earlydays

New Blog

2011-07-22T23:46:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I'm contradicting myself here, but as it turns out, I will no longer maintain this blog for reasons I would rather not mention. If you would like to be updated about video games and technology reviews, then I suggest you go to my new blog on this account, named EXT GAMEZ.

-- Arun Dilipan

Sad News....

2011-06-30T07:37:00.000-07:00

Guest Post -- Arun Dilipan (Krish's grandson/buddy)

It brings me sorrow news to state that on June 28, 2011 at 11.20-11.30 AM in St. Isabel's hospital, Krishnaswamy Parthasaradhy (kichami) passed away at the age of 80 due to cardio-respiratory failure after a cardiac arrest and loss of oxygen. Unfortunately, there are no pictures available of his remains for respect. Krishnaswamy Parthasaradhy was a very great father, husband, son, grandfather, and had he lived another 20 years, he would have been great-grandfather. His body was burned at the Besant Nagar Crematorium in Chennai, India. Up until the age of 79, he was all well. He had an accident and subsequently was crippled until death. He was a sufferer of asthma. His two sons and his daughter-in-law were informed of his untimely death at 11.30. His grandson and wife were only notified at 11.45. The aftermath was the loss for at least 50 relatives, including his immediate family. His eldest son, Dilipan, and his wife Vasantha were the most affected by the aftermath. People from all over India came to visit and pay their last respects.

So, in many regards to whom I call Buddy and Thatha, I will inherit this blog and from now on, I will commandeer it, hopefully to Buddy's liking. I hope he'll be happy in heaven. In case you didn't know who I was, I was the person who made the previous post.

From now on, you'll be hearing me rather than Krishnaswamy.

On Languages - Guest Post

2010-06-16T05:05:00.000-07:00

This is a guest post. My name is Arun Dilipan, and i am the grandson of Mr. Partha Krish, and this is an essay that I have written, proving that Tamil is a language isolate, which defies what many people say...

Tamil is NOT LIKE Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada. It is a language isolate, and here are valid reasons why. First off, this “Proto-Dravidian” language is just a proposal, and if such a language existed, the information would have been easily passed down from generation to generation. Next, most “Dravidian” languages have been heavily corrupted by Sanskrit words, or Indo-Aryan words. Tamil, however, still retains its pure vocabulary. The word पुश्पा has been found in Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, and even Tamil, but there is a word that replaces it. The word மலர் can be used in its place. Likewise, very few words from Sanskrit are ever needed in Tamil. Next, the definition of a language isolate is “a natural language that has no genealogical connections with other languages, that is, a language that has no common ancestors with any other languages”. Tamil fits that description due to its age, and due to the fact that it has no ancestry. It is the first spoken/written language of the world and it was created in the Stone Age. Tamil is the mother of Malayalam, whose vocabulary is heavily derived from the Indo-Aryan side. Only the script which derived from Grantha, who derived from the Tamil script, was adopted in Malayalam. Telugu is the step-daughter of Tamil, with its vocabulary even more heavily based than Malayalam and Kannada on Sanskrit. These three languages are much closer to Sanskrit than their mother, Tamil. Tamil IS a Dravidian language, but is the only pure one. Another reason Tamil is a language isolate is because of its alphabet. Tamil has TWO unique symbols, the letters, ழ் and ஃ. The first symbol is only found in two languages, Tamil and Malayalam. However in Malayalam, its use is not nearly as abundant as Tamil’s use for it. For example, the word கழுதை, meaning donkey, is not found in the Malayalam language. Also, the letter ஃ is only found in Tamil, and it is the most peculiar letter of the language, as when is combined with the letter க like in the word எஃகு, it creates an “h” sound, with a VERY faint glottal sound. However, in Modern Tamil, its use for words like எஃகு is rare, but it is still used in Tamil like this. These two letters are what makes Tamil’s alphabet unique. Another point that makes Tamil’s alphabet unique, is that it counts a total of 247 letters. There are 12 vowels called உயிர் எழுத்துக்கள் or life letters, and 18 consonants called மெய் எழுத்துக்கள், or body letters. The idea of combining the vowels and consonants creates உயிர்மெய் எழுத்துக்கள், or living-body letters, which make up the 216 letters. This interestingly parallels the spiritual world. Since the vowels are likened to the souls and the consonants are likened to the bodies, combining of consonants and vowels allude to infusing life into a dead body, thus creating a living body which represents the உயிர்மெய் எழுத்துக்கள் of Tamil. And finally, the unique letter of Tamil, ஃ (ஆய்த எழுத்து) added to the list makes 247. This spiritual concept is unique to Tamil unlike other languages. Another point about the alphabet is that the voiced and unvoiced sounds are represented by the same letter. The sounds of “p” and “b” are represented by ப், “t” and “d” represented by ட், and so on. In Malayalam and other “Dravidian” languages, they have a separate letter for each voiced and unvoiced letter, just like that of Sanskrit, and they have the pronunciation unique to each specific letter. Tamil however, does not have as many consonants as the other languages, therefore . Another point in case is the letter உ. In Classical Tamil, it is pronounced as the “ou” in the word you. However, in Modern Tamil and Colloquial Tamil, உ is pronounced like UGH, what is that? Malayalam still retains Sanskrit’s pronunciation, like Telugu and Kannada, with the ōō (as in blue) pronunciation.

Like I said several times earlier, the point I am trying to prove here is that many people assume that Tamil is very much like Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada, etc. However, it is not like the other languages, and therefore deserves to be a language isolate. Thank you for having the time to read this essay.

2009-09-14T04:11:00.000-07:00

We always have wardens for the welfare of students, prisoners etc. but not certainly a warden for Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam, because He takes care of us.

There is a flower garden in Srirangam Ranganatha temple called "Madurakavi Garden" aka "Madurakavi Nandavanam", from where flowers are picked up for the use of the Lord. This 'Nandavanam' has been owned and donated by one Madurakavi Swamy in 1840 for the specific purpose of "Malar Kainkaryam' for the Lord, and it is being done by'ekangis' (celibate bachelors) who have sacrificed a lot in doing this 'kainkaryam' (service).

Now it is in danger. The Tamilnadu Govt. proposes to take over this garden under the pretext of a lack of proper will by the 'Swamy', who owned it and bequeathed it. An effort has been made by a few now to stop this under the banner 'Save Madurakavi Nandavanam' and as a first step an online appeal has been made with a request to record their concern by registration. I appeal to all to join hands in this effort and prevent the catastrophie by registering your petition online. I have done it too.

1) Click here for the petition link or directly paste this URL into your browser address bar - http://www.petitiononline.com/SSMN
2) The gentleman who has been publishing a number of books - a scholar is supporting this venture. His ID is admin@srivaishnavasri.com

equakity and quality

2009-09-06T05:25:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends;
"Even before the ink is dry" is a commonly adopted idiom and it has become true in this case. 'The Hindu', a national print medium has started publishing photos and news about the other victims who crashed along with Sri RajasekaraReaddy in the copter crash.It gives satisfaction that the print media is trying to maintain its equanimity inspite of pressures and severe competition.
May their lot grow and flourish;
Parthakrish.

Quality and Equality

2009-09-04T05:29:00.000-07:00

dear friends;-
Whither equality?A cursary viewing of various electronic media,yesterday and today
poses the million dollar question.Even if a Chief minister dies in harness,even if he happens to be popular,this is no way to treat the other 4 victims.There was not a single frame showing their bodies being loaded,grieving friends,relatives and coworkers,their background and not even a trbute to their sense of duty by any politician.
The answer lies in 'Quality'.The quality of public life has become a farce and hypocracy rules the roost, in our country, well known for human values over thousands of years.
Let us hope for wisdom to set in.
All the best
parthakrish

Madras and Chennai-A numerological coincidence

2009-08-31T08:08:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends:-
When I wrote in my blog as Madras and Chennai i failed to see the Numerological significence in both the names till 'Pistha' commented about ot.Thanks' Pistha'.
It is likr this 'Madras' has 6 letters which vibrates with( 15) the nnumber you derive both under Chaldean system and Pythagorean Pyramid system. The starting letter 'm'has 4 as its number in both the systems.
Now 'Chennai' has 7 letters andgets a 25(2+5=7) as its number under both systems wjile the letter'C' isassigned no 3 in both systems as the starting letter.

What does it all mean?A prosperous and art loving Madras( no:6 Venus) and a
loosing Chennai,No:7 ruled by neptune.The only saving grace is the No 3 which stands for Jupiter who gives strong leadership, in political,religious and soccial domains.
Best wishes
Partha krish

Greening chennai

2009-08-30T04:50:00.000-07:00

The chlorophyll in the plants have taken the center stage at Madras (Chennai). Never before have people awakened to the fact that Chennai is fast becoming a concrete jungle as it is now. The absence of greenery as seen in aerial photos reveal a barren Chennai, though here and there there are a few patches of green primarily consisting of shrubs, crotons, small flower plants and Cactii. No serious effort to grow for publicity and public consumption.

The main culprits are:
1) Real Estate Developers - they cause the maximum catastrophe while shedding a few crocodile tears in terms of their "magnanimity" to plant a few ornamental plants (like the one in our apartment community)
2) Road-laying organisations - they are merciless in felling even young trees, planted only a few years ago if it interferes with their plans
3) Schools, colleges, universities and other educational organisations
4) Sports bodies who would prefer the whole city to be filled by playgrounds encouraged by a few advocates who want Indians to bag the maximum gold medals in the Olympics
5) Lastly, of course vandals

Amidst this chaotic scenario, good news has come out in the form of an NGO called CSS (Chennai Social Service), who volunteer to home deliver a sapling free of cost if a person sends them an SMS <GREEN> to 9894062532. I received an email about this service and it contains a dozen names of saplings of trees suitable to be grown in gardens, vacant spaces in flats, children's play areas etc. Seizing this opportunity, I immediately informed the Secretary of our Home Owners Association for further action. What a laudable effort!

With best wishes,
Partha Krish

Law - Funny and Slow

2009-08-28T04:50:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends:

I received a thunderbolt today. After 25 years of waiting and losing all hopes, the law has taken its own time to inform me to lodge a complaint against an erstwhile corporate body which collected funds from investors for teak plantations.

In the early eighties, the growing of teak plantations was popular. They promised a higher share from the 13th year when the trees matured. Of course it was all scientific with site inspections, saplings, operations etc. but due to mismanagement everything disappeared into thin air. All of our efforts to get the money back failed.

Now after more than 25 years the Economic Offenses wing of the city police has asked for written complaints with original documents to be filed in 2 weeks. I am still wondering about the slow but sure reach of the long arm of the law. Anyway I am glad many seniors would welcome this, but the only snag is that most of us invested in our children's name and many of them are abroad. It requires a lot of paperwork like Power of Attorney, authorisation, receipts etc. Anyway our thanks are due to the Economic Offenses wing of the city police.

With best wishes,
Partha Krish

Temples and Thefts

2009-08-27T04:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends:

While writing about Chennai, I had mentioned about the greed of people in going in for shortcut methods to make money.

One such interesting, yet novel method of removing the top bronze caps ('Kalasams') of temple 'Gopurams' and 'Vimanams' had come to the notice of the public, through a reality show of a TV channel and has now been confirmed by the Deputy Supt. of Police, Kanchipuram, who has nabbed one set of thugs and is investigating further.

The modus operandi seems to be that, a set of people join together, conspire and approach those who want to make a fast buck and put a proposal that they remove these bronze caps ('Kalasams') from temples as they contain 'Iridium' which is very costly in the foreign market, fetching even a crore of rupees for 3 points and several lakhs for 1 to 2 points (a reference to the presence of Iridium).

At first, they show that these 'Kalasams' (stolen) have a lot of magnetic power and to prove it, they drop the 'Kalasams' in a box containing some magnets and a concealed battery wherein when the 2 ends of the 'Kalasams' touch the terminals of battery, they glow. Then they are taken out and raw rice is placed near the 'Kalasams'. These are already sprinkled with iron dust and hence are immediately drawn towards the Kalasam.

Then a proposal is made that an expert team will arrive from Mumbai to assess the potentiality and radioactivity of the Iridium and then they will pay an advance and balance after floating in the foreign market. Meanwhile the victims will be asked to pay a few lakhs for the 'Scientists' to come from Bombay or Nasik, consultation fees to them, commission for those contacting the beneficiaries etc.

The whole thing is done in a strictly confidential manner as the sponsors point out to the illegality of this transaction. Everything is done only through mobile phones and spam emails. It all looks and sounds like a detective-thriller type cinema, but it is happening not only in Tamilnadu but in Kerala too. There is a big network of fraud, deceit and illegality. Yet many people have fallen into the trap. Already valuable ornaments, gold plates, wooden carvings and idols of antique nature are being stolen everyday and in some cases also ending in the murder of watchmen.

All these again clearly show that:
1) People are losing their moral values, and
2) There should be more strict enforcement of Law and Order

With best wishes,
Partha krish

Madras and Chennai

2009-08-26T04:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends:

What is the difference between Madras and Chennai?

It seems to be so simple to answer, but an indepth analysis would show there has been so much of transformation in character and content that today's Chennai (short for ChennaPatnam) looks vastly different.

I am not discussing the appearance, buildings, roads, monuments, nomenclatures etc. but the existence of an alarmingly increased negativism in people, crimes and shortcut methods to prosperity. Yesterday when I was enthusiastically describing the avenues of talent search amongst the young, in a corner of my mind a thought was disturbing that there is a darker side too.

I just happened to read this bit in a newspaper - "I have travelled across the length and breadth of India and I have not seen one person who is a beggar, who is a thief. Such is the wealth I have seen in this country." This was the impression of Lord Macaulay expressed in British Parliament where he proposed to change the entire educational system in India to make it subservient to 'English' and British. I am spell bound at his remarks and happier to think we were so good, prosperous, knowledgeable and virtually had no crime.

But how is it today? Not a day passes off without a mention in the media about dacoity, chain snatching and murder for gain. The info in media is only 1/30th of the petitions and complaints received in the Police Commissioner's offices, police stations etc. Some attribute all these to rapid urbanisation. Many sleepy villages that were calm and serene and never had a crime record, have suddenly bloomed into satellite towns thanks to the real estate boom, with a lot of higher middle class people preferring such peripheral towns for their spacious bungalows, instead of flats in the city. An argument can be made the since infrastructural facilities have not kept pace with these towns which are far away from the city's gaze, there is poor enforcement of law and order and thus the crime gangs find them a profitable haven. Whatever be the reason, there is no denying the fact that each day the crime rate is increasing in and around Chennai and it all boils down to two things:
1) There is inadequate enforcement of law and order due to various reasons
2) The attitude of the people at large who refuse to see realities but behave selfishly is on the rise.

All the best,
Partha Krish

Centuries Four and Chennai Young

2009-08-25T07:24:00.005-07:00

Dear Friends:

It is all happening in Chennai which has successfully completed 370 years on August 22nd. In its new avatar, it has seen several changes and upheavals, but yet has maintained its cosmopolitan character, preserving the age old culture and tradition and adopting new scientific and technological blitz, yet with a quiet and serene society that has fine tastes in the fine arts. The city has been celebrating it in several ways for a fortnight and there is no dearth of interesting programmes, celebrations, parties etc. but what is amazing is the way the younger generation has taken to it. Already, starting with music programmes on Sunday at Nageswara Rao park, to keen competition in quiz programmes, games, athletics etc., the young have been exhibiting their talents in various ways.

Now the completion of 370 years has given a fillip to many of them who all took to it as a fish takes to water. What an ocean of talents, scientific fervour, technological leanings! I am so happy that the future custodians of power and administration and who hold the future of this country in their hands, promise a great deal to us, with bubbling enthusiasm and desire.

Let us thank all those parents, grand parents, teachers, tutors, trainers, motivators, sponsors and others for channelising the energies of youngsters in a positive way.

With best wishes,
Partha Krish

Freedom at Midnight and Freedom Fighters - Part 3

2009-08-24T04:25:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Well-wishers, greetings to all of you. Venkat has commented that while the erstwhile freedom fighters shed their blood, many enjoy the fruits today and that they must remember them. The catch is in the last part of the sentence. It does not serve them right to remember, since it will not help them to perpetuate either the family or the caste to seize power.

Now coming back to our hero Sri A. Rangaswami Iyengar, Kasthuri Ranga Iyengar, the proprietor of 'The Hindu', had no prior knowledge of journalism as he was an advocate (he was the father of K. Gopalan and K. Srinivasan printer-publisher and editor respectively) and so he sought his nephew's assistance. Our hero equally unaware of journalistic nuances, gave up his practice, took the job seriously, improved its financial health and made the paper popular by stating facts and confirmed news only, besides doing a masterly analysis of political and economic issues.

At this time, G. Subramaniya Iyer, who was the owner of the Tamil daily 'Swadesa Mithran', wanted to sell the paper as he was old and weak. Though a vernacular paper it had a nationalistic outlook and a patriotic fervour. Iyengar took over in Aug. 1915 and became its editor for several years. He published several books on state economics, politics, good governance etc.

His journalistic pursuits took him to national levels by attending meetings on 'Montague-Chelmsford Reforms', Rowlatt Act, non-cooperation campaign etc. A large-hearted man, his home which was a home for many freedom stalwarts, was always buzzling with activity. His munificence was already well known, but Subramanya Bharathi (fondly known as 'Bharatiyar'), a proud patriot, who would never extend his arms for charity, frequented Iyengar's house in Mowbray's Road (now T.T.K. Road), Alwarpet, Chennai and was very much fond of Iyengar and his views. Iyengar helped him join the editorial board of 'SwadesaMithran' and when Bharatiyar had to live in Pondicherry (a French settlement) to avoid arrest by the British, Iyengar sent him monthly Rs. 100/-, a princely sum in those days.

