Olagappar cycled to the temple every evening. And he polished his bicycle till it was spick and span. And the boy would stand and watch. Olagappar would expound the intricacies of bicycles to the boy. The boy would listen in rapt attention. Sometimes the boy would try to polish his own bicycle, but somehow, he never got the same results.
Sometimes Olagappar would speak on the philosophy of life. “Karumbai virumbinaal Vembu… Vembai virumbinaal Karumbu”. “Hanker after the sweet things in life, and you experience bitterness; Love and accept the bitterness that comes your way, and life becomes sweet..” The boy listened in awe at Olagappar’s wisdom.
“Virumbi ponaal vilagi pokum… vilaki ponaal virumbi varum” he would pronounce. “Go after something, and it moves away…. Move away, without attachment, and everything comes your way”. Profound words.
Nearly half a century since those days, and Olagappar is probably long gone. But the boy is now a man, who still remembers his eternal words….. to this day.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Home Minister par excellence
We are proud of our Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar. But we would like him to go home. For good. Why ? Read on.
Speaking from Johor Baru soon after the detention of reporter Tan Hoon Cheng, Syed Hamid justified Tan's detention under the ISA with the reason that it was part of the government's preventive measure "to ensure her safety".The minister claimed police intelligence have indicated that the journalist's life was under threat after she reported an Umno division leader's allegedly racist remarks.
And again, recently:
KUALA LUMPUR: A police beat base located in the Chow Kit area of downtown Kuala Lumpur has been shut down because the “presence of criminals could make it unsafe” for police officers.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the beat base was located in a dirty area where police faced the possibility of being exposed to contagious diseases.
The presence of criminals also posed a threat to the safety of police officers.
Speaking from Johor Baru soon after the detention of reporter Tan Hoon Cheng, Syed Hamid justified Tan's detention under the ISA with the reason that it was part of the government's preventive measure "to ensure her safety".The minister claimed police intelligence have indicated that the journalist's life was under threat after she reported an Umno division leader's allegedly racist remarks.
And again, recently:
KUALA LUMPUR: A police beat base located in the Chow Kit area of downtown Kuala Lumpur has been shut down because the “presence of criminals could make it unsafe” for police officers.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the beat base was located in a dirty area where police faced the possibility of being exposed to contagious diseases.
The presence of criminals also posed a threat to the safety of police officers.
The Farangs
The Farangs taught us many things. When we were children, we recited,
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again!
And wondered at the tragedy of Mr Dumpty. Then we sang,
Rock-a-bye, baby,in the tree top.
When the wind blows,the cradle will rock.
When the bough breaks,the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby,cradle and all.
And silently wept at the baby’s misfortune at the hands of nature. Then came,
Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down
And broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.
Why were we as children being exposed to so much tragedy ?
And recently I read,
Lizzie Borden took an axe,
And gave her mother forty whacks,
And when she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty–one.
My God, this Lizzie is a psychopath, but who wrote the poem ? But they do seem to come in the same pattern as the nursery rhymes of yesteryear. Is it in the Farang culture ?
As a young man, ABBA songs were among my favorite. Then came the movie. Mamma Mia tells the story of Sophie who longs to know the identity of her father. Understandable.
Then she stumbles upon her mum’s old diary, Sophie finds three men who could possibly be her dad ...
Perfectly normal and a classic for the farangs. But imagine this as a Tamil movie !
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again!
And wondered at the tragedy of Mr Dumpty. Then we sang,
Rock-a-bye, baby,in the tree top.
When the wind blows,the cradle will rock.
When the bough breaks,the cradle will fall,
And down will come baby,cradle and all.
And silently wept at the baby’s misfortune at the hands of nature. Then came,
Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down
And broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.
Why were we as children being exposed to so much tragedy ?
And recently I read,
Lizzie Borden took an axe,
And gave her mother forty whacks,
And when she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty–one.
My God, this Lizzie is a psychopath, but who wrote the poem ? But they do seem to come in the same pattern as the nursery rhymes of yesteryear. Is it in the Farang culture ?
As a young man, ABBA songs were among my favorite. Then came the movie. Mamma Mia tells the story of Sophie who longs to know the identity of her father. Understandable.
Then she stumbles upon her mum’s old diary, Sophie finds three men who could possibly be her dad ...
Perfectly normal and a classic for the farangs. But imagine this as a Tamil movie !
Saturday, October 11, 2008
The Saiee Devotee
There was once this devotee,
Who claimed to pray to Saiee.
But whenever he was speaking,
He was loud and not at all loving,
And his temper, it was hot as chillee.
Who claimed to pray to Saiee.
But whenever he was speaking,
He was loud and not at all loving,
And his temper, it was hot as chillee.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Delight
What delights more than children who listen when you mention something you long for, and surprise you with the very thing ?
What did they do to deserve that ?
In the midst of Navarathri, as we were praying to Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathy for more health, wealth and wisdom, a disturbing situation presented itself. There is this single-mother family which we (our Sai Group) have adopted. The middle-aged widow has 4 kids. Last Thurday, we had decided to bring them to the Sai centre for Navarathri. And the shock realisation dawned on me when I went to pick them up. The mother works in a scrap metal factory. And the family lives in a ramshackle shed next to the scrapyard. Surrounded by other sheds housing (mostly young male) foreign workers.
The house itself is barely a collection of planks, and subject to flooding at the least downpour. And this mother, living alone in this desolate place, with her young children, including a 14 year old girl, surrounded by male foreign workers. What a nightmare. Imagine for a moment your own mother, wife, sister or daughter in that situation.
Considering this brave mother’s plight, what else can we ask of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathy for ourselves ? Pray for them.
As an aside, we are endeavouring to find alternative accomodation at a more secure location for the family, with some assistance to help them out.
The house itself is barely a collection of planks, and subject to flooding at the least downpour. And this mother, living alone in this desolate place, with her young children, including a 14 year old girl, surrounded by male foreign workers. What a nightmare. Imagine for a moment your own mother, wife, sister or daughter in that situation.
Considering this brave mother’s plight, what else can we ask of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswathy for ourselves ? Pray for them.
As an aside, we are endeavouring to find alternative accomodation at a more secure location for the family, with some assistance to help them out.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
