Think or sink!

[Visalakshi Ramani]

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On the first day in the play school my little grandson cried for his mommy till the teacher had to give in! On the second he cried a little but made new friends.

On the third day he did not cry and learned to sing "Do re me" He has school only twice a week in August and for four days a week from September onwards.

Now he cries saying that he wants to go to school EVERYDAY !!!

Life is like that!!!

My little grandson became very fond of school after going there just for three days! The secret was out yesterday.

His mother who is volunteering in the school plays with him outdoors for the first two hours.

Once inside the class room he becomes the monopolist
of the lap of one of the four teachers and makes her sing for him for the rest of the class hours

So WHY NOT???

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

"அது லலிதாவா? வசந்தாவா?"

"அது நாயகியா அல்லது தர்பாரா?"

"அது யாராக இருந்தால் உமக்கு என்ன ஓய்!
வந்த வேலையை மட்டும் பாரும்!
கச்சேரி கேட்க வந்தீரா அல்லது
மாமிகளை நோட்டம் போட வந்தீரா?"

இது போன்ற கேள்விகளும் அதற்கு
புதுமையாக வரும் பதில்களும் என்னை
சிரிக்கவும் சிந்திக்கவும் வைக்கும்!

இசையை ரசிக்க அறிவு தேவை தான்.
ஆனால் அது "ஷட்ஸ்ருதி ரிஷபத்துக்கு பதிலாக
சதுஸ்ருதி ரிஷபம் பிடித்து விட்டார் பாகவதர்!"
என்று சொல்லும் அளவுக்குத் தேவை இல்லை!

அபஸ்வரம் கேட்டால் காதுகளுக்கே தெரிந்துவிடும்!
அது என்ன ஸ்வரம் என்ற ஆராய்ச்சியில் அடுத்து வரும்
அழகான சங்கீதத்தை மிஸ் பண்ணக் கூடாது!

கவிதையும் அது போன்றே!

கவிதை உணர்ச்சிகளின் வெளிப்பாடாகப் பொங்கி வரவேண்டும். அதில் உணர்ச்சி பூர்வமே மிகவும் முக்கியம் ஆனது!

நேர் நேர் நேர் = தேமாங்காய்
நிரை நிரை நிரை = புளிமாங்கனி

இதைத் தெரியாதவனும் கவிதை எழுதலாம்.
இது புரியாமலேயே கவிதையை ரசிக்கலாம்.

சீர், தளை, தொடை என்ற ஆராய்ச்சியில்
கவிதையின் கருத்துக்களைத் தவறவிட வேண்டாம்

இத்தனை எளிய கவிதைகளைப் படிக்கவே
எத்தனயோ பேருக்கு தேவை 'கோனார் நோட்ஸ்'!

இனியாகிலும் மயிரிழை ஆராய்ச்சி வேண்டாம்.

SO "பாவிலே சிறந்த பா என்ன பா?"
"பாவிலே சிறந்த பா அப்பப்பா!"



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Preview YouTube video K.S.Chithra paadariyen.......

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Modern Living - supposed to make us feel safer is actually scaring us beyond our limits.

The first day the Security alarm went ON blaring and scaring us.
It was a false alarm since the circuit got broken due to over heat.

The next day the smoke alarm went ON at 12 noon - when I was not even cooking anything.

In fact I did not cook anything on that day in my kitchen!I do not burn incense sticks or cones while living in USA.

It went ON blaring for several minutes. Throwing open all the windows and switching on the exhaust fan did not help to stop the screaming banshee.

The performance was repeated two more times during the middle of the night at 12 P.M and 2 P.M. Doing high jump while sleeping is a dangerous thing as I learned in the hard way.

I slipped out of the bed partly and rough landed on the floor.
I got scared when I was unable to get up again.

Maybe the blaring contributed to it or maybe my knees were not ready for the task - since they felt like jelly. Maybe the bed was too soft to offer enough resistance for me to pull myself up.

