Warrier's Collage 03092020

Warrier's Collage 03092020 : Readers' Day Today's Collage is drawing its contents mainly from responses/contributions from the readers. M G Warrier A Interaction 1) R Parthasarathy "Dear Warrierji. I feel honoured beyond my qualifications. Whatever I write, I do more in a journalistic fashion. As I am not a scholar and have no research experience. This seems to be a blog for researchers. The participants are well informed and are thorough in their approach. Thank you so much for the recognition. I may add here that Vathsala Madam is an exceptional person in our rbi groups. She studies a lot and expresses with ease on any subject she Warrier's Collage 03092020evinces interest. At times, I am awe struck at her erudition. With regards, R Parthasarathy" 2) Vathsala Jayaraman Shri Babusenan's writings in Warrier's Collage are unique and super and I don't find sufficient words to appreciate. I totally agree with what he has written about Sita. She has her own mind and thoughts. The annihilation of Ravana, being the motive of Ramayana, Valmiki has got compulsions to bring him into the field and this has to be justified by events relating to Soorpanaka and abduction of Sita. Impropriety in speaking to Lakshmana alone cannot be treated as a justification for Agni pareeksha, which is stated to be for protecting Raja Dharma by Rama. After all Rama is depicted as a human being and his suspicion over Sita's fidelity resulted in this Agni Pareeksha which can never be justified by any reasoning. But when we treat Rama, not as a hero of any story, but as God Himself, then faith takes the upper hand and all Rama's actions in the epic stand justified under some pretext or other because faith transcends all logic and reasoning. When ordinary mortals have so many discussions about Sita's adamancy about getting a golden deer and the justification of Rama's action in Agni Pareeksha, the great poet also would have thought about the infamy raised against Sita. Sage Valmiki after completing the epic Ramayana, somehow felt disturbed. He felt that the greatness of Sita Devi had not been brought out by him to the extent she deserved. Thus was born another kavya "Adbutha Ramayanam" by Valmiki, otherwise referred to as 'Sitayanam' In Uttara Kandam of Adbutha Ramayanam, all the sages and rishis paid a glorious tribute to Shri Rama for having annihilated Ravana & other demons. Simultaneously they expressed their sympathies to Sita remembering in detail all her sufferings at the hands of Ravana & other demonesses. Sita with a big smile on her countenance said ''Ravana Samharam is not so great a deed as you think". The sages were surprised on her remarks and asked her to explain. Sita continued "In the Maanasoddhara Island there lived a demon called 'Sumali' and his daughter 'Kaikasi' by name, married a sage called 'Vishravas' and begot two sons. The elder one Ravana, by name with 1000 heads resided in Pushkara Island and the second one also known as Ravana had 10 heads and was residing in Lanka. My father Janaka and myself have heard about them even before my marriage. Sri Rama has killed the ten headed Ravana with the help of Sugreeva, Vibheeshana and Vanaras. Rama's valour could better be proved only if he kills the 1000 headed Ravana." On hearing Sita's remarks, Rama's ego was hurt. He set out with his huge army to attack the elder Ravana. But on being warned about this attack by an unknown voice (Ashareeri), Ravana annihilated the entire army of Rama with a 'Vayu Astra'. Rama's Brahmastra also was rendered powerless and he fell down helplessly on earth. Immediately Janaki Devi transformed herself into a huge fierce form. Adorning a huge garland of skulls she annihilated the 1000-headed Ravana and wiped off his entire retinue.. Valmiki describes Sita's Ghora Tandavam as that of Maha Kali. Shiva is said to have protected the earth from the heaviest and strongest stampings of Sita Devi. After some time 'Roudra Janaki' became 'Shaantha Janaki' and Rama asked her to reveal who she really was. Sita introduced herself as 'Maheshwari, the prime Parasakthi, the mulaadhara of all creations in the universe. As she narrated this, Shri Rama saw a beautiful crescent on her head. With her power Sita brought back all the people in Rama's army back to life. Sita concluded that all her powers were gifted to her by Shri