The loss of his elder son Srninivasan, frequent travels, mind-boggling editorials and social commitments all added to his ill-health and he breathed his last in Feb. 1934. He was also a great connoisseur of Carnatic music and the then Music Academy, which was a fledgling, due to lack of patronage, was revived by him and greatly contributed to the annual 'Sadas' - an event which is popular even today.

Coming back to our first paragraph, every society, nation or individual considers 'Gratitude' as a virtue. Thiruvalluvar, the great Tamil poet, says there is no salvation to anybody who is not grateful to those who do good to them. If that is so, what about our own nation which boasts of a long and hoary tradition and culture? The powers that be, the society or organisations need not necessarily assist their family with doles, but should they not be honoured? Should not invitations sent to them for National and Independence day functions?

We are awarding 'Padma Vibushan', 'Padma Bhushan' and 'Padma Sri' to actors, playback singers, sportsmen, politicians etc. who are all professionals who practised their profession only to earn for themselves and their kith and kin. I am sorry to say this but my voice tells me an ungrateful nation will perish more quickly due to its ingratitude than from a deluge that may take centuries to come.

With best wishes,
Partha Krish

Freedom at Midnight and Freedom Fighters - Part 2

2009-08-23T04:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Well-wishers,

In my previous blog I had promised to write about one of the unsung and unwept freedom fighters - Late Sri A. Rangaswami Iyengar. A cursory look at his biography by Mr. Parthasarathi, formerly of Hindu, makes it look like the modern Forbes list of famous men and women. His achievements are astounding. Let me be brief.

Sri Rangaswami Iyengar was born in a village in Thanjavur Dist. in a middle class agricultural family. In July 1877, he got his F.A. from Coimbatore College and later obtained his degree from Presidency College, Madras. Due to family circumstances, he worked as a clerk in the revenue dept., but his spirit rebelled. He resigned his job and with the help of his maternal uncle and others, joined the Law College, Madras and came out with flying colours. Later he became famous in a case at Tanjore and had a lucrative practice, though he was requested to come to Madras, to assist his maternal uncle Sri Kasturi Ranga Iyengar, an advocate who later purchased the newspaper 'The Hindu'.

Meanwhile he got elected to the 'Central Assembly' from Tanjore Dist., a forerunner to our present parliament and an honour so rare during the Brititish rule. He was scholarly, analytical and was a good writer. He took over the reigns of 'The Hindu' and wrote several masterpiece articles on Economics and Politics.

He was the first South Indian who opposed the building of 'Kannambadi Dam' in Mysore (also Visweswarayya dam known as 'KrishnaRajaSagar Dam'). Due to his masterly analysis in 'The Hindu', the Madras Govt. who initially gave permission to build, later referred it to an adjudicator and again to the Secretary of State, wherein unfortunately the case of Madras was lost and even today it has been responsible for not only the woes and ills of Thanjavur Dt., but also generated animosity and rancour among the people of Karnataka and Tamilnadu.

(To be continued)
All the best to all of you,
Partha Krish.

Freedom at Night and Freedom Fighters - Part 1

2009-08-22T04:16:00.000-07:00

It is now an established fact that in the course of over 50 years we have forgotten the many heroes of the 'Freedom Fight'. Not only that, we have also denied them and their kin the due recognition and the financial assistance to which they are entitled. Recently the High Court took to task a District Collector for denying the 'Freedom Fighters Pension' to an octogenarian for several years on some minor technical details related to his date of birth. He had been knocking at the doors of the administration, politicians and NGOs but to no avail.

This is not the first or just one of a few cases that have come up. Scores of even nonagenarians are yet to get their meagre pension. The ills and woes of their kith and kin [survivors] are much worse. They are still making journeys to the offices concerned.

While it is so with lesser mortals, those who held positions in party and in government and who had contributed their might by family sacrifices, debates, appearing in courts for those charged with sedition, running newspapers for Indian National Congress, arranging meetings of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi etc. have been totally forgotten and even their names obliterated from records, celebrations and memoirs.

One such fact has come to my notice, almost surprisingly. During our sojourn in the US, we had met a scholarly octogenarian couple - Narasimhan and RangaMani, who reside in Bethesda, Maryland and who regularly conduct a 'Study Club' called 'Montgomery Study Circle' in Potomac, Maryland. Last week he sent me a book published by 'Bhavan's Publications' - Mumbai, titled 'A. Rangaswamy Iyengar - Forgotten Freedom Fighter remembered'. The author is M.S. Parthasarathy, a journalist. I was clean bowled by the achievements and sacrifices of Sri Rangaswami Iyengar. What a great man!

I shall detail his magnificence, munificence, legal acumen, scholarly analysis of Economics, journalistic pursuit as a owner and Editor of 'Swadesha Mitran' (a Tamil daily then) in my next blog.

All the best to all of you,
Partha Krish.

The Journey Back to Srirangam

2008-04-01T04:29:00.000-07:00

Friends, I have been taken for an easy ride on April 1 on a number of occasions from my early days. But my computer 'Blue Light' did the trick on March 31 itself, when after blogging and while previewing the whole thing, it went off as it happened twice before. My friend tells me that the person (technician), who first loaded the Windows 98 version and then the XP version over that, had used an unauthorised and corrupt disc and consequently all the botherations. He suggested that I get a licensed version and use it. That is where the matter stands now.

When I blogged about early days of the great writer and engineer late Sri Sujatha, one blogger 'Pistha' mentioned that I should write more on Srirangam and my early days.This has triggered my desire to again share with all of you, my experiences, in this nostalgic journey. Earlier I carefully avoided writing about myself ,and mentioned only my association with people and places which I mentioned. Now I wish to elaborate a bit which might include my own part in this dramatic part of my early life.

It was the year 1948 and I was in the senior intermediate of National College, Trichy. We were a big group which included a few seniors doing their I. B. Maths and IV.B. economics and our Cricket Association called 'Kamala Nehru Union', included a few from St. Joseph's also. It was at this time that we came to know Sri Jawahar Lal Nehru, our first PM, was to visit Karaikkudi to attend the marriage of Smt. Umayal, D/O Dr.R.M. Alagappa Chettiar at Kottaiyur nearby and then lay the foundation stone of CECRI. Dr. Alagappa Chettiar had made elaborate arrangements to receive him by creating an air-field at Kottaiyur, a huge pandal at Karaikkudi, drinking water and buttermilk supplied free to all visitors etc. and we were very excited and decided to go in a group of 10 people. It was not so easy a decision as we thought, since we required permission from our parents/guardians, funds to go and also some wire-pulling to be as near as possible to the rostrum. Some of us managed upto 4 Rs. and some 2 to 3 Rs.

We approached our physics lecturer Sri Vedantha Desikan, whom all of us fondly called SV and Sri Srinivasa Raghavan, our maths lecturer, known in short as SSR (who became a principal later), who advised us to meet one Srinivasa Iyengar, a DTS of S.I.Ry. (South Indian Railway). Fortunately for us, since my father was in a senior position in the signal and telecommunication dept. in the Railways, it was arranged. He patiently heard us and said that we could first go to Kottaiyur by previous night's train, walk to and wait near the new air field, see Mr. Nehru and other dignitaries and immediately proceed to Karaikkudi by the special train that was to come from Trichy, carrying the retinue of officials from Delhi, Madras and Trichy, with 2 saloons attached to the train. He insisted that we do get tickets and travel. He instructed a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) to accompany us and help.

We almost choked, holding our breath when we saw a beautiful and youngish looking PM with his characteristic 'Sherwani' and 'Achkan' alighting from the steps. There was a huge chorus of 'Bhaarat Maata Ki Jai' and 'Nehru Zindabad' which was people who had come from far shouting with joy, though only a small gathering of officials and people from Kottaiyur, Chettinad and Karaikkudi were present. Since Sri Nehru was to arrive later at Karaikkudi after attending the marriage, we left by the special train to Karaikkudi and waited under the hot sun eagerly.

He did arrive along with Dr. S.S. Bhatnagar, Secretary of Science and Technology, who in his inaugural speech said, 'truely Dr. Alagappa Chettiar is a modern 'Bageeratha' in bringing water to Karaikkudi which is dry and water starved'. He went on to describe how they were all pessimistic and even frowned when proposals came from Dr. Chettiar as the Chemical Research Institute needed enormous quantities of water. He said, brushing aside the objections of scientists and officials, Dr. Chettiar imported German rigs, shuttled between Delhi and Karaikkudi and finally at great depths tapped sweet potable water and brought them out with 2 'Artesian' wells.

The whole gathering rose as one man to say 'Alagappa Chettiar Vaazhga' and 'Karaikkudiyin Dhaagam Theertha Karnan Vaazhga'. Controlling his emotions, Dr. Chettiar outlined his plans to make Karaikkudi a 'learning city' with colleges and schools and also improve the civic conditions of the city. Sri Nehru, who was garlanded with a huge rose garland, put the garland on Dr. Chettiar's shoulders and hugged him. He lavishly praised Dr. Chettiar for his interest in education and munificence. We were able to quench our thirsty throats, but nothing was available to eat. Two small hotels in the town near 'Kallukatti Theppam' had already exhausted their stock. The small IRR stall in the station also was closed.

We returned late evening to Trichy Junction and there a 'surprise' was waiting for us. One of our friends, Sri P. Ranganathan, whom we all called fondly as 'Baabuli' and who was also the captain of our cricket team had earlier, before we began our trip, informed his father, who was the manager of the IRR at Trichy Junction about our probable return time by train and he was waiting with hot meals for all the 10 of us. Starving from 6 am to7 pm with only a few cucumbers to eat, it was a feast for us and when asked about the charges, my friend's father Sri Parthasarathy Iyengar replied that he has already debited it to his pay account.What great men are these!

(More to come)

P.S. We learnt later that Sri Nehru had instructed his officials not to keep Dr. Chettiar waiting for long and to inform him immediately whenever Chettiar arrived to see him. Besides when once, Dr. Chettiar hurriedly tried to wear his hand gloves, when Sri Nehru suddenly came out of his room, Nehru stopped him, shook hands with his bare hands, hugged him and took him to the guest house. Even today when I think of the bonhomie amongst our friends and the munificence and greatness of the people I saw, met and talked to, I feel very sad to think where had they all gone today? What had happened to us? Are we so materialistic? Even admitting that it is a fast world of competition and fight for survival, have we forgotten the humaneness inherent in our blood?

The Last Journey of Sri Sujatha aka Rangarajan

2008-03-30T06:39:00.000-07:00

Friends, after visiting Chakra Sampath's blog, I sent an email to Sri Desikan (a Bangalore-based software professional, writer and Tamizh blogger) who had known our dear writer, author, engineer and a multifaceted personality, the late Sri Sujatha, for about 15 years. Of course I had known the brothers from childhood, while studying at Srirangam and since I was associated with Vaali aka Rangarajan in theatre, I had come to know Sri Sujatha as a writer in 'Sivaji', a local paper which introduced people like A.S.Raghavan, Akilan etc.

After 1959, I lost track of his writings since I was not in the habit of reading 'Kumudam'. But when he wrote in 'Ananda Vikatan', I avidly used to read his stories. What bowled me completely was that with the help of Rajagopalan, his younger brother, who is a retd. Chairman of MTNL, he wrote on 'Brahma Sutra'
by Veda Vyasa with such clarity and simplicity that I have to quote the adage 'Where eagles don't dare, he dared.'

Very movingly, Sri desikan was reciting the last but one of Andal's 'Thiruppavai', which the Srivaishnavites chant daily during worship of the Lord in their 'Saatru Murai' (Methodology of Rendition) starting as 'Chitranj siru kaale vandunnai sevithu', while the great soul was departing to the abode of Lord Narayana.

Let us all pray for his soul, since he has now become one with the Lord.
Partha Krish

என் முதல் தமிழ் போஸ்ட்

2008-03-25T07:56:00.000-07:00

நண்பர்களே: வெகுகாலமாய் என் உயிரினும் இனிய தமிழ் மொழியில் உங்களுடன் உரையாட ஆசை இன்று தான் நிறைவேறியது.

ஒரு அரசுசாரா நிறுவனம், முதியோர்களுக்கு கம்ப்யூட்டர் கல்வி கற்று தருவதாக அறிவித்திருந்தது. அதை நம்பி நானும் தொலைபேசியில் தொட்ர்பு கொன்டென் ஆனால் அது முதியொரெல்லாருக்கும் அல்ல என்றும் அங்கத்தினருக்கு மட்டும் என்றும பின்னால் தெரியவவந்தது

Sorry, let me continue in English as it is time-consuming. They put an ad in the press, saying that all elders (Seniors) will be taught computer usages and applications to make them computer savvy. I tried several times to contact them over phone but there was no response. Then I sent an email. Again no response. Finally I sent a pungent mail and after 12 days got a mail that initially it is meant for members of that org. and classes have already started.

Adding insult to injury, they said they would consider me next time they start (without even mentioning about my request for application details, including fee or other biodata about me).

The sole idea was to learn more about the theory aspects of the computer, since my knowledge is limited to my experience only.

I cursed my ill luck and got reconciled. What else can I do?

Partha Krish

sad end of a journey and arrogance of a club

2008-03-21T08:13:00.000-07:00

Dear Fiends; Sorry for the delay.Two things put me off completely though normally I am a composed person.1) the young man, Subramanyam, died of renal failure, inspite of best efforts of th doctors and my wife as well as the prayers of all kind souls.

2)While we were busy atending on him we were invited for a party to celebrate the 80th birthday of my mother-in-law's sister, at a club in MtRoad and happily we accepted.

My wife's cousin phoned up to say since the club adopts strict dress code, we should cooperate.When I asked him to elaborate, he said,'jubbas'(round necked or shortcollared), dhoties whether north Indian or south Indian style of wearing,sandals(especially hawaiyans)T.Shirts,Pyjamas are all prohibited.This included even long coats with short collars.I was shocked.

More than that,I felt an indignation.It brought memories of the struggle Mahatma Gandhi had in South Africa against racialism and aristrocracy and segregation.I wondered in what age are we in India, which boasts of having ended colonialism with the racial segregations put an end to.The elite clubs have slowly been vanishing and yet it has reared its head again.

I decided firmly that I am not attending the function though this decision brought me into clash.

I wanted to share my feelings with fellow bloggers but some how it has been so disturbing my mind, I did not even go near the computer.

Since happy tidings erase stains of sadness, so is the case now with a happy news that tomorrow(23rd march)my sister-in-law, Mrs SarojaParasaran,w/o Sri K.Parasaran,former Attorney General of India,is to be felilcitated in a public function,at Narada gana sabha hall,as outstanding example of an ideal mother, along wih 10 others, as a tribute to mothers and salute them.

I have known my sister-in-law from 1950. A very noble lady who, inspite of several odds,brought up her 5 children and they are all well settled,some of whom became famous for their achivement in their respective fields.Of all her exemplary qualities,she is very well known as 'Anna Lakshmi' for having fed many a stomach without even batting an eye lid,without any discrimination.May the generes of such mothers increase, so as to make the future of this country bright.

