RANDOM THOUGHTS

        HOLYDAY OR HOLIDAY           WHICH IS CORRECT  ? For the uninformed , it is always a challenge to correctly spell the word HOLIDAY OR HOLYDAY . Yours truely , inspite of my many repeated visits to the esteemed abode of newly acquired friend Mr Google's on my Mobile  or to my very old Friends from my Schooldays M/S Wren & Martin ,  am still not sure of  the right usage . Surprisingly even the renowned OXFORD , CAMBRIDGE OR WEBSTER DICTIONARIES are not very forthcoming in this matter  My chance encounter with the Published  List of  Closures in the not so recent British Government's Public Holidays or Holydays in the MADRAS PRESIDENCY for the year 1832 makes for an interesting reading . Lunar Eclipse is CHUNDRA GRAHANAM  Pongal Holidays is PONGOLL HOLYDAYS  Hindu Brahmin New Year is GENTOO BRAHMIN  Avani Avittam is AVANEAVATUM Krishna Jayanti is KISTNA JAYANTEE  AND BEST OF ALL  Pullayaar Chathurthy is PULLIAR SOUTHEY  HOLIDAY or HOLYDAY can be discussed later , enjoy

           PASSPORT RENEWAL                                 EXPERIENCE  Getting the very first Passport and its renewal after every 10 th year has never been a pleasant experience thus far .  The 4th time experience of my interaction with the Passport office earlier this week has been totally different from those of the earlier ones . I think I would need to elaborate a bit more so that a clearer picture can be got . Getting my First Passport in April 1990 from The Regional Passport Office at Tiruchy was sans any excitement except the wait of almost 6 months that it took for the Passport to be delivered . JABERLAL my good Coats friend at VK Puram took care of all the rest . THE HAND WRITTEN PASSPORT WAS A PRIZED POSSESSION.  First renewal of the Passport at the  Regional Passport Office Tiruchi in March 2001 was one hell of an experience . Everything about it was in shambles . The Building , Crowd , Brokers , Touts , Xerox and  Copying Kiosks , Typewriting Machines and everything that

First Foray in to  Social Media  These are days of Instant Transfer of News , Pictures or Videos are sent to all your near and dear ones across the World. Even people with WHOM you are just on a HELLO term get to see all your posts . 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 Market  purchases . All your orders  get delivered to  your doorstep . Net Banking , Googlepay , Rupay , Phonepay , etc have made our Monetary  Transactions even more simple . The need to carry cash in your Wallet is now a thing of the past . Plastic and Chip embedded Debit and Credit Cards are the way of life now .  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 .

 A VISIT TO THAT MOST                        IMPORTANT PLACE  Long duration Flights have very intriguing and interesting experiences associated with then. This is more so for International Travellers . My recent travel from Chennai to Regina in Canada is a case in point . Departing at 4.15 AM on the 20 th of June , I could make it to Regina by 12.15 AM Local Time on the 21 st , this together with the 12 hour time difference with India works out to 32 hours of Travel Time  including the Transit Halts  at Abu Dhabi and Toronto . Add 4 hours to the time  you need to be at the departing  Airport 4 Hours prior to your Departure Time and the total works out to 36 Hours or One and a Half Days . Getting your Boarding Pass and Checking In your Luggage within  the Mandatory 46 Kg per head Limit is always a challenge . This is more so if you have Two of your offsprings residing in Canada and in two different places 3000 Kms apart . The next ofcourse is the Security Check of the Hand Luggage . You

 POSTAL DELIVERY IN CANADA  It may come as a surprise to many but unlike in India or many places in the Sub Continent , Postal  Letters are not delivered to each and every Individual House in Canada . Each Neighborhood has a place where individual small Metal Kiosks with  locks are provided for each and every House in the neighborhood.  CANADA POSTWOMAN/MAN drops the letters individually in these Kiosks .  People walk to a distance of say 100 Meters to collect their Letters.  A person newly entering the neighborhood applies to CANADAPOST to get his alloted kiosk and Key for the same in his own neighborhood . A short walk to the concerned Pillar Letter  Box becomes a mandatory requirement.  Manpower Shortage and Cost effectiveness makes this possible. Even in India , in Metropolitan Apartment Complexes , Letters are dropped on the Ground Floor in similar Kiosks . I know of  Apartment Complexes  in Bangalore and Chennai  which have this facility.  Agasthiarpatty though has our own  Postm

