Geniune Happiness

We all come from a background of educated people who can speak english even in their sleep, who can score easily more than 8 pts in there IELTS... i was just wondering how would it be if no one in your family knows to speak english and your the one who's starting to learn the language and adding to it you live in a village where your grandparents are peasants and they have never dreamed of hearing this language...

My quest was fulfilled when i saw a family like that, one evening when my mom and my self were chatting with our workers, one lady had brought her grand son along with her to collect her weekly wages. Well the small boy was all excited bec his grand mom had told him that she would get him crackers from that money, so i could read the excitement in his face. He was telling some silly reason or the other to make his grand mom move from the house for she had got her wages.
Just to divert his excitement my mom made a attempt of speaking with him in english asking the first question about his younger brother, he was too quick in replying back in english for his mind was fully immersed in visualizing him bursting the crackers. His grand mom was happy to see his grand son speak in english, she asked my mom to question him more in english so that she wanted to see him speak. My mom started speaking with him in english just asking him simple questions like in what class he was studying, who his teacher was, what was his favourite subject, etc he was answering all the questions properly until my mom asked him the next question about crackers he smiled a long smile and started his mantra again telling his grand mom lets leave....

but in the other side i saw his grand mom in her the child anxiously waiting, like a kid waiting for its candy. Asking my mom to speak in english with her grand son, and asking her if he was speaking properly or has he to improve. A thousand questions rumbling thro her mouth. I could see the same excitement that her grand son's eyes in imagining him bursting the crackers, actually even more in her eyes. The twinkle in her old wrinkled eyes, danced. After long pestering of her grand son she got up, she told that she was leaving she walked up a few pace and she turned back and looked at my mom and asked "Will my grand son speak like you????"

She's Back :)

I was tired that day but i was adamant that i should make it to school by any means for i had to convey a good news to my Angel...

reached the school inspite of my tiredness but was excited... bec of the happiness my students showed when i met them after their hols... i looked out for my angel thro' all the heads i found her in one corner playing with herself...i saw the happiness inside me for i saw in the real happiness in seeing her...i walked up to her slowly for i was admiring the way she kept herself engaged in her own world. I went up to her and asked "yepadi erundhudu diwali?" (how was your diwali?)

i saw the rays beam thro' ... she smiled her innocent smile and almost shouted happily "AKKA" ... "Yepo vandhinga?" (When did you come?) "Yen school thorondho vodaney varala?" (Why didn't you come as soon as the school reopened?) she was so fast that her words weren't coming out of her. i smiled and asked her how she was. Then she was started busily narrating her whole hol s stories i was listening silently, she stopped in between and she asked "enaku enga Diwali sweet yeduthutu varalaiya?" (didn't you get me Diwali sweets?) i said i have something sweet to tell you she was so curious to know what it was she started what it was ???

i told her to guess she kept thinking...then she said "enniku poirnamiya?" ( is it a full moon day) i almost laughed and said no... she asked what was it then i told her i got a job in b'lore that i was dreaming of and that i was leaving... she looked up at the sky... i thought she would be happy but her face was blank...or that's how i could read it. She replied after few mins "ella enniku poirnamidhan" (no today is full moon day only) i touched her soft face and asked are you happy about my job.She replied "yella nalum poirnamiya erunda yarukuthan pidikadhu" (if everyday is a full moon day who only wont like it?) i smiled satisfied inside...

we usually play a small game which might sound stupid but we like playing it... either she or myself would end up asking either of our names telling we forgot it... it goes like this.."un peyair enna... na marandhu marandhu poiduren" (what's your name i tend to keep forgetting always) the other would smile and say "makku makku im swetha or who ever says the name would tell"... i knew she was upset inside i started this game she smiled and asked "nenga b'lore ponna en para marndudu vinga la?" (when you go to blore you'll forget my name right?) i couldnt answer her i was choked i didn't want to cry but i wanted to... for some one would really miss me...

i took her hand and said you look up at the sky and tell my name i would be there to see you... she hugged me and said "pogadinga" (dont go)....

My sissy

:) i wanted to write this blog just to tell ppl who read my blog that every one would have a sibiling, a elder bro or a younger sis or a elder sis or even an younger bro...

just like any other i have a younger sis lovely and as radiant as the moon, ok ok i understand im not exaggerating. There are few memorable incidents that i treasure of her s even though her love for me grows deeper every min.

i still rem the day i was waiting with my dad in front of the hospital in the mid night wen my sister was going to be born. she was born mid night 11:58 so, i actually dnt rem seeing her that night (dnt ask me wat abt the next day ...) my memory is too poor to hold to such incidents... my next encounter with my memories with her are... our fights, our shouting at each other, our huggings, our mid night movie shows, our tears...etc. we never needed a day to thank each other for what we had done for the other or had we ever thanked each other ;)

all my lovely memories were caught in snaps lucky;) well i wanted to write this blog jus for her to thank her for all that she s done to me till date and for all the care she s showing for me even though we tend to be in opposite poles at all times.

jus few lines abt her

No matter how much you argue you cannot be drawn apart from her.

