WANTED ANOTHER FORM “ JALLIKATTU” IN MARINA BEECH CHENNAI

“Jallikattu” was a popular sport in Tamil Nadu. The sport was conducted to encourage youth to tame bulls with bare hands by hugging and climbing on the bull holding it’s hump tightly. The winner was rewarded with money, marital alliance with the chosen bride etc.  

After Pongal Celebrations this year around 18^th Jan’17, there was a big fur over in Chennai ! The iconic Marina beech was besieged by youths from all walks of life and their demand was to allow controversial JALLIKATTU claimed to be a marital sport of Tamils. It was projected as an issue of restoration of “Tamil Pride”. As all political parties wanted to take active part in partaking the sensitive issue to their political gain center had to carefully handle the issue to avert any precipitation. Rest is history.

The past one week’s happening in Tamil Nadu are indeed very disgusting to put it too mildly. Elected representatives, so called M.L.As have to be huddled in a resort and kept in hostage condition to avert a political crisis by one section of the ruling party.

It was well known and foregone conclusion that the leader they were electing was bound to be declared an offender under disproportionate asset case. But still she was chosen as the leader of the party. Later she was  in a hurry to be nominated as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The one who was warming up the Chief Minister’s chair for her was forced to tender resignation under duress.

The one who resigned woke up after a few days and revolted against the new chief minister. Thus enough fodder was provided or all TV channels to run these news as SASI KALA KAARI and what not with great captions, narrations, graphics, designs etc.

The most disgusting and disappointing points in this episode were the following:-

Police Personnel who are never available to render any help to the needy and wanting were thrown around the resorts were these elected representatives were housed and rapid action forces were also there on standby mode !

The number of SVUs in around Golden Beech resort were beyond anyone’s imagination.  See the pitiable condition of public transport buses in and around Tamil Nadu. These elected representatives are travelling all around in these high tech cars.     

There were claims and counter claims on how and who paid money for this jamboree wherein our elected representatives had a gala time. Going by very conservative estimate of they had stayed in MLA’s hostel not even one percent of that amount would have been spent on maintaining these elected representatives.

People were roaring like Lion initially and after the Supreme Court verdict the roar got completely silenced.

I as a “Tamilian” feel that Tamil’s pride has been seriously tarnished  by the following events:-

By having a proxy CMs again and again who are remote controlled by corrupt sentence serving politicians.

By having MLAs of this nature, who are easily prone for manipulation by their corrupt leaders.

By having seriously compromised on the image, status of one of the prosperous states in this country which literally went into a state of limbo!

By having elected representatives, who are nothing better than “Pawns” in the power game. With little respect and regard for the people who chose them they surrendered their self respect to a someone who took them into hostage!

By having CM’s who talk about spirits and ghosts to guide them whereas when they came to power they came on the plank of “ Rationalists” !

Thus to overcome these issues we need to bring all these MLAs to Marina beech. They have to be put into a Jallikattu game and the people from their respective constituency should catch them and question them for their acts of omissions and commissions.

Then only “Tamil Pride” shall be restored !!

Is there anyone from the youth brigade listening and willing to act !!!  

L. P. O...Local Purchase Orders

The word "Demonetization"  gained global publicity after the declaration of Indian Prime Minister on
8th Nov'16 regarding the high denomination notes INR 500 and INR 1000 ! Till that time no one would
have ever thought about the word. At least I was not in the habit of using this word.

But much before that, when I used to live in Malawi, a small country in Central African region wherein
I was precisely doing Demonetization without even aware of it. Looking back it made great sense to recollect the funny way we have been adhering to the principle of Demonetization !!

I landed in Malawi in May'1995. First overseas job and the expectations of the "Board" as the bosses always used to refer themselves were very high. Though the job was not at all difficult getting into the local nitty gritty was a bit tough. In MNC type organisations things were all defined in black and white. So you are expected to play your part in the orchestra and leave without even looking back. But in a small set up ( But for Malawi it was something like the empire of TATAs !) it was like that. You were expected to play not only your part of the music but also set the mike, organize the Chorus singers, check electrical connections and then ensure that there were no jarring notes !!

