I miss: my mother and my mum-in-law.
I fear: nothing really, because I'm pretty sure that, with my family, friends and my God, i can deal with most things.
I feel: content with my life, but not with me.
I hear: the sound of the drip. drip after a rain, the call of a crow pheasant--oop, oop, oop
I smell: wet wood
I crave: nothing
I search: for my glasses on a regular basis.
I wonder: if there is other life out there in the universe. When I look at the night sky especially, I am filled with wonder at the thought of the size of the universe and the thought that there maybe life out there.
I regret: not having done medicine
I love: the sound of the sea, toddlers everywhere, my family, the lick of a loving dog,....
I ache: in all my leg joints after being inactive for a bit
I care: about all my loved ones.
I am not: a wonderful person.
I believe: that I am a part of the universe, of the Infinite, and that It is a part of me.
I dance: when the music is my kind of music--oldies, well, if the music has a beat.
I sing: everyday
I cry : when I listen to beautiful instrumental music, when I sing songs my mother sang, when I'm very happy, when I empathize with someone else's unhappiness, but never when I'm in pain.
I don’t always : stand up for me.
I fight : my need to be appreciated all the time.
I write: badly
I win: my battles against irrationality
I lose: my courage when I have to scold people.
I never: run, when walking will just as well take me there.
I always: enjoy having 'alone' time.
I confuse: people's names.
I listen: to children. Youngsters are often talked down to, in a mixed age group. So I make it a point to listen to them as individuals.
I can usually be found: at home after 1 p.m.
I am scared: when I think that my children might have misfortunes.
I need: nothing really.
I am happy about: my family, the wonderful young people my children have married and I’m so proud of them all.

I tag Geeta AJ and Hiphop grandmom and anyone else who would like to do this tag.

I read this story about Mr. Beattie in the New York Times. I suppose in the US it had already made big news a while back as Mr. Beattie had apparently appeared on the Oprah show.
I found the article interesting because of the way the issue was handled. It led me to think about the whole gender issue.
I examined my own attitude to the whole sexuality issue and how I might react if one of my children were involved in such a situation. I came to the conclusion that at first an expression of sexuality different from the norm would be difficult to accept. But that, I might, for the love of my child, have accepted their choice, because I felt that the gender and sexuality of a person does not in anyway, reflect on the quality of their character. What I feel are the qualities of a good character (such an old fashioned word I guess) came from other qualities, like an acceptance of all humanity, genuineness, humankindness, charity in thought and deed.
So what do you think?

Two links to make you think

Please do take at look these 2 posts, blog sisters; this one from Agelessbonding and this one from Queen of Spain.

Self-worth

When I'm just sitting around reading, hanging out at home or on a normal day in school, I feel that maybe I'm not too bad, and that I'm kinda worthwhile. But when I really interact--whether it's hearing what someone else did, or when I read blogs, I begin to feel that my life is so not worthy--as in when I see how well someone puts across a point, or at the good things they do for others, at the way people might be tackling their personal growth, at the wonderful social work so many people do, I feel that I am so not good enough. It takes a while of self-talk to be able to rationalize to myself that whatever my life, there are at least somethings I've done which are worthwhile and that it's not necessary to be the best in the field to be worthwhile. 'They also serve who only stand and wait' is a line that is always of comfort. It's from a poem by John Milton.
Here's the poem

On His Blindness

When I consider how my light is spent

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,

And that one Talent which is death to hide

Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account, lest He returning chide,

"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"

I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent

That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need

Either man's work or his own gifts. Who best

Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state

Is kingly: thousands at his bidding speed,

And post o'er land and ocean without rest;

They also serve who only stand and wait."

