RANDOM THOUGHTS

      WILDLIFE IN OUR BACKYARD  My recent Post and Video of the RACCOONS rummaging for food in our Backyard and Gazebo at Ajax in Canada  attracted a lot of viewership and enquiries . From what I could gather , these are WILDLIFE ANIMALS of the Nocturnal variety who are found mostly in North America.  They come out only very rarely after dawn which could be a  Mother and its Little one looking for food . They are not known to attack Humans except when provoked. Their bite or scratch very often lead to Rabies. It is best to leave them alone and stay behind closed doors . Being a Visitor here and see these Creatures who are native to only this part of the World does leave one  in sort of an awe at what Mother  Nature has in its store .

 INDIAN CONNECTION TO THE  SEAT OF POWER IN THE UK        Barring the very unforeseen , the ascent of RISHI SUNAK to Number 10 Downing Street seems just a matter of time . Even otherwise , that a person of Indian Origin is staking a  claim to be the PRIME MINISTER of Great Britain is a matter for all of us Native Indians to rejoice .  Eminent Industrialist Anand Mahindra’s recent tweet where the Entrance of  No  10 Downing Street has decorations which include the Mango Leaves , Turmeric and Sandalwood Paste with Kumkum Smeared on the Swastika Mark on the door is special in many ways .  That an Empire which ruled us and bled us white is going to have a person of Indian Descent who is going to call the shots in Great Britain is a fact which should make all of us proud .  That,  he happens to be the SON IN LAW of Shri Narayana Moorthy the IT Magnate is even more special. As they say in Vadivelu Tamil :  VANDUTAARYAA VANDUTAAR MAAPILLAI VANDUTAAR . THOUGH OFF THE MARK BY A FAIR DISTANCE ,

            HOW SMALL INDEED  IS OUR WORLD  Agasthiarpatty , Ambasamudram or Kallidaikurichy can by no stretch of imagination claim an elite place when it comes to people on the look out for Greener Pastures to make a a living .  HOW WRONG WAS I TO EVEN ASSUME THIS  Nonetheless Ajax , a suburb of Toronto in Canada has a sizeable Population from the Subcontinent who have  settled here . People from  Tamilnadu make up for a large Percentage of this Chunk . Almost all of them are from the IT field which  makes it even more interesting as my own  Son and DIL are also in this list .  Less than one Kilometre away from our place is a family from Kallidaikurichy .  Two streets behind ours is a family who have strong connection with Ambasamudram  . They are the Descendants of the Singampatty Zamin . In fact the cousin of one of the occupants is well known to my son and was one year senior to him at School at Vikaasa in Ambasamudram.  And most surprisingly the 4 th House on our left has occupant

         HOW DEPENDENT ARE            WE ON THE INTERNET  Over the years , we have all learnt to be Tech Savvy . Be it the Desk Top Computer , Lap Top , Tablet or the Mobile Smartphone. We have all made use of the same at some point in our lives .  Age , Gender , Education or Financial Status hardly seem to matter .  The Fruit Juice Seller or the Shoe Repair Artisan collecting the charges by making use of PHONEPAY for services provided by them is a common sight in Bangalore or many other cities in India . The situation in the Western and Fully Developed Nations is Even worse .  Take my very recent experience in Canada . I had to get the Life Certificate for my Better Half for Her Pension Payment in India but being in Canada for the all important document ,  we had booked an Appointment with the State Bank of India - Canada at its Scarborough Branch. Note , visiting a Bank for any Services , Require an Online Appointment . We got our appointment fixed at 2.30 pm the following day .   I

                WHY JULY THE 4 TH WILL ALWAYS                                  BE IN MEMORY    Certain Dates remain etched in memory for very specific reasons and July the 4th is one such Date . Americans Celebrate their Independence Day on this day . My close relatives from both my parents  side have made it their home there . Best wishes to all of them . My Daughter Anoobala and Kamesh got married on this day in the year 2004  at the AVRMV KALYANA MANDAPAM , AMBASAMUDRAM . It was and it still is by far one of the most well Attended , Talked About , Well Organized and Enjoyed Weddings in and around this  place . Many who attended the Wedding still recall the lovely and happy times they had during the function. I leave it to you to judge as to who Lost or Gained His or Her Independence on this day post the Wedding !! July 4 th 1974 : This was the day when I joined the MADURA COATS LTD as an Apprentice in its Weaving Dept at a then Princely Stipend of Rs 400 Per Month at Madurai and was

     Visit to Downtown Toronto  My visit to Downtown Toronto was special in more ways than one .  This was the first time I was travelling by the GoTo Lakeshore East Service from Ajax to Union Station in Downtown Toronto . . The distance involved is 36 Kms having to cover the following stations , Ajax ,  Pickering , Rouge Hill , Guildwood , Eglinton  , Scarborough, Danforth and Finally Union Station . The view on the left with the Lake , which looks more like the sea on the left and the speeding traffic on Highway 401 on your right is a novel experience.  A change of mode of travel now from Union Station to Museum Station by the Underground Metro as it snakes its way is an equally thrilling experience. The ROYAL ONTORIO MUSEUM or ROM as it is called has a huge array of collections to keep one busy for hours together if so inclined . My grandson Adhu was more interested in the fossil and bone replicas of Dinosaurs of 175 Million Years Vintage. These monsters some 40 mts in bone from hea

       Canada Day 2022 - JULY - 1 Canada Day 2022 which falls on the 1st of July is Celebrated with great Fanfare across Canada . I have had opportunities to witness the same at both Regina and Toronto .  This year we were at Ajax at my Sons place at Ajax near Toronto . The venue for the Celebrations were at The Ajax Casino Park and Horse Track hardly a stone’s throw away from our dwelling . The highlights included  Music, Food , Dance , Children s Games from the afternoon which culminated with the Superb Fireworks at 10 pm in the Night .  The view from a vantage point in the house gave us an excellent view of the Fireworks at its  Colourful Best . Happy Canada Day 2022 .