She is a joy that cannot be taken away,

Having a sister is not just a trend,

It is knowing you can always turn to her, for she s my best friend...

These memories last for miles and miles.

Heard it wanted to tell you…

I love listening to stories for they give me pleasure and they in some form increase my knowledge; this is a beautiful story which I saw in tv a couple of days back and felt that ppl should read, and enjoy the truth in it…

Once upon a time, a king (who was almost 50 yrs) was feed up listening to sages and learned about how to live happily… so he ordered his ministers to find out the secret of happy living and that it should be only be four words (three words in tamil as the story is in tamil)… his ministers went high and low in search of something which is almost impossible to find… and returned empty handed, the king was on his rounds one day when he met an old man, he smiled at the old man and the old man asked the king why he looked worried? The king told about his search for happiness.

The old man told the king that when the king’s father ruled the land the old man was a 17 yr old boy and that time sages from far and near had come to perform pujas. The old man was ordered to take care of some great sages; he performed all his duties rightly, right from sweeping the floor, washing the saints’ clothes, cleaning the house, arranging the items for puja etc. The saints were pleased with his service and scribbled something in a palm leaf and gave it to him and said read it when your poor and you’re in need of something in life. Saying so, the old man handed over the palm leaf to the king. The king asked the old man if he ever did read what was written in the palm leaf, the old man replied smiling, when your father ruled the land he kept us all happy and prosperous after him your ruling and the land is still prosperous and happy so I never had a chance to read what was in the leaf.

The king thanked the old man and left. Days rolled by, the land was conquered by another king who killed the queen and took away the princess. The king along with knights fought to their might, during the war the king lost his way and went to a nearby mountain. He came to the edge of the mountain and saw there was no way he could return back to his kingdom. Thinking what to do… he realised that the old man had given him the palm leaf and told him to read… whenever he was sad or poor or whenever he wanted something…he went to his horse and took the leaf from the saddle and opened and read it and smiled… it was written in exactly the four words he had asked for…

“THIS WILL ALSO PASSBY (Edhuvum kadandhu pogum)”

The king sat in the edge of the mountain and started to meditate telling repeating the same words again and again…at last the king opened his eyes and saw he thought that a couple of hours would have passed but to his astonishment half a day had passed and he saw his horse chewing the grass nearby and the sun had set long back. The king took his house and went down the hill, there a group of tribes who received him with affection and told him that they thought that he was killed in the fight. The king stayed with the tribes and taught the men archery, sword fighting, horse riding etc. Time rolled by the king formed an army with the tribes and led his troop and fought and defeated the other king bravely and brought back his daughter safely back to his kingdom. The next morning he had arranged for an elaborate ceremony, for his victory. During the celebration the old man came running to the king and said “I forgot to tell you something” the king questioned him asking what it was… the old man smiled and replied and told the king “the sage told him that the palm leaf should be read when he was extremely happy also” the king thanked him and asked his minister to bring the palm leaf and he read it and smiled ;)… it read

“THIS WILL ALSO PASSBY (Edhuvum kadandhu pogum)”

This is a small story which made me smile from within bec it tells us the truth of life… life for the moment and don’t be attached to anything in life as nothing stays for long...

It took me 3 hrs 12 mins n cost me a meal…

Everyone will hum some tune or the other without their knowledge when they are doing something continuously… it might either be a tune which they lately heard or they fav tune or a tune that someone sung nearby or anything… amazingly I tend to sing the same song again and again when I walk for long distance…what is that song that I tend to sing always well it has a small history behind it LISTEN UP!!!
I heard the song first one morning around 6:30 am (never seen that time after those camp days) when I was in our parade ground (well I was in a NCC camp) when my seniors were practising their march-past… which covers around a minimum of two kms. We had to follow them behind, early morning to keep ourselves awake and to forget the strain, and also to keep up the timing of the march-past we tend to tell LEFT RIGHT LEFT. Usually it’s the seniors who give us the count, it so happened that day that one such senior started singing… at the end of each sentence it ended LEFT RIGHT LEFT… rhythmically and beautifully the song was sung that everyone was singing left right left before of our breakfast break and we wanted to learn the song so desperately…time ticking 8 am we were given our break when my friends and myself went to the senior and asked us to teach that song…he said he would after the breakfast… my friends and myself were so excited that we didn’t feel like eating …my seniors were scolding us for not eating just to learn a song which was “JUST A SONG” for them but for us it was more than that…

