Warrier's COLLAGE June 13, 2021: Sunday Light

Welcome to Warrier's COLLAGE Sunday Light June 13, 2021 Venkateswara Suprabhatam https://youtu.be/krGYd5tZe0A Good Morning Nice Day M G Warrier A Chaturvarnyam : Dr Prabha Ramadurai Cheñnai This is a beautiful dialogue in Marathi about motherhood. A rough translation follows : त्याने तिला विचारलं ---- " तुझी जात कुठली ?" तिने उलट त्यालाच विचारलं --- " एक आई म्हणून , की एक स्री म्हणून " ? तो म्हणाला " ठिक आहे , दोन्ही म्हणजे -- आई आणि स्री म्हणून सांग. " तिने मोठ्या आत्मविश्वासाने सांगितले --- " स्री जेव्हा ' आई ' होते तेव्हा ती जातीहीन असते . " तो पुन्हा आश्चर्यचकित होऊन विचारता झाला -- " ते कसं काय? " ती म्हणाली - " जेव्हा एक आई आपल्या बाळाचं संगोपन करत असते, ती त्याची शी-शु साफ करत असते , तेव्हा ती शूद्र जातीची असते . बाळ जसजसं मोठं होत जातं , तेव्हा आई नकारात्मक गोष्टी आणि अपप्रवृत्तींपासून त्याची रक्षा करते , तेव्हा ती "क्षत्रिय " होते . जेव्हा मुल आणिक मोठं होत जातं , तेव्हा आई त्याला सुशिक्षित आणि सुसंस्कृत बनवित असते ; तेव्हा ती ब्राम्हण जातीची असते . आणि शेवटी मुलगा शिकून मोठा होतो, कमावू लागतो, तेव्हा तिच आई त्याच्या मिळकत आणि खर्च ह्या विषयी योग्य ते मार्गदर्शन करुन, जमा - खर्चाचा ताळ- मेळ ठिक करते ; तेव्हा ती आपला ' वैश्य धर्म ' निभावते . " तर मी काय म्हणते, ते योग्य आहे ना की स्री ' जाती हीन ' असते . " हे तिचे उत्तर ऐकून तो " अवाक " झाला. त्याच्या डोळ्यात तिच्या व समस्त स्रीयांविषयी आदरयुक्त भावना चमकली, आणि तिला एक आई आणि स्री होण्याचा अभिमान असलेला दिसून आला . This is a free translation of the above beautiful conversation between a man and a woman. He questioned her : “Which caste do you belong to”? She asked back : ”As a woman or as a mother”? “Ok, Ok, tell me about both”. With full self confidence she started telling ---- “When a woman becomes mother, she is casteless”. He was taken aback : “How is it possible”? Her answer was -- “When a mother cleans excreta of her child, she belongs to Shoodra jathi. As the child grows, she protects the child from external unwanted influences, she turns into a Kshatriya. With the growth of the child her caste also changes. She gives good values, good culture and behaviour, and becomes a Brahmin --- and last but not least : When the child gets good education and starts earning, the mother guides him about the value of money, savings and necessary expenditures. She follows Vaishya Dharma. So I hope you agree with my statement that a Stree has no caste. She is casteless.” Listening to this, the man was dumb struck. A bright light of respect splashed in his eyes and he felt proud for all women as mothers. DEDICATED TO ALL MOTHERS B Responses 1) Vathsala Jayaraman Chennai TAT TWAM ASI Very nice crisp explanation about four proclamations in Vedas and trishatakas of Gita. The essence of Advaitha beautifully portrayed in a para by Shri Kelkar. Well done, Sir 2) V T Panchapagesan Chennai Chaturvarnyam Not by birth, but by the quality of Mind.. Today all differences in this world are of form and not by nature. Because there is only one fundamental truth that underlies all. Caste or Varna is a word that has been thoroughly misunderstood as something we are born into.. It has been misinterpreted as divisions made along the lines of name, colour, community etc... It has become a curse today, creating disunity among Hindus.... Retarding progress . The caste system does not determine any hierarchy within society but simply classifies people according to their thought tendencies and nature of activity.. It is a classification of individuals according to their GUNAS, (texture of thought ) or Karma ( Action )... There are three Gunas.. Sattva—which is the nature of knowledge Rajas——which is the nature of action. Tamas—-which is the nature of inertia. Karma is the nature of outer action... Every individual has in him all the three Gunas in varying proportions which thus determines his predominant nature of activity.... Brahmana .. They have predominant Sattva Guna making them intellectual thinkers and scientific investigators.......... Kshatriya ....When Rajas is predominant with a liberal dash of Sattva and a light shade of Tamas, they comprise of dynamic people of action.. Vaishya—-When Rajas is predominant, with more Tamas and less of Sattva. They comprise of traders or commercial men. Shudra—When the proportion of Tamas is predominant making individuals dull and idle, they are classified as the workers or labourers... In today’s world everybody has to work for survival. It can be anything but dignified without prejudice.. Product of work in any form has to be distributed to the needy. A leader who can guide in proper direction without discrimination. Finally a thinker who can advise properly towards making people Building up a strong nation in right direction without selfishness. Where are we, how are we, what are we, etc etc are all debatable today Without a solution making us hither and dither. The essence of our living with happiness all round is missing. This is the reality of Hinduism what we call it today. V. T. Panchapagesan C Books & Publishing : Manohara Grantha Maala https://frontline.thehindu.com/books/manohara-grantha-mala-based-in-dharwad-karnataka-foremost-publishing-house-in-kannada-language-tribute/article34558893.ece "The renowned writer, actor and playwright Girish Karnad would have turned 82 on May 19 this