Warrier's Collage November 18, 2021

Welcome to Warrier's COLLAGE On Thursday November 18, 2021 Hariharatmajashtakam https://youtu.be/P8CKZYcPv34 (Sivasri Skandaprasad*) *BHARATHANATYAM BY : https://youtu.be/6mg6Hg0S0zo Good Morning Sabarimala Season Special : See C & D Nice Day M G Warrier M A Select Response V R Chittanandam CheƱnai The two contributions by Kiran Warrier to today's (November 17, 2021) Collage are very interesting. A page from an old diary: We should be fortunate to have been born in this great country. A very big Namaste to our ancestors. Chittanandam B Current Affairs RBI Wage Revision Human Resources Department intervenes in wage revision issue The United Forum of Reserve Bank Officers and Employees, the umbrella organisation representing employee and officer unions in the Central Bank, have withdrawn its call for an agitation to press the pending issue of wage revision. Protest programmes were scheduled to begin from Tuesday, but the United Front said that they are being withdrawn in response to an intervention by the Chief General Manager-in-Charge of the Human Resources Management Department. HRM Department intervenes “The CGM-in-Charge requested that in view of issues related to wage settlement in the Bank being in an advanced stage, our agitational program may be withdrawn and cooperation extended” for an early closure, said Samir Ghosh, Arun Samaddar, Gavin Coelho and Meet Pathak, leaders of the constituent unions of the United Front. “Our leaders demanded a formal letter from the Bank, which was separately made available to the constituent unions late on Tuesday evening. We discussed amongst ourselves and decided to respond to the call and facilitate the wage settlement early.” Earlier, the United Front had said that RBI officers and employees were embarking on an agitational path from today (Tuesday) after their ‘several attempts’ to revive talks on the long-pending issue of wage settlement failed repeatedly. ‘Several bids had failed’ “We have no option but to protest strongly the Central Bank’s inexplicable dilly-dallying on a very highly sensitive matter such as wage revision of the staff, pending for the last four years and more,” said leaders of the constituent unions had said. Lunch-time gate demonstrations were to begin from Thursday and officers and employees would wear a badge during November 23 to 26. Lunch-time mass deputations would be taken out to the offices of the Regional Directors/Officers-in-charge on November 26. All staff coming under the current wage settlement were to go on mass casual leave on November 30. Published on November 17, 2021 Online Edition The Hindu Business Line C Collage in Classroom Sabarimala history and everything you need to know* https://indianexpress.com/article/india/sabarimala-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-unique-temple-its-myth-and-pilgrimage-5403757/lite/ Ever since the Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark ruling last month lifting age restrictions for the entry of women at the popular Sabarimala temple in central Kerala, the raging issue has divided the state with supporters on either side. The last couple of weeks have seen a strong surge in street-protests and prayer meetings by devotees of Lord Ayyappa, the presiding deity at Sabarimala, with women participating in large numbers. This week, the subject is likely to reach a flashpoint when the temple opens for the first day of the Malayalam month of Thulam. Here's a primer on the temple, its significance in south India and how it makes powerful reverberations among the Hindus in Kerala. *A 2018 Media report. D Sabarimala Season Special 1) Genesis of Harivarasanam The world famous Ayyappa song 'Harivarasanam' was written by Konnakath Janaki Amma in 1923. She was the daughter of Ananthakrishna Iyer, the then Sabarimala priest. Harivarasanam is played as a lullaby to the Sabarimala deity every night before closing the doors of the sanctum sanctorum. 