Some Ramblings from Ex-NRI !!

   Since it has been little more than a year since I came to India after living in green pastures for more than dozen odd years I get the title of Ex-NRI; I would like to pen small incidents in a funny way which I encountered in the past year. Just see whether you can relate to these incidents.

[1] Vegetable Market: Puthur Market is one place in Trichy which poises a huge challenge for your respiratory system and visiting on Sunday morning is an experience by itself. One fine Sunday morning I visited the market and after buying the vegetables I was looking to purchase some fruits. I have this policy of helping street vendors whenever possible by buying unprocessed food stuff like fruits. This is because though we buy from shops many a times the shops expand to such an extent where they bring the fruit section to the perimeter of the shop and most probably it is meters away from roadside hence I wanted to help the street vendors too. I went to this couple in the street and said how much is one kilogram of pomegranate ? They replied Rs.130 and it is usual to hike 20 or 30 rupees hence I asked how about Rs.100 and the couple denied that is no way possible and we both mutually agreed for Rs.110; I was happy that my negotiation skills could get me few milliliters of petrol. On my way back home I had to stop at Pala muthir Cholai to buy something I couldn’t get in market and asked one of the sales person how much is one kilogram of pomegranate (same kind with I bought) and I was surprised when I came to know it was around Rs.95; So a shop inclusive of its overhead expenses like rent, labor cost, utility cost could sell for 95 this couple sold for 110 and that too after my so called negotiation skills. I spoke to amma about this and amma said that is because I was wearing shorts and chain …My mom is a funny person and I was not sure whether I should laugh at amma’s joke or I should feel proud that she had high regards for my appearance.

[2] Bank ATM: India is the only place where people to escape scorching heat visit a nearby ATM to cool themselves. Since ATM was crowded I was under the impression many are waiting inside so I thought to respect one’s “privacy” I should stand outside. But I was ridiculed when people who came after me rushed inside though they were fully aware of the crowd inside. Then I went inside and when my turn came up I inserted the card and I found a person almost kissing me and I said “Sir please maintain some distance” ..I could sense he became angry at me as if I asked his salary or his wife’s age. Later one day when I got a printout from a Bank I was shocked to realize the bank used one sided paper to take a printout I requested and on the other side I could spot name, aadhar number, account number, some transaction details of a customer. Just like how Vijayakanth says “Manippu” is one word he doesn’t like in Tamil I realized “Privacy” is one word that is not applicable in India.

[3] Door Opening: Be it private or public place it is always courteous to keep the door opened for the guests that follow you to come in or go out and my system just got used to this habit. Little did I know that this will not work over here …One occasion I had to keep the door open and series of auntys and uncles along with kids made use of my offer …worst part was few of them rushed to avail my service and the worst part was not even a single soul said ‘Thank you’.

[4] Road system: This topic is never ending and have countless encounters. Once there was a red signal and as an obedient citizen I stopped my two wheeler and was waiting for the light to be green. It took quite some time and I saw people going past me and they looked back at me as if they spotted Prathap Bothen on road. It was kind of embarrassing and had to move on.

[5] RTO office: Many things could have changed in India but believe me functioning of the RTO office remains the same. People must have seen piles of paper but if people want to see rooms of paper then visit RTO office. Since I had to renew my license I visited RTO office through an agent and was standing in the line. Just like how we see in movies when my turn was about to come the system stopped working and we were all requested to go back and come back next day. Because of the number of mass masala movies I see I thought it was time for me to tap the mass hero inside me. I went to the officer and put forward the constraints we had to face in not getting work done today. The officer who was very firm in his voice became friendly and advised all of us the challenges from their side. Though we had to come the next day to get things done I was happy that I was able to leverage some use seeing the mass masala potboilers.

Perspective !!

Perspective is a very interesting word in English dictionary and for every single damn thing in this world there is a perspective in how we look at things. I thought why don’t I walk through this term through three examples from three different fields – Cinema, Politics and Food.

