ideas

2010-03-11T07:43:00.002+05:30

This is only for you , my friend , philospher and guide! This is not a day to celebrate friendship but with you everyday was a reason to celebrate!
You are probably everything that I am not, quiet, practical, organised , calm and collected. These were the same characteristics that repelled me against you , but after a point of time these motivated and inspired me.
Initially , I never got a chance to the know you because you never gave me a opportunity to know you. When circumstances were such that it was I was forced to talk to you and you were
forced to listen to me, I had an opportunity to know you.
Once when I fell down the road, you came running down the road with so much concern and tears in your eyes. I suffered that day but was relieved you were there.
That incident probably sealed our friendship. You were there to share the mess going on in my life. When everyday was such a struggle mentally, you helped me not to lose hope!
Many more incidents occured which kept proving me that you were one in a million.
As we started knowing each other more, we got into a number of altercations but each time you were the one to patch up.
Just when I thought I was so lucky, your separation is staring hard at my face. My eyes are filled with tears but I wipe them away thinking atleast I got to be with you for 3 years!
Your memories flash across me like a a flash of lightening making my lips broaden into a big smile! You would never read my blog (I know you hate reading blogs) yet I have no other alternative for sharing my thoughts on our wonderful friendship!

2010-01-06T08:02:00.003+05:30

I read these lines of a magazine and just felt like sharing them:

"God grant me the serenity

To accept the things I cannot change

Courage to change the things I can

And wisdom to know the difference"

