RANDOM THOUGHTS

TAMBRAHM AND THE CURD RICE If there is one thing that is inseparable , it is the Tambrahm and the Curd Rice . Sivaji Nagesh might as well have added this bit about the inseparable things in their Thiruvilayadal comedy scene . A Tambrahm , having lived a very academically successful life with good money , great education and family will always have the Curd Rice as the constant companion . Be it the School at Ambasamudram or college at Coimbatore or later in the US for the Masters or wherever the job takes him or her  to the far corners of the Earth and i suspect even into the deep space if a need arises , the one constant companion would always be the Curd Rice and Narthangai Urugai or Mangai Thokku . The Curd Rice is the single most important delicacy in the Tambrahm household . The Tambrahm and the  Curd Rice would have spent more years in togetherness than the average married couple themselves and mind you always with love and no complaints whatsoever.

I SALUTE OUR BRAVE PILOTS WHO HAVE MADE US PROUD BY WIPING OUT THE TERROR OUTFITS IN PAKISTAN TODAY I have had my own share of being in a war zone during an Air Raid . This happened when i was a school kid during the Indo - Pak war of 1965 . As can only be imagined , to be a first hand witness to an Air Fight right before your eyes , sets all of your  adrenaline racing . We were in the midst of the Indo - Pak War during the year 1965 . My father , a Very Senior Railway Officer was stationed at Kharagpur some 72 Kms from the  present day Kolkata . For those not in the knowhow , Kharagpur is one of the biggest and busiest Railway Junctions in the Country . Our Bungalow was hardly 5 kms away from the Eastern Air Command at Kalaikunda . In fact one of my classmates was Linda Lafontaine whose father later on went on to become the AIR CHIEF MARSHAL of the Indian Air Force . At that time , Bangladesh did not exist , Pakistan was divided into East and West Pakistan . Kolkata a...

For the benefit of The Non South Indian and   International Audiences  : Above are the pictures of an appliance which is a must  in every South Indian Household and  goes by the name of a  Coffee Filter  . It is basically , two similar sized containers , one of which has a perforated bottom and fits smugly on the non perforated one . The ground coffee powder is placed on the perforated container and pressed with a spoon to sort of harden it at the surface and boiling hot water is poured over it and leaving it semi closed with the lid slightly open for air passage  . This air space is important as otherwise the hot water will remain at the top only and nothing will ever filter through . The boiling hotwater and the Coffee powder form a liquid which in our parlance is called as the DECOCTION . This decoction with milk ( we in India do not like our Coffee Black) and a  measure of  sugar go on to make our early morning invigorating d...

Homestay ventures have been at the back of my mind for some time now . My firsthand expierence of having stayed at such places at both Horanadu and Uddupi with its  almost homelike ambience and the food to go with it has made the stay a memorable one . This has set me thinking about the feasibility of providing such a facility at my own place here at Agasthiarpatty near Ambasamudram . This place can rightly claim to be one of the best places of tourist interest for tourists in all age groups . Please visit thinktank-revathyganesh.blogspot.com And the topic AMBASAMUDRAM WAITING TO BE DISCOVERED BY YOU My home , though not of the luxury  variety is surely a comfortable one with all facilities and also at an ideal location . With this in mind , i approached the Marathadi Josier at kallinai and he has said that now was  the best time to start the venture and that the 29 th, 30 th or even the 31 st of this month were very auspicious to start the venture . So friends ...

Keep the City Clean Campaign by the Bangalore Corporation on the busy MARATHAHALLI TO KUNDANAHALLI ROAD ON THE BRIDGE OVER THE RAILWAY TRACK HAS THE FOLLOWING EYE CATCHING CAPTION DO NOT DEFECATE THE WALL This is a very high profile area with high end apartments of the mainly IT and related employees . Both the English Grammer and Physics have gone for a Six . The error in English is obvious to anyone reading the message . Defecating on the wall will require some doing as the basic law of Gravity will make the effort , even if one were so inclined , to a certain failure and a laughing stock to all those making use of this extremely busy road . BANGALORE CITY  CORPORATION SURELY HAS TO COME UP WITH A BETTER SET OF SLOGANS IF THE MESSAGE IS TO REACH THE INTENDED AUDIENCE .