On arrival, I was given a book called as " L.P.O" book which was nothing but a purchase order. I was told that I could sign and leave the same with local hair dresser, restaurant, stationery shop, Petrol Bunk, Dairy, travel agent, Physician, Dentist and what not ! Apart from the above outside parties who were serving me in individual capacity, there were suppliers to company who were also happy with L.P.O !

Company felt that it was in an advantageous position as the L.P.Os always issued against 45 days to 60 days credit payment. Things were going well and as they say proverbial lull before the storm, one day the storm did break out !!

Whenever we sign L.P.O there was always a carbon copy in the book. One clever purchase assistant mastered the art of doing exactly my signature and that too in style ! On reconciliation the Financial Controller found out that the L.P.O of mine was being used in Big Bars and other related joints. As a teetotaler my presence in such joints was impossible. After a careful check the extra L.P.O book was found in the Purchase Assistant, that too with my Counterfeit signature !

The Purchase Assistant had to confess and got booted out the very same day !  

INDIAN MARRIAGES-Prospective " BRIDE" viewing

"Marriages are made in heaven" thus goes the common saying ! But all things remaining more or less equal, still in India by and large "ARRANGED MARRIAGES" are common ! Mostly people think that marriage is one of the biggest lottery and if every thing goes well in married life then life is made. If things do not turn out as anticipated then life becomes a hell.

In order to avoid these risks, plus in order to have a safety circle (SURAKSHA CHAKRA) people prefer an "ARRANGED MARRIAGE". By arranged marriage what I mean is one in which parents and elders of both sides boy and girl meet, discuss, deliberate and then conclude the alliance. In the eventuality of anything going wrong then both sides can sit and re-discuss and then try to do course correction.

As the Tamil poet Kannadasan penned in one of his Tamil film songs  " Getting a good wife is a boon from God !". I do not think anyone can say this anyway better than this. This is equally true for husband too ! As the cart of family is pulled by both male and female equally ... assuming that in the same direction !

There are many aunties, mamies who are specialists in marital net working. Their brain power is much sophisticated than any super computer in terms of storage, retrieval and matching alliances at the speed of light ! They sort, store, retrieve alliances based on Caste, Gothra, Sect, Region, Language, Place of residence, NRI ( Non Resident Indian) , RI ( Resident Indian), Green Card Holder, East Coast , West Coast etc.

Turn to any matrimonial column in leading dailies, weeklies you can see the plethora of advertisements that appear. Over and above that there are websites who specialize exclusively in various language matrimony !

After the initial match making by these aunties / Mamies then there is exchange of horoscopes. While some families swear by this, some families are not keen. After the vetting of horoscope by family astrologer and rating based on number of matching points then we come to the status of Bride Viewing !!

This is a very important stage of any Indian marriage. As this one gives an impression about the status of the bride's family, living condition, close relative circle, life style etc. Generally a date is selected by the prospective bride groom and informed to the bride's side. They are in a state of alert on that day. If the alliance is a local one there are no issues as they can drive down, meet and go. Otherwise the bride's family is expected to arrange for pick up, stay and transport for the family which is going to visit.

In Karnataka the bride is supposed to be taken to the bride groom's place for the initial meeting which is all the more complicated. As the lady will be feeling like fish out of water in an alien environment.

In order to make these things very comfortable now a days both families meet in a common place like a restaurant over a cup of tea or coffee and meet each other. My father used to boast that in his days the boy and girl just met each other on the day of the marriage and everything else was left to the full control of parents.

In early part of 80 s the prospective bride groom and bride got a chance to meet within the house for a few minutes to exchange a few words. During that time too some old lady or small boy / girl used to come and peep in to know what was transpiring.

There are special types of snacks and sweets for this ceremony known as Bazzi & SOZZI in South India (Type of Halwa made with Soozi ).