2010-01-02T15:07:00.002+05:30

I am starting a column on my temple visits . This is not to enlighten others on the historical stories behind every temple but to share my learning and experiences.
There will be a brief history of the temple(gathered from the writings on the temple and books), and and a few interesting incidents.
Thirukadavur
History:
There are 3 historical stories behind this grand temple.Markandeya, son of sage Mrikandu was predicted to live for only 16 years. As advised by his father, Markandeya worshipped Amritaghateswarar in Tirukkadaiyur, bringing the water from Ganges through an underground passage to the temple. On the destined day, Yama appeared with his noose. Markandeya sought refuge in the Lord . The Lord warned Yama not to touch Markandeya as he was under His protection. Yama did not listen and threw the noose that bound Markandeya and the Lingam together. Angered the Lord kicked him with the left leg and held him under His left foot, making him inactive.
Another story is that of the abirami pattar who lived in the court of a king(I don't know the name).The King approached Abirami Battar and asked him for the pournami day of that month. It was actually a new moon day. Since the mind of Abirami Battar was filled with the vision of Goddess Devi, he - even without opening his eyes - said that it was full moon day.
This angered the king and he cursed him saying that if he didn’t see the full moon that night he would kill him.So he was made to sit on a slab tied by 100 strings , the fire beneath threatening to kill him once the strings were cut. Abirami Pattar sang 100 verses and after each verse, one string was cut. It is said that on cutting the 75th string, the godess threw her ring unto the sky which shone as the moon .
The third story behind this temple is that before taking Amirtham from ocean, the Devas and Asuras did not pray the first god(Lord Ganesha). He got angry and stole the Amirtha pot and hid it somewhere. It later on became Siva Lingam and hence the deity is known as known as Lord Amirthakadeswarar.
Since this temple is where death is conqurered (Markendaya story), many couples celebrate 80th and 60 th birthday.
Incidents:
Though some people advised us aginst visiting the temple on friday, we chose to go to this temple. Since it was a holiday(Christmas) and good day(Friday), there were so many couples celebrating their birthday. So every corner was filled with an old couple tying the knot again. We found no place to quietly say our prayers and we were out of the temple in just one hour.(The budgeted time was 2 hours on the first day and 2 on the last day). But the crowd shocked us so much that we didn't dare to make the trip on sunday again. Though the darshan of the gods was good, we could not even walk around the temple once fully.
Thiruvidaikazhi
History:
One of the lesser known temples, but worth the visit. Here Lord Murugan is worshipped as Bala subramanya and his consort Deyayani was betrothed to him here, it is said. There is also a Siva Lingam behind the deity indicating that the he had prayed to that Lingam.
Incidents:
Since it was not that popular , there were very few people in the temple and so we had a great darshan. Also, it felt like a temple (Calm, peaceful,etc).
Anatha mangalam
History:
After the death of Ravanan , Sri Ramar was returning along with Seetha, Lakshmanan and Anjenayar.Naradhar warns Rama that the demons are still thriving and then ram orders hanuman to kill them.Lord Vishnu offers his 'Conch' and 'Chakra' and Goddess Sakthi offered her 'Thirusoolam', Lord Brahma offered 'Bramakapalam', ' pasangusam' and Manthrashtakam', Lord Ramar offered his bow and arrow and Lord Krishna offered 'Sattai and Butter' to Sri Hanumam to kill the Demons. (This directly copied from the book - I still cannot recollect all of them ).Finally Lord Shiva offered his 'Netrikan'. With this skills Sri Hanuman killed those two Asuras and danced with joy in this place. Hence this place is called ' Ananthamangalam'.
Incidents :
We had never really planned for this temple.Our driver was a first timer and didnt know any temples. Moreover he irritated us by blaring lousy tamil songs. He just lost his way after tiruvidaikazhi and when we were asking someone the way back they told us about this temple. My mom is an ardent devotee of the Lord and was thrilled beyond words. Losing his way there was the only way he copuld make up for all the torture he gave us.
Vaitheeswaran Temple
History:
The Deity enshrined here is known as Vaidyanatha Eswarar and Goddess is Tayyalnayaki Devi.
Vaitheeswaran Koil is the popular name as it is said that God came as a Vaidya and cured Angaraka of his leprosy.It was here that Jatayu was buried.There are many more stories on how Lord Shiva cured many sick people.
Incidents
There Vaitheeswaran temple is quite famous for the astrology from Manuscripts. The concept behind this is that your life has already been written by God on the scriptures. Hmmm..
Interesting. I was so curious about this and then met an astrologer. The details of the this and the process can be discussed at length in another post,maybe.
Sirkazhi
History:
First, This is a such a huge temple. Then You see the pond on the banks of which the famous saint was left.There are 3 separate shrines for God Shiva here - Brahmapureesar, Thoniappar and Sattathnar. By the time we reached this temple the shrine for Brahmapureeshwarar was closed. There were very people in the temple at that time. When we were entering the temple itself an elevated site got to our notice.Curious to see what it was ,we noticed that there were steps leading to some elevated structure. Then someone told us that it was closed.Then some person took pity on us and opened the door.Then some person took pity on us and opened the door. The shrine for Thoniappar was situated there. We had to climb a few steep steps and were breathless. But then when the person switched on the lights, the huge structure of Shiva( in a person structure not lingam) and Parvathi just took the little breath that we had. But then when the person switched on the lights, the huge structure of Shiva( in a person structure not lingam) and Parvathi just took the little breath that we had. The structure was so imposing. It is believed that Shiva and Parvati appeared in a boat carrying the seeds of all species. Brahma started the process of creation after worshipping Shiva at this place.Then The Sattathnar shrine can be reached from the Thoniappar shrine by climbing a few steps. We can look at this deity through a window. This is opened only on Friday at midnights. He is an angry deity who has to be appeased with sacrifices and the like, which probably explains the odd timings.It is said that Lord Shiva fought with Vishnu and and theThe female deity Thirunilaianayagi's shrine is situated adjacent to Sambandar shrine.
Incidents:
This temple too did not feature in out itenary but turned out to be a great experience.
Thirunallaru(Saniswara Temple)
History:
I need to say nothing more about this god. The crowd demonstrated the fear for this God. This was the most crowded Navagraha temple.But apparently Sani is both a giver and destroyer.Dharbarenyeshwaraswamy is the name of Lord Shiva here.While awaiting the darshan of Lord Sanieeswara,we saw the paitinngs depicting the life of Nala and Damayanthi which is one of the main mythological stories behind this temple.
Incidents:
The pond is about a 10 minutes walk from the temple. People say that even we do not take bath in the pond, we are atleast supposed to see it. What a pitiable state of affairs!. We were not aware that the temple was far away from the pond. The driver who was learning with us didn’t know. He was in such a hurry to leave us that he didnt even guide us properly. There were people doing all the morning chores there(Brushing, Shampoo hair wash etc.) A pond of this nature should be kept neatly. It was everything a pond should not be.Then without our slippers we walked on the roads to reach the temple. Since my mother could not walk fast, we lost quite some time here.
