Salute the Five

                Amazing and wonderful to know, how Ulaganthar of Ulaganeeghi had honoured and immortalized the five great professionais, whose fees or Dakshinai should never be withheld;  they should be paid, that too with a smiling face; failing which such people must be ready to face the wrath of Yama, the God of Death. What a kind of righteous man was this Ulaganathan who lived a century and half back.Anxious to know the great five professionals! 

                Dhobi  and Barber are the priveleged to top the list, followed by the Teacher, Midwife and the Doctor. These five heroes, definitely must have discharged their duties sincerely without a materialistic bent of mind. Hence it has been advocated that they must be paid whole heartedly.

                 What a type of society had existed with the professionals discharging their duties with fervour and devotion, that an entire stanza has been earmarked, mentioning their selfless services; they deserve to be offered their dues with a cheerful visage. If not 
Yama will take care.

                 Sounds like Utopia....Platonic ! Such uprighteous men do continue to exist in all fields, may be less in number. A hike in their numbers is sure to make, if not the world, our state into a Utopia. Anyway a big congrats to the Fabulous Five! Let us salute them; before that the great Tamil writer, Ulaganthar of the Ulaganethi fame! We bow down before you Ayya for such a valuable work.

To Tamil with Love

         

          The affinity for our Mother Language is nothing but natural, so has been my  passion to attempt some write ups, about travels and the persons  whom I adore.Even a few poems, of course not worthy to fit into the genre; yet the simple joy in venturing is fascinating.

         Now it is a million dollar question as how, all of a sudden developed my intimacy, right phrase to use, with the poems of Virtues in our language, especially the Eladhi, Naladiar, Moodurai, Thirukural, Aathisudi, Kondraivendhan, Purananuru, Ulaganeedhi and so on.

        The Ulaganeedhi of Ulaganthar of the Eighteenth century, beginning with Odhamal Orunalum Irukka Vendam, is simply amazing, sounding rhythmic and musical. It may seem funny and even weird!  Enamoured by its beauty and the universal ethical values of its content in single lines of what not to be done, started memorizing it. The confidence and energy levels seem to have been boosted, discovering the ability to memorise texts at this age of early sixties. Yet forgetfulness in simple tasks on a daily basis is an irony! May be they are too mundane to  gain the attention and focus! They may be sharpened with this latest skill.

      What a Devine Language is our Tamil and indeed, we are a blessed race ! 

Special 2020

        The New 2020 is going to dawn in a few hours for us this time at Coimbatore, place of our domicile. We were out of the city for a couple of years.

       2019 has to be termed as an endearing one, to be looked upon with a sense of gratitude, not because it was very joyous and exciting; but that some tough decisions could be taken for the good, not willing to leave things to probability and chance with a sense of uncertainty hovering over the head. Really blessed with a firm mind and determination, God has always been with us to face the toughest challenges with acceptance and courage.

       We welcome the New Year with a big smile and a sense of optimism to turn our adversities just into experiences to learn from. God is always ready to heed to our just and sincere yearnings and sure to make it something special, apart from making it healthy and peaceful. New Year is certain to bring new arrivals in the family with His Blessings. 

                           Welcome 2020 



       

Thamirabharani Pushkaram

                The Thamirabharani Pushkaram may be an astrological event at the outset; to me it was an occasion to take a trip, down to to my hometown and also down the memory lane. Tirunelveli is my hometown but my parents left for Chennai for the good some forty years back.Coimbatore has been our home for the past three decades whose salient features are listless, very lovely and charming.Yet Tirunelveli, is also close to my heart; its people are known for their education, valour, hard work, loyalty and so many other attributes.

              Most of the times, my visit to Tirunelveli may be for some auspicious occasions like marriages, house warming ceremonies, religious festivals etc.This visit is something very special and memorable as I got the opportunity to fulfill my long pending desire of taking bath in the river on whose banks at Sindupoondurai, I was  born, brought up and moulded. 

            Many a times, I used to wonder, why we people, including myself eulogize a lot about the tourist destinations abroad, when our own country has plenty to offer, both for pleasure and pilgrimages. Many well known temples around my hometown are yet to be discovered. Two such places are the Narambunatha Swamy temple at Tirupudaimaruhar and the Gajendravaradha Perumal temple at Athazhanallur. Both the temples are little close by and at a distance of about nearly 30 kilometres from Tirunelveli, easily accessible by good motorable roads.

