My friend Narasimha

I must have met him in 1965? Yes, I think so. When I went to my Granny's brother's house, his house was next. I came to know he was also in the same class as I. When I joined Mahajana High School in Mysore, he came to my class. The year 1969. We used to meet everyday and I used to rush to his home during lunch hour because he was getting the famous children's Magazine Chandamama. On competition both of us used to read the mag. That was monthly. But there was a weekly Sudha. We were in High School with mixed feelings about many things. We used to read the serials in Sudha. I remember a serial about a film Director Dwa suparna where the first night scene was part of the serial! we were wondering what used to happen after the narration stopped in the serial!!!

We finished high school and I had to shift to Bangalore. I finished my 2nd PUC and searching for a seat for Engg course. I had not got it though I had 78% in PCMB. In the Director of Tech. Education's office I met Narasimha. He had come for a seat with some influential person. When that person used my name to get a seat for Narasimha who had lesser marks, they gave me the seat!

He did not get. He finished his BSc and joined I think Postal Dept. Then an Insurance Co. Now after so many years (now he is 53) he is a successful employee there.

He married in 1985 on this very day.

He has helped me a lot during my tough times. I wish him and his wife Shobha (a great girl) a very happy completion of 25 years of marriage. May they celebrate Golden Jubilee as well.

What heart says!

We always tend to listen to the heart. Because it tells (many times) impractical things but sweet things. The mind says all rational and practical and may be bitter things. So, we try to listen to the heart.

This leads to disasters many times. Because the voice of the heart could be dangerous also. The six deadly sins as per Hindus. Lust, Anger, Misery, Infatuation, Pride and Jealousy, are all heart's followers.

If we listen to our heart we may end up in hurting someone physically or mentally or emotionally or even economically.

Mind to be listened to when we need to take a firm decision. Listen to the heart and let the compassion flow when you see a blind beggar or a small poor child.

Then the mind could be curt. Heart would definitely think of helping the other needy person.

Am I right? Can I expect some comments please?

NO Subject

I have this colleague of mine who always calls me to have the effect of passive smoking! So instead of advising him not to smoke I end up inhaling the smoke!!

He is a workoholic I tell you. Today he had some urgent piece of work to deliver. My God! he did not come for lunch. He did not make me a passive smoker too!

I started wondering. But that is dedication.He is really hard working. If something is given to him to complete, he does not think of anything else except work.

Of course, he finally called me for a passive smoke!

When he finished the work and going in the cab, he called me to tell that he has finished his today's work.

Simply I like him very much for his dedication.

Frustration

When we try to pass a narrow road, if there is a vehicle blocking our way, we simply try to reverse and go to the more clear road.

But there are people who fight. Why?

I had been in a house in front of which there was a slum. The common water tap was in front of our home. All the ladies (and some men) used to come their to fill their buckets and pots.

Some time or the other, at least one of them used to start some conversation which was derogatory for someone else.

Lo behold! the fight ensues.

The way they used to abuse each other, we had to literally shut our (and our children's) ears.

Why they fight?

May be it is frustration. May be it is their way of pouring out their woes which they face somewhere else.

I don't know. But when I see two people whose vehicles just touch each other on the road, however busy they are, they stop to fight and it may even end up in death in the worst case.

The second most deadly sin is the anger.

Lord SriKrishna in Bhagavadgita, the Song of the Lord, always mentions Anger is very bad. Leave it.

Easy to tell, I tell you, very difficult to practise.

A new thought

If I can write anything, why not a story everyday? if not, at least why not a small portion of a big novel everyday?

This can be my outlet, emotional, literature and all.

There is one hitch though. All my thoughts are read by people. Thoughts ok, how about ideas?

If the ideas get percolated, will something be left for me?

Jokes apart, a thought struck me recently.

There was a strike somewhere in India. The strike was in protest of the terrorism which lurks in all corners of the nation. We are not even knowing what is brewing and where?

So, a group of youth were holding a banner in front of some minister's home which boldly displayed, 'The terrorists are not outside. they are inside' I think they meant the minister or his kin.

An idea struck me. can this be made into a novel or at least a short story?

Another Idea. There is election tomorrow in our area. A tabloid which published a derogatory article about one of the contestants has been thrown into all the houses of our area on the sly. We do not know who did that. But we could guess. Naturally by a set of people who does not like that contestant. May be he is popular. As I had mentioned earlier, either you can become great by doing great deeds, or you make the other guy bad by 'exposing' him.

Another Idea. Today seems to be full of ideas.

I had read somewhere, may be in a novel, that if there are a few rules for contesting in elections, which are mentioned below, then a lot of dirt would be removed from Indian politics' cesspool.

1. The contestant should not have gone to Jail or should not have any criminal case against him/her, not even once.

2. The contestant should be minimum a graduate.

3. The politicians should retire after 60.. no, let us give them 5 more years, 65?

4. No politician should bring his/her kith and kin to politics.

These laws would not be passed at all in our MP or MLA groups.

In case it passes, I think 75% of the candidates need to get out.

So, don't fear, such a thing would not even be thought off.

Another Idea.

All the literates should vote. They should not feel, even if we vote there won't be any difference, only thieves would emerge as winners. This feeling should not come to literates. they can make a difference if all vote.

There is a lovely story of Akbar/Birbal. Let me try to tell you tomorrow. Happy weekend.

How do you react to any situation?

The whole world won't love us. There would be some people who do not like us and vice versa.

How do you react when a person who doesn't like you abuses you?

There is a story of Gauthama Buddha. He was walking on the road and suddenly a person comes from nowhere and starts hurling abuses at Buddha. Buddha just smiled and making small sounds. The abuser wanted Buddha to react so that he can make his attacks worse. But Buddha did not give him a chance.