Since we went on a Saturday, it was so crowded that even in the special abhishekham line one had to wait for 2.5 hours. We told the driver clearly that he should take us through the shortest route possible and then only we could cover maximum temples possible.
Vanamutti
History:
Many years ago, a king got affected with a chronic skin disease. When all his efforts for recovery failed, he prayed to Lord Vishnu. The Lord appeared before him and told to travel along the banks of the Cauvery where Lord Margasagayeswarar (Lord Siva) would guide him to reach a holy place. There the disease will be cured and have the privilege of witnessing the VISHWAROOPA DARSHAN OF THE LORD. The Lord also told him that the skin disease which he got due to Hathi Dosham would be totally cured, if he takes bath in the Holy Viswaroopa Pushkarni for 48 days. He witnessed Viswaroopa Darshan of Lord in the fig tree. The disease was cured and the place was called KODIHATHI VIMOCHANAPURAM now known as Kozhikuthi.
This was a small temple but worth a visit. There is no abishekham done since this is out of a fig tree.
Incidents:
After the morning advise , the driver thankfully found out the shortest route and told us the time that it would be open too. Morever, he bought a few bhakthi CDs which played the folkish tamil songs on Lord Muruga. In the morning we told him we didnt want to listen to any songs. No, but he had to do what we didnt want.The CD has only 3 songs which repeated so many times. He was not driving in the night to play music to keep awake while driving. But .. Whatever.
Thirumanachery
History:
From the name of the temple, one can understand why people come here.
Sri Umamangai Devi Prayed to Lord Siva at Kailash Himalayas to remarry Her in the earth. Lord Siva granted the boon to remarry her in the forthcoming Brahma Karpam .
As per the verdict of Lord Shiva, Parvathi comes to Earth as a cow. Then Parvathi regains her original form and marries Lord Shiva on the Earth(Udhvaganathar and Kokilambal)
First I said that I didn’t want to go to this temple but then a thought inside me said that it was only Lord Shiva. There is no reason to worship him.
Incidents:
It was a small temple and located in the interiors . But it was easy to identify that we were on the right track by the line of cars before the temple.
Kanjanur temple(Sukra)
History:
There are 2 main deities here.(Shiva in the form of Sukran and Lord Shiva and Devi together)
Lord Vishnu in his Vamana avatar asked King Mahabali for three feet of land that He would measure Himself. As requested by Lord Vishnu, when Mahabali acceded to the request, took up the kamandalam to pour water to symbolically signify the donation to Vamana, Lord Sukran took the form of a bee and blocked the flow of water.Immediately, Mahabali took a stick and pierced the outlet of the kamandalam, blinding Lord Sukran.Sukran was angry with him and cursed him. It was believed that Vishnu worshipped Shiva and was relieved. Then he stayed onto bless the other devotees.Shiva himself takes the position of Sukran. There was no separate idol of sukran.Brahma is said to have a got a vision of Shiva's marriage with Parvathi. There is one such idol where both shiva and Parvathi together.Also there are dance images of Lors Shiva. Here too Lord Shiva is said to have blessed a sage(Oops .. Forgot his name) with a vision of him in dance posture.
Incidents:
This navagraha temple was not that crowded.Everyone is scared of Saniswara only , I guess.
Suryanar Koil
History:
At the entrance, a horse-the divine vehicle of Lord Sun welcomed us.The main mandir enshrining the Sun-God is surrounded by separate shrines for each Navagraha.
The presiding deity, Sri Suryanarayanaswamy, is found inside the sanctum sanctorum with his consorts .It is built in such a way that it gets maximum rays of the sun.
When the world came into existence, the first sounfd that was heard was "Om". Surya god was born out of this.He married Suvarchala. Since she could not bear the rays of the sun, she created a shadow out of her named Chayadevi and hence the 2 wives of Lord. Surya (Often there is a concrete explanation as to why God has 2 wives - Think film makers (especially Kamal Hassan) should give it a thought before insulting the religion.
The Kol Theertha Vinayakar (Ganesha or Pillayar) shrine is a prominent sculpture here. One should worship him before and after all the navagrahs.
Incidents:
Inside the temple itself they were selling a set of 10 diyas(with ghee)(For Ganesha and the other Navgrahas).They directed us how and where to light the diyas at the appropriate places. There were many people who were clearing out all the diyas at regular intervals too. It was very beautifully organised. It was a sight to watch everyone in the temple walking with the diya plate with eyes full off bhakthi.
Raghu temple
History:
Here Raaghu Bagavan can be seen with his two consorts Nagavalli and Nagakanni together. This temple is one where Lord Siva was worshipped by Raaghu Bagavan and got relived of a curse . The MILK while being over poured over the idol, turns BLUE even today and it is really to be seen, to be believed . At the temple, they gave us a paper stating the various problems and how many diyas we should light. For a few it went to 56 diyas also.
Incidents:
During our stay at Mayavaram, we saw 2 snakes. When we shared this casually with a relative, he immediately advised us to take a trip to Raghu temple.He is supposed to be the king of serpents.
Uppiliappan koil
History:
The Lord is in the standing pose , Goddess Bhoomi Devi sitting facing north, and Markandeya is installed as if performing the rites of marriage of his daughter.
It is said that the sacred Tulasi Devi was born from the waves of the sacred Amritam in the Milky Ocean. After attaining Vishnu as her husband, she begged of him to give her the same status as Mahalakshmi.
Lakshmi was going to be born as Bhoomi Devi as Markandeya's daughter. Vishnu disguised himself as an old brahmin and was coughing continuosly.He desired that Markandeya's daughter should be given to him in marriage.The sage replied that his daughter does not even know how much salt to put while cooking.
Not able to find a solution, Markandeya wanted to worship his God, Narayana. After a long time, Markandeya was stunned to see Lord Vishnu in the form of a sage.
Incidents:
This temple also didnt feature in out itenary,but thanks to a friend of ours we got there. The prasadam we had also had no salt. We had such a good darshan of the deity that I wondered why people go all the way to tirupathi.
Guru Temple
History:
Lord Siva consumed the deadly poison (Ala Visham) , thus giving rise to the name Alangudi to this temple and the Lord came to be called as Aabathsagayar. Lord Ganesa subdued Gajamuhasuran who gave the Devas a horrid time and he thus he is worshipped here as 'Kalangaamal kaatha Vinayagar.
Incidents:
Next to saniswara temple, I would rate this temple as the most crowded .Here too there was a mad rush for lighting diyas. Here we had to light about 28 small diyas(so small that you could barely hold them). There were people and diyas all over the place. By time I finished lighting I was profusely sweating.
This ended our 3 day temple tour. We could have covered much more had we sequenced the temples in a better way.Many a times, we crossed the same place over and over again. It was 3 days away from the rut of life, the usual shopping madness in Chennai and the laptop in my house.