Cinema: Superstar Rajini’s recent movies – Kabali, Kaala

    Well I am one among the billions and trillions of his fans and just adore him on big screen. Like many I grew up watching his movies. As a Rajini fan I was disenchanted with Kabali and even more disappointed with Kaala. I felt both the movies were neither mass nor class and it simply fell flat. But from Rajinikanth point of view he teamed with his favorite director K.S Ravikumar for Linga which according to me is a decent movie leave alone climax and songs which are to be forgotten at least by taking a pill. Kochadaiyaan was a different attempt and I liked the movie but movie bombed at the box office. Rajini had no choice but to go to youngster and Ranjith was picked which was a wonderful move. Director Ranjith has taken a different backdrop through his research work and tried to come up with a story and a suitable screenplay for Thalaivar and it should have either been a Rajini movie nor Ranjith movie and unfortunately it was neither of those in both the movies. But for Rajini fan they will defend saying Thalaivar’s romance was realistic, interval scene in Kaala was pakka mass etc., How many times do we have to acknowledge mass scene is one with slow motion shots, loud BGM music, villain gets thrashing like football etc., But in the end coming to my topic of this blog it just depends on what you expect from Thalaivar movie each time for you to say whether movie was good or bad.

Politics: Iron Lady J. Jayalalitha mam

    Well entire Tamilnadu is feeling the absence of her ..such is the legacy she has left with people of Tamil Nadu. Right now Tamil Nadu as a state is in ICU and literally battling to survive and this is altogether a different topic for me to blog. But if you look at her as a person she was bold, excellent administrator, knowledgeable and basically a great visionary. She never succumbed to pressure to attract more funds from Central government. Rainwater harvesting scheme is one of the great initiatives by her which I still remember from my childwood. I think I can keep on adding so many good things about her. But on a different angle many feel what is the use of her legacy since she was basically a single lady and with no family she has let go all her hereditary characteristics go waste. Amma stickers and pictures was everywhere and now there is a fight going on whether to retain her pictures in TN assembly premise. She might have controlled everyone but in the end she couldn’t even control oxygen for her to breathe since she was able to breathe only with Ventilator. See again it just depends on how you see her and what is your perspective about her as a person.

Food: Vegetables in supermarket Vs. Sandhai

    Now all of us must have bought vegetables in supermarkets like Safeway or Nilgiris. Just take a closer look …the markets are equipped with good infrastructure like freezers which are temperature controlled, water sprinklers to keep the veggies fresh, quality control checks at regular intervals and preservatives to retain the freshness. Now when you visit the supermarket on a weekend with all the LED lights the vegetables seem to be glowing and you happily shop. Now for some of you who have visited villages must know what is a ‘Sandhai’ – an occasion where all farmers and vegetable sellers gather in one place on a fixed date. If you look at these vegetables with the scorching heat it is very natural for it to have a dull look as if each veggie has done a marathon walk. On top of that with all the traffic close by and dust it may appear dirty too. Now let me say you something as far the taste is concerned since my tongue seem to be good at it. The vegetables in the supermarkets could be quite old and with several hops before it reaches your refrigerator it could naturally lose some of its taste and nutrients whereas the ones in ‘Sandhai’ though it look dirty believe me these are brought straight from the farms and it definitely taste better with pretty much all of its nutrients in place. So once again it just depends on how we look at things.

  There are many other examples which we face in our day to day life where each one has got a distinct perspective. There is no right and wrong answer and it just depends on how we look at things.

My request to my NRI friends !!

   Let me admit that intention of me writing this blog is a soft way of fundraising for one of the Non profit organizations I am associated with (NSNA) and in particular for H&H committee. I liked one of the initiatives they have undertaken that of planting trees and I would like to promote and spread the word to more people. I realized my friends in FB are spread across the globe and wanted to pen my thoughts on India’s hot weather and the need for planting more and more trees. In fact the timing of this blog comes up at a time where H&H team is doing their 2^nd project of Tree planting in Rayavaram, a village in Chettinad.

