Warrier's Collage April 29, 2021

Welcome to Warrier's COLLAGE On Thursday April 29, 2021 "Float" Full SparkShort* https://youtu.be/1HAGuju_yKY ( Link Courtesy: Prem Anand Kannur ) *Related Link: https://bombaydragon.com/2021/02/26/float-full-sparkshort-pixar/ Good Morning Collage has not included all responses/contributions from readèrs due to various constraints. Thanks for cooperation. Nice Day M G Warrier M Books by M G Warrier https://notionpress.com/author/m_g_warrier A Poetry 1) An introvert's ode to the pandemic (in humour) By Reshmy Warrier Mumbai I was always one in favour of masks, Keep thy trap shut, I say, Anyways you have spoken much, There is little else I want to hear, Social distancing I crave, Calling out all that small talk, free advice, half hearts, fake laughs, your judgemental snide? I have always wanted to avoid hugs, So I cheer at the loss of proximity, Imagine pushing, shoving, sweating, Gathering, chomping, speaking.. I welcome my quarantine, No desire to see unwanted people, Nor to answer pesky invites, Here I am in my home haven, Little care for the noise and light, A delight to feel the calm, Staying safe in my home alright! ( Keep writing... Let's help people think differently 🙏-Warrier) 2) Humbug* Smile The students of a zoological class decided to play a prank on their professor. Accordingly they meticulously stitched up together various parts of several bugs to create an artificial bug which could not be easily recognized. They carefully placed it inside a transparent glass case and told the professor-Sir we found in the garden a new type of bug. Can you identify it? It took the professor just a glance to say-‘A humbug’ *Forward received from A P Ramadurai Cheñnai B Interaction 1) V T Panchapagesan Chennai What is Prayer? Prayer should not and must not lead to BEGGARY. It should have a HEART without words And NOT MERE WORDS without a heart.. This will make us Selfless living Making way for PRAYER TO ACT IN ACTION..🙏 Be Well, V. T. Panchapagesan (This is the principle behind our being trained to pray even when we were children. When we would have picked up a shining pebble to play with from the jewelry box. Unfortunately, due to various circumstances, prices overtook values in the race and some of us were made to believe that someone called God is hiding somewhere, ready to sell whatever we need, for a "PRICE"🙏-Warrier) 2) V R Chittanandam Cheñnai The Jokes in today's Collage are interesting. Sending them to all my contacts. The one on Prayer is also good. Regards, Chittanandam 3) C V Subbaraman Mysuru Patience and Tolerance Patience and tolerance are two different things and should not be confused one for the other. The Exchange of train berth with a malingering woman was an act of benevolence, but when the truth came out, she ought to have been told in blunt terms that her action did not do any dignity to her character. You ought to have reclaimed the berth, even if it was for a few hours. She did not deserve any sympathy. Tolerance of crimes and offences is not recommended in any scriptures. The action of Krishna and Indra in taking away precious things from the charitable Karna are acts which do not do any credit to them. Karna knows that he was being cheated, but he cared more for his reputation than for his life itself. Reputation after all does not exist if life does not exist! The same thing happened to Mahaabali; He lost his entire kingdom. For whom? For what? For protecting Indra and Devas who by their various offending actions do not deserve such protection!! Patience, on the other hand, is entirely different. The monumental degree of patience is said to have been shown by Sukabrahma Rishi. He learned many things from his illustrious father, Vyaasa. Vyaasa then advises His son, "I have taught you many things which I knew. Now you have to learn only something from King Janaka. So please go to him." The son obediently reaches Mithilaapuri. Tells the gate keeper at the palace of King Janaka about his arrival seeking an audience with the King. One hour passed, no invitation. One day passed, no invitation from the King. Two more days passed. Sukabrahma Rishi did not feel offended or frustrated. He said unto himself : the King has many royal responsibilities and he must be busy! At the end of the third day, he gets the invitation from the King. The King receives Sukabrahma with all the traditional respectful actions, does paada puja and offers an elevated seat to the Rishi. The Rishi then tells about his mission, of learning some thing from the king. The King smilingly says that he has learned everything now. He was tested for his patience and the Rishi had come out with excellent result! Anyone in the position of the Rishi would have departed in a huff even after an hour or two . In the present day world, any such person would have called a Press Conference and issued a damning briefing about the arrogance of the King! Would he not have? When we get cheated, it demeans the cheat, and not us. No doubt we would have lost something in the process. Perhaps we paid the price for some of our past karma! Subbaraman C One Nation*: M G Warrier Mumbai National Government with proportionate representation M G Warrier This is not a well-researched article. Idea may be old and totally utopian and impractical. That's why I opted to include this under "entertainment"! About me, I'm 76 and for the last 17 years I'm into Jóurnalism. So in my new profession, I'm in my teens. My grandchildren are also in their teens and I am sure the idea I am mooting here will be experimented when they grow up. I have always felt that though we (India) took all efforts to have a comprehensive written Constitution once we became independent and took all possible care to put in place an institutional system responsible for upholding the Constitution, the same thing cannot be said about the evolution of the Political System