A Priority tag
I went on a late night flight to Mumbai. I had a cabin-size suitcase, packed only half full. It was light to carry. I was going to take it as a hand baggage. But when I checked-in the girl at the counter asked if I could check-in my baggage, as there were lots of people with hand baggage and it would be difficult to accommodate them all in the overhead lockers. As an incentive, she offered to tag my bag with a ‘priority’ tag so that when I reach Mumbai it would come out in the first lot of bags.
As I had nearly two hours to wait in the airport it was so convenient not to have a suitcase to drag along everywhere, or carry it up the stairs while boarding.
I also asked the girl for a seat in the Exit row to have enough legroom to stretch. She gave me the window seat in row 1. That too was most convenient.
And at the other end, when I arrived at 11.15 p.m., my bag came without any delay as promised. I felt so proud to have this special privilege.
Just with these two facilities I felt as if I traveled in Business Class.
On the way back I had the same suitcase. But this time it was full. It was a bit heavy. It would be difficult for me to carry. Still I planned to carry it on board, but took a chance and asked the girl if I could have a ‘priority’ tag if I checked in my bag. She asked whether I had a card – Gold or Platinum I suppose. I told her I don’t have it, but I am requesting the privilege because after reaching the destination I have to travel further to Ranipet for another two and a half hours. The girl obliged and gave my suitcase a ‘priority’ tag.
It helps to ask. It also helps when you look and behave elderly.
But this time I forgot to ask for a seat in the Exit row or at least a window or an isle seat and ended up in the middle seat!!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Disability of a different kind
Disability of a different kind
Yesterday I was standing in a long queue to board the plane. A man entered the queue in front of me. He had some disability in his leg. He was dragging his leg. I gave him enough space and waited patiently behind him to let him go in his own pace.
A thought struck me that it is not my usual behaviour when somebody jumps the queue anywhere - whether in a bank, movie theater, railway station, in the checkout counter in a super market or even a driver on the road overtaking me when the road is not clear and tries to squeeze in front of me and expects me slow down to accommodate him.
I will not just accept it and let them go. I will show my displeasure, verbally, by a look or a raised eyebrow or honking the horn.
What made me behave differently this time? Is it because of the person’s disability? What if I could understand that people with unacceptable behaviour have an invisible disability? Wouldn’t it make me more tolerant of others?
Isn’t it obvious that people who jump the queue are disabled by impatience, ignorance of the norms, bad manners and self-centeredness?
Is it some kind of an insight? Would I remember this learning next time I encounter such a situation?
Yesterday I was standing in a long queue to board the plane. A man entered the queue in front of me. He had some disability in his leg. He was dragging his leg. I gave him enough space and waited patiently behind him to let him go in his own pace.
A thought struck me that it is not my usual behaviour when somebody jumps the queue anywhere - whether in a bank, movie theater, railway station, in the checkout counter in a super market or even a driver on the road overtaking me when the road is not clear and tries to squeeze in front of me and expects me slow down to accommodate him.
I will not just accept it and let them go. I will show my displeasure, verbally, by a look or a raised eyebrow or honking the horn.
What made me behave differently this time? Is it because of the person’s disability? What if I could understand that people with unacceptable behaviour have an invisible disability? Wouldn’t it make me more tolerant of others?
Isn’t it obvious that people who jump the queue are disabled by impatience, ignorance of the norms, bad manners and self-centeredness?
Is it some kind of an insight? Would I remember this learning next time I encounter such a situation?
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Observing my thoughts
Observing my thoughts
"When a father gives away his daughter, do you know how much was the hidden cost?"
- I read this and felt what a nice way of putting it. It must be a professional Accountant asking.
In Chennai while I was passing by the 'Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board' (சென்னை குடிநீர் வழங்கல், கழிவு நீர் அகற்றும் வாரியம்) I felt they should have separate Board for these two functions to avoid contamination.
"When a father gives away his daughter, do you know how much was the hidden cost?"
- I read this and felt what a nice way of putting it. It must be a professional Accountant asking.
In Chennai while I was passing by the 'Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board' (சென்னை குடிநீர் வழங்கல், கழிவு நீர் அகற்றும் வாரியம்) I felt they should have separate Board for these two functions to avoid contamination.
Chasing the Dream
Chasing the Dream
Last nigh I watched "The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream" on TV. Being a tele-movie it was short and crisp. It was pleasant to watch all through.
The movie is about an unlikely figure skating pair: A champion figure skater paired with a tough tomboyish ice hockey player. I found it very enjoyable watching all the twist and turns and jumps they do so smoothly like in a ballet.
To win the nationals, the pair must do a new life-threatening move nobody has risked doing lately. The move involves the man picking the woman up by an ankle, swinging her up and down and around at greater speeds and parabolic angles and throwing her up into the air, after which the pair spins identically but at different heights. It ends with the man catching the woman on her way down as they both come out of their spins, bringing her down on to her feet.
