The Irresistible Call of Adi Velli

           Looking back at Coimbatore,the music of the devotional songs  from the nearby temples, the decorations and the colourful garlands outside the temples, the rustling of the glittering silk and semi silk sarees of the women folk, their hair adorned with Malligai Poo, a sight very common on the road,in the commuters to work and also at work, people thronging with the Vettrilai,  Pakku, Pazham and Thengai to the temples in the evening, are more than enough to declare that the Friday must be a special Friday like Adi Velli.        


         Thousands of miles across the oceans from our place, as long as we are inside the house , everything is very much Indian, to be true, very much like Tamil Nadu,even Coimbatore with the same food,all the items A- Z, from Vazhaipoo, Vazhai Thandu, Murungaikeerai available at the 5 or 6 Indian stores within a radius of 3 kms, all the Tamil Programmes telecast by the popular Tamil Satellite channels, the Poojas performed for all the festivals at home, inviting the ladies for Thamboolam on auspicious days can bring a festive fervour inside the house but never the ambiance of the parts of our country interwoven with the celebrations of not only Adi Velli but any religious or national festival.

      But we made it to the local Hindu temple, at a drive of 20 minutes on the first Adi Velli, which also happened to be the first day of the Tamil month, Adi.

     Adi is also the month, when people offer Adi Kouzh to Amman and distribute it to the devotees.My mother, an Octogenarian with an unflinching courage enjoyed the prerogative of preparing a very big pot of Koozh with the aid of the maids and offered it to the people with the Murungai Keerai, which is said to be the combination for the porridge in Chennai. 

         This year is the inauguration of the offering of the Adi gruel by my mom. For years, Annadanam is offered at our door steps on the occasion of the Arupathu Moovar Thiruvizha, a rare celebration of the 63 Nayanmars at the Shiva Temples but a grand festival of the Kapaleeswarar temple in Chennai.With the falling of this festival on convenient days in the year make me take off from my work to go to Chennai and enjoy the Thiruvizha.

      Next year, let me be a part of this Adi Festival with my mom in Chennai and invoke the blessings of the Goddess.

Dear son ! We are so proud of you !

             Occasions galore to be proud and delighted on knowing that our products, both in the professional circle and personal circle, top at various levels in their academic pursuits, career path ,reach greater heights at the IT industry, enter the medical fraternity to serve the humanity, pass the UPSC Examinations to become Collectors, Police Officers, migrate abroad to top Universities for higher studies, work and assignments, qualify to be Chartered Accountants,accomplished writers, singers,dancers,eminent sports personalities,so and so. The listing, definitely is to be infinite. 


           In this context, what moved me very much in recent times is the noble, undaunted and unselfish decision of my friend and erstwhile colleague's son to join the Indian Army to serve the nation.Needless to say, a topper both at the school and at one of the renowned Engineering Colleges in the city of Coimbatore, with excellent academic scores, multiple placements in various MNCs and bright prospects of getting admission for a Master's Degree into premier institutes within the country and off the shores, this patriot has brushed aside all the offers .

          Clearing the tests at different levels held for five days,especially the rigorous ones for physical fitness, in the first attempt,despite being a strict vegetarian, abstaining from eating even eggs,recruited as a Lieutenant to serve in the Permanent Commission,recently he left for Dehradun for training in the Indian Military Academy, just within two months of completing his Engineering degree.  

                   
        It deserves to be recorded that he is the only child for his parents, born a few years after their marriage with the ardent prayers to various Gods.His mother during our days of working together frequently used to remark that her son becoming a great professional was never her desire but to turn out to be a good individual .Her lofty ideals, no doubt, imbibed in her son have moulded him  into a valuable professional. As per the sayings of the universally renowned Tamil poet in the globally acclaimed couplet, Thirukural

            Eendra Pozhudhin Peridhuvakkum Thanmakanaich
           Chaandron Enakketta Thaai
                   

          The parents must be really proud, gifted to be blessed with such a precious son.He called on us to get our blessings. It must have been our privilege to have called on our dear son.Nevertheless,with all our pride, happiness and encouragement, consoling my friend with tears welled up in her eyes, anxious about the risky job, was not that easy.

            Other than using this platform to express my boundless joy about the innate qualities of our son,it is also a medium to reveal my wish that the world should be one and every body kith and kin of a large family as visualised by our illustrious Prime Minister, Nehru.