With best wishes

Parthakrish

a different journey

2008-03-11T09:44:00.000-07:00

Friends:I am a firm believer of God.I have already indicated in my blogs about the divine interference in men and matters.Now a different kind of journey has been ordained by Him, not for me but for my wife who makes the journey to the general hospital, to try and save the life of an youngman aged 32,married,and with a girl child.
Some of you, who had followed my 2005 blogs, may know that my wife aged 72,has to her credit 3 professional lives like the proverbial cat,at first a lecturer,then an announcer and news reader in All India radio, and now an alternate systems doctor with 17 systems to her credit, some of which she did at U.S,when she was 63.She was also the dean of an institute founded by me for Yoga and naturopathy in Chennai which is a regd body.She is a very good teacher and practitioner of 'Reiki' having been tutored by the Grand master William Rand at Detroit who is an authority in the lineage of 'Usui' Reiki Foundation.Now she also excells in 'Sujok' acupressure
in the hands.
Coming to the reason for her journey,on saurday night the brotherin-law of our family friend who is in the coast guard service,on transfer to Vizag,met with an accident in his two wheeler while coming home, due to a trench on the road, where there was no light also.Some good samaritans arranged to take him to the G.H and phoned his sister in the early hours.His condition was very bad with a bad injury in the 'medula oblongata' since he did not wear helmet.
Within an hour of admission, the neurologists performed a surgery to remove a clot.But his breathing became very difficult as the command nerves have been damaged and he is on ventilator.By sunday evening my friend's wife phoned up to my wife and requesed her to come immediately and do something.With, prayers in mind,and energy equipment in hand she went to the G.H with her son 'Thennavan'.According to her though his condition was very critical,yet,she could sense that his 'Praana' has not waned.Ofcourse he was unconscious and the docs felt he may slip in to coma.She did 'Reiki' intensively,and did 'Sujok'acupressure on his fingers and palm with the permission of the docs and came back ,night with a worried face.She was requested tocome again on Monday and she did th same.There was some perceptible improvement in that there were certain reflexes in his hand and legs.
Today ,they came and took her to G.H and she gauged his energy level,did her best, prayed to God and came back.Just now, an hour back, his wife phoned to say he is breathing well without much difficulty(confirmed by docs) and that they are with renewed hopes.
This jouney of hers for 3 days were very useful,purposeful and also merciful due to the greatness of Him.We hope and pray he gets up and becomes normal.
I have a fervant request to make to my fellow bloggers:Pl pray for him,his name is
Sri Subramanyam.Pl pray very sincerely since prayers made without selfish interests are always heard and remedy coming to him from Him.
Thank you
Best wishes
Parthakrish

cricket-the present and he future

2008-03-07T05:14:00.000-08:00

Friends: A tumultous welcome was given for our cricket heroes in Feroz shah Kotla grounds.An estimated 75000 people assembled to greet the tired but victorius team.Each of the player got 58 lakhs Rs and the supporting staff Rs 10 lakhs each,deservingly so.After all, as Ashok mankad had said they have bearded the 'lion' in its own den. This is no mean achievement and the credit goes to the Team work and the grit displayed by our players even amidst controversies.
Now after all the din and noise subside,it is time for the beaurocratic BCCI, to take stock of all its past policies,present outlook and future plans.
It is a well known fact that the BCCI has no long term plans or policies to promote talents at an early age in schools, colleges,clubs but takes notice when the State Associations pick up a guy from a college match or local tournaments mostly supported by Corporates.This will not pay dividends.let us look at another set of heroes who did us proud in the under19 Trophies.Here again naturally talented boys had to wind their way up on their own.
The cash rich BCCI, can do ever so many things to improve the pitches,give grants to local recognised clubs,encourage good coaches with attractive offers,equip the teams with various accesories,organise monthly,quarterly and annual competitions etc. This would go a long way to not only improve the game, encourage the players and ultimately bring laurels to the country.
Let us hope that better sense would prevail with the apex organisation and its coteries
Parthakrish

disturbing trends

2008-03-06T08:36:00.000-08:00

Friends:The news papers and Televisions in the south, for the past few days,were screaming with a development in Chidambaram,a holy place, with an icon of Lord Nataraja, which is world famous.A number of books,pamphlets,choreographies of dancers etc have come out about the dance 'Aananda Thandavam".The unwanted and unwarranted developments have put the real issues behind.Every temple in India especially those in the south, right fom its construction to daily rituals are guided by a set of rules called 'Agamas' whther they are saivite or vaishnavite temples.These have bee followed diligently for ages.
While nobody questions or doubts the supremecy or eminence of Tamizh,as well as the hymns of 'Nayanmars' and 'Azhwars', yet to break into the temple,insist on disrupting the proceedings to recite some tamizh hymns,thereby disturbing the peace ,tranquility and serenity of the temple, is toomuch to bear.
It is not that the protaganists did it out of their love of Tamizh (sice it is a religious and Hindu philosophical hymns which are not liked by the rationalists, but a sectarian and jaundiced outlook at the Dikshitars of the Temple.
It is sad, the Govt functioning under the constitution of India as a secular state, should interfere on behalf of the agitators ,only issuing orders again and again, in support of them, deputing a herd of police,arresting them and later releasing them thus making the whole episode a mockery of sanity
We hope better sense would prevail on all hose concerned.
Partha krish

memorable journey continued

2008-03-05T01:02:00.000-08:00

friends:I am almost coming to the end of this particular journey,memorable in more ways than one.The parting on the night of22-2-08 was emotional and tearful too.All those who served the Lord were paid to their satisfaction and others fed the whole day.
My land tenants came to see us off.My agent asked them about the arrears of rent for several yeas due to us.They as usual replied that this year was bad due to unprecedented rains and hence their default.My agent again pointed out that they did not pay even when there was a good crop of paddy and 'Nendram'.It is at this juncture I politely pointed out to them that our commitments to the society,especially in the village largely depends on their co-operation.I detailed the expenditure involved,the need to rebuild the house portions fallen to accomodate
devotees comig to the village festivals,our commitment to donate to the middle school where I started my 'aana' and 'aavanna' to upgrade into a highschol'They saw reason, became emotional and agreed to hand over the rentals to my agent in a day or two.One of them paid a part of that day's expenses immediately. My eyes were welling with tears, that innocnt but needy villagers are still the prototype of their elders and willing to participate.I instructed the agent to collect the rentals and give it to the head master who was also present.So Long.
Partha Krish

memorable journey

2008-03-04T05:04:00.000-08:00

Friends:Before I proceed further on my memorable journey I wish to state here, 2 things, relevent to my earlier blogs.
1)In 2005 when I was blogging while in U.S, a blogger friend who wished to be incognito, visited my blog and commented.Then I lost track of him and I myself, due to circumstances,explained already,discontinued.When I started again in 2008,this gentleman,an octogenarian,visited and commented,to my pleasant surprise.This time he gave his name as Sethuraman,who had an illustrious career in Japan Air Lines and subsequenly went on his own, on travel business.What was surprising was a mere mention of the domestic name of my Kodiyalam friend ,K.V.R.This is not known to many.It egged me on further, to contact him by Email and now as he rightly put it 'it is a small world'.He hails from "Thiruchendurai' about 11/2 miles east of Kodiyalam and lived in Srirangam.He knows all those who are my friends too,though all of them are in their winter of life.
2I had written about the kiddies who are also goodies in my previous blog and also incidentally mentioned about the education of boys and girls of Indian origin at U.S,how they aquit themselves well,as well as the encouragement given by their parents and schools. A good example is that of my grandson who was selected from a state level merit competition for inducting bright students into a program that would fast-track them in their studies and it is gratifying to know that he passed this exam with flying colours.

As I said earlier,if proper encouragemnt and guidance are given by parents and teachers our children are second to none in the world . It is also relevent to mention Chakrasampath who said he was very much impressed with the atmosphere,friendliness and infrastructure of the school in England when he went to admit his child for the first time.

O.K. Let me continue my journey.(to be continued}
Parthakrish

journey continues

2008-03-01T03:12:00.001-08:00

We had good darshan at Gunaseelam and a vendor offered tender cocoanuts and our guests were eager to order for them.Our agent intervened and said he would arrange for them as soon as we returned to Kodiyalam.True to his word in a matter of 1/2 hour he procured free from our own estate('Thoppu') about 20 of the tender cocoanuts, but since it was time for Lunch, we hastened to suresh's house to finish our lunch.After sometime, the guests ,started consuming 2 and even 3 sweet cocoanuts and felt satisfied.But the hospitality and custom of the village did not allow them to relax.We were called in at the temple and again after the usual honours,they served rice pongal,chenna dhal 'sundal', and 'dhadiannam'(curd rice).By this time our guests felt they could not take any more as their stomache was full, but they were not to be spared.The vehicle 'Garuda' was taken out, poojas performed and Vadai known as 'Vaghana Vadai' which was offered to Him, was served to all of us with steaming south Indian coffee.

One of the guests remarked, that if he stays for the entire festival period he would put on a few Kgs wt more, while the other said if this is to be the case over the year round, he would shift here with his baggages.

Late evening, the Lord GopalaKrishna started from His abode,sitting magnificently on His vehicle Garuda and came around the 2 streets adjoining the temple with 3 'Naadaswara'vidwans and 4 'Thavils'(percussion instrument) playing devotional ,chaste,carnatic music and the crowning jewel piece was 'Entharo Mahanubhavulu', saint Thiagaraja's masterpiece out of five rubies('pancha ratna').At the end of this, the temple staff, who carried the Lord on their shoulders displayed a majestic walk known in vaishnavite parlance as 'Oyyara Nadai'.

The guests,the local population,the temple staff,the visitors from nearby villages especially a lot of them from Srirangam were all treated to a sumptuous dinner and we all returned to Srirangam by 11p.m(to continue)

Partha krish

,

journey continues

2008-02-29T07:15:00.000-08:00

Dear friends:Before I continue my journey i intend to share with you, about today's development.'The Hindu' today(29-2-08) has changed the format again:. there is no front page news.Instead the 1st and 2nd pages carry an Ad of some Co and the 3rd page starts with news.I wish to draw your kind attention to my blog of 21-1-08 wherein I have mentioned about the displeasure shown by the reader's Ed and the Ed-in-chief's stand that it is only a one time affair.Now they are at it again.My stand stands vindicated. Now for the journey.
The elders who accompanied us were in for more surprises.Our agent greeted all of us with a plate full of betel leaves,arecaunut,plantain fruits and flowers.The tenant was ready with filter coffee.Immediately after this we went to temple to receive the honours due,which was also extended to our guests.Then came the'Prasad' of Lord,'Puliodarai'(Tamarind rice) with sumptuous quantity.Then we left for another holy place on the norhtern bank of Cauvery called 'Gunaseelam'.The journey itself was memorable.The vehicle slowly made its way thro' the dam across 'Cauvery' called the Upper anicut.The place is known vernacularly'MUKKOMBU'
meaning three horns since the river cauvery is in its undivided form,and 2 divided forms 'Cauvery' and 'kollidam'(coleroon) with stone dams built by Chola kings.I have already mentioned in my 2005 blog about this and the other 2 dams 'Grand Anicut' (with a photo) and lower Anicut near chidambaram.What a panoramic view was it on that day! the lush green fields, the dense trees,Water(though not much thanks to Karnataka)oozing thro',the garden and benches and the rest house inside the islet which is maintained as a picnic spot by the P.W.D.
Our guests had to hold their breadth on seeing all this and again they were in for more surprises
(to be continued)
Partha krish

Home coming for Partha Krish-Again the journey

2008-02-28T03:34:00.000-08:00

DEar friends:Sorry for the delay.It is all fortuitious.'Strange are the ways of God' sombody had said.How true! nearly 10 days back, my desk top became dead. 'Thennavan' was busy with his Lap-top and I tried a few Technicians with no positive result.Mean while I recd an intimation from my friend Sri K.V.Rangaswamy,presently president Larsen&Toubro,about whom I have already blogged in my recollections of earlydays,reminding me of the 12 day festival at Kodiyalam,near Jeeyapuram and Thirapparaithurai about 15 km from Tiruchy and my own tradional part to participate on the 4 th day celebration, with the Lord on 'Garuda Vaahana'(Eagle Vehicle).It was all divine intervention.I phoned to my brother-in-law in Bombay
and asked him to come and participate.He is 75 and had not seen this picturesque village so far.
My younger brother invited two senior relatives of his son and we all staryed to arrive at Sirangam the holiest town of the south,which served as the starting point of my journey in my blog.Truely it was' home coming' for me.
And what a journey it was to the village from Srirangam.Practically no permanent buildings let alone concrete jungles.River cauvery(though there was very little water] on one side and lush green fields on the other.Paddy, Plantain especially the banana(Nendram)and sugarcane welcoming us all the way.One thing was very saddening.There was a huge illegal sand mining going on in the riverbed and I was told by an advocate who fights social injustice and an environmentalist,that this goes on day in and day out, throughout,thr rivercourse upto Karur.
We were welcomed by urchins and small, school going kids,and what a sea change in them! well dressed.well mannered,pleasant in greeting,ever ready to oblige.Yes.education has changed the face of the village.[will be continued]
Partha krish

rail and Road-a wail for the public

2008-02-12T00:44:00.000-08:00

Friends:- It was amusing and even shocking to see a news item, that the M.D of M.M.T.C said that it is not their responsibility to provide link transport by road to Rail Stations even in a city like Chennai.It is astounding that the M.D had forgotten the discussions he and other State officers had with thi Minister for Railways Sri Velu and other officers of Southern Railway and agreed to extend the city bus services upto the Rail stations and the Corporation of Chennai agreeing to make the small strips of link roads usable'
It all emanates out of the political and administrative systems.While there is a seperate ministry of Railways under the Central Govt with Roads coming under a different ministry, at the state level, there is no minister to coordinate with central ministries except occasionally some minister is deputed for discussions or some official represents road, rail,amenities,public safety etc in one go, during the visits of central ministers ,unless the minister from centre is of the same ruling party of the state or a very influential central minister who can pull wires.
It all boils down to money.
Result.Rail or Road it is the wail of the people prevail.
All the best
parthakrish

New year-'Thai'-Thai thai

2008-02-10T05:42:00.000-08:00

friends :a raging controvery is going on about the new year starting from Tamil month 'Thai'.While the almanac pundits and politicians are engaged in debate a simple factor ,let alone astronomical factors,has been forgotten by Tamizh lovers.At present the Tamizh new year starts in 'Chitrai' an 'utharayan' phase whch concides with the Hindu astrological practise of starting with the first sign 'Mesha'{Aries} ending with 'Meena'{pisces}.This has been in practise for hundreds of yeas and found to be very convenient as well.
Already the almanac is full of several differing years like 'Kollam','Hijri'.,'Salivahana','Fasli' and english.Even in the English years there are financial years,calender years and 'Fasli' years in vogue.
Is further confusion necessary?I would like to know your views.
all th bst
Parha krish

civic sense

2008-02-09T04:42:00.000-08:00

Friends: Just now I have sent a letter to 'The Hindu' under "Voice your Views" on ;civic sense and you'.

Due to the limitation(100 words) I could not express myself fully with ofcourse, facts and figures.The need for ethics,behaviour and civic sense has become so very urgent that inpie of the police city act provisions, the Corporation of Chennai, recently had to issue strict warnings with fines for the offenders.

The most common violations of a good civic behaviour are

1.Spitting and defecating in public, any place rendering it to insanitary condition

2Throwing litter on the passers by from balconies and sit outs.

occupying th roads,platforms as if owned by them and abusing the pedestrians and elders when they express their difficulty over such occupation

3 Eve teasing,Cameo acting,flexing muscles when passers by, intervene.

4Clandestinely removing he bunds of water bodies, creating havoc amongst dwellers

4rash and speedy driving rbeaking all rules and also jumping signals

Using unlicensed vehicles,engaging unlicensed drivers(cleaners),kids taking to driving with or without the knowledge of the parents.

Smoking and drinking openly at all places disturbing the peace and tranquility of that area

and many more which can be catalogued.

When are we going to change? Do mere political and eeconomic freedom make us a good Nation?

Our society should come up wih answers collectively.As A burning topic which needs to be addressed by the whole society.. " The apt quote is"Your freedom of swinging the walking stick ends where my nose begins' which ofcourse is less understood by our society.

Partha krish

Foreign and sovereign

2008-02-08T06:39:00.000-08:00

friends:-Funny are the ways of Media world.It was late Benazir Bhutto who occupied the centre of media attention and now it is American presidential election(Primary).While the NRIs are eagerly or anxiously awaiting news and facts of thir homeland,here is the media devoted to mainly foreign affairs.Even the Indian readers have enough in their own tea cup that they are least bothered about the socalled'hot' news on 'foreign'.
The 'Left' have been crying hoarse about our relationship and commitments to the 'Foreign' fearing an attack on the 'sovereign' nature of our hard won independant India.
A few days back a 'Reader's Editor' of a news paper devoted his entire column to write rejoinders and publishing of letters in a bygone era of Russia {Viz) Nikita Khruchev's period.
It is high time tha the media whether print or electronic, devote more attention to National news .and facts,highlight the social problems,suggest practical solutions to the powers that be.
Let us be parochially or partially be national.
all the best.
Partha Krish

a dull week

2008-02-02T03:33:00.000-08:00

Friends! a dull and dreary week.Yes.There was not much of activity around here.The only silver lightning in the horizon was in The Carnatic Music world.
The 'aradhana' in Thiruvaiyaru was a little colourful {congeevaram sarees} and as usual the masterpiece of the 'Pancha Rathna','Entharo Mahanubhavulu'{a favourite of Dr.Abdul Kalaam}was sung with fervour and flavour.
The arrangements by the committee for visitors to view,to stay,to join the 'unjavritti Ghoshti' etc were woefully bad.
The place was stinking,insanitary condition prevailing,scrambling for food,and even transport from nearby places like Thanjavur,Kodavasal etc woefully inadequate.
However 'all is well that ends well'.
THat is all for the present.
We will talk again
All the best Partha Krish

cricket;presentation and reputation

2008-01-31T03:37:00.000-08:00

Dear friends:by this time U might have guessed what is comingScores of Cricket lovers all over the country including me who is 77,a one time player in my college and K.N.U,felt sad at the episode in Australia.
The adage 'all is well that ends well' did not work here as can be seen in the leader of 'The Hindu' today whch says 'all is not well'.Why this sorry state of affairs?Why was there a tussle for the top slots of office in the BCCI,sometimeback?
Money.Pure and simple.This had prompted the board to adopt unfair meanswhich is now criticised by not only the cricket lovers and the press in Australia but also in our own country
While the presentation of the game by our heroes have gone sky high for praise the Board's reputation has dipped to the lowest ebb.
Kudos to the Editor"The Hindu" for a frank appraisal.
All the best
Partha Krish

can we bank on the banks?

2008-01-24T05:42:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends:Tomorrow the all India BANK officers and BANK EMPLOYEES ARE TO GO ON A 'Token Strike' but we are to be taken for a ride.Just see how they have timed it!25th strike,26th National holiday and 27 th Sunday public holiday!This has become a regular feature with all those who take to a potent but patient weapon.
What a great inconvenience to all of us! ATMs alone do not form the bank transactions.Why should the public be penalised?In fact they are the masters of bank staff who ultimately pay them.It is not as though the World Bank or Asian Development banks that pay them.It is tax payers',depositors' and Lonee's money.
Is it not time that consumer organizations come together, meet and condemn this attitude,put wall posters near the banks to create public awareness and mass protest.
As blogged by our blogger friend Hari , it is time we have a mass movement to highlight the woes of public and guide the administrators to a right path
With best wishes
ParthaKrish

'Safer India for women' - a website to save

2008-01-22T04:25:00.000-08:00

'Dear friends,
A few days back I had blogged on Kalpana Sharma's article in 'The Hindu' on Mumbai incident,the various opinions and the appeal for safety of women. Now Akhila R whom I have neither seen nor known, in her mail to my niece, has informed about a website maintained by none other than the fearless female, Magsaysay award winner, reformer of Tihar prison Ms Kiran Bedi, Safer India. As per the mailer any one aggrieved on not getting their complaint received or registered by any police station can go the website,follow the instructions, detailing the case. It will be immediately sent to the D.G of police of the respective state.
The site also gives legal help to pursue the case. Now this is sweeter than sugar.At last a bright sun is rearing its form above the horizon,amidst a cloud of superstition, convention, conservatism, apathy and indifference.
Well, I hope our 'Thaaikkulam' will take this wonderful opportunity to redress their grievances.
All the best
partha krish

Advertisement or adverse statement !

