Dance with joy

Dance with joy

At the Ayurveda Hospital next door to where I live, they hold a bajan session on Thursday evenings. I have been attending it most of the Thursdays since I have been here. Not only it is a good outing, somewhere nearby to go in the evening but also where I get to meet new, young people. The bajan session is for half an hour with arti at the end to Vinayaka, Dhanvantari and all the other deities there.

A young priest comes to ‘do’ the bajan. I walked with him once from the bus stop. He is a shy, simple, unassuming person. He voluntarily told me that he had a surgery and needed money. When approached, the hospital management offered to pay him for conducting bajan ones a week. He is very happy with this offer.

He is short and slightly rounded in shape. While walking he couldn’t keep pace with me and excused himself to walk at his own pace.

For the ‘bajan’ he plays recorded bajan songs. But the highlight of it is that he ties the gunguru around his ankles and dances with the beat, with bharathanatyam movements and steps and sometime like saint Purandaradasa.

I admire the way he could let himself go and rhythmically sway and swing with the music. I wish I could to do that.

Ilakkanam - a Tamil movie

Ilakkanam ( இலக்கணம் ) - a Tamil movie

Yesterday in DD Pothigai, I watched the Tamil movie – Ilakkanam. I have never heard of this movie. There was no synopsis of the movie. The only thing said about the movie was that it is entirely in Tamil. It started off in a very simple way. The actors were all new to me. The hero was pleasant, decent looking. I got interested.

The dialogue was not in chaste literary Tamil but in simple spoken Tamil. The story was about an idealistic hero, a writer working for a publisher. The film seems to have been made just for the love of Tamil language and to propagate values like tolerance, forgiveness, honesty, morality and standing up for one's rights and beliefs. The story reminded me of the novels by Na. Parthasarathy in the 60s.

It amazes me to think how a writer even conceived such a clean story to include all the principles to live by in a social drama (addressing a variety of social causes), depicting love, ethics, value system, compassion etc. Credit for making such as good movie has to go to the producer who has taken great risk in producing this movie that doesn’t follow the usual formula for success at the box office.

The actors, Ram (the lead role of Tamilarasan), Uma (his wife Kayalvizhi) the child artist (couple’s daughter Panimalar) all play their role so well, so naturally without any exaggeration.

The music and the Lyrics for the songs (from the poems of Bharathiyar) are so pleasing.

I don’t know whether Ilakkanam was given tax exemption or won any award. I haven’t seen another movie of such calibre in any language.

It is a lively and enjoyable movie worth seeing. I was feeling happy all throughout while watching the movie (and the feeling continued long into the night too). I was fully engrossed in it. Being on DD there was no commercial break to break the continuity. This is an ideal movie to show it to children at school to teach them value system.

I am happy and feel lucky that I got to see the movie.

For more on the storyline, review see -

http://www.koodal.com/tamil/movies/reviews/269/ilakkanam

Thank you God for favours received

Thank God for favours received

Last week on Friday I set out, as usual to R.S.Puram to do some shopping. Reached the bus stop in time to take the 9.30 a.m. bus. There was just a young girl waiting for the bus. I said ‘Hello’ to her. Then I didn’t have to worry what to say after. The conversation moved so easily. She asked me where I live, why l live there, what about my family etc. I answered her questions. Then I asked about herself. And she told me where she lives and about her family background. Just then the bus arrived. I had a seat. The girl Kavitha, bought the ticket for me too. When the seat next to me was empty she sat next to me and told me more about herself. Before I got off at my stop, Kavitha invited me to come to her place for Pongal, on Sunday.

I had a list of what I wanted to buy for myself and my neighbour. I am fairly familiar with the two streets in R.S.Puram, where I know the shops to buy my weekly needs. I went to Giri Trading and Nilgiris and bought what I needed. Next I had to go to buy the fruits and chips. Usually I would walk. But having done some extra walking and climbing steps few days earlier, my legs were protesting. I decided to indulge in some luxury. I engaged an auto to go to the two other places and drop me back at the bus stop. He was so willing to come for the short distance and even to wait for me at each place for me to do the shopping. He dropped me at the bus stop. I asked him ‘how much’. He said pay ‘whatever you wish’. I asked him ‘what if it was too low’. He said ‘he would ask for more’. I paid him 50 rupees, he accepted gladly. It was such a nice feeling to be treated like that.

Within few minutes the bus arrived. It was not crowded at all. I got a good seat. I travelled back enjoying and savouring my experience of the morning. When I got off at my stop, I noticed that Kavitha too has travelled by the same bus. We walked back together. I handed over a letter I had to post to the postmaster at our post office, after a brief chat with her. Kavitha pointed out to me her house at a distance with two coconut tree for landmark.

My bag was full, but not too heavy to carry. I walked home, in time for lunch, with the satisfaction of a morning well spent. At each step of the way I felt God has been showering his blessings.

At home in unknown territory

At home in unknown territory

Today I went to Anubhavi Subramaniar Temple. Took a 10 minute bus ride to Chinna Thadagam. Though I could have taken another bus to go from the main road to the temple, I preferred to walk the 2 km. distance instead of waiting for half an hour for the bus to arrive. It was only 8.30 a.m. and the weather was cool and the scenery green. The road went via small villages with brick making the main activity. Even with my brisk walking, it took me half an hour to cover the distance. Wished and smiled acknowledging people on the way.

Went into the Lalithambikai temple at the foot of the hill and had darshan of the Ambal. The spacious space at the base was so picturesque with huge banyan tress and a single small tea shop. I climbed the steps. I was given different figures by different people (from 100 to 300) as to the number of steps to the temple. So I counted each step. After 300, I knew they were wrong. I counted 440 steps before I reached the shrine. Except for the priest there was nobody else. Had a darshan of Lord Muruga. There was another Shiva shrine 100 steps above this. Went up there too as it looked so inviting. Enjoyed the view all around listening to the gurgling tiny stream.

On the way down a man at the temple told me there will be a bus going to Thadagam by 10.30.

Walked down slowly and was at the base by five minutes past ten. Had a cup of tea and half a packet of Britannia Tiger biscuit at the tea stall. I was surprised that a 45.5 gram packet costs just 5 Rupees. How could it cover the raw material, production, packaging and transport costs and still make profit selling at five Rupees?

Again impatient to wait for the bus I started walking back to the main road. There I had to wait for nearly 20 minutes for the bus to go to Mangarai. The bus was not crowded and I had a seat. Got down at my stop and walked the half a km distance to the Home. I was not tired even though I had walked over 5 km and climbed up and down 540 steps.

I enjoyed the trip - visiting the temple on my own, and walking the distance and climbing the steps. The entire journey I was able to follow my thoughts and it was about 'here and now'.

A perfect relationship

A perfect relationship

I am very fond of my brother and sister-in-law. I have laughed and shared a whole lot with them without any reservation. I admire their open relationship. They would discuss issues, argue over it and settle it then in there, in the family setting, in friends’ company or in official meetings.

One day as I was entering their house they were arguing over an issue very strongly. I suggested a solution; my brother immediately accepted it. My sister-in-law got so upset that she quickly blurted out, “You always agree if your sister suggests”.

My brother immediately said, “I agree with whoever is most loved”.

For a second I was so happy, but knowing my brother’s inability to express such mushy sentiments and our family trait of talking loudly, I understood that he meant ‘whoever is most loud’. All of us burst out laughing and the volatile situation was diffused.

Today I remember this incidence and wonder - did he really say ‘loved’.