   How to Make Your Retired Life                          A God Send                 ( This could apply to anyone , be it in Agasthiarpatty, Mumbai , Chennai  , Toronto or Milan )  The One thing in common that all Retired Persons have in common is TIME on their Hands . This is a luxury which only the Senior Citizens have .  It is always a challenge to make use of the same in an effective way . The challenge becomes even more difficult if your offsprings are settled in a far off place within the Country  or even abroad .  The often heard word in these times is“ BOREDOM “ Let us spend some time and dwell a little deeper to decode this seven letter Word that go on to play such an important part in the later part of our Lives .  This is probably the only time in our entire lifetime when we have so much time at your disposal . You and me have not had it before and in all likelihood , we  are never going to have it again anytime soon . Consider this as a BOON  which has now come your way . B

  JEEBOOMBAA - BETTER HALF - NO PRIZES  FOR GUESSING THE                          WINNER  NOT SO HAPPY STORY OF A  WORK FROM HOME COUPLE This is a  story of Arjun and Sushma who are a  middle aged couple living in their Apartment Complex Home in Mambalam  Chennai and  who originally hailed  from the  non descript  Agasthiarpatty, a small hamlet in the Tirunelveli District of Tamilnadu very close to both Ambasamudram and VK Puram . Both of them were employed in the IT Sector on a WORK FROM HOME MODULE . Sushma always  felt that Arjun was  having an easy time with his Work From Home  Schedule . As is normal in any household   there were frequent scuffles between the two with regard to the household chores and division of Work between the two.   One such recent scuffle almost had all the ingredients of a blockbuster stunt movie .  The verbal duel soon turned out  into a volatile confrontation with not only  harsh words but also many of the utensils in the kitchen rack trading places and g

Once During the Pandemic days These repeated phone calls were becoming a bit of nuisance now for Somesh , he wanted to make his stand on the issue absolutely clear , SOMESH : "Listen , I have been telling you this often , time and again whenever you have raised this topic , I am not interested in a marriage , now or for atleast the next 2 years " . Another call interrupts his call Hello Appa I am glad you have also called at the right time , I am now making this a 3 way call. Do me a favour please take make my point very clear once and for all , I am getting absolutely fed up with this . Now that all 3 of us are on line please note that it is NO MARRIAGE FOR NOW , do I make myself clear . Dad on the phone to the third person on the call . " Listen , we have no intention of getting our son married now or anytime soon , WE want him to be happy for some more time before he takes the plunge . Take my case , my wife is stuck in SINGAPORE for the last 4 months due to the trave

    Nellai Chandra Vilas Hotel  Old timers of the Erstwhile Tirunelveli District which included the present day Tuticorin and Tenkasi Districts would have had occasions to visit and savour the Delicacies at The Chandra Vilas Hotel next to the Salai Kumaran Temple below the 2 Tier Nellai Road Bridge . This not so conspicuous Hotel is bereft of any Glow Lamps , Lightings or Display Boards .  What brings people to this eating house is its  80 year history of service . I remember visiting this place as a youngster with my Parents and much later with my own offsprings .  Their service and dedication to old time values has stood the test of Time  . That people flock to this place even now is itself a statement of their long held values .  Below is a post from Facebook which I thought I should share with my friends in the group and other visitors to my Site . ஜங்ஷன் சாலைகுமரன் கோவிலருகே  உள்ள சந்திரவிலாஸ் ஓட்டலில் சாப்பிடச் சென்றிருந்தோம். உள்ளே நுழைந்தவுடனையே , பழங்காலத்து மேஜை -பழங்காலத்து

                        First Ride on a TESLA - Y Two Names that are sure to pop up each time you go through the pages of any Newspaper or  Magazine are TESLA and ELON MUSK .  TESLA is the GoTo name in the Automobile Market if one has the Money to splash around and an Inclination for Swanky Hitech Cars. ELON MUSK is amongst , if not the Richest Person on our Planet right now . He  is the proud owner of many  such Space Age creations   which include  Space Ships and High Speed Rockets for Manned Flights into the Outer Space as a passtime for the very rich . He is also  the Owner of the Firm that Manufactures the famed TESLA Cars . Yours Truly had the good fortune of travelling in one such TESLA Y Model Car , though for a very short distance of just 20 Kilometres .  We , the Five of us were on our  way back from Lutheran College and School at Regina after participating in an event as we  Parents/Grandparents were introduced to the new High School of my Granddaughter.  We ,  being Five of