Yesterday I heard that a young man I knew had died, 3 months ago. It was a shock.
This young man was somebody who had worked in my house around 5 years back. He was with our family for a little over 3 years. His name was Santosh, which means content or happy. He certainly wasn't a content person. But he was generally a happy person considering his life and circumstances.
Santosh was from Bihar, but had gone to Delhi to his aunt, in search of work. It was from there, thorough a close relation of mine, that he came here, so far away from his home. He was sent to me because I can speak Hindi fairly easily, so that communication with him would not be a problem. When he came to work with me, he was about 19, though he looked around 15 at the most.
He told me that his father had died many years back, and that he had been an alcoholic. He said his mother too died soon after from some illness. He said that his paternal grandparents were also no more. There was just him, a younger brother and a sister, who was being looked after by his maternal grandparents, who continued to live in his village. He said he had drifted through many jobs, from his childhood, including working in a factory somewhere. But it was after a fight with his grandmother that he went away to Delhi.
He was illiterate and I did try to teach him to read Hindi with whatever material I could get. But I wasn't very successful as he seemed to have a learning problem.
all I was able to teach him was to write his name.
Being a happy-go-lucky young man, he wasn't weighed down with any of this. In the 3 years that he was here, he made a number of friends somehow, though the majority of them could not have been able to speak his language. [But then again, here in our state, most literate people can understand some Hindi.] But with his smile and wave, he made friends. Finally, it got to the point where we were known as 'the people from the house where Santosh lives'.
He had his faults, being irresponsible, with no thought of the morrow. I started a bank account for him, mainly so that he would not just fritter away his month's salary. But he was affectionate and when ever a guest came, was the first to ask what they would like to eat and was good at making Bihari food. His aloo parathas were delicious.
His attitude to the law was a little dubious, since he seemed to feel that the law was only for those who couldn't bribe their way out. He used to be quite amazed that we were law-abiding, when, in his opinion, we could just as well have circumvented it. As an example, at that time one of my nephews was not yet 18 and so could not get a driver's license, although he knew how to drive. So, after driving around the hill, (which is private property), he would park the car at our house, before walking down to the road. When Santosh was told that my nephew did this as he wasn't eligible for a license, he was absolutely shocked. 'Why can't he just drive anyway and pay a bribe to the policeman? After all, you people have money.' It took quite a bit of explaining to make him understand that we didn't do things that way in our families.
Anyway, after being away from his home for over 3 years, he wanted to go back to his people and after my sons' weddings, he left, promising to everyone that he would return after 5 or 6 years.
After he went back to Delhi, I heard about him from family that lived there. He drifted in and out of jobs, even going back to work in the fields in his village. But he was back in Delhi and it was there that he died, three months ago, apparently in an accident.
From what he had told me I doubted there was any one to really even mourn him properly. So I felt the least I could do was write about him. May his soul be at peace.

A book tag

I'd been tagged by La Delirante a while back. Sorry I took so long to do it :(
This is what the tag is:

1. Pick up the nearest book.

2. Open to page 123

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the next three sentences.

5. Tag five people, and acknowledge who tagged you.

' But it was weirder that science fiction, it was hallucinatory. By the time we reached the terminal stop, I was ready to float off the train and drift across to my parents' house in a fit of transrational magic. It was extremely annoying to find that actually I had to use my feet to get down from the train. peyote and a teacher were both necessary to enter the world described the author. I had felt vaguely cheated.'

This is from 'Getting There' By Manjula Padmanabhan
I don't much like tagging anyone. But maybe Hiphop Grandmom and Ageless Bonding and Onedia might like to do this?

Hi I'm back!

I've been almost completely off the Internet for the 2 months vacation I had. It's been the busiest 2 moths in a long while. Now the schools have reopened and things have sort of quietened down at home and so I've been busy catching up with mail, blogs etc. So I hope to be able to read more blogs and maybe post occasionally.

All my children are here together after quite a while as my youngest son & wife are here for a short holiday. We all went away on holiday--for 2 days--to a place where there was no cell phone connectivity and no phone cable either. So this meant no Internet either. The only connection to the outside world was the satellite TV dish. I think all the men of the family were feeling a little deprived of technology. But the women all thought it was a great idea because that way everyone got to have a real holiday, with no phone calls from work for anyone, no e-mails to check; just peace and quiet.
The place was beautiful and the weather up in the hills was lovely. The extended weekend went by in a flash. We are all back at home in the humidity and heat. But it's lovely to have them all at home.
But, I'm now feeling low at the thought of my son having to go back in just another 9 days

Was out walking at 8 p.m. last evening in the semi-dark. I am always admonished by everybody for not putting on more lights or carrying a torch, when walking at night, because there are snakes. But I love the dark and besides I had 2 big black dogs for company.
It was a warm muggy night with a hazy moon to shed some light. But the beauty was in the different scents that assailed my nostrils as I walked--white frangipani, white lilies and jasmine flowers, all at different spots along my walk. It more than made up for the stickiness and lack of breeze.

A song

Wanted to share the song of the beautiful racket-tailed drongo (photo from wikipedia)



that lives in the trees near the house. You can't see him too well cause my phone cam wasn't up to it!

