Enlightenment - The Beauty Of Life...

Our life is a journey that is propelled by the constant fight between our internal conscience and external pride. Our outward pride always boasts and vanity is its language. Vanity has a lot of desires and has superiority complex.

On the other hand, our internal inferiority complex is driven by fear and under estimations of our strengths. And there is a constant struggle when we try and establish a bridge between fear and desire, our inner voice and external rants (or lies).

To overcome the tussle, enjoy every minute of your life without criticism of self or others. Aim for a peaceful “state” instead of an ego-driven “status”. Stop trying to change the personality of someone to answer your inner chaos. Let the animated “You” rise above the inanimate objects of “Yours”. Let the fight between your inner world and outer world end. And herein lays the secret of being a leader in your own small universe where you do simple chores with beauty and fun!

Help The Blind To Read...Can U?

On one Sunday, many enthusiastic Visually Challenged(VC) college students could not find a volunteer to help them read.

No. of VC students who came on Nov 1, 2009, Sunday: 180+
Students who did not get a reader: 80+

Every Sunday at Padma Seshadri Bala Bavan School [PSBB], Habibulla Road, T Nagar, Chennai, reading session for VC students is being conducted. All you need to do is, just drop in at the above said venue and read out the study material brought in by the students who take University exams.To bridge the huge gap between the VC people and the readers, your presence on coming Sundays will be highly appreciated. You can help a blind person to come out with flying colours in their exams.

For more info, reach Shankar @ 9840085673.

Click the link to know more about the reading sessions:
Scribes & Readers

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

After reading a few pages, it looked as though Aravind Adiga had a list of dark issues about India that he wanted to bring to light. So, he has weaved an excellent story that encompasses all issues. The novel is about a smart villager (White Tiger) who moves to city to become a smart entrepreneur.

Adiga’s grouse list, to name a few:

-36,000,004 Gods in India
-Lack of doctors and facilities at government hospitals in rural areas
-Water buffaloes that rule few rural homes
-Lack of water and electricity in many village paradises – but they have mobile phones
-Drunken driving that kills unclaimed children on the roads
-Rural masters who kill the whole family of an erring servant
-Muslims who had to change to Hindu names to get employment
-Foreign whor*s at high-class hotels
-Aspiring entrepreneurs who will even kill to make it big
-(Mis)Use of zoos by lovers
-The holy river Ganges stinking with dead bodies
-Loyal Servants who are forced to go to jail instead of their Masters
-Bribe to politicians and policemen to wipe the vices born off quick money and quick business
-Rickshaws pulling middle-class flesh
-Ripe guava colored giant size lizards and snoozing teachers in schools

The White Tiger is a very interesting read with spine-chilling surprises and bold portrayals. It’s no wonder that Aravind Adiga won the Man Booker Prize for this novel for the year 2008.

Amen - The Autobiography Of A Nun by Sister Jesme

Sister Jesme (Jesus and Me) writes an autobiography about her dedication to Jesus and the path she chose to remain devoted to him. Sr Jesme revels in her role as the bride of Jesus who becomes her groom when she turns a nun.

Sr Jesme moves on to read Liturgy, Theology, Spiritual Psychology and more. She encourages “rational, logical obedience” rather than “blind obedience” to any written word.

She teaches in a college and describes how the principal and vice-principal always belong to rival groups. And when the principal resigns or leaves – her entourage goes on a long study leave or transfer – to avoid the promoted vice-principal.

Sr Jesme is called the ‘cine-nun’ as she encourages cinema or any other media that can enlighten her students. She does not mince words about how she thinks or feels. Obviously, problems follow at the Formidable Fortress and at home.

Dr Sr Jesme retired from the convent, under pressure, after 33 years of work. Then she wrote her autoboigraphy. Sr Jesme faced a lot of hurdles when she wrote that her holy habitat had its own share of vice and othervice. And she became popular too by finding a slot in TV channels, blogs, and newspapers.

Sr Jesme has penned an easy read that strings a sequence of interesting events in style - with sighs!

All of us expect the world to function as per the Universal Truth. When people go against Universal Truth - we tend to get angry, question, and blame them. Alas, we realize very late that the Universal Truth is a fictious phenomenon and no one including our self can live up to that high standard!

Backup Friends For Venting ;)

‘But seriously, you should have a backup friend,’ she said.

‘Backup what?’

‘You, Ish, and Omi are really close. Like you have known each other since you were sperm.’

My mouth fell open at her last word. Bindya was supposed to be Ish’s little sister who played with dolls. Where did she learn to talk like that?

‘Sorry, I meant Ish and you are your best friends. But if you have to bitch….ooops, rant about them, who do you do it with?’

‘I don’t need to rant about my friends,’ I said.

‘C’mon, are they perfect?’

‘No one is perfect.’

‘Like Garima and I are really close. We talk twice a day. But sometimes she ignores me, or talks to me like I am some naïve small town girl. I hate it, but she is still my best friend.’

‘And?’ I said. Girls talk in circles. Like an algebra problem, it takes a few steps to get them to the point.

‘And, talking about it to you, venting, like this, makes me feel better. And I can forgive her. So, even though she is a much closer friend of mine, you became a backup friend.’

Hisssss.....don't we 'let out steam' often???

Tupperware Talkathons...

I am placed in office cupboards alongside eversilver dabbas,
I am inside Hidesign bags along side makeup kits & green tea sachets,
Sometimes dabbawallas run, carrying me on busy roads,

Otherwise, i freeze cold and carry green peas or fresh fish in a fridge,
Anyways, I make a fashion statement and am a status symbol,
Deepti put channa sundal inside me when she packed for her office Kollu,
Susila always fills me with curd rice and vadumanga pickle-buttermilk chilli combo,
Seema changes her recipe once a week after peeping into NDTV or ThatsTamil websites,
Mallika carries jasmine strands inside me in the evenings ;)
I was sold by a distributor in her flat network,
I was sold by a geek over his social network,
Oh, they all dumped me today at home, Jeevan was giving a treat for his engagement,
Oh, they do away with me on Fridays too; they opt for fruit boxes from Pazhamudhir Solai fruit shop,
Aah, yet again, there was a buffet for project completion,
Raji, a generous housewife, packs her handmade lunch for neighborhood deprived kids,
Aah… I am blessed that day every week...’cos I carry the soul of a giving human being…

A Washing Machine Sings...

Rainbow colors I see everyday,
Surf, Ariel, Nirma, and even Sunlight and Rin pieces,
They do not risk Kancheepuram silks with me, I envy soft hand washes then,
I didn’t see churidhars for a week and heard she has gone on an eve’s only trip,
I saw red on Sir’s dhothi and mused about Madam’s men_pause,
Oh no, that was tomato sauce that spilled when he tried to reach for Soya sauce at a pub,
I got overloaded once and just pulled out a shirt button,
I am allergic to lace work, thread work, and shiny chamkis – I just rip them off,
Trendy jeans come in shreds and with torn patches and so I just have to wash them,
At times i become a piggy bank, collecting coins and rupee notes from careless pockets,
First I remove sweat and dirt, and then I spread the flavor of the cleaner to all the silks,
On odd weeks I see Mala’s face, on even weeks it is Nafeesa,
Co-sisters share their work burden in a joint family, geee…glee…
Occasionally, James does peep in ~ their home is a love-filled Bharatha Vilas,
Spiderman, Rajini, Shah Rukh, and Deepika logos I see on T-shirts,
And loved the T-shirt that read, “Life is not fair. But, live it anyway.”
And my swirling, smashing grind came to a peaceful halt….
Pushing away unwanted froth…..