year. While Karnad himself would have been indifferent to his birthday because of his personal philosophy (“Birth and death are personal events; what matters is what one does in between”), his birthday provides us with a pretext to trace the trajectory of Manohara Grantha Mala (MGM), which published all his books in Kannada. Established a few years before Karnad’s birth, this Kannada publishing house has had a parallel trajectory of growth alongside Karnad’s life and will complete 88 years on August 15, 2021. MGM is a Dharwad-based publishing house that launched Karnad as a playwright, as well as the writing careers of Kannada’s best-known literary figures. Karnad acknowledged MGM in a collection of articles titled Meluku(Reminiscences). He said that it was owing to MGM, which published his first play Yayati, that readers accepted him as a Kannada writer. This also influenced his decision to make Dharwad his home. The publisher played an even more fundamental role in Karnad’s future career because Keerthinatha Kurtakoti, a literary critic and adviser to MGM, practically rewrote and polished the draft of Yayati." D Readers' Contribution 1) Vathsala Jayaraman Chennai Once there was a man who asked God for a flower... and a butterfly. But instead, God gave him a cactus and a caterpillar The man was sad, he didn't understand why his request was mistaken. Then he thought: Oh well, God has too many people to care for ...And decided not to question. After some time, the man went to check upon his request that he had left forgotten. To his surprise, from the thorny & ugly cactus a beautiful flower had grown. And the unsightly caterpillar had been transformed into the most beautiful butterfly. GOD always does things right! His way is ALWAYS the best way, even if to us it seems all wrong. If you asked God for one thing & received another, TRUST. You can be sure that He will always give you what you need at the appropriate time. Today's Thorn is Tomorrow's Flower. What you want ...is not always what you need! God never fails to grant our petitions, so keep on going for Him without doubting or murmuring. God Gives the Very Best to Those Who leave the Choices Up to Him! Vathsala Jayaraman 2) Kozhikode : Oru kozhikkodan nostalgia!* For any person who has lived in kozhikode it’s a very unique memory, a very special place,a lingering nostalgia that doesn’t go away no matter whichever part of the world you travel to or live in! Even for people who come from other places and settle down there. Anglo Indians, Gujaratis, Parsis, to name a few! Each and every memory about the small town is so memorable and each and every memory takes us back to our hometown every time we reminisce about it!! The most famous landmarks of Calicut in my memory are definitely Mananchira Maidan and S M Street, the huge open spaces where people used to gather around in the evening, on one side there was always some meeting or other going on, with the microphones blaring. Then there was the sports council building and the basketball court where matches were held regularly and in full attendance most of the time. The Park Restaurant on one corner which served delicious coffee, falooda and snacks, the most visited spot at one time! S M Street, where people loitered around in the evenings, most of the time aimlessly, was always crowded. The colourful halwa and the world famous banana chips beckoning every one into its fold, Krishna Maharaj, Arya Bhavan, Modern Hotel, Santha Bhavan, Komala Bhawan, Wheat House, the aroma emanating from these iconic hotels still linger on in our mind's palate. The most visited cloth shops, Dressland, Colombo Stores, White Shop, Pacific Stores, Cannanore Shop and the like. The choices were limited those days but we valued whatever we had and treasured it. We remember some of those so vividly even today, the colour and pattern of the dresses we wore those days!! Today when it’s wear a day and throw the next and replace with the most trending fashion, we really, really enjoyed wearing and storing our clothes. We valued it all, whatever little life gave us then!! The fragrance of jasmine, the fragrance which no French perfume can compete with filling our nostrils, as we walk on. The Bata shoe store which was a compulsory stop for uniform shoes every year beginning. The Hanuman temple and the aroma of coffee being powdered being too heavenly a scent. National studio where a group picture was a compulsive entertainment those days. Any group of friends for that matter flocked there to get one. We still have some of it because our friendships then were absolutely precious to us and we still bond on so nostalgically with most of them!! Today pictures are taken and deleted and friends are cultivated and deleted too in a somewhat similar manner!! The kind of strong bonding we built and nurtured over the years seems to be lacking, maybe because it’s a busy world now and people have no time to cement any relations, friendship or even marriage!! The theatres being our main source of entertainment. Crown, Radha, Coronation, Pushpa, Davison, Geetha...to name some,they were almost always full, we thoroughly enjoyed those few hours we spent there, be it with friends or family!! The movies and music they made those days were really memorable, most of