Warrier's blog

Friends Diwali is fast approaching Festivals and religious rituals have been traditionally occasions for reinforcing relationships. The idea is beautifully presented in the Speaking Tree article by Surakshit Goswami. The article opens with the following observations : "A newborn arrives in this world with empty hands and an open heart. It knows nothing of wealth, status, praise or loss. It does not cling, compare or calculate. In its innocence, the infant lives close to the state of vairagya, free of the fear of gaining and losing. Then life begins to write on this blank slate. Family and society hand the child relationships, beliefs, customs and expectations. Slowly, identities and responsibilities settle upon the young mind like layers of cloth." Perhaps the author pads up the article with some thoughts about the dilemas of 21st century society to make it acceptable to the target audience. Festivals and rituals build emotional closeness and shared identity by turnin...

Friends Avoid reading anything on subjects that do not concern you. Many of us (including me) share content in social media as a ritual, as a quid pro quo for forwards we receive, sometimes in good faith that it's informative and will be useful for some. Take the example of my message today (yes, the one you are reading now). Subject is dementia. First, one's thought jumps to individuals with dementia one has met recently. Then, there is a mental game one starts playing. How far is dementia from self? Is forgetfulness an indication of impending dementia?(No. So long as one is able to later remember what one forgot, no worries!) Never, ever, start diagnosing ailments using social media messages or Google Search as guidance. Doctors are around to clear your doubts. Your pre-consultation research confuse them as the way you present your problems get affected by the half-knowledge you have acquired by consulting Google. Mutual trust is a prerequisite for any treatment/advi...

Friends I was reading the article "Ethics in a Changing World" by Mansi Vastri in the October 2026 issue of Prabuddha Bharata. Please see the concluding paragraphs of the article above. Thought of sharing with you some excerpts. Not to miss the focus of the subject, the core aspects as available at the website are copied at A below. M G Warrier A Ethics in a Changing World "Ethics in a Changing World" serves as a core, recurring thematic focus in Prabuddha Bharata (Awakened India), the longest-running English-language journal of the Ramakrishna Order founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1896. The journal frequently addresses how timeless spiritual values can be adapted to navigate modern crises—such as digital saturation, globalization, shifting social frameworks, and geopolitical instability. Through the lens of Advaita Vedanta and Swami Vivekananda’s Practical Vedanta, Prabuddha Bharata constructs an ethical roadmap for a rapidly evolving society based on s...

Kerala Piravi 2026 was celebrated on Sunday, November 1, 2026, marking the 70th anniversary of the state's formation. Key Highlights of Kerala Piravi 2026 70th Formation Day : It marks 70 years since the unification of Malayalam-speaking regions (Travancore, Cochin, and Malabar) under the States Reorganisation Act on November 1, 1956. First Celebration as "Keralam" : This was the first Kerala Piravi celebrated after the official name of the state was changed from Kerala to Keralam (following presidential assent in August 2026). Cultural Celebrations : Malayalis across the state and worldwide celebrated with traditional attire (settu mundu, Kasavu sarees, and mundu shirts), classical arts like Kathakali, language week events (Malayala Bhasha Varam), and community gatherings. Whistle Keraleeyam 2026 A unique national record event, “Whistle Keraleeyam 2026,”was held on November 1, 2026, Kerala Piravi Day, at the Chavara Cultural Centre, Kochi. Organised by World of Wh...

Sound Of Music Friends I'm aware, using the caption "Sound Of Music" for a piece which essentially is about discomfort caused by cacophony is atrocious. I know "The Sound of Music'' is a 1965 American musical drama film produced and directed by Robert Wise from a screenplay written by Ernest Lehman. Noise affects different people differently. We sleep comfortably while traveling in the train or bus. If you are staying near an airport or rail track or seashore, in a short period, the noise of flights landing or taking off, noise of trains or sound of sea waves start getting filtered and they do not affect your normal work or sleep. We stay on the 20th Floor of a building in a Mumbai Suburb. Central Railway tracks are at a stone's throw distance. Pet dogs in the flats in the complex and the stray dogs in the compound have no sense of time for howling. Noise of local trains disturb every 2 minutes almost non-stop. We get used to all these. Since last o...

Welcome To Warrier's Friends' COLLAGE, On 1st Sunday, November, 2026 Friends While reading the one page piece "To strive, to seek, to find" (Reader's Digest, October 2026), I remembered my 2022 Times Blog "Kalam, The Teacher" which was later included as a chapter in my book "Open Book Of Happy Memories" (See B below). Let's start the new month remembering the inspiring teachings of Kalam. M G Warrier AA Good News* India records one of the fastest poverty declines in the world, poverty down from 27.1% to 2.6% : World Bank https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/india-records-one-of-the-fastest-poverty-declines-in-the-world-poverty-down-from-27-1-to-2-6-world-bank/articleshow/135344552.cms *Link shared by S Thyagarajan, Ex-RBI, Chennai A The phrase "To strive, to seek, to find" (from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem Ulysses) is featured in an article written by Srijan Pal Singh in the October 2...