Warrier's Collage November 29, 2021

Welcome to Warrier's COLLAGE On Monday November 29, 2021 BheeshmastutI https://youtu.be/EAvzeL2QhWg An inspiring speech https://youtu.be/3SDkzDlw1yc (By A P J Abdul Kalam) Good Morning Collage Holiday from December 1, 2021. Even if the Collage doesn't come back after the holiday in the same format, I am sure it will continue its journey in some form for some more time... Nice Day M G Warrier Thought for the Day* "When you focus on what you're grateful for, you'll always be in a better mood. The human brain is incapable of being grateful and angry at the same time. So always be grateful and you'll have a better quality of time." *Received from V Rangarajan A Responses 1) R Jayakumar Media Response.... Your advice to the House Panel going to revamp contents of text books to exercise due caution not to disturb the harmony of divergent people of the country is timely and valid. Regarding song writers for movies, (KANNADASAN OF MALAYALAM SONGS) Babusenan Sir has mentioned that writing lyrics for tunes already produced by music directors would be frowned upon by many. I have noticed that many hit songs of Shankar Jaikishan in 1960-70s were found as background music in their earlier films. Music directors like Laxmikant - Pyarelal and Ilyaraja are said to have been inspired for hit music anytime during the course of their daily activities, even the sound made by an idli making vessel can give them sparkling music and the song writer makes it lively. Many lyricists and music directors worked as teams and were comfortable to work both ways. Only writing songs for dubbed films may look ordinary. 2) P P Ramachandran Mumbai Dear Babusenan, Read your tribute to Bichu Thirumalai. Excellent analysis of Kerala's Kannadasan. We do look forward to the return after 25 years of A R Rahman--when he will be the Music Director of Prithvi Raj' movie--Aadujeevitham. Thank you, dear Babusenan--for this exquisite Obituary Tribute. PPR 3) M G Warrier Thanks for all the responses from readers about "Collage Holiday" from December 1, 2021. Collage heavily depended on your contributions and guidance during its journey started in uncertain times. Though we promote the idea of reducing expectations as a "safe policy", I will continue to expect more blessings and prayers from you, for the sustenance of the causes Collage has been trying to uphold 🙏-Warrier B Life 1) Spirituality/Faith charan singh (@CharanSingh60) Tweeted: Unity in Diversity - 84 अखी बाझहु वेखणा विणु कंना सुनणा पैरा बाझहु चलणा विणु हथा करणा जीभै बाझहु बोलणा इउ जीवत मरणा नानक हुकमु पछाणि कै तउ खसमै मिलणा See/hear/walk/work/speak without eyes/ears/feet/hands/tongue Dead yet alive Know divine writ to meet God Angad, 139, SGGS https://twitter.com/CharanSingh60/status/1464608416970641410?s=20 2) Lead by example* At the point of death, a renowned civil servant, Tom Smith called his children and after praying for them, advised them to follow his footsteps so that they can have their peace of mind in life. The eldest child, Elizabeth, a graduate, looked at the other siblings and yelled, _"Daddy, its unfortunate you are dying without a penny in your bank account. It is a pity you are leaving us the same wretched life you lived. Personally, I can't emulate you, she continued. Other fathers in the neighbourhood that you tag as being corrupt, thieves of public funds left houses and properties for their children. See the kind of comfortable life they live and the schools they attend. You are dying after 35 years of public service with just one rickety car. The only honour you have in this room is the citation of an award you won as the best Public Service Accountant when we were not even born. Even this house we live in is a rented apartment. Sorry, I can't emulate you. You are dying of a common disease and we can't even fly you outside the country like the others do. How can we cater for our mum and the little ones by living like you did in this part of the world. How? Daddy please let's chart our own course, let's paddle our own canoe."_ Few days later, their father gave up the spirit. Three years after, Elizabeth finished her Masters Degree. She applied for a job and went for an interview in a multinational company. The interview panel had already penciled down a candidate for the highly coveted post but wanted to complete the formality of interviewing all applicants on the list. As soon as Elizabeth sat before the interview panel, the Chairman of the committee looked through her CV, nodded and asked, _"Hi Miss Smith, tell us a bit about yourself"_ and Elizabeth replied, _"I am Elizabeth Smith. My Dad, the late Tom Smith was the Regional Head Accountant of the National Insurance, and also served as Administrator of Public Health for many years...."