Saturday, December 31, 2011

Bye 2011


Towards the end of every year the tempo starts building up peaking to a crescendo on  the eve of the New year and this I have been witnessing for the past 55 years. No doubt, every year brings up new cheer,  new expectations, new challenges and new resolutions. It is this expectation, the forgiveness of not reaching the last years' goals & resolutions, the hope of scaling newer peaks that keeps the people alive to the expectations of the new year round the corner. Coming to think of it God's greatest gifts to mankind are Hopes and forgetfulness and these keeps the momentum going.

Though I am past the days of expecting wild turnarounds round the corner, the inquisitive  me  makes me also to think about what had happened in the bygone year .

As usual life was a roller coaster ride and last year was no exception. But, it was more like the stock the market with its unpredictable elements which tempted me to look for the bulls and bears of the year. I believe those thoughts that instantly bring cheer to you , without much analysis, are the high points of  a year.

I was fortunate to read some good books in both English and Tamil. The titles that come to my mind instantly are  Ilamayil Kol (Sujatha), Last Lecture ( Randy Pausch), TCS Story (Ramadorai), More Salt than Pepper (Karan Thapar), Irul Piriyum Neram (Sujatha), Two States (Chetan Bhagat), I Dare (Kiran Bedi) apart from the useful monthly issues of 'Frozen Thoughts'.

From the entertainment front, I could entertain myself with some very good movies and 'awfully gone wrong' movies, more with the hype created than it's worth. I became more occupied with interaction across the world through social networking sites and my blog also witnessed a considerable increase in the posts. I was exposed to a plethora of websites particularly in Tamil, which was a great revelation. It was heartening to note that there is a bottomless pit across the web space waiting to be explored and the world wide web promises to be a literary companion, for years to come.

My spirits hit the roof when India re-conquered the cricketing world after 28 years by winning the World Cup again and I felt this time the competition was more intense, the players were more mature and the game was more watchable due to the improved technology. As I had also witnessed the 1983 crown, I felt more blessed to witness the regaining of the paradise.

For the spiritual accompaniment I had such illustrious masters such as Suki Sivam, Sudha Seshayyan, Velukkudi Krishnan Swamy and electronically I could interact with many more such as Visaka Hari and Balakrishna Sastrigal. Apart from these, the weekly interludes with Rangarajan and his books opened up newer vistas. The exploration of this virgin land of spirituality is , I feel the major gain of the year.

Delightful visits to Kodaikanal and Top Slip were the travel highlights of the year. While Kodai offered its usual pleasant chillness in the maddening May month's heat, Top Slip in December gave some really chilling moments. The better planned holidays in the western Ghats provided some rare dharshan of the Aliyar center of Vedathri Maharishi and a panoramic view of the Aliyar Dam. Though Val Paarai was a disappointment against the high expectations, the sole night atop a tree house bang in the middle of the forest was frightening. An unforgettable night of pitch darkness with the shining eyes of wild boars and bison added more chill when informed that a cheetah was sighted only a few days before. Not sure whether the chillness and trembling were due to the December weather or the surroundings but some better security precautions by the Government for the high paid inmates of the tree top houses could have definitely brought some warmth to the situation. Notwithstanding the above, it was still a vacation to cherish.

Brush with governmental agencies for some documents was a new addition to my experience repertoire. Optimistically one would like to call it as an experience while I would personally like to term it as repulsive and will be blessed if not exposed again.

On the personal front, losing my brother to a well fought disease was a big blow wiping out all the positives of the year but then, this gave another direction in expecting the unexpected.

I normally do not set goals for the perennial fear of not meeting it year after year.  But, I do stop and mull over briefly to review the bygones and guard against the misadventures and the above was an attempt on those lines. I recall a good saying of Benjamin Franklin on resolutions : ' Resolve to perform what you ought; Perform without fail what you resolve'.

Yes, I have miles to Go, I have mounds of energy, heaps of hope and abundant confidence in me, people around and the one above. That makes me to beckon 2012 with all the verve.

Happy New Year and God Bless!

Happiness


Happiness is a very relative term whose real meaning gets changed under different situations, circumstances and moods. Some find happiness in being with the family, with friends, chatting, listening to music, serving others, helping the deprived, earning more, being gluttonous, supporting the needy and many more. Some even find happiness in being alone and thinking. There are poets  "who also serve by standing and staring", deriving happiness in their own unique ways . I recently experienced yet another dimension of true happiness quite unexpectedly.