I knew a Tamil boy from US who used to come every year and view more than half a dozen girls in a span of a week or so moving from one metro to other. After enjoying the prospective bride's family's hospitality would go back to Bombay and contemplate how the girl would look in Jeans, How she would look in Punjabi Dress, How she would look in American Skirt etc. In the end he ended up marrying someone who did not look good any of the dresses !!

After the bride viewing then the the prospective groom's family should make the decision and revert. Now a days both the boy and girl take lead in deciding whether the match should progress further or not. There are cases when the girl chose to turn down the match just before the day of engagement after having undertaken a few dates with the boy !

So nothing is certain and confirmed until the proverbial three knots are tied !!

AMAR SEVA SANGAM ...A BEACON OF HOPE !!!

In this tough competitive world, people with 100 % full fitness, complete intellect, adequate disposable income, plus enormous surplus funds find it difficult to think about others, leave alone desiring and working for others.

 Rich man wants to amass further wealth for his generations to come, middle class man wants to move up in the social ladder so he can flaunt his new found status, lower middle class man wants to move up &  acquire at the least a few gadgets and accessories so that his life becomes a bit more comfortable. Down trodden and people in below  poverty line want to make their lives at the least comfortable enough to meet both ends and are able to have two square meals a day.

In such a tough world there are two people who despite getting confined to wheel chairs at the prime of their lives after having spent their early part of youth with full mobility including that of playing and having fun in their college and school days.

This is the story of Sri S Ramakrishnan who was a final Engineering student studying in one of the prestigious colleges in Coimbatore (Government College of Technology). In the final year he went to attend Staff Selection Board tests for Navy and while attempting a difficult maneuver fell down and became a paraplegic someone crippled from the neck and got confined to wheel chair due to the multiple spine injury leading to paralysis below his neck.  

He was taken to Pune for further treatment at rehabilitation center for spinal cord injured patients. But after a period of time the doctors gave up on him stating that he was beyond cure. Thus Ramakrishnan a bright young final year student of Engineering found his life at cross roads. Apart from his dreams, his lower middle class family’s dreams were also shattered on account of the accidental fall.  

Ramakrishnan was motivated by one of his doctors treating him in Pune Dr. Air Marshal  Amarjit  Singh Chalal  who told him that if God had spared his life, it was with a purpose which Ramakrishnan had to search and find out. The totally dejected Ramakrishnan started his life on wheel chair with total dependence on his family even for moving a page of a book he was reading apart from all day today activities in late seventies in his native village Ayikudy, in Thirunelveli district.

The rural setting of his native village Ayikudy gave him ample time to think. He was concerned of the educational facilities of the village. Therefore to guide and mentor the local students he started a tuition center with a few students. In 1981 Amar Seva Sangam was founded and Siva Saraswathi Vidyalays was also founded with 5 students.  This later became small elementary school for the local folks. From there the seed for a high school came.  If you trace the progress of education wing of Amar Seva Sangam Nursery school in 1981, Middle School in 1991, High School in 2009, Higher Secondary School in 2015. There are 700 students and of them nearly 10% are handicapped.

In 1992 Sri S Sankararaman a charted accountant by profession with a flourishing practice in Chennai moved and joined with Sri S Ramakrishnan. Shanakararaman is also wheel chair bound on account of Muscular Dystrophy. He functions as the Secretary of Amar Svea Sangam which is having an able President in Sri S Ramakrishnan.

Some of the commendable activities of Amar Seva Snagam are:-

1.       Home for Children between the age of 5 to 17 with free food, shelter, clothing, medicine and medical aid equipments etc. In 1981 there were 5 children and now the strength has gone up to 70 plus and most of them are having motor disability.

2.       Sangamam school for special children.

3.       Early Intervention center for children with disability.

4.       Orthopedics Center

5.       Medical Testing units.

6.       Spinal Cord Injured Post Acute care center

7.       Disabled youth training center

8.       Vocational Training centers for Tailoring, DTP, Typing, Home appliance repair training, Toy Making, Handicrafts.