            The content of an essay of a school student in an Essay Competition at the National Level, qualifying him to speak at the UNO, published in The Hindu, a few years ago remains indelible in my memory.To that " large hearted boy " the whole world is one and the various divisions into different countries and boundaries  exist only to facilitate effective administration.

          
            Such a scenario, soon to become true, the days are not far away, when the defence people are free from risks, safe and secure,only to help the people in times of inevitable distress,natural calamities, within and out of the country.

           Perumal Devanpatti,a small village near Srivilliputhur enjoys the rare privilege of sending at least one son from each family to the Defence .With the blessings of the Goddess Muthumariamman, the presiding deity of the local temple, every one has returned safe and continues to be safe in guarding the nation.My fervent prayers to Her to safeguard our son and all the other sons, serving in the Defence sector.

          With such youth, having noble and patriotic bent of mind, the days are fast, for our country to become a super power, turning the vision of our charismatic President, Dr.Kalam into a reality

        Congrats and Hats off, our dear son ! We are so proud of you !Definitely  an icon for the posterity, you are !May God bless you with all peace and prosperity in your life!

 

             


            

Mother Nature, Impartial and Just.

           The whole country of US can be called a great blessing of Nature with each of the 50 states, having to offer something, renowned or less discovered, to the people with the time and mind to admire its Beauty. It always beckons men to enjoy the exotic Niagara, the lovely Miami Beach, the strikingly colourful flowers in Spring,the explosion of myriad colours in Fall, the formidable Pacific Coastline of California,The majestic Rocky Mountains,the towering Redwood trees,some of them, even 300 feet tall, icy Alaska and so on.

          Nature must have also plans of showing the other side of its face, quite contrary to the lovely side, a thing of joy for ever.Hence some parts of the country often becomes  victims of Nature's fury, in the form of Tornadoes, Hurricanes, wild fire and flash floods.

          To cite an instance, the tragedy and the devastation caused by the storm, Katrina in New Orleans, in 2005 telecast in the TV. channels are still fresh in the memory.Two months back in the month of April, a train blown off the track in the same place is yet an outcome of the wrath of Nature.

          The trauma of witnessing if not the heavy storm but little gentle, preceded by the sirens was undergone by me during both my visits.

         On May 25,2011,at 11 AM, the siren sounded in Overland Park, Kansas, where we reside.Being my first time experience of being exposed to these frightening sirens,my daughter and myself with our Jiji, an infant of not even three months, ran to the basement, grabbing the necessary things like milk for the baby.My son in law at his work, with the least idea of the forthcoming storm, it was a nightmare for us alone, the baby in our lap at the basement for nearly two hours.

          What made the situation very alarming was the outbreak of one of the deadliest storms in US, that devastated the town of Joplin, in the neighbouring state of Missouri, just 257 Km. from our place, a couple of days back. More than 100 people were killed.The damage was heavy, ripping off the roofs of the Mal mart and shaking off the St. John's Regional Medical Centre .All these visuals from the channels, flashing in the mind, not memory,words are out of place to express the agony.Later, the confirmed reports came out with the tragic loss of 158 lives and the damage to the tune of 2. 8 billions

                 By God' Grace, impact of the thunder storm was not much in Overland Park. On telling my daughter to come back to India, rather than facing such crisis, she retorted, " Amma,Think of the entire population of Overland Park,if not the country.Can they all migrate to other places?"

                July 6, 2015.This time, the warning and the storm at about 6.00 PM, the whole family at home was joined by an other family living in an apartment.Again rushing to the basement, as the saying,united we stand,with ten of us together,the situation was overcome, undaunted, of course, with the prayers going on silently in each individual.The sounding of the sirens, the howling of the  high winds and the torrential pouring of the rain could be counted as one of the life time experiences,lasting for 40 minutes.


            Mother Nature, though furious at times has to be hailed for being impartial and just as  Nature knows no discrimination between the prince and the pauper; the natives and the visitors !
              

