Think or sink!

[Visalakshi Ramani]

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I remember we were requested to get 'vEppilaik katti' (spice-balls as my grandkids call them) for a thatha who was 90+ and yet could not forgo the tasty spice balls.

I knew a family which used to carry one K.G. of Indian coffee powder for every month of their stay in the USA. So six months' long viit meant six K.G. of "besh-besh-coffee" powder spreading fragrance all around.

My husband used to carry a suitcase full of pearl onions and 'koorkan kizhangu' for a family of close relatives living in Hyderabad. The smell of the onions and the soil coming from the koorkan kizhangu rendered the bag useless for any other purpose!

My dad had the best policy. He believed that one should " Do in Rome as Roman do ". In addition to doing this, one should also eat what is available in the place one visits.

Had I listened to these words of wisdom I would have never had my luggage searched by the TSA so meticulously for any papads, dhal powders and pickles!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

It is very sad to watch very fluent non-stop-talkers suddenly develop

slow and slurred speech and confused thinking due to a mild / severe stroke!

Should we feel happy that they are still able to talk or feel sorry that they lost their fluency?

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubts."

It's been my long experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues."

"To hear another's heartache is to forget one's own."

(Abraham Lincoln).

"The greatest pleasure I know is to do a good action by stealth and have it found out by accident."

"I always arrive late at the office, but I make up for it by leaving early!"

(Charles Lamb)

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

"He who truly knows, has no occasion to shout." (Leonardo Da Vinci)

"I have never failed. I've found 10,000 ways that won't work."

"Opportunity is missed by most people because
it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
(Thomas Alva Edison)

"There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle."
(Albert Einstein)

"In skating over thin ice our safety is in our speed."

"Earth laughs in flowers."
(Emerson)

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

It is a popular saying which goes thus:

"If you catch a cold you can get rid of it in just one week by taking medicines
and after seven long days by not taking any medicines".

In those days 'common cold' was quite common. It would leave the person only after seven days - whether or not he took medication.

But now the new common cold has become uncommon. It does NOT go away in seven days!
It stays on for full three weeks or even more!

Will common cold become one of the greatest malaies of human race in the future?

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

The white furred and black tailed Cat Cherry has grown huge in the past eight months!
A white Garfield in the offing??? Maybe or maybe not!!!

She is denied access into more and more rooms now.

She is not allowed into the office cum swami room and a nursery for the growing seedlings
She is not allowed in any of the bedrooms. She starts licking our faces whenever she fancies it.

She always manages to scare thatha when he drinks his hot coffee.

He might spill a few drops of it while doing the siting-high-jump.
She loves to lick the sweet strong liquid with a strong aroma.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Of late writing various Indian languages in English alphabet has become very popular and fashionable. But if you convert the Thanglish (Thamizh in English) back to Thamizh
you would burst into tears - if you truly love your mother tongue!

Here are some of the samples which wrung my heart inside out on the very first day
I did not dare to enter the group to read more and make my heart bleed!

தங்லீஷ் படுத்தும் பாடு!
கலை வனக்கம்
இன்று நல்ல நல்
இவர்கள் நலை உலகை அலப் போகிரவர்கல்
படதை பெரிது பன்னி பருங்கல்

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

"The secret of humour is surprise."
"Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work"
(Aristotle)

"What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.These are trifles to be sure: but scattered along the pathway, the good they do is inconceivable."
(Joseph Addison)

"Nothing is really work, until you would rather be doing something else."
(Sir. James Barrie)

"When a man is willing and eager, the Gods join in."
(Aeschylus)

"The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship."

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

"The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, he will make a fool of himself too."

"All who would win joy must share it; happiness is born a twin."
(Samuel Butler)

"A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given to him by his father but borrowed from his children."
(John James Audubon)

"It is a poor sort of memory that only works backwards."
(Lewis Carroll)

"All saints have a past and all sinners have a future"
(Anton Chekhov)

"You can tell a lot about a fellow's character by his way of eating jelly beans."
(Ronald Reagan)

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Man has the ability to survive in extreme conditions. He can live in Sahara desert and also in Alaska.
He can live even in space and moon. But he must prepare for it in the right manner.