When they executed this move it was so spectacular, I involuntarily stood up and clapped with joy. After a pair has gone through such an experience is it any wonder / surprise that they expressed their love for each other? They could have done that move only as a team with trust in each other - main ingredient for love, any kind of love between any two individuals.
I liked the movie very much. I am romantic at heart. It made me bubble with happiness and energy for the rest of the evening.
Last nigh I watched "The Cutting Edge 3: Chasing the Dream" on TV. Being a tele-movie it was short and crisp. It was pleasant to watch all through.
The movie is about an unlikely figure skating pair: A champion figure skater paired with a tough tomboyish ice hockey player. I found it very enjoyable watching all the twist and turns and jumps they do so smoothly like in a ballet.
To win the nationals, the pair must do a new life-threatening move nobody has risked doing lately. The move involves the man picking the woman up by an ankle, swinging her up and down and around at greater speeds and parabolic angles and throwing her up into the air, after which the pair spins identically but at different heights. It ends with the man catching the woman on her way down as they both come out of their spins, bringing her down on to her feet.
When they executed this move it was so spectacular, I involuntarily stood up and clapped with joy. After a pair has gone through such an experience is it any wonder / surprise that they expressed their love for each other? They could have done that move only as a team with trust in each other - main ingredient for love, any kind of love between any two individuals.
I liked the movie very much. I am romantic at heart. It made me bubble with happiness and energy for the rest of the evening.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
This is what life is all about
This is what life is all about
Yesterday in the morning when I turned on the TV at ten past six to view Bharadaththil dharmam, பாரதத்தில் தர்மம், the TV opened with the Star Movie channel.
A man was sitting comfortably in a speeding motorboat in the middle of the sea. Nobody else was with him. There was nothing else in sight, just the vast expanse of the sea, with its rolling waves. There wasn't any clue as to what time of the day it could be, but the clear blue sky indicated a sunny day. The man was very relaxed. The movie ended with that scene. I don't know what movie it was, or anything about the movie. The scene looked so good; it got etched in my mind.
I felt what a satisfying experience it must be and how lucky he is to be able to do that.
It also made me think.
For the man to feel that relaxed in a tiny motor boat, in the middle of the sea, how much preparation must have gone into it, what all the competencies he must have developed to get that self-confident, how comfortable he should be with himself to be on his own, how much trust he must have in himself and in a higher power to be able to face any adversary.
Whatever we do, this is what life is all about.
Yesterday in the morning when I turned on the TV at ten past six to view Bharadaththil dharmam, பாரதத்தில் தர்மம், the TV opened with the Star Movie channel.
A man was sitting comfortably in a speeding motorboat in the middle of the sea. Nobody else was with him. There was nothing else in sight, just the vast expanse of the sea, with its rolling waves. There wasn't any clue as to what time of the day it could be, but the clear blue sky indicated a sunny day. The man was very relaxed. The movie ended with that scene. I don't know what movie it was, or anything about the movie. The scene looked so good; it got etched in my mind.
I felt what a satisfying experience it must be and how lucky he is to be able to do that.
It also made me think.
For the man to feel that relaxed in a tiny motor boat, in the middle of the sea, how much preparation must have gone into it, what all the competencies he must have developed to get that self-confident, how comfortable he should be with himself to be on his own, how much trust he must have in himself and in a higher power to be able to face any adversary.
Whatever we do, this is what life is all about.
Friday, July 23, 2010
My mother's prayers
My mother’s prayer habits were very simple. In the morning she would clean the small area specially designed in the corner of the dinning room, where we had the Kovil azhwar and some God pictures. She would remove previous day’s flowers, wipe off the Kolam, do fresh kolam, clean the wick of the oil lamp, add oil and light it and adjust the wick so that the flame would be just perfect.
When the milk is boiled, she would take a tumbler full of the freshly boiled milk, add sugar, mix it pouring it from the tumbler to another a few times to cool it enough before she would place it in front of the Gods.
At that time she would also say a few prayers aloud. They were a mixture of various slokas. I haven’t paid enough attention to it or asked her about what they meant. Recently going through some list of slokas I recognised some of the ones amma used to recite.
Amma knew so many tamil prayers of various azhwars, all the Andal thirupavai, and understood the meanings fully. Though it is in Tamil, being the old Tamil some words are not so easily recognizable. She didn’t find them difficult at all. Out of all those the one she used to recite in the morning so appropriately is the 29th poem -
'Chittram chirukaale vandhunnai seviththu' (சிற்றம் சிறுகாலே வந்துன்னை சேவித்து)
This has become my favourite now.