2008-01-21T04:58:00.000-08:00

Dear friends:-For a sufficiently long time I have been watching the Ads both in print media as well as electronic media.Each day is a nightmare.Pl look at the way the negative approach,seemingly legal but immoral comparisons and claims,targeting young kids even for adult products.
The etymology of the word 'advertisement' states that it was derived from the Latin word 'advertere' which means directing one's attention or turn towards.In legal parlance the word adverting to is often used to denote the above meaning.There was a time when some Industries like L&T put up a very dignified and sober ad in electronic media.But today it is a war amongst the Advertisers.Even the naive originators among the trade and commerce are not aware that their product is given very little importance ,while highlighting their theme and artistic and photographic imaginations.
Some time back there were a lot of protests to the 'Reader's Editor' of 'The Hindu' and in spite of the spirited defence of the editor in chief,Mr Narayanan expressed his dismay mildly. To day also he took up vulgar and gory scenes coming up in the photographs of the first page and again. of course, the chief editor defended their policy while reiterating the hackneyed slogan of the paper maintaining its tradition.
When obnoxious,false,objectionable items appear in a print medium it can be brought to the notice of the Press council.But what about these Ads?Ad clubs are just toothless. If it is taken as a consumer problem, the complainant should have been personally affected or suffered. It would be time consuming. If on the other hand it is taken as a PIL then again it means money, time and labour .
Who and how are we to rein them in? It looks like a distant dream.
all the best
parthakrish

"Jallikkattu':-A Kaattu sport and the court.

2008-01-18T03:17:00.000-08:00

Friends:In my last blog I was sharing my thoughts with U on Maattu Pongal" and what a beautiful and meaningful thanks giving festival for the live stock it is .But my mind was troubled when news came that people in some areas of Tamilnadu became emotional and were bracing up to defy even Supreme court orders, and then came the news that the Supreme court has revised its own orders and permitted it with some conditions, which, we understand from yesterday's and today's news ,that in spite of the officialdom pretending to have followed the conditions ,lots of people were injured{with photo proofs} and one even died.
The fears of Animal protection activists and human protection activists have come true.
Let alone a male point of view of mine.What do the women think?I am quoting and reproducing an email from my niece, a poetess,an accomplished singer,a yoga practitioner and above all a kind hearted human soul connected with many social forums. She is at present in Seattle U.S.:

"This morning news announces 83 men were injured in jallikattu & 1 is in critical condition. I am pained. Are we civilized? There were times when men had to prove their physical strength, (mental) concentration & skills by taming animals, fighting with them & killing them. Their 'vizhuppuNs' were exhibited with great pride & women fell in love with them for this. Are we in the same period now. We have better ways to woo our women. The animals are to be protected. I hate young men ending up in hospitals on a festival day. I do not think anyone will care for them. The injuries are more by stampedes & confusion. They are Vizhundha puN & not vizhupuN. To be frank I'll not fall for these men (If I were young & eligible!!) who will have cruelty & perversion somewhere in their minds & being proud for the same."
Now friends, her views may be strong but not wrong. Just for information, her name is Rangam Balaji whose poems have been read by lazygeek
All the best
Partha krish

Pongalo-Pongal: Crop and Rap: Rock and Livestock

2008-01-15T05:08:00.000-08:00

Friends, today is Pongal and very special to Tamilnadu. There is not much religious significance but a great social and economic significance. That is why it is being celebrated by almost all sections of the society. Visual reports are pouring in about the festivities in temples, churches, mosques, gurudwaras and in people's homes. Pandits and politicians greet each other, police and public mingle and friends and relations unite to celebrate this harvest festival and festival of Thanksgiving to the livestock. This is the start of Uttarayan, the period of prosperity.

But it has become a publicity and money-spinning activity for some including some of the satellite T.V.s. Look at the way they celebrate and the noise they create with 'Rock','Rap', 'Pop' and what not with 'Swing', 'Twist' and 'Rook' rocking the body, sliding with girls exposed due to their shortage of dress and an effort taking the public away from their avowed heritage and custom. As if this is not sufficient, one channel went to the extent of trying to mix the city-bred folks and the villagers in the latter's place, imitating them and failing to do many things that the villagers could do with ease.

Tomorrow is 'Kanum Pongal' aka 'Maattu Pongal' as a day of Thanksgiving to the livestock, especially the cows and bulls which have enriched not only the rural economy, but also the humane aspect of life.

I wish and hope that a movement be started to inculcate the spirit of festivities with due respect to customs and traditions and preventing such aberrations. Wish you all a very happy and prosperous Pongal and Kanum Pongal.

Partha Krish.

Parents pave the way

2008-01-13T23:59:00.000-08:00

Friends: I wrote to you on kids - India based and NRIs. Tremendous things are happening here. There is an upsurge of activities by the kids exhibiting their talents, technical skill, time management, social consciousness, behaviour and the list is endless. It is happening in parks, classrooms, public halls, bookstores, malls - almost everywhere. I am sure such things do happen abroad too in their schools, temples, churches, mosques, gurudwaras etc.

The most satisfying thing is that it is their parents to a large extent and of course teachers too, who have moulded them and the kids frankly admit it. They shower glowing tributes to their parents and teachers. Kudos to the parents and teachers and may their breed make the lands fertile.

My grandson reports that but for his parents, who are far away from their roots here and who, even though tied up with one hundred chores everyday groomed him, encouraged him, assisted him and helped with providing the requisite environment, he could not be what he is as I have described him in the previous posts. I am sure every one of you would be proud of your wards and would be doing your best for them.

Long live this culture,
With best wishes
Parthakrish.

Assault and Somersault

2008-01-13T06:17:00.000-08:00

Friends: Today Kalpana Sharma had written an article in THE HINDU under the caption 'Assault on Dignity'. This is about the Mumbai incident on new year's eve. While a few women like Kiran Bedi, Teesta Setalwad, Sushma Verma and K.S. Vimala have all expressed their anxiety and indignation over the incident, Ayesha Matthan has tearfully described how she was kicked, abused and pushed because she, who was walking on the footpath, not give the men riding a two-wheeler a way to circumvent the traffic on the main road. They were in such a hurry to reach as though being late to board a flight, that they did not care about a pedestrian rightfully walking in the place provided by law. What is worse and disgusting is that they both were software professionals working in a leading IT company. As if this was not sufficient, the passers-by {Time 7.30 p.m} were just looking on amused and did not come to her rescue. The matter is now with the police.

The whole crux of the article elaborates how quickly the media grabbed the opportunity, calling into question Mumbai's claim to be a city safe for women, if incidents like this were to happen. Countering the usual claim by city fanatics, the author has given official statistics of such incidents of rape, intimidation, eve-teasing etc.

Where are we going? Are we really a civilised society? The one and only answer is 'hypocrisy'.
We have specialised and perfected the art of hypocrisy so well that we are oblivious to the indignity and inhuman treatment around us. Add to this our own inertia and the picture is complete.

Folks please ponder over and conclude dispassionately.

Partha Krish.

Kiddies but Goodies - NRI kids

2008-01-12T09:49:00.001-08:00

Friends: This a/n I wrote about the wonder kids of India. By ,my grandson, who is in the US, came on chat and was all bubbling with enthusiasm and requested that I write about NRI kids. Well I have been to the U.S. 7 times and had the opportunity of meeting a lot of Indian kids of employment visa holders, citizens and G.C. holders and talked to them to know their ambition, their likes and dislikes, their preferences etc. I had a lot of interaction with my grandson - Arun, and this made me more friendly to him, thus enabling me and my learned wife to easily vibe with him.

He is now entering the 6th grade this year and has written an elaborate exam in a program called 'Magnet', wherein he can aspire to a grade or two higher. Knowing him well, I have no doubt that he will come out with flying colors in the two subjects he has written - maths and computers. He is very strong in both.

Besides, he had started playing the piano and electronic keyboard when he was just in 4th grade since his dad had presented him with a comprehensive keyboard with which he used to play western music, notably 'The Legend of Madrid', a few rock pieces and Mozart. His favourite is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Normally it would take about 5 to 6 years to reach and play with ease but he was able to reach this level in 2 years.

His ambition is to make a rock song, sing it and play it preferably on an electric guitar. Of course he is keen on sports too, besides playing electronic games with his buddies, many of whom are Indians. He is also very friendly with other guys in his school. Recently he wanted a Tabla to practise a North Indian classic percussion instrument and we immediately procured one from Chennai and sent it immediately through a well-known blogger - Ganesh, who lives in the Washington DC area. My grandson is very happy and now practises daily and has become totally drawn to Zakir Hussain that he has also started sporting a long and flowing hair. Hid dad and mom fully support him in his endeavour and like him, may the kids who are growing away from their roots but are following our own traditions of trying to develop many skills and not just in academics, make us all proud.

Kiddies but Goodies

2008-01-12T02:29:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends, the caption itself indicates my intention and I do hope that all of you would agree the kids are the most fascinating people who even defy the description in books and cartoons.
It was our scientist-sage Dr.Abdul Kalam who said that the future is in young minds and actions. He wanted them to dream. He exhorted them to realise their dreams and he advised them to be kind and respectful to everyone in society.

It was a refreshing and scintillating experience for me the whole of December to attend music performance by kids and young at the open park of children's association featuring Apaswaram Ramji's artistic battalion of performers. Not only that, I was also thrilled to see the young at the science exhibition at the Science and Tech Centre {Birla Planetarium} swarm the area, ask questions and clarifications and exhibit extraordinary interest in matters in which elders are either indifferent or apathetic since their interests now lie only in entertainment.

I am sure those of you who have kids would be keen to see that they show their talents in their fields of interest and feel elated when the world recognises them. May this new breed of humanity grow from strength to strength and let God be kind enough to send many like Dr. Kalam from time to time. Incidentally the man who conferred the national titles on others himself deserves to get the much coveted "BHARATH RATNA".

All the best,
Partha Krish.

Environment or Envy and Resentment

2008-01-11T01:07:00.000-08:00

Friends: The morning paper greeted me with the happy news that the great Ratan Tata unveiled the new 'People's Car' (2500$) or the 1 lakh car, whatever you wish to call it. Yesterday the various satellite channels were screaming with this wonderful news. In his introductory remarks, Mr. Tata has allayed the fears of sceptics, environmentalists, corporate envyists and others with a lot of details comparing the emissions of the Nano with those of two-wheelers while also addressing the safety fears, economics of maintenance etc. to the satisfaction of almost everyone except our self-styled environmentalists and some die-hard sceptics who are worried about traffic congestion!

These protagonists of environmental consciousness did precious little over the years, when industries and other trade/commercial establishments polluted the perennial rivers, tanks, lakes and other water-bodies. Many did not join a world movement like 'Greenpeace' in taking to task developed and some developing countries responsible for global warming. They did not start a national agitation over industrial pollutants and vehicle emissions which have grown over the years. They did not raise their finger when spurious fuel was used in trucks which have habitually been emitting noxious and toxic fumes. Now they react negatively to the introduction of the Tata Nano and stage a demonstration at the Auto Fair.

Imagine several lakhs of families who were forced to take entire families on their mobikes amidst the danger of accidents, loss of life/limb, being exposed to the elements, generally finding it inconvenient and almost impossible for the elders to accompany in two-wheelers, now feeling jubilant over the affordability, convenience and comfort of a small and affordable car!

A dispassionate analysis based on pragmatism rather than dogmatism would show, weighing all the pros and cons, that it is a welcome step. Of course there are rumours that much of the criticism is due to envy. Another positive offshoot as per THE HINDU is that the price wars will start and other car manufacturers may slide down their prices. That will be most welcome to everyone.

That is all for the day,
Partha Krish.

Cementing the Poor and the Rich

2008-01-10T03:28:00.000-08:00

Dear bloggers: Strange are the ways of the corporate world! A week ago cement prices were skyrocketing all over India and Tamilnadu took the first step (or was it a ploy?) by announcing without issuing a proper G.O., that the government would import cement at a cheaper rate and distribute it to needy customers. Also it was publicly stated that the government is thinking of nationalising the cement industry. Then started the 'tamasha' - first a cement manufacturer was reported to have met the Chief Minister and assured him that he will contact other manufacturers and come back with a 'concrete' proposal.

Today the 'concrete' has come into the open only to be 'watered down'. They are proposing that they will lease cement to 'genuine' economically weaker sections individually, provided they get permit from government officers @ Rs. 200/-per bag, subject to a minimum of 50 bags. For government use, they have agreed to reduce by about Rs. 19/- per bag, which according to rough estimates is from a market-rate of Rs. 220/- (in the retail market it is anything between 230 to 240 a bag).

Now the interesting part of it is the absence of defining who is economically weaker and again instead of distribution through the civil supplies department, they have come forward to directly unload at the doorstep of the consumer. What a great humanistic approach of the corporate to the poor!

Rajaji, after relinquishing office as C.M., relentlessly wrote in 'Swatantra' and 'Kalki' against
'License Raj' and 'Permit Raj' and also campaigned vigorously against them. Now our bonding friends want to cement the relationship with 'Raj' and thus exposing the public to possible hazards of getting permits, which always breeds corruption and favouritism.

Could it not have been easier to fix the same rate for the 'economically weaker' and the 'economically struggling government' since anyway the government money is again the taxpayer's money? Again the 'Economically Weaker' sections are to send the money in advance by DD and wait for the delivery! When and how - GOK {God Only Knows :( }!

So long - all the best,
Partha Krish.

New Avathar

2008-01-09T00:17:00.000-08:00

Friends, I wrote two days back taking a new 'Avathar' after a long interval. Though one hundred thoughts and subjects engage my mind, the immediate and interesting topic is about the new philosophy of THE HINDU. Several people wrote to Mr. Narayanan - the reader's editor, on specifically two things - 1] The paper's increasing leftist leanings and 2] The ad adventure. I also wrote two days back to him pointing out that an irrelevent photograph of a car {with its model name} was reproduced on the first page under a caption "wedding bells or alarm bells?", which was actually taken from the last page of the MetroPlus (featuring an advertisement of a car company) with the same size, colour, brand name etc. I expect a fair reply from the reader's editor.

As regards the paper leaning left, I had in a letter to the editor sometime back, pointed out a deliberate avoidance of a news item regarding the Nandigram affair in West Bengal, which was highlighted by almost all news channels as well as newspapers - both vernacular and English, especially from North India. As expected, the letter was not published. Regarding the ad policy, the excuse by the paper's ad department is that 'it is a one time affair' and that they have to move with the times since they cannot ignore revenues etc. Regarding the obnoxious condom ad, the Reader's Editor also did not approve of it himself.

That is all for the present.
Partha Krish.

Early Days - Late Avathar

2008-01-04T04:52:00.000-08:00

NAMASTE: New year greetings to all my friends and fellow bloggers. 'Better late than never' is the adage and hence though late by nearly two eventful years {National, International, Social and Personal}, I have decided to jump into the ring once again. When I started blogging first, there were only a sizeable number of bloggers and a handful of Indian bloggers with whom I was in contact. Now my joy knows no bounds with the fact that not only innumerable bloggers have made blogging rich both on content and quality, but several domains and opportunities have appeared on the horizon offering chances for the blogging community to indulge their passion and earn some income too. It all augurs well, but it must be borne in mind that the basic principle underlying 'Blogging' is to bring people together irrespective of ethnicity, nationality, caste, creed, religion and gender. There may be commercial lurings too but one cannot lose sight of the vision and goal.

Well, I have many things to share with all of you, who I consider as Godsent 'Rainbow' in the sunset period of my life. I am just eagerly waiting for the engineer to come and set right my desktop as I am not used to the laptop that I am currently forced to use.

So once again wishing you all a very peaceful, prosperous and pious New Year.
Partha Krish

Indibloggies criteria and goals - yet to come

2005-12-09T01:55:00.000-08:00

Friends: On 4th, I mentioned in my blog about the site http://www.indibloggies.com, wherein I had asked for some enlightenment from any of you as to the various formulations of the above site including the norms, criteria etc. for awards and also the composition of jurors and waited for your responses.

Meanwhile, Chennai is under the threat of another cyclone 'Fanoos' today or tomorrow with severe intensity. One of the bloggers asked why Maran did not take Gates to Taramani IT complex and even suggested that Bangalore roads are no better. The comparison is odious and unnecessary.

We should consider a guest's background before we start taking him through hazardous road conditions. With water-logging still stretching upto Perungudi, the promised six lanes not in place so far, the starting of the work with rubbles all around, with Buckingham Canal smell and posing an ugly picture in any case and with traffic always haywire, is it right on our part to invite (drag) him to visit the IT towers now? Why can't we wait till our infrastructure is in place? Already he has committed himself to some huge investments to be made and surely we can showcase all of our facilities a little later, when everything will be top-class.

Even in his post, Thennavan has only highlighted the lack of publicity or even a mention on Chennai's IT facilities by most of the north and western region newspapers. He did not deride or degrade Bangalore or Hyderabad or Pune. After all, we are in India and are Indians and hence want India to develop as a whole, not wishing a lopsided development. Economic development and investments region-wise depend on so many factors like the region's natural resources, manpower, infrastructure (which include sea and airports) and so on and so forth. India is one and Indians are united. This is or should be the Mantra for ever.