Whatever be the reason it was really a scary and eventful light.

Do these modern gadgets help us or harm us???

What will happen to a person who has a very weak heart or timid disposition???

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Peanuts or pretzels???

This is the famous question in the domestic flights in USA!

The mini pretzels may interest toddlers!

As for the peanuts... do a teaspoonful of peanuts need to be sealed so zealously.

To open that packet we need more calories, than we will get by eating those nuts!!!

This time nothing was served - not even water! The crew apologized for their inability to 'serves us' but they did not give any reason for this inability.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

The amount of eco unfriendly junk we create during a flight or while staying in a hotel is mind blowing.
Plastic tumblers for water, fruit juice, coffee and tea and the Plastic cups used for the various mini sized servings during a long flight may add up to several hundreds if not thousands.
And think of the tiny tubes of body lotion and shampoo used in the hotels all over the world!!!
Does anyone worry about this besides me?

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Can you guess the way my little granddaughter greeted us when we visited her?
She said, "So You have come out of the laptop"!!! meaning that we were not talking to her through Skype in her laptop but we were really physically present there!!!
Children can put things in a nutshell as well as the adults do - or maybe even better! :clap2

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

The priority boarding pass allowed us to occupy the front row seats with extra leg space!
We were elated but it was cut short by a lady (partially blind?) with an Alsatian (her guide dog?) entering the flight.
They came to the same row where we were sitting and the
100+ lb dog stamped on my feet digging through my shoes with his sharp nails.
I and my husband immediately vacated the row and moved
elsewhere.
No one dared to sit near that lady...seeing the size of the dog.
She paid for one seat and got three seats instead!!! "woof"

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Even before children learn to speak or understand any language
they can convey their needs in 'goo' and 'gaa'
if only we learn to decipher them correctly.

The three months old VaruN already makes different sounds
for different requirements...without crying!!!

For feeding, for relieving himself for using potty and for playing.
When he wants to be picked up he makes the loveliest cooing sound.

May be the elder child did these too. Or may be not.
However if she had made them, they had gone unnoticed!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Two dolphins in captivity were talking about their 'trainer'

The first dolphin told the second,

"He learns very fast. I have been here hardly for a week.

Now every time I jump up, he has learned to toss me huge fish!"

AND we IMAGINE that we train the animals!!!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Here the people leave any gadget which makes a mild humming sound - so that the baby sleeps undisturbed by the other sounds.

It is kind of selective listening. I have watched amazed my sons studying hard with the classical western music playing mildly in the background.

They assured me that it keeps out the other disturbing noises.

Indian men need NOTHING more than a newspaper to block-out
the existence of the entire external world!

It might be dhAraNa, dhyAnam or even samAdhi stage - speaking in the language of ashtAnga yoga.

Nowadays a black screen varying from the size of a palm to the size of a wall sends everyone at every age into one of these
stages where the external world simply dissolves and disappears

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

OLD IS GOLD!

I never had problem in making my sons sleep or take a nap when they were very young babies.

A large and strong THOOLI made of cloth and supported by a strong double spring would do the trick.

In the west they use the vibrator chair instead of the Indian spring!

But the age-old cloth thooLi had other merits too.

It would embrace the child lightly making it feel safe and secure.
It would keep out the excess light and sound protecting the baby's nap/ sleep!

Our ancestors KNEW the cheaper and easier substitutes
to the costly and complicated Western gadgets!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Here the houses are sprawled over a large area so that when the child wakes up the mother may not hear it until the child starts bringing down the roof by its loud crying.

So a mike/ speaker system is used. The mike is left on in the bay's room and the speaker is kept in the room where the mother woks. Even the slightest sound made by the baby is so magnified that the mom can rush to the baby's side in a moment's notice.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

I did it again!

I unified the ununified unruly citizens of the colony - just by talking pure unmitigated common sense

They are famous for their foolish action known in Tamil as
"thumbai vittu vittu vaalapi pidppathu!"