Another one was on Lakshmi Narasimhar -
यस्या भवत भक्त जनार्दी हन्तु
पितृत्व मन्येशु विचार्य तूर्णम
स्तम्भेवतारः तम अनन्य लभ्यम
लक्ष्मी न्र्सिम्हम शरणम प्रपद्ये
I don’t know how she learnt it. Reading it now I realize how well she used to pronounce it.
The third was on Thirupathi Venkataramana -
श्रीमान वेंकट नाधार्य कवितार्किक केसरी
वेदांता चार्य वर्योमे सननिधत्तां सदा हृदि l
Undoubtedly, she knew the meanings of these too. She recited these as if talking directly to her Gods.
When the milk is boiled, she would take a tumbler full of the freshly boiled milk, add sugar, mix it pouring it from the tumbler to another a few times to cool it enough before she would place it in front of the Gods.
At that time she would also say a few prayers aloud. They were a mixture of various slokas. I haven’t paid enough attention to it or asked her about what they meant. Recently going through some list of slokas I recognised some of the ones amma used to recite.
Amma knew so many tamil prayers of various azhwars, all the Andal thirupavai, and understood the meanings fully. Though it is in Tamil, being the old Tamil some words are not so easily recognizable. She didn’t find them difficult at all. Out of all those the one she used to recite in the morning so appropriately is the 29th poem -
'Chittram chirukaale vandhunnai seviththu' (சிற்றம் சிறுகாலே வந்துன்னை சேவித்து)
This has become my favourite now.
Another one was on Lakshmi Narasimhar -
यस्या भवत भक्त जनार्दी हन्तु
पितृत्व मन्येशु विचार्य तूर्णम
स्तम्भेवतारः तम अनन्य लभ्यम
लक्ष्मी न्र्सिम्हम शरणम प्रपद्ये
I don’t know how she learnt it. Reading it now I realize how well she used to pronounce it.
The third was on Thirupathi Venkataramana -
श्रीमान वेंकट नाधार्य कवितार्किक केसरी
वेदांता चार्य वर्योमे सननिधत्तां सदा हृदि l
Undoubtedly, she knew the meanings of these too. She recited these as if talking directly to her Gods.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Be aware of outdated practices - bring about a change
Be aware of outdated practices
Yesterday I felt, the song 'We shall overcome' is outdated and not relevant at all anymore for students to continue to sing in schools as a patriotic song. 'We shall Overcome Someday' (हम होंगे कामयाब एक दिन - in Hindi) is not saying much.
It was originally written by Rev. Charles Tindley, of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and was used as protest song during US civil rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and U.S. Senator for New York Robert F. Kennedy used it while leading the anti-apartheid crowds in Africa.
The website http://www.songsforteaching.com/positiveattitudes.htm has lots of 'Songs That Build Positive Attitudes and Self-Esteem', appropriate for schools.
Yesterday I felt, the song 'We shall overcome' is outdated and not relevant at all anymore for students to continue to sing in schools as a patriotic song. 'We shall Overcome Someday' (हम होंगे कामयाब एक दिन - in Hindi) is not saying much.
It was originally written by Rev. Charles Tindley, of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and was used as protest song during US civil rights movement. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and U.S. Senator for New York Robert F. Kennedy used it while leading the anti-apartheid crowds in Africa.
The website http://www.songsforteaching.com/positiveattitudes.htm has lots of 'Songs That Build Positive Attitudes and Self-Esteem', appropriate for schools.
Just a few for sample -
What a Wonderful World
by Louis Armstrong
I see trees of green, red roses too I see them bloom, for me and for you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
I see skies of blue, clouds of white
Bright blessed days, dark sacred nights
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
The colors of a rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands, saying how do you do
They’re really saying, I love you.
I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
A Bright Tomorrow
by Laszlo Slomovits
Painting a bright tomorrow begins here today.
I get to choose the colors, I get to have my say,
By how I think today.
I can think in the very best way.
I get to choose every day.
My mind is like a brush, I paint with each thought.
If I don’t like the way things look, I look at the paints I brought
And think a different way.
I can think in the very best way.
I get to choose every day.
Yesterday is done, there’s no way I can change it.
Tomorrow’s not yet here, but I can pre-arrange it
By how I live today.
I can think in the very best way.
I get to choose every day.
If I don’t like a color I chose, I can create another shade.
I can just paint over it again and again, till I am happy with what I made.
It’s all in how I choose to look, it’s all in how I choose to feel.
The cup may look half empty, but half full is just as real.
I choose to see the world, filled with love and grace.
I choose to see myself, in the perfect time and place
By how I think today.
I can think in the very best way.
I get to choose every day.
So, painting a bright tomorrow, begins here today.
I get to choose the colors, I get to have my say
By how I think today, by how I act today,
By how I live today.
I can think in the very best way.
I get to choose every day.
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