    I cannot talk for whole of India but it is no brainer that everyone knows Tamil Nadu is hot during summer. In fact I used to cautiously avoid India trips during March, April or May but destiny had other plans and 2018 is one year I had to experience entire Summer which seem to be never ending like a mega serial. Since I am experiencing this weather after nearly 12-13 years my body just couldn’t adjust to this and I had problems like vomiting, giddiness etc., Don’t mistake me that I am having symptoms of an expecting mother …let’s not disturb nature’s way of operation. I got dehydrated umpteen number of times and I have never had this many number of juices in my life and my deodorant bills can match the costs of lipsticks bills used by an air hostess. Actually I shouldn’t complain since I feel I am blessed to escape the scorching heat through artificial ways but my heart goes out to all the street vendors who had to toil day in and day out to make both the ends meet.

    Temperatures cross 40 degree Celsius is becoming common and people had to grapple with heat waves every now and then. Now the question is, what makes Tamil Nadu very hot? Technically Tamil Nadu is closer to the equator which is again closer to the sun and hence we could face severe heat climate. But for a layman simple explanation could be due to the poor rainfall which is mainly due to deforestation. Now people want to cover land with concrete and we see more and more trees being cut down. Due to this we see more and more greenhouse gases to be released in atmosphere and by cutting down trees there is less water in the air to be returned to the soil. This in turn causes drier soil by making it unfertile for growing crops. Soil is often eroded too due to deforestation. Now all of us want our kids to go to Montessori, study at IIT/MIT/Stanford etc., which is good but have we ever thought what kind of environment they will be living in. Global warming is on the rise and environmental hazards keep increasing in every country and unfortunately Environmental awareness is coming down.

    Now let us take a closer look at what HH team has done for their first project in Nattarasankottai, a chettinad village. They chose a team and planted close roughly 170 + trees. They made sure plants are tall enough which makes it easy for maintenance and also made sure each plant gets a fencing. They will also be watering the plants twice a week. There is lots of costs involved in every step and on top of costs there is lot of physical labor involved which makes the process a physically exhaustive one. But this initiative will be standing tall and will speak volumes even after many years. Now after successfully finishing their first project they will be planting trees in Rayavaram on June 28^th (2^nd project) and will be moving onto Virachalai and other chettinad towns too. Since they have a framework and dedicated volunteers assigned for this initiative they can capitalize on their start and really do more and more towns based on the sponsors and that is where I wanted to pitch in and promote this initiative.

    Now I have just talked about Chetiinad towns but we need Trees pretty much everywhere and you could be a member of Tamil sangam, part of Temple organization or for that matter be part of any Non profit organization in your city. Organization’s vision would be to promote culture and tradition based on the NPO you are associated with and you may wonder how can we contribute. See “Humanitarian” is a very broad term and anything and everything can be fitted into “Humanitarian” since we are all human beings first. If there is a flood in Chennai all of us joined hands and that was under humanitarian basis; similarly you can have a separate stream called ‘Humanitarian’ and start planting trees in your hometown through the organization you are associated with. NSNA would be for nagarathars living in USA but for others you could talk to your respective NPO heads and tie up with a local association back home. As far as costs it would roughly costs Rs. 500 (includes the cost of the plant, pit cutting, bud formation, fencing, supporting poles and labor) per plant. For watering the planting twice a week there is again costs involved but should be few thousands depending on how many trees we need to water.

     Where does people settle down is beyond scope of this blog but giving back to community and giving back to where you hail from, giving back to place where you lived and where your parents are living will make you a RICH person. As a NRI you could be contributing to community in many different ways, just treat planting trees as one another item in your list since that is need of the hour. If you happen to be a nagarathar living in USA I would request you to consider sponsoring for this initiative by that way we can have more and more trees planted in our natives and make Chettinad GREEN.