It will be foolishness if man expects to survive in the cold without wearing warm clothes or in the desert wearing woollen dress or in the space without wearing the space suit.

We can't increase or decree the Sun's heat available in any place. It will be wise to wear appropriate clothes considering the place where we live and stop blaming Nature and God for the sufferings of oneself, brought on oneself, by oneself.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Are the people who keep constantly complaining about something or someone
all the time reincarnations of the lousy leaking ink pens of the past?

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

English has got to be the strangest language there is. The lingo is riddled with confusing idioms, words that changes meanings contextually, unique words, and funny words.

Are you sure you know English? Bloviate much?!

Ah see, now you are bumfuzzled.

Shakespeare is credited with discovering a lot of these crazy words, but some have existed prior to the playwright, while others sprang into being during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Some of these words are part of daily usage for native English speakers, while other parts of the world live in oblivious bliss.

Let’s take a look, shall we, at some of these chucklesome words.

Cattywampus – A word of American origin, it refers to something that is disorganised or in disarray. It can also mean something that is not arranged or lined up correctly. For example, “the mug is cattywampus from the holder after the two-year old sat on the coffee table.”

Bumfuzzle – Simply refers to being confused or flustered. For example, “he was bumfuzzled on hearing the tricky riddle.”

Taradiddle – Used for something or someone full of lies or pretentious nonsense. It can be used when someone is exaggerating about something they did or have, like buying an expensive fancy car when you know they don’t have the means for it.

Baloney – When someone says a whole lot of nonsense or makes up stuff, you call that baloney.

Collywobbles – This is akin to butterflies in your stomach, but on an intense level. It also refers to queasiness or stomach pain. For instance, “after the party last night, Tom has got the collywobbles and isn’t his usual sunny self.”

Widdershins – When you think something is moving in the wrong direction, you say it is widdershins. For Example, “Riley danced widdershins around Mack.”

Abibliophobia – When you are afraid of running out of things to read, you may be suffering from abibliophobia. Next time you run out of your house looking for the nearest bookstore, remember the word!

Lollygag – A person who is bumbling around wasting time is termed as a lollygag. It can also mean someone who is messing around without doing anything useful. This word would be a good one to stick on someone who’s made a habit of procrastinating.

Flibbertigibbet – You might have that one friend who talks his mouth off. He is a flibbertigibbet. The term refers to a silly person who talks incessantly.

Malarkey – When you hear foolish proposals or insincere talks, be warned, they are a load of malarkey. The word cropped up in the 1920s and is still in use.

Sialoquent – Remember sitting in the front row of a class and the professor, while talking, sprinkled his mouth’s essence on you? That uncomfortable sensation of being drenched in the professor’s spittle is called sialoquent.

Wabbit – Not the Looney Tunes one, no. This is a Scottish term for being worn out. If you are exhausted after a long day at work, say, “I’m pretty wabbit tonight.”

So if you got the collywobbles after reading all those tongue twisters, you may be dangerously close to becoming a wabbit abibliophobiac!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Today's link

மகேந்திர காண்டம்

விரிஞ்சன்மால் தேவ ராலும் வெலற்கரும் விறலோன் ஆகிப்

பெருஞ்சுரர் பதமும் வேத ஒழுக்கமும் பிறவும் மாற்றி

அருஞ்சிறை அவர்க்குச்செய்த அவுணர்கோன் ஆவிகொள்வான்

பரஞ்சுடர் உருவாய் வந்த குமரனைப் பணிதல் செய்வாம்.

Kandapuraanam

Mahendra Kaandam

kandapuraanam3.wordpress.com

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

"Do not free a camel of the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel"

"The home is not the tame place in the world of adventure. It is the one wild place in the world of rules and set tasks."