"I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world,
I think to myself what a wonderful world"

I love being with young children, especially the from the time they start talking till around the age of 6 or 7. I have been teaching pre-school children off and on for over 20 years and now I have a pre-school grandchild.
What I find fascinating is watching a personality forming. Of course every new-born has it's own personality, it's own way of reacting to the world around it. No 2 new-borns are the same in the way they react to externals. But what is fascinating is watching how these personalities develop and grow and solidify. We, as teachers, try to mould their personalities, within their preferred ways of reacting to the world, so that they grow up to be people who can face the world with an inner strength.
As we live in a small town, we often get to watch our ex-students grow up. Now many of our ex-students are parents themselves and some of them have brought their children to our pre-school. To me that is even more fascinating as we see these young adults who we knew so well when they were 3 and 4!
What I have found most interesting is that the judgement we form of the child's personality when he/she leaves our school--usually around age 4 or 5--is what that person's personality is basically like when they become adults. We have had so many of the parents and children say that they have kept their reports and looked at it much later and found how true our assessments of their personalities were. I have seen children grow, rebel, seem totally different from what they were, but eventually come back to their essence, the essence that we saw at age 3/4/5.
I don't know whether all this is making sense and whether it is interesting to anyone else. but for me it gives me great joy and is, for me, one of the reasons I love my job. I think a teacher's job, especially of the younger children, is always one of hope for the future, because even if 2 of a class of 25 have that inner spark it spells so much hope for the future and you wait with bated breath for them to be adults. Besides, it is always exciting for me to think that here are these children I love and teach, and each year a new batch and they are going to be living in a world I may never see even and I see that as a direct connection to the future.

I am in Chennai and have been for a couple of days. It's incredibly hot of course. But even so we did a trip to Mahabalipuram for lunch. Today, my husband has gone to watch an IPL cricket match. Am yet to do any shopping, which is one of the things I ostensibly came for! Hope to do a bit before I leave. Life in the city is a real pick-me-upper on an occasional basis.

I put together 3 different shots of elephants working. Hope you like it.

This is the second tag I had to do. Had been tagged by Onedia.



This is the tag:

If you could spend an entire day with any five people who are now living*
• who would they be
• why would you choose each person in the group
• how would you like to spend the day with them
• where would you like to spend the day with them
(*Note: Do not include family, friends, or co-workers, fictional characters, or deceased persons.)


The five people that I would chose to spend an entire day with would be Oprah Winfrey, the Dalai Lama, Sir Paul McCartney, the girls Vandana & Vaishnavi of Banyan, and—I know I’m kind of not following the rules of the tag here—Onedia, Mary Ann, Mallika and Dot (you are all blog friends, and at present I don’t have any chance of spending time with any of you.)

With Oprah I would like to be able to be part of the audience at one of her shows, spend part of the day with her, so as to see how she spends her day and to get to chat with her. I do not watch the Oprah show (not a big TV viewer), but read about things she did/said and watched her show when I visited the US in 1986. Have been watching her meteoric rise and have been impressed by the fact that she seems to have stayed true to herself through all the fame and fortune.

Spending a day with the Dalai Lama for me would mean going to McLeodganj (where he stays in India), maybe be a part of a group meeting him, listen to a discourse maybe and just be a part of the ashram he is staying at.

Spending time with Sir Paul McCartney would mean for me, to be able to watch a practice session or a jamming session. Actually it need not be Paul M himself. I would gladly spend the day with any classical musician, getting ready for a concert. What an experience to sit quietly watching a wonderful musician practising for the concert till he/she feels they are perfect!

If you follow the link to Banyan, you will see how wonderful these young women Vandana & Vaishnavi are. I would want to spend a day at Banyan to see what these amazing young women do and helping out at the Banyan.

Actually, this covers 5 people. But anyway, I would love to spend a leisurely day with my blog friends, chatting and singing and meandering down green paths.

Between two tags here is a video I shot this afternoon with my phone. It's not very clear, but it's incredible because these 2 mongooses were so absorbed in each other, they didn't get a scent of me. I was very quiet of course and therefore had to take a picture through the window with it's netting.

A tag from Hip Hop Grandmom

I have 2 tags to complete. I'll do the older one first.
Hip Hop Grandmom had tagged me to name 5 of my own posts with the following criteria: the five have to be about
1)Family
2)Friends
3)Myself
4)My Love
5)Anything I like (my favourite post)


1)Family:- This post about my father's demise is the one I chose.