I was invited to be a friend on a popular corporate network and on a query I found that the person just wanted to befriend me though we have not interacted before. After some time, I was asked about the existence of opportunities for him in one of my erstwhile organizations. I directed him to some contacts, though I was not very confident of their usefulness, as I had lost touch with them for many years. After some weeks, I was informed that he got placed in that organization and I was stunned. I was truly happy because I never expected this to click but a simple direction has changed the direction of his life. I am not overwhelmed by his encomiums but am immensely delighted that such simple acts could also yield results. I realized yet another meaning of happiness on that day !  

Friday, December 30, 2011

New Year Wishes


For the year2012,  instead of wishing people individually , I decided to take the direct route and appeal to the Almighty for the wishes of not only mine , but for my friends too.

Here we go with some of the wishes:

Ø  We have no more increase in fuel price this year
Ø  No more dams and its issues come up. Let the dams be damned
Ø   Grant us more leaders to fight for our cause but no more Fasts
Ø  Wish  that no monuments, be it brought up by the current Govt or not,  are brought down or  differently used.
Ø  Grant us enough power to last through the next monsoon thereby throwing away power cuts
Ø  Wish there are more roads with less potholes
Ø  Wish the contract with the garbage removers get extended and the roads remain tidy
Ø  Grant us many productive parliament sessions without logjams
Ø  Wish we have more satisfied employers and employees
Ø  the economies round the world stand steady so that there are no recessions
Ø  Wish there are enough bridegrooms for the offshore brides and good onsite brides for "to-be US citizens"

Coming to think about it, I feel these will be applicable for all the years to come ! 

Friday, December 23, 2011

நான் ஒரு முட்டாளுங்க


ஏதோ - லோக்பாலோ, டினோபாலோ வரப்போர்துன்னு சொல்றாங்க. விளையாட்டாக ஆரம்பித்த இது,  விஸ்வ ரூபம் எடுத்து சில சமயம் யார் கட்டுப்பாட்டுக்கும் இல்லாமல், ஒரு பெரிய விருட்ஷமாக வளர்ந்து கொண்டிருக்கு. 

இந்த நேரத்தில், ஒரு சாதாரண மனிதனாக, சில அசட்டுத்தனமான கேள்விகள் தோன்றத்தான் செய்கின்றன. இவங்க ஆளும் கட்சிய பயமுறுத்துவதாக சொல்ராங்க. அவங்களோ இவங்கதான் ஆட்சியை நடத்த முடியாம பண்றதாச் சொல்ராங்க. இந்த அரசியலெல்லாம் நமக்குப் புரியாதுங்க - நம்ப தான் அசடாச்சே !

இந்த மசோதா வந்தப்புறம், நம்மளோட தினசரி அக்கப்போரான இதெல்லாம் என்னெவாகும்? தெரிந்தாச் சொல்லுங்களேன்:

1. இனிமே ரேஷன் கார்டு புதுசா வாங்கர்த்துக்கோ, இல்ல முகவரி மாத்தறதுக்கோ, அதிக காசு குடுக்க வேணாமா?

2. வாரிசு தாரர் சர்டிஃபிகேட்டுக்கு நடயா நடக்க வேணாமா - தானா வீட்டுக்கே வந்துடுமா?

3. அவசரத்துக்கு பதிவில்லாத டிக்ககெட் எடுத்து ரயில்ல ஏறிட்டா, டீ டீ ஈ ஒண்ணும் எதிர்பார்க்க மாட்டாரா?

4. வீடு பத்திரம் பதிவு பண்றது சுலபமாயுடுமா?

5. லாரியெல்லாம் இனிமே சிக்னலுக்கு சிக்னல் பயமில்லாமல் போக முடியுமா?

6. அவசரத்துக்கு சிக்னலை கவனிக்காமல் வண்டியில போயிட்டா, நியாயமான அபராதம் மட்டும் கட்டினால் போதுமா ?

7. வீட்டு வரியும் கட்டி கார்டும் ஒண்ணுமே செலவில்லாம வாங்க முடியுமா?

8. இனிமே காசு கொடுக்காமலேயே, ட்ரைவிங்க் லைசென்சு வாங்கமுடியுமா?

9. அரசு ஆஸ்பத்ரி வாசலில் இனிமேல் கை நீட்ட மாட்டாங்களா ?

10. எல்லா பய புள்ளங்களுக்கும் இனிமே இங்ஜினீயரிக் காலேஜில சீட் கிடைக்குமா?

தெரிஞ்சாசொல்லுங்களேன்-இந்த மர மண்டைக்கு !