RANDOM THOUGHTS

        TALL  EDIFICE ON A                                    MAKEOVER     Today as I had to meet Someone at Aladiyur and proceed to Papanasam Temple , for a change I took the route via the Mill Colony , Iron Bridge . Passing the New Colony and Subsequently the Mill Gate and BAI KADAI and it  brought back memories of my near 28 Years in the Colony .  By the look of things from Outside , the Colony looks a very pale shadow of its esteemed past where the Mill Colony was looked upon with envy by anyone visiting the place . 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...

      MY LOVE WITH RAILWAY                     STATIONS  இரயில் நிலையங்கள் என்றுமே என்னை ஈர்ப்பவை. இதைத் தொடர்வண்டி நிலையம் என்று தமிழில் சொன்னாலும் பேச்சு வழக்கில் இரயில்வே ஸ்டேஷன்தான். அந்தக்காலத்தில் ரயில் கெடி என்பார்கள். 'ஸ்' உச்சரிக்க முடியாதவர்களுக்கு இன்றும் 'டேசன்' தான்! இலங்கையில் 'புகையிரத நிலையம்!' என்னை வசீகரிப்பவை சிற்றூரில் உள்ள நிலையங்கள்தான்! வறட்சியான பகுதிகளில் கூட ரயில் நிலையங்கள் பசுமையாக மரங்களோடு காட்சி தரும்! நீளமான நடைமேடை, அமர்ந்து கொள்ள தடித்தடியான சிமெண்ட் பெஞ்சுகள்! அவை அளிக்கும் சுகம் பஞ்சு மெத்தையில் கூட கிடைக்காது! எல்லாவற்றுக்கும் மேலாக அங்கு இருக்கும் ஒரு அமானுஷ்யம்! இரவு நேரங்களில் தொலைவில் தெரியும் மின்விளக்குகளில் ஒளிர்ந்து தொலைவில் இருளில் மறையும் நீண்ட தண்டவாளங்களைப் பார்ப்பதற்கே அச்சமாக இருக்கும்! சிற்றூர் நிலையங்களில் பாசஞ்சர் வண்டிகள் மட்டுமே நிற்கும். பயணிகளும் குறைவாகத்தான் இருப்பார்கள். அமைதிக்குப் பங்கம் வரவே வராது! சில நிலையங்களில் நூறாண்டு கண்ட ஆலமரங்கள் விழுதுகளை ஊன்றி ...

  AIR TRAVEL AND BAGGAGE                             HANDLING  The clip in yesterday s The Hindu under the caption " The Thief That Was Not To Be " has set me thinking . This coming as this does from a person who has more than 40 International Arrival Stampings on his Passport must make for an amusing read . One aspect of the Air Travel which always seems a daunting task is getting back your luggage at the end of your journey . A : Finding the right carousel earmarked for your flight is in itself a problem as more often than not as in large Airports the Bay Number announced inside the Aircraft before touchdown  is often different from the actual one on the ground . B : Finding your luggage amongst the 100 s of similar looking ones is always a daunting task . There are many who try and make the identification easier by fastening  coloured ribbons , glistening stickers on to the suitcases . It i...

I am not sure how many from the Gen Next  would have even  heard of the term Valve Radio .  TELERAD, MURPHY , PHILLIPS,   TELEFUNKEN MARCONI were popular Brands in those days . They were bought on Installment payment just as it is done nowadays for a Fridge , TV or AC or Car . It used to be the sole mode of entertainment by way of listening to music via the Radio Signal through what used to be called an Aerial  on the Terrace of your Homes  . It came with features which included Medium Wave + 3 or 5 Bands . More the Bands , higher the prices and better the  Rrception . FM did not even exist in those days . All India Radio and Vividh Bharathi came a very poor second to Radio Ceylon which  had a huge audience in both Hindi and Tamil Languages . This extended across the whole of the Indian Sub Continent . Being a Commercial Broadcaster , its Ads for Indian Products were the only ones to be heard in those days . Some of the Catchy Jingles for Ham...

 Here i am , a Retired Person nearing the three quarters of the Century Mark  , musing about the many  childhood dreams . There are many things which have caught my fancy as a schoolgoing kid and later on in the teens. It is only fair to say that Some of those Important  Dreams , thanks to the lord above have been realized and and sadly there are parts of the same that  are never going to see the light of the day . The early part of my teens was at a place called Kharapur in W Bengal .Now, dont get me wrong , it was not at the IIT for which the place is  obviously more famous for the World over , but the Railway Colony of which my Father was very much a part. I did my schooling at the Railway Mixed Higher Secondary School there. My fathers previous posting among a lot many other places  was at a place called Chakradharpur in Bihar and my early  schooling was entirely  in the Hindi Medium. The school at Kharagpur though had a sizable Anglo Ind...