My senior came after his breakfast… took his pen and wrote down the whole song and handed the paper to us and said “well that’s about the song you are old enough to read and learn (huh! What a sarcasm… which we didn’t even hear that time properly bec we were so excited that we got the song…) a couple of my friends and myself sat in a circle and started reading the wordings first… since it was a typical ganna song it had slang of the local tamil… which we had to learn first… clock was ticking and the time was around 9:15 am we were supposed to fall in (meaning assemble back for our march-past practice) …we took special permission from sir (guess telling what??? Ya as usual that we were sick and that we would come for practice after lunch ;))
We three made it to our barrack (that’s what we call our rooms) and we sat in our beds and we started reading and re-reading it again and again so that we could at least understand the words properly first…then we roughly followed the tune which we had heard our senior sing in the morning…after three hrs of solid practice we at last made it by heart… the last twelve mins was for us to make sure that we could teach others ;) we became so well versed with those words and tune…after our lunch we made it to march-past practice… our seniors were rehearsing, we juniors were practicing nearby ended up singing and marching… the senior (who had wrote and given us the words) came running to see us and was astonished to see us sing the whole song by heart…

I know by now you would be thinking what song is that…read it… sorry!! sorry sing it along ;)

Oleyka kondaila oru kuda thalampoo…
Thalampoo cithada thala niraya vandhada…
LEFT… RIGHT… LEFT…
Mukadu potavaley enna munnu mura eaichavaley…
Unmukada nee vilaka un mugatha koncham na paaka…
LEFT… RIGHT… LEFT…
Allithandu kaleyduthu eva alungama nadandhu vandha…
Cinungama kanaduchi enna aathupakkam varach sonna…
LEFT… RIGHT… LEFT…
Podadey… ;) ava kupidara…
(oleyka…)

Well that’s the song it just goes with diff paces of speed … left right left… left right left…
Everyone is eager to learn something or the other at some point of time whether knowing or unknowing that thing would help him to keep himself going in life…J yup this song gives me company when I walk alone (in many walks of my life…)

She's 6...

For me ,
Some people walk across you, some people walk to you, some people walk with a smile into your life and leave with a smile, some walk with a smile and leave making you depressed, some walk with you thro your life…very few impress you, teach you, inspire you, among those ppl my blog here is centralized on a person who inspired me to c life in a diff style.
How beautiful does it look on a full moon day?
How sweet does the Kaveri taste in its origin?
How soothing is it to hear a melody when you’re sad?
How innocent is a baby’s smile?
Well, I would keep on going on and on bec that’s how everyone would feel when the enlightment.
Lucky aren’t everyone to meet their guardian angel, and those few aren’t that luckier for they don’t get a chance to speak with their angels to learn from them. Luckiest are those who get to spend their quality time every day with their guardian angel.
Our first encounter was on a full moon day, I was waiting for my students to arrive (as I was volunteering in a school as a part timer), when she almost tumbled over me. She held my hand firmly and said “sorry, akka nega erukuradha na pakkala” . I smiled and said “pathu po” (for any one in that campus would know that these kids were visually impared but gifted – not by wealth but by benevolence). She asked my name I asked her’s … Rubina, not more than 3 ft of ht, grey eyes, hair growing after her tight hair cut, small ear ring and a pair of bangles in her small hands with safety pins hanging in it…
She s no beauty to an ordinary eye not even to mine on the first glance… but on the second glance S she was, with that innocent smile of her s she could win the world. And she did win my hrt also…
After a couple of our meetings, she started speaking with me, she was singing to me, telling stories which her teacher had taught her. At the time I was leaving home she asked me “ akka eniku purnami nu sonnaga (full moon day)yepadi erukum pakka?”
I was lost… I didn’t know how to describe it to a small blind about the beauty of the full moon even though I had a habit of admiring it… after few mins of silence and her cont questioning, I gave her a choki, she smiled her innocent smile and said “thank you” I touched her face and said… its as beautiful as this smiling face…(though it was dramatic … it brought another innocent smile in her face…and she ran inside.
Days rolled by I had my own pressures which put me mentally down… but I never gave up going to the school for I loved the place. One such day I was sitting with Rubina and she was speaking and speaking , after some time she stopped and she asked wat happened… for she could judge from my voice that I was low… she took my hand and said… lets walk around my school under one condition that you should close your eyes and come wit me… I held her hand and started walking… she took me to her class room and made me sit in front of her and asked me my prob…
I almost laughed for no 6 yr old is going to understand a 20 yr old prob… I jus said that I had hurt a lot of ppl and that I that made me guilty… she smiled her smile again and said “na sonna nega kepinga la” I said s she continued…and said “yellar kitaiyum sorry kelunga, avanga manikalanalum parava ella… yaru dhan thapu panala… thapu panadha unairdhaley podhum nega mariduvinga…, ungaluku avanga kita directa solla mudilana yeludi anupichidunga…enga missu engaluku solikuduthanga, negalum try paniparunga” I said ok… and told her im leaving home…she said ok… wen I was abt to leave she held my hand and said…“ ennaku purnamithan pidikum amavasai ella” and smiled… I felt a shiver which ran thro my body…
A 6 yr old teaching me life s lesson…I smiled for life s lessons is not taught in classrooms but by ppl who care for you.