2009-12-15T19:02:00.002+05:30

Why do people work after "working hours"? Too much work or too little planning. Does it depend upon which level you are in the organisation? Does it depend upon how much work you have at home? This thought often crosses me when I come across our clients. Infact , now that I ahve nothing much to study, I do not crib when I have to stay a little longer. I just start surfing the net for some information and time just runs away. Do people get paid for the hours they are expected to put in after the office hours? Generally, I have seen most women leave by 7 .30 pm but men hang around seeing cricket match scores, gossiping and of course doing some work too. I admit that I am never able to finish my work within 5 30. Is that due to procrastination? Is it because I have a laptop and I can always work on it when I go home? ??

2009-12-10T22:10:00.002+05:30

Let me share my experience with one of our current clients. The building is of four floors each floor containing a maximum of 10 employees. There are hardly 5 women in the entire building. The accounts department is an all CA team and hence exactly knows what we know and what we dont. We only do some sort of a reporting for them and hence apparently we are not their AUDITORS!. Good heavens!! Generally, I have the habit of pullling a chair beside the client and doing my work. Seldom, I sit in the soom alloted for us. The very next day , they came up to me and literally told me to stay put in my room!!
Worse, the client has a complicated access system.Every bloody door there needs an access. Worse, the restroom is located in some floor for which you need to use the access card. When we asked the client to give us an access card , they told us that that we need to fill an application form. Heavens!!! Worse than applying for a ration card. Since you cannot leave the audit room, we just thought we can use the intercom to ask them any queries. But lo, the telephone has a password . They openly tell us that they want us to leave them soon so that they are at peace. My god! On the judgement day , God is definitely going to review the number of curses that these people have sweared on us.