Every new buyer of an old flat indulges in renovating 'that beauty!'
They remove every tile, every cooking platform, every toilet seat every sink and in nutshell everything that can be removed without bringing down the building.

The fragile 4" thick single layered brick wall can not take the blows without developing fresh cracks all the time.

So the cracks developed and promoted by these crackpots is a constant issue. The permanent solution is giving a facelift to the apartments by filling in the cracks, plastering and repainting.

I call it fondly a s"kizhavikku makeup poduvathu pOla!"

The facelift is one long continuous process siphoning out the money from the law abiding citizens while the others enjoy the same benefit without shelling a single rupee!

I learned the lessons I had forgotten all over once again...

1. Never offer advice.
The wise men dont need it and the fools won't take it.

2. "Do not argue with a fool. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience."

3. Never argue with fools. The onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”
― Mark Twain

4. Truth scalds. Bitter truths scald bitterly.

5. "yathaartha vaadhi vehu jana virOdhi!"
Speak out the truth and become the common enemy of the mob!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

"There is no right or wrong only thinking makes it so"?

This is absolutely true since what is completely normal and acceptable in countries are sins and crimes in some others.

My grandson extended this theory by extrapolating it to include tastes and flavors.

The roasted papad was too spicy and hot for him. His sister ran for a glass of water after taking a single bite.

But the little fellow continued to eat his papad without any visible effects. When we showed some surprise he said smiling,

"Actually it is not spicy or hot when you don't think about it!"

I realized (once again) that all our troubles take viswaroopam because we think about them and give them undue importance.

May be they would become much lighter or even disappear altogether - if we just learn to ignore them!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

If one Mr. K barks ( kulaiththaal)

the other Mr. K might bite (kadippaan).

Distance does not add enchantment all the time.

Distance often adds mindless animosity since

we do not get a chance to defend ourselves!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

People advertise seeking dates!!!

Why is it called the dating???

The date they lose their virginity?

The date they might pick up some infection??

The date their innocence is lost?

The date they may get molested /groped /raped???

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

When a person goes to date
The attractive 'Thai Single'...

he must first make sure that
she is not the 'Single Thai' of any kid!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Old is Gold!!!

Coconut water dubbed excellent sports drink for light exercise

Coconut water is a natural drink that has everything your average sports drink has and much more.

It has five times more potassium than Gatorade and helps you to get rid of the cramps.

It's a healthy drink that replenishes the nutrients that your body has lost during a moderate workout.

The potassium in coconut water also might benefit other people who do not exercise.

What the westerners find out after intense research, our ancestors knew instinctively.

Now canned tender coconut water is the hot favorite here.
Believe me it tastes like nothing I have drunk ever before.

It is pure nectar and drinking a chilled can of coconut water is sheer joy for the people in USA !!!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

My little grand daughter feels one up for being a VEGAN!

She feels we vegetarians are one rung below her.

At times she objects to our touching her

after touching the butter milk container! :hand:

Is a new kind of Untouchability in the offing???

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

The little girl loves her mother.
She loves her new little brother.

BUT She can't stand the sight
of them being happy together!!!

Human emotions are very complicated!
Love and hatred coexist like the light and shadow.

So she can LOVE another person but
all the other persons must love ONLY her???

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

#097. இருளும், ஒளியும்

இயற்கையில் விந்தைகள் பல உண்டு;
இருளும், ஒளியும் இணைந்து இருப்பதும்,
இயற்கையின் விந்தைகளில் ஒன்றாகும்;
இது நாம் தினமும் காணும் ஒன்றாகும்!

ஒளியை உலகுக்கு அளிக்கும் அழகிய
விளக்கின் அடியில் இருள் மண்டும்;
விளக்கின் அடியில் உள்ள அந்த இடம்,
விளக்கின் ஒளியை அறிவதே இல்லை!