Rama only and she was nobody without Rama. All the injustices done to Sita seem to have been wiped off by the single incident of killing thousand headed Ravana by Sita Devi. This epic is in the form of conversation between Sage Valmiki and Sage Bharatwaja. Valmiki introduces Sita as"MOOLA PRAKRITI", the basis of the entire universe. The above episode is found on the research work and commentary on "Adbhuta Ramayanam" by the eminent Sanskrit scholar Dr. V..Raghavan. Many of us would not have heard about the existence of such an epic. But it keeps on record that Sita is none but Parashakthi and her consort Rama also was seen by her as Parameshwara. To conclude, Shri Rama and Shiva, Sita Devi and Parashakti all represent a single source of'"CONSCIOUSNESS" or the same 'Shakti' is represented by all of them. It is essentially "one in all" or" All in one". Vathsala Jayaraman." 3) T R S Iyer " I enjoyed reading discovery of Thiruvananthapuram by Dr Tiny Nair. Nostalgic memories of University College I studied Just Opposite Sanskrit College and then Public Library where I took books for reading on compulsion from my father, Ayurveda College where my father worked as Administrative Officer when we used to stay near Pulimoodu HPO. I got on opportunity to work In Thiruvananthapuram RO from 1990 to 1997 by God's wish. Lovely memories rekindled again Any idea about our ex BMO Ratnakumar who met with a car accident? Our P K S Nair who had to face a tragedy in life ? K K K Pillai who settled down at Sasthamangalam?" 4) V N Kelkar " B 5 Languages spoken by more people As per 2001 census, only 14000 people speak Sanskrit in India. Unless it becomes a language of masses it's use as a computer language will remain a dream. VN Kelkar ( Not related to the numbers. But here's a link you may find interesting : https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/a-village-where-sanskrit-is-making-a-home/article31945998.ece ) AA Just a moment* " Barely the day started and... it's already six in the evening. Barely arrived on Monday and it's already Friday. ... and the month is already over. ... and the year is almost over. ... and already 40, 50 or 60 years of our lives have passed. ... and we realize that we lost our parents, friends. and we realize it's too late to go back... So... Let's try, despite everything, to enjoy the remaining time... Let's keep looking for activities that we like... Let's put some color in our grey... Let's smile at the little things in life that put balm in our hearts. And despite everything, we must continue to enjoy with serenity this time we have left. Let's try to eliminate the afters... I'm doing it after... I'll say after... I'll think about it after... We leave everything for later like ′′ after ′′ is ours. Because what we don't understand is that: Afterwards, the coffee gets cold... afterwards, priorities change... Afterwards, the charm is broken... afterwards, health passes... Afterwards, the kids grow up... Afterwards parents get old... Afterwards, promises are forgotten... afterwards, the day becomes the night... afterwards life ends... And then it's often too late.... So... Let's leave nothing for later... Because still waiting see you later, we can lose the best moments, the best experiences, best friends, the best family... The day is today... The moment is now... NOW :) Caitriona Loughrey *Forward received from Dr T V Surendran, Mananthavady B Current Affairs 1) Economy https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/why-does-growth-falter-india-routinely-jettisons-financial-stability-for-myopic-adjustments-in-government-expenditures/?comments=show I tried to post the following online comments (writing from memory) : " A well thought out and well researched article. The author has also drawn from the experience he gained from his stint in RBI. A couple of issues that could have been included in the article, that comes to mind are : a) The idea of a "National Balance Sheet" about which former RBI Governor Dr Y V Reddy once mentioned and was subsequently forgotten by all. May come up in the current year's Economic Survey as an escape route from the situation created by the C-thing. b) Mainstreaming and accounting India's domestic resources like gold stock and Real Estate." A message popped up "your comments cannot be posted as it has objectionable contents" I started