2009-11-20T08:19:00.002+05:30

Finally! 3 months and 2 weeks of preparation and exams came to an end yesterday!( hopefully it is THE End!!). This is institute is one of its kind. After 75 years of establishment, they suddenly realise that it is a professional exam that they are conducting and hence made all the questions compulsary. Since I took up a new version of the exam( third exam in the new series) and hence no trend analysis worked. It was like walking into a dark room ( that is probably the strength of any exam). There was one day break between all the exams which made it more strenuous!! 14 days of tension! Now the wait begins. They take almost two months to declare the results. Meanwhile , I have all the work in office to keep me OCCUPIED!

2008-12-08T16:05:00.001+05:30

These are the outcomes of the session I had recently attended.
1.Even training can extend to 8!!
2.Cost cutting is also done on food (lunch).
3.They do not have the time to conduct a session for 5 days!!
4.The trainers may or may not have knowledge.
5.We should have access to the reviewer material to really understand if they have understand!!
6.What took 10 yrs for them to understand, is expected to be learnt in 4 days!!
7.Apparently we are not COMPETENT enough to comprehend the teachings!!
8.They all have authority to shout and demand attention not command respect.
9.All participants are subject to harassment (Eg: finish break in 3 min!!, otherwise you will sit late in the night)-refer point 1.
10.We are told to attend the sessions with a lot of seriousness, but they have the AUTHORITY to scrap off whatever they don’t want to conduct(rather not patient enough to conduct).

But I have to accept that there were a few sessions which were enlightening but that was partly due to the nature of the topic and the level of participation.

2008-10-23T19:27:00.000+05:30

In the book ‘The Alchemist’ , Paulo Coelho talks about how the world conspires to help us achieve our dreams.

Unfortunately, when I drive I feel the whole world is conspiring against me thus helping not to reach anywhere on time.

Ha! I know you are making a mental note to tell me that I should plan my day and start early. Fine , I do that on all normal days.

On Saturday, at around 10 a.m I drove to Besant Nagar form Adyar. It took me 1 hour. The reason??

Not even a VIP! Cars, vans and buses filled with young men going up and down the road for attending a rally. Well, initially I though it is to attend the rally but they were going on the both the directions of the road. I decided to take some shortcuts and reached the destination safely.

At 3 pm I drove back and much to my despair I found the roads still full. People were dancing because their party head had given a wonderful speech.

Women are universally acknowledged as bad drivers, so there is always this attitude to horn incorrigibly at the person before you especially if the guy there knows that the driver is a lady! That apart, I have seen many old men unable to start their car after a long signal. How I felt I should have put those dark glasses on my car.
These party men were worse than the any cab driver I have ever seen. They were so excited, rash and impatient.

And Lo! Next morning when I read the newspaper, I learnt that some 5 men had died due to an accident. What a sheer waste of LIFE!!

Rallies can be held, but atleast give them a particular route or something so that the rest of the crowd can chalk up some other route and reach their destination.

2008-10-07T21:39:00.000+05:30

Well, its been a while since i blogged(quite obvoius from the date). Anyways , the reasons may be many, but truth is I have started procrastinating . Another reason could be the transfer of a friend of mine who had inspired me to start a blog. Well, more into the habit of procrastination, I feel it has terribly destroyed my life. I feel each day is just the same as the previous. I get up, do the daily chores , go to work and and after coming home i fall flat on the bed(whatever time it is) and sleep like a log. There are few reasons which may induce me to stay awake , a movie or maybe some discussions with my family. Despite the time I go to sleep, I am unable to get up before 7 a.m. Added to that, the days I am at home, I struggle to keep my eyes open by 4 pm in the evening. Every night I open some novel, and my eyes automatically close and I will take aon oath that I will finish the novel the next day. Another thing I postpone is wishing people. When I get up, I remember that it is someone's birthday and then I think that I will wish by 8 , then I say maybe after breakfast, then after I reach office, then maybe during lunch and then the it becomes 9 pm . Then too, unless I know the person very well, I don wish at that time. This has led to complete frustration and I have resolved to bring my life back to order within the next month. Yes, if you are wondering how I have come to a conclusion so soon, it is because of a friend who claimed that the blogs I write are extremely long. Well owe this one to you, my friend!

