I often wonder about why packaging oneself is so important now a days. Is the wrapper more crucial than the thing or the content inside?? Do we form an opinion about a person by looking at the packaging rather than his/her inner persona? How fair is this way of forming opinions? So what will happen to those opinions when the package will wear off one day???

I might be wrong. But for me, each one of them is special in their own way. None of my relationships or friendships would be based on the type of packaging. I love people because of what they are, and not what they appear to be!!:))))

Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it.
- Confucious

Yesterday,I watched the kannada play, "Neenaanadre Naaneenena" at Ranga Shankara.

I have not been to many plays before. I remember very vaguely of going to "Nodi Swamy Naavirodhe Heege" kannada play when I was in second standard. So yesterday was a very new, fresh and exciting experience to me.

It was based on the kannada version of "Comedy of Errors". At every comic instance, we audience would break into loud laughter. The actors did a very good job. I wondered aloud about how they actually delivered those lengthy dialogues with so much of ease. The sets were very simple, yet creative.

There were lot of well-known faces in the crowd. And I kept bugging Ravi about who they were and in which serials/movies did they act.:)

It was a great, electrifying experience. Everything seemed so real and simple. It was remarkable to see the house full. Kudos to Arundhati Nag for breathing life into plays by building Ranga Shankara. I think she has actually given a very genuine tribute to Shankar Nag through Ranga Shankara.

Classical music is spirituality for me. Every time I listen to classical music, I am amazed at its allaying power. No matter how much I am disturbed, when I sit and listen to classical music, I retrieve my peace of mind. Someone rightly said the other day that it is after all musical nirvana. So very true! I definitely feel very fortunate to have been introduced to this form of spirituality.

So here I sit sipping coffee, listening to the best of Bhimsen Joshi and feeling gratified for this life.:)

Got this in a mail today:)

Tough times never last!

During one of the worst phases of my life, I was very crest fallen. That was a time when I had lost faith in myself. I had loads of self pity attitude- Why me? Everything seemed very hazy. It was at this time I came across the book, "Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do!" by Robert.H.Schuller. I was not a staunch believer of philosophical books then. Even then I started reading this book; maybe it was a mere timepass. Slowly I got hooked onto this book. I almost started living this book. I tried practising the concepts mentioned in this book. And I must say, it worked! I think above all, this book gave me hope. I then passed on this book to others who needed hope.

Today as I was walking through my office, I found the same book on my colleague's desk. Just when I have been going through some grave, depressing situations, I found this book yet again. And yes, I did not waste my time. I borrowed the book from my colleague and now it lies on my desk. Yep, I shall read it again ( for the umpteenth time). Who knows, it might work again!:))

Equanimity- That is a very tough goal.

It is very difficult to accept both happiness and sadness, victory and failure with a calm, composed mind. We tend to become overjoyed in times of happiness and fall to abyss in case of sorrow. I have seen some people who have actually reached this goal. And I have always been amazed watching them. I hope I will be able to attain equanimity sometime soon. Atleast I have started working for it. Let us see how far I can go!

About Annavru ( that is the nickname of Rajkumar)

I had been planning to write a post on Rajkumar since a long time. But then somehow I kept postponing it. But when I heard of his demise, I decided to pen my thoughts about him immediately.

I have grown up with Rajkumar's movies. I have always found them interesting. Most of his movies were unique and family watchable. People say that he was best at mythological roles. But I think he provided justice to most of the roles he performed. Be it the potter in "Bhaktha Kumbara", or the unemployed guy in "Bhagayada Lakshmi Baramma", or the strict father in "Bhaagyavantharu", or the altruistic rich guy in "Kasturi Nivasa"- his performances were memorable.

He spoke excellent pure kannada. He had a perfect dialect and he varied it with the roles he played accordingly. I have seen many literary figures falter while trying to speak pure kannada. But Rajkumar spoke "shuddha" kannada very easily and impeccably.

The best part about him was that he was a fantabulous singer. He has been a national award recipient for playback singing. I always felt that he had a very versatile voice.

Dr.Rajkumar refused to cash on his demi God status. He declined to join politics, unlike his peers in the other south Indian states.

