Warrier's Collage June 8, 2022

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Wednesday June 8, 2022 1) Tiranga Samman Samiti https://youtu.be/lZslz7UFBwc (A good initiative 🙏-Warrier ) 2) Thrastosmyaham... Lyrics with meaning https://vedabase.io/en/library/sb/7/9/16/ Good Morning Nice Day M G Warrier Faith Dr Charan Singh https://twitter.com/CharanSingh60/status/1533871892108414976?s=20&t=1Mp8_5wxAD19fyscduSRdA Unity in Diversity - 275 मनमुख मनु तनु अंधु है तिस नउ ठउर न ठाउ बहु जोनी भउदा फिरै जिउ सुंञैं घरि काउ Mind/body of self-willed (opp of Guru-willed) is dead; no place Wandering in different species (without any benefit) like crow in deserted house Guru Amardass, Srirag, 30, SGGS A Messages/Responses 1) V Babusenan "Think of me at my best." This is what everyone wants-East or West. "The evil that men do lives after them; The good is often interred with their bones" This is equally true-East or West. So, the intelligent Indian did not much bother about either. He only said : "God, grant me an easy death."( Anaayaasena maranam) The gentleman wishes his body to be taken to the cremation ground respectfully carried by 4. That is also everyone's wish, a decent disposal when the time comes, though he directly does not say so. Madam intervenes. She asks : "Do you think a comfortable death will lead you to a peaceful life after it?" The gentleman wanted only to focus on the number 4. If Madam reacts like this, what 4 people will say? Here is my humble contribution : 1) In Ramayana, King Dasharadha had 4 sons-2 to go to the forest and 2 to remain at home. 2) In Mahabharata, Yudhishtira & party had to go to the forest because of a game played with 4 pieces (Chathuranga) 3) RBI has 4 Deputy Governors. But, when all is said, kindly remember that it is number 23 that made all of us-23 pairs of chromosomes-no more, no less. (Sir, 23 = 4x4 + 4 + 4 minus 4/4 : So 23 again, is a function of fours. Hope my arithmetic is better than my spelling & grammar 🙏-Warrier) 2) S Venugopal Shared a story with a moral : A Teacher was sitting on the bank of the river for a very long time, watching the water flow by, as one of the students asked, "What are you doing Sir?" The Teacher replied, "I am waiting for the whole river to flow, then I will cross it..." The student said, "Sir, you will never be able to cross the river like that, while waiting for the whole water to flow. That can't happen, the flow will never stop, the water will just keep on coming!" The Teacher said, "This is what I want to explain to all of you, you people always say, that once the responsibilities of Life are fulfilled, Once I finish this task, that task etc..., then I will have fun. Just like the water of the river will never end, the responsibilities of Life will never end. So have Fun, Roam Around, Travel More, Meet & Greet new people, Share & Care, and Serve & Deserve, as you keep discharging on your Duties & Responsibilities in Life. Find a way to cross the water while it is still flowing. *Food For Thought shared by S Venugopal via Group mail 3) Media Response June 7, 2022 Merger for growth* This refers to the report "Bring housing finance under banking structure to scale up : HDFC Chairman" (The Hindu Business Line, June 7). In the case of the proposed HDFC and HDFC Bank merger, the merged entity is expected to have an asset base of ₹27 trillion plus. Last few decades have seen parallel growth of "Non-Banks" which eat into business traditionally belonging to banks and RBI struggling to acquire adequate regulatory and supervisory powers to protect the interests of their clientele. The mention of "pooling of resources and lowering of costs" in the HDFC Chairman's statement should be seen also in the context of the regulatory and supervisory convenience, if all the limbs of the financial sector doing banking business are brought under the same parameters of functioning. Expeditious and successful merger of HDFC and HDFC Bank will pave the way for further consolidation in the Indian Banking System. M G Warrier Mumbai *Published on June 8, 2022 : https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article65504661.ece Also please read S K Gupta's response in today's Business Line about RBI clarification on Currency design. B Collage Literature Poetry 1) Loose yourself* https://youtu.be/1QFmYs3BSxc *Link Courtesy : Thalassery Ravindran 2) Select poems by Padma Priya Rajagopal* 1 FARMER'S PLIGHT (ANNADHATHA) From the break of dawn till twilight falls, The farmer in his field without rest toils, He works so much magic with the soil, What an irony! with hunger his stomach boils. We’re satiated, we know not what hunger is, Food’s plenty because of the toil of his, Callous we are, don’t we something really miss? He remains hungry when we are in bliss! Undaunted