RANDOM THOUGHTS

               ADVANCE HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2022 -                              WELCOME ABOARD   Flight 2022 will depart from Gate 21 of Terminal 2 shortly  . All passengers of the Platinum , Business or Economy class are reminded that their baggage  should contain only the Prized Souvenirs of 2021  . It is in your own interest to discard all the trash and unwanted items of the past in the bins provided . This includes all the hardships faced due to the Pandemic during the last 2 years . This would save you from a lot of embarrassment during the stringent security checks ahead .  The duration of the flight will be exactly Twelve  Months . Those of you not yet fully Vaccinated are requested to make use of Facility provided by the Government at Various places in the Terminal . This would be in your own interest and those of other passengers on board . Needless to say that this could save you from the untold agony and embarrassment of having to undergo a period of Quarantine and add  anxiety

 SOMETHING SOMEWHERE SURELY WRONG  There obviously seems to be a big divide between how NEET is looked at in TAMILNADU and the rest of the country . Both the parents and the students who are appearing for the NEET exams in TAMILNADU seem to have a totally divergent view on what is best for them from rest of the country as a whole . TOTALLY STRANGE INDEED  The case in point is the ongoing protest by the Learned Doctors in the CAPITAL . TODAY'S  New Indian Express has a front page news item which shows the Doctors holding placards and protesting against the Government for the delay in admissions to the Higher Institutions based on the NEET Admissibility . WE THE PUBLIC ARE BEING TAKEN FOR A GRAND  GALA RIDE BY OUR LAWMAKERS WHO SEEM TO RELISH THIS OPPORTUNITY TO GARNER A FEW MLA SEATS EVEN IF IT IS AT THE COST OF THE STUDENTS SEEKING A MEDICAL SEAT .

          DRIVING AT NEAR ZERO VISIBILITY  Just last week we were returning to Ambasamudram from Bangalore by Car . We started pretty early so as to include  a visit to Namakkal Anjaneyar Temple . We were on the highway on the Krishnagiri to Dharmapuri Stretch and the time being close to 7.30 AM the whole area was covered in a thick shroud  of Fog or Mist and made Driving around the various bends rather difficult . Thankfully , Anjaneyar Swami saw to it that nothing untoward happened . We had a very good  darshan at Namakkal where Shri Anjaneyar was decked in Gold and sought his Devine Blessings . ASAADHYA SAADAH SWAMIN ASAADHYAM  TAVA KIM VADAH ; RAMA DOOTA DAYA SINDOH MADH KAARIYAM SAADHYAH  PRABHO 

 MARATHAHALLI BRIDGE - 19 TH DEC 2021 Most people in the know how of Bangalore and especially those with a footprint in the Software Industry will be aware of the Marathahalli Bridge and the connecting foot overbridge above the Outer Ring Road.  For those with a connect with Madura Coats Ltd will be very much aware of Marathahalli as its Headquarters is located in the Prime Locality there  . The view from above the Bridge in these Covid Times is in sharp contrast to earlier times . There is hardly any traffic now unlike the earlier times when vehicular traffic would be literally inching forward .  BEFORE COVID AND AFTER COVID  HAS SEEN A SEA CHANGE IN TRAFFIC 

 COUSINS GETTOGETHER  AT BANGALORE 19/12/21 The long awaited and looked forward too meet of the Cousins took place on Sunday 19 th Dec 2021 at Bangalore   Kumar my Nephew was with us for the pooled up lunch at SJR SPENCER APARTMENTS , where we were stationed and on the lookout for  tenants for Sathya s apartment . The meet was a  really good opportunity to meet VAITYH MEERA PAAPU AND PAAPA not to forget KUMAR AND APARNA .

  DAILY EVENING MEET AT SJR SPENCER                                   BANGALORE  My stay at SJR SPENCER APARTMENTS in Bangalore to finalize the Tenant and the Agreement there upon was less of a tedium this time around largely because of the nearly 1 hour or so spent each evening in the company of other occupants of the Apartment Complex . M/S- KINI - BOHRA- PANT - SHRIVATSAV - PRASAD - NAIR - All very knowledgeable and leading lights in their own field made each evening a most memorable and enjoyable one. Topics as wide ranging as Politics ; Films ; Music ; Spiritual Aspects , Way of life , Various Cuisines were discussed at length. My knowledge of Hindi made the exchanges even more interesting . These meetings helped me in getting the VACCINATION SMART CARD and also the way about in getting the BESCOM ( BANGALORE ELECTRIC SUPPLY ) account to be changed to my son's name . All in all , an hour spent very usefully .

