RANDOM THOUGHTS

 KADANTHAI - COMMON WASP MENACE  I am not sure how many in the group have come across the term KADANTHAI , it is nothing but the Common Wasp or VESPULA VULGARIS in English . The sting of these yellow spotted wasps are reputed to be extremely painful and even fatal if stung multiple times in a swarm attack . Last Friday , coconuts were being plucked from the tree by a person from my neighbour  Kadayam Mani s house . This man is engaged to do this on a regular basis in the houses of the Agasthiarpatty colony . He was smart enough to notice the Hive of these deadly wasps and informed Mani to get rid of the same at the earliest to prevent any mishap . Mani sought the help of the Fire Services at Ambasamudram . They inspected the site  and opined that the best way to get rid of them was to torch the same after dark as these wasps were reported to have very poor visibility after dark . The Fire Service Personnel with the Station Officer came this evening with a nearly 50 f...

                 EXODUS - OF A NEW KIND MOUNT -  KAILASH  Certain names and personalities bring an instant sense of awe and admiration each time their name is  mentioned in passing during a casual conversation . For all you know you might never have met them at any time during your life .  The sheer awe of their personality , Intellectual , Sporting or Man Managerial is always  the stand out features of  these great  souls . Just Consider these names : Kamala Harris , S Jaishankar , Nirmala  Sitaraman , All three are astute politicians who have made it to the top of the political ladder by virtue of their dedication and never say die attitude . Sunder Pitchai and Indira Nooyi , both at the pinnacle of the fortune 500 companies and all time  leaders in their own rights . Shreyas Iyer and Venkatesh Iyer besides Ravichandran Ashwin , all three now hogging the limelight due to their achievement on the ...

          UNIVERSAL STUDIOS 3D EXPERIENCE  The prime of place for anyone visiting the US and LOS ANGELES in particular ,  among the many other attractions are the Disneyland and the Universal.Studios .  Among the many other attractions at the Universal studios is the 3D Ride in the Bus . One gets the feel of being present inside the Jungle with the Dinosaurs all around you . The sound effect with the Dinosaurs breathing on your face and you having  to wade in to the water inside the vehicle itself is a sure one time  life Experience .

             मिया गये साड़ियों के दुकान में बीवी के साथ  मिया और बीवी दोनों निकले दिवाली की खरीदी करने के लिये , दुकानदार ने पेहले कैटेलॉग देखने को कहा . बीवी :  ाजी , १४ नंबर की पेज देखिये , बहुत अच्छी लग रही है  मिया : नहीं कुछ ख़ास नहीं है , और कुछ देखो  बीवी : ठीक है , ४५ वे पन्ने वाली मुझे बहुत पसंद आईहै , आपका क्या ख्याल है  मिया : नहीं रंग बहुत फीका है  बीवी : ठीक है ७३ वाली कैसी है , ध्यान से देखकर बताओ  मिया : मुझे बिलकुल पसंद नहीं है , नाक बहुत लम्बी है और वो कुछ ज्यादा उम्र की दिखती है   बीवी ; आप उन लड़कियों  की बात कर रहे हैं और मै आपको साड़ियां चुनने को केह रही थी . घर आने पर मै बताऊँगी की साड़ियों की जगह लड़कियों को चुनना कितना भारी pad  सकता है .   स्टार्ट म्यूजिक !!! 

                             दवाई का पर्चा   डॉक्टर साहेब , आपके दिये हुवे दवाई के पर्चे में दायीं ओर के कोने में लिखी हुवी दवाई किसी भी दुकान में नहीं मिल रही है  शर्माजी , वो तो मैंने अपने कलम से दवाईयां लिखने se पेहले स्क्रिब्बलिङ्ग कर कर देख रहा था  क्या !! अजीब बात है , इसे लेकर मै करीब २५ दुकानों में जाकर इसके बारे में पूछ थाच की  ऐक दुकानदार तो केह रहा था की , ये दवाई का बनना तो अब बंद हो गया है  दूसरा केह रहा था की उसके पास ये दवाई नहीं है , लेकिन दूसरे कंपनी की बनी दवाई उनके पास है  तीसरा केह रहा था की वो दवा कल मिल जायेगी और मुझे कल वापस आने को कहा . ऐक तो बता रहा था की इस दवाई की तो आज कल काफी मांग है और मुझे उसे पाने के लिये बहुत ज्यादा  रुपये खर्च करने पड़ेंगे  आख़री वाले ने तो मेरी नींद हराम कर दी , उसने कहा  की ये तो कैंसर की दवाई है और मुझे पास के बड़े शेहर में जाकर इसे ढूंढ़ना होगा .