                            

The story of the Maple Syrup

         

          During my last visit to US, on meeting my friend from Canada, she presented a big bottle of Maple Syrup, not the one in the picture but, much bigger than that. Canada is the largest producer of the Maple Syrup, said she .That Maple Syrup, seen and heard by me for first time tasted too good to be seen in the fridge for long .My" small brain" could only recall the name of the Maple tree mentioned in some stories and text books and nothing more. The Maple Syrup went into oblivion for four years.

                   
      The Maple Syrup came into the picture again now, on feeding it to my grand son, Jiji along with the bread or the Pan Cake.

            
      Stacked in the shelf of his room were the series of the Curious George, the Monkey, one  of the most popular Children's books.  A book titled Curious George Makes the Maple Syrup got my attention as I picked up a few books to read till I could go to the library. These books would be read to him at bed time.


         What could be special in making the syrup, mused me. The Maple Syrup like any other juice, at times called Cider like the Apple Cider  must be extracted from the fruit. Only after going through the pages, I could realize my ignorance, learning that the Maple Syrup is extracted from the bark of the tree by tapping it .Not only was I ignorant but also impulsive not to have patiently looked at the cover, which has the picture of the syrup being tapped from the tree. Besides being informative, the book was quite interesting. These series have also been made into animation movies.

         On googling, loads of information popped up, as to how the trees are found in England, US and Canada. On seeing the picture of the tree, many Maple trees could be identified even in the neighborhood of my daughter's house but no idea of any syrup being extracted. 

       With an open mind, it is to be admitted, a lot can be learned from the Children; so also from their books !

     

Just a small spark

                






            During my camp at US, July 4 is a day of rejoicing for the whole country, celebrating the Day of Independence with an extended long week end of three days.

            Colourful and dazzling fireworks for nearly twenty minutes at a particular place still linger bright in my vision.

           Turning my memory camera towards my hometown Coimbatore, July 4 is bright again within the focus as one of my products is being honoured for her excellent and exemplary performance.Despite my inability to cheer up in person, my congratulations and blessings, are always due to her.

            Just by igniting a small spark in her, happy am I to see that she could nurture and guard it to glow as a luminous torch with her determination and hard work, as per the words of one of celebrated Indian writers of today, Mr. Chetan Bhagat.

            May God bless her with greater success and greener laurels by guiding her to achieve her short time goals, ultimately leading to the winning of long term goals.

            May her dreams come true and that she gives back to society ! 

The Dancing Daffodils!

   Hundreds could I see during a drive  and a stroll,
        Fifties greet me from the morn till night as night falls late,
               Daffodils! Daffodils ! as I get up,as I cook, as I stroll, as I dine!
                      Fluttering and swaying in the breeze !
                              And dancing their heads in sprightly dance !

                  The beauty of the golden Daffodils immortalized  by the great poet William Wordsworth mesmerized me at all times and at all places in Overland Park , the state of Kansas, US during my visit.


                  True to the words of the legendary poet, the lovely flowers swayed their heads gracefully.Ready to greet me right from dawn on opening the blinds of the window ,coming down to make my coffee, while I cook and partake my meal, their grandeur within my focus,the bright flowers in full bloom make my day.


                  Again on an evening stroll or a drive, along most of the stretch on both sides of the road, alighting at the shopping complex or the the hospital, where our cute little Aarji enjoyed his first light of the Earth, the awesome flowers welcome me.

                               
                 O ! Daffodils !  Let you be thankful to the Nature Poet and let me be thankful to you for making my days more joyful and enriching. 

           
                                     

Welcome our sweet little Prince !

                                                     

                             With the abundant blessings of God, it was once again, one of the happiest moments of our life, with our sweet little grand Prince entering our abode with his tiny feet,hands and cute face, in the middle of June to light our lives.

                             A big thanks to Dr. Crystal Newby, the Gynaecologist and her team, the nurses and the other staff of the Overland Park Regional Medical Center for bringing out our precious Aarji ,fondly called  RG , Reward of God, safe and secure to this world.They all did an excellent job right from the time of consultation for the ten months and during our stay at the hospital for three days after Aarji was born.

                              Exciting and ecstatic,the occasion for all of us means, it was beyond expression for his Big Brother of four and a half years.He came running to the room after his summer classes, too anxious to look around for the baby, asking ," Where is the Baby ? "

                              May God Bless Aarji, His Reward with good health, long life and all prosperity !

                            May God Grant him a life of PEACE true to the meaning his name, AARAV !