Salutations to Ancient Women

March  8
                             The celebrations of the International Women's Day provided me a platform to share my views on the topic, " Empowering Women is Empowering the Nation "and also win a prize.
                             Pondering on the given topic, gave me a new insight about our very ancient women who were empowered nearly eight centuries ago.Even in the thirteenth century itself, Rudrambal ruled over Warangal, maintaining peace and order in her kingdom.She was followed by courageous women like Velunachiar of Sivaganga, the great Jansi Rani Laxmi Bai, Sultana Razia Begum and so on. The women of present advanced countries, a few centuries ago,I believe, were not so empowered like our women of early days.As far as "my small brain " knows, England had queens like Queen Mary, Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth in the past history.May be a few women would have wielded power in the other nations also.So it is an occasion for us to feel proud of our valiant women who made history ,several centuries ago.
                              As the saying goes, Pen is mightier than the sword, the popular women poets like the legend,Avviaiyar, Kakkaipadiniyar and Nappinnai steered the nation in the righteous path through the wheels of the king with their verses in the Before Christ era itself.
                            Let us take this opportunity to salute these brave ancient women who can be our role models. 

Kudos to Kumki

                  
                                     A big congrats and applause to the entire team of the Tamil movie, KUMKI;Manickam, the elephant of course, is also included as he is one of the indispensable and unforgettable characters in the movie, with the movie named after him.It is three months since we watched the movie; yet it deserves an acclaim in this post.
                                     I was simply excited on seeing the film.At the outset, what impressed me most was the excellent cinematography of the lovely forests and the exotic Jog Falls by Sukumar.Equally good were the performance of the hero and heroine,Vickram and Lakshmi Menon,both new faces, the other supporting actors,the story, the music by Imman, the lyrics and the songs.Director Prabhu Solomon has carved a niche for himself with his superb direction.
                                    The movie makes it evident that Nature has got plenty of wonderful locations to offer for its lovers in Tamil Nadu and the neighbouring states of Kerala and Karnataka, though the accessibility may be little difficult.The lines from Robert Frost's popular poem, "Stopping By The Woods On A Snowy Evening" flash in my memory.As already mentioned by me in my first post, the title of my blog is a modification of the title of the poem.

        The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
        But I have promises to keep,
        And miles to go before I sleep,
        And miles to go before I sleep.

                                No other camera man, earlier could have captured the beauty of the Jog Falls from various angles, making us thrilled.The song and the music add to the charm of the photography.Every thing about the film was echoing in my heart for a couple of days, recalling the lines of the great poet William Wordsworth.Apologies to the Poet of Nature for taking the licence to alter a few words
        
     " The film in my heart I bore
         Long after it was seen by me. "
 
    
           
 

Looking Forward With Hope

                                      Today is Feb.7, 2013. Yet, this is my first post in the New Year.Taking a recap. of 2012, the three decades pending, renovation of our ancestral house at Sattur, resuming my career after a break of 18 months, the joyous occasions of the Sathabishekam of my paternal uncle and aunt,the wedding of my nephew, niece and the happy days we spent together as a family with my son, daughter in law,daughter and my sweet little Jiji flash in my memory.I look forward to the days ahead with hope for peace,prosperity and happiness. 

His Life, Our Inspiration

                                   My previous post was about my joining back in the institution,partly due the request from the management side.Never had I even dreamt  then, that my next post would be a tribute to our chairman and founder of the group of educational institutions.His sudden demise due to a massive cardiac arrest in a distant country had shattered his family members,friends,well wishes,followers,staff and above all  his  dear daughters of the institution beyond consolation.Basically a preacher, he was more importantly a crusader and an advocate for the cause of giving free education  to the underprivileged girls from kindergarten to the doctorate level.He wanted his beloved students to get only the " best ", be it education, food or accomodation.There was no question of compromise in terms of quality,since it was free." Save a girl child " and " Adoption against the abortion of girl child " were his ambitious missions.Empowering the girls to become great leaders and ladies of India was his vision.He had love,care and compassion for everyone in the campus.
                              A great attribute of his quality, which impressed me a lot, very rare among men of his calibre, was his unique nature of moving freely with the staff,the employees, and the workers at all levels.Having open minded discussions with the staff and listening to their opinions are not common in the organisations of our country.All these positive traits, I feel, must be the outcome of his frequent travels to the advanced contries of the west.Whenever he was present in the campus,he would be the first to greet the staff in the reception.The chairman of the institutions,having the same food with the staff and the students under the same roof  is something very special to be applauded.
                          He was a symbol of unflinching courage,determination,untiring efforts with an active interest in all fields and a direct involvement in all the tasks,he wanted to execute.Unlike the other heads, who used to sit in their airconditioned rooms and carry out their errands only with the direct contact of the immediate subordinates, he would enter the arena.Being very outspoken compliments were paid to the deserving and also too  frank to point out the mistakes.With a never say die attitude,he would accomplish whatever he desired,whatsoever, might be the obstacles.It is so sad that such a life of dedication should come  to an end abruptly,even before sixty eight.We have lost our role model,philosopher,guide and above all our beloved father.  
                                 

