Warrier's Collage January 5, 2022

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Wednesday January 5, 2022 Vijay Prashad talking in Glasgow : https://youtu.be/pBKNoBs3ENo (Link Courtesy : T J Kurup Thiruvanantapuram) Good Morning G Collage in Kerala : Wayanad Tourism Nice Day M G Warrier A Responses 1) V Babusenan Smt Vathsala Jayaraman and Shri Ramasubramanian. In the matter of knowledge and wisdom, the former is a free-flowing river and the latter a placid lake. I am indeed very happy to learn that they liked my write-up on the Sangham poetry. My thanks to both of them. 2) M G Warrier Congratulations and Best Wishes to all members of RBI Chennai Friends and Ayurarogyasaukhyam to its Sarathy B Chandriah on the occasion of the Group's Happy Birthday on January 4, 2022 🙏 M G Warrier Thiruvananthapuram AA RBI Appointments : RBI appointed Deepak Kumar and Ajay Kumar Chaudhary as Executive Directors from January 3, 2022. Congratulations and Best Wishes to both of them. https://m.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=53050 https://m.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_PressReleaseDisplay.aspx?prid=53049 B State of the Economy : RBI Bulletin Article https://m.rbi.org.in/Scripts/BS_ViewBulletin.aspx?Id=20690 Excerpts : "The Indian economy continues to forge ahead, emerging out of shackles of pandemic. The ongoing revival is driven by a confluence of factors, viz., release of pent-up demand, government’s push for capital expenditure, robust external demand and normal monsoon. Faster resumption of contact-intensive services and speedy restoration of consumer confidence brightens near-term prospects. Going forward, the emergence of the Omicron strain has heightened the uncertainty in the global macroeconomic environment, accelerating risks to global trade with resumption of travel restrictions/quarantine rules at major ports and airports. The ongoing supply-side constraints are likely to keep input prices and freight rates at elevated levels and could act as a drag on overall exports. While the low domestic infection count and healthy pace of vaccinations augurs well for the economy, looming threat of Omicron calls for observing greater caution and readiness to respond swiftly." C Collage Review : Acts of Thomas Article from Madras Courier https://madrascourier.com/insight/acts-of-thomas-the-advent-of-christianity-in-india/ D Nostalgia Mango Season https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/warriersviews/mango-season-9044/ Excerpts : "Mango season in Kerala those days almost coincided with school vacation from around end-March to onset of monsoon in June. Today’s children who find mangos in the supermarkets around the year or at least can smell and taste various forms of mango products, will not be able to imagine the joy we children shared those days under the shade of mango trees waiting for a breeze to help the huge mango trees drop ripe sweet mangos for us. Not only the breeze, crows, squirrels, parrots and other birds too unknowingly helped ripe mangos to fall. Some mangos fell, even while a squirrel or a bird was still enjoying the fruit." E Spirituality/Faith charan singh (@CharanSingh60) Tweeted: Unity in Diversity - 121 सतिगुरु करे हरि पहि बेनती मेरी पैज रखहु अरदासि जीउ पैज राखहु हरि जनह केरी हरि देहु नामु निरंजनो अंति चलदिआ होइ बेली जमदूत कालु निखंजनो True Guru to God: Pl bless Pristine Naam that will be my friend during death Sundar, Ramkali, 923 https://twitter.com/CharanSingh60/status/1478104844082638850?s=20 F Leisure 1) Unmasking : Vathsala Jayaraman An essay on 'masking' written in jest. As we are on the brink of ringing in year 3 of the pandemic, I am proud to say that I am fully vaccinated and boosted against Covid-19. But on the day of my booster shot last month, I did wake up feeling anxious about getting back to a post-pandemic normal life. After a few days of pondering over my strange reaction, here are some reasons why I think the idea of unmasking is not making me jump with joy. First, as a rule of thumb, I don't jump or twirl. I literally can't. I don't have the balance for it. Plus, I am on an injury-free streak this year and have no wish to jeopardize that. Why am I not ready to set aside my masks yet? Because my husband has invested heavily in it and sacrificed a lot for the safety of our family. In March 2020, you may remember that all the world went crazy and hoarded up masks. It was hard to get our hands on any, but did I lose heart and wring my hands? No sir, not me. I immediately went online and ordered a shiny, new sewing machine and before it was even delivered, I got ready by cutting my husband's many excellent cotton dhotis into small pieces. When the sewing machine arrived at our door the next day, it struck me that I had overlooked a small detail. I didn't know how to sew. Not a single button worth my spit. Still, all was not lost. I stored the machine inside a closet, placed an order for masks with a manufacturer in China for a small fortune and used up all the cut pieces of dhotis around the house as rag cloths. I figured the money I saved buying rag clothes would offset the cost of the masks from China. I love how these things work out in the end. And I am fairly positive that my husband has forgiven me for making koththu parotta of his dhotis. Every time I see the sewing machine in the closet now, I remember my husband's sacrifice of his dhotis and consider wearing a mask a tribute to his generosity. After many months of meeting friends and family only on Zoom, I don't know how I feel about seeing everyone back in full human form with bodies, arms and legs instead of just neck and head up. I worry about not recognizing them. With good reason, I must say. A lot of my new young students have only seen me on Zoom. One such little boy knocked on my door with his father a couple of months ago wanting to get my blessings for Vijayadasami. He looked dazed and disturbed the entire 5 minutes he was here. He wouldn't believe that I was the same aunty that he saw each week on Zoom. I had to finally glare at him with squinted eyes like I would in classes before he would give me a nod of acknowledgement. Do you know how much money I have saved from not going to beauty salons these past 2 years? I can probably invest in a small condo in a remote corner of the world in another 6 months if I keep up with this lifestyle. Why bother buffing and polishing when no one was going to see me? Yes, I scare myself a bit at times seeing my own reflection but hey, I throw a towel on the mirror and take care of that problem. I am afraid my rusty social skills need super heavy polishing before I can be pronounced fit to enter society again. In pre-Covid era, I have a vague memory of curving my lips while meeting people. I think it was called smiling. The only expression that my face can remember to make any more seems to be a scowl. Know of a place where I can sign up to relearn basic social skills? The road ahead may yet be paved with uncertainty but today, let's give thanks to the power above for keeping us safe from Covid these past two years and march ahead together in goodwill looking forward to a better and just world. May we all come out of this pandemic and live long, happy, and healthy lives. Vathsala Jayaraman 2) SMILE* Long back when V.C.D, Audio tapes etc. ruled, a music shop owner was boasting to a customer, that his shop was a maximum seller. Just then, a record he was holding fell down and was shattered into pieces. Without batting an eyelid, he claimed-“See, just now we broke anther record!” *Shared by A P Ramadurai 3) Good News Hospital Special A woman called up Apollo hospital and asked~ "I want to know if the patient Rita Mehta in Room No 1438 is getting better??" . The RMO replied, "She is doing very well. She had her first solid meal today, her blood pressure is fine and if she continues improving she might even be sent home in a couple of days!" . The woman said, "Thank God! That's wonderful news!" RMO: " I take it you must be a family member or a close friend!" . Woman: "No...no... I am Rita Mehta. No one tells me anything here !" *Shared by K P V Karunakaran Mumbai G Collage Tour of Kerala WAYANAD https://youtu.be/_NrGIrdtqEs