Back To Sweet Sixteen

 Saturday,  June 29,   2013

                                       Carefree and fun loving school girls of sweet sixteen emerged from the women in their fifties. The drawing cum dining hall of the residence was over flowing with nothing but fun, frolic and loud laughter for nearly three hours before, over and after lunch.

                                        Rejuvenating and recharging was that Saturday, the occasion being, a get together of  eight students of the same batch of class XI, the year of the school final, three decades ago in St.Ignatius Convent High School,a land mark of education till date in Palayamkottai.Going down the memory lane, the young girls in their, " pavadais and thavanis " were personifications of joy, pride, appreciation and also chiding at times.To the astonishment and surprise of the others,some of the friends with sharp memories could reminisce particular occasions of mischief,the characteristics of some of the faculty and their peculiarities.

                                      Unanimous was every one about the effective teaching of all most all the staff members expressing their gratitude and also subsequently very proud to be the alumnus of such a wonderful institution.

                                     A big thanks to my cousin who celebrated the wedding of her son the previous day, Friday, facilitating my trip from Coimbatore to Tirunelveli, enabling a happy reunion of the good old friends.Taking leave of them but carrying the rejoicings
over the recalling of the fond memories seemed to be too powerful to take my medicines of hypertension for a week.

                                    Finally,our love,cheer and applause to the friend,one among
the eight for organising an informal gathering of delight along with lunch at a short notice.My sincere thanks to the other friends for making it a memorable Saturday.

Akshaya Tritiya

                                                MAY 13, Monday was Akshaya Tritiya.Being in our hometown last year on that day,I was very happy to take part in a Homam and Kubera Laxmi pooja conducted in the Somasundara Vinayakar temple near our house.

                                    Advertisements galore during this occasion luring people to buy gold.That business tactics has the least impact on me.Till last year we used to buy salt and turmeric.This year, with yet an year of maturity, that was substituted just with the joy of giving.

                                   Not being carried away easily by any thing, just because of its worth in terms of money, I feel ,is an attribute of our friendship.But a word of appreciation never fails on seeing something beautiful and captivating. Ironically a sense of pride surfaces musing about our friends who are all simple but elegant.The friendship that blossomed during the school days continued through the college days and is still continuing even today after four decades.

Mother's Day

       May, 12 was Mother's day.Pressing the rewind button, the Mother's day Celebrations of 2011 in U.S. with my daughter and my beloved Jiji flashed in my memory.Very special and precious was the day to her as she got promoted as a mother that year and had the joy of being with her mother, me, after a break of four years.Balloons,sweets,cakes,gifts,dinner and Jiji made our day.A laptop and a camera ,the gifts, received on the day contribute a lot in pursuing my passion of sharing my thoughts and recipes through my blogs.

            This space is also used by me to honour my mother who is in her early eighties.All mothers are special to their children.Still our mom,a mother to eight of us is an epitome of selfless love, patience, courage,innocence,positive attitude,wisdom and practical knowledge.Till a few years back,she was after her interests in all sorts of hand works like making dolls,fur dolls,bead works, making wire baskets etc.

             A mother's love may seem to be inversely proportional to the number of children she has.It is absolutely beyond truth.Her love for us is as ' big as ' our family.In those days of letters,worried she would be, if there was a delay in a communication from any one of us.Today the same with the telephone calls.

             My mother discontinued her schooling after class five ;she regrets for it even today, so, she wanted all of us to excel in our studies.My father,busy with his official work, five decades back,entrusting the two small kids in our grandma's care,she stood in a queue to get the application,to get it filled with the help of some unknown saviour and get me and my immediateyounger brother admitted in the reputed Loyola convent,the primary wing of the St.Ignatius' Convent Girls High School,Palayamkottai,Tirunelveli.Those days happened to be golden days with no donations, no recommendations,admissions on merit basis with written tests for classes other than the " baby class " and a meagre fee for an English medium.

            If I am ,what I am today, at the least a good citizen,the entire credit goes to her and  the school.

         That day of admission must be a foundation stone in the career of  my younger brother who is a corporate giant with many ranks,distinctions and a product of India's premier institutions.

         My mother's innocence is a bliss to her but her soft nature at times seems to make people exploit her on occasions for which I used to feel much.Literally without education and with no knowledge of English,on date she goes to the bank,goes to the railway station to book her tickets, can travel alone and twice went abroad alone.

            Our mom is a Padikkatha  Medhai, meaning an " unlettered genius ".

             My dear mom,I dedicate the day to you.
        

Summer,so cool

                                  Summer can become so endearing to us,once we are ready to think differently.