I also feel like sharing the below video which is one of my favorite scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvnBMMVY3ys

Brahmapureeswarar Temple - Sthala Puranam

  Temples are spread across the globe and for a religious person any temple is a joy since god is omnipresent. But specialty about temples in India and particularly Tamil Nadu is each temple has a sthala puranam attached to it and if we know the history it just makes it even more interesting. I somehow came to know about this temple “Brahmapureeswarar Temple” and wanted to visit especially when I came to know that there is a belief that a person can change his/her fate by seeking blessings from this temple. “Fate” is something which I have reflected while reading Actor Shiva kumar’s autobiography a decade back as he said every rice we eat is already decided. But recently when I read “Arthamulla indhu madham” there was one sentence which disturbed me quite a bit and I am posting that sentence:

விதியையும் மதியால் வெல்லலாம்..என்று உன் விதியில் எழுதியிருந்தால்..

Meaning is if we overcome fate by intelligence that that should also be written in your fate …See this sentence has got lot of depth in it. I was literally disturbed since I was neither able to accept this nor able to deny this. Anyway for those readers who are having a smile on your face now will know what exactly I am talking about. I am a religious person and do believe God hence without any hesitation I wanted to visit and would like to share the history behind this temple.

        As we all know Lord Brahma is the creator of Universe and he was very proud that he had the power of creation. Seeing this Lord Shiva destroyed Lord Brahma’s fifth head and cursed him that he would lose his powers of creation. After losing his fifth head & power of creation Lord Brahma realized his mistakes and to get himself relieved from the curse Lord Brahma started on a pilgrimage of Lord Shiva temples. Lord Brahma installed 12 shiva lingams around Brahmapureeswarar and worshipped Lord Shiva for considerable amount of time. Pleased by Lord Brahma’s prayers, Lord Shiva gave him darshan under the magizha tree and liberated him from his curse. Not just that Lord Shiva also restored the power and responsibility of creation to Lord Brahma. Lord Shiva also blessed Lord Brahma that he would have a separate shrine at this temple. He also advised lord brahma that since Lord Brahma himself had his destiny rewritten here, he should rewrite the destiny of his devotees visiting this temple. There is a belief that since fate of Lord Brahma, the creator, himself was changed by Lord Shiva at Tirupattur (place of the temple) one can expect good fortunes coming their way by praying at this temple. Obviously only genuine requests in the form of prayers are accepted and that is applicable to any temple. As Brahma worshipped Lord Shiva here, The lord is named “Brahmmapureeswarar” and mother goddess is named “Brahmmanayaki”.

     Apart from being one of the rare temple dedicated to Lord Brahma other features about this temple is Sage Patanjali’s (considered author of Yoga sutras) jeeva samadhi (tomb) is in the temple. Also I have read that every year in the month of Panguni (March-April) for three days the sun god is said to worship Lord Brahmapureeswara. There are seven entrances to reach the main deity’s sannadhi and it is a miracle that sun’s rays cross these seven entrances and fall directly on the lingam.

   If you happen to travel by Road, Chennai and Trichy are two places you cannot miss and this temple is 30+ kilometres away from Trichy on the way to Chennai. It is closer to Samayapuram. Also outside the temple you will find vegetable sellers sitting in the floor and selling – compared to the super markets I would highly recommend these people since they bring fresh vegetables from farm and sell it for low profits. Even if you don’t need them just buy and give it to your friends/relatives and you are sure to get a call from people thanking you for the vegetables.

I am giving you the full address for your reference:

Arulmigu Brahmapureeswarar Temple,

Tirupattur

Irrungalur (via)

Tiruchchirapalli District.

Pincode : : 621 105

Official website: http://www.brahmatemple.tnhrce.in/index.html

Sundari Kanaal Oru Sethi ........

