My Musings

We four brothers perform our parents' sraththam every year. Amma's thithi is Aani maasam, Krishna Ashtami (June or July) . Appa's is Aavani, Sukla Dwadasi (Aug or Sept). Vijaya and I performed these sraththams at Hyderabad till my retirement (2001). Then, we came to Chennai where we joined Sugavanam. Later, Jayaraman also came to Chennai and he joined us. Year 2002, the two sraththams (amma & appa) were performed at Thiruvanmiyur. Year 2003, on 21 June amma's and on 7 Sept appa's at Thiruvanmiyur. Year 2004, on 9 July amma's; on 27 Aug appa's at Thiruvanmiyur Year 2005, on 29 June amma's at TVM; on 15 Sept at our place Karpagam Avenue. Year 2006, on 13 July and 4 Sept at Karpagam avenue Year 2007, 7th July and 25th Aug at Karpagam avenue. Year 2008, 26th June and 12th Sep at Karpagam avenue Year 2009, 15th July and 1 Sep at Karpagam avenue. THINGS REQUIRED: #A. SASTRIGAL'S NEEDS. செங்கல் - 6; மணல் - கீழே பரப்ப வரட்டி - 6; சிராய் - 2 கட்டுகள்; கற்...

My Mother's Sraththam Ceremony Yesterday, 29 June 2005, was my mother's ceremony (Thithi) day. Every year we three brothers perform this Thithi in the month of Aani, Sukla Ashtami. (The fourth brother performs it at Pune). We are joined by our sisters. The ceremony is a tight ritual to be followed very strictly. The sastrigal comes by 1000 hours to conduct the ceremony with almost never-ending mantras and rituals. One day I will describe these rituals. After about two and a half hours, the ceremony comes to an end with a feast to the sastrigal who is (are) considered to be that person for whom we are performing Thithi. Clearly, it is a day for remembering those who had passed away long back with love and reverence. Yesterday, we remembered our mother who passed away 22 years ago. Rajappa 30 June 2005

U Ve Swaminatha Iyer A TRIBUTE to The Patriarch of Tamil. This morning, let me talk about the TAMIZH THATHA, Sri UV Swaminatha Iyer. A tribute, on his 150th birth anniversary. The original texts of a number of literary works of the Sangam period (1st and 2nd Century AD) came to public notice only towards the end of the 19th century, when they appeared in print form. Until then, works such as Aymperum Kaappiyangal (the five great epics) – Silappathikaram, Manimekalai, Kundalakesi, Jeevaka Chintamani, and Valaiyapathi were in the form of palm leaf manuscripts in the possession of scores of families living across Tamilnadu and outside. They didn’t have the skill to read the manuscripts, and, therefore, did not realize the literary worth. The palm leafs were allowed to rot. The need to hunt for the missing palm leaf manuscripts and bring to light the hidden treasure of Tamil literature was deeply felt. Foremost among those who undertook this formidable task was Mahamahopadhyaya Uttamadhana...

BRINJAL - A EULOGY. Brinjal, Kaththarikkai, Baingan, Vankaya, Vaangi – whatever name you call it by, this most versatile vegetable was known in India by “vatingana” even in 206 BC. Its purple colour signifies the presence of anthocyanins – the antioxidants that guard the heart, inhibit bad cholesterols, and prevent blood clotting. Any shade of blue, red or purple indicates the presence of these antioxidants – plums, purple grapes, onions, red radish, beetroot, jamun, figs, and of course brinjals are good sources of anthocyanins. Brinjal contains nasunin, a brain food that protects the brain cell membranes. It lessens arthritis, prevents cancer. Brinjals of all varieties like pale green, white, not just purple varieties, are highly rich in potassium, second only to bananas. Potassium, we all know, is very vital for muscles and nerves. Potassium helps lower the high BP and stroke. Dietary fibres facilitate regular and easy movement of the bowels, controls the release of blood sugar into ...

TSUNAMI TSUNAMI That was a word, tucked unobtrusively inside the dictionary (on page 1784 of the Chambers Dictionary, to be precise), and none of us even dreamt that it existed. Within a short time, it has become the most repeated and most dreaded word in English. TSUNAMI - Tsu means harbour, nami means wave. In Japanese. The Chambers Dictionary defines it as “ a very swiftly traveling sea wave that attains great height, caused by an undersea earthquake or similar disturbance.” What havoc it has created along the TN eastern coast besides others seacoasts in South India, and other South Asian countries. The death toll is over 24000; in TN alone it would cross 4000, Andaman & Nicobar another 4000+. One cannot even visualize the devastation, destruction, and death caused by this demon. Enormous. Numbing. Could it have been predicted? Could it have been warded off? The answer to both would be NO. However, the earthquake of the order of 8.5 could have been monitored, tsunamic conditions...

INITIALS # INITIALS “Initial” is the letter beginning a word esp. a name, so the dictionary defines it. But, in real world, with some initials your mind is immediately drawn to some men/women and fond memories of these persons. In our family, say GRS, doesn’t it bring memories of our father / grandfather? I don’t know if GSR was widespread, but I feel KVS is rather prominent. Any other instances? Just say MS – who do you recollect instantaneously? That wonderful, melodious Queen of Carnatic music. MLV takes you to another Carnatic musician; TMS was the ‘voice’ of Sivaji and of MGR. Yes, MGR is known as just MGR. Like MGR, NTR was there in Andhra. But, no other actor was famously known by his initials. I doubt whether Shah Rukh is known as SRK. The film personality Meyyappan is known by AVM. Think of JRD, the name Tata just pops out. The man who put India on the steel industry map and on civil aviation among many other things. The three letters TVS signify the man TV Sundaram Iyengar, t...

** We are like this only. Easy to question “where is Advani, where is X, where is Y”, but, let’s ponder for a sec. Tamilnadu is an atheist State, let us digest that first - If not atheist, definitely anti-Brahmin. Vote bank politics play a powerful role here as in entire India. And caste politics. The present CM had lost 40 out of 40 recently. The bleak prospect of losing 234 out of 234 looms large. Veeranam, VCD were all just passing clouds. But, the momentum gained with these shall not be forfeited to the opposition. Keep the impetus on – at whatever cost, even arrest Sankarachariyar; dub him as the “most dishonest criminal”, make him eat “prison prepared food” just like any other criminal, show and profess to the entire world that “I am more anti-Brahmin than anyone else!” Do a midnight-arrest drama on Deepavali day; prove that “for me, Kanchi and Karuna are equal” Show the footage of the gory murder repeatedly with EVERY news-bit even after seven days – impress the voters with your...