the poor farmer toils day and night, Against the elements bravely does he every day fight, All obstacles with stoicism he has to meet, Living itself for him is really a feat. He struggles endlessly, all his toils are in vain, Our stomachs are full, only we do gain, If misery strikes him, isn’t it our shame ? When he ends himself we are to blame. ************************ 2 A HUNGRY BOY’S PLIGHT A far away forlorn look he had, His sunken eyes looked so sad, Something about him was really bad, Alas! what a piteous starving lad. His hungry stomach begged for food, How much suffering it has withstood, Tattered and worn, bitterly he stood, Begging for mercy from those heart’s good. Groveling amidst rubbish, he did search, For food, which was his dearth, A dog shared his miserable birth, Hunger is cruel on this earth. Misery’s tears rolled down his cheeks, A little morsel he did seek, Hunger had made him so weak, Fate seems cruel to the meek. Compassion alone can alter his fate, Let him not in hunger wait, Helping hands can enhance his state, Let’s do it before it’s late. Countless children need your care, How else will they ever fare? Let not hunger any one’s stomach tear, With the unfortunate, your blessings share. ********************** 3 A VOICE TO LISTEN Listen to the plaintive voice calling you, Hunger is cruel is a saying true, About this suffering I wish you knew, Millions out there don’t get their due. A hungry child cries for some food, So much suffering for long she’s withstood, Her cry should have your heart moved, About her agony it’s time we understood. Hunger on earth is a big scrooge, We have to soon it from here purge, To fight we've to develop this urge, For concerted action together we've to merge. Those having excess food learn to share, For the unfortunate hungry people do care, Let not hunger their poor stomachs tear, Lend your helping hand help them fare *See Book Review by P P Ramachandran at C below Know more about Padma Priya Rajagopal : https://www.poetryxhunger.com/2020-world-food-day---submitted-poems/category/padma-priya-rajagopal Whispers Of My Soul : https://www.amazon.in/dp/B083F8PHB8/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_Y49QVVW9M6Q1QF70XA8X Description From my childhood and college days as student of Stella Mary's College, and Madras University I had great passion for poems written by such stalwarts like Wordsworth,Robert Frost, Thomas Grey, John Keats and others. I loved their poems and developed an urge to write poems. I took keen interest to give expression to my feelings on various topics in poetic form. My main concern is on the Nature – as lover of plants, animals, birds, insects that constitute an amazing environment to interact with human beings. As a student of Philosophy, History, Geography I also derived pleasure in reading and writing on topics of eminent scholars. I had developed immense faith in the philosophy of renowned saints, scholars and writers of this glorious Nation. I am particularly influenced by the preaching of Ramana Maharshi, Swami Vivekananda, J.Krishnamurthy. Since I studied in a popular mission school I was also influenced by the teachings of Jesus Christ. That did not affect my faith in other religions which I respect always. I found the best way to achieve satisfaction in life is to indulge in writing poems which I have been doing for pretty long. In this small book I have given my full expression without any inhibition as the ideas flowed from mind to hand and to fill the paper with the pen. My husband Dr. V. Rajagopal was a great source of encouragement for fulfilling my dream of compiling ‘WHISPERS OF MY SOUL’ which has a combination of social, philosophical, nature and environment, love and romance and patriotic poems. I did my best to visualize situations that confront human beings in different sectors and gave expression to the best of ability. My entire family fully supported me in this effort. Last but not the least, I dedicate this book to my beloved parents late Sri. T. S. Parthasarathy and Smt. T.S. Kalyaniammal who showered their blessings on me with affection and love. C Book Review* : P P Ramachandran Poverty and Hunger -A Poetic Expression of Compassion by Ms V Padma Priya Rajagopal ; Published by Society for Hunger Elimination,Tirupati. *Received via Group mail Continued at H2 D World Hunger Management https://www.wfp.org/ending-hunger Although enough food is produced to feed everyone on this planet, the goal of a world with zero hunger, as set out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and specifically in Sustainable Development Goal 2, remains hugely challenging due to a toxic cocktail of conflict, climate change, disasters and structural poverty and inequality. Over the past two years, the