2007-02-01T01:25:00.000+05:30

I have always felt the strong need to pursue some hobby consistently. Some people say that there is a particular talent that they possess on which they can always fall back on. Honestly, I have never pursued any hobby for more than four years. I do attain some level of perfection in the activity chosen to the extent that many people have told me..'A little more of practice and you are sure to be the best!' ahem..
By hobby, I am excluding reading books because I think that everyone should read books not only as a hobby but for gaining knowledge.
I just felt like tracing all the various activities that i have attempted, my highs, my so called growth and how 'The end of the activity' came about. I will still not call it the end as I am still harbouring hopes in my bosom that i will one day or the other accomplish the unfinished tasks!
I took up drawing and swimming classes around the same time. Let me first describe my attempts at drawing. I diligently attended classes for five years(From 2nd standard). Two of my close friends used to attend these classes with me and all us very motivated to draw!Infact we used to make our own cards and gift each other. Soon, studies took precedence and we could not regularly attend those classes. But we resolved to draw regularly. After a year all the ‘josh’ fizzled out and I very rarely drew. Nowadays I just restrict myself to glass painting (I have painted just about three pictures in two years). So, I cannot claim that I as pursuing drawing because I rarely indulge in it.
I must tell you that I always liked drawing and painting and hence I never felt frustrated while pursuing it. But swimming was a nightmare! I took up swimming lessons during first standard vacations. The classes were for two whole months (every morning). The incentive was that you could practice in the evening. Damn! I was so stubborn that I would simply not swim in front of my teacher. He hated me for that and I am sure that even today he will remember me and my kutti face. I did not detest him until he wanted us to jump from that plank on top. I know it must be nothing for most of you reading this. But I simply could not jump from that plank. I would go all the way to the tip of the plank and come back saying ‘No, I cannot take my feet off the plank.’ So, that man used to push me from behind which I did not mind. Thinking back, nobody would like to push someone into the pool! Even now, I can only swim but I cannot jump from anywhere. Still every summer I relentlessly pursued swimming learning simple styles and pleading with everyone not to make me jump from the plank! Then one such summer break I developed some sort of skin rashes because of the water and I stopped swimming too! Unlike drawing, till date I have never been able to pursue swimming!
At this juncture, I heard about table tennis classes and thought that it is very important to pursue a game. I enrolled myself for these classes in the summer break after fifth standard classes. These classes used to start in the morning at 6 stretching till 11 and then again at 4 till 7 in the night. I really enjoyed them and I even participated in a few competitions (I lost them..but each time my teacher used to say…keep on practicing ..you will win next time).I stopped these classes temporarily in the tenth standard but the break became permanent!
At around the same time as these table tennis classes I started learning to play the Casio. It was very convenient because the teacher was coming home. Every time I used to go to a book shop I bought some tune books. Nothing much to say about its present status except that it lying in the attic waiting for my touch! I can still hear my dad and mom debating about selling it. Any takers?
I was never enrolled into music classes and it was out of my own sheer will that I joined carnatic music classes. I pursued singing consistently for five years and also happened to sing in a temple and school. After my schooling, I had these early morning classes (6 to 8) and college (1 to 6), excluding traveling time. My practice hours drastically came down to the extent that my teacher told that if I cannot practice regularly then I can stop my lessons. My Shruthi box is dusting away to glory and i wonder if I can even sing t he basic swaras correctly now!
Is it that only I do not find time for such activities or is it the same with others too???

2006-11-17T21:34:00.000+05:30

After a grueling day, I pulled out all the coins I had stuffed in various compartments in my bag and figured that I had to take the public transport to get home. Usually, I board the bus in the terminus itself. While I sat there waiting for the bus to move, one girl came up to me and said that she was studying in Anna University and that I should tell her where to get down. So far so good.
We were getting bored and hence we were asking very basic questions about each other’s lives. She was from Kerala and was doing her first year of engineering and had got in purely on merit. I am sure that any commerce student would be aware that there is an institution called Anna University and that engineering is a four year course.

Now it was her turn to question me. She asked me if I was a student. I answered in the affirmative. Next she asked “Which college?” I very boldly told her that I was doing ca. Her reaction was something very disturbing. She said ‘Oh, but I asked where?’ I told her the full form of ca and even told her that it is not done from a college. Even after that she asked “But what do you study in college then?”
I decided to give up and I told her the name of some college and told her that I study B.Com in college. At least after this reply of mine had she left me alone I would have had some respect for her. No, she exclaimed and said “So, you are doing commerce?” My head was spinning as to why people do not read newspapers. You do not need to read business newspapers for that. Many companies publish their financial statements in The Hindu! On seeing those will they not wonder, who are auditors?!