Did you know why ,  IRCTC does not allow you to choose seats or berths while making reservations for travel  ? It mearly asks for your preference while making the bookings online . What you actually get is left to IRCTC. Would you believe that the technical reason for this is PHYSICS . Booking a seat in a train is far different from booking a seat in a movie theater  . Theatre is a stationary hall whereas a train is a moving object . Hence , safety  in motion is a very high priority . Indian Railways ticket booking software is designed in such a way that it will book tickets in a manner that will distribute the load evenly in a train . Let us assume that there are S1 to S10 , that is 10 coaches of the sleeper class with 72 berths in each coach . So , when someone first books a ticket , the installed software will assign a berth in the middle coach S5 between the berth numbers 30 to 40 and preferably lower berths . The software first fills the lower berths so as...

Once a man got lost in a desert .The water in his flask had run out two days ago and he was almost on his last legs .He knew that if he didn't get some water soon , he would die . The man saw a small hut ahead of him . He thought if this could be a mirage or hallucination , but having no other option , he gatheted all the strength and moved towards it . As he moved closer , he realized that it was real . So he dragged his tired body to the door with the last bit of his already draining strength . The hut was not occupied and seemed as if it had been abandoned for quite some time The man entered the hut , hoping against hope that he would find some water . His heart skipped a couple of beats when he saw the hand pump inside the hut ........ it had a pipe going through the floor , perhaps tapping a source of water deep under the ground . He began working the hand pump . But no water came out . He kept at it and still nothing happened . Finally he gave up from exhaustion and f...

I often wonder about the pains taken by the Indian Diaspora to value and cherish our culture , irrespective of the place they choose to settle . Wembley in Central London may be a microcosm of any place in India . It could remind one of Mohali , Jamnagar , Chennai or sometimes even Agasthiarpatty  depending on the place from where one hails . The above snap of the hoarding in TAMIL of a Hair Cutting Saloon ( hair dresser ) and the book shop next to it are just a sample of the same . The Saraswati Unavagam , Saravana Bhavan , The Eela Patheeswara Kovil , The Sai Baba Temple next to it could be any place in India . Classical Music , Bharathanatiyam Dances are a regular feature here . The Temple rituals are performed with all the fervor and it sort of leaves you with a sense of guilt when we ( those in India and especially in the South ) are  slowly but surely loosing all that has been held sacred  and close to our heart for thousands of years . IT IS TIME WE BEGIN ...

WIFE GONE TO HER MOTHERS PLACE               A small note left by a wife for her husband . "  I am going to my mothers place along with our kids . It may be almost 10 days before i am back . Do not bring your friends and celebrate my absence . Last time i noticed 4 empty bottles of you know what  with a lot of cigarette stubs all around . Do not be stupid enough and keep the mobile in the soapbox inside the bathroom . Keep your specs inside its case as last time around  I found it inside the fridge . I have already paid the maid her salary . Your generosity is not required . Please do not keep asking if the newspaper has been delivered at  our neighbors place , their vendor is different from ours . There is no need for you to enter the kitchen . I will be very annoyed this time if you again turn our kitchen sink from its present sparkling state to the saffron coated one of last time . Please light the lamp in...

There is an amazing occurrence at PATTAMADAI SIVAN KOVIL every year . This place almost halfway between Tirunelveli and Ambasamudram . It is some 5 kms from Pattamadai on the way to Karisoozhnda Mandalam. Every year on a particular auspicious day the Early Morning  Rays of the Sun fall on the Siva Lingam for 3 to 8 minutes from the main entrance of the temple on to the Siva Lingam in the Garbha Griha of the temple . This rare occurance takes place between 6.15 am and 6.30 am on or around 26 th of September every year . I have posted the same on youtube with the title , PATTAMADAI SIVAN KOVIL YEARLY OCCURANCE OF SUNRAYS ON THE LINGAM Please have a look for better coverage .

I  had reason to be at a hospital in Tirunelveli for almost 3 days in connection with the stay of a relative of mine who was recuperating from a bout of illness . One gets rather numb with all that one sees within the confines of a hospital . The following case comes to mind both as a shock as to how low the money minded will stoop to earn a fast buck and the pathetic treatment the helpless are given . Here is a couple , the husband a teacher at a High School at Cheranmahadevi under the special category quota . He is  totally vision impaired and was doing the teaching job by the use of the Braille methodology. His loving wife was from an orphanage during her entire pre marriage years . They had a very sweet 4 year daughter. They did not have a close relative of any sort and were almost on their own  . As can be imagined under the circumstances they were leading a happy and contended life till the following event took place . The teacher had to be taken to a hospital i...