2)Friends: Well I have never written about the friends I have, who are not part of blog world, because I felt that I have no right to write about them, where they can't see what I've written. Otherwise, my best friends are in my family. So for this one I cheated a bit and I have chosen a post from the family blog about 2 friends!

3)Myself: The post I chose about growing old.

4)My love: Well my loves would include family, animals, the world outside my window....
But I have chosen 2 posts for this section about 2 people I love/d very much--the first one and the second one

5)Anything I like: Can't choose a favourite post. But this post I liked when I re-read it today.

As usual, I am not tagging anybody. But feel free to do the tag, if you wish.

More blogger time now!

Well, as I posted earlier, my little grandson was staying here from the 15th. I forgot to mention that he was here without his parents and that he is 2 years and 10 months old. So, as you can guess, my life was full. It was a roller coaster ride I might add, because the first 2 days he was kinda sad. But after that his holiday took off. I had very little time for the computer or for reading or other such 'me' activities. But I got to be part of a make-believe world, of songs to be learnt and of words to be heard, tried out tentatively and learnt, visit an amusement park and see and elephant being bathed. The last 10 days went by in a flash.
Today my grandson left to spend a couple of days with his other grandparents, before his parents fetch him on Sunday. So I got the time to get a new keyboard, to post on my blog, to slowly catch up on other stuff that needs to be done.
But I miss him!

I have wanted to post, read posts, comment all of which I am not able to do too much because 1) my keyboard is not working and I need to buy a new one. So either I type with an onscreen keyboard, which is a really painful process, or share my hubby's comp. 2) my grandson is here for his quota of whole-day TLC and outdoor time. As he lives in a city and has, of necessity, to be at a day care most of the day, he doesn't get much of either of the former. Besides every kid should get his/her quota of spoiling by grandparents atleast during the school vacation! So will catch up with everything and will put pictures of activities maybe next weekend.

It will be my husband's 60th birthday on Monday, and he is so excited about it. He has decided to have a big party with many of his cousins coming. His siblings, who live near enough, will be there. Our children--the ones in India--will come tomorrow.
In India, turning 60--finishing 60 years on this earth--is a big milestone.

"In a hundred-year time scale of man’s life, pre-sixty is a period of materialistic pursuit while the post–sixty span is slated for spiritual endeavour." [ from acharyaonline.com]

There are many rituals associated with turning 60 that are observed as part of 60th birthday celebrations among the Hindus, including a remarriage. In our Indian Christian traditions, we do not have any particular rituals associated with it, but among us too, the 60th birthday is considered a milestone.
"The householder is said to relieved of his social – secular obligations"

After this, one could leave and go away to pursue spiritual matters if one so wished.

But in my husband's case, he is certainly not planning to go away, and he considers himself very young yet. So we'll just have the big, raucous party.
Therefore, as I'll be busy till said party, apart from the fact that children and grandchild will also be here, I may be off the Net for a bit. Will try and keep up with blog reading though--I hope.

Three incidents I witnessed..
1. A few days back, I heard noisy screams coming from the wooded area behind the house and increasing in volume. The whole thing sounded quite desperate. Thinking that maybe a mongoose or even a crow had got hold of a smaller bird I ran out to help the victim. Aggressors--2 mynah birds, victim--one woodpecker! The pair would not let the woody go till I made a big noise.

2. On Sunday we were out near the backwaters. As I watched I saw a mynah bird with, of all things, a crow quill feather in it's beak. It looked really funny. Along came another one to try and snatch the feather. After much tugging, the feather fell down to the ground. The first mynah waited a bit till mynah no.2 decided to abandon the feather and then came down and flew off triumphantly with it.

3. Yesterday afternoon hearing a lot of noise at the front of the house I went to the window. 2 males/females were attacking each other with great vigour and one had the other pinned to the ground. So I went out to break it up. By the time I got out the mates of both got into the act and they started attacking each other, with the decibel climbing quite high. The 2 pairs of fighters were so engrossed in their fight and their screaming, that I had to go close to get them to leave each other and move off. Finally one pair flew off and the other pair walked around down. I swear I could hear muttering and cursing! The fighters--again mynah birds.
It's nesting season people!



Picture from wikimedia

Tagged by Geets

1. LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATRE

Jodha Akbar.