உயர்வால் ஒருவர் ஒளிர்ந்தாலும், அவர்
உயர்வின் ஒளியை, தொலைவில் இருந்து
பார்ப்பவர் மட்டுமே அறிந்து கொள்வார்;
பக்கலில் இருப்பவர் என்றும் அறிகிலார்!

பழகப் பழகப் பாலும் புளிக்கும் என்பார்,
நிழலாய் அருகில் இணைந்து உள்ளோரை,
விரும்பும் எண்ணம் விலகி மெல்லவே
அரும்பத் தொடங்கும் ஒரு வித வெறுப்பு.

அதிகப் பழக்கத்தால் அங்கு பிறக்கும்
அலட்சியம் மிகுந்த ஒரு மனோபாவனை.
நெருங்கி இருப்பதாலேயே ஒரு இகழ்ச்சி,
நெடுந்தொலைவில் இருப்பின் புகழ்ச்சி!

தன்னுடன் இருந்து தினமும் காத்திடும்
தனையனை காட்டிலும், தொலைவிலிருந்து
என்றோ வந்து கண்டு செல்லும் தனையனை
அன்றோ விரும்பிக் கொண்டாடுகின்றனர்!

உள்ளதை உள்ளபடிக் காண வேண்டும்;
நல்லதை எப்போதும் ஏற்க வேண்டும்;
திறமை நம் அருகில் இருப்பதினாலேயே,
சிறுமைப் படுத்தி அதனை இகழ வேண்டாம்!

வாழ்க வளமுடன்,
விசாலாக்ஷி ரமணி

#097. THE LIGHT AND THE DARKNESS.

It is one of Nature’s puzzles that light and darkness always coexist! It is a very common phenomenon we watch everyday.

A lit lamp gives out bright light to the world, but the area under the lamp never gets the light. It is always in darkness.

It is the same when a person reaches a great height by his constant efforts. The whole world will see him and appreciate him but not those who live nearby. It is true that Familiarity breeds contempt.

A person develops hatred towards the one who serves him most – while remaining quietly in the background. A strange concept prevails – that any known person can not be really great!

Parents cherish their children who live far away and visit them occasionally more than those who are with them, taking good care of them. We all know the story of the prodigal son.

We must not belittle persons just because they happen to live near to us. We must learn to see the things and persons in their true greatness and appreciate them.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

often times...

We hate those whom we admire.

We love those who admire us.

Human emotions ARE complicated!!!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

My little grand daughter feels one up for being a VEGAN!

She feels we vegetarians are one rung below her.

At times she objects to our touching her

after touching the butter milk container! :hand:

Is a new kind of Untouchability in the offing???

I had to use logic to convince her that she was wrong.

Her theory was that we eat cows since we drink milk and buttermilk.

I asked her,

"Your little brother drinks mommy's milk.
But is he also eating her???"

It was only then she got convinced that
drinking cow's milk is not the same as eating the cow!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

"raghupathi raghava!"

My military uncle surprised all of us when he took palm-full of water and took it around his food before starting to eat it.

My father, a busy doctor, was duly impressed by this action...
until my uncle replied in the most casual tone,

"Athimber! I do not remember the correct mantra. Yet I want to chant some mantra! So I just say "Raghupthi rAghava rAjA rAm
patheetha pAvana sita rAm!"

Bonus info...
my dad's name is Raman.
my Uncle's name is Ramachandran!
" rAman eththanai rAmanadi???"

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Overheard in the pre-school / play school with children of average age 3 + and 4 (-) years.

"I am very disappointed with my parents!"
(does the child really know the meaning of the long word he just used?)

"I don't want to go home"
(isn't every child supposed to be looking forward for the long bell at the end of the school?)

"I didn't make a bad choice!"
(what were the choices? Which one was good and which one bad??)

We never knew such concepts since we inherently obeyed our parents and believed that they would do whatever is best for us.

What is the world coming to???