2) Lyrics : Lyrics: Harivarasanam Viswamohanam Haridadhiswaram Aaradhyapadhukam Arivimardhanam Nithyanarthanam Hariharatmajam Devamashreye Saranakirtanam Bakhtamanasam Bharanalolupam Narthanalasam Arunabhasuram Bhoothanayakam Hariharatmajam Devamashreye Pranayasathyakam Praananayakam Pranathakalpakam Suprabhanjitham Pranavamanidram Keerthanapriyam Hariharatmajam Devamashreye Thuragavahanam Sundarananam Varagadhayudham Vedavavarnitham Gurukrupakaram Keerthanapriyam Hariharatmajam Devamashreye Tribuvanarchitam Devathathmakam Trinayanam Prabhum Divyadeshikam Tridashapoojitham Chinthithapradam Hariharatmajam Devamashreye Bhavabhayapaham Bhavukavaham Bhuvanamohanam Bhoothibhooshanam Dhavalavahanam Divyavaranam Hariharatmajam Devamashreye Kalamrudusmitham Sundarananam Kalabhakomalam Gathramohanam Kalabhakesari Vajivahanam Hariharatmajam Devamashreye Srithajanapriyam Chinthithapradam Sruthivibhushanam Sadhujeevanam Sruthimanoharam Geethalalasam Hariharatmajam Devamashreye Saranam Ayyappa Swamy Saranam Ayyappa Saranam Ayyappa Swamy Saranam Ayyappa 3) From my Archives The current controversy* The controversy over the entry of women in a certain age group in Sabarimala Temple which still remains unresolved, can be a case study to understand the multiplicity of bondages among communities in Kerala and to research how superficial and selfish motives guide mob behavior. The present temple in Sabarimala was built by a Christian landlord. Devotees of Lord Ayyappa (irrespective of their religion, caste or community) are “Ayyappaas”(The Tathwamasi concept is factored in, once a person decides to visit Sabarimala Ayyappa) during the 41 days ending with climbing Sabarimala Hills and worshipping Ayyappa. Before Ayyappaas proceed to the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple, devotees worship a Muslim God “Vaavar”. All these points to the harmonious relationship fostered by Ayyappa worship. (Continued at H1) E Readers' Contributions 1) Vathsala Jayaraman Chennai Waiting in the queue... Kiran Warrier's interesting take on 'Waiting' impressed me a lot. Very true. Most of our precious timings are spent in queues. I wrote an article on 'queue' for our College Journal published during the Diamond Jubilee celebration in August 2017. (Continued at H3) 2) V Babusenan Two Cipher Messages Donnithorpe is a village in Norfolk, England and Old Trevor was the most important man there. He was known among the locals as an Englishman who earned a lot of money from gold digging in Australia, generous and sympathetic as a member of the jury. Though a widower and stayed alone in a big manor house, he maintained a wholesome approach to life. One day he got a note by post from his friend Beddoes in Hampshire. (Continued at H1) 3) T V M Warrier : Nostalgia Reflections of a muse. I had been an introvert all along. Melancholy and pessimism are its hallmarks. I can well remember my school days hardships were part of my day to day activities. The situation further deteriorated due to circumstances_-- conservative family, temple background, traditional beliefs, rituals and customs added to the monotony. This obsession is present in me even now refusing to part. A beam of happiness descented over me. Unexpectedly I got an opportunity to join in Govt Brennen College Tellicherry. Being an affiliate of the erstwhile Madras University (era 1954--56) almost all lecturers were non state actors--Tamlians prominently. English had been medium of instruction and vernacular in college campus. Twilight of the English era was advancing though I had a fairly good bask. Those rays percolated deep into my being, warding off my melancholy and pessimism partially. I could look behind those days of darkness and insecurity without fear and regret. Some of my old pessimism over shadowed my moments of happiness. Among the few lighter moments I had one etched deep in my mind. We were all freshers in the academic year and classes commenced only a couple of days before. Our physics teacher stepped in. In a minute or two a girl student appeared at the entrance. She was coming from a remote suburb. She could not catch the bus in time. She appeared nervous and sweating copiously. Like all of us she was not well versed in English. The teacher asked her why she was late. She blurted out "Bus miss". The entire students with the teacher roared in laughter. The girl oblivious of her instant celebrity status staggered to her seat in frustration. 4) Spirituality/Faith charan singh (@CharanSingh60) Tweeted: Unity in Diversity - 73 ą¤¬ोą¤²ै ą¤øेą¤– ą¤«ą¤°ीą¤¦ु ą¤Ŗिą¤†ą¤°े ą¤…ą¤²ą¤¹ ą¤²ą¤—े ą¤‡ą¤¹ु ą¤¤ą¤Øु ą¤¹ोą¤øी ą¤–ाą¤• ą¤Øिą¤®ाą¤£ी ą¤—ोą¤° ą¤˜ą¤°े ą¤«ą¤°ीą¤¦, ą¤°ाą¤— ą¤†ą¤øा Says Farid, oh dear, please stay attached with Almighty God Ultimately, this body shall be reduced to dust and buried in lowly grave Farid, 489, SGGS https://twitter.com/CharanSingh60/status/1460698807386009600?s=20 F Book Review : The Diary of a young girl "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank – review | Children's books | The Guardian" https://amp.