         THIS HABIT OF FEEDING THE CROWS  Unlike the maný  exotic and colourful birds , the common CROW is held in a  low esteem by us for some unknown  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 everyday 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 p...

                      First Foray in Social Media  These are days of Instant Transfer of News , Pictures or Videos to known dear ones across the World or even to people with whom you have not even shared a friendly Hello . The Internet and the Mobile Phone has Changed the way of our daily life . ZOOM , GOOGLE MEET.  EMAIL WHATSAPP, INSTAGRAM , TWITTER are Just a few terms which are very much a part of our daily life now . Add Amazon , Flipkart and tatacliq and you need not step out of your home for any purchases . They get delivered at your doorstep . Net Banking , Googlepay , Rupay , Phonepay , etc have made our  life simple . No need to carry cash in your wallet and add  the risk of it getting misplaced   or stolen . Over The Top ( OTT ) Platforms like Netflix , Amazon Prime , Disney Hotstar have changed the way we watch movies and Sporting Actions anywhere across the Globe . During our heydays as you...

        SOME PEOPLE ARE SIMPLY BORN LUCKY Just the other day I came across a very interesting article in a Newspaper . Besides evoking many a guffaw for the comic relief that it provided , the  thought provoking insight  it provided made me share my own views on the subject . Prince Charles has a special valet , in all his golden livery , sqeezing one inch of toothpaste before the Royal went to bed each night . There was  also a valet who ironed  his shoe laces each morning . The moot question is does he also brush the  teeth after squeezing the paste on the  toothbrush  . I also  wonder as to why shoelaces need to be ironed in the first place . It occupies a most innocuous place in the attire of a man Royal or Otherwise  . No wonder I never became a prince . The important thing here is that Prince Charles got all this for free . He got all this because he was born in a Royal Family ,  although there was hardly anythi...

                                  ५ रुपये के शेंग दाने   हमारी मुलाकात पेहली बार राशन की दूकान में हुवी थी , हम दोनों सामान लेने आये थे  हमारी दूसरी मुलाक़ात ऐक मंदिर में हुवी थी , हम दोनो भगवान्  के दर्शन के लिये उत्सुक थे  तीसरी बार हमारी मुलाक़ात ऐक पुस्तकालय में हुवी , वो साहित्य के पुस्तक को ढून्ढ रही थी और मै गणित का  इसी प्रकार कभी बैंक , कभी सब्जी की दूकान , कभी बस स्टॉप में हमारी मुलाक़ात अक्सर होने लगी  हम दोनों की इस पेहचान को उभरते देख कर हम खुद आश्चर्य में पड गये  दोनों को शादी की बात छेड़ने से ऐक प्रकार की दर मेहसूस करने लगे  पहले तुम , पहले तुम की इंतज़ार में ६ महीने बीत गये  ६ महीने बाद , अपनी पूरी साहस जुटाकर मैने हम दोनों की शादी की बात शुरू करी  उसने मुझ  से मेरे काम के बारे में पूछा , मैंने बताया की मैं नौकरी ढून्ढ रहा हूँ और फिलहाल बेकार हूँ  उसका अगला सवाल था की घर में और कितने लोग रेह्ते हैं  मैंने बताया की सिर्...