Wishing you all the best.
Partha Krish.

blogging and flogging

2005-12-07T04:03:00.000-08:00

Friends pl don't be taken aback, by ,either the title or my post.I am honestly putting forward my views.I have always maintained that blogging fosters friendship and promotes "Universal brotherhood".Though this is not the only way, blogging as an effective communication tool, could contribute towards this goal.
But certain trends or seen, wherein flogging is done not only by external forces but also by family quarrels amongst bloggers

In 2004 I read , a blogger fromBombay shut his blog as he would neither drop the post nor compromisr on his viws,under a threat from a leading daily from Bombay.
Now, here, after the bloggers meet, I heard that a friend had removed her blog,in the face of onslaughts,by some fellow bloggers for presenting certain matter,without acknowledging the source or the authors.
Even if it is technically argued to be on the verge of plagiarism What is the Harm?even on moral grounds R WE self appointed moral police force to be on the watch for errant bloggers?
Similarly, while I refrained from,blogging ,about the worst type of treatment meted out to us by British Airways ,on our return from U.S,without even having regard to our age and food habits(being strict vegetarians and one of us not being served with 'AVR' but with mushroom),my son
'thennavan'in his anguish, mentioned it in his blog,only to get a negative comment from an 'ANON'blogger in support of B.A,even insinuating that we could be quarrelsome,and at the end not wishing to go on with a bad taste 'thennavan' deleted the post to avoid further bickerings.
I am mentioning all this, only to stress the point that blogging be taken in good and positive spirit only to foster frienship thro'E.Communication.We are supposed to promote more bloggers.
Even the efforts to divide the bloggers or encourage personality cults should be resisted with all the will and might.
I hope fellow bloggers of all hues will ponder over this and even those who disagree with me may agree to disagree.(Pl see my earlier post under bodhimaram while discussing relationships)
All the best Partha krish

Indibloggies and independant assessment

2005-12-04T04:12:00.000-08:00

Friends I happened to go to chakkarapani's graffitti and found a link to indibloggies.org and was happy to see 2 of the jurors known to me one personally especially during the bloggers meet on 27th nov sri Kripa sankar and the other 'lazy geek' guru subramaniam of seattle through blog and mail.I congratulate the jurors espex\cially these two since I know them
.That brings us to the intersting Qn of awards,assesment,scales and yardsticks.
If any of U can enlighten me on this I will be grateful.All the best. Partha Krish

cricket old and new -Nostalgia

2005-12-03T03:36:00.000-08:00

First I would like to mention the fact that, what I wrote on' meteorology and man' under the bodhimaram.blogspot.com has been reinforced by Dr.Abdul Kalaam, our preident, while at Chennai ,who had himself tasted the bad weather,seen the reports of the govt and N.G.Os as well as following the pronouncements of the Meterological dept.
Now coming to Cricket, I am not only an ardent fan but a player too having played for 'Srirangam HighSchool-1944 to 46 and represented the team from National College,Trichy1946-48.When I came to Madras in 1949 I was residing in venkateswara Hostel Triplicane.Before joining the hostel I was staying out and dining in'Vaishnava Lodge' an eat out run by one M.J Rangaswamy, elder brother of the great M.J.Gopalan famous cricketeer and hockey player.Till 1948 my idea of test matches were only thro'running commentaries of A.I.R by great men like Vizzy,Merchant etc.For about 5 years I was a regular visitor to the M.C.C grounds(now known as M.A.C.Stadium)nurtured by a great Englishman C.P.Johnston manager of Burmah-Shell.He spotted 2 youngsters witha great potentiality for cricket .One was Mr M.J.Gopalan who got into Burmah-shell,due to the efforts of Johnston and the other was the fiery, fast C.R.Rangachary who was in police service as inspector.Since he was in Govt service he had to face a lot of hurdles
to shine in cricket.Yet during the Australian tour.the giant Don Bradman described him as a 'Lion of a bowler".M.J.Gopalan captained Ranjis and also represented India in intrernational matches.Two memorable matches ,which I still remember with ecstacy are the 'Commonwealth
Team 1 and 'commonwealth team 2 in succesive years.That is when the 3 great Ws (viz)Worrel,
Wallcot and weeks played here.Rangachary was unquestionably the fastest bowler then.C.P.J tended and nursed not only the 2 players but also the pitches in Chepaulk like his eyes.Of course the Chennaiites owe the present stadium to M.A.Chidambaram Chettiar but the pitches have been leased to the T.C.A and they have done a wonderful job in maitaining them but ,alas today,
due to the battering by the incessant rain, though the pitches were well covered by Parthasarathy the curator,the ground is in shambles.In those days, no major outdoor sports activity could be seen during monsoon period especially the N.E one.
It is a great disappointment to cricket lovers not to speak of the money loss too.All the best P,K

kalam and the call

2005-12-02T03:44:00.000-08:00

Dear friends many of u might have seen the news papers today but those of U who watched D.D National-regional(Podhigai) spl bulletin, this morning ,should have been very much impressed about his sane and sensible advice,tangible suggestions,answering questions and practical solutions.I would sum up briefly 3 important things ,which he said at 3 venues ,one at Vellore, the second at I.I.T and the third at Layola's B.M .
1 Before talking about national water grid ,connecting Ganga and Cauvery, he said.,connectivity of the main rivers of Tamilnadu (viz) cauvery,Pennar,palaar,Vaigai and Tambraparani is an immediate must, to avoid wastage of water during periods of plenty.
2 )7 million technocrats,engineers,medicos,IT specialists and scientists are coming out every year besides another 3 million B.Coms,B.Sc, B.Ls,C.As and so on and so forth and most of the students not planning earlier,seek Govt jobs and that neither the centre nor the States and their agencies can provide emplyment opportunities.He said, even while studying, they should develop an ambition to be atleast a small entrepreneur, devise ways and means, and then either individually or jointly start small but viable enterprises.He laced with statistics of nations which improved their economy only thro' small entrepreneurs and not big industrialists.He cited China
and I thought of thennavan's pen of 30-11-05 whrein he has drawn our attention to China's efforts in the face of Globalisation.Of course Dr.Kalam stressed the need for providing fecilities and finance by the state as well as other institutions to these innovative entrepreneurs.
The third
His appeal to the scientific community to intensify research on medicines.,environment and meterology.He emphatically said it is not sufficient to say a little in advance that it is going to rain but say how long and how much.(I invite the kind attention of fellow bloggers to my pr.post under the caption 'Meterology and man' whrein I have discussed this)

The happiest announcement by him other than these three was thatn in 2007 'A satellite exclusively for youth and youth affairs will be put in the space'He even confirmed that the P.M has agreed on this.He said he had made the suggestion to Putin and some space scientists while in Russia as the thought occured to him while visiting a cosmodrome.What a Great man!
Now, we all know, Russia is very advanced in space science and so is U.S.What a wonderful scenario would it be, if we have a common "YOUTH SATELLITE" .
It again brings us back to what I have been saying about the "Universality of thinking" and ' UNIVERSAL BROTHERHOOD. Like the sun about to shine after rains, the sun of hope is rising in me, amidst the confused clouds of politics,bogotry,indifference and so on.All the best Partha krish.

meteorology and man

2005-12-01T03:10:00.000-08:00

Friends: I have written on the above subject with some anguish but erroneously under my blog
bodhimaram.blogspot.com .Since this is not a serious enlightenment affair it should have come in this.Pl do visit that blog.Thanks. All the best Partha krish

Universe and the unity of bloggers

2005-11-30T03:51:00.000-08:00

Friends :namascar;U might have seen in my previous blog laying stress on the universal aspect og blogging besides being fun,info exchange,greetings,etc.Infact Hari the hadron has welcomed this concept.To reinforce my concept let me quote the message ofHoly Mother Sri Sarada Devi aswritten in his book by Late Ranganathaananda the head of Ramakrishna Mission published
on the occsion of 150th birth anniversary ofHoly Mother in 2003.
"---Learn to accept every one as your own
----no one is alien to you
-----The whole world is yours"
Scientists are still working, conjecturing on the possibility of not only living matter in Mars(Martians) but also in other astral bodies.Greecians,Indians,and Hebrew kabaalas have all a fund of ancient literature on these aspects of 'Universality"Ex our Viswaa Mitra(friend of the universe}David Frawly has written about 5 books on ancient civilisations and one of them is
'The myth of Aryan Invasion"wherein interchange, exchange,early science,cow heads,and various topics are discussed.While the nuclear threat is real to humanity ,it is a pity individuals,societies, ,going nuclear, even in their mind set.
I have great hopes on Blogger community and I hope to live to see this. All the best..k

sweet meet-meet again

2005-11-28T03:45:00.000-08:00

more than Krishna sweets! yes, the blogger meet at Amethyst,CHENNAI on 27th largely due to the efforts of kiruba and like minded bloggers of all hues.
Well was it a grand success? i wouldnot say so.This is the first meet me amd my wife attended and may be itis too early to say that;but certainly it did what I have been insisting:that the underlying motto of blogging is not for mere fun and frolic but to bring together the spirit of 'universal brotherhood' in the blogger's way.To me this meet had achieved it.One suggestion that I wish to make is that though the whole meet is informal and as rightly stated byb Kriba that there is no agenda,yet inview of the fact that some of us are there for the first time and some from faroff places like VIJI,it would be better todevice a method of introduction to each other so we could know whom r we talking to and share info with them.
Though the organisers did give an ID card with name and site,many R not their real names besides the dusk time,the lawn surrounding with feeble ground level lights made it difficult to read or distinguish.
If it is possible,the list of bloggers,their real name where available,the site name etc can be prepared in advance aftewr ascertaining their convenience thro'Kiruba's blog and then a printout made and copies got and distributed at the meet and it would also be nice if one could introduce many whom he or she knows.
Anyway all is well that ends well thanks to Kiruba and friends,weather and the blogging spirit.
Our spl thanks to Ganesh who maintains Rupya.com for bringing out a number of snaps.
Such of those who were kind enough to catch all of us in various moods and poses may kindly load them in their blogs which would make everybody happy.As I was telling Kiruba at my house, a leading jounalistic light of Chennai ,years ago, said in a club meeting which I attended said"what a writeup would say in a paragraph or two, a photo would quickly convey" aaaaSo long and all the best.

rain in vain

2005-11-26T03:17:00.000-08:00

Friends!While eagerly awaiting for the bloggers meet tomorrow I am equally concerned about the rain, playing truant.Even now it is raining and most of U will be aware of the great tragedies in about 6 Dts where the loss of human life,properties and crops are on an unprecedented scale.Tamilnadu was always praying for water being the life line but the same water is now destroying everything."Thanneer thanneer enru engiyathu poga
Thanneer inru Kanneer aaga maariyathe"
Let us all pray for the well being of all of the people of TamilNadu,Andhra and karnataka
Ofcouirse there will always be arguments galore on whther is wholly or partially manmade with for and against encroachments,unauthrised buildings,bad maintenance of rail roads,tanks reservoirs,ponds etc but this is not the time!The bountiful nature has also become over enthusiastic this time resulting in tragedy following in succession "The Psunami".
Thennavan's thanks giving which I have seen only just now is great and the comments of friends are equally great.Kiruba is on a new boat and we all hope he will go places,meet people,trade information and communication and also introduce all the bloggers to a new realm of modern info moguls. All the best to all of U.Partha Krish

Thank God. we meet

2005-11-24T02:20:00.000-08:00

At the outset i should express my gratitude to all of U for considering me as one of U whatever my age is.Next my heartfelt thanks to Kiruba(Kripakaran-(one who extends His merciful hands}for giving us both a life time opportunity to meet,know, interact and exchange views ,ideas, concepts, with the most enlightening group of people who ,we have sofar been,knowing only through blogging.
You might remember when I started blogging while in U.S,I said my sole aim is"SARVE JANAAH SUKINO BHAVANTHU"while presenting myself to the bloggers.Tamil lovers pl excuse me.I am not a sanskrit student nor do I profess to know it well.My IInd language both in school and college was Tamizh.But I am no linguistic chauvinist.Any language if it can communicate between two or several then it is O.K for me.The above quotation literally means that "Every one(all)should be well"
I just happened to visit after a long delay Thennavan's blog chennaicentral.blogspot.com and found in his 15th Nov post certain observations on blogging.I do agree. It is a 2 way communication or rather multitudinal communication even in the contents, subject to, ofcourse, the rules of the game.But i do go beyond that.For me blogging is not mere fun nor the easiest available mode of presenting the self and happenings.Even if it is argued that it is an electronic diary which i agree with I feel it has far more reach.To attain the noble goal of "Universal brotherhood"(Sisters may excuse me.No gender offense meant)It symbolizes every body without any caste,color,creed,country,gender,age,.considerations.
It is in this context we both feel so happy to meet some of U thanks to the large heartedness of Kiruba who even went to the extent of offering to call on us, to pick us up for the great event,with his family.Though I am off blogging for exactly 2 months now,i still vividly remember his exuberance in admitting his child in school and his ecstacy when his wife delivered the 2nd child.This is the first time we are to meet fellow bloggers in person.
When Kriba phoned up I was not only surprised but I just narrowly escaped from being hospitalised ,thanks to the timely advice of my illustrious wife who argued with the Doc and took me back home for a stomache disorder which she firmly believed could be cured at home with harmless medicines.diet and rest.She is right.Now I am feeling fit and eagerly awaiting the happy home comoing of bloggers.
En Iniya Nunbargale!ungalai santhikkum naalai aavaludan ehirpaarkum Partha krish
All others whom I am not fortunate to meet I extend my heart blessings with prayers to Lord Almighty(in whom I firmly believe)to shower all the best on all of U.

sad parting

2005-09-23T05:05:00.000-07:00

namascar blog friends!back again after a gap!no more hassles in internet!purely a case of dad giving in space to his son for more than a month while dad was busy trying his best to get him auspiciously trapped.As time has its way,Mukundan(Thennavan) is leaving today to washington D.C his mission unfulfilled.I hope he will continue to blog from there encouraged and supported by all of U who R wonderful people.
A week back an article appeared in Hindu Metroplus by a lady who wrote under the title"blog sisters are here" and I sent a letter to ED in metromail(not found fit to publish) stating the whol;e approach has been flippant on a more serious subject such as blogging and especially since many of our women bloggers have been very enlightening and enthusistic.She picks out a few western and ananimous bloggers and justifies their onslaught on men besides sympathising with them for hiding their identity.I felt sad.She even says their philosophy of "love 1 but marry another"or U can extend the hospitality of love to more than one but finally hope to settle with somebody.I am sure many of U would also feel sad over this.All the best to all of U P.K

early days rain and strain

2005-08-05T08:02:00.000-07:00

Dear fellow bloggers;Surprised?Me too! with usual hiccups!Today I was lucky to catch the internet lion in its den.The rains have battered Mumbai.Strains are developing in the political horizon in Chennai.Stress and strain seem to have not spared me as well what with BSNL also playing truant besides Hutch who suddenly disconnected my cell owing to somebody raising an objection on the new number alloted.How R things going with all of U.I hope and pray U are all happy.U might remember my writing ABOUT Grand Anicut dividing TRICHY and THANJAVUR Dts with a photo also.Yes now it is water water everywhere there.Except Coleroon(Kollidam)People in the Delta area are all happy.Aadi 18 was celebrated with gusto.
We also prepared"PULIODARAI","thengai saadam" "dadiyonnam"( THE THAYIR SAADAM WHICH IS THE FAVOURITE OF tHENNAVAN)"appalam and vadagam fried,"Sarkarai Pongal"etc.i am sorry I have induced your saliva to secrete in large quantities.So long.All the best.Partha krish

earlydays and the present trend in songs

2005-07-28T22:23:00.000-07:00

dear fellow bloggers:Some of U might have seen my comment on thennavan's audio blogging.as stated there the song comes dynastically probably during british rule, since U will find in the complete song traces of the then modernity combining divinity with society.My late Ma-in-Law who was a neighbour and co-singer with the late M.S,.S under the tutelage of Shanmuga Vadivu.mom of M.S.S,learnt it from her aunt and used to sing the several stanzas with devotion.
In contrast is Thennevan,s repeat of "Sahana" song picturised with that wonderful actorPrakashRaj, showing the modern trend and yet kepping the melody and philosophical mood of the scene.I do not agree wiyh many of U on the title song for various reasons.The Raaga is one of the most beautiful "SAHANAA"handled by the trinity like the "Vandanamu Raghunandana" and also deftly used in several southrn Langyage picures but here Bala Murali's rendition was loud, noisy,lacking clarity of the song addes with a noisy orchestra thus loosing the mellifluous melody with a patch of pathos,.Of course the songs of Dr.Kritiya are all thought provoking.I will see if with some technical help here ,I can load all the stanxas without bothring mukundan(Thennavan)Have a nice day partha krishna

early days and back with a bang

2005-07-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

Dear friends: Y'day i started blogging again with a ref to Ramya kannan's exemplary work.as news of woes and ills of Bombayites drip in I feel sad.I phoned to my brother-in-law at Thane whose brother-in-law is in dadar without water, elec.phone etc, and i got the reply that it is pretty bad with epidemics to follow.Atleast he had phone.Added to that is the loss of life and properties of Bombay High N tragedy.Now one more disturbing news.Scientists and experts have opined that the slow eruption in a volcano in a small uninhabited islet near andamans could escalate, send a series of eruptions in Bay of Bengal affecting eastern coastal beltsd of tamilnadu and Andhra.
The happy news is Youngsters and elders have come together for voluntary services to the needy under an umbrella org including ex D.G of police,advocates retd govt officers,lawyers etc
More to come Partha krishna

earlydays and and the aweful prsent

2005-07-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

dear friends: After a long gap i posted y'day but before i could post it ,E.B of Chennai was kind enough to stop me that too after3 long days of waiting fir BB internet
Already faced with a plethora of problems on landing here in april end, the everest of whch was my losing battle with an absolutely unfriendly VSNLTATAINDICom and after succesfully installing BSNL BB from 10 th july.Let alone my financial losses with Vsnl-TataInsicom the no of phone calls, sojourn by well meaning friends to their office,mental harrasment and disappointment of my wife not being able to chat with her sons,made me so very dejected I could not join U all.Especially my failure to respond to the kind words and condolences of my friends whose names i mentionrd in the lost blog.even now I am worried whether elec could go off any moment or IN connectivity disrupted;
Kudi\os to Ramya kannan our co bloggerof Hindu who highlighted the plight of a boy Devendran whao coming from a very poor family,ranked in Exam,got admission in Stanley Madical Colrge but could not join as he could not even pay a tuition fee of 6000/-This was published on tuesday and today funds are pouring from a92 year old astrologer Varadan to canara bank who have deposited 60000?- as soft loan in his mother's A/C.
Pl all of U congratulate Ramya Kannan for her humane thinking and using journalistic skills for a social cause.

