Warrier's blog

Hundred Plus Words on July 1, 2024 Revisiting Mahabharata 4 : Five Jewels ANUSMRITI Anusmriti is considered as one of the five jewels in the great epic of Mahabharata as mentioned in the following oft-quoted verse: गीता नामसहस्रं च स्तवराजोऽनुस्मृतिः। गजेन्द्रमोक्षणं चैव पञ्चरत्नानि भारते॥ The following are the five jewels in Mahabharata: Bhagavadgita, the Song Divine, a Universal philosophy of life and living enabling the individual soul transcend the pluralistic universe and experience its complete identity with the One Ultimate Reality. Vishnu Sahasranama, the thousand names of Vishnu. Bhishmastavaraajah, Hymn by Bhishma addressed to Lord Krishna while the former was awaiting Uttaraayana (when the Sun turns North from the tropic of Capricorn) to cast off his mortal body. Anusmruti, ways to remember the Lord while one is still i

Hundred plus Words On June 30, 2024 Sunday Book Review : The Hidden Life Of Trees By Peter Wohlleben Limited-time deal: Hidden Life of Trees, The: What They Fee https://amzn.in/d/0dDexHyB In 'The hidden life of Trees', Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life, death and regeneration he has observed in the woodland and the amazing scientific mechanisms behind these wonders, of which we are blissfully unaware. Much like human families, tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them and support them as they grow, sharing nutrients with those who are sick or struggling and creating an ecosystem that mitigates the impact of extremes of heat and cold for the whole group. As a result of such interactions, trees in a family or community are protected and can live to be very old. In contrast, solitary trees, like street kids, have a tough time of it and in most cases die much earlier than those in a gr

Hundred-plus Words On Saturday June 29, 2024 The short piece on Guru Arjan attracted my attention because the author Dr Charan Singh was my colleague in RBI during the last Century. As our work areas were different we were meeting only occasionally. Though I had started admiring qualities of his head and heart, somehow I missed to notice the spiritual seeker in Dr Singh. This short piece on Guru Arjan Singh published in The Economic Times on June 14, 2024 gives a broad idea about the Guru and his conceptualization of Golden Temple as a message of Indian Secularism. Media Link : An apostle of peace, Guru Arjan highlighted devotional love, union with God https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/speaking-tree/daily-ecstasy/an-apostle-of-peace-guru-arjan-highlighted-devotional-love-union-with-god/articleshow/111001473.cms Stress on secularism in the architectural design of the Golden Temple was special, with doors in four directions symbolising freedom of entry to all for spiritual discours

Revisiting Mahabharata 3 : Manuantara Chapter 24 in the book "Completing Vyasa's Mahabharata" by Abhinav Agarwal is captioned "Matsya : The Law of the Jungle" I didn't suspect the two pages will contain this much information, taking us to the genesis of"Manuantara". The story appears in 54 Shlokas in Upa Parva "Markandeya Samasya" under Aranyaka Parva. On Yudhishthira's request Markandeya narrated the story of Vaivasvata Manu. "It is the rule among fish that large fish prey on smaller ones" One day when Vaivasvata Manu was immersed in his usual austerities, a small tiny fish swam up to him on the banks of River Virini and asked him to protect her. If Manu protected her from larger fish, it agreed to return the favour. Manu agreed to protect the fish and put it in a pot containing water. As the fish grew bigger and bigger, Manu shifted it to bigger and bigger pots, pond and river. When the river couldn't hold the larg

Hundred Plus Words On June 26, 2024 Book on my Table : Mysteries of the Universe By Peter Altman Yesterday I received this book by post from Reader's Digest (India) as gift for renewing subscription for one year. Subscription cost me, I think Rs999 against the monthly cover price of Rs100/- But a gift has its charm and books are still the preferred option universally. I'm told PM Modi carries some copies of Gita to use as return gift when confronted by unexpected gifts. Gita is a reliable shield in any emergency. Even Arjuna understood that, perhaps a little late (He should not have waited to clear his doubts till that day. Just my view!) Back to the book on my table. It's priced 386 and upwards @Amazon and as a Prime member Kindle edition is free for me to read : Mysteries of the Universe - 2nd Edition https://amzn.in/d/04iTT5vy The book covers 14 "Answerable and Unanswerable" questions including "Does The Prayer 🙏 Work?" Curious to know the answer

Revisiting Mahabharata 2 Chapter 64 in the book "Completing Vyasa's Mahabharata" is captioned "Nachiketa: An Appointment with Yama" Many of us may not remember Nachiketa story in the context of Mahabharata. The story appears in 56 Shlokas in Upa parva "Daana Dharma" under Anushasan Parva. Nachiketa story appears also in Kathopanishad, perhaps in little more detail. My friend C V Subbaraman Sir says : "I was curious to know whether Mahabharatha preceded Kathopanishad. The character Nachiketa appears in Kathopanishad. On googling, I found the age of Mahabharatha older than Kathopanishad!" Briefly, the Mahabharata version of the story is about the Sage Uddaaliki cursing his son Nachiketa as the latter was not able to bring water from the river as ordered by the former. The curse was "You will go to Yama". Instantly Nachiketa fell dead on the ground. Uddaaliki cried with his son's body before him. His tears revived Nachiketa.