From whatever I have seen of him, or read about him, I know that he was very simple, humble and disciplined. And I think these are the virtues that gave him a permanent place in the hearts of kannadigas


About the riots that followed Annavru's death

When I saw people burning vehicles, petrol bunks and pelting stones, I was really bewildered for a moment. And you could see the same people waving and grinning at the cameras. Who were these people? It did not look as if they were mournful about Raj's death. It was really painful to see his family vainly requesting the mob to move away so that they could perform the last rites. The mob did not even let Raj's family grieve over his death. What a shameful act!!!

If these people were "true fans", then they would have given a very good tribute to Annavru. If they were upset about his death, then they could have grieved instead of making others grieve. It is sad to see that the misdeeds of these hooligans, these fanatics have brought a bad name to the fans of Dr.Rajkumar.

Finally, I feel that Rajkumar will always be alive through his films and songs. That is the best part of being an artist, isn't it? An artist always is immortal through his/her art.

Mis(s)-nomer......oops!!!

Yesterday as I was busy window-shopping, I thought I saw a familiar face near the shop. She too was staring at me. I knew that she was my college mate. But I could not recollect her name even though I tried hard. And before I could think further, she said,"Hi Madhooo". I managed a "Hi" and then a strange voice in my heart told me that her name was X. And I have great faith in the slogan of Hindi films which says- Listen to your heart always. So I started suffixing her name in whatever I spoke to her. Finally, at the end of the conversation, she gave me her phone number. I was trying to store the number under name X in my mobile. And then she said,"Madhooo, my name is Y, and not X". I don't think I have to describe further how I felt at that time.:)) Sigh..................one more in the list of my misnomer mishaps!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Got this in a mail today.:)

Why do we have to let our moods control us instead of us controlling our moods?

Why do we like to hide behind frowns instead of smiles?

These are some snaps of my native place and my grandpa's place ( Ajjana Mane):)))))

"I finally feel like I am alive again. I feel so good. To be able to step outside anytime, to feel the sun directly on your face -- to see the whole sky. These are luxuries that we just don't appreciate every day."
- Jill Carroll after her release

Desik

I always feel very euphoric when I meet Mani Sir. My association with Mani Sir and his SOCARE IND started about one and a half years back.

It all started when I was looking out for an orphanage to celebrate a birthday. At that time, my sis-in-law mentioned a place where her friend's kid had celebrated her birthday. I had expected Desik ( Mani Sir's house in Rajajinagar) to be like any other orphanage. But it turned out to be very different.
SOCARE Ind (Society’s Care for Indigent)is a home for mainly the children of convicts
who have been deprived of basic necessities. SOCARE Ind provides food, shelter and education to the kids. SOCARE Ind was started by a retired bank employee, Mr. Mani and his wife Mrs. Saroja Mani in June 1999. Mr. Mani hails from lower mid class family working for a national bank. But that did not stop him from the desire to lend a helping hand to the children in desperate need of help. In fact, he runs this orphanage in his house itself.

In Mani Sir's words- “While cycling to work everyday I used to cross the Bangalore Central Jail. I often saw children crying outside the jail watching haplessly their elder locked inside the prison. I used to wonder about the future of these young lives. With no empathy and support from the society what kind of life will they be able to lead. Hence, the first thing I did after my retirement was open a long term shelter for these unfortunate children. Since I did not have any money and my children were settled in the US,I contributed my house for the cause,” says Mr Mani. (This excerpt has been taken from an inetview of Mani Sir to Deccan Herald.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jan042005/spt1.asp)

Every time I go to Desik, Mani Sir tells me about the background of the kids staying there. Believe me, those kids have seen more of life than us. There are kids whose both the parents are in prison. There is a kid whose mother was killed by the father itself and now the father is in the prison. Such are the stories of those kids at Desik.

I got to know that this organization is in need of funds. Mani Sir tries to give the best of education to these kids. He also ensures that they lead a normal life. So they are in need of financial help. Of course, few of us contribute regularly there. But more help would be welcome.

Every time I visit Desik, those innocent eyes haunt me. It hurts to think that those kids are actually struggling for their basic needs. But at least they have Mani Sir with them. What about those who are still on streets and who have taken felonious paths to earn their food??!!

For those of you who want to know more about this organization:
http://www.socare.org/
http://socare.blogspot.com/2005/11/socare-primer.html