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2015/sep/28/anne-frank-the-diary-of-a-young-girl-anne-frank-review Anne Frank: The Diary Of A Young Girl is the real diary of a teenage girl that begins on Anne’s 13th birthday (12 June 1942) when she gets a diary. It tells the story of her family who live in Frankfurt, Germany and suddenly have to go into hiding as a result of Hitler and the Nazi Party’s treatment of Jews in Europe during the second world war. They escape to Amsterdam where they go into hiding with other Jews. The diary ends suddenly on 1 August 1944. There are many important messages in this book, but the most important message is that all people have the right to live in freedom. Anne’s story shows us that just because people may be a different religion or race, doesn’t mean that they should be treated differently. The terrible treatment of Jewish people during the war has shown this. Her diary shows us things that people don’t think about now, for example how every day the people in hiding worried about maybe being found and punished. G God & Nature Quotes "TOP 25 GOD AND NATURE QUOTES (of 76) | A-Z Quotes" https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/god-and-nature.html Like : The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles. Anne Frank (Annelies Marie Frank (German pronunciation: [ĖˆanəĖŒliĖs maĖˆŹiĖ ĖˆŹ”anə ĖˆfŹaŋk] (About this soundlisten), Dutch: [ĖˆÉ‘nəĖŒlis maĖĖˆri ĖˆŹ”É‘nə Ėˆfrɑŋk]; 12 June 1929 – c. February 1945)[1] was a German-Dutch diarist of Jewish heritage. One of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust, she gained fame posthumously with the 1947 publication of The Diary of a Young Girl (originally Het Achterhuis in Dutch; English: The Secret Annex), in which she documents her life in hiding from 1942 to 1944, during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. It is one of the world's best-known books and has been the basis for several plays and films.) H 1) Continued from E2 It ran like this: "The supply of game for London is going steadily up. Head -keeper Hudson, we believe, has been now told to receive all orders for fly-paper and for preservation of your hen-pheasant's life." Though apparently innocuous to you and me, on Old Trevor, it produced a totally unexpected effect. What we took for a rat snake was for him a hissing king cobra! He clapped both his hands to his head and began running round the room in small circles as if he had gone mad. He had a severe stroke from which he mercifully did not recover. What Old Trevor received was a message in cipher code. If one would pick up every third word starting with the first, the harmless message would yield the following threat to life: "The game is up. Hudson had told all. Fly for your life." And thereby hangs a tale. Trevor was not a Trevor. He was James Armitage who, at the age of 23, stood on the deck of a small ship 'Gloria Scott' bound to Australia with hard core criminals, he being one of them. In their group there was one evil genius by name Jack Prendergast who spearheaded a rebellion which resulted in the destruction of the ship including him. A few of those who escaped were saved by another ship bound for Sydney. They were treated as ship-wrecked sailors. Those saved included Armitage and his friend and co-criminal Evans. The Hudson referred to in the note was the only sailor that escaped). Both friends made a fortune by digging gold, changed their names-Armitage toTrevor and Evans to Beddoes- and returned to England to live like gentlemen. Both could successfully conceal their criminal background until Hudson started playing his blackmailing role. The cipher in question is fictional, a spark from the fertile brain of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It occurs in the story 'The Gloria Scott', the very first adventure of Sherlock Holmes which the great detective permitted his Boswell to publish. From the fictional to the real message we go now. It was evening in Potsdam, the German city in the neighborhood of dilapidated Berlin, where the mighty leaders of UK, U S A and the USSR gathered to decide on the division of post-war Germany. The date was 17th July 1945. Henry L Stimson, the US Secretary of States, approched Harry S Truman, President, with a telegram. "Sir, from the White House." said he. "Please read it Stimson," said the President without taking it. The Secretary read : "The operation took place this morning.The diagnosis is not complete. Still the operation exceeded our expectations. Dr Gross is satisfied. He returns tomorrow." The President smiled. He simply said : "What a relief! Put it in my personal file, Stimson." As a matter of fact, Truman had a struggle to hide his sense of pride and enthusiasm. What looked like a consoling hospital news was actually a coded telegram and the real message was this: "The Manhattan Project had come to a satisfactory end. The atomic bomb was exploded this morning. Major General Leslie R Gross, the overall controller of the Project is returning tomorrow." The Manhattan Project took shape mainly because of the great respect that Franklin D Roosevelt, the US President, had for Dr.Einstein. It entailed the combined efforts of the cleverest scientists, engineers and the military force, based on the splitting of the heaviest atom Uranium. The Uranium found in nature, Uranium-238, will not yield to the splitting ( known as fission) while its isotope, Uranium-235, will. Changing the former to the latter, termed 'enrichment', calls for arduous and expensive chemical processes towards which enormous sums of money and human efforts were directed in the Manhattan Project. Three bombs were made. One of these bombs was exploded in the desert of Alamagadro in the mountainous state of New Mexico on 16th July 1945. With what power the experimental bomb exploded was amply described by the Project Director Dr Robert Oppenheimer in two lines from the Gita : "Divi soorya sahasrasya Bhaved yugapad uddhitha " (If the splendor of a thousand suns were to rise together in the sky!) What happened to the other two bombs is known even to a child. 2) Continued from D3 Even before going into the rights and wrongs of the present controversy, let us have a look at one aspect of the issue which is being discussed in media widely. That is the responsibility of the state government (i) to protect the interests of the devotees and (ii) to implement the verdict of the Apex Court. As the present government in Kerala is dominated by Communist Party (Marxist) with CP(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan as Chief Minister, let us find out what is the Marxist view on government and religion. Lenin on Religion The Marxist-Leninist teachings concerning religion and the attitude of the workers’ party towards religion as enunciated by Lenin in his articles Socialism and Religion, the Attitude of the Workers’ Party towards Religion and The Attitude of Classes and Parties toward Religion are: 1. That all religion is a form of “spiritual oppression”—the “opium of the people.” 2. That the programme of the Marxist Party is based on materialist philosophy. 3. That the party resolutely demands the separation of church from state and fights against both militant clerical reaction and “liberal” attempts to fog the minds of the people with religious illusions. 4. That the party does not include the propagation of atheism in its programme, nor does it demand atheism from all its members, but regards the abstract preaching of atheism and the artificial fostering of religious divisions amongst the workers as harmful and as playing into the hands of reaction. (Source : Reader's Guide to Marxist Classics) The Leninist approach at 4 is consistent with the secular spirit of the Indian Constitution. Simply put, government and religion should remain separate and non-interfering in each other’s affairs. The government should definitely play a proactive role in persuading religious and social groups to change with the times. Inside the state, Kerala has places of worship with multiple rituals and practices. From a temple in Kannur District where toddy is not taboo (Parassinikkadavu Temple) to a Goddess who accepts abusive words being included in songs sung by devotees in her praise. 3) Continued from E1 Yesterday we were happy beyond measure not because it was Avani Avittam day, but because we received 6000 litres of water through tanker after anxiously waiting for a long period of 25 days. Remember it was just 18 months after Chennai Floods in 2015. Wait,Wait, Wait! Come April, almost all the streets in the water-starved areas of Chennai will have a long row of muti-coloured plastic water pots labelled with names and addresses waiting for 20 litres of drinking water supplied by Metro water authorities. There will be stone substitutes also. In Jan/Feb you can see serpentine queues waiting from the previous night for Pre Kindergarten Admissions in Front of famous schools. In June there is a beeline for arts/ professional colleges. If you dial any enquiry number in Airlines or railways you may be listening "You are in queue, please wait. Sometimes we can even finish off making rice or sambar before you get the contact. There is no dearth of queues in railway stations, airports, post offices, ATMs.