 1Kg DOSA BATTER IN LESS THAN A MINUTE  Being confined mostly inside the house , I seem to have missed many a new appliance in the market . The Dosa Batter Maker where 1 kg of Rice and Dal soaked earlier in water is made into the Dosa Batter in less than a Minute . Surprisingly the Dosa tasted as good as the earlier Packaged Batter at the corner Kinara Shop .

How much lower can you stoop    The last few days have been headline making in the sense that THE CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF GEN BIPIN RAWAT , HIS WIFE PLUS 12 OTHER DEFENCE PERSONNEL have met with an untimely death because of a suspected Malfunction of the Helicopter in which they were travelling from the Sulur Air Base near Coimbatore to the Military Academy at Wellington in the Nilagiris . A highly acclaimed General who was at the forefront of the Indo China Skirmishes recently  is sadly no more. The whole Nation stood as one to mourn this untimely loss . Till the very recent past I had been a regular of  " THE HINDU " Newspaper . For reasons which I had mentioned in my earlier posts , I have taken to the other Newspapers . The particular post on the front page of the Newspaper dated Dec 9 /2021 highlighting the tragic event makes very sad reading . "RAWAT,12 OTHERS KILLED IN TN CHOPPER"  " The Hindu ^ by the look of it does not seem it fit to add the CDS OR CHI

      CHANGE HAS IT MADE US HAPPIER  A generation which was the last to have been brought up in the midst of Mama Mami Chacha Chachi Muasi Daada Daadi 1st cousins 2nd cousins ( MAMA MAMI CHITAPPA CHITTI  ATHAI THATHA PAATI SAKODARA SAKODIRIGAL ) and all the others in the clan are unfortunately over . This old generation is almost in the final over   and are sure to find mention only in the pages of history books .  What we now have is a nuclear family with the Mama Papaa and a  kid with a very few having a the fortunate luxury of a  sibling. The days of going to bed early and raising early in the morning are long over . The early morning walk and the daily watering of the plants or to pluck the flowers for the morning Pooja are a thing of the past as there is hardly any space for a pooja room in the modern apartment complexes . Leave alone the practice of not going to the temple on Holy Days , the practice of thanking the almighty for the food on the table everyday has been dispersed w

CHANGE IS INEVITABLE - BUT AT A PRICE  We have all come to accept change without which this world of ours would become a very dull place to live in . Take Agasthiarpatty as an example . Having lived in its environs for close to 50 years , I am witness to all the changes that have taken place here . Decades ago it was considered almost foolish to venture out after dark  on a two Wheeler between the lonely stretch of road from the Ambai Level Crossing to VK PURAM for fear of being waylaid and loosing all your belongings . The street lights even if any were far in between and very few . The 40 Watt incandescent bulb of the olden days hardly being of any use in the lush greenery all around . The situation today is totally different . Bright LED Solar powered street lights , Flickering Neon Coloured lights in front of all the shops  ,  Prominent schools , Hospitals , Shopping Malls of various sizes , Jewellery Shops , 2 Wheeler Sales outlets of all the Models including the latest Electric B

  Friends and relatives might  be wondering about my new found interest in blogging ,  especially at my fairly advanced age . So here goes the reason, Sometime back my nephew s daughter Kutty Aparna enquired if Chitti , my wife could help her with some Translation work from English to Tamil . ( Gratifying to note here that we as a couple are Chittappa and Chitti to both my nephew and to his daughter ) . This got me thinking and on surfing the net ,I noticed  that there were any number of requirements for HINDI ENGLISH AND TAMIL translation jobs.  My wife being a Tamil Teacher all through her working life and my more than passing knowledge of both Englsh and Hindi , set me thinking if we could pool our resources and apply for the translation jobs . Among other things what they wanted to know was , if i had the time for the same and also if i had any publishing experience such as blog etc. Now time is something which by the grace of God i have in plenty .  I was in to blogging almost a d

              BIKES REFUSING TO KICK START  If you should have trouble starting your 2 Wheeler be it the Kick Start or the Auto Version , here is a simple way . Park the Vehicle in the Center Stand , Switch the Vehicle on and bring the Vehicle to the top most gear . Lift the back wheel and move the wheel by hand in the direction of moving forward . Presto , the Vehicle will start . Thanks to the person who has voiced this message in Tamil . Really useful one in these rainy days .