which, in a way, held the reins of Governance. I'll try to build further on my above statement. When India became independent in 1947, the political leadership was entirely under the control of the Indian National Congress. Justifiably so, as the Freedom Movement was dominated by the leaders of that party. If at all any differences in views about Governance or Legislation surfaced, they were between leaders within the Congress Party. Suffice to say, all through the 15 plus years of Jawaharlal Nehru's Prime Ministership it was almost Single Party rule in India. What is the harm? Instead of answering the question, let me make a statement. The rich and the powerful Indians across the world who invested their resources in the freedom movement got their helpers infiltrated into the Indian Political System. Legislation and Law Enforcement were influenced. From fines for small traffic violations to tax system started getting influenced by such influence. Let's not elaborate. Where do we go from here? Let's straight come to today. All will agree, the pandemic situation in India worsened also because of the relaxations in discipline during the recent elections. There can be consensus also on the view that there is a conscious effort to divide people into two categories: 1) Pro-government and 2) Those aspiring for a change in Government: From top to bottom. What is the solution? Experiment a temporary National Government My idea of National Government, subject to refinement to conform to ease in Governance is on the following lines: 1) Once the results of the current elections are announced and governments are formed, keep in abeyance all elections from Parliament down to Gram Panchayats falling due during the next 5 years to a future date. 2) In addition to those who have secured seats in legislatures, allow political parties to nominate additional candidate proportionate to the gross votes secured by them in the last/latest election to the respective houses. 3) Constitute All-Party governments/governing bodies at each level with proportionate representation. 4) Let Legislatures function normally, debates and voting being allowed on an issue-based basis. Once there's consensus on the principles/Idea, modalities could be worked out by a High Power Committee comprising representatives of Judiciary, Governments, Election Commission, Political Parties and other stakeholders. ***************** *Also see G. This is the submitted version of my Blog Post @ WarriersViews, Times of India D Readers' Contribution 1) Sakthan Thampuran: By V Babusenan Thiruvananthapuram The rulers of Cochin state were generally gentle souls.There is a story about the last ruler who had to relinquish kingship in favour of the Maharaja of Travancore, according to the scheme of integration of states initiated by Sardar Patel. The merger of the two states took place in 1949.At the time of merger, Pareekshith Thampuran, the Cochin ruler, was asked whether he wished to have any personal favour. He said "none." When pressed, he said: "If it is not difficult for you, make available to me, on the first day of the Malayalam year, the panchangam (almanac) of that year." This writer does not know how far it was true, but it helps to illustrate the simple nature of the ruler. It is said that he was a great Sanskrit scholar. But the king who ruled the Cochin state for 15 years from1790 to1805 was an altogether different person. His real name was Rama Varma but he is known in history as Sakthan Thampuran because of his extraordinary boldness and ruthlessness. He executed his decisions with lightning speed and did not tolerate any kind of obstructions. And most of his decisions were in the interest of the state. Sakthan Thampuran's contemporary in Travancore, though much senior in age, was Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma who ruled the state for four decades. He was such a nice person that he was known as 'Dharma Raja'. As he wished to have cordial relations with the neighbouring state, he made a visit to Cochin mainly with a view to mending the fences. He was received with all courtesies by Sakthan Thampuran at his newly constructed Vadakkekara palace in Thrissur in Dutch style. During the course of light talk, Dharma Raja strolled up to a window and looked down. Then he made a comment: "This floor seems to be rather quite high from the ground. If someone jumps from this window, it is doubtful whether he would survive." He then turned to his body guard and said: "Sankara, what do you say?" Sankara Pillai looked down from the window and said: "You are right, your highness. It is too high for anyone to make an attempt." Then Sakthan Thampuran just looked at his body guard who walked up to the window and simply jumped. He did not die, but became a bundle of broken bones. He was immediately taken to the hospital. That evening, Dharma Raja visited him in the hospital. He was curious to know why he jumped without showing even a slight hesitation. He replied : "If I hesitated, death was sure for disobedience. If I jumped, there was some chance of survival with broken bones." 