While I was lost in my thoughts, I could see her lips moving. Suddenly realizing that she was talking to me, I wished away all my thoughts and made an effort to listen to her. She was saying how easy life is for those doing commerce where as they had to slog their way out! Finally this conductor announced that another bus would leave the terminus as this bus had some problem. I rushed out and sat as afar as possible from that girl after reassuring her that I would inform her when she has to get down.

As the bus moved, the soft wind that brushed my hair I was wondering if any commerce graduate would agree that studying commerce was the simplest thing to do. Moreover they do not realize that they will have to study more than the B.Com students because they turn out as professionals at the end of four years but not B.com graduates. They have a longer way to go. CA? What do these letters mean for engineering students? Well, I could not come out with an answer. This girl whom I was talking to was from Kerala which is 100% literate!
Hmmmm….so that is being literate!

2006-11-09T10:48:00.000+05:30

Privacy.. Is that too much to ask for?
At times I find it very frustrating to own a cell phone! Everyone owns one irrespective of their age and requirements. I was traveling in a bus, when I came across a school girl, say about 12 years of age talking incessantly over the cell! She spoke so much that she had forgotten to buy herself a ticket and worse she did not even realize it. Anyone standing near her would have known all about her, her school, her place of residence, her plans for the weekend, and her new crush at school. That’s all I managed to listen because after that I was lost in my thoughts.
The fact that you are accessible to everyone at all times of the day makes everyone to take you for granted. People just do not have the basic courtesy as to what time of the day they can call! Even if you keep it on silent mode and the call goes unattended the other person would be sure that you would know he had called and worse expect you to return the call. Supposing you returned the call after a few hours, they even take the right to question you as to what you were doing all the time! Once I switched off my cell and the next morning I got a message from my network operator that I could view all those who had called while my phone was switched off by sending a message! Damn these money makers! Anyways, I got down to my work and after a few days I realized that my friend was upset that I had not returned her call! She called me a miser for not subscribing to that service!
Messaging, a boon during college hours is a pain during other times. Almost all phones show whether the messages have been delivered or not! I have seen so many people staring at their phones to just see if it says ‘Message Delivered’. Moreover, even if the phone is switched off the other person will know when exactly you have switched on your cell and the questioning session begins! Doubts, to a certain extent can be cleared by way of a message but not the entire sum! If you ask the other person to call, he will tell you that since your messages are free you can message. Even if you offer to call he will say that he is outside and cannot speak freely. Apparently he is multi-tasking!
I went to enquire about computer classes in a nearby place. He was explaining the course contents, the fees and certification details which were rather confusing in his pamphlet. In that half an hour, he had got four calls and five messages which he very patiently attended to. Each time he would finish attending the call and say ‘Yeah, so any other doubts?’ Well, I did want to ask if he was the most wanted person in the country or rather if he thought so.
Fine, the guy there need not respect me but I did expect my friend, whom I had not visited for long to speak to me. But that was not so! He sat right opposite to me and would start saying ‘Hey, you know what happened?......’ As you guessed all I heard after that was a beep and he was replying to that message. The worst part of this incident was that he looked up and said ‘So, what is happening in your life?’
But I do agree that there are occasions when I felt that my cell phone saved my life! So, I very meekly decided to accept that every coin is two sided!