Back to the pavilion

                                            Back to the pavilion after a break of 16 months.To be frank,this gap,though free from employment, kept me still busier,with the exciting trip to US, to be closely followed by a wonderful time with the visit of our children to their homeland.Four full months of nothing but joy and fun with our beloved Jiji.Immediately after his departure to US,we had to rush to our hometown for Pongal celebrations and the long pending reconstruction activities.That took nearly five months
                                       Exactly at the close of my personal works, were calls from my employers,requesting me to continue my work,at least for limited hours.On the side of my children,were persuasions to their mother to be at home to relax.
                                      Turning to my side of the coin,having got used up to a professional life for nearly  twenty years,with a passion for teaching ,a small contribution to service, and weekends and holidays, being meaningful and lovable only with a career, I am back to the pavilion, with some flexible timings.

SATTUR, Our Town, Our Pride

                              Our hometown,no doubt is always a matter of pride for most of us and of course is the joy associated with our occasional visits to our hometown.This time, it was not a visit but a little longer stay of nearly 5 months with the extended break from my work.A reconditioning and remodelling of our 80 years old ancestral house became inevitable.The location of the house,sandwiched exactly between the old Trunk Road and the new four lane NH makes everything right from all the shops,temples, banks,railway station,bus stand,library,theatre etc. accessible within a walking distance of maximum, 10 mins.
                            Life in a small town has its own advantages, the best being free from the hassles of taking a town bus or an auto or a cab or our own vehicles for our day today activities and small errands.Hence absolute freedom from the trouble of parking our vehicles. There seems to be a giant leap in the growth of our town during the last four or five years.The bustling heart of the town makes me equate it with the Town Hall of Coimbatore, the place of our domicile.The ancient  Vinayakar Temple,Murugar Temple, Siva Temple,Perumal Koil and Mariamman koil,located close by with the vegetable and fruit markets ,the town can be said to be a miniature of Mylapore,Chennai(doesn't it sound a little "over" ) minus the commercial establishments,corporate offices,posh shops,towering appartments and the heavy vehicular traffic.All the temples celebarate their respective festivals throught the year.The week long PANGUNI PONGAL of the Mariamman Temple is a wonderful local festival drawing thouands of people every year.
                          AZHAGAR ATTRIL IRANGUTHAL( Lord Azhagar entering the Vaigai river on the day of Chitra Pouranami) is always synonymous only with Madurai.But even in our town on the same Chitra Pourami Day,the well decorated Lord Azhagar,riding his horse enters the river Vaipparu to the joy of his devotees.In the town of Srivilliputhur,40 kms.away and the seat of the famous Andal Temple,thousands rejoice to worship Lord Azhagar entering the Arjuna Nadhi.
                          To sum up, plentiful may be pleasures,living in a city or a metro but life in a village or a town is a source of joy and pride.
  

A Belated Welcome to 2012

                          A wonderful welcome to 2012 by the end of May as this is my first post in 2012 due to various constraints.A farewell,full of gratitude to 2011 which was something very special to us with abundant blessings from God,the best being the birth of our beloved grand son Jiji.The very first month January,2011 was the 80th birth anniversary of our dear mom.After celebrating the joyous ocassion with her and the other family members in Chennai, Jiji greeted us in February on my landing in US.That was exciting as it was my first visit.Later both my son and daughter visited India with their families and Jiji's first visit  to his country of of origin.In October,all the family members visited the famous Amirthakadeshwarar udanurai Abiramiamman temple  at Thirukadayoor for our Sashtiabthaboorthi to be followed by the Grahapravesam of the newly built houses of our son and daughter.A very big thanks to God.