2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING

'Conversations with God' by Neale Walsch

3. FAVORITE BOARD GAME

Scrabble, Pictionary

4. FAVORITE MAGAZINE

Good Housekeeping, Online webzines of all types

5. FAVORITE SMELLS

Fruit scents

6. FAVORITE SOUND(s)

The sound of the sea, call of the magpie robin

7. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD

Watching your child suffer.

8. THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE?

Now what do I have to do?

9. FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE

Dosa places—(there are only Indian fast food places here)

10. FUTURE CHILD’S NAME

Have one grandchild. No future name ideas, ‘cos it’ll be left to the parents to decide:)

11. FINISH THIS STATEMENT: If I had a lot of money….

Probably travel, give away some to charity.

12. DO YOU DRIVE FAST

No way!

13. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL

No my husband does (called hillgrandmom)

14. STORMS COOL OR SCARY

Depends on the storm.

15. YOUR FIRST CAR

The first car I ever drove was a Fiat.

16. FAVORITE DRINK

Fruit juices

17. FINISH THIS STATEMENT: If I had the time I would…..

I have all the time.

18. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?

Well, broccoli is not something we see here, so the nearest would be cauliflower and that I do eat the stems of.

19. IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?

Silver

20. NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS YOU HAVE LIVED IN.

Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ooty, Calcutta, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Cochin, Kottayam

21. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH

Not a big sports enthusiast, but if at all, preferable gymnastics, snychro swimming or anything with dance like routines

22. ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU

She’s really smart!

23. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED?

Dust bugs!!!

24. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN?

I don’t know. Depends on what my soul feels like then!

25. MORNING PERSON, OR NIGHT OWL

Night owl totally.

26. OVER EASY, OR SUNNY SIDE UP

If you mean how I like my eggs, any which way is fine. I LOVE EGGS

27. FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX

If it’s in my house, then it’s in my room, by the window.

28. FAVORITE PIE

Apple pie, with lots of cinnamon.

29. FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR

Real fruit flavoured ones.

30. OF ALL THE PEOPLE YOU TAGGED (with this)WHO'S MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?

Don’t tag anyone usually. So any one who wants to take up this tag!

The power of Now!
The power of the present,
Do you ever stop to think of it?
The very words I've written here,
Are now in my past.
I may rewrite the words,
Redo the rhythm;
But that moment is gone,
Never to return,
It's history.

But each moment that passes
Is only a physical ageing.
The moment in time is gone,
'Tis true I will never be younger,
By even a moment.
But, for the Me I am,
My inner me,
The Who I am,
The passing of each moment
Is a growth.
I can undo,
redo,
renew,
relearn
learn
and become more
of Who I am
Till my last living breath.

The many mahogany trees around are in bloom and the ground is covered with the the little star-like flowers. The scent in the evening and early mornings is heavenly!



A photo I was able to take a little while back. You can get an idea of how tiny the flowers are. Yet how much fragrance they release!

My computer is up and working again!! What a relief.

I realise I am truly lucky to live in and work in beautiful surroundings. Both around my house and the schools I work at, are many trees, full of the common birds of our part of the world. Yesterday and today, at school, while looking out at the trees I spied so many birds and felt so grateful to my Creator that I had the opportunity to see these creatures.
I am at present invigilating the mandatory school-leaving public exams. The hall in which the children write their exams is surrounded by many trees, which are full of bird life. Now that the unseasonal rains are over, the birds are out in large numbers. Yesterday, just before I left the hall at around 5 p.m. I spied a black-headed oriole and felt truly blest. The plumage is such a brilliant golden colour and the head so black as in the pictures I had put in this post . It was a beautiful sight. I also saw a pair of tree pies fighting for a piece of twig, really amusing!.


A treepie. The bird is an average size. The tail is long and very attractive.

Then today I spied a pair of green barbets eating the tiny fruit of some tree. There were a pair of magpie robins too, who had obviously built a nest somewhere nearby, because I had heard their sweet sounds every afternoon, during the examinations, for the past so many days.

A magpie robin. He's a small guy and has a really sweet warble.



Can you spy the barbet in among the leaves? This is the way I usually spy the bird, in my guava tree or on the cinnamon tree, when it comes to eat the fruit.
All of these are beautiful and I really feel lucky I get to see them almost on a daily basis.

(All the pictures are from wikimedia)