Yes We Can!

History is about to be made when Barack Obama is sworn in tomorrow as the first ever African American President of the United States at the historic Lincoln memorial. It has taken sooo long for a country that has been built on immigrants to embrace a man of color and elect him to the highest office in this land. This is going to be an emotional moment for the millions of African Americans whose ancestors were refused admittance into hotels, restaurants and even public restrooms….. as I write this I’m listening to the famous speech of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , the ‘I have a Dream’ speech in CNN and moved with goose-pimples listening to the great Dr. King….. His dream is certainly turning true tomorrow…..I share the sentiments of my African American friends who were denied food at McDonalds in the 1960s in Mississippi bcos of their color, friends who had to tackle the peer pressure faced by their little ones at school in a mostly white class…..I have seen the pain in their eyes as they shared these experiences with me…..the feeling of being oppressed….for generations and generations…..the time has come for change, change to the attitude of those people who still live in empty glory taking pride for their birth into a certain class & not mind their deeds, change to the rhetoric stereotyping of the oppressed, change to the careless name calling and a change for a better tomorrow wherein every human being in this world, wherever it may be, treats every single person with respect & regard and value them by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin or their race….I truly believe a great leader is one who inspires…..and Barack Obama has indeed inspired soooo many young people all over the world and dared them to dream of becoming whatever they want to be and has set an example to his very own slogan……’Yes, We Can’

The art of Parenting...

It’s been a month since I wrote the last time on my blog and like all my previous write-ups this one is also a result of something that deeply struck me….myself and my friend KD from CA had a very interesting conversation a couple of days back about ‘Parenting’ which kindled my thoughts a lot…We were discussing about two different kinds of pattern seen among parents…One in which they ‘empower’ their children right from their childhood, never fear to correct them as and when needed, bring them up with a social consciousness and end up raising confident, independent and socially likable children….the second kind where they obviously love their children beyond limits but with that kind of blind love, they fear losing their children for correcting them, simply want to appease them by all means, not to mention bring them up totally dependent on them, reassure them that whatever mistakes be done, all that counts is that they are gonna be liked by their parents and end up raising self-centered, weak, self-sympathetic and of course not so amiable people……Myself and KD were discussing as to how the little pieces of advice that our parents gave us when we were kids makes sense to us now as grown-ups and how much we are grateful for all those valuable lessons thought to us…….she also mentioned how this aspect that starts within a family ends up affecting other relatives, friends & colleagues when the individuals grow-up and interact with others. It is clearly evident how a person has been raised by their parents, from the way they think, talk & interact. No wonder the great Thiruvalluvar said on the duty of a good parent “ தந்தை மகற்காற்று நன்றி அவயத்து முந்தி இருப் செயல் ’(A father's duty to his son is to seat him in front of the wise) and went on to also write about the duty of a good child as “ மகன் தந்தைக்கு ஆற்றும் உதவி இவன் தந்தை எநோற்றான் கொள் எனும் சொல் " (A son/daughter’s duty to a parent is to live such that others say “what penance did his/her parents do to beget such a child). And after this long discussion with KD, she said 'oh madhoo as I speak to you about parents, I miss them soo much' and I replied “Oh well, we all do… but it is their success as parents that we have come so far in life bringing laurels to them, living their dream, not crying for their support and are able to appreciate what they have done for us by talking like this today…”. So it is for each parent to take a minute and think if they want to support their child through all their wrong doings, give them the temporary happiness & raise (what I would like to call) socially handicapped children or mold them in such a way that they prepare their child for the future, to live amicably in a world even without them where no one is obligated to tolerate their ill-behavior or love that person like the parents did …My dad always reminded me that only a man’s education, faith in lord, good words, good deeds & in turn good friends would give a helping hand and today I realize what he meant……see you all soon with yet another interesting topic. Happy Krishna Jayanthi :)

A Reality Check!!

I just finished watching the 100^th episode of the show, நீயா நானா in Vijay TV where they had invited students who have secured state ranks in the 10^th standard board exams and who come from lower income families….when I say lower income I mean families where the father is either a கூலி (daily labor) or a server in a hotel, a mason or a corporation cleaner or in some cases where the father had passed away and the lady of the house is struggling to make the ends meet…. I’m overwhelmed with a wide range of emotions as I write this blog, first a feeling of high respect & regard to all those parents on the show, who in spite of their suffering are determined to not only educate their children but also are able to say that they want their children to come up in life and help the needy…..As the anchor of the show Gopinath said, HATS OFF to all those parents. This is a good lesson for those parents who are only keen on saving huge amounts of money, acres of lands or 100 of sovereigns of gold for their children and who are not willing to spend even a penny to help another underprivileged child…they forget the famous quote, ‘கற்றவர்க்கு சென்ற இடம் எல்லாம் சிறப்பு……Education is the greatest asset one can possess in this world. There were couple of children who broke down on the show while discussing their problems thinking about their passed away father and how they realize the struggle of their mother every single day. I must say this kind of appreciation and respect for parents is mostly seen in families where children are brought up with an exposure to what real life struggle is and the value of money. And this is very rare to find in families where children are showered with everything they want without having to think about the money factor and where they are over pampered by their overbearing parents. Another most important thought that crossed my mind is how great a difference it would make if each of us takes this kind of social responsibility to help the needy. I was choked to see a mother of a state ranker say that her daily income is Rs.40 and even that is sporadic, in which she has to pay rent, feed her daughter and educate her……Rs.40 a day would make it Rs.1000 a month, which is about $20- $25, the money that we would spend for two movie tickets without a 2^nd thought. I’m not trying to say that we have to give away everything we possess to charity and lead a saintly life, definitely no. But the point that I’m trying to make is , when there is no caution or hesitation while spending that $50 at a restaurant or on an expensive toy for your child which he would play with for a day or two, then why hesitate and think about giving away that $50 a year, for a child who is walking to school in the hot sun with not even a slipper to wear…….There is never a better time than today and how much ever we save it’s never going to be enough. We got to remember that not even the 6ft that we are finally going to rest in is going to be ours…...I know this was a serious write up but sometimes we got to face reality.

