Yippee!!!!!Jill Carroll was finally released unharmed. What a news! This news has really made my day today.:) Yep, my faith in humanity, life and God has become more stronger.:)

For more information:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0331/p01s01-woiq.html?s=yv2

Scorching heat, sweat trickling down the face, wide roads, very few traffic jams, crowded beach, silk sarees and jewellery, lots of tamil, loads of fun with my cousin, uncle and aunt, lots of window shopping, a bit of stress- they all sum up my stay at Chennai for the last 2 days.:)

Inquilab Zindabad

Today is the 75th anniversary of the martyrdom of the three heroes of Indian Freedom struggle- Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Raj Guru. Yesterday I received a mail about the same. And I religiously forwarded it to all my friends.:) I do not know how many people read it and how many of them discarded it as spam. Sometimes people develop so much of aversion towards forwarded mails that they miss out on some good content.:)

I got to know about three heroes for the first time through my history text books. Probably there were 2 paras dedicated for them. So they did not catch my attention then. In 2002, I watched the movie- The Legend of Bhagat Singh(yep, movies help some times;)). And since then I have been totally awed by Bhagat Singh. I googled for more information about him and I came across his letters, his lectures and so on. As someone told me the other day that sacrificing your life selflessly for your country is the greatest heroic deed. Yes, indeed! And even now I am amazed about the fact that these three heroes embraced death so courageously.

Some of the quotes of Bhagat Singh that I got from Web:

--> The war neither began with us nor is it going to end with our lives. It is the inevitable consequence of the historic events and the existing environments. Our humble sacrifices shall be only a link in the chain that has very accurately been beautified by the unparalleled sacrifice of Mr. Das and most tragic but noblest sacrifice of Comrade Bhagawati Charan and the glorious death of our dear warrior Azad.

-->in a letter to his father:My life is not so precious, at least to me, as you may probably think it to be. It is not at all worth buying at the cost of my principles.

-the youth will have to spread this revolutionary message to the far corner of the country. They have to awaken crores of slum-dwellers of the industrial areas and villagers living in worn-out cottages, so that we will be independent and the exploitation of man by man will become an impossibility.

More information about Bhagat Singh on http://www.shahidbhagatsingh.org/

Inquilab Zindabad

Why do PEPSI and COMPAQ ads look similar to me- is it because more importance is given to the KHAN rather than on the product he is endorsing?;)

Let the tears flow

I have always wondered about why people consider tears as a sign of weakness! How can tears help in justifying if a person is courageous or not? For me, tears are ways of expressing pain or sadness. Yep, they can also convey happiness sometimes. They are forms of expression. Shedding tears is one of those impulsive reactions.

In fact, I have known people who shed tears and yet, they are known for their courage. My grandma has gone through lots of tragedies in her life. And believe me, she is the most optimistic person I have ever come across. She breaks into tears very easily. But then she believes that whatever happens is for good. She tells me that tears lighten her burden. She says that tears take away all the stress from her. In that way, she never stacks away her emotions. She feels that this could be one of the secrets of her good health.:)

Be it a man or a woman, I think shedding tears is a very natural phenomenon.

"Have a good cry, wash out your heart. If you keep it inside it'll tear you apart." -- Dr. Hook

"Why do all good things come to an end?"- that was my question when we left our native place day before yesterday.:) Those three days of vacation just zoomed by. Meeting people, spending lazy afternoons at grandpa's place, visiting the temple, a bit of trekking, lots of walking and spending quality time with nature definitely were very refreshful. It was completely a remote life without mobile phones, T.V, radio, newspapers and so on. In fact, when we stepped into Bangalore and when we heard the racket of the vehicles here, we felt like strangers. The calm, placid environment that we experienced in those three days seemed to evaporate as soon as we landed here.:)

Well, after all those attempts of mine to make you jealous, lemme get on to a serious note. One thing what we found was that most houses in our village are inhabited by only elderly couples. Most of the youngsters have immigrated to towns and cities in search of name, fame and money. Somehow the serene, quiet, rural life does not seem to appeal to them. They are in fact awed by the metropolitan glitter. I donno why this situation reminds me of the musk deer that goes in search of fragrance without realizing the fact that it secretes the most fragrant and valuable musk!!

I am leaving to my native place tonight. And I know that I have not stopped grinning since I got to know that we will be visiting our native place.:) Yep, just the thought of being there is so rejuvenating. During my school days, I would be there for every summer and Dasara vacation. I remember all of us grandchildren wailing when the vacation would be over.:) We would eagerly wait for the next vacation. In fact, we would start making plans even before the exams ( Exams were normally followed by holidays). So today I have been feeling that at least some things have not changed. I still look forward to visit my grandpa's place. I am still excited about going there. Grandpa is no more and we grandkids don't meet so regularly. Still I hope that our grandpa's place will always be there for us because it represents fun, frolic, laughter, music and nature, of course.