socio-economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have further exacerbated the situation by pushing millions of vulnerable people into greater food insecurity and driving up the costs of reaching people in need. E Collage Essay : Vathsala Jayaraman Rama's Sister RAMA’S SISTER All versions of Ramayana begin with description of the kingdom of Kosala, its King Dasaratha, his three wives—Kausalya , Sumitra and Kaikeyi. Dasaratha’s kingdom was the richest, with no one having any wants. Yet Dasaratha was sad because he had no children. The Balakandam highlights the Putrakameshti Yaga, performed by Dasaratha for begetting a male progeny and the birth of his four sons- Rama, Lakshmana, Satrughana and Bharata. Continued at H1 F G https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/perversion-quotes Like : The job of the poet is to render the world - to see it and report it without loss, without perversion. No poet ever talks about feelings. Only sentimental people do. Mark Van Doren Mark Van Doren (June 13, 1894 – December 10, 1972) was an American poet, writer and critic. He was a scholar and a professor of English at Columbia University for nearly 40 years, where he inspired a generation of influential writers and thinkers including Thomas Merton, Robert LAX, John Berryman, Whittaker Chambers and Beat Generation writers such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. He was literary editor of The Nation, in New York City (1924–1928), and its film critic, 1935 to 1938. H 1) Continued from E However, the history of Kosala prior to this event reveals that Dasaratha had a daughter. The Vasishtha Ramayana, also known as Jnana Ramayana, which is one version of the Ramayana written by Valmiki, in its Adi parva, refers to the ancestry of Dasaratha, his birth and how he became a king in the solar dynasty. This reveals an unknown story in the known purana about Dasaratha’s youth, marriage and how he became the father of a female child. Adbhuta Ramayana and Adhyatama Ramayana also refer to this subject. Aja was the 38th king in the solar dynasty. He was ruling the kingdom of Kosala on the southern banks of the Sarayu River in the northern part of India. Ayodhya was his capital. Northern Kosala, on the northern bank of the Sarayu, was ruled by another king, who also hailed from another branch of the Solar Dynasty. Aja was a king who spent most of his time on earthly pleasures. His wife was Indumati. She was an apsara who was born on this earth on account of a curse. Once, while Aja was spending his time pleasantly with his wife in the garden of his palace, sage Narada was traversing the sky. A flower garland adorning his Veena fell on Indumati. It redeemed Indumati from the curse. She regained her form as on apsara and vanished from the earth forever, taking leave of Aja. The grief-stricken King wanted to follow her and he wore the garland. But he could not vanish like her. Unable to bear the separation from his beloved wife, he ran into the palace and committed suicide. Aja’s son was only eight months old when he died. Sumantra was the most intelligent minister in the kingdom and Vasistha was the Rajguru . Vasishtha requested Sumantra to rule the kingdom on behalf of Aja’s son. He then left the child in the care of a great guru, Marudanva, who was adept in all sastras, including archery. The little boy had the privilege of drinking the milk of Nandini, the divine cow. Marudanva brought up the child as a wise man and a strong warrior. The child was Dasaratha and became the ruler of southern Kosala when he attained the age of 18. He became a powerful king. He could drive his chariot in ten directions – the eight traditional directions and upwards and downwards and thus came to be known as Dasaratha. The kind of northern Kosala agreed to rule under his patronage. He had a beautiful daughter, Kausalya, whom Dasaratha wanted to marry. The King agreed. But he did not know that he and Dasaratha were closely related, coming from the same gotra. Ravana, the demon king of Lanka was a contemporary of Dasaratha. He was a great Shiva Bhakta. Once he went to Kailas and played the Sama Veda on his Veena. Siva was pleased and blessed him with many powers. On his way back from Kailas, Ravana went to Brahmaloka to pay respects to his great grandfather, Brahma. The latter was delighted to see his great grandson and granted him boons and gave him the powerful weapon, the Brahmastra. When Ravana wanted to live for ever, Brahma replied that it was not possible and said his death would be at the hands of a divine son to be born to Dasaratha and Kausalya. Ravana became furious and decided to kill Kausalya even before her marriage. But his wife Mandodari, pleaded with him not to commit the sin of killing a woman. She suggested that