Hundred Plus Words On June 24, 2024 Reference Book : Completing Vyasa's Mahabharata By Abhinav Agarwal The Mahabharata in 50 words Random stories from Mahabharata: Introduction The Mahabharata is an account of the descendants of the Kuru lineage; the Pandavas and Kauravas. A lifelong rivalry between the cousins culminated in an 18-day battle in Kurukshetra where the Pandavas emerged victorious. Only three warriors from the Kaurava side and eight from the Pandava side walked away alive. Abhinav Agarwal in his 2023 well-researched book has retold 67 Upakathas related to Mahabharata. Many characters around whom these Upakathas hover around will look familiar by name, but even those with fair familiarity with Mahabharata will be curious to know which missing links Abhinav is going to elucidate as the author claims to "complete" Vyasa's Mahabharata. We will attempt to glance through some of these stories from tomorrow. To break the suspense, we will pick up one st

For some personal reasons Warrier's Collage is on a brief holiday and will resume sometime in the second week of July 2024. As I'm sharing my daily thoughts regularly this holiday is between me and my Collage only. The subject chosen for today's quota of 100 words from me is inspired by an article in The Hindu Open Page by Octogenarian George Netto who has settled in Munnar post-retirement. He is an occasional presence in the Open Page and to use an old usage, my pen friend. Freelancers can connect each other with ease. For that matter, if you are passionate about your hobby, you can easily make friends with another person who has opted for the same hobby (T&C Apply) Coming back to Netto's article, the thoughts shared by him are useful hints to manage post-retirement life. The reason is, they come from someone who is practicing what he is preaching. The usual WhatsApp University stuff dished out for our breakfast come from middle-aged trollers who just imagine what

Vishnu Sahasranamam : Dushyant Sridhar https://youtu.be/nT_ca88sFVg?si=fIQChYjab0MwbcEW Book on My Table : Aparokshanubhuti The 1982 reprint of the 1938 edition of Aparokshanubhuti was picked up oñ November 13, 1987 in Thiruvananthapuram. The 78 page book has 144 stanzas in Sanskrit with meaning in English. The same edition in PDF format is available for free download today. The text is attributed to Shankaracharya. About the authorship, Swami Vimuktananda in his preface (September 10, 1938) has this to say : "Even if this (Shankaracharya's authorship) be discounted, the teachings are undoubtedly Advaitic." The text builds up on the theme that "Jivatman (individual self) is part of the Paramatman (Universal Self)" and this identity is realised through the removal of the ignorance that hides the truth. Verses 100 to 129 of Aparokshanubhuti deal specially with the fifteen stages through which the seeker after Truth passes. They are : 1 The control of the sen

Art of Giving https://m.economictimes.com/markets/stocks/news/serial-gifter-idfc-first-bank-ceo-gifts-7-lakh-shares-to-retired-air-force-officer-4-others/articleshow/108700094.cms The story of IDFC First Bank CEO Vaidyanathan's gift of shares worth crores to his teacher who had helped him with Rs500 when he had no money to travel for the admission interview at BITS Pilani (from where he passed out with a first rank) is now in circulation in social media. As is evident from the above link, Vaidyanathan is now known for "giving back to the society" a part of the wealth that came to him. About giving, the often misquoted traditional advice is that the left hand should not know what the right hand gives. Actually gestures like this should be widely publicised. This takes us to the basics of "Art of Giving" and about social responsibility in general. Long ago while taking out foodgrains for cooking, a small portion used to be set aside in a separate vessel whic

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Wednesday June 19, 2024 https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/thoughts-on-vishnu-sahasranamam Malayalam Movie : https://www.facebook.com/share/p/Jr3SVhbsiNLBYyz4/?mibextid=xfxF2i From FB Post By Tovino Thomas Thrilled to announce one of my next film ‘Avaran' helmed by Shilpa Alexander and scripted by the veteran Benny P Nayarambalam. Jinu Abraham will bankroll the project under the banner JIINU ABRAHAM INNOVATION. A big thank you!! to our Mammooka, Lalettan, Prithviraj and Manju Warrier for sharing our announcement whole heartedly.. Shout out to our Fantastic Crew - Jomon T John, Shameer Muhammad, Jakes Bejoy, Shajie Naduvil, Sameera Saneesh, Ronex Xavier, Sachin Sudhakaran, Aravind Menon, Rohith K S, Sarath Vinu, Reiz Hyder, Anand Rajendran, Suraj K, Diva Jinu. #AVARAN The movie is being directed by Shilpa daughter of Advocate C V Alexander (Ex-RBI, Thiruvananthapuram) Wish the Movie all success M G Warrier A 20th Century Memor