           THAI CINE s AT      VICKRAMASINGAPURAM I have very fond and lasting memories  of THAI CINES at Vickramasingapuram . This has been the place where Innumerable Movies with friends and later with family were seen and enjoyed before the advent of the digital era.  My very own thoughts and feelings have been so beautifully penned by  :  M Bharahymuthunayagam in his facebook post . He does deserve all the credit for a posting which is sure to bring back many a nostalgic memory of the good old days . Thank you Sir,  'சிங்கை தாய் சினீஸ்' ஒவ்வொரு ஊருக்கும் பெருமை சேர்க்கும் எத்தனையோ விஷயங்கள்  காலப்போக்கில் தங்களது முக்கியத்துவத்தை இழந்து போவதுண்டு.  தாங்கள் வசிக்கும் ஊரை விட்டு அதிக தொலைவு போயறியாதவர்களுக்கு அந்த ஊரில் உள்ள பிரம்மாண்டத்தைப் பற்றிய பெருமை கூடுதலாகவே இருக்கும்.  அப்படிப்பட்ட ஒரு பெருமை வாய்ந்த ஒரு கட்டிடம் விக்கிரமசிங்கபுரம் ' தாய் ' திரையரங்கம்!  1953 ல் திறக்கப்பட்ட இந்த திரையரங்கம் 68 ஆண்டுகளைக் கடந்தும் தனது கவர்ச்சியையும், உறுதியையும் இழக்காமல் இன

   ON WAY TO MY VILLAGE நம்ம கிராமத்துக்கு போகும்           நேரம்  Each year , the last leg of the near 75 Hour Train Journey which included a  near 15 hours of transit time at the then Madras and now Chennai         (Central and Egmore ) and finally  at Tirunelveli Junction to catch the connecting Passenger train was always a looked forward to Event . Calcutta to Kharagpur to Chennai to  Ravanasamudram  as a school going kid was always special and a most Welcome annual attraction .  Each year had its own share of new thrills and experiences . Travelling as we did in the super comfort of the  First Class Coaches of the British Era which had individual Doors for Entry/Exit for each 4 Berth Cabin with Six Ceiling Fans , the entire journey was totally private with no one else for company during the entire journey of near 40 hours . This was thanks to the Railway Pass to which my father was entitled as a very SENIOR Railway Officer.With only the three of us during  the entire journey , mea

         NOVEL METHODS OF                       TEACHING  Our Parents and especially our Teachers had novel and unique ways of teaching the subjects or Languages during our early school days . I distinctly remember the  difficulty i had in memorizing the spelling of the word ,            " ASSASSINATION "  My English Teacher at The Sector 7 SCHOOL in  Bhilai  was one Dr Bakshi . For some reason  his  ways with the students was always special . A bachelor of sorts and a man who was well past his middle age , he  always seemed to  sprout a frown on his face . Even the ever charming and elegantly clad Jarieth Madam , our Junior School English Teacher , who drew the attention of all the other Teachers , Male or Female and which included  the Students , seemed to have no sway over our Dr Bakshi  . It was often rumored that the only time that there was a slight twitch on  his lips was  when the huge Great Dane Dog that he had in his house was at its worst  and Growling at an unsusp

 NEAR 74 YEARS OLD MAN ON             A  CYCLING SPREE  I have often heard that there are 2 items which one does not forget or fail to perform with the passage of time or age . One is swimming and the other is Cycling . Being from Ambasamudram where the River Tambarabarani passes through , I have had occasions where I have tried my hand at Swimming successfully on many occasions.  Though I have been a regular user of a Motorbike , occasion to use a Cycle have not been there for almost 40 Years now . Being now at Regina at my Daughter's place , my Granddaughter and G Son who are regular users of the cycle around this place have been regular visitors to the Red Park nearby on their cycle . Cycling being the best form of Excercise , I decided to give it a shot and have a go at it . Surprise of Surprises , I seem to have done a fairly good job at it and covered nearly 5 Kms along with my Grandkids . I hope to make this a regular practice and loose a few Kgs in Weight and hopefully a Fe