RANDOM THOUGHTS

I am not sure if the purpose for which the Display boards on the top of each compartment of the Indian Railways serves their intended purpose of providing useful information to its passengers . I am not sure as to what to make out of TIRUNELVELI - CHENNAI EGMORE - SENKOTTAI DISPLAY BOARD On 27 th Jan , i had reserved accomodation in 3 Tier AC by the Train No 12631 Nellai Express slated for departure from Egmore at 8.10 pm from platform No 7 . On platform No 6 , train No 12661 Pothigai Express slated for departure at 9.00 pm was also taking in its passengers . Now , both the rakes are identically coloured and with identical display boards on top of each compartment , one standing on platform no 6 and the other on platform no 7 . I could see a lot of passenger running around to locate the correct train . The plight of single middle aged or elderly ladies and the semi literate was pathetic to say the least . The Railways must surely keep in mind the passengers comfort level

The annual THYAGARAJA AARADHANAI ON BAHULA PANCHAMI Was held this year on the 25 th of January 2019. I am a very great lover of music in all its forms , Carnatic , Hindustani , Tamil and Hindi Film Music of the vintage variety . I must also confess my inability to differentiate the various Ragaa s but i do love and enjoy good music when i hear the same . It is almost 10 years since this programme was telecast live on the BAHULA PANCHAMI Day and i had always made it a point to watch and enjoy the music on this auspicious day  . To hear all the famous exponents of Carnatic Music , the students of the various music colleges the laymen like me who like to tap their hands while listening to any good music is simply DIVINE . The function is conducted every year at Thiruvayaiaru , which is some 10 kms from Thanjavur or 45 kms from Kumbakonam on the banks of the river Cauvery . The weeklong festival draws musicians from across the country and Rasikaa s from all over the world . Every Mus

It came as a rude shock to me when the two ends of my favourite  Trouser ( Full Pant ) would not cooperate and meet at the hip any more . Try as i might , this exercise turned out to be almost  futile  and more often than not , the poor button or hook would pop out of its moorings . Your expensive leather belt which was your saviour all these long years also for some reason fail to cooperate with you any more  . The fact is your waist which was a steady 32 or 34 inches has  chosen to breach the 38 to 40 inches mark . During my  entire working years spanning nearly 35 years , my body weight had always been in the 52 to 55 kgs range and try as i might , this would never breach that mark . Now ,  to my surprise and much to the surprise of all my acquaintances and without actually  doing anything worthwhile I am at 65 kgs . The operative words here are "   NOT DOING ANYTHING  WORTHWHILE  " So gentlemen , please do some activity  during your free time . Friends, Rela

During my working years , I will admit that i have been very strict in granting leave to my workmen . Textile and Weaving in particular being a very labour intensive sector , the pressure to get the best results with the available resources leaves you with little choice otherwise . My working class colleagues have always held me in high esteem in all other areas except my attitude while granting leave . Over the years , workmen have often approached me for a 2 day leave to attend their village festival or KOVILKODAI as it was called in the vernacular . Barring a few , i would refuse leave to the others . That not many workmen took my refusal very seriously and chose to absent themselves anyway is a different matter . I had to make do with whatever labour was available on such days . I myself hail from a place called Ravanasamudram which is hardly 20 kms from my place of work at Vickramasingapuram . Our own family 8 th day function is slated just 2 days before THAI

Unlike the maný  exotic and colourful birds , the common crow is held in a  very low esteem by us for some reason. It is debatable if it is due to its Black colour or the high Decible level of its loud Caws . The scavenging habit of the crow could  also be a factor . It is often forgotten that but for the crows , our earth would have become one stinking hell of a place if all the dead animals were not scavenged by the crows and others in its ilk . In Hindu Temples it is worshipped as the VAAHANA of Lord Sanishwarar . It is a very common habit in many South Indian Families to feed the crows as part of their daily ritual  . A fist full of rice is normally placed at a particular place everyday . The same set of crows will come at the precise hour  to partake the food on offer . It is believed that the food offered to the crows is an offering to our PITRUS or our ancestors who have passed away . I write this because , this is a practice in our house too and the same set of crows

I am sure a lot amongst us would have made use of the 27 " Hardback Suitcases sometime or the other . It is a very handy piece of luggage especially during Overseas travel to the US , UK OR CANADA where each person is allowed 2 pieces of Checked In Luggage each of 23 kgs . Quite recenly , my daughter and family were returning to Canada after their visit to India and as can only be expected they had six of these 27" Hardpack suitcases for the four who were travelling to Canada apart from self and mami who were going to Chennai to see them off  with small suitcases. We were then stationed  at Ambas and had to catch the flight at Chennai .We managed to get confirmed reservations for all 6 of us in a single bay in AC 3 TIER  by the Pothigai Express Ex Shenkottai to Chennai Egmore . My grandson and granddaughter were thrilled and looking forward to this experience as it is not often that they do overnight travel in a train in Canada . Our thrills were shortlived and it soo

Sattur is a Taluk Headquarters Town in Virudhunagar District . Apart from EDIBLE OIL it is famous for its MATCHES AND FIREWORKS industries . It is some 84 kms from Tirunelveli on the Tirunelveli to Chennai Rail Route . I have been traveling on this route right from my early school days from Kolkata during the Summer Holidays . It has always been referred to as SATTUR . For the last 3 years or so i have noticed that the station is spelt as SATTUR at some places and SATUR at some others . The yellow name board as the train enters the station and the one inside the platform in blue are  different . Why has no Railway Authority who matters  not noticed this glaring anamoly.