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Sunday June 16, 2024 Mura Japam 2020 : A Report https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/behind-the-scenes-of-the-56-day-murajapam-festival-at-sree-padmanabhaswamy-temple/article30534238.ece/amp/ Good Morning 🙏 M G Warrier A Media Response June 15, 2024 Development by consensus Apropos the article "India needs a long term development model" (The Hindu Business Line, June 15), the suggestion has not come a day earlier! We were in a way damn lucky post-independence to begin the experiment of parliamentary democracy with no strong opposition in legislatures at various levels. The disadvantages of not nurturing a healthy opposition started surfacing post-Nehru era and have peaked with the dawn of the current Century. The snake and ladder game with multiple political players has now started shaking the foundation of governance. The streak of luck that helped NDA to form government now may not be there always. In this

The Hindu Open Page story "A transplant that is best avoided" by Dr Tiny Nair (published on June 16, 2024) is as always, a thought-provoking piece from the senior Cardiologist who picks up plots for his stories from his daily work experience. The piercing smell of real life around you make his story different from the stuff dished out by celebrity authors. This short piece took me back to several places I've stayed, different geographies in which my dear and near ones stay for earning their daily bread and also remind me of healthy people I've met on wheelchairs for various reasons. One thought which keeps me disturbing again came to my mind : Is a post-retirement settlement plan feasible for an average middle class Indian in today's world? Believe me, I have written a 2000 word article on this subject which was published in a magazine. I received a handsome remuneration for the article. And today I am not able to write a paragraph on the subject with convincing

Struggle for Hundred News! Have you ever wondered about the efforts behind the news channels dishing out "Hundred News" everyday? My perception I will share later in this piece. This thought came to my mind sometime after I committed myself to share the 100 words I write everyday in the social media. In my mental diary, I keep two or three subjects on which I will be covering in my morning ritual of writing 100 words as a backup. Most of the days, I get something "current" from the interactions with friends or in media groups and my backup remain safe. The trigger for today's topic is this news squeezed in at 50's in a popular Malayalam Channel's morning 100 News : "Youth caught with"Air Gun" in Vatakara, let off later when it was confirmed that it was"Air Gun"" Perhaps the news is about the delay in the person revealing that it was an air gun. Of course, it would have had news value, if the person had misused the "pro

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Sunday June 9, 2024 Prayer Lokassamastassukhino Bhavantu https://youtu.be/EEGr6vQIDwc?si=xcthuc2W8dNDL-Yn Good Morning 🙏 M G Warrier A Exit Polls and Equity Market Elections to the 18th Lok Sabha held in seven phases spread over few weeks had several ingredients of a festival and was equally expensive. Polls, Exit Polls, Propaganda and media coverage all were informative and entertaining. I don't agree with the allegations about the expenses incurred on travel etc of leaders in connection with the election campaign. Major part of such expenditure was for travel, security etc which would have been incurred, election lr no election. Perhaps the exit polls and the build up before the counting of votes and declaration of results helped only media houses and advertising agencies.... Upto the above I wrote on June 3, 2024. Now it is 8 p m on June 4, 2024. This morning I watched an economist struggling to explain how stock markets

On May 31, 2024, I accessed ChatGPT, an AI-enabled App and asked about my friend E X Joseph (now 90 plus, settled in US). The App was very friendly, gave immediately available information quickly and promised to help, if I had more questions about Joseph. I shared the information received with Joseph because he might not have been updated about the renewal of his listing as Senior Advocate in Supreme Court in January 2024. I could interact with Joseph, my friend since 1964, after a gap of few months. Yes, technology helps in maintaining relationships. This poem is from his book "Songs of Love" which was gifted to me by the author with a one page expression of love in his own hand, during 1999, when the collection of poems was published with a Foreword by Justice V R Krishna Iyer. 🙏 THE SONG OF THE NEW MAN Mankind will soon leave behind a tumultuous, tortured millennium and walk past an unforgettable milestone on the road to the new thousand years. The story of the past ma

Welcome To Warrier's COLLAGE On Sunday June 2, 2024 Meditation https://youtu.be/NyB6OJjRuvU?si=zbW0-8fEhtDP7oti Good Morning Happy Birthday to all readers having Birthday this week. 🙏 M G Warrier A Media Responses I May 29, 2024 Skill development* Apropos the article "The skilling potential of tourism" (The Hindu Business Line, May 29), at the outset let's congratulate the Ministry of Tourism for identifying the needs and matching the potential with ground realities. This takes us to the need to reassess the training facilities in base level institutions like Industrial Training Centres and professional colleges with a view to align their capabilities with the projected job potential in different sectors. Let's not forget the huge cost of allowing thousands of qualified engineers to take up jobs which could have been done by twelth-pass boys in IT sector during the last Century. Realignment of syllabus at various levels from SSLC to p