"The best way to catch a train is to miss the one before."
(G.K.Chesterton)

"A good statue can be rolled downhill without causing any damage."
(Michelangelo)

"Man is most nearly himself when he achieves the seriousness of a child at play."
(Heraclitus)

"My theory, briefly, is that the Universe was dictated but not signed."
(Christopher Morley)

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

"What garlic is to salad, insanity is to art."
(Augustus Homer Saint Gaudens)

"A good laugh is sunshine in a house."
(William Makepeace Thackeray)

"Those move easiest, who have learnt to dance."
(Alexander Pope)

"To be agreeable in society you must consent to be taught things you already know."
(Johann Kaspar Lavater)

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."
(Plato)

"If I am to speak for for ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days;
if half an hour two days; if an hour I am ready now."
(Woodrow Wilson)

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Children are encouraged to learn various forms of art.
Making Clay models, braiding, knitting, basket weaving, carpentry etc.

Small wonder most people know many things needed for the survival on one's own.
In India we bring someone to change the fused bulb or replace the burnt fuse etc.

The water sensor started sending out signals last weekend- just as we were leaving the house.
My son and D.I.L fixed the complicated leaking faucet by themselves.

My son did the entire repair work lying down on his back - with no support to the lower portion of his body. It was literally a ChakrAsana (The wheel posture) except that he did not bend in a full circle!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

A real life riddle!

In a household of six persons...
who belong to three generations....
50% are allergic to all animal furs...
50% can't stand the sight of a cat....

But there is a cat living a royal life in the household since
one part of the two 50% and 50% overlap and
the one person outside The Intersection and The Union
calls the shots in the household!

Majority will not be a majority when VETO plays its part!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

"If you want to find out your true opinion of anybody,
just notice the impression made on you,
the first time you receive a mail from them."
(Arthur Schopenhauer)

"To me every hour of the light and the dark is a miracle."
(Walt Whitman)

"What soup is to body, laughter is to the soul."
(Yiddish Proverb)

"Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt."
(Cardinal John Henry Newman)

"Don't throw away the old bucket until
you are sure that the new one holds water."
(Swedish Proverb)

"Anger makes dull men witty, but it keeps them poor."
(Queen Elizabeth I)

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Quotations by anonymous persons...
( = persons-not-less-great BUT less-well-known!)

Money talks. Mine always says,"Bye!"

To belittle is to be little!

The love in your heart was not put there to stay.
Love isn't love until you give it away.

A good way to make a new friend is to smile at a stranger.
You will be surprised how many people smile back.

True beauty is nothing but the halo of happiness.

Never sell the skin till you have caught the bear.

Be good to a friend and friend to good.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

An Arab proverb:-

He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool. Shun him.

He who knows not, and knows that he knows not, he is simple. Teach him.

He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep. Awaken him.

He who knows, and knows that he knows, is wise. Follow him.

P.S
If you are reminded of Arattai Arangam Visu... it is not my fault !

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

A smile is the Lighting System of your face.

A smile is the warming System of your heart.

A smile is the cooling system of your head.

A smile bridges yawning gaps!

Always wear a pretty smile!

Then your face will become your passport!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Quotations by anonymous persons.

Madness takes its toll. Please have the exact change.

A smile confuses an approaching frown!

Diplomacy is the art of letting someone have your way.

A meeting is an event where minutes are kept and hours are lost!

Your children know that you love them by your presence, not by your presents.

He who laughs...lasts!

It is O.K to be a Mr. Nobody because nobody is perfect.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

KaNakkuk kEttAl piNakku varum enbathu uNmai thaan!

kaNakkuk kettavargaLin vaayai mooduvathu eppadi?

avargalai grouppil irunthu vilakki vittaal pOthumE!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Quotations by anonymous persons.

I don't have a solution, but I admire the problem!

Worry is the interest paid on trouble before it is due.

A new broom sweeps clean, but the old broom knows all the corners.

Half of being smart is knowing what you are dumb at.

Never test the depth of water with both your feet.

Laughter is the brush that sweeps away the cobwebs of the heart.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

Quotations by anonymous persons:

( meaning persons not-less-great but less-well-known)

Life is full of surprises.

Just say "Never again" and what you will see

will make you say "Never again" never again!!

Never cross a bridge until you come to it.

A closed mouth gathers no foot or food!

Always use tasteful words-you never know when you will have to eat them.

Be modest and be proud of it!

If you can't be a good example, be a terrible warning!