If you are interested in watching this Tv show check out this link

http://www.tubetamil.com/view_video.php?viewkey=b45096ff04c04038fff5&page=1&viewtype=&category=

Soaring high gas prices....

Four dollars a gallon is where we are at right now with gas price....ofcourse with a possible increase in the future to this phenomenally high number too.....Where is this world leading to?....In fact the reason this topic came to my mind is one of the fwd ed emails I received from my friend about observing June14th as the 'STICK IT UP THEIR BEHIND DAY' in India to protest against the private owners of these gas companies & the Indian government for increasing the petrol price by Rs 5, diesel by Rs 3 & cooking gas cylinder by an atrocious Rs 50 per 14 kg cylinder....This probably is still affordable for those people in white collar jobs but imagine those families who are trying to make their ends meet in Rs. 5ooo or even lower than that as their income...I often hear a lot of people who visit India, come back & tell me that things have changed a lot in India, people are spending a lot, the buying power has increased, people buy fancy cars and so on....But in the last two of my visits to India the reality that I saw was yes the prices have gone up, a call taxi ride to get to somewhere within city limits easily demands a 500 rupee note, there are new flyovers & bridges, more restaurants selling burgers & pizza, a City center to boast about.......but at the same time there are still people who take those crowded trains& buses, walk in the hot sun, buy things in EMI and struggle to pay that off, eat in a restaurant once in a blue moon, & unable to save anything for their future......yes in my opinion the standard of living has increased probably for a lot of those IT professionals, real estate folks & the already affluent people.There are still so many people who are typical middle class, still paying off their loans & who take a deep breath at the end of each month...These are the people who are going to be affected by this soaring high gas prices....Is this really something to do with the increase in crude oil price in the international market or is it the government/private owners who are hiking these prices? Whatever be the reason , all I can think of as the end result is (that line from the movie Sivaji), "The rich get richer & the poor get poorer". So very true in this situation...

Devotionally Delighted....

Many in this world question the existence of god. Today I sympathize with all those people who are so very unfortunate to not be able to enjoy this real bliss. I was born in Chidambaram, the temple town of Lord Nataraja, visited the temple a number of times in these 27 years of my life and have continued to be a devout person but have never ever felt this way before...Yes I got a feeling of peeping right into heaven when I listened to Thiruvasagam in symphonic oratorio by Illayaraja. I’ve been hearing this for about two years now and till today have never got tired of listening to it. This is one such composition which needs to be heard a couple of times before you like it. And trust me if you like Tamil, then this is just a treat to your ears. Hat’s off to the legendary Illayaraja who has given true life to manikavasagar’s composition with his excellent pronunciation. One could feel the extent of his bhakthi in the way he has sung it. We all go to god with all our requests for different worldly pleasures but this song makes you realize that real happiness is achieving deliverance and reaching the feet of god. This song did invoke the spiritual mood in me today. If u listen to this with true devotion you’ll understand what I meant…… Thanks to my friends KD & DB from CA who introduced me to this.

Goodbye Michigan...

I'm ready for another move again...this time from the Midwest to the West.As I look back at the 2 years of my life in Michigan, I'm really happy about how much I have learnt from living here.
The Midwestern values is something that I have come to know about and appreciate by interacting with some wonderful people here.I made some good friends and worked with some really fun people.
Living in a place with close to six months of Winter was definitely not an easy thing for someone like me who always enjoys sunshine.The first snow or even the first few months of winter I should say, was enjoyable and by the time it's February, you tend to get into the Winter Depression Syndrome.And how can I forget my nerve recking experience of my car spinning out to 360 degrees while driving on those icy roads and me hoping that I will be alright.
But the good side of having such a bad Winter is you learn to appreciate Spring and Summer. I had no idea about the 4 seasons When I lived in Florida before moving to Michigan. It definitely is beautiful to see those spring flowers and Fall colors. And bcos Michigan is kind of in the center of the Midwest, we were able to drive to Chicago & Pittsburgh several times which were always great trips.
Well,writing about all these good experiences makes me think that Michigan was definitely an interesting place to live when compared to Florida.May be I'm going to miss this winter someday when I live in that scorching heat of Las Vegas.U never know!!!

Better Late than Never...

It's been a year since I created this blog but never got to it till now.I can go on to give lots of excuses but I do believe that its better late than never....
Sooo Here I go...hopefully I can continue to write more...

Most women feel complete when they attain motherhood…….but sometimes it makes me wonder whether just giving birth to a child makes a woman attain motherhood? May be not in all cases! To me motherhood is being able to love all children without any reservations and being able to appreciate what one’s own mom would have gone through. One would think that a woman after going through her pregnancy and childbirth would be able to realize how much her mother would have gone through to bring her into this world. Sadly, for some self centered women the very idea of a mother is someone who would serve them for their entire lifetime. What is really sad is when the nurturing is taken for granted and not reciprocated with love. Even on normal circumstances when a mom is just visiting her daughter, how many girls actually tell their mom “Maa…you have done a lot for me and it is time for you to sit back and relax while I make a nice meal for you”. Which mother would not be happy to hear that? No one is bound to do anything for anyone, more importantly being a mother does not mean a lifetime agreement of serving her children…each individual is responsible for his/her life…..but what makes any relationship meaningful is the ability to appreciate and reciprocate.