                                 Summer is so special that it is the season in which many colourful and attractive flowers bloom giving us a lot of joy.It is only during the summer month of May, Flower Shows are conducted in the hill stations of Ooty,kodaikanal,Yercaud etc.
                             Summer season sets in bringing along with its arrival, the scarlet water melons, the tender cucumbers, the tender coconuts, and the delicious mangoes.
                            Summer gives us the women folk a wonderful opportunity  to wear the elegant cotton sarees , salwars and kurtis and men the colourful cotton T shirts.
                             Summer is the favourite of the students with the long summer vacation and for the family to plan the family tours and visit the friends and relatives.
                              Summer is once again well accepted by some of the students as they can have the thrill of earning during learning during the vacation.
                            Summer is the time we rejoice the Chithirai Thiruvizha in Madurai and the Panguni Pongal and Chithirai festivals of Goddess Mariamman in several towns and cities across Tamil Nadu.
                             Summer may seem to be cool with little acceptance, making us cheerful.

                            Born are not the cheerful people,
                            But they make themselves cheerful,
                            By thinking differently!
                             
                         
                        
                           
                                             

Think Differently - Mathi Yosi

                        Summer is going on and Agni Natchathiram  starts from today and we can hear the murmurings, " How hot this summer is! unbearable ! " The inner and outer fire is fuelled by the reports in the media, " Sutterikkum veyil, 105 degreeyai thandiyathu , makkal avathi ! " It may be factual but are such sighs going to reduce the temperature? Then do we give a red carpet welcome to the other seasons?
                     During the rainy days, the utterances" O, this rain has spoiled all my plans!The clothes don't get dried ; the roads are full of mud and slush ! " are common.
                    With the onset of winter, are also the onset of the dialogues ," This winter is very worse !Last year it was not so severe. Getting up early in the morning is difficult; cough and cold add to our woes . "
                     We are not great saints to accept everything.Letting out our feelings is a natural human tendency.But repeated pourings only worsen our body condition without any say in the weather conditions.
                     Think differently! MATHI YOSI !
                     Summer becomes endearing !
                
 

Special Fortnight

                   Today is May 1 and it is a holiday again after working for two days. The fortnight from April 20 to May 5 is something unique and adorable for me and similar employees of the organisations, which follow a five days week and which have also declared holidays on Wednesday,April 24 for Mahaveer Jayanthi and again on the next Wednesday, May 1. It is a rare coincidence, I think,two consecutive Wednesdays happen to be holidays.Holidays declared on Wednesday has the great advantage of the working days, being equally distributed, two days before and after that Wednesday.This time, by virtue of two consecutive Wednesdays being holidays, from April 20, onwards, every third day is a holiday till May 5, making us happy and free to complete our personal works and of course to relax.May Day is fixed on May 1 but Mahaveer Jayanthi, I think is declared on or before the Full Moon Day, following the lunar calendar.This type of intermittent holidays may not be suitable for planning an outing of 3 or 4 days as done during the extended weekends.Still the Moon Goddess and Mahaveerji deserve a big thanks from us.

Wayanad Welcomes - Day III

      Soojipara Falls :

                        If Meenmutty Falls can be called a ferocious but a handsome king, this Soojipara Falls is like a tender and charming prince.Unlike the king, the prince can be approached easily,walking a distance of about 850 metres through a path, made of levelled steps of stone.For people like us, accustomed to the huge crowds at our Courtallam Falls, taking a bath at this beautiful falls just with our family and a few others was a pleasant surprise.A big congrats to the Kerala Government,especially the forest department,maintaining the sanctity of Nature with the forest guards, sincerely checking the tourists for carrying the plastic bags and bottles.

Pookot Lake :

                          This lake is a perennial fresh water lake couched in the laps of Mother Nature.One can enjoy a refreshing walk around the lake.Both rowing and pedal boating facilities are available.Lavender coloured beautiful lily flowers, floating in the lake were unique, reminding me of the Daffodils of William Wordsworth.An aquarium with coloured fishes, a children's park full of attractive flowers and a handicraft emporium were added attraction.

Kozhicode Beach :

                         Unwilling to leave this most beautiful and lovely hillstation,we bid a good bye to Wayanad,hopefully to come back once again with our son and daughter's  family.While getting down,we had a brief halt at the CHAIN TREE,immortalised by the Nijam program of the Sun TV.
Lucky were we, to have a cordial driver, who also took us to the Kozhicode Beach to enjoy the waves of the Arabian Sea before boarding the train.Several trips might have been taken by us but this was something very special with the beautiful scenes of Nature,flashing in our memory.