RANDOM THOUGHTS

I am not sure how many amongst us have the time or the  inclination to travel down the memory lane and relive the various fond memories of our childhood days . I for one , am onto this quite often and infact quite relish every moment of it . During one such sojourn , the thought of getting my first Wrist Watch come to mind . All of us i am sure will recall the dainty little plastic watches that we were proud to have as kids and kept fiddling with the knobs to keep pace with the time of the day . The glowing hands and the hours were an added attraction . No visit to an Exhibition or fair would be complete  without persuading the elders to buy you these prized items . When the time for the real watches came in my tenth standard , the search began with the options available then . There was no TITAN , HMT OR SONATA watches then . The market was flush with the Swiss and Japanese models . Henri Sandoz and Fils , Favre Leuba , Seiko , Citizen and Tissot come to mind immidiately . My

Random Musings on Today s Reality As with the dreams of most parents in India, i had acquired a degree in Engineering and joined a company based in the USA , it was as if a dream had come true. Here at last was i at a place where i had always wanted to be . I decided that i would be staying in this country for about 5 years during which time i would have saved enough money to settle down in India . My father back in India was a Governament Employee and after his retirement the only asset he had was a decent one bedroom apartment . I wanted to do something more than him . I started feeling homesick and  lonely as the days and months passed by . I used to call my parents almost every weekend on cheap International Call Cards . Two years quickly passed by . These two years , i managed with the Burgers at the McDonalds or the Pizza s at the discos . Finally , i decided to get married . Told my parents that i had only 10 days of holidays and that everything must be got over within

It always amazes me when i ponder about the very many mind blowing  achievements of the generations gone by . That they were able to do this without the present day tools and technology is a marvel in itself . Digging a well is not an easy job , efforts of many hands have to cooperate for the best results . The entire effort is a waste if no water is to be found even after digging for 200 feet . Similar is the case if the well turns dry during the hot summer months . People down the ages had their own and ingenious way of finding a solution for this . The greenest patch of land in your plot was the best place to dig the well . The test to see if it was fit for drinking and potable was checked in the following way . Ground grain was  spread on the intended place of the well the previous evening , Next morning , if the ants accumulate these grains to a particular place signifies that the water underneath the ground  is indeed potable . Next comes the test to see if enough w

It is only mid May  and the summer heat has become unbearable . Temperatures  in the late Thirties have become a common feature .  We have our  AC , Fridge and many such gadgets to cool down the heat . Water consumption which was in Litres is now in Gallons . Beg , Borrow , Buy or Steal our needs are met somehow . Just imagine the fate of our Avian Feathered Friends . All the water holes have dried up . No tank , well or any other source has a drop of water . Their search for water is almost endless .  These poor creatures do not realize that we humans who also share this earth along with them have made this once free commodity in to a money spinning venture in Bottles and Cans . Do spare a thought for them and keep a bowl of water ouside your house at a convenient place for them to quench their thirst at least during the summer months . Rest assured that you will never face a water shortage because of this kind deed .

I am not sure how many of you would have heard of the term Valve Radio .  It used to be the sole mode of entertainment by way of listening to music via the radio signal through what used to be called an Aerial  from the Radio Station . It came with features which included Medium Wave + 3 or 5 Bands . More the Bands , higher the prices . FM did not even exist in those days . All India Radio and Vividh Bharathi came a very poor second to Radio Ceylon which had a huge audience in both Hindi and Tamil Languages . Being a commercial broadcaster , its ads for Indian Products were the only ones to be heard in those days . Having been set up by the Voice of America in Colombo , its powerful reach extended across the length and breadth of India . The Hindi Broadcasts were there from morning 7 to 10 am . The daily PURANI FILMO KE GEET from 7.30 am to 8.00 am with the final song from KL Saigal and the susequent AAP HI KE GEET which had the famous Nagin Been for starters was widely fol

 JOURNEY DOWN THE MEMORY LANE We have all had our crush or passion to be the proud owner a Cycle , Wrist Watch , A Pocket Transistor Radio or many such items during our teens .  I am purposely leaving the crush for                                        , as it might create a nasty scene back home now at this late and happy stage . Cycle is one item which i am sure would have been on our mind just as we graduated from all fours as a toddler to the little kid who could successfully  walk across the room to his mamma . The Baby Cycle on which we learnt the almost impossible art of balancing would have borne the effects of the umpteen falls that we might have had while learning to ride the bike or cycle . The bruises on our hands , legs and knees would be a pale shadow of the broken parts , dents , scratches on the body of the poor baby Cycle .  Getting the 25 paise for the hourly hire charges was a pain in itself as many , many hours of good behaviour had to be ensured before the

Bitter Gourd or PAVARKAI for obvious reasons of its taste is not a favourite for most people especially among the younger generation . Its medicinal value is undisputed and has been recommended for many ailments which includes the Diabetes. It grows quite easily in the home garden with not much of a care required except for watering the same once in a while . No gift can match the pleasure one gets from seeing the garden produce in ones own home . I would recommend/request everyone , especially those who are retired to use their time and grow a small garden in their homes . It will be a bonus if people in other age groups also join in . THE RESULT OF SUCH AN EFFORT CANNOT BE DESCRIBED IN WORDS .