_ But the Chairman cuts in, "Oh my God, you are the daughter of Mr. Tom Smith? I can't believe it." He turned to other members and said _"This Smith man was the one that signed my membership form into the Institute of Chartered Administrators when he served in our district in the North and his recommendation earned me where I am today. It was really difficult getting a man in such high office to do that during those years. You needed to be rich to get your form signed but the amazing thing is, he did all these free. I didn't even know his address, he never knew me from Adam. He just did it for me. I returned to his office after a year only to hear he was transferred. That was it and I never heard from him again. "_ He turned to Elizabeth; _" I have no question for you, consider yourself as having gotten this job, resume tomorrow, your letter will be waiting for you. For how your dad remained honest and served everyone with diligence, I trust you will follow his path in this job."_ Elizabeth Smith became the Corporate Affairs Manager of the company with two cars, one official and one for private use, attached to the office, with a duplex and two drivers and a salary of £250,000 per month excluding allowances and other costs when she travels outside the country. After two years of working in the company, the Group Managing Director of the company came from America to announce his intention to resign and needed a replacement. A personality with high integrity was sought after, again the company's Consultant nominated Elizabeth Smith. In an interview, she was asked the secret of her success and the sudden sky rocketing profile. And in tears, she replied, _"my daddy paved these ways for me. It was after he died that I knew that he was financially poor but fabulously rich in integrity, discipline and honesty."_ She was asked again, why she is weeping since she is no longer a kid as to miss her dad still after a long time. She replied, _"At the point of death, I insulted my dad for being an honest man of integrity. I hope he will forgive me in his grave now. I didn't work for all these, he did it for me to just walk in."_ So finally she was asked, _"Will you follow your father's foot steps as he requested?"_ And her simple answer was, _"l have already been doing that. I have met a number of people after his death and I haven't seen or heard anyone say a word against my dad's life in public service. I now adore the man, I have a big picture of him in my living room and my office. He deserves whatever I have after God."_ _Are you like Tom Smith?_ It pays to build a name, the reward doesn't come quickly but it will come however long it may take and it lasts longer. Integrity, discipline, self control and fear of God makes man wealthy, not the fat bank account, luxurious cars and mansions. Leave a good heritage for your children and the next generation. Are you building a good name for your children &/or a fat bank account? Money fades, fame goes, cars get out of system but a good name stays on forever. *Received from K P V Karunakaran Mumbai C 1) Nostalgia MUST READ: ‘Shankar's Weekly’ final editorial – IJR : https://indianjournalismreview.com/2012/05/18/must-read-shankars-weekly-final-editorial/amp/ Excerpts* : “Humour, whenever it is there, is encapsuled. Language itself has become functional, each profession developing its own jargon. Outside of the society of brother-cartoonists, an economist is a stranger, floundering in uncharted territory, uncertain of himself, fearful of non-economic language. “It is the same for lawyers, doctors, teachers, journalists, and such-like. “What is worse, human imagination seems to be turning to the macabre and the perverse. Books and films are either on violence or sexual deviations. Nothing seems to awaken people except unpleasant shocks. Whether it is the interaction of the written word and the cinema on society or not, society reflects these attitudes. Hijackings, mugging in the dark, kidnappings, and plain murder are becoming everyday occurrences and sometimes lend respectability by giving it some kind of political colouration. “But Shankar’s Weekly is an incurable optimist. We are certain that despite the present situation, the world will become a happier and more relaxed place. The spirit of man will in the end overcome all death dealing forces and life will blossom to a degree where humanity will find its highest purpose discharged. “Some call this God. We prefer to call it human destiny. And on that thought we bid you good-bye and the best of luck.”" *From the last editorial of the Shankar's Weekly published on Sunday, August 31, 1975. 