them!! The songs had meaningful lyrics and we still remember them and travel into a realm of nostalgia while listening to them, or watching some of those old feel-good movies! Tickets and snacks were dirt cheap, we didn’t have to pawn our valuables to buy a snack then!! The Beach...where people thronged on sundays mainly, unlike these days when we see population on even sultry afternoons almost everyday. Guys and girls in their sunday bests just aimlessly going up and down, families clustered together, enjoying an ice cream or a packet of Kadalai, or huddling together at the restaurants along the way, which were very few and far between those days!! It was full of activity and it was an open space freely available to anyone who wanted to spend some leisurely time there! It was much cleaner too, if I remember right, people valued its sanctity and treated it well. The Tali temple and other places of devotion, the Kuttichira Mosque and other Muslim sacred places, the churches which we visited off and on...too many to name, but they are all a very integral, part of our growing up years and still a huge mosaic for us all🙏 The hospitality of people, the way they make everyone feel at home, the simplicity with which they treat each and all....is something unique to Kozhikode...the auto rickshaws which charge very fairly compared to other towns, the shopkeepers who treat us with respect and humility, most of them....Paragon, Bombay Restaurant, French Bakery, all the other world famous landmarks which serve us mouthwatering food and have been in existence since time immemorial....our famous educational institutions, St.Josephs, Providence, St.Michaels, BEM,MCC, PWC, Devagiri, REC, CMC.... Sports....our very own Sait Nagjee football matches, Feasto basketball matches, cricket matches and our very renowned sports personalities, our teachers and professors who taught us diligently and with so much love and patience, they were some of the best those days!! Just a few of a world of memories that comes to mind when I think of my dear little hometown with absolute longing and love....Our Kozhikode, our nostalgia, our own treasure 🙏 *Received from Dr T V Surendran Mananthavady E Positivity to Objectivity https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/moving-from-positivity-to-objectivity/ F Leisure 1) PARENT’S HOUSE* By Khalil Gibran It's the only house where you can go to dozens of times without an invitation. The only house where you can put the key in the door and enter directly. The house that has loving eyes that stare at the Door until they see you. The house which reminds you of your care free days, stability and your happiness during your Childhood . The house in which your presence and look at your mother’s and father’s faces is for you a bliss and your conversation with them is a reward. The house that if you do not go, the hearts of its owners will shrink. The house in which two candles were burnt to light up the world and fill your life with happiness and joy. The house where the dining table is pure for you and has no hypocrisy. The house that if the food time arrives and you don't eat, the hearts of its owners will be broken and annoyed. The house that offers you all the laughs & Happiness. Oh Children, find out the value of these houses before it's too late. Lucky are those who have their parents house to go to. - KHALIL GIBRAN *Received from V Uzhuthra Warrier Navi Mumbai 2) Fascinating facts about Cicero : Reader's Digest https://www.readersdigest.co.uk/inspire/life/7-fascinating-facts-about-cicero?amp=1 "Famous last words Cicero was hunted down and murdered because of his opposition to Mark Antony. He didn’t offer any resistance to his killers, and his last words were alleged to be, "There is nothing proper about what you are doing, soldier*, but do try to kill me properly.” (*Replace "soldier" with any word you like, it would convey the same feelings 🙏-Warrier) G Chaturvarnyam : Getting it right https://vinodvarmah.wordpress.com/2010/07/06/chaturvarnyam-getting-it-right/amp/ "What we rarely pause to appreciate is, for all the comforts we enjoy, someone somewhere has worked hard. In any social grouping, no progress can be made only when many people put their heart and soul, and collectively work towards the common goal. This group represents workers, in general, and contribute the majority. By no means, this group is meant to be inferior just as an ordinary citizen is, by no means, inferior to head of state, in a civilized society, so long as both do their duty right. On the contrary, it is duty of other varnas to protect interest of this group. Remember words of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister of India: “They call me the Prime Minister of India but it would be more appropriate if I were called the first servant of India…” Unfortunately, Just as many other great ideas, even this was corrupted over time in the hands of bigots. It corrupted so much so that it was used as a tool for perpetuation of self interest as well as a tool for discrimination. The very fact that it persisted as a foundation for a social structure for centuries, even in a dynamic society like India despite political and cultural invasions of those times, goes to prove strength of the system of Chaturvarnyam."