RANDOM THOUGHTS

          30/4/23  COATS STAFF GET TOGETHER -  Madura Coats Staff have all been a diverse group . Be it the Spinning , Weaving , Processing or being in any other supporting but important functions , the common thread that ran  among all the staff was working as a Group .This is  distinctly different from working for one's own individual climb in the ladder of supremacy as is the case with less successful organizations.  A lot many may  have worked  for a few years in Madura Coats and gone on to make their mark in their subsequent places of work . A few  have worked their entire career in this esteemed company .  Service in Madura Coats because of its work practices and ethics have gone on to be recognized in their subsequent places  of work . The camaraderie and togetherness of the staff after their retirement in Coats or Elsewhere has meant that all have kept contact with each other thanks to the various Social Media Platforms . It has been sometime since the idea of a Get Togethe

                        COATS AMBAS STAFF  EACH ONE OF US HAS WALKED AROUND THE                                  EARTH  COATS STAFF , DID YOU KNOW THAT   , ME ,  YOU  AND ALL OF US HAVE WALKED AROUND THE MOTHER  EARTH MORE THAN ONCE . THIS IS SURELY A STUPENDOUS FEAT.  NOT MANY CAN BOAST OF HAVING BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN THIS SINGULAR FEAT .  UNLIKE THE DAVID NIVEN  - PASSPATO MOVIE OF OUR CHILDHOOD DAYS  " AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS " OUR JOURNEY IS OF A FAR LONGER DURATION . A Textile Professional , who could be from The  Spinning , Weaving or Processing Departments faces many issues which are unique in many ways during  his working life . Being a largely labour intensive sector , the ability to extract work from the workforce under you is always an issue and  ones usefulness to the company or otherwise is judged solely  on your ability to meet the daily , monthly and yearly prescribed Production and Quality Targets . Long working hours , sleep deprivation because of having to

      MY TRAVELS WITH THE INDIAN CRICKET                             TEAM  , FOCUS ON IPL   The above  Title I am  sure is going  to confuse many and most  People  would  have got me wrong about my place in the Indian Cricket Team .  Barring a few occasions at the Eden Gardens , Calcutta ,  The Brabourne Stadium in Bombay or the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore where I have watched a few matches from the distant and packed stands  ,  is about the closest that I have ever got to The Indian Cricket Team . From Schooldays onwards , for some reason my   favorite Cricketers tag have always been  with a PAIR  , Pataudi/Borde , Gavaskar/Vishwanath , Gavaskar/Kapil Dev Gavaskar/Srikkanth , Ganguly/Sehwag, Sehwag/Tendulkar, Tendulkar/Dravid , Dravid/Sehwag  , Virat/Rohit , Jadeja/Suryakumar  One Conspicuous  name missing in that list  is that of the THALAIVAA  Mahendra Singh  Dhoni . He has been the single Lone favorite of the entire nation for more than 15 years now . Captain Cool Dhoni s unma

     A Landmark Event Dating Back 31+ Years  PM MODI PRESTIGIOUS JAL JEEVAN YOJANA  22 nd April is one more Landmark Day for all of  us in our Family . It was on the 22 nd of April in the year 1992 , when the Landmark event of the Grihapravesam or House Warming Ceremony for our House Maaruthy was held  at Kannadasan Street in Agasthiarpatty halfway between Ambasamudram and Papanasam .  The old adage  " KALYANATHAI PANNY PAAR , ILLA VEETAI KATTI PAAR " comes to mind each time the topic of Building this House comes to mind  . My Parents being with me on this happy Occasion was a blessing in itself . Couple of things come to mind when I dwell on this topic . 1) It was the first House to be Completed for the plots earmarked for the Staff at Agasthiarpatty.   2 ) The House was on Kannadasan Street which is the First of the many Streets and Parallel to the Ambai to Papanasam which is now getting developed into a 4 Lane Highway . 3 ) Borewell water was available at a mere 50 Feet an

            RAVANASAMUDRAM  SPELT                     WRONGLY  IN  DEVANAGARI OR HINDI  WRONGLY SPELT IN HINDI OR DEVANAGARI HOW IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SPELT  Recently , I came across a news item in one of my Group Whatsapp posts which showed RAVANASAMUDRAM Railway Station Nameboard in the Devanagari or Hindi Script as RAAVANASAMUDRAM  . I for one am totally ignorant of how this has gone unnoticed thus far . For obvious reasons One is not inclined to be associated with a place that has the name Raavan associated with it . Now , this beautiful village is my native place and I would love to explain as to how the place came to be called as RAVANASAMUDRAM in the first place . The village was named after Ravanappa Naicker who ruled the place some 350 years back . Ravanappa Naicker was a descendent of the Naicker Dynasty which ruled over Madurai and the surrounding areas in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries . After the downfall of the Naicker s regime at Madurai , several members of the r