2) Patience, how much is too much? : Vathsala Jayaraman Chennai Enough of Patience! Being soft has been my greatest weakness in life that I did not have the guts to say ‘NO’ to anyone in spite of warnings from well-wishers. As a result I was totally embarrassed on several occasions. Last year myself aged 78, reserved a lower berth for a long trip by train. A few minutes later a middle aged woman with a big bandage in her leg, boarded the compartment. Seemed to have undergone a surgery recently. And she was limping a lot. On being requested by her, I exchanged my lower berth without hesitation, climbed up with difficulty and occupied the upper berth. At about 11pm the lady was walking towards the bath room without any limp and there was no bandage at all. I overheard her talking to her friend in Hindi that she had cheated me by telling a lie. I felt so let down, but could not help. Very often I used to assess myself. Am I trapped into flattery? Did I yearn for an image of a lady who would never decline anything? Am I ‘people pleaser?' ”Am I crazy to earn petty good name?Am I partly responsible for the prevailing corruption culture? In US people say ’no’ bluntly when something is beyond one’s capacity to help. Though it seems to be rather rude, there is a frank admission of the reality. On any day it is better than trying to be polite while there is storm inside of us. Over a period of time those who say ‘no' command more respect. It saves time for everyone and resolves issues quicker. It also helps others to explore other options. We need not say ‘yes’ and then break our heads how to do and how to please. Take Karna of Mahabharat. How his basic charitable nature grew into such an awesome obsession that his later acts of charity proved to be suicidal! Even the Lord took advantage of this weakness. Krishna, in disguise, took away the cumulative effect of his punyas that sustained his life. That was Karna's last act of charity! Is not the message clear here? If people do not learn their lessons even in excruciating circumstances, even God will not help them! Negation may result in 'don't care' attitude, but there are ways of conveying 'No' in a positive style. Being too much generous results in always giving your seat to somebody in the bus or train, taking all the left overs even when you stand chances of first choice, continue standing in the queue for ever while everyone is proceeding breaking the queue. Is there a longing to be branded as decent, civil and gentle? Are you following the saying ”Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other also to him”? Are you the true follower of Buddha who advised to ignore all the insults heaped on you? What about self defense? Have you forgotten that even Ramakrishna Paramahamsa advised the snake at least to ’hiss’ to frighten others by way of self protection, though it need not bite. Don’t you know that ‘to forgive always’ is being taken for granted? Why do you refuse to take initiative for what is right? Why do you refuse to react to the atrocities inflicted on fellow beings? Are you afraid of getting caught for extending genuine help? Don’t you feel that by so doing, you have already lost your integrity and accountability? During Deepavali festivities, some 25 to 30 boys assembled in our door front and were firing crackers and sparklers for a long time with terrible noise around. We preferred to remain locked up inside. After a long time, I heard the loudest noise.Our post box and milk box were shattered to pieces as the boys had inserted the serial ‘cracker’ inside the slit and simply set fire to it. As I opened the door, all the boys vanished. An hour later, the leader of the team rang our door bell, sought apology, took away all the broken bits, swept the floor. Is the transformation due to our patience?Even today many prefer to be patient and non-committing and don’t mind being insulted and branded as cowards, rather than pushing themselves to the front when atrocities happen to others just in their vicinity. Why? Why? Questions are haunting us since long. No answers yet. Enough of Patience! Vathsala Jayaraman ( Depiction of Karna's character varies from the original Mahabharata by VedVyas and the Tamil version by Villiputhurrar who seemed to have had some great admiration for Karna. That Karna was orphaned by his own mother under peculiar circumstances etc are as in original. But the sharp shift in putting Karna in enhanced backdrop is unique to Tamil ithihas! Persons with knowledge of versions in other tongues may please enlighten regarding depiction of the disowned child. -S R Badrinarayanan Cheñnai 🙏) E Blogs & Links 1) Post-retirement, Prakash Shah of Reliance accepts ascetic life https://m.timesofindia.com/city/ahmedabad/from-corporate-frontliner-to-jain-ascetic/amp_articleshow/82280850.cms Excerpts: Prakash Shah and his wife are now known as Prashant Bhushan Vijayji Maharaj Saheb and Bhavyanidhi Sadhviji Maharaj Saheb. They were given diksha by His Holiness Gachchhadhipati Acharya Sh. Yugbhushansuri Swarji Maharaj Saheb. Shah is the third IITian to become a disciple of the guru. “The true way to meditate in life is by walking the path of diksha,” according to Bhuvan Jeet Maharaj. Asked why so many young people today are taking diksha, he said though the world has developed in a materialistic sense, it is not able to provide true happiness to young people. “So, they are choosing the spiritual and ancient path of Jainism,” he said. 2) Pandemic Situation https://openthemagazine.com/essay/stupidity-and-credibility-in-the-time-of-a-pandemic/ 3) US Private Sector CEOs' Initiative https://zeenews.india.com/companies/ceos-of-40-top-american-companies-create-global-task-force-to-help-india-fight-covid-19-2357903.html/amp 4) Writer's Progress: M G Warrier Mumbai https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/warriersviews/a-writers-progress-10304/ F It's not a joke being patient https://yellowjokes.com/patience-jokes Like: "What kind of doctors have the shortest temper? Paedatricians - because they have little patients. Hurhur. Thought of this myself while attempting to pun on patience/patients" G Quotes about Harmony https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/harmony-quotes Like: "To survive in peace and harmony, united and strong, we must have one people, one nation, one flag." -Pauline Hanson ( Pauline Lee Hanson is an Australian politician who is the founder and leader of One Nation, a right-wing populist political party. She has been a Senator for Queensland since 2016. Hanson ran a fish and chip shop before entering politics as a member of Ipswich City Council in 1994)

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