'Know that the Self is the rider, and the body the chariot;that the intellect is the charioteer and the mind the reins.
The senses, say the wise, are the horses; the roads they travel are the mazes of desire...............
When a man lacks discrimination and his mind uncontrolled, his senses are unmanageable, like the restive horses of a charioteer. But when a man has discrimination and his mind is controlled, his senses, like the well-broken horses of a charioteer, lightly obey the rein.'

(Excerpts from the Upanishads, translated from the original Sanskrit by Swami Prabhavananda and Frederick Mancherster)

I have been reading from this translation of the Upanishads in the last week or so and letting the words flow into me. But these particular sentences absolutely gripped me and I wanted to share it with you all. What a wonderful picture! It solidifies so graphically, such an abstract idea. I hope that one day my senses will be the 'well-broken horses of a charioteer'.

MJ

From the Net I see that for many people out there, Michael Jackson's death has been a personal loss. I can see that for people of MJ's generation, he was the icon in their lives and he was certainly a prolific musician in his younger days.
To me it hasn't meant so much--after all, I got to hear him when I was already in grad school and thought him a kid's wonder, though the fact that he was so young and singing so well was to be appreciated.
He was really good in his early days. But the last few years, after his plastic surgeries, I just couldn't even bear to look at his face. To me the grotesque, pathetic mask he became was a lesson to us all on the tragedy of someone not wanting to be themselves. He was surely a sad and tortured person. May he now find the peace and contentment that he seemed to have been seeking all his life.

An award

This award was given me by La Delirante. Thanks so much La D! I want to give this to all the blogs on my blog roll, because they are all lovely blogs, each in their own way. I love you all.

Excited!

I'm just a wee bit surprised (pleasantly so) to find that I am so excited at the thought of the trip abroad next month-- and it's not just at the thought of seeing my granddaughter. I had sort of given up the idea that I would be able to travel abroad one more time, given the fact that my husband is retired and I don't exactly work in a job paying big bucks. So the fact that this trip is in the bag--visas done, tickets done--has given me such a thrill.
I've been busy on the Net checking out the latest clothes etc. I'm unlikely to go on a shopping trip pre-US visit. But still it's fun to know the trends(even if I'm plus-size and closer to 60 than 50)and look at pretty makeovers of women my age :-) Apropros the age related make-up, trends, I found 2 sites--the online site of More magazine (anyone come across it?) and Bella online. Are there any more sites that any of you know about? There were many sites for plus-size fashion though. Would love to know if any of you have any suggestions.
P.S I see that the meaning of the last 2 sentences is ambiguous. What I really wanted was to know if there are any more sites for fashion/makeup for us seniors.

New grandchild

I am now grandmother of two. I have a new granddaughter, born on the 9th. I have seen photographs of her and she is so cute. I can't wait to see her but will have to wait till August as she was born in the US.

These last two months of summer were hectic. There were summer classes for young children that I helped with---almost 3 weeks; there weddings galore as is usual during the summer, there were short trips taken and through a large part of it, my grandson was there. I had a busy but fun time. My daughter and son-in-law had come for a short vacation too and we went to Kovalam--a beach near Trivandrum. After that I went with my daughter for 2 weeks and returned the day before I had to be back at work to find my beloved Dobe was very ill.
During all this, the elections took place and the results were quite unexpected and very exciting.

It's now that I'm back at work and the regular routine that there is more time to blog and I'm trying hard to catch up on all the posts I missed all this while. Sharing with you a sunset at the crowded beach at Kovalam. There's also a post with some pictures over at the family blog

A Tag from a while back

Hip Hop Grandmom tagged me quite a while back. I am supposed to report 10 facts about myself. As always, it took me a while. Here are 10 things about me--
1. I'm not fussy about food--that is to say, I'm not one of those who's good at distinguishing whether a particular dish is exquisitely made or not and when I'm hungry, I will eat what's put in front of me, as long as it's relatively clean and not something I'm squeamish about eating (like fried grasshoppers or something). The only exception is when it comes to coffee!
2. I love music and a wide variety, though what I feel like listening to depends on what I feel like (that's usual) and the weather.
3. I find it easy to relate to young children and animals--more than to adult human beings I think at times.
4. I'm fascinated by the natural world, form the tiny to the very large- (though of course watching the tiny may be safer!)
5. Like Hiphop Grandmom, who tagged me, I find it easy to see the other person's point of view, which means that I find it very difficult to scold people, even when I feel angry.
6. As you can see, I'm very spare in my writing. I don't know whether that came naturally or from the training of the teachers in school, who kept insisting on us being brief and to the point!
7.I'm not a TV watcher. If I'm alone at home, there's no question of my turning on the TV. If at all I watch, it's because I'm passing through the room when someone else is watching or because someone tells me to come and watch a good programme with them. I'd much rather read or sit at the computer.
8. I'm never bored when I'm alone. I can usually find something to do.
9. I'm generally a laid-back person--as I'm sure has come across in the blog.
10. I am a chronic sufferer of low self-worth. The sense of self-worth usually goes down and down and I'm constantly battling to keep it at acceptable levels.

Completely forgot about tagging someone else. Well, I'm leaving it to whoever would like to take it up.

I've been almost completely off blog world for almost 2 months.  But I'm really sad.  My Dobe died today.  She was 12.  She was ailing for a while and then I had to be out of town for 2 weeks.  My husband was here though, except for a couple of days.  I felt that she was a bit relieved when I came back  She had become skin and bones because she was refusing food and was so weak.  But last night, (around 24 hrs ago), she got up and went outside as it was a clear night.  She loved being out in the dark.  I stood outside with her and she drank a great deal of water.  Then she kind of staggered upto me and leant against me as she sometimes did and wanted me to pet her--her good bye I guess.  I'll really miss her.