I will try to post periodically subject to the vagaries of my Internet connection as well as the situation regarding power-cuts. I thank all my fellow bloggers who have left cmments on my blog and wish everyone all the best.

earlydays and the awful present

2005-05-28T04:40:00.000-07:00

My dear fellow bloggers:It was 25 th April i last blogged with a parting message from U.S.
After coming to Chennai i hve been put to a severe test by God both thro' men and divine matters.It was aherculean effort to get my internet connection from Tata Indicom-VSNL nexus and Lo!My younger brother passed away at 71.After the 10th day rites I am just back and we have 3 more days of our paying homage to the departed noble soul who was a quiet, contented,and duty conscious person.I miss him a lot.
WE JUST HAPPENED TO see Thennavan's FUN& PUN post on the blog titles and the comments.It is gratifying to note that the younger generation has the magnanimity to
appreciate good writings.I have been a benificiary myself.
I read Ramya Kannan's write-up in the front page on Bill Clinton's visit to nagappatinam Y'Day in today's Hindu.It is sheer joubrnalistic exellence.I phoned to my friend a senior head in Hindu and obtained her cell No since she has not yet returned from Nagai.
I shall blog again from Wednesday next.Wishing all of U the best of life
Partha krish

earlydays-leaving U,S-parting message

2005-04-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

dear blogger friends! It has been a great privilege to have been blogging with U all from an alien land,exchanging views.I have learnt a lot from all of U.Not that I am leaving blogging!In fact after I settle down at Chennai,my twin objective would be to blog with all of U again and also look for a good bride for "Thennavan".
My sincere thanks are to all of U irrespective of whether I had the pleasure of your comments or not and in fact to the best of my ability I have also visited many and put my views.All the best in the world be yours and Peace and happiness prevail in your lives.
I still reiterate my motto in my given profile"Sarve JanAh SukinO bhavanthu"
Partha krish

earlydays-journey contines

2005-04-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

We saw the grandeur of Grand Anicut and how it has made Thajavur Dt the granery of south India.If from T.V.Koil we proceed north towards Kollidam bridge( there is only one bridge in contrast to cauvery, linking the north and south)we come to a place called "Toll Gate".Once upon a time because of its srategic position of a junction for Ariyalur road,Salem Rd,national highway to chennai,besides connecting south this place was utilised for toll collections not only by the British and Arcot Nawab but also during 'ChozhA'rule.If we proceed west on salem Rd for about 10 miles along the 'Kollidam' river we reach Upper Anaicut,aka "Vaathalai",which is the other side of 'Mukkombu".It is here kollidam branches off and also a big canal "Iyyan VAikkal"
This is also a tourist spot with some fecility to relax,stay and eat in shade or the P.W.D rest house.
For cine lovers there is an interesting info here.At 'Vaathalai" there is a small "kuppy" road leading to a nearby "Shiva SthalA"(abode of Lord ShivA) called
"Thiruppachila Thurai).Thurai generally means a place near a river or a water piece.
But the name "Thiruppachi" seems to have been derived from a particular form of sickle used in the country side.Though the term became famous, after a recent Tamil
film,years back when I was in charge of this place I have seen these"ThirUppachis" made here and sold,and they used to accept the wheel springs of cars and trucks,and make the sickles"Thiruppachis" collecting only the labour charges.
I also gave a spring plate,got the sickle made and still have it in Chennai.
( to continue)

earlydays-anger-a pescription in tamizh

2005-04-19T14:55:00.000-07:00

Friends ! I came across an interesting info in a tamil website on how to control anger!All of U will agree that anger is not at all conducive either to the mind or to the body,no matter what justification is there for anger or "kObam"
Pl don't mistake me.Not that I was not angry!but it didn't get me anywhere.
The tips given are novel, simple and worth pondering and practising.
Wishing U all, all the best. Partha Krish

earlydays-from G.A to D.C again

2005-04-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

Friends: Y'day was the last day in which my wife gave a lecture at the temple on meditation.Bach flower medicine,'Fountain of Youth' exercises with demo by Mukundan(Thennavan).It was aloso the valedictory day for the Homeopathy lectures though the seniors have already formed and started a Homeo Study group.
After this we were taken to the house of a retd architect and where in a spacious hall all of us assembled to evaluate the classes and plan for the future.Since we are to leave in a week they jointly hosted a dinner in our honour and there were speeches,counselling etc.At 10pm we started with an audio presentation of "Chakra" meditation rendered by my elder son Dilipan, who has also, earlier,presented a "soham'recitation.There were about 20 people and there was absolute silence, except for the "Ohm","Beejakshra" and the instructions on the player.All were meditating very sincerly for 45 minutes.There was a great relaxation and jubilation over its effect both on the mind and body.There was a bonhomie amongst various age groups of 35 to 81.Like many other times, this was one of my happy moments and I thank God ALMIGHTY for His kindness.I have requested "thennavan' to upload some of the photo snaps of the meeting, exercise and the gathering. All the best p.k

earlydays-disturbing news for immigrant techs in U.S

2005-04-14T13:38:00.000-07:00

Friends: As I opened the news todaytwo disturbing news i saw concerning tech workers from immigrants side especially Indians in U.S.
http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=44939&headline=India~charge~freezes~US~wages
2)http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=44875&headline=Techies~in~America~face~nightmare
To some of U this may stir up your reaction.Does it? Partha krishna

earlydays-new year greetings

2005-04-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

Dear friends:- Today is tamil new Year "Paarthibha" and the month is "cHitrai"(Mesha)
It is also an imp year for malayalees as it is "Vishu" today.My sincere and hearty congradulations and best wishes to all of You.May the year bring plenty,prosperity and peace to all of us.We as usual celebrated it with an elaborate pooja,reading of new Srirangam "PanchAngam"(Almanac) and food with 'mOrkkuzhambu','vadai''payasam'and 'mango cum neem flower Pachadi' as special items thanks to my resourceful wife who even at 70 does her household cores,reads and takes notes,does 'Yoga' and 'PrAnAyamA'.
Mukundan was very helpful in procuring things for us though in the process he was delayed in his work.Our thanks are due to him. Partha Krish

earlydays-towards grand anaicut

2005-04-12T08:50:00.000-07:00

In T.V.Koil,just after the overbridge is a dusty road which is also bumpy when u travel either by car,bandy or even cycle but takes U quick in a short cut to"Grand Anaicut"about 8 miles east where the cauvery and Kollidam meet again, to assume new names as "Ullaar"Kollidam,Cauvery,VennAr, and G.A.Canal and start flowing into Thanjavur Dt,which starts at this place .From here on it irrigates almost the entire Thanjavur Dt,known as the Cauvery Delta system,by branching of again into various canals likeVennar-Vettar,Kodamurutti,Arasalar,ThirumalaiRajan,KOrayAr, with a number of regulators on all these canals, which earned the name"Granery of South India".
The "anaicut" or dam is even now called"Kallanai"(stone dam) in Tamizh,meanig "stone dam". (click on the picture below to enlarge)

The whole structure was built with granite,mud filling,lime mortar with stone shutters.History records the dam being built in 'Sangam'period of the ChOlA rule by ChOlA king 'Karikalan' somewhere 200 A.D while some put it as 1600 years back.The stone shutters were removed in 1830 and replaced by iron shutters,chains,roller wheels by one Joseph Cotton,a C.E. of Madras state who has built several anaicuts,barrages,sluices for irrigation in the erstwhile Madras State
I was fortunate in regularly visiting the great barrage in Godavari,near Rajamundry
which formed small islands by name 'Bobbar Lanka', 'Matthur Lanka' etc where I was
collecting an andromous fish"Hilsa ilisha" and breed them .
This 'Kallanai" itself is 1080 ft in L,45 to 60'B, and 15 to18' in depth.
The intersting thing is, Cauvery, branching off at "MukkOmbu" west of Trichy about 1o miles(i have mentioned this in my earlier post)as 'Kollidam' and 'Cauvery' again join here,thus making the whole stretch called "Srirangam Island" about 20 miles long
Though there is a main Rd upto Thiruverumbur from Tiruchy(the place deriving its name from"Thiru Erumbeeswarar" a Shiva shrine atop a hillock and where the modern High Pressure Boiler Plant is situated)and then a tarred Rd to reach Grand Anaicut,which ofcourse is a few miles extra,my suggesting one to go via the 'kuppy road'from T.V.Koil is to enjoy the scenic beauty of mangroves on either side and also visit the govt crocodile sanctuary on one side of the road.
Even after 1700 years and odd the majesticity of this dam can be seen and felt while
walking on the bridge besides the fore sightedness of our kings in harnessing rivers for irrigation utilising the knowledge and genius of technical workers. (to continue)

earlydays-an interception

2005-04-08T14:53:00.000-07:00

Some time back Thennavan posted about "Yoga" and I remember there was only one comment as if Yoga is not our cup of tea for Indians.But the lurking danger in the footsteps of Turmeric,Basmathi,etc is here. Now, copyright row over yoga in US

K YATISH RAJAWAT

TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, APRIL 08, 2005 09:07:29 PM ]

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MUMBAI: You've heard of the open source software movement, now it's the turn of yoga to fight for 'open source' in the US courts. Copyright and trademarking of yoga practices, something that is likely to shake up the roots of the centuries-old tradition, is now taking centre stage in the US.
Does the news stir up anything in U. P.K

earydays-journey thro' memory lane

2005-04-08T11:32:00.000-07:00

There was a time when the entire area of 'MAmbazha salai'was nothing but greenery with both the northern side of the river banks, full of trees and a small strip of land nearer Srirangam was known as 'Veereswaram', an old hamlet with mostly 'Thoppu' owners or lessees.The entire western side of main Rd N of this Salai is now occupied by a number of newly sprung houses and flats besides 2 schools.
If U go along this salai a little west, which turns into Srirangam,at the corner U can see the famous 'AmmAmandapam' a bathig ghat,with a sprawling 'Mandapam'.Even now amenities are lacking for the pilgrims who come to bathe in the river at this spot.
It attains more significance religiously as well, since Lord Rangaraja halts here on his sojourn for "Theertha Vari"
It is here near the 'mandapam' N.S.Krishnan and T.A.Madhuram, the famed comedy duo of yester years,built a palatial house for them, which was an attraction then, with its fountain,artistic sculpting etc.Since T.A.Madhuram's younger brother Late T.A .Balasubramaniam aka Balu for most of us, was my class mate, I used to frequent his house for combined study for tests and final exams..
Later after many years I met my would be wife, in her maternal uncle's house which was adjacent to Madhuram's house, since her 2nd maternal uncle, my name sake, was my college mate.I have very fond memories of N.S.K's munificence and humorous interludes.
Every time they were back from 'Modern Theatres' Salem after shooting ,it was a joyous day for everybody as N.S.K and T.A.Maduram liked the company of young and old and they were all there.We used to get Salem mangoes and gifts from them.
Now turning back to the main Northern Trunk Rd as we proceed and pass the Railway overbridge,we reach an imp place, one of the 'Pancha Bhooda SthlAs' of Lord Shiva
"THIRUVANAI KOIL" or "ThiruAnaikka'or 'Jambhugeswaram' as it is known.
One of the most beautiful temples of the south, with its majestic 'gopuram',a number of shrines with "Jambhukeswarar" and "AkilAndeswari" as the main deities.
Though different explanations and stories are given for the name of the Deity and place, like 'Jambhu' means water( one of the five elements) or that 'Jambhu' means elephant and that an elephant was elevated to 'Kailas', the fact remains that from my young age i have observed, as millions of others did,water used to come in to the sanctum sanctorum in large quantities and every hour the priests used to bale out the water.This was considered a miracle then and no scientific or technical explanations could be given by anybody.
Recently I saw not much of water seeping in, but it is still there, damp and watery.
( we will continue)

earlydays-journey-arduous but interesting-continues

2005-04-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

The bridges on Cauvery
Why do I say bridges? Before seventies, there was only one bridge, across river Cauvery,connecting the south and the north by road though there was and is a Rail bridge.Late in the sixties, as the traffic was very heavy on the old bridge and the Highway engrs felt that the bridge had become weak,the Govt under Kamaraj, sanctioned a new bridge but the Ers said, the new one cannot be built close to the old one and hence finally a road bridge came up far away(about 3 miles)east of the old one.It was very inconvenient especially for local bus passengers,taxis,cars,
bandys,cycles etc.Even the trucks, to avoid fuel wastage,started using the old bridge which was a dangerous thing to do.Later The Dt.Collector put his foot firmly on this and due to police pressure, truck operators used the new bridge.But the woes of people contd, and during the D.M.K regime, the then local minister,"Anbil Dharmalingam'took tireless efforts and thanks to him one more bridge was sanctioned, with the stipulation, it should be by the side of old bridge only.The same Highway Engrs retracted their original position and okayed the proposal and thus came the
third bridge.Now peopla are all happy as it is eay to commute.
As U proceed towards T.V.Koil one has to pass thro'"MAmbazha Salai".Actually it is on
the same trunk Rd after the bridge, with a 'salai'(country Rd) leading to Srirangam which was a short cut.
Here,were sold, exquisite mango fruits,surpassing even RAjhaMandry(RAjaMahendra Puram) of Andhra.About 10 varieties of mangoes were on sale, for cheap rates and the topper was 'ImAm Pasant" though "Malgova","dhadi Pasant","PAAdiri""Neelam" and grafted varieties like"Bangaloora" were also on good demand.The reason for this abundance was, while already there existed Mango trees all along the banks of Cauvery,
the illustrious"Chinni" of Thathachariar clan of Srirangam, took keen interst in growing quality mangoes,spent a lot of time and money,producing these tasty varieties.His mango garden was,and even now is,known as "ThAthAchar ThOttam"'
As is the case all over India today,lamentably, most of these gardens or "ThOppus"
of mangoes have become concrete jungles, marring the beauty of the river,endangering the new inmates during floods,endangering the green ecology of river Cauvery and depriving people from eating nutritious and tasty fruits.( To continue)

Earlydays-journey continues

2005-04-05T14:45:00.000-07:00

Before entering the Cauvery bridge let us stop at a place called 'Chintamani".This is on the banks of cauvery on a lower level than the trunk road,notorius for taking adventurous lives away every year.That was, when, as I mentioned earlier,Karnataka had a magnanimous mind and cauvery used to be full during S.W monsoon.Even as late as 1967, I camped at Kulithalai about 20 miles west,along with one Malhotra of Central Inland Fiseries Instt to organise collection, with a special net,hatchlings of carps from cauvery in june especially Catla catla whch was introduced by us in the fifties from calcutta and Andhra, in millions.The cauvery used to be full then.Now back to Chintamani,there is a geographical error in the terrain close to the shore in about half a dozen places, where water gushed in, to form a whirlpool, powerful enough to push a person down.Even those who knew swimming, fell victims many a time.To this day I am not able to find out why this place got its name.This place has a religious significance also."ThiruppAnAzhwar" a devoted 'Sri vaishnava' savant from the "PAnar' caste belonging to woriyur used to come daily here (Chintamani), stand opposite to Srirangam Tower and worship the Lord across the cauvery, mentally, singing hymns(Pann)in praise of Lord Ranganatha, though he had never visited the temple for fear of offending the priests and others, since he came from a low caste.The Lord who was moved by this asked his chief priest to go and bring him to His presence.The priest crossed the river,came to "ThiruppAnAzhwar" and requested him to come with him but Paanan refused saying his feet should not pollute the sanctity of the temple.Then as per the wish of Lord himself, the chief priest carried him on his shoulders all the way across cauvery and brought him to the Lord's presence.Seeing the beauty of Lord,struck with awe and wonder he composed 10 songs describing the Lord, known as "amalaAdipiran " which is considered to be a sacred document even today.Though I wish, I had, Tamizh fonts to describe another great teacher's praise of this 'AzhwAr', however I will give the first two lines in English.
"Umbarthozhum meignanathu UraiyurAn VAzhiye:
UrogininAl KArthigaiyiluditta Vallal vAzhiye"
As we go we can see the beauty of the bridges then the place 'MAmbazha SAlai' in our journey.(to continue)