Ravana could prevent that marriage by separating Kausalya from Dasaratha. Ravana agreed to this proposal and sent a few asuras to kidnap Kausalya, put her in a box and float it in the Sarayu River so that she would not survive. Thus the sin of killing a woman would not fall on him and he could also prevent the marriage of Dasaratha and Kausalya, he believed. At midnight as Dasaratha was crossing the Sarayu after the conquest he noticed a box being thrown into the river from a hillock by some people. Dasaratha jumped out from his boat and fought with them. They were Ravana’s asuras who resorted to magical tactics. Hence Dasaratha could not defeat them. Meanwhile, the box was floating away fast. Dasaratha surmised that there must be somebody inside and jumped into the water to save that person. The box continued its journey and when the Sarayu mingled with the Ganga, it began floating in the Ganga. Dasaratha, who was swimming fast, became tired. Jatayu, the King of eagles, who was flying past, saw and rescued him. He tended to Dasaratha’s wounds and made him regain his strength. When Dasaratha narrated the tale of the box, Jatayu took him on his back and flew away, searching for the box. They located it in the midst of water weeds in an island near the estuary of Ganga. When they reached the spot, Narada, who knew about the whole story came there. They opened the box and found Kausalya in an unconscious state. Through Narada’s power she regained consciousness. Dasaratha’s joy knew no bounds. Narada said it was the right time for the marriage of Dasaratha and Kausalya. He sought the presence of the Devas at the spot and performed the marriage. Narada, Jatayu and the Devas blessed the marriage. Thereafter, Jatayu took Dasaratha and Kausalya on his back to Ayodhya, where the marriage ceremonies were again performed elaborately with fanfare and the blessings of Vasishtha and Sumantra. Kausalya soon attained motherhood. She gave birth to a female child which unfortunately had a handicap in its leg. The child was named Shantai. The palace doctors tried their best to remove the handicap but failed. Vashishtha consoled Dasaratha and Kausalya. He said that the handicap was due to the marriage between close cousins---Dasaratha and Kausalya belonged to the same gotra and she would become normal if given in adoption to a divine couple. Accordingly, Dasaratha and Kausalya gave the child in adoption to Romapada, the king of Angadesa. With due care and treatment, Shantai’s disability vanished. Romapada performed her marriage with Rishyasringa Maharishi. It was after Shantai was given in adoption that Dasaratha got married to Sumitra and Kaikeyi with the hope of getting healthy children. As he had no issue even after that, he arranged for the Putrakameshti Yaga on the advice of the sages. It was Rishyasringa who performed the Yaga and enabled Dasaratha to beget four sons. This unknown story in the Ramayana highlights that Shantai was Sri Rama’s elder sister. It also brings to light that the ancient wisdom on the ill effect of consanguine marriages. Vathsala Jayaraman 2) Continued from C The book under review is a publication of S H E--Society for Hunger Elimination. It has a Foreword by Dr M S Swaminathan who is the Father of India's Green Revolution and who has worked hard for eliminating hunger and poverty. Mention also must be of the remarkable work done by Nobel Laureate Kalyan Sathyarthi who has helped thousands of poor and deprived children. Dr Swaminathan declares—"I am very happy that Ms V Padma Priya Rajagopal is using her talents in poetry in spreading a campaign for freedom from chronic hunger. Her poems are very effective in relation to the objectives she wants to achieve, namely better health and nutrition for all. In a world where children are growing up to think that food comes from the supermarket, or is available on delivery apps, the attempt of Ms Padma Priya Rajagopal to create awareness about the truth behind this façade is commendable. A hugely populated country like ours thrives on very stark contrasts. Research shows that food wastage in India comes up to Rs 92000 crores annually. About 190 million Indians remain undernourished. This is an issue that may not have grabbed the highlights, but is surely something that needs the attention of every person. In this scenario, kudos to Ms Rajagopal for bringing out the reality in the form of poems. Food is what keeps us alive. Historically, we have seen how eating habits changed the lifestyles of people around the world. Man moved from being a food collector to a food cultivator. This is when he began to settle down and the grand civilizations grew. We have references to different types of food eaten by people over the ages based on the work they do, the religion they