              16 VAYATHINILAY REVISITED           A TRIP DOWN THE MEMORY LANE   I somehow find this *Travel Down the Memory Lane* a particularly invigorating experience . For one it is free of any strain on the body and secondly  it does not come with any monetary strings attached . I could assign various reasons for this , Chief among which is the fact that being from the old school , I am a bit fond of being  nostalgic of the past reminisces  and tend to relive the past at every opportunity that come my way . The additional fact  that I am getting on in age and any opportunity to re visit the past is always a welcome passtime   . One such journey takes me back to the year 1976 , when I was the proud  owner of a Motor Cycle , My first two Wheeler was a  Royal Enfield Crusader . Madura Coats Bachelor s quarters inmates had a sizable number of Two Wheelers .  Only 5 brands were available then . ROYAL ENFIELD BULLET , RAJDOOT , JAWA FOR THE MOTORBIKES  AND LAMBRETTA AND VESPA SCOOTERS .

     VKP SIVANTHIAPPAR 8 TH DAY FUNCTION                                  EVE OF TEMPLE CAR FESTIVAL  Certain events or happenings are very hard to explain .I have been around this place for almost half a century now . 28 Years inside the Madura Coats Mill colony and near 22 years at Agasthiarpatty.  Vishu or Tamil New year is celebrated with all the fanfare each year . Colony Club always had a special programme on this day .  A visit to the Papanasam Temple was also a must on this day . The SIVANTHIAPPAR Temple 8 th day function is held in all reverence and devotion  . PATCHAI SAATHY , VELLAI SAATHY and ULAA are a special feature on this day . The next day is TEMPLE CAR FESTIVAL on the eve of the TAMIL NEW YEAR . As I had pointed earlier , certain occurrences are hard to explain   . I do not remember being able to witness this on more than 2 or 3 occasions.  I must add that I was witness to what I had missed all these years today  . Really spectacular.  Glad that I could be a part of

       SATHYA - VANDU NEW HONDA ODYSSEY  Purchase of a new and bigger Car was always on the cards for sometime now by my Son and DIL in Canada .  Adhu and Akshu's space with their Baby Seat occupying a major portion of the space  in the Elantra Car which was  in their possession till now was an issue .   During Our  Visits or Vandu's Parents visits to their place In Toronto , Canada it was always an issue to hire a bigger Car  when we all together  had to visit a place as and when an occasion arose . 10 th of April 2023 has seen them opting for Their new Car Honda ODYSSEY . From what I can make out , it has ample space for Seven and ample Luggage Space plus many add on features  more than half of which , I am not even aware . O Looking forward to my Next visit to their place in Canada .

           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 .  

                TALL EDIFICE ON A MAKEOVER  What started off as an offhand post in Facebook , has  set in motion a whole lot of former Coats Employees who have been  forthcoming to voice their genuine feelings about their days as an employee  at Madura  Coats, Ambasamudram . As for myself , I joined the then Harvey Mills which went on to become Madura Coats Ltd in the year 1974 as an Apprentice.  , It would not be out of place to add here  that , though having Ravanasamudram as my native place ( Hardly 15 kms away from Papanasam ) my association to South and to be very specific ,  to Tamilnadu till then was limited to the annual summer holidays spent in my  native village . Having done my entire schooling and college in Bhilai , Kharagpur near Calcutta  and Mumbai , it was widely believed both by my parents and by myself that it would be only a matter of time before I shifted back to Mumbai on the  lookout for greener  pastures . Days went on to become Months and  , Months to  Years an

               PANGUNNI UTTIRAM - 2023  Pangunni Uttiram is very special , I could be wrong but it does appear to be something extra special for the people of the Southern Districts . On this day it is considered particularly auspicious to visit your Family Deities or KULA DAIVA KOVIL . Tirunelveli , Tenkasi and Tuticorin Districts have announced an official Holiday on this day the 5 th Of April This Year . SASTHA being our family Deity we have been visiting the PALA ADI SASTHA TEMPLE at Chinna Sankarankovil,  very near our house at Agasthiarpatty for the last so many years now . This day also happened to be the Teppam Festival of Brahmadesam KAILASANATHAR AND BRAHANNAYAKI AMMAN Temple .  We were fortunate to visit both and  seek the DEVINE BLESSINGS at both these places yesterday.  PALA ADI SASTHA AT CHINNA SANKARAN KOVIL NEAR AMBASAMUDRAM . THE PLACE GETS ITS NAME  AS THE SASTHA IS BELOW THE PALA PAZHA TREE OR JACKFRUIT TREE  BRAHMADESAM TEMPLE MAIN GOPURAM  KAILASANATHAR MAIN SHRINE