              Both these temples, the former, a Saivite temple and the latter, a Vaishnavite temples are built on the banks of the divine Thamirabharani.The Gajendra Varadha Perumal in the standing posture at Athazhanallur is very majestic.According to the legend, it is believed that only in this spot, the elephant, Gajendran got liberation, Mukthi from the crocodile.

            Actually it was a momentary decision taken by us due to a sincere and fond invitation by one of my cousins.Profound thanks to her. Our visit to the Pushkaram coincided with the grand Dasara celebrations on the following day of Vijaya Dasami  at Palayamkottai turned the momentary decision to  a life long joy to be cherished for ever.

  

Belated Good Bye and Belated welcome

                Belated bye bye to the sweet 2018 and the same belated welcome for a healthy, peaceful and subsequent 2019. Being happy to be late than never. Late only in this post but a grand farewell and a standing ovation fused there as every year at 12 midnight between 2018 andn2019 with the prayers and greetings.


                Really, abundantly thankful to God for making me accept things as they were with great fortitude in 2018; life has to go is the truth. With the same blessings and hope, we are truly confident to make the coming year as happy as possible and make others happy, which is nothing but reconciliation.


              It may sound silly, even strange ; the last couple of months of 2018 was most endearing to me, as I was able to resume my writing. The years 2016 and 2017 had been totally blank, with not even a single post in both my blogs. The reasons may be a hundred and one but feeling was one; that of guilt.

          The year 2018 dawned at New Zealand; the first time, out out of the boundaries of our homeland. The joy was none the less exuberant, flooded in the colorful fireworks at the City Tower, Auckland. Awesome was it! 


       2018 was special with the dawn at New Zealand faraway from Coimbatore; again this year also it is away from Coimbatore. We welcomed the New Year with the Poojas and prayers at our ancestral home in Sattur. Highly hopeful that God will bless us and the entire family with good health and the subsequent  wealth, born out of it ! Once again welcome ,  2019!  

       





      

Hibernation and Rejuvenation

          Long hibernation..unduly long..more than three years since my last post..unbelievable..the urge to write was always there; more was the guilt. Looks like something supernatural, as if some charm was preventing me to sit and write,pursuing my passion; finally the day has dawned. Many a days, the constant but lingering thought was, with which topic to start with; that also flashed in a moment. The historical Tamirabharani Pushkaram, which has taken the river and our hometown, Tirunelveli to global heights.


         Sans no belief in astrology, the Pushakaram did not come close to my heart but the fascination for the perennial Tamirabharani and Tiruneveli, the town of my birth, education, marriage and even the place of my son's birth was something beyond comprehension .A couple of years back, happened to read the fiction, The River Sutra by Gita Mehta, sister of the Orissa chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik.


        The story carried me to Nasik and the river Narmada and also to google for the beautiful images of the river and the cities on its banks. They in turn took me back to the days of our great civilization and culture.  No wonder ,the bonding between me and the enchanting Tamirabharani grew still stronger, prompting to make a trip to Tirunelveli. With the oscillating mind and no proper travel plans, the travel in public transport buses from Coimbatore to Tirunelveli and back was a  little bit tedious but the feeling was that of immense joy with a great sense of rejuvenation.

Super San Antonio

         
       The mesmerising River Walk is one of the main attractions in the city of San Antonio.We could spend only three hours in the city of San Antonia after attending the wedding of my cousin's daughter in Austin.A co passenger who happened to be from Chennai,flew with me from Kansas City to Dallas.He had done his Master's in San Antonia and lovingly insisted that, going all the way to Austin, though only for two days, the River Walk of San Antonia, just two hours drive should never be missed.


      The grandeur of the boat ride through the river for 40 minutes covering the entire city with its hotels, offices, historic buildings on both the sides of the river was awesome.Actually this is not a kind of river like any other river with sand banks on either sides but concrete walk ways and buildings, something rare and also picturesque.


    This wonderful view of river with the buildings seemed to be a miniature of Venice, despite the fact that Venice is more excellent in its majesty and magnitude.My brother from Detroit and a paternal cousin from Tennessee, also invitees for the wedding had backed up this trip from Austin to San Antonia and back.

          A word of thanks to them and the co passenger !