Warrier's COLLAGE August 24, 2021

Welcome to Warrier's COLLAGE On Tuesday August 24, 2021 Coral Woman* https://youtu.be/YBpbuwH6nCg (Link Courtesy : K Balasubramanian Coimbatore) * Simply superb from start to finish. An awareness film! Vathsala Jayaraman Good Morning Nice Day M G Warrier A Messages 1) P P Ramachandran's tribute to V Sreenarayanan Goodbye My Friend Shri Sreenarayanan The news of the sad demise of Shri V Sreenarayanan in Trivandrum (on Friday, August 20, 2021) was shocking. He was 70 years old. (Continued at H2) 2) R Jayakumar Mumbai The 'Author Pages' of Amazon and the Notion Press giving descriptions of Shri M G Warrier's published books and their colourful photos of cover pages make me feel that the owner of Warrier's COLLAGE is now not less than a celebrity among today's authors. Congratulations to you. R Jayakumar (Thanks for the kind words. This Collage is a joint effort and has no "owner" except for its deficiencies. Last three days readèrs kept it live when I took a break. Thanks to all of them-Warrier) 3) Y T Hedavkar Very good speeches by Dr Karan Singh and Prime Minister Narendraji Modi and a very good video on Kasturi Tilakam in Warrier's Collage dated 14 March 2021. Thanks. Y T Hedavkar B Book Review : The Graveyard Book By Neil Gaiman https://www.neilgaiman.com/works/Books/The+Graveyard+Book/ THE GRAVEYARD BOOK "Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place-he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their timely ghostly teachings-like the ability to Fade. Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are things like ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other. This chilling tale is Neil Gaiman's first full-length novel for middle-grade readers since the internationally bestselling and universally acclaimed Coraline. Like Coraline, this book is sure to enchant and surprise young readers as well as Neil Gaiman's legion of adult fans." C Collage in Classroom 1) Britannica https://www.rosenpublishing.com/product/britannica-educational-publishing-library-collection Educational Publishing Library Collection This master library collection serves as a thorough introduction to core subjects and events that shape our world. Each subject set is the culmination of the meticulous work of distinguished authors, contributors, and researchers. Accessible, informative narratives provide a wealth of knowledge and are supported by detailed photographs, illustrations, charts, fact boxes, maps, and unique primary source materials. The sets meet curriculum standards within history, science, political science, social studies, philosophy, and math. Detailed tables of contents, appendices, and indexes create an effortless research experience for report writers and essay work. 2) Free for All : C V Sukumaran Free for all: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/free-for-all/article31659397.ece Excerpts : "The Other Side of Social Media" "As the creator, editor and publisher are the same person, they can post any stupidity according to their frivolous and credulous nature. Hence, social media have virtually become a social menace. People don't try to see the veracity of what they are posting or sharing. On various platforms, we can see utter nonsense posted and propagated as great discoveries of “truth”. The other day, I saw such a post saying earth is not round but flat and there is nothing called the force of gravity. The person calls such proven facts conspiracy theories. You can use social media to spread all kinds of nonsense; you can instigate violence against the vulnerable by posting rumours as facts on social media; you can aggravate communal and caste animosities by posting biased views and you can use social media to strengthen the age-old gender stereotypes. The deadly virus forces the world to practise social distancing, but social media has already pushed us into an era of social distancing. We are far from the people around us. We lost social intimacy as social media converted us into islands. Social media put an end to social mingling. We converse with our next-door neighbour on WhatsApp. In the family, each member is an island. I don't think Wodehouse will be sorry for the writers like him who operated in the pre-social media era." D Story Time with Vathsala Jayaraman Chennai Ganga Avatharanam* The story of Bhagiratha, noted for his commitment and perseverance is well known and popular as Bhageeratha Prayatnam. Though the above story is the most popular one, there is another version. Ganga is said to have been born from the big toe of Lord Vishnu's left foot during Vamana Avatara. After measuring earth with one step, when he placed the foot on heaven, his nail created a hole through which the celestial fluid came out and this was Ganga. Dhruva, the pole star sustained her for some time and then she encircled the moon making it more brilliant and then entered Mount Meru wherefrom she flowed in 4 directions and the southern branch that journeyed