As I sit listening to this beautiful piece of music by Unnikrishnan, a feeling of exaltation envelops me. I feel as if I am sitting in an old temple in front of the statue of Lord Krishna. And I look at Krishna's idol with complete love and devotion. I sit there without any desire or wish. I am not begging Lord Krishna for anything or for anyone. I am not asking anything for myself. I am in total unison with the music being played and devotion for Krishna. I am at total peace.

My great grandma (Ajjamma) passed away today. She had been bedridden recently. She was 93.

It seems that my great grandpa expired at a young age leaving my Ajjamma with two children. During those days, the life of a widow was not at all a bed of roses. In spite of that, Ajjamma lived very courageously. She had to work very hard to give a decent life to her children. My grandma fondly remembers that Ajjamma would never refuse anything that her kids asked for. In spite of difficult circumstances, she never asked anyone for help.

I always found her very patient. I never saw her angry even for a moment. She was a perfect host and she would never let anyone go without at least a cup of tea. She was very particular about cleanliness. The image of Ajjamma in a red cotton saree smiling with her sparkling white will always remain with me. I derive lot of inspiration from her.

May her soul rest in peace.

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I finished reading Durgasthamana yesterday. I must say that it has been one of the best books I have ever read so far. I was moved to tears after reading the climax. I was actually thrilled to think that it is a true story afterall. Bravery, courage, sacrifice, patriotism- those feelings were all for real. Wow! Salutation to those warriors, their families and TaRaSu for portraying their stories.

Some responses of auto drivers when you tell then your destination:
- He nods his head vertically or horizontally
- He looks at you as if you were an alien and grunts a "No" with a very disgusting look
- He stops for a second, listens to you and just zooms away. ( and u stand there thinking if he did say something!!!!)
- He looks at you with pity and then demands 20 extra bucks.
- He contemplates on your destination. You grab this opportunity and immediately sit in the auto.

Well, some drivers don't even give you a chance to observe their response. They just drive by your side as if you were invisible or you didn't exist.

As I am writing this post, I can hear my colleague grumbling about the long wait for autos every morning.

She comes to work every morning at sharp 6. She brings a torn dhothi, ties it like a cradle in the garage and puts her baby to sleep. Then she starts off her day with washing the vessels. Then she cleans the house and washes the clothes. In between, she keeps going to the garage to keep a check on her baby. She feels elated when her "Madam" gives a glass of milk for her baby. She takes out her plastic dabbas and stuffs in the leftovers that her "Madam" gives. She helps her "madam" with her cooking. She then goes to the garage, cuddles her baby, unties the cradle and then runs to the school where she works as Aaya.

Her "Madam" asks her one day about her husband. Does he do anything at all? Is he a big drunkard? Tears well in her eyes when she hears these questions. She tells her "Madam" that her husband is bed ridden. The doctor has given up hope. But she believes that he will be okay some day. She tries her best to keep him in good spirits. She is not worried that he will not be able to work anymore. She is happy as long as he is with her. She wipes her tears and says that she does not cry in front of her husband. He likes to see her strong. And more over, she has to be more stronger for her baby.

HAPPY WOMEN'S DAY

I am currently reading Durgasthamana by TaRaSu ( T.R.Subba Rao). It is supposed to be the magnum opus of TaRaSu. This book is about Madakari Nayaka of Palegara dynasty of Chitradurga. The author also hailed from the same place. Well, the book has definitely been interesting so far. This book has definitely allured me to visit Chitradurga sometime. Wikipedia gives the following information:

"One outstanding feature especially in his historical writings is his impeccable research. TaRaSu has succeeded in recreating the 18th and 19th Century Chitradurga in his books. It is nearly photographic."

And the show goes on.........

Isn't it weird that it becomes very difficult to enjoy when your friends are actually going through tough times? Yes, everything may be rocking in your life. You might be in one of the best parties at the best places. But in the backdrop, you think about friends who are going through very tough phases. There is this silence in your mind even though you are amidst the boisterous crowd. Probably, the celebration seems incomplete with the thought of them being in misery.

Well, all said and done, you still cannot help smiling when you see that in the party, someone is dancing merrifully or taking faltering steps with a beer bottle or trying to catch someone else's attention in vain.:) For a moment, you forget everything else and you smile- you laugh heartily. Well......I guess that is what life is about.:))