deleting 5 to 10 words at a time. Every time, the objection was raised by the system. The published version comes below. I had decided to go upto "Thanks for publishing this informative article" M G Warrier "A well thought out and well researched article. A couple of issues comes to mind : a) The idea of a \"National Balance Sheet. b) The idea of mainstreaming and accounting India\'s hidden wealth" 2) RBI's reserves Once-In-A-Hundred-Year Crisis : Pai https://swarajyamag.com/economy/rbi-depositing-more-profits-than-necessary-in-cash-reserves-it-should-be-transferring-them-to-centre-fighting-once-in-a-hundred-year-crisis Read the article. A very casual and political one. Don't want to waste time going into details. For those who have not read the article: a) The caption itself reveals ignorance. Cash Reserves and Contingency Reserves have different meanings. b) The person who has briefed the author/s didn't explain the developments in RBI during the recent past. c) Even if such a line of approach was needed for the "Gallery", how can Pai ignore Jalan Panel report while writing on this subject? Less said the better. M G Warrier 3) Usha Thorat https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/warriersviews/economy-downturn-and-challenges-before-india-experts-views-15171/ This is a few months old Blog Post. Recalling in the context of 1 & 2 above. 4) COVID19 Fight* https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/magazine/the-worlds-top-50-thinkers-2020-the-winner K K Shailaja, Kerala Health Minister first among 50 equals. *Link received from Dr Vandana Ajay, UK C Readers Write 1) Vathsala Jayaraman Arundhati Arundhathi was the wife of sage Vasishta and she is an embodiment of chasticity in Hindu mythology. The name 'Arundhathi' is derived from the word 'rundhathi' meaning impediment. That is she won't stand as an impediment to whatever told by her husband. In traditional Hindu marriages the couple are shown the binary star ' Vasishta and Arundhathi' soon after marriage. Though being the wife of Vasishta, Arundhathi forms a part of saptharishi mandalam. Vasishta and Vishwamitra were rivals. Once Sage Vasishta invited Vishwamitra to take the role of 'Pitru' while performing Shraaddha ceremony. Sage Vishwamitra accepted on condition that he should be served 1008 vegetables during Putri bhojana. Vasishta became panicky. Having invited Vishwamitra, if he is not fed to the satisfaction, Vasishta will be afflicted by Pitru shaap. Arundhathi understood the conflict in her husband's mind, yet gave him a signal that she would tackle the situation. On the appointed day, Shraddha was over. Vishwamitra took his seat as pitru and Arundhathi invited him to take food.There were only 11 vegetables. Arundhathi: Venerable sage, as undertaken I have prepared 1008 vegetables;pl honour us by taking food. Vishwamitra: Are you kidding? There are only 11 vegeatables. You have gone against your word. Arundhathi: O Respectful sage, you are well informed. You know the sastras. Out of the 11 vegetables , I have cooked three important vegetables. Bitter gourd, unripe jack and edible stemmed vine. ( Edible stemmed vine which is known as pirandai in Tamil, hadjod in Hindi and chaudhari in Marathi- used as a medicinal herb for bone fractures and is used as a paste with salt & mirchi to be mixed with rice) Aundhathi said, Bitter gourd equals 100 vegetables. Hadjod ( pirandai) equals 300 vegetables. Unripe jack equals 600 vegetables. Sage, you are already aware of these facts enshrined in Sastras. If you are convinced of the sastras it has to be accepted that I have prepared 1008 vegetables. Vishwamitra was amazed at Arundhathi's brilliance, got satified, took the bhojan and blessed Vasishta and and Arunthathi as a 'pitru'. Is this called 'tactfulness' combined with intelligence? 