The last place of visit planned by us for the US visit was THE UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD , the Entertainment Capital of the World . We had booked a Cab for the travel from Extended Stay America to the Studios . This again was an hours drive in the amidst of heavy traffic to cover a distance of 50 miles or 80 kms as we are used to saying at our place  . The cab driver was an ageing and grey Parsi man who had migrated some 30 years back from the present day Mumbai . He was thrilled that i could converse with him in Gujarathi. In fact he was so thrilled that  he even promised to pick us up on our return at 10 pm in the night .  Knowing an Extra  Indian  language has its own advantages even in a foreign country . The Ticket  Charges to Visit the STUDIOS  is very high at 139 $ per head spread over 2 days . One has to be very time conscious to be able to see all the places within a  day . We saw all the must see places which included HARRY POTTER WORLD FAST AND F

Blog 20 , 21 and 22 Continued The 25 Mile travel from Lake Forrest to Anaheim was covered in 25 Minues Flat and the six of us ( self , wife , Anoo , Kamesh , Aarna ana Arya were at the entrance at 8.30 in the morning . The crowd had already started gathering . We had bought the ticket online and so that wait was avoided . The Ticket Charges are  high at 75 $ per head which at current consevative estimates is Rs 5250 per head  . The consolation is that because of the size of the theme park and various other attractions , the ticket is valid for 3 continuous days . The size of the park is huge and by my estimate it could easily be larger than the town of Ambasamudram .  Kamesh and Anoo were smart enough to hire a stroller for our little one Arya . Almost everyone with a kid did so and the crowd at the stroller hiring stall was as big as the ticket counter itself . After the mandatory security check of all  and the belongings and with a wrist band with the date of

 Continuation of my previous 2 blogs 20/21 We were in the US and Los Angeles in particular  for the Upanayanam of Shri Rajagopal and Bagavathy mami s Grandson Abhinav  . Mr and Mrs Rajagopal were also inmates of the Madura Coats Colony and we are all well acquainted with each other  . Mahesh , Ganesh and Kamesh are their sons and Lakshmi Chandrashekar their Daughter . We knew them from their school days in the colony . Kamesh later on became my son in law and Mr and Mrs Rajagopal are our Sambhandhis . We were in the US for the Upanayanam of Ganesh s son Abhinav alias Montu . In our community the Upanayanam or the THREAD CEREMONY is a very important function , where the youngster is introduced to the rituals particular  to  our com. Its importance is no less than the marriage Ceremony . Ganesh had arranged for our stay at a place called EXTENDED STAY AMERICA in Lake Forrest . This place is some 50 miles from Los Angeles airport . For some reason Americans stil

As planned the six of us , self and wife Seethalakshmi , Daughter Anoobala , Son in Law Kamesh , Grand Daughter Aarna and  Grandson Arya were finally on our way to the US . Although i have  been to quite a few countries on various occasions , travel to the US and that too for the first time was always going to be special . It was a journey in two parts . Regina to Vancouver being the first leg and after a two hour Transit then on to Los Angeles. The Regina to Vancouver leg was uneventful save for the minor pranks of my Grand Children . Vancouver is one of the largest cities  in Canada and its swanky airport with its all glass facade is awesome . It attracts a large number of visitors from within Canada and across the border from the US . It is unique as the only major city in Canada that has no snowfall right through the year . Next the interesting part . The immigration check for entry in to the US is done at the last port of departure by US officials at VANCOUVER itself and one c

Self and wife were seeking a VISA to the US for attending the Upanayanam of my Son in law s nephew at Los Angeles in Aug 2016 . Our plan was to go to the US from Regina in Canada where we had planned our usual   annual stay . All the lengthy but necessary paper work were completed at the VFS and we were asked to present ourselves before the Officer at the US Consulate in Chennai at 11.30 AM on a particular day . By oversight i had mentioned the Language of Interview as Tamil . Now , my prowess in Tamil is nothing much to write home about and is very basic in reading and very poor in the writing skills. To more than make up for this shortfall is  my wife who holds a Masters Degree in Tamil and a Tamil Language Teacher all her working life . We had rehearsed the answers to the likely questions that might be asked and were ready for our Interview . As bad luck would have it , it was a rainy day and we had to make use of an Umbrella.  There was already a heavy queue for the 11.30 AM sl

Rlght from my early school days , i have had a fascination for Puri Jagannath and Konarak Sun Temples . A part of this could be because of the fact that my father was in the Railway Service at Khurda Road Junction which is quite close to Bhuvaneshwar , Puri and Konarak . To relive the feel of these temples , self and my better half visited these sites some 50 years after my last visit during March 2017 . We took the direct train from Tirunelveli to Bhuvaneshwar for the train proceeding to Kolkata and had booked the room for our stay at the Railway Retiring Room at Bhuvaneshwar station itself . The entire station was kept spotlessly clean as the then Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu was visiting the station . Unlike our Tamilnadu , not much seem to have changed especially  in the temple premises . Tribhuvaneshwar Temple after which the place  derives its name , Lingaraj Temple , Mukteshwar Temple , Brahmeshwar Temple and Rajarani Temple brought b

 PICTURES OF MR & MRS SUGANTHIAH S                   FLOWER GARDEN It is always a devine feeling when one chances upon something beautiful . This is all the more so when ones efforts are rewarded by the different coloured flowers in ones garden . My friends RANI AND SUGANTHIAH who live 2 blocks away from my house are masters at cultivating their garden . One should see the amount of effort and pain they take to raise their garden . Right from getting the seeds , seedlings and other add ons for effective nurturing of the plants is to be seen to be believed . The surfing of the net to learn and get  the best results for the garden is not only time consuming but also a tedious affair . The attention and detail paid to raise the beautiful garden is no less than the effort taken  to raise their son and the result is there for all to see. This has inspired me to start a garden in a small way in my house and i am thankful  to the couple for the same . MAY TH