2006-10-26T13:45:00.000+05:30

I was clearing the papers in my drawer when i accidently discovered a folded paper inside a laminated cover. Lo! It turned out to be my learners license. I suddenly recollected that my learners license would expire by this month end and i had to get my permanent license. This license, which was suppose dto be lying inside my vehicle was happily sitting in my drawer. I had vowed to myself every morning that i would take it along but i never really found the time to search for it!
Anyways, with an innocent looking face i told my parents that i had to get my permanent license the next week itself. We had even lost that driving school's phone number. So that evening we rushed to that school and thankfully that lady said i could go for the test next week.
The monsoon season had begun but it was very bright and sunny that morning. My mother and me left to the RTO office by 8 30 in the morning. we were equipped with sunglasses and hats to protect ourselves from the heat. We were supposed to identify the man who was to help us out with license by a red Maruti car. We spotted the car in a road just behind the RTO ofiice. We waited patiently for half an hour but no one turned up. Finally we tried that man's cell number and he yelled at us saying he had asked us to come to the car which was standing inside the RTO ofiice!! then we had to pay some fees to the RTO people. After that we were asked to go the beach road for the test.
It was quite a deserted road at 12. There was just a small police booth which offered some shade. My mother sat there with a dupatte over her head and sunglasses to cover her eyes. I was busy practising how to make a 8 shape while driving.
Slowly, the sky darkened and soon big droplets fell on us Everyone rushed to that police booth and it soon turned out to be a shelter from the rain. Some people had brought cars for their driving test. An auto driver, who was speeding along in that road hit a car there and they started fighting in the rain, just before the police booth, which provided all of us with so much entertainment! This car driver refused to leave him unless he paid for the damages.
The RTO officer who was to take the test arrived in a car. We were all asked to sign in a register in which we had to separate the wet pages. The rain stopped for some time and he actually decided to take the driving test! All of us hurried to the spot and some of them managed to finish their test when the rain started pouring again. By the time we could gett down from the vehicle and run to some car we were all fully wet! This officer sat inside the car and attempted looking in the rear view mirror while all of us were actually driving there. I honestly do not know if he was looking but i did hear him call out names and checking if the person had come.
I was looking as though i had been dipped into water and just dropped there. I was wet, angry and hungry. Then there was a wait for the photo to be taken. Gosh! When i had a look at the photo, i thought it was someone else staring at me! To top it my birthday date had been typed wrong and i had wait another half an hour for him to rectify it. Then we slowly walked back to our vehicle and found it half sunk in water and the seats were obviously wet. Well, we were already drenched to bother about it. We finally went home without any other mishaps and we silently had lunch and hit the sack. No dreams, nothing....all i remember was my maid knocking the door desperately!!!!

2006-07-13T08:30:00.000+05:30

The action is done but we wait for the result of the action for two whole months. Yup, you guessed it right ....i am talking about my exam results!
I have no clue why i feel so demotivated to do anything today. Its an absolutely normal day but i am seeing every thing in a coloured way! Does that happen to all you people??
When ilooked at my face in the morning i went into an immediate flash back of the number of times i had woken up at wee hours in the morning to study and wondering if all that is going to be worth!! Ijust threw the thoughts and dressed up to get to class. But i happen to the same route as i used to when i was going to those classes. Hey. you must have guessed it....yes,flash back once again!
Now came the worst part. My friends!! All of them were talking about it. ah!! I kept thinking what i would be talking about one a half days later!!
I decided not to let my mind to wander!! I carried a novel with my to keep my company while i was travelling. Well, no use i just could not focus. I read two lines and off i went to my dream world!!or rather to my dreaded world of thoughts!
ANd then i sat in front of my computer...to give vent to my feelings.Generally after giving vent to your feelings you must feel the burden off you but exam results are never like that!!

Am i the only soul who is like this???

2006-06-05T20:44:00.000+05:30

Our government keeps yelling its way out that every child should receive free education, rather a child's fundamental right. But nobody even specifies the term quality education. i will state a small example to convey what i precisely mean. My maid claims that her daughter studies in an English medium school.She requested my mother to help her out with her child's lessons. My mother promptly agreed and the classes soon began in full swing.
She was studying in standard 8 but as classes started we noticed something which we could not believe. She fared badly in all her subjects, i mean she had just managed to pass in all her subjects but gave her mother the impression that those marks were the highest possible. She could not answer even one word in english. its understandable that she may not talk to the extent of students studying in affluent schools. But she could not read even 'WAs' together.
thinking that she would be better off in other subjects, we carried on to take classes.But same was the case with other subjects.all i could wonder was how did she manage so long??? Soon i found out the real reason.....

In her broken 'TAmil'(note that)she said that if she attended the tuition classes her teachers took they would pass her off and that was she needed!!!!!

I mean is this real education our politicians sitting up there want???they will probably claim that so many children got educated. but what sort of education??? I mean children like these would know nothing . They just blindly attend classes, cursing their fate and return home without any gaining knowledge.Leave alone knowledge but they dont know the very ABC's of any subject!!!!