Some of the leading institutions that have regular association with Amar Seva Sangam are:-

1.       Sir Dorabji Tata Trust,

2.       Handicare International Canada

3.       Give India Foundation

4.       Canada Star India

5.       Asha Foundation

6.       Sir Ratan Tata Trust

7.       Grand Calleyes Canada

8.       Kamakoti  Trust

There is no point in listing the awards and accolades won by Amar Seva Sangam and its founders as the same may run into a few pages.

The organization is run with a ISO Certification. Renowned and able patrons manage the activities as a board. Annual reports are available with complete transparency.

Please pay a visit to the website. If inspired please contribute your mite by way of donation or volunteering.

www. amarseva.org  is the website.  

SMILE

SMILE :-

“Smile” is the shortest distance between one end of the lip to the other end when the same forms a straight line!!

It has a bigger brother called “laughter” which comes out with too much of noise and reverberating into echoes if more than two people are involved.  A child smiles and laughs for no reason. As a man or woman ages the first thing they shred is smile. Whether it is part of growing up process or simply due to day today stress and strain we human beings give up smiling first and then we claim that we have grown up.

It is found that certain sections of population are more prone to serious type of faces than others. I have seen most of the people working in government sector, that too in areas, where they have to have people to people  contact on a daily basis…like banks, post offices etc. give up smiling first. Whether it is salary day or the last day of the month it becomes the same for them. On the contrary, they are expected to put up a genuine smile every time when they interact with a customer.

I have seen people in Bangalore, Karnataka, South India are found to smile most often. This I am writing after having travelled to most part of India. In the case of hearty burst out laughter no one can match people from Punjab !!

I like Bhutan as a country, because it is the only country, probably in the world to give importance to smiling faces and like GDP it measures happiness index every year!!

In my fairly long experience in Africa, one thing I have noticed with natives, is the smile. Most of them burst out into laughter most of the time. When they meet with even a stranger they smile and greet without any inhibitions.

Their lives may have many uncertainties, day to existence is very challenged, family size is very large as for most of them only recreation is “procreation”. Living conditions are very poor in most of the countries, there is no potable water despite vast lakes and rivers, Electricity is not available in most parts, most of them commute to work by foot that too running most of the time to reach their work place in time. By and large their bosses are mostly ”slave drivers” as they use abusive language and push them from one place to other in work.

Most of them are too preoccupied about their next meal. Salary is paltry and working conditions are pathetic and despite all this every African work Man when they meet each other there is so much of smiles, laughter and noise due to clasping of hands and high fives etc.  Whenever they find someone walking nearby when they are eating the entrant is invited to partake the food though the food may be too meager.

Take the case of Indians mostly working as expatriates working along with natives in Africa. Most of them are fairly well placed and earn many more times the natives. They have fairly large bank balance locally as well as overseas. Their life style is very good compared to locals as they stay in good houses in great communities under privileged security. Their children go to the best of best schools. They have paid holidays to home as well as to envied destinations. Despite all this how often do they smile leave aside laugh!

It is indeed a great blessing to laugh one’s heart out either for a joke, or on account of a funny episode or even just like that. Please sit and introspect the last time when you had a hearty laugh !!

As a matter of routine every morning, as I enter my work place, I have the habit of greeting each and every person on the shop- floor right from security, janitor, packers, machine operators, Technicians, Supervisors, Managers and then move to my chamber to get going with my routine. This I have been practicing for quite some time as it helps me to access the strength at the shop-floor, morale of the staff and workmen as well as to gauge the style of work going around.  If there are any course corrections to be made the same can be made then and there in time.  

The other day, I was a bit stressed on account of work pressure. I just moved into my office skipping the morning ritual of mine as I was busy with some pressing thing. After finishing the same, I moved in a hurried manner to shop floor. Then I felt a bit tired after few minutes of walking and I sat on a work bench by the side of a lady packer as there was some vacant space. I realized later the lady was the one who was pulled up a few weeks back for going out for a smoke early morning at the commencement of her shift by me. I looked at her and was about t enquire her well being. Before that she told me politely “ Papa…smile please !”.

Her words hit me like a ton of  bricks.  Well despite getting dressed up well and moving far and wide I forgot to wear the most important accessory that day ….SMILE !!