   LONG WAIT FOR THE FIRST MOTORBIKE  Almost my entire first 20 years of  life have been in the Hindi Heartland with the major chunk of it being at Bhilai and Kharagpur . Bhilai in the main Hindi Heartland of Madhya Pradesh which is Chattigarh now  .  Kharagpur though in West  Bengal had a  sizeable Telugu population which made it easier for me to be more than comfortable with Hindi and Bengali besides the Telugu during early school days . What this also meant was that despite my Fathers many and varied attempts , my prowess with Tamizh , my mother tongue was restricted to Speaking alone and that too with a severe North Indian  intonations . During the Primary Schooling Period in Kharagpur which ofcourse was in  the Hindi Medium , my father had hired a home  Tamizh Tutor , Ramamoorthy Sir by name to teach me to read and write in Tamizh . He was a tall and  portly man who I guess would have tilted the scales at 120 Kgs plus . Th...

       Ominous Signs of Things To Come  Things are starting to look almost Ominous and each passing day brings about a new  tranche of news which only goes to enhance this feel .  A) The general appathy of the youth to be gainfully employed and take the first step in the long road to a better future does not seem to ring  a bell . Making money the easy way and bending a few  laws of the land to make a  quick buck  seems to be the preferred choice . Booze , Drugs and Online Gambling  seems to have caught on to the youth  in a big way . The Hindi Speaking Youth from the North or East are the ones benifitting from this scenario . B) Narrow and Parochial mindset seem to rule the roost . Practices , Faith and Beliefs are now looked upon as things of the past  which needs to be shunned and discarded at the earliest . C) The idea of INDIA as a NATION brought together by the Sweat and Blood of the past Generation seems to be ...

 REMEMBRANCE OF BEING IN  A WAR ZONE                  LIKE THE ONE IN AFGHANISTAN                          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  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 15 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...

                   TEACHERS DAY AND ME  I am now 71 years old . Sept 5 has always been a special day for me for 2 reasons. One , Celebrated as the Teachers Day it is very close to my heart as i have very fond and lasting memories associated with it . Two persons who are very close to me are associated with this noble profession  .  My  own Father started his career initially  as a Teacher at Yelamanchilli near Vishakapatnam before he joined the Indian Railways . My better half has been a very loved and respected Tamil Teacher all her working   life at the Girls High School at Kadayam .  I have myself dabbed my hand at being a Teacher  in Spoken English and Hindi for sometime . I must only hasten to add here that it had only limited takers , the reasons for which are all too obvious and needs no elaboration . I must also admit that I have only faint memories of my Teachers at Kharagpur from Sta...

                 MY  CHANGE OF HEART  Unlike many who might be reading this blog , yours truely has never been any good at courting in the years that mattered .  Be that as it may . I have had friends who were very good in this delicate art . Here are a few takes from my interactions with these fortunate souls . Spending hours together waiting for the arrival of the daily fix was never a bore . The very sight of the same on your doorstep be it Mumbai , Toronto, Regina or Agasthiarpatty was sure to make the ensuing day all the more special . Hours spent together  in each others company , getting to know more about each other's near one's and the one's that are far away . Discussing the Politics , Movies or Sports was a sure time kill . IN CASE YOU ARE WONDERING AS TO WHAT I AM REFERRING TO , I WILL NOT DISAPPOINT YOU , I WAS ONLY REFERRING TO THE DAILY NEWSPAPER . IN MY CASE IT HAPPENS TO BE        ...

     ASHWIN A SURE FIRE FIX  AS PER            " THE HINDU NEWSPAPER "                AND OTHER EXPERTS                           BUT NOT FOR                            THE INDIAN TEAM MANAGEMENT  Even at the cost of not being labeled as  a true Indian Crickt Fan ,  I very much wish that India is again  given a sound drubbing in the ongoing 4 th Cricket Test between India and England at the London Oval Grounds . If the first day , first session is anything to go bye  at 54 / 3 , this almost sounds a repeat of the 3 rd Test at Leeds where we were handed an Innings Defeat . Suryakumar Yadav has not been given a look in again .  Now comes the masterpiece , the numero uno spinner of the world is cooling his bottom on the benches for th...