A Mere Business!!!

I remember reading a SMS once it ran as follow…

 

“If I throw a stone in the streets of my city it will surely hit a dog, but if I throw a stone in the streets of Bangalore it will surely hit a software engineer”… well when I first read the SMS I was actually laughing bec I wasn’t that keen in seeing the truth in that msg. I received that msg some four to five before. Today, I would like to add more to that SMS a little… “If I walk in the streets of my VILLAGE I used to see fertile lands, but if I walk today I see Engineering colleges”… Oxford, JCET, JJCET, Saranathan, SASTRA, Indiraganesan, Rajiv Gandhi, MIET, Mookambigai, Jayaram, Paavai, Dhanalakshmi, Mahalakshmi, Vekateswara, Jeppair, St.Joseph’s, Sathyabama, VIT, PSG, VKS, Rajalaskshmi, Angalamman, Andal, Amrita (these are just to name some of them) thinking what are all these well, if you’re a Tamilian you might be knowing what are all these. Well this blog of mine is for others…

I heard my grandmom telling her friend that I wish one of my grandchildren would become an engineer. Luckily, I didn’t want to be hit by any stone!! So I escaped in this gamble. This Gamble which is played in broad day light, which is legalised, which surely promises one victory, which is played in every nook and corner of our state, which gives employment to many ( here I mean any underground dealers who get employed in this gamble) ... The list never ends. Well not to drift away from our topic, I asked my friend once during her engineering counselling for Anna Univ’s college prospectus which gives us a list of engineering colleges… you wouldn’t be surprised to know that there were more than 600 Engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu alone. Let’s just make a simple calculation 300 engineering colleges * 500 students who pass out every year from these colleges … 1.5 lakh students who get an engineering degree. Well let me make it clear that it’s just half the lot. Scrolling back to these colleges every college claims to hold a rightful certificate to run their colleges… GOK (God Only Knows!!) whether they do, but im sure every engineering college has under construction buildings, air buses, so called labs, classrooms with windows with no glasses, separate hostel for boys and gals which provides water once in two days, food which would make at least one fall sick once a month.

This once a month issue is not only for students falling sick but also for one more important issue which you wouldn’t have guessed about. Every Wednesday, The Hindu’s Opportunities has atleast one full page ad stating –WANTED ha ha ha not in the police station but in engineering colleges, yes professors, asst. professors, lectures, asst. lectures, why! Even principals (lol think even they’ll fall sick seeing this gamble). Some engineering colleges even run for years without proper faculty. But who cares about all these every student is only worried about whether he/she will be placed at the end of his/her course. I was just thinking what would one do in his/her work space if they weren’t even taught the basics properly. Why’s that one doesn’t actually think about how well he understand his/her subject rather they are more worried about what he/she would do after his/her degree.  

The answer is very simple. It just runs like this, were the gamble actually begins. Your relative’s son/daughter would have studied in an x college and got an x engineering degree and would have got placed in some MNC and would earn around 20k excluding perks. There, now you see yourself eager to earn 20k or more when you walk out of college. You start looking out for colleges which offer engineering courses or you end up looking out for the same college where you relative’s child studied. The x college would have advertised in almost all possible forms of media, giving you a whole picture of how their college looks works well and even sucks which at first you ignore the latter. Only when you walk into the college you realise that they don’t need you grades but its your currency they look for. With a cloud above your head showing 20 k that you would be earning after you leave the college and you end paying up (the so called fees which includes the donation which would be in lakhs, apart from that let me now clarify about the employment opp which I had spoken about before. If you like a course in an x college you can book it like booking ticket in a movie hall, yup this is were the colleges earn their money and there are umpteen number of secret services working for it). Huh! It just struck me once I saw a man who was going to admit his son in a college; he asked the management only one question. Well this is it… WILL MY SON BE PLACED IN HIS 3RD YR ITSELF… if such an educated man like him doesn't question the management about the faculties or the facilities the college provides how can one expect an uneducated to do it. When you pay in lakhs to get a degree a mere human mind only thinks about earning it back rather than thinking about he should get the knowledge for what he had paid for.

Well ask the govt why so many engineering colleges? Their reply would be that everyone should be able to get an admission. Huh, did they ever notice that every year there’s an increase in the number of engineering colleges which they actually want, and it’s directly proportional to the number of vacant seats in the colleges. This is also proportional to the number of unemployed. 

Not a single moment has I felt that I missed being an engineer not because I have an aversion for Engineers but it’s the aversion that I have for the way THEY treat education as A Mere Business.