    Listening to Raja sir song alone can lift your spirits but I love watching few of his songs visually too and one among them is ‘Sundari Kanaal oru Sethi’ …I was also curious to know why did I love the song so much and my little research on the song was so overwhelming that I wanted to pen my thoughts …Also just to let you know the song is almost seven minutes …These days except Shankar sir movies songs are merely fillers where audience make an excuse to go to restroom or check their phone on latest Whatsapp message or go for a chit chat with their group but here is a song shot more than two decades back with a story said in a most poetic way in Celluloid …  

   Now coming to the context of the song I am wondering what Mani Ratnam must have conveyed Lyricist Vaali and Ilayaraja the composer during the composition session. There is this ego between lyrics and music of any song but if you find any chartbuster then one thing will be in common – music and lyrics will always compliment each other and not try to dominate each other.  The song begins with bells ringing and Shobana waiting for her man and the music sets in ….I have no clue regarding Carnatic music but seeing Airtel super singer I know atleast what is Pallavi and Charanam ….Pallavi starts where Rajini elopes Shobana and they get married followed by Santhi muhurtham ….Since there are so many emotions in the song Raja has used multiple ragas to bring out the emotions. As a layman I have no clue regarding ragas and on which context it is used but I can definitely sense ragas pertaining to joy, pain, sorrow, longingness, love, bravery are all blended within the song. Cinematography is not just visiting a foreign locale or buying some cutting edge technically advanced cameras instead visuals should portray the theme and connect the audience. Rajini sings “நான் உனை நீங்க மாட்டேன் நீங்கினால் தூங்க மாட்டேன்” which says he would never leave her and if he does he won’t be able to sleep.Now Rajini goes for war and both are separated ….   Orchestration picks up now and stage is set for war which happens so poetically with raja’s orchestration  and now comes Shobana with beautiful Chennakeshava temple in the background to sing “வாய் மொழிந்த வார்த்தை யாவும் காற்றில் போனால் நியாயமா பாய் விரித்து பாவை பார்த்த காதல் இன்பம் மாயமா” which means would it be fair if the words just float away in the wind ….and the love and joy experienced after spreading the mat and looking into each others eyes just an illusion …The way Shobhana emotes is absolutely priceless …Rajini answers through “வாள் பிடித்து நின்றால் கூட நெஞ்சில் உந்தன் ஊர்வலம் போர்க்களத்தில் சாய்ந்தால் கூட ஜீவன் உன்னை சேர்ந்திடும்” which means Though he is having sword in his hand his heart is always playing carnival and parade of her and in the event he loses the battlefield his soul will always merge with hers …..If modern day husbands say this to their spouse then they would get some good thrashing but we can feel a sense of humbleness in the way Rajini utters those words …Then both of them express their love where we can feel the longingness of the couple …..Though they are still separated there is a small portion where it seems they both are united and the glow in Sbobana’s face is enough to light up Chepauk stadium …..Again war happens and Raja’s orchestration sets the tune and director informs time is passing by showing moon and daylight and Shobana sings “சோலையிலும் முட்கள் தோன்றும் நானும் நீயும் நீங்கினால் பாலையிலும் பூக்கள் பூக்கும் நான் உன் மார்பில் தூங்கினால்” which means even thorns would prickle in oasis if we part and if I happen to rest on your chest then even flowers would bloom in dessert for which Rajini replies “மாதங்களும் வாரம் ஆகும் நானும் நீயும் கூடினால் வாரங்களும் மாதமாகும் பாதை மாறி ஓடினால்” even months would turn weeks if we join and vice versa if our paths part ways …..Shobana always dreams Rajini is around and Girl’s love is beautifully expressed through Vaali’s lyrics ….Finally Rajini comes from war and hero and heroine unite with happy tears ……

     When I researched the song it described how Raja sir used Kalyani (raga to emote happiness) and Kosalam raga (to express war sequences) and how he interlinked one another to bring the emotion attached with the lyrics. The song is a classic example that magic happens in celluloid when people like Mani Ratnam, Ilayaraja, Vaali, Santhosh Sivan join hands. For every end there is a beginning and we are fortunate Rahman- Mani Ratnam happened after Thalapathi but as a cinema lover and as a music fan am extremely disappointed to see that happen at the cost of Mani Ratnam – Ilayaraja combination.