2) V Babusenan Vallatthol Narayana Menon Vallathol Narayana Menon, born in Tirur in the present Malappuram district, in1878, was five years younger in age to Kumaran Asan. He did not get any formal education. English and western thoughts were alien corn to him. Steeped in Sanskrit studies, his ambition was to write a Mahakaavya in Malayalam which he achieved at the age of 35 and thus became a Mahaakavi. All this changed with the advent of Gandhiji on the Indian political scenario. The transformation that took place in Vallatthol is evident in the following lines he wrote: Bharatham ennu kettaal Abhimana pooritham Aakanam antharangam Keralam ennu kettalo Thilaykanam chora Namukku njarampukalil (When we hear the word'Bharatham,' our hearts should fill with pride.When we hear the word'Keralam', the blood flowing in our veins should boil.) Vallatthol revered Gandhiji to such an extent that ,in his poem on him captioned 'Ente Gurunadhan' (My Master), he combined in him the qualities of almost all great men in human history and legends like Krishna, Buddha, Christ, Mohamed, et al.The poem became immensely popular and a vast majority of Keralites saw Gandhiji through it. In that poem Vallatthol expressed his conviction that, such a 'Karmayogi' as Gandhiji, would be born only in the great country that produced Gita! In another equally famous poem 'Vandippin Maathavine' (Worship theMother) he describes Kerala like this: Patchayaam virippitta Sahyanil thala chaytchum Swatchaabdhi manalthittaam Paadopadhaanam poondum Pallikondeedum ninte Parswa yugmatthe kaatthu Kollunnoo Kumaariyum Gokarnesanum Amme (Oh, Mother, you are reclining with your head on the green-carpeted Sahya hills. The sandy seashore serves as supporting pillow to your feet. On either side of you, sit guarding you, Devi Kanyakumari and the Lord of Gokarna) In the matter of inspiring people to great heights during the freedom struggle, Vallatthol can be compared to Subrahmania Bharathi of Tamil Naadu. He did in poetry what the latter accomplished through electrifying songs. Vallatthol's main contribution to Malayalam poetry lies spread over 11 volumes of what he called 'Sahitya Manjari' The two poems cited above are from it. It contains very beautiful poems like 'Puraanangal' and 'Aripravu' (Dove). In the former, he says that puraanas are the sweet sounds produced by the bangles of Goddess Saraswathi while she fans the great sages deeply immersed in thought. In the latter, he says that the dove is nothing but the quintessence of the beauty of the rainbow! Among Vallatthol's khanda kaavyas, the best and most popular is 'Magdalena Marium' based on the Biblical story of Mary Magdalene. There was not a single Keralite of my age who did not know the following lines : Appappol paathakam Cheyvathin okkeyum Ippaschaatthaapame Praayaschittham (Sincere repentance will wash away your sins) For the poet Vallatthol, Chitrayogam, the mahaakaavyam , to Magdalena Marium was indeed a great journey. Vallatthol did magnificent service to Kadhakkali by setting up Kalamandalam in Cheruthuruthi near Shoranur in 1930. It is a deemed university now. Vallatthol passed away in 1958 as an octogenarian. Regards." D Blogs and Links Unlocking Lockdown https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/from-within-the-ivory-towers/lockdowns-and-relaxations-25446/?comments=show Posted online comments D Leisure 1) Origin of rules/phrases* " You’ll love this ..possibly??? 1. In the 1400s a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have 'the rule of thumb.' 2. Many years ago in Scotland , a new game was invented. It was ruled 'Gentlemen Only... Ladies Forbidden'... and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language. 3. Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history: Spades - King David, Hearts - Charlemagne, Clubs -Alexander the Great, Diamonds - Julius Caesar 4. In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase......... 'goodnight, sleep tight.' 5. It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon. 6. In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them 'Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.' It's where we get the phrase 'mind your P's and Q's' 7. Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. 'Wet your whistle' is the phrase inspired by this practice. 8. In 1696, William III of England introduced a property tax that required those living in houses with more than six windows to pay a levy. In order to avoid the tax, house owners would brick up all windows except six. (The Window Tax lasted until 1851, and older houses with bricked-up windows are still a common sight in the U.K.) As the bricked-up windows prevented some rooms from receiving any sunlight, the tax was referred to as “daylight robbery”! Now, there you have the origin of these phrases. Interesting isn’t it!!" *Forward received from Shri Yashodhan Mujumdar, Mumbai