through India came to be known as Ganga. Ganga is also known as "vishnu Padi'- one who has emanated from Vishnu Paadham. Ganga being caught in the locks of hair of Shiva is being envied by Parvathi. She complains that Ganga, sitting on the head of Siva at a higher level makes fun of her and lowering her esteem to a great extent. Unable to bear the seeming insult, Parvati leaves Shiva. Just to pacify her, it is said that Shiva created SAMA GANA and performed Ananda Tandavam. Shiva is stated to have taken the form of Ardhanareeswara only to appease Parvati. Fight between co-wives! ( There are many poems in Tamil and Sanskrit, may be in other languages also describing the mental struggle and keen contest between Ganga and parvati) What does the descent of Ganga symbolise? Ganga stands for DIVINE CONSCIOUSNESS. It descended into the earth thro Bhagiratha's efforts. But as the earth was not sufficiently evolved, Shiva had to hold her within his locks of hair. Being Divine Consciousness, whoever immerses himself/herself in Ganga becomes totally purified. The Yoga gurus explain that the descent of Ganga reveals the divine origin of Kundalini thro the various chakras to the lowest chakra Iand then ascending to the highest plane thro spiritual sadhanas. (Though for normal vision Ganga seems to be a polluted river). Bhageeratha had to spend hundreds of years to bring the celestial Ganges into the earth. Here is an interesting event that happened in a village called Thiruvisainallur, near Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu in the 18th Century. One Sridhar Iyavaal a great Siva Bhakta and an exponent of Nama Sankeertanam was living in the village. On an Amavasya Day, in Nov( Karthika month), he had to perform Shraddha ceremony to his father. His wife was cooking delicious food to be served to the pundits. A poor pregnant lady, clad in torn clothes came home begging for food. Sridhara Iyaval immediately asked his wife to give the food prepared specifically for the pundits to the lady. Fully satisfied with the nice food, the lady blessed the couple. Now the problem started. The pundits became angry and abused Sridhara Iyaval for having committed a grave sin in having fed poor low caste woman on a Shraddha day. They said that nobody would enter his house and that he would be relieved of his sins only after taking bath in Ganges. IlIyaval said, "My health condition will not permit me to go to Ganges. If Almighty feels that I have not done anything wrong, Ganga will enter the well in my house. He closed his eyes, meditated on Ganga Matha and started singing Ganga and within a few minutes his well got flooded and water entered his house. Three new pundits arrived from somewhere, all items were cooked again and Shraddha was conducted. It is said that the three pundits were Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Even today a grand festival known as "Ganga Aakarshana Mahotsavam' or Ganga Avatharanam is celebrated on the specified day in Nov/Dec and people believe that Ganga enters the well on that day and all people take bath in the well water. Iyaval's house has been converted into a matam. He was a contemporary of Bodhendral Satguru and Sadasiva Brahmendra. His Bhajan Paddhati is being followed even these days. Vathsala Jayaraman *Bhageeratha : https://glorioushinduism.com/2020/01/23/bhagiratha/amp/ More at H1 E Books by Collage Readèrs Love, Sorrow and Other Knick- Knacks : Reshmy Warrier a) In India : https://www.amazon.in/dp/B09D9NGL83/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=love+sorrow+and+other+knick+knacks&qid=1629630166&sr=8-1 b) Outside India ps://www.amazon.com/Love-Sorrow-other-knick-knacks-stories-ebook/dp/B09D9NGL83/ref=zg_bsnr_8624225011_13?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=WWR9NT8A27FTEJETF7RD (This short book of short stories is for those who are willing to keep their eyes open and ears in receptive mode and are willing to accept signals which are normally avoided by people who are afraid of the "Society" around-M G Warrier) Description Love, Sorrow and other knick-knacks are a set of 13 short stories written over a period of time, part poetry, part story, part emotions. Product Details ASIN: B09D9NGL83 Publication date: August 20, 2021 Language: English File size: 1393 KB Text-to-Speech: Enabled Screen Reader: Supported Enhanced typesetting: Enabled X-Ray: Not Enabled Word Wise: Enabled Print length: 47 pages Lending: Not Enabled Amazon.com Sales Rank #230,202 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store) #149 in 90-Minute Teen & Young Adult Short Reads #842 in 90-Minute Literature & Fiction Short Reads #4,221 in Single Authors Short Stories F Leisure Salad of Onam Sadya* I called my Arab friend home for a traditional 'Onam Sadya'.