Naalayira Divya Prabhandham

     As the name suggests Naalayira Divya Prabhandham is a collection of 4000 Tamil verses composed by 12 alvars. Basically Divya Prabandham sings the praise of lord Narayana and alvars sang these songs at so many sacred shrines across the country called as Divya desams. Coming from a staunch Saivites community I have no clue on what basis I chose to start reading the book on 15^th December 2016 which happened to be almost start of Margazhi month and I successfully completed reading the book on 13^th January 2018 which was last day of Margazhi. One reason on why I chose to read this book is could be because of ‘Genes’ since my dad is an ardent devotee of Lord Perumal. I hardly knew at the start of what is in store for me during the course of me reading the book since I had to go though a massive transformation in my life. Also reading the connotation of each verse is beyond the scope of my age hence I just read the verses. I feel I have something small to offer for ones who happen to read this blog and so here I go …..

      Let me go over the Yuga we are living – are we living in Kali yuga which is considered to be period of darkness and divisiveness, hatred and greed, warfare and inequality ? If we just take a look into what is happening around the globe you may relate to what I say. Very sorry to hear regarding the gun shoot incident in Florida and if US is scary of gun shots then we have India full of road accidents and similarly there are other countries where either poverty or warfare is ruling the roost. Mother Nature is literally crying due to environmental hazards caused by insatiability of human beings. Though Chennai floods brought people together it is shame that we need something as big as Chennai Floods to make people united. If you take a closer look into Human beings - we thank for everything we have on Thanksgiving day and next day we run for deals, we pray for rain but at the same time we offer coconut to almighty not to rain on the day of our personal event.

     Year 2017 was one year where I had to go through so much of frustration and my patience was thoroughly tested. Being a religious person I even thought of deserting from worship but the commitment to read the book kept me going. Though my frustrations are far from over but am starting to understand life from a bigger picture. Now if I look back to see where did I get all the mental strength to face everything that was thrown at me then it has to be the Naalayira Divya Prabhandham book. Though we should always mantle ourselves with positivity we cannot hide the fact that we are concerned over so much of hatred happening around us, natural calamity, aging parents, health concerns etc., This is where prayers come into picture and there are different ways to offer prayers. You can sing praising the lord, offer dance, volunteer at a temple etc., You can also take up something substantial as a commitment to offer your prayers to lord such as reading. If you happen to be Lord Siva devotee you have ‘Devaram’, Thiruvasagam’; Lord Muruga devotee you have ‘Thiru pugazh’, ‘Kandha Puranam’; Lord Permal devotee you have ‘Naalayira Divya Prabhandham’; Lord Ganesha devotee you have ‘Ganesha Puranam’; Lord Sai baba devotee you have ‘Sai Satcharitra’; etc., Take the book of your choice based on Ishta Devadha and start reading whenever you get some time and always acknowledge the fact that hardships will not disappear just like that and with faithful prayers one can come out of it. I do not have the age to advise anyone but I just want to share something which I believe could be helpful based on my personal experience.

      Also February 16^th 2018 marks a decade of me starting my personal blog site. Though I have written very few of them I have got some amazing and memorable compliments from friends. I promise to take blogging more seriously and value every minute of the reader and will come up with some nice articles in the coming weeks/months. Choosing  a topic takes much more time than writing one. Being good at heart is not just helping poor and needy but also sharing something in your life which could have a positive influence in others life. Through this blog I have paid my tribute to ‘Naalayira Divya Prabhandham’ book and I believe I can bring a positive influence to anyone reading this blog.