earlydays-Trichy(Woriyur)-T.V.Koil -on-journey

2005-04-04T12:41:00.000-07:00

Why woriyur in Trichy? when there are places like Tennur,Puttur,BhimaNagar,town,
Melapudur etc!simple.Historical and religious background.Why is Woriyur not agriculturally productive, being sandy for several centuries?Here comes the historical,story.That was when,ChOzha kings were ruling with Woriyur as H.Q,.Kambar was the poet laurette.His son Ambikapathi was executed for making love to the king's daughter Amaravathi.Stricken with grief, Kambar, who wrote the entire 'RamAyanA' in Tamizh verses,left the place,cursing that "Woriyur be engulfed by sand from mother Cauvery" Tha actual wordings were"Chozha vala Nadu sOrudaithu enbathu mAri Cozha vala naadu Mannudaithu pOgattum:KAviri Thai ooraikollattum" Incidentally U could see a lot of sand dunes between "Kudamuruuti" bridge and Woriyur and ofcourse now most of the area is getting converted as residential and commercial complex.
What is the religious significance? "NAchiyar Koil" meaning the temple of the consort of Lord 'RangaRaja' of Srirangam who comes here, stays in the temple,gives
"Darshan' and then go back,only to be confronted by his main consort"RangaNayaki"
This happens in the present tamizh month 'Panguni or palghuna(Mar 14 th to apr 13th)
and the day in 'Panguni Utihram' is a special day in Srirangam temple since there will be arguments and counter arguments between the Lord and his main consort,ably presented by the respective lawyers(Usually the temple priests or learned elderly}
and moderated and passified by anothr priest on behalf of "Nammazhwar" who was an ardent devotee of the Lord who has sung more than 1000 hymns in praise of Lord, and finally after truce is maitained, the Lord would sit with his consort RanganAyaki the whole day and give 'Darshan' to devotees.This is a unique feature in Srirangam only.( more will come)

earlydays-news and views

2005-04-04T07:19:00.000-07:00

Here is a news
Since we all know what Oberoi did,how long he stayed in cuddalore,how many offers he turned down,to attend to this work,it is worthwhile to know your views.P.K

earlydays-Trichy-T.V.Koil-Srirangam-contnues

2005-04-01T14:01:00.000-08:00

friends! all is well that ends well! The mist has cleared.All R happy. O.K. now back in our journey
Another notable place in Trichy is the huge Gandhi Market.Now it may be smaller than Koyambedu (of recent origin)but was bigger and well laid ,when compared to "kothawalSavadi".It was the centre of economic activity for all types of traders.
Plantains were the dominant commodity of all.Scores of plantain leave budles,plantain raw and fruits,banana,Rajacinder,they were all there attracting prospective buyers as well as on lookers.
The shops nearer the market did roaring business and exporters of fruits and vegetables were all around the place negotiating the prices with hands under a towel.
Cattle,groceries,grains,pulses, were happily purchased by wholesalers to be taken to other Dts including Madras.
Among the fruts the plantain variety"RasthAli" was the most popular and much sought after.These came mainly from Lalapettai,Iyermalai and villages in the Kulthalai-Karur belt.
There were not very many industries inspite of a good infrastructure avilable in Trichy. Pettavoithalai Sugar mills(due to abundance of sugar cane around)Trichy Steel Rolling Mills were a few worth mentioning.It must again be recollected that the
South Indian Raiways were the main job providers for the educated,skilled and unskilled people beisdes innumerous temples around which provided succour to many.
Inspite of it there were 3 colleges for men and 2 for women.The National College,
(co ed till 1952)The ST.Joseph's,Bishop Heber all men's and Holy Cross College and Seethalaksmi Ramaswamy college both exclusively for women.Jamal Mohamed College came a little later.Srirangam and Trichy also boasted of a number of High Schools and ofcourse English was the first language and there were exclsive Anglo-Indian schools
also where all subjects were in English only.( to continue(

early days april

2005-04-01T11:34:00.000-08:00

Sorry: it is still 1st here but Hindu have updated to 2nd now.pl see head lines dated 1-04-05 P.K

earlydays-april 1-still

2005-04-01T09:17:00.000-08:00

It starts about This day, a century ago
100 years back
P.K

earlydays-april 1

2005-04-01T09:13:00.000-08:00

here it is
P.K

earlydays-April 1- Need not be a fooling day

2005-04-01T09:07:00.000-08:00

Yes? why april 1 be a fooling day/ what is the sin committed by it?Kripa said the Gmail 1000 M.B waslaunched on that day!
Here is how an Indian celebrates that day
It should be an eye opener if U R an Indian!
Partha Krish

earlydays-a small digression and clarification

2005-03-30T15:08:00.000-08:00

I am thankful to my young friends who hace encouraged me to write though, as Kiruba says,I am not writing only for others, though ultimately it reaches every one of us.
When I wrote on Numerology it was due to a request from Desikan.I continued in bodhimaram.My son suggested a separate blog and opened it for me under brighu which was later christened as jothidam.The idea is to place astronomical,numerical wonders as found out by our own ancestors without coming to the conclusion, that only the westerners have brains for inventions and India and Indians are way behind centuries!
I do not expect much of comments on these posts 'bodhimaram" and "jothidam" since I am aware that it is not in their cup of tea, but,I sincerely believe that knowlege has no barriers.
All the best to all of U. P.K

earlydays-Trichy and railways-Rock Fort Temple

2005-03-30T08:16:00.000-08:00

Friends: 2 disturbing things.1 Y'day I posted one, on Rock fort Temple (here is a picture below)

and South Indian Railway in continuation of my condolence blog on closure of GOC workshop, which was totally lost due to some server error, (till this morning) and(2) Kiruba's painful decision to abandon blogging!Well as commented by him all good things must come to an end.
After I wrote on E.R.Highschool and Bangalore Mart, the disturbing news of closure of Golden Rock workshop came.Ttichinopoly Junction was the H.Q of South Indian Railway one of the 3 major constituents of amalgamation, known as Southern railway now, the other 2 being(1)Madras and Southern Maratta Railway covering the BG of N of Madras,and
(2) Mysore State Raiway covering the MG of old Mysore State.
South Indian Railway had jurisdiction of BG upto Podanur near CBE,almost whole of Mg except old Mysore State and Moutain Rail system in Nilagiris.It had very many unique
systems and constructions, as my Dad, who was a Signal&Telecom Engr at Trichy Jn,used
to describe.The Pamban bridge near mandapam,the Punalur Suspension bridge,the kazargode bridge and upgradient,interlocking sustems,key systems,wet cell batteries and dry batteries,Manual and power operated inspection Trollies etc, to name a few.
During world war II, the HQ was heavily guarded by paramilitary forces especially the only available Wireless transmitter and tower station for telecommunications.When at times I had to urgently meet my father in his office situated in a 'bridge building' in 1st floor,I had to send word thro' guards and he used to come down to see me for a few minutes.The Golden Rock Workshop was also unique in several ways for attending to all rolling stock,permanent way requirements,mechanical side of signals and station equipment etc.My uncle T.S.Rangaswamy a renowned Foundry Engr was production Engr and I have seen and heard about the glorius achievements of this workshop which sadly is to be closed by the Ry.Board.
The first and foremost land mark of Trichy is the 'Rock FORT TEMPLE" aka
"Ucchi Pillayar Koil"situated in the busy fort area with a Vinayaga statue on top of a hillock, with steps leading to it.Climbing the steps upto the top is an exhilarating experience.Old as well as the young were enthusiastic in climbing it, after the darshan of "Maanicka Vinayagar" down below at the start of the footsteps.
Once U reach the top,the feeling is indescribable.The breezy wind,panoramic view of the entire town bringing into view 'Teppakulam',St.Joseph's college and church,Rlways
scenic beauty of river Cauvery and the bridges are all only a part of the happy emotions.
Of course some of us way back in 1946 went on an expedition, after cutting the Maths class in college(it was boring as evening was approaching,the return train to Srirangam being a little later and hence the adventure)up the hill taking a risky,dangerous rocky route to reach a cave like place on the side of the hillock to
play cards or "Adu Puli Attam".
Later my dad came to know of it and gently advised me to come back by bus if there was no class in the A/N which I faithfully did being ashamed of what we did without the knowledge of our parents who did toil day and night to see their ward come up in life.(more to come)

earlydays-shocking and sad news fromSouthern Railway

2005-03-28T08:37:00.000-08:00

Friends! as I opened the news today in Hindu, the most shocking and sad news has come that the Railway Board has decided to scrap the 75 yearold M.G Workshop at Golden Rock near Trichy.U may recollect about my writing while journeying, on Mr T.S.Rangaswamy a mechanical Engr and an ardent devotee of Lord Rangaraja.Well he was a productin engineer at this worksh op for 2 decades and what a glorious work it was doing!
It is all the more shockinf because the Trichy-Karaikudi line is still M.G only and periodic overhauling and refurbishing of MG trains and equipment is absolutely necessary for the safety of the Passemgers. Already a democles sword is hanging over the "Blue Mountain Train" which is the most breath taking journey to ooty.
It is high time the Railway Board comes down from its 'ivory towers' and go to the fields often to know the realities.
Pleas send condolence message to "Indian Railways" email or voice thro' Ur blog.Thank U
Partha Krish

This is Me!

2005-03-26T10:15:00.000-08:00

earlydays:-Journey from village to town

2005-03-25T15:49:00.000-08:00

Hi friends! East of Elamanur and NE of Kodiyalam is a place called Jeeyapuram famous in those days for reviving snake bitten souls.There was a noble soul working in S.I.R who had mastered the art of distant healing which he claimed was thro' a 'mantra' taught to him by a guru.Even during the British rule one Mr Reynolds G.M of S.I.R had issud orders that any body approaching the S.M.of any station that a person was bitten by snake the information be conveyed to this Gentleman by a Telegraphic info( At that time the only small wireless station was available only in H.Q Trichinopoly Jn) as an urgent message with details of gender, name,time of incident,place.People used to say that miraculously they were revived.
Another public spirited soul was Mr.Radha of South Indian Raiway(He was of my father's age then)who, single handed,organised a service brigade and got it attached to St.John's Ambulance.We were all drafted into it as we grew.There was not much of funds coming and all the cost of uniform,belt,shoes,transport had to be met by us thanks to all the parents then, who did not mind it as the brigade was to engage itself in public sevice during festivals,fairs,shandi etc.Only the head and shoulder decorations were supplied by the org.
The festivals at Kodiyalam,Trichy 'Thaayumaanavar'temple,Srirangam and Samayapuram were some of them, wherein after a rigorous drill and exercise with skill tests, we were taken to these places to help regulate the crowd,to immediately give first aid to those who fainted or fell exhausted,injured children and adults and also take them to the local doctor for more serious problems.Even the police except once,were supportive of the group.Only once when one Rajagopl Naidu was E.O there was a tussle between the police and temple workers and irked by the attitude of the police, the E.O sent an S.O.S call to Sirangam Highschool H.M and St.John's Ambulance brigade to send volunteers to help regulate the crowd and do other assistance which was a grand success.
From E.R Highschool to St.Joseph's Highschool and on to Srirangam Highschool where I finished my S.S.L.C it has been a tumultous journey what with trekking thro' paddy fields,travel in train, walking agin to school and again back home in my village late at 7 p.m with my grandma waiting with a native lighted torch or a hurricane lantern,were all difficult days but still green in my memory as these made mw look at life more pragmatically.
Krishnaswamy&co aka 'Bangalore Mart'near the Clive's battery is an unforgettable place which I presume is still there.We used to sell our old books and get second hand books in exchange for our next class at a much cheaper price than Palaniapp Bros
where new books were sold at twice the price.
Almost just opposite to E.R.High School was the "Peninsular Hotel' where, in the a/n,
potato masala packets were sold seperately for the school children for one anna( 16 annas made a rupee)a luxury for many children and some had it only once a week.
The 'Teppakulam' is a land mark even today but it is on the decay.It was very well maintained by 'Thayumanavar Devasthanam' and later when the municipality took over the maintenance, it became a dumping yard for garbages.
During Exams it was a sight to see all boys and girls lining up before the "Nandikeswarar Sannadhi" near E.R Highschool,praying for success in Exams.(to be contd)

earlydays-journey of over 60 years

2005-03-22T14:44:00.000-08:00

Good A/N.I am back after losing my way in my backward journey of more than 60 years.Somehow since I started blogging,young friends have been guiding me and goading me to write on philosophy,life, numerology etc,while the seniors here wanted health to be given importance.Thus I branched off and friends like saranyan and Desikan as also Chakrapani Sampath would now be happy.God is great.
Kodiyalam is a tiny village 11 miles by road and 9-1/2 miles if U can walkthro' paddy fields west of Tiruchy in the Karur-Trichy sector.The Railway Station is Elamanur just before ThiruparAithurai where Swami SidhbhavanandA had eatablished
an 'Ashram' and a highschool for the rural ,poor boys.This is the place where mother "Cauvery" branches off into two the branch being"Kollidam"(coleroon in Eng).Even today the whole area is so green that reminds me of an English picture of the yester years"How Green Was My Valley".The place is 'Mukkombu".Paddy usually was the dominant crop with 3 crops a year!('Mubbogam')'SambA' 'Kuruvai' and 'Thaladi'
Ofcourse next to that were plantain crops and it was a sight to see the dried leaves of plantain, stacked in the railway station,to be sent to various destinations and the plantain in raw and fruit form loaded on Lorries.Even today the place bosts
of 'Banana'( nendram} an exotic variety in huge Nos and U could see trucks lining up
to load them.The place was full of peace,plenty and prosperity.
Kodiyalam is just one mile from the station and in those days there was no direct transport to the village.One had to walk a mile from the station,5 furlongs from the main Rd or come from Jeeyapuram about 2 miles.Today happily a few buses from Tiruchy
serve this place
The leader of the village was an ardent congressman MrK.V.Rangaswamy Iyengar who
became a member of the Council Of States during the British Era much to the chagrin of the then powers.He was a man of great munificence,charitable and kind to those who came to him and also towards the cause of freedom struggle.
His father VAsudeva Iyengar was a land lord who, with the help of the villagers built a temple wherein was consecrated the Deity of Lord GopalaKrishna.A little later
when the icon of Lord Rangaraja of Srirangam was in danger of being taken again to
Delhi by the Sultan's army, the good samaritans of Srirangam made 5 duplicate icons
of 'Pancha LOgA' to hood wink the muslim army.When the original icon was established firmly again after one year,at Srirangam, the duplicate icons were consecrated at a few selected places like ThiruNArAyanapuram,Kodiyalam was one of the beneficieries
and here, the moving icon or 'Utsava Moorthy'is 'RanganAtar' an exquisite idol.The festivals are conducted by his great grandson K.V.Rangaswamy of E.C.C along with a few others like my family people with the manuel assistance of people from Srirangam
especially those who are working in Lord Ranganatha Temple.
When I was a kid the 'Masi' festival used to be an exciting one.All kids not only played on the sands but were given specific duties by the elders.We used to compete with each other in all fervour, to fan the lord with 'SAmaram',to carry the utensils,
to find a place in the charriotetc and in later years we even gave a helping hand to carry the various vehicles of the Lord with the Lord on it.
It is heartening that K.V.R alias Suresh is, inspite of his pressing work as V.P at
Chennai, camps here for the whole of the festival,and manages all the functions.
There were no caste differences.All the castes joined together to celebrate.During
'ChellAndi Amman' festival in"Kudiyana Theru' all the brahmins im 'Agraharam' put in
their efforts to make it a success.
It is this spirit that enabled the villagers to enact a 'Street Drama'aka folklore
in their street, named "Siruthonda NAtakam' meaning the drama revolving around an ardent 'Saivite' saint"Siruthonda NAyanAr".While singing the folk songs the hero and
the villain of the piece that is Lord Shiva will be arguing about the diet to be served to Him and the benefits of various vegetables will be indexed by the hero.
The same thing used to happen in the S.C. colonies where 'Muniyappan' festival used to be celebrated.All the land lords would not only liberally contribute but also , except a few orthodox brahmins the whole of 'AgrahAram'would visit the colony and take part in the festivities.This is what I meant when I said"How Green Was My Valley" (more to come while journeying)

numerology comes to an end in new blog

2005-03-21T08:48:00.000-08:00

Hi friends the the numerology part of the blog has come to an end under"Astrology Today" in brighu.blogsptdotcom.While I may be highlighting a few things on Astrology and Palmistry in the new blog I will be back in my journey of 60 years,
P.K

Numerology comes to an end here

2005-03-18T15:39:00.000-08:00

Hi friends:- With this post I will be concluding a part of Numerology so as to enable me to go back to my earlydays and the beauty of Srirangam,T.V.Koil,Trichy and Kodiyalam(My native village 10 miles west of Trichy on the Karur route).
Of course I will continue to write on Numerology along with Astrology and Palmistry since they are all interelated subjects, in my new blog brighu
As I wrote earlier each number is ascribed to a planet as follows.This is almost uniform in all systems except in Indian method of working.
Number 1-Sun
Number 2-Moon
Number 3-Jupiter
Number 4-Uranus(Raahu in Indian)
Number 5-Mercury
Number 6-Venus (Sukran in Astrology)
Number 7-Neptune( kethu in Indian)
Number 8-Saturn
Number 9-Mars
A lot of differing as well as coinciding qualities are attributed to people born under the influence of the planet/s as the DOB reduced to a primary comes under a planet and the Fate or Mensu as it is called in Japanese which is a total of DOB+month+year comes under another planet.
Pl remember these Nos are constant and firm
But the name number is the one that plays havoc since it is subject to change.
It is here that our players have a full sway especially the gullible.I am not suggesting that the alphabets have no significance in Numerology but that is to be worked out for the name of the business enterprise,Home names,project nomenclature etc.Numerology also plays its part in time,place and matter.For example U have been told a particular time is lucky to meet some one for a project,help,loan etc and U are not very particular about the exact timing or U are not able to make it at that time but U choose to meet him or her 15 minutes later and in these 15 minutes he may have had some problem; a bad or a sad news from home,from people above him or her
some other thing which diturbs his composure and then U meet him at the most inappropriate minute which according to a numerologist is not favourably vibrating or even inimical to your personal No, In all probability U may fail in Ur mission.
This number timing also has its place in Astrology called 'Muhurtham'.
Once we believe that our birth No is constant and also vibrates positively or negatively to another No then there are certain things which we can do like choosing a favourable car No,mobile No,Lottery TicketNo and so on and so forth.
we could fix a suitable jouney date,a dating date,a meeting date and the list is endless.
As I said earlier it is a question of individual perception.
That is all.Wishing all of U all the best. Partha Krishna

mystery of numbers-clarification

2005-03-17T11:31:00.000-08:00

Sorry friends. There was a mix up in composing and consequently the 'Chaldea'system of allotment of numbers got jumbled.here they are
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
A B C D E U O F
I K G M H V Z P
J R L T N W
Q - S - X
Y - - - - - - -
Thus U see there is no 9 alloted to any alphabet besides the rationale in alloting 2 letters to a No and 5 letters to another No has not been explained.There is no uniformity or symmetry in the allotment.No 9 stands for Mars and the poor planet left out with some modern numerlogists hazarding a guess that because 9 is a spiritual No it is left out(though 7 is also a spiritual No) P.K

mystery of numbers(contd)

2005-03-17T08:12:00.000-08:00

Under the 'Chaldean' system the following is the method adopted.
      1      2      3      4      5      6      7      8

      A      B      C      D      E      U      O      F

      I      K      G      M      H      V      Z      P

      J      R      L      T      N      W

      Q            S             X

      Y

Note No 9 is absent. While 8 gets only 2 letters
A B C D E U O F No 1 gets 5 letters.No logical explanation.As for No
I K G M H V Z P 9 they say it was left out because it is a i spiritual Number( as if 7 is not! )

Let us see the allotment under 'Pythgorean'

      1      2      3      4      5      6      7      8      9

      A      B      C      D      E      F      G      H      I

      J      K      L      M      N      O      P      Q      R

      S      T      U      V      W      X      Y      Z     (Ph)
All nine Nos are alloted
All the 26 alphabets get their Nos symmetrically.Now What I have done on this is to get an
"Inverted Pyramid' wherein the numbers totalled to each other is reduced to its primary and thus U can see the primary nos getting reduced as the bottom is reached with a final primary No.This is done since I believe each letter in the name interacts with the next to produce a phonetic.For example let me teke a simple name as below.