follow and the lifestyle they enjoy. But all this is benevolence of privilege. Food is controlled by the financial situation of a person. You need to earn your bread, with bread being a metaphor for any type of food. Ms Rajajgopal's poems begin with an ode to the farmer, who while being the one who tills the land and nurtures the crop with his hard work, is not in a position to enjoy the fruits of his labour. In a country where farmer’s dying by suicide is making the headlines, the poem reminds us of the grim truth of the pains of the cultivator. She questions how in a country where we have a Goddess for food, Annapurna, do we have hunger. In a nation that prays to every morsel of food that is consumed, why are so many people hungry? Why has the Goddess not been able to ensure that every person is satiated? The greed of humans has failed the divine! Through the poem “Philanthropy", she appeals to the rich and wealthy who have money to spend and spare and at times even to squander to glance at the hungry people and offer them something to eat. Her poems cover every section of society that faces hunger. The hungry boy who hunts for his dinner in the garbage bin alongside a dog, a forlorn girl who scouts the roadsides for any food that is thrown away, an orphan who is discarded by his parents or the blind man who is unable to grab enough attention to himself are among the varied subjects of the poems. The stark contrast between the rich and the poor is brought out by the poems. The poor struggle to meet ends and slog and slave to earn what they needto eat. The rich have the resources to buy what they want and throw away what they don't need. This grim reality is an oft repeating theme in most of the poems in this anthology. The poor as depicted by the poetess are usually the working class that does physical labour. There is a little girl who is a maid, there is a cart puller, a coolie, an orphan, an old woman, a young child, a young lady who is married to a drunk and several more. All these are very classic representations of what we see in society. Physical labour is not very highly valued in our country and hence people who do these tasks are not paid very well. So, they have limited resources to spend on food. But food they must spend on as food is sustenance. Another repeated theme in this anthology is child labour. Poverty forces many poor parents to get their children into the workforce at very young ages. It is not a rare sight in India to see children as young as seven or eight engaged in manual labour. While the Government of India speaks about compulsory education for all till the age of 14, the tragedy is that empty stomachs don't feed minds. These children have to go out to work to feed their families and thus remain trapped in a cycle of poverty. While Ms Rajagopal brings out the angst of young children, some of her poems focus on the pains of working in old age. Old people who have nowhere to go, walk through life awaiting their day of redemption. But hunger doesn't stay away from age. Her poems talk about how old people who are poor struggle to keep themselves alive. Time and again Ms Rajagopal in her poems brings out the callous and careless nature of the people who are privileged and entitled. These people, she says , shoo away the poor as they would pesky flies. They turn a blind eye to this scenario. They do not think twice before throwing food in garbage cans. They would rather dispose of the food than feed someone. Instead, the large heartedness of a philanthropist would help is what Ms Rajagopal seems to be suggesting. Ms Rajagopal also uses varied backdrops in her poems to bring out the fact that hunger is universal. Traffic signals, trains, and bus stations cover the urban milieu and farmlands cover the rural landscape. This brings out the universality of the hard truth of hunger. She appeals through her poems to the more fortunate ones to open their hearts and purses to the less fortunate ones. She has also dedicated an entire set of poems to the travails of the farmer. Isn't it an absolute tragedy that the one who cultivates food has hunger staring at him? Isn't it ironical that the one who feeds the world dies of hunger and starvation? She concludes this anthology with an appeal to Reason. She hopes there will be awareness about hunger and action by the privileged will help the poor and helpless. As the theme of the anthology is hunger, this is a book that needs to be read and understood with gravitas. It is not a collection of fun poems and can be emotionally draining. As one reads the poems, one realizes how one takes things for granted in life. Several poems are graphically illustrated. This is a book that may be transformational if taken up as a poem a day. P P Ramachandran. 05/06/2022