Friday, November 26, 2010

Vaigai Flows Again

One Legend has it that if you keep your hand on the river bed, water flows through your hand, which translates in tamil as "Kai Vai" and when you read it in reverse it is "Vaikai". But, there many such stories to symbolize the river which has been struggling a lot for its survival. However, the stories have survived thousands of years. It is also believed that Vaigai branched off into two near Madurai and ran on either side of the city like a garland. One branch is the current river while the other known as Krittamala which is now a small canal near the Koodal Azhagar temple.



As a kid, I've seen Vaigai flowing majestically under the bridges and through the coconut and plantain groves. I even remember the days when most villagers in its bank used to start their day with a dip in the river. Going by the lines of Ilango in Silappathikaram, I used to believe that she is a perennial river. So over-powering was the urbanization, sand quarrying and inter-state politics that, she has remained a bed of sand all these years deceiving Ilango's lines. Even when there was rain or the annual festival, it would only be a glimpse of the thin streams meandering through the bed of sand.


Last week when I was in Madurai it was a surprise to see her flow freely under the bridges, through the groves, filling the canals and ponds, no matter what gets in the way. Instead of the old bed of sand with the sun beating down, she was flowing freely for a change. I also chanced to drive along her flow through Sholavandhaan, Thiruvedagam, Kuruvithurai... It was an awesome experience watching her flow. Wish it rains more!


Let it rain like how Bharathi would want.

திக்குகள் எட்டும் சிதறி,
திக்குகள் எட்டும் சிதறி சிதறி
பக்க மலைகள் உடைந்து வெள்ளம்,
பாயுது பாயுது பாயுது; பாயுது பாயுது பாயுது;
அண்டம் சாயுது சாயுது சாயுது - பைகொண்டு
தக்கை அடிக்குது காற்று; தக்கை அடிக்குது காற்று,
வெட்டி அடிக்குது மின்னல் - கடல்
வீரத் திரைகொண்டு விண்ணை இடிக்குது
கொட்டி இடிக்குது மேகம்; கொட்டி இடிக்குது மேகம்;
கூ கூவென்று விண்ணை குடையுது காற்று.
தாளம்கொட்டி கணைக்குது வானம்;
தாளம்கொட்டி கணைக்குது வானம்,
எட்டு திசையும் இடியால்
மழை எங்கனம் வந்ததடா தம்பி வீரா!
மழை எங்கனம் வந்ததடா தம்பி வீரா!

Monday, October 18, 2010

Mera celebrates Birthday

We all need a special someone, don’t we?

Well, that special someone, already made it to Pranav’s life......LOL.....

Announcing the Entry of Pranav’s new found buddy, Mera.....



Mera is a stuffed toy, a lion cub....He was Pranav’s first birthday gift.

Mera has been around for 4 years, but never got Pranav’s attention until recently when he named him as Mera.

4 months back, Pranav suddenly “discovered” Mera......Pranav and Mera never parted each other since then....Mera goes shopping with us and has travelled all the way to Goa, Coimbatore, Madurai, even attended a wedding and also has seen the latest blockbuster Enthiran.....

Well, things got a bit serious this morning.....ROFL.

Pranav announced Mera’s birthday today and started planning all logistics....cakes, candles, even guests!

And so, I had to play it along......We checked out a small cake at Daily Breads and Pranav was upset that the cake wasn’t big enough. The salesman asked me to try a 1kg cake and thatz when I had to put my foot down.....I pulled out Mera and announced that HE was the birthday boy and not Pranav!

Everyone at the bakery went speechless !  :) :)


Wednesday, August 18, 2010

My School: A Documentary

An awesome documentary on our school, Sainik School, Amaravathinagar. Always proud to be an Amaravian.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Sunday, June 13, 2010

End of an Era - Grace passes away beautifully


Grace Wardell, an iconic legend of Kodaikanal passed away on 11-Jun-2010 at 12:50 PM in the arms of her son Mark Antrobus. It was a beautiful and a dignified passage with a serene smile on her face. She was given a grand farewell and the last rites and rituals were performed and was buried in her farm the next morning with a panoramic view of the farm. Grace was born on 23-Mar-1908 at London.


Here are some articles on Grace

Amazing Grace - Outlook India

Cover Story by Olivia Hanson

Thursday, April 01, 2010

Million Gods

Hindus have one God. They also have 330 million Gods. Male Gods, Female Gods, Family Gods, Household Gods, Personal God, Village God, Fertility God, Forest God, Sun God, Moon God and what not. You name it, there is a God for it. For Hindus, everything is divine and there is nothing that can be ignored. There is freedom to choose any form that you can relate to as God and also to reject all the forms. As a hindu progresses spiritually, there is a gradual rejection of forms to realize the Divine without form that is within.



I thought I should share this interesting framework of hierarchy of Gods in Hindu mythology that I found in a book - Myth=Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology by Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik. The book is also very interesting and deals with apparent paradoxes and unravels an inherited truth about life and death, nature and culture, perfection and possibility from Hindu Mythological perspective. It also retells numerous stories and decodes Hindu symbols and rituals, using a unique style of commentary, illustrations and diagrams.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Grace turns 102

Grace turned 102 today. It was supposed to be a Walnut Banana Cake Party :) Yummy.. isn't it. I missed the cake as well as some direct blessing from Grace. Hopefully, I'll make it to Kodai for her 103 rd Birthday.



Grace Wardell was born in 1908. She is the first woman Features Editor of a national newspaper, The London Daily Express and has covered the Second World War. Grace and her son Mark live in Kodai