- and Income Tax offices. Even in weddings you have to stand in long queue to wish the couple and give the gift, not to talk of waiting behind the dining table eagerly counting mts if the previous occupant has come to curd rice ( last item). I doubt whether it is a marriage hall or flood relief camp. Not only waiting in mother's womb for nine long months, there is waiting at crematoria for the final journey too. Not to talk of civil cases which endlessly get extended to decades involving third generations. You can't have Darsan in important temples without taxing your knees for two to three hrs. Whether we wait for God or He waits for us, is not known. There is as much disregard to the queue also. There are more breakers than liners. Q crashing is almost a custom in India. We see people deftly entering doctor's room saying that the patient is really sick, as if others come to hospital to play or chit chat. In many ATMs there is more often an excuse to break the queue that the person was taking out money for funeral expenses. In many malls persons buying small quantities take automatic rights while the person behind is waiting with a trolley load. Queue kyon? seems to be the average person's attitude! Even among elites the queue crashing attitude is there. As soon as the announcer calls for the boarding of business class passengers or families with kids, there will be a dash by all passengers towards the gate or counter. For a flight, when boarding passes with seat numbers are issued, where is the need to rush as soon as the announcement beeper goes off? Are people scared that someone might "put a towel" and snatch their seat ? Normally in US and other Western countries they respect the queue, sometimes go out of the way to help senior citizens and women with babies in arms. Really commendable. But there are exceptions too. During our first visit to US, in John Kennedy Airport in New York, I saw many people bypassing the line, joining the previous line by entering through the dividing ropes, while people with heavy luggage had to stand in the queue. The only occasion in the history of mankind when the queue was extremely orderly with no case of any queue breakers was when Noah completed the construction of The Arc and invited all the creatures of the world to come inside in pairs. Since every creature was with its better half, the level of decorum was reasonably high. The other queue that I can never forget is the queue for the 'Swarga Vaasal' on Vaikunta Ekadasi night at Srirangam or at Parthasarathy Swamy Temple, Triplicane. As it was the belief of the staunch Hindus that stepping through this door ensured a place in Vaikuntam for us, there would be mad rush and it was always the question of the survival of the fittest! It made me believe that only the individuals who were expert queue crashers were assured of a place in Heaven! Darwin's theory of 'Survival of the Fittest' applied not only to the Earth but to the Heavens as well! It was possibly a habitual queue victim like me that sang 'Que sera sera' ---'whatever will be, will be'! Very recently I received a mail from a friend, a student of English literature. He said he was waiting in the airport in the long queue. Since there was system failure, they could not issue boarding passes. There was a delay of about 4 hrs. He was so depressed that he gave a long mail about waiting in the queue. I learnt that not only the 'queue' but also the letter 'Q' itself is very queer. While writing this, I am reminded of the word 'quaquaversal' which I learnt some 10 years back.You cannot find this word in Chamber's Dictionary. But it is listed in Geographical glossary and that it means 'from the centre focussing towards all directions.' When I knew the word 10 years back, I thought I would never use this word in my life time and it is a loss of precious memory space in my brain. I never thought that I would get an opportunity to dequeue the word from my memory in this connection. A simple 'Q' is spread over in so many directions- a classic example of 'quaquaversal'.. The lesson I learnt is as clear as a Quartz. We are always advised by psychologists and philosophers to live in the present. As Kiran Warrier has rightly said, we are always in short or long waiting. Our present is 'wait for the future, that is in QUEUE'. Vathsala Jayaraman

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