K A N N A N
2 + 1 + 5 + 5 + 1 + 5
3 6 1 6 6
9 7 7 3
7 5 1
3 6
This person's name No is 9 (Mars) 9 If he has initials or short names they are
also alloted Nos as per Pythgorean butkept seperately in their primary form and the planet ascribed to that number would form the basis for reading traits,tendancies,negative and positive attributes,education,career etc.

For what it is worth I have found this method to be more logical than the one mentioned first.
Ofcourse as I said earlier in all my bloge perceptions differ and if we delve deep into rationally then many of the astrnomical findings will come under strict scrutiny including naming them as Jupiter,Venus etc.While 'Venus' is a female goddess as per greek and the west it is 'Sukran' according to the indian computation.Uranus becomes 'Raahu' and neptune becomes 'Kethu' with
no space for Pleuto and the new planets under discovery.Well let me later elaborate on the planets themselves which are supposed to have an influence on the earth and earthly beings.

Number to Remember

2005-03-16T16:09:00.000-08:00

Mani has written encouragingly on Numerology blog. Thanks. As I said earlier it is a question of perception. When annual panchangs came we wondered at the accuracy. At a later date came epheumaric tables whch went far beyond annual castings. Now in Sun T.V the other day they introduced a 'local scientist' who has done a "panchang for ten thousand years" improvising over 5000 he did last year.All this again show the quest and urge of the mind for inventions and innovations. If some quacks misuse these it is due to the gullibility of believers, who in their own frame of mind try to escape realities.

Now coming to the systems, the 9 numbers are associated with a planet each. While the west following 'Cheiro' use 'Uranus' and 'Neptune', in Indian systems of Astronomy and Astrology these are not taken in. Instead they use 'Raahu' and 'Kethu' though admittedly they are nodes. Thus the qualities attributed to the planets differ according to east and west perceptions. Again the rationale in alloting Nos to alphabets (English) is also not fully and convincingly explained to this day. For example under the 'Chaldean" system widely followed, only 8 Nos are alloted to the alphabets. No 9 considered to be the culminating primary no is not alloted to any alphabet thus depriving "MARS" of its due share.

Again even in alloting the numbers no rationale is followed as some alphabets get 5 nos, some 4, some 3 and the rest 2. Under this system the number of the initials of the person are added to the name NO and a 'Kadambam' is made mixing all together and predictions based on this 'Kadambam' Or 'Aviyal' whatever it is.

Under the ancient pythagorean system followed by 'Kabalarians', numbers are alloted symmetrically including No 9 and since there are 26 letters only, in 3 cycles 26 letters are allotted and the No 9 in last cycle is allotted to the combined letters of PH as words starting with this ph have a different phonetic as in the case of Philomina, phantom, phallus etc. The initials since what it stands for, varies according to custom, family, social honour, dad or mom's name letter, Native place etc. is treated seperately and it is taken to be a genetic character feature having a positive or negative vibration over the individual. Upto this point there are 2 systems.

I have evolved a further improvement taking into consideration that the name letters interact with each other individually producing a phonetic effect which only identifies the person as it is the sound only that distinguishes the name and makes it distinct too. In this method only a primary number will be derived and compound Nos are avoided. How this system is done I shall explain in detail in my next blog with a table.

earlydays.number mysticism

2005-03-14T11:46:00.002-08:00

Hi!good A.N.'Number mysticism' that is how Pythagorus defined Numerology of today.
As U R aware 'logos' means science.Today it is a fashion to call each division of medical science a 'logos'or 'logy' and in many other humanities also this has come to stay as a practise.Chaldean who came very much later to Pythagorus called it Numerology meaning 'science of numbers'.Pythagoras was a greetian born in Samos islands but later settled in Italy.U R all aware of the Pythagorean theorem on rt angle triangle,but many of u may not be aware of the fact besides maths and numbers he was a genius in music,Astronomy and occult philosophy.He found out that it was the
numerical ratios that determine the concordant intervals of the musical scales.And he lived 2064 years ago!
What gives credence to his linking of numbers to heavenly bodies and consequent attributes, is,not only his deep insight into Astronomy and occult philosophy but also because in all his findings he intrduced a system or methodology ofaxioms,postulates,definitions and proofs, the modern world of science and technology insist upon.
though he himself did not write out his theories one of his diciples says
"Pythagorus taught that all things in the universe belong to the macrosystem and are
assigned and recognised within the matrix of perfected numbers."
In fact Pythagorus was the first to call the world"Kosmos" a greek word which has come to stay.He described his work as "Astral theology and number mysticism"
He was also the first man to pronounce to the world that each number has a distinct vibration and that when numbers join( as in the case of compound Nos)the vibrations are stronger or weaker
As said earlier the numbers were assigned to the heavenly bodies and here the trouble starts.Seven or nine?Western planets or orient planets?western definition of attributes or vedic indian definitions?Not only this.Other questions follow, on the differing methodologies,intrepretations,etc.How R we to reconcile and believe?
We shall try to delve a little deeper into to find out what this baffling and fascinating subject has to offer in our next blog.All the best.

earlydays-Dangerous Domain

2005-03-13T14:43:00.000-08:00

Hi!everybody! wish u all well.I am entering a dangerous domain "Numerology".why the epithat?Since it has baffled many,angered a few,disappointed some,but enriched the unscrupulous.Is it a science?Or art? or a hoax?The answers vary according to one's experience or perception.
Cheiro says it is the "Science of Numbers".Old tamil litrature says maths :"Enn Kanitham."
The Numerologists quote the Tamil poem "ENNUM EZUTHUM KANNENA THAGUM".True.They are the Windows of knowledge whatever that be.Numbers and letters came after the promordial sound.It is this phoneticism or sound that has been forgotten or overlooked by many a numerologist.Most Indian names have a strong phonetic application and are not bland life less letters.The letters were used to interact amidst them to form a word and a particular phonetic.Numbers were ascribed to the letters and then planetary influences for the numbers were evolved.This is the history of Numerology.Of course numbers were used scientifically to unravel the mysteries of the world and great men like Ramanujam,Einsteen,Oppenheimer etc were all engaed in that task but we cannot loose sight of Astronomy,Space Science,Meterology,and many other diciplines that have depended on theory of numbers.

earlydays and bodhimaram-new comer

2005-03-11T16:21:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends: I just wanted to share with U the happy news of my wife starting a blog exclusively for health and total wellness after being requested by her sons and me. She is eminently suited to write as she has already authored 6 books on Naturopathy,MagnetoTherapy,reflexology,Bach Flower Therapy,Reiki I & II graduate,and Reiki Art and Masters besides notes on hypno therapy,Sujok Acupressure etc.She was
a teacher, then a head of the dept in a women's college,then served for 24 years in a govt media org and taking a V.R.S she studied about 13 diciplines in 10 years and has been conducting classes,workshops,giving lectures, both in Chennai, India,as well as in U.S.A.She herself who had been a victim of modern medical jargons,tossings and tidings,had been courageous enough to come out of all that and do something for others and has so far succeeded in her efforts thanks to the grace of God Almighty.She will be writing in healersnetwork by Heal All.Pl bear with the delay of a day.
As for my blogs since the major burden of dealing with health and wellness has been taken over by my accomplished and qualified better half, I think I would deal with Philosophical matters in 'bodhimaram' and mundane matters of interest in my'earlydays'.
To start with,since Desikan suggested that I write about 'Numerology' I wish to start on that:what it is:how far efficacious or useful:various systems and schools of thought:crap commercialisation taking advantage of the faith,belief or anxieties if the gullible.
P.K

earlydays and bodhimaram-new comer

2005-03-11T08:30:00.000-08:00

This is the blog inadvertantly left out in my earlier post.

earlydays and 'bodhimaram'

2005-03-09T08:11:00.000-08:00

Hi folks!Fortuitious that when I stared I called"Srirangam the Beuty" but later it was 'earlydays' and now 'bodhimaram'. Apt since Gautham Bhuddha's early days were all royal, then life's disturbances,solo thoughts,search,bodhimaram and then realisation.That is how it goes.Hence in consultation with more senior friends hereafter I intend to write on all philosophical, mind matters,Yoga, and such things in my blog 'bodhimaram' which will include the contribution of seniors who are 84,80 and 78 years old.All mundane matters will come under earlydays'
All the best: Partha Krish

early days-sky and the mind

2005-03-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

As I wanted to continue my quest on'mind' the matter bacame funny.We always say"look up".As the fore goes upwards, as the smoke goes upwards, our mind is being trained to look up tho' the inner search is invaluable for Realization.Whilw I was musing and looking at the sky IT responded. In a differant way!The Angels showered their white petals again from the sky, a feast to watch but later a hazard also to watch.
While I will rty to answer the qurries of Eroteme later let me continue with my previous blog.
After the countdown,Visualisation,imagination,emotion and feeling and sensing try to consciously lower the brain energy from'beta' to 'alpha' by
1) creating your calm zone
2)Relaxation
3)adopt the rainbow technique(Visualise 'rainbow' not from the conventional way of violet to Red but Red to Violet in the reverse order.starting from red then orange,yellow,green,blue,indigo and then violet.
4)memory control and exercise( Tap the memory through 'Alpha'
5) putting all together
^) setting and meeting targets
Besides all this'Dream control Exerercise" is a trvel from 'beta' level to 'theta' level whch technique psychiatrists adopt in Hypnotism and hypno Therapy
While all these techniques R for training, channelising the mind to alpha level
at the end of all this is planting an affirmation in 'Alpha' mind that
" EVERY DAY AND IN EVERY WAY I GET MORE HEALTHY;
" " " " ' MORE PROSPEROUS
MORE WISE
' ' ' " " " " BETTER BETTER AND BETTER.
tHIS WILL relieve the minds of anxieties, tensions,anger and fear.
It will make both the material as well as spiritual quests easier in a calmer frame of mind
Now as to the Qn of Eroteme why take all these pains it is individulistic urge.Every body has an urge,quest, search, motivation and goal.It is left to the individual to choose whatever he or she wants.Though we belong to Class'Mammalia' we are endowed with reasoning power due to the grace of God.Hence we choose our path.
All the best to all of U. Partha Krish

earlydays-mind search continues

2005-03-05T17:06:00.000-08:00

The next step would be "count down'.What is it? Simply count down from 10 to 1 while still sitting alone and after the meditation.I am saying 10 only in the initial stages.As days go by U should increase it to 5o and finally to 100.Keep a stopwatch or any clock with U whch has a minute and seconds hand.after 'count down' see the watch for the time taken.2 things will be clear to U.1)initially from 10 to 1 may look easier but as U increase Ur tempo will slow down and the time taken is more.
2)As U practise an interst will engulf U and automatically U will try to count faster downwards but at the same time U will be dismayed that count down is not the same as counting up.
Now U should ask yourself why?
We are used to the mechanical brain functioning in a set pattern and consequently years of practise or training has resulted in counting up faster.The alpha mind which meanwhile comes in during your count down practises takes it but since it does not stay put for long it is implanted and all U are to do is to repeat so that after some time U will find it easier to count down faster.U might have observed some people or children with left hand or left side practises easily doing this since the right side brain functions more actively for them.
After this practise U will have 4 steps as follows
1)Visualise
2)Imagine
3)feel
4)sense
Let us discuss this further
Note: A few likeminded good samaritans and my humble self have opened up a seperate blog which atpresent goes in my name under the title"http://bodhimaram.blogspot.com
This due to a suggestion from Lata in her >lazygeek.net/gb

earlydays-mind and matter

2005-03-04T14:11:00.000-08:00

(continuing)The popular method to harness the potentiality of 'Alpha' mind is known as 'Silva' method as it was first formatised by Jose Silva who was a school dropout but learnt about the mind and its working while drafted to army service in one of the psychology classes.But, while the ancient Hindu systems followed by 'Siddars' and enlightened souls following Patanjali's 'Yoga Sutra', were kept as a secret or as a private preserve and the methodologies not cogently dicumented, this method came in handy for westerners as it seemed scientific and sensible.Now it is popular in India also.Again unfortunately it is too commercialised like Yoga,Praanic healing,Reiki which many claim to be masters and not only fleece U but make a hell of a tom-tom by ads,T.V shows and what not.And where is the time for those who struggle from morn to eve, to attend formal sessions,demos,classes and all paraphernalia associated with these systems.Hence I propose to suggest simpler,easy to adopt techiques,on a daily or weekly basis combining the orient and the west.
U remember in my pr.blog I said "unwind your mind".This is exactly where we start.We should remember that we have loaded or wound, countless thoughts by seeing,hearing,reading,tasting and feeling in our mind that at one stage, either due to age or due to some trauma the whole thing becomes blurred,hazy,incoherrant.
As the body accumulates toxins over a period of time due to several abuses so is the mind loaded with Toxins whch afflict the mind.This is what we should unwind or unload.
How do we do it?
First meditation.Don't get scared at the word!It is simply allowing Ur mind to cool off.U can do it in several ways and several postures.I have always found that
Solitude,a quiet place,a sound syllable like Ohm,a convenient sitting posture like"Padmasana' or 'Ardha Padmasana' and just looking straight at the wall or a fixed object or better still closing the eyes, as very congenial for meditation.Even the duration of a meditation can be flexible;there is no need to be rigid or regimentalise the process;Should be done daily at a convenient time;No new thoughts;No expectations;No digressions.Just feel as if either U R non existant or U R looking at yourself from above.Practise it for a month. U can see the enormous difference.During these trips Ur 'alpha' mind will be automatically be activated often and after a few steps which I will detail U can put in Ur affirmations in the mind at 'Alpha' stage and then will start your wonderful experiences.(To continue)

mind U -mind does matter

2005-03-03T14:00:00.000-08:00

"The greatest discovery of the 19th century was not in the realm of the physical sciences, but the power of the subconscious mind touched by faith. Any individual can tap into an eternal reservoir of power that will enable them to overcome any problem that may arise. All weaknesses can be overcome, bodily healing, financial independence, spiritual awakening, prosperity beyond your wildest dreams. This is the superstructure of happiness".
These are not words of a religionist or faith curer..This is from a lecture of a great scientist of 20=th century.When Sowmya suggested my blogging on this I was a little vary since many of the bloggers as I see are down to earth.Many blog only about themselves or lighter side of life like films,sports,jogging,marathon,actors and actresses,computers and the list is endless.I for a moment do not blame them as I am aware that,caught in a cobweb of a fast life with the mind loaded with anxieties,worries,expecrations,socalled success and failures, they are seeking a way out of all this by diversions.It is good too, as long as they do not try to find solace in more harmful ways.However as'Mind does Matter',the matter engaged my attention and here I am trying to do something which U can treat as"fishing in troubled waters" or "diving for pearls in Tuticorin waters".
It is now fairly well established we have a twin brain the left and the right- not the communist or capitalist brain-but an 'alpha' and 'Beta' brain.What does it mean?
Simply this.The left side is the practical,analytical and a mechanical brain.The right side 'Alpha" is creative,affirmative and positive.
U should not be suprised or feel offended if I have to say thatmost of us if not all
of us, use,only 10%of the potentiality of the right brain.It may be even less in some cases.Why? The answer is not elsewhere but with us.
It has been estimated that the "alpha" mind works in about 7 to 14 cycles per second.In other words the "Alpha" state of mind comes alive every 4 minutes in an hour.Unfortunately we are not aware or sure which 4 minutes in that hour the right side is activated.Now we have to make a conscious effort to train that part of the brain to think the way we want it to be so that we could be 'Super Men'.
Unwind your mind:-(will continue)P.K