RANDOM THOUGHTS

   BLUE MOON 30 TH AUG 2023  The much awaited 2nd  Leg of the Blue Moon scheduled for 30 th August has been captured in the Photograph. As detailed earlier there is nothing Blue about the Moon .  The difference , being closest to the Earth in its journey , it appears a shade LARGER and very BRIGHT as compared to other full Moons that we normally see.  The small speck of JUPITER appears just above the Moon almost at a 45 Degree Angle . Please ZOOM the photograph  to notice the same . The first one was at Regina and this one is at Toronto in Canada . ---'---------------------------------------------------         Once in a Blue Moon  A very rare occurrence or an event that does not occur very frequently is often referred to as             ONCE IN A BLUE MOON  August 1 was of particular importance to both the Astronomers , Scientists and the Layman on the Street like me . The much  touted and in the News  BLUE MOON was to emerge on that Night .  Make no Mistake about it .  The Moon wa

 Yajur UPAKARMA Avani Avittam              2023 At Toronto  During the Last few years , Avani Avittam had perforce been a low key affair because of the Covid Pandemic . Prior to that while in Service at Madura Coats , VK Puram , the Annual function was conducted with all due care first at Mr K Narayanaswami's place and then at the Colony Vinayakar Temple .           Kallidaikurichy Sankara Vadyar conducted the function in all due religious fervour . This annual event saw a sizable number of Colony  residents joining in . After Retirement it was a regular event at the Papanasam Temple where the very same Sankara Vadyar was in attendance. The function carried out on the Banks of the Tambarabarani River was all the more special . This year , I am at Ajax in Toronto. Among the many available places , we chose the Chandramouleeswara Temple at Scarborough . We were asked to be present at 5.30 AM itself for the First Batch . Surprise of surprises there were already close to 100 people for

 TEMPLE VISITS IN TORONTO As I have been saying , it has almost become a regular habit to visit the Various Temples at Toronto during the Weekends . Their number is so large that it could take sometime before I cover a majority of them .   . ARULJOTHY SIVALAYAM ON MY BIRTHDAY WAS SPECIAL AS IT WAS IN THE MIDST OF MY GRANDSON AND GRANDDAUGHTER.  The visit to the Sringeri Sharadha Peetam was special as it was attended in large numbers in view of the Pradosham  .  There was a group that was practicing the Dhol for the forthcoming Vinayaka Chathurthy . The visit to the Markham Shirdi Sai Baba Temple was an unplanned visit . Our original plan was to visit the Adhi Parashakti Temple at Scarborough.   The Annual Tamil Festival had the entire area sealed off and no Motor Traffic was allowed . The crowd gathered was unimaginable. More than 20 to 30 Thousand People had gathered for this annual spectacular show . The roads being blocked we visited the Shirdi Saibaba Temple .  Last Sunday we had t

 ME 73 YESTERDAY  20/8/2023  Today                                   SENIOR CITIZEN s DAY TODAY  Two very contrasting and unrelated events over the last two days holds a very special place with me . Yesterday the 20 th of August was my Birthday. Getting on to being  73 years is definitely a Milestone . Being quite healthy with the Almighty's Bleesings is a sure boon . More often than not , with advancing age  health issues do crop up from time to time to  become a Millstone not only around your  neck not but also around the neck of your near and dear ones .  Though retired from what one would like to call as Productive  Service  , I am quite an active person always on the look out to dabble with anything new and interesting . The Covid 19 Days under lockdown did offer that much more space and time to  persue those interests . In these days of instant and easy access to the Social Media platforms like the WHATSAPP , E MAIL AND FACEBOOK , I have been flooded with 100 s of BEST WISHES

    FIRST RIDE ON A 2 or 4                WHEELER       The First Solo Ride on a TWO OR FOUR WHEELER  , I guess  is no less thrilling than what M/S EDMUND HILLARY AND TENZING NORGAY must have felt on top of Mount Everest on that memorable day of  MAY 29 TH 1953 . My first ride on a Two Wheeler was , on a borrowed VESPA SCOOTER  from my Friend Vikas Markhande who for his part much against his wishes  most reluctantly parted company , though  for a very short time from his prized possession .   This was in the Andheri West Area of  what was then Bombay  and is now Mumbai . The year I am quite sure has to be 1973 which was my first year after College . The ride was from Saki Naka where I worked in a Fibreglass Weaving Unit to the Textile Processing plant of my Sasmira friend MUKULESH near the St Blaise Church at Andheri .  There was a Four Way Intersection enroute and a Traffic Signal  to manage the heavy Traffic and  crowd .  The Traffic signal as luck would have it was on Red when I rea

            Canada Shanmuganathaswamy Temple  As has been our usual practice of visiting a Temple during each Weekend during our stay at Toronto , last Weekend we visited the Shanmuganathaswamy Temple at Markham .  We had very good Darshan at the Shrine . The huge Anjaneya Temple was adorned with a VADAI MALAI . The Temple has a Large Sri Lankan following and is Patronised by them in a big way .  THE NAME  DEPICTED AS CANADA SHANMUGANATHASUWAMY TEMPLE IS AN IMMEDIATE GIVE AWAY for its Sri Lankan connect .  The Temple itself is situated in a square which has a large number of shops which cater to the largely Tamizh speaking people from both India and Sri Lanka .

  At Turnerberry Park - Ajax / Toronto  I am now back at the Turnerberry Park at Ajax/Toronto. I was at this place around the same time Last Year also . Fortunate enough to meet some of last year’s known faces and get to know many new ones .   Summer Vacation is Celebrated in a big way in Canada. Almost 4 to 5 Months of each Year is too cold for anyone to venture out for any outdoor activity , shrouded as this place is in Snow during this entire period ,  Age is no bar . Summer times bring out the Parents , Grandparents and the Kids in large numbers to these parks . Every Residential Complex  has a fully developed Park which is almost always  equipped with a Play Penn for the Kids .  Adults who can flex their Hands and Legs have the facility of a Tennis Court , Football / Soccer Ground with Coaching Facilities and a Basketball Court .  Ladies and Gents also gather around on the benches in these Parks and spend time in each others company . Ajax has a sizeable number of settlers from th

    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 . The very  look of him was sure to s