(traditional lunch) The Arab friend asked me: "Is the Onam lunch Veg or Non veg?" I told him: "It's Vegetarian, are you coming? " He said he would come... . And he came and sat for the 'Sadya' (lunch). I placed the traditional big banana leaf and a glass of water in front of him to serve the Onam lunch, and went inside to bring the Onam meal. When I came back, my Arab friend ate the big banana leaf and drank the water, and said: "Masha Alla ... Thamam... This is the first time I have ever eaten such a big leaf as 'salad' ..." HAPPY ONAM! *Forward received from Sudha Warrier Mumbai G Quotes about Publishing http://www.wiseinkblog.com/storytelling/20-memorable-quotes-on-writing-and-publishing-from-famous-writers/ Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters.” -Neil Gaiman (Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, nonfiction, audio theatre, and films. His works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book) H 1) Continued from D1 Kingship Bhagiratha could now finally return to his kingdom. When he entered the gates of his city, everyone rejoiced. Bhagiratha was crowned and he established a just and peaceful rule in the kingdom of Ayodhya. He married and had two children: a son named Shruta and a daughter named Hamsi. He gave his daughter Hamsi in marriage to Kautsa. Bhagiratha believed in the importance of donating cows. Thus, he donated hundreds of thousands of cows and calves to Maharishi Kohala. In the Forests This story is told in the Yoga Vasistha, Section 6 (a philosophical text by Valmiki Rishi which is structured as a discourse of Vasistha Rishi to Prince Rama) But after just a couple of years of ruling, spiritual thoughts began arising in Bhagiratha’s mind. Bhagiratha pondered over this and soon realized the dangers of worldly pleasures. Desperate to get answers, he found a guru named Tritula. Bhagiratha asked him, “Guru, how do I become free from ego and detach myself from the world.” Tritula answered, “You must abstain from all worldly desires and practice the path of spirituality. Only then will you realize your true state: Atma. If you treat yourself as Atma, all of your ego and worldly desires will vanish.” After listening to Tritula, Bhagiratha went back to his own kingdom and decided to renounce everything. He performed the Agnistoma yagna and then gave away all of his wealth and belonging. He even gave away his own kingdom the the neighbouring enemy king. Left with only his clothes, Bhagiratha prepared to leave the kingdom. His subjects requested him to stay, but he ignored them and enter the forest. Soon, he had become spiritually detached and realized himself as Atma. One day, in his wanderings, he arrived back at Ayodhya. He went from door to door, begging for food. His subjects recognized him and requested him to assume kingship. But Bhagiratha refused and continued with his forest travels. One day, he arrived at a kingdom whose king had just passed away. The ministers of the kingdom were trying to find someone worthy of the throne. When they heard that Bhagiratha had arrived, they approached him. After hours of persuasion, Bhagiratha finally agreed and became king. The news of Bhagiratha’s coronation quickly spread and soon reached Ayodhya. The king that Bhagiratha had left in his place had just died, so Bhagiratha’s implored him to resume kingship. Bhagiratha agreed and thus ruled both Kosala and the other country. Death When Bhagiratha became old, he decided to leave his kingdom and go the forests to take the spiritual path. Thus, he initiated his son Shruta as king of Kosala and then left for the forest. There, he attained moksha and passed away. 2) Continued from A1 He is survived by his wife and two sons and their families. He began his career in RBI where he served for 15 years. The second part of his service was in NABABARD--he retired as CGM. When Nabard was formed in 1982, I opted to return to RBI. Sreenarayanan opted for NABARD and was transferred to Trivandrum. He rose rapidly in NABARD becoming DDM in Kottayam—and Principal of BIRD, NABARD's Training College in Lucknow. He retired as CGM. He had served in Calcutta also. When RBI transferred me to Trivandrum, Sreenarayanan received me at the Railway Station and I stayed in his house for over three months in Kaudiar till RBI allotted me a house. His wife had gone for delivery. We were very close family friends. When his son's marriage was arranged I had been transferred to Mumbai but he insisted that we attend the wedding and we happily did. He refused to accept any gift but instead gave me a gift, a very beautiful painting of Ravi Varma which adorns my Hall. Among his achievements was winning a Prize in Amitabh Bachchan's prestigious show "Kaun Banega Crorepati." All of us were very happy to watch him play the game brilliantly. Sreenarayanan was well built, pleasant in manners and was always smiling. He was immensely knowledgeable. Courtesy was his Passport and Gentleness his Calling Card. He has two sons well settled in Australia. Sreenarayanan was a globe trotter and he was a good book lover. Our sincere condolences flow to his family. We pray that his soul rests in peace. P P Ramachandran. August 23, 2021