🙏-Warrier 2) Relax...think...react! Very positive and lovely message. Dr Prabha Ramadurai Change in Perception ~ according to the situation* In a train, two children were running here and there. Sometimes they would fight with each other, and at times they would jump on top of seats. The father, sitting nearby, was lost in his thoughts. In between, when the children looked at him, he would put on an affectionate smile, and then the children would again get busy with their mischief and the father would keep looking at them lovingly. The co-travellers of the train were upset by the children's playfulness and annoyed by the father's attitude. Since it was night time, everyone wanted to rest. Seeing the running around of the children, a traveller could not stop himself and exclaimed to the father - "What kind of father are you? The children are behaving so naughtily, and instead of stopping them you are encouraging them with your smiles. Is it not your duty to explain to them?" The other passengers took a sigh of relief when the gentleman dared to complain, thinking that now this person would feel ashamed and will stop the children. But the father paused for a few moments and said, "I am just thinking how to explain it to them brother." The traveller said, "What do you mean, I did not understand..?" The man said, "My wife had gone to her maternal home. She passed away yesterday due to an accident. I am taking the children there for the final rites, and now I'm confused how to explain to them that now they will never see their mother again." Hearing this, everyone was stunned. Let alone saying something, nobody was even able to think straight. The children were still engaged in their mischiefs. They were still running around in the compartment. The man fell silent again. There was no change in the atmosphere, but those children were no longer looking like undisciplined kids to the co-passengers but were looking like soft young flowers, on which everyone wanted to pour their love. The father was no longer a careless person, but now he was seen as the father _and_ the mother of two children, saddened by the separation of his life partner. On a similar occasion, a car in front of me was moving very slowly and was not letting me pass even after my repeated honking. I was about to lose my patience when I saw a little sticker on the back of the car, which read : "Physically handicapped; please be patient!" And as soon as I read this, everything changed! I immediately calmed down and slowed down the car. I even started moving with special care so that the driver of that car does not get troubled. I did reach the office a few minutes late but there was a sense of satisfaction in my mind. Now it's a story, whether true or false. But the basic thing is that change in feeling/perception/thinking leads to change in behaviour. The attitude and perception towards someone, changes in a moment. We are all confused because we have created a world of confusions based on our own perceptions around ourselves. It's not that there are no troubles in life... but can despair or negative thoughts help us change those situations? *What is needed is hope - a positive thought full of enthusiasm. Then we will feel the change within our hearts immediately. In that wave, even the desert of despair will rejoice like a green forest. D Book Review : "A Northern Light" by Jennifer Donnelly https://www.thebooksmugglers.com/2009/09/book-review-a-northern-light-by-jennifer-donnelly.html Excerpts : "Review: A Northern Light is actually two parallel stories, following sixteen year old Mattie Gokey as she struggles to follow her dreams, beyond her harsh, bleak reality. In 1906, Mattie works as a maid at the Glenmore, an upscale hotel on the banks of Big Moose Lake outside New York City. One of the guests, a young woman named Grace Brown (who is not much older than Mattie herself) is found drowned in the lake and is bought to the Glenmore while her family is notified. The man she was with at the hotel and on the lake, however, is nowhere to be found. Mattie knows that something is not right with Grace's death, as shortly before she disappeared, the tearful young woman asked Mattie to perform a favor for her – to burn a pile of letters. Letters, which may hold a hint to the woman’s tragic fate; letters that Mattie has not yet destroyed. Simultaneously, A Northern Light also tells the story of Mattie a year prior to her employment at the hotel, a retrospective storyline that catches up to the discovery of Grace’s body. This earlier thread follows Mattie as she works at home on her farm in the North Woods. After her mother's death and her brother runs away following an argument with their father, Mattie has had to work even harder to keep her family fed and chores completed. Without her older brother to do work around the farm, Mattie's father demands that she stay home and give up her useless pursuit of schooling and writing, much less her dreams of heading to New York City for university the following year. And every day Mattie's dreams for the future, to become a writer free from the responsibilities of the farm and demands of her family, shrink – especially when the handsome neighboring farmer Royal takes an interest in her." E Kalam, the teacher : M G Warrier https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/warriersviews/kalam-the-teacher-31965/ Excerpts : The dedication of the book reads as under: “I dedicate this book to a child who is studying in Class 12. Her name is Snehal Thakkar. On 11 April 2002 when I reached Anand by road in the evening, it was under curfew following communal disturbances. The next day, at the Anandalaya High School, while talking to the students, a question came up: ‘Who is our enemy?’ There were many answers, but the one we all agreed was correct came from her: ‘Our enemy is poverty.’ It is the root cause of our problems and should be the object of our fight, not our own. The theme and content of the book reaffirmed my faith in a human endeavour which had received a boost from the previous book I read, which was ‘The End of Poverty: How We Can Make It Happen in Our Lifetime’ by Jeffrey D. Sachs (Publisher: Penguin Books), which, the author said, was about ending poverty in our lifetime with a caution that ‘it is not a forecast’. Observing that currently (2004 position, must be worse today!), more than eight million people around the world die each year because they are too poor to stay alive, Jeffrey D. Sachs makes a bold statement that ‘Our generation can choose to end that extreme poverty by the year 2025.’ Sachs shares his experience in various countries including Bangladesh, India and China and makes, inter alia, the following observations on sustainable development: “While targeted investments in health, education, and infrastructure can unlock the trap of extreme poverty, the continuing degradation at local, regional, and planetary scales threatens the long-term sustainability of all our social gains. Ending extreme poverty can relieve many of the pressures on the environment.” I find ignited minds could very well double up as a ‘companion volume’ with ‘End of Poverty' as the book explains the philosophy, vision and mission statement in the Indian context, which Sachs had left out. All through the 196 pages of the book, we feel the presence of Kalam, the scientist-turned-teacher. Individuals like Kalam, hundreds of them, through the ages, have ensured the survival of India insulating the country from total extinction despite efforts by external interests and divisive and corrupt forces from within. I leave it to scholars to research and find out, why the Indian leadership did not change to the extent expected by Kalam despite his being in Rashtrapati Bhavan for five years. F Leisure 1) Father in Law There was a very popular Priest in one of the Churches. Devotees used to address him affectionately as FATHER. The priest was a part time student in local law college. He was a good student, passed the exam with rank, and enrolled as an advocate. Now the devotees are confused, whether to call him FATHER or ADVOCATE.. Finally they decided to call him FATHER IN LAW. **** *SOORYA SOORYA SOORYA DAILY BULLETIN 28 th November 2021 __ 2) More about parents and children* A surgeon named his son Naïf (pronounced Knife). I said what an apt name! Then I came to know the following: 1. Lawyer's daughter Sue. 2. Radiologist's son Ray. 3. Ophthalmologist's daughter Iris. 4. Florist's daughter Rose. 5. Mechanic's son Jack. 6. Archaeologist's son Doug. 7. Thief's son Rob. 8. Gymnast's son Jim. 9. Jeweler's twin daughters Ruby and Pearl. 10. Ornithologist's son Robin. 11. Orthopedician's son Boney. 12. Barber's son Harry. 13. Solicitor's son Will. 14. Accountant's son Bill. 15. Horticulturist's daughter Ivy. 16. Gardener's son Pete. 17. Monarch's son Prince. 18. Dramatist's daughter Oprah. 19. Sanitation engineer's son John. 20. Highway engineer's son Miles. 21. Dietitian's daughter Olive. 22. Actor's son Oscar. *Received from Shivram Shetty Ex-RBI Mumbai 3) Act right, let go* Tanzan and Ekido were once travelling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling. Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the inte rsection. “Come on, girl,”said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud. Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. “We monks can't be near females," he told Tanzan, “especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?” “I left the girl there," said Tanzan.“Are you still carrying her?” Sometimes the right decision means not following the rules. The important thing is to act, then let it go and move on. *Received from Babu Thiruvananthapuram G Quotes on knowing when to quit : https://www.quotemaster.org/knowing+when+to+quit Like : "I've always admired your rather formidable will, your refusal to back away from difficulties, but sometimes strength isn't about perseverance. Sometimes it's about knowing when to quit." Jennifer Donnelly (Jennifer Donnelly is an American writer of young adult fiction best known for the historical novel A Northern Light. A Northern Light was published as A Gathering Light in the U.K. There, it won the 2003 Carnegie Medal, recognizing the year's outstanding children's book.)