The abuser got tired of shouting and kept quiet.

Then Buddha asked 'son, you give a gift to someone and the other person doesn't accept it. What do you do during such a situation?'

'I shall carry it back with me'

Then Buddha smiled and told'I don't want your gift of abuses. you may take it back'

Buddha actually responded to the abuser. But he never reacted to his abuses.

Mother

Why only mother, even father or grand parents become like small kids once they cross some age. 70s, 80s...

Suddenly you find them making fuss, forgetting things (kids do not know what is forgetfulness).

asking for the same thing again and again.

Do you know what I think?

We should treat them like kids. they would listen to gentle words. They do not respond properly to harsh or rude words and tones.

When you treat them like small children you would find them listening to you properly. Just like small kids.

I think this is a small return we could give to our parents for all the trouble they have taken to make us this big. Don't you agree?

What a mess we would have created during our childhood! Those things would have been forgotten and we would have been treated very gently.

Let us try to take care of our aged parents with kids' gloves.

Amma

The word Amma means mother in some languages of Southern India. The comparison to the Pranava Om is done by many. A u m when you pronounce together, it is Amma. Mother in English, Mutter in German, Ammi in Urdu, Maa in Hindi and so on.

God could not be in many places, so he has created mother is another saying.

When a bad son goes to kill his mother, to please his girl friend. He brings her head on a plate to show it to his girlfriend. He trips and falls and the head asks ' are you hurt son?'

This is mother.

There could be any other relation which are duplicated. But no mother. She is one and only one.

I remember an incident. When I went to the USA, we were greeted by everyone who crossed us on the road. I made a comment, people on the road are greeted daily. But mother is greeted once a year on Mother's day! I did not mean any mean thing here. The mother is a strong entity in the USA. But in India, she is strong but she would be in the background.

Father for a girl

I have heard of Electra Complex. Have you? I believe the daughter has hero worship towards her father.

I was just teasing my wife Usha regarding her father's habit of throwing the cover of a tablet. I actually threw one and she was watching my action. I teased her 'your dad was throwing the tab cover like this'

'don't tell anything bad about my Father ' she immediately reacted.

I grinned and said 'I also loved your father. He was a great man' Yes, he passed away in 2001. Even today we remember some of his words and deeds.

There is a saying in Kannada ' to see someone's greatness, you have to see how many people attend his funeral'

My God, Even now I remember. On that day of 14th May 2001, when he passed away suddenly, not many people were told about his death except his kith and kin. The whole of the extension was at his home trying to catch the last glimpse.

They were uttering, murmuring 'Great man, he was very good man'

Isn't it great to have such nice words after death?

Many a times we say quite unkindly when a bad man dies 'Thank God he died. Good riddance of the bad rubbish'

Which is a better death scene?

Old aquaintances

I used to travel by cab to my earlier office. Later I got shifted to the Regional office and lost touch with the cab traveling fun!

It is really fun to be back! I used to travel with 3 women (age - I don't want to guess). I can't call them girls !! Each has a child each.

We talk all shop. We make fun of each other. We even speak about very serious subjects.

Ultimately it boils down to kids, their behavior, their way of living, the way they respond/react to us.

What is new?

When we were young, we were exposed to just the radio. now we have television, a very powerful medium.

Kids won't like to do what we tell them. they like to do what we do.

they are vocal about it. 'well, I saw you doing this. When I do the same thing, why blame me or scold me?'

That means, if you want your kid to do something, you better do it first!

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was visited by a woman and a small boy. The mother said 'guruji, my boy eats a lot of jaggery. Please tell him not to eat too much' Ramakrisha jee told her to come next week. So faithfully the pair came the next week.

Ramakrishna jee told the boy ' please don't eat jaggery . it is not good for health'

The boy nodded affirmatively. The woman was flabbergasted. To tell this, why he took one week?

She asked the same thing.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa replied 'Amma, I was also eating jaggery. Now I have left it since a week. So I was able to tell you son'

This is called commitment. When I can't do, I can't tell others. May be our parents were telling like this and we accepted though we didn't like it.

But today's kids can tell it in our face.

seventh pot of gold

This is a very happening now. Elections elections everywhere. housing societies, corporations and what not!

I was reading in the newspaper. Somebody has made a comment, the fatter the contestant, the more money he has. So don't vote for that person.

But come to think of it! If they have made enough money for their wife(wives!), kids (both legal and immoral!), relatives, their kith and kin, even then if they win elections later, don't you think they would help the needy. I mean would they not take up the 'social service'?

But there is a hitch. Desire is a never filling vessel.

A story I read in Chandamama (Wow, what a mag! let me talk about this some other time). A man gets 7 pots of gold. 6 of them are full. The seventh pot of gold is full to the brim. The person feels

'oh boy, if I can fill this, I shall have 7 pots 'full' of gold'

He starts filling it by selling things at home, his land everything. But it never gets filled. He goes mad and dies like a beggar.

Desire is always in the front. we all run behind it. It looks as if it is near like a mirage. But try to catch. It runs off further and further.

Comparison

We tend to compare everything in life.

He is more intelligent than the other. She is more beautiful than the other one.

So, the funny thing is that we try to compare ourselves with others for wrong things. Oh, he is richer than I. He has a more beautiful wife than me.

Isn't it sad?

I have two eyes compared to a blind man. Thank God! such a comparison should give us happiness. but no, we do not tend to do that. always the wrong one.

This leads to unnecessary sorrows. What is wrong if someone is richer? It could be his legacy. Or it could be hard earned. Do we know how much struggle he must have undergone to get there?

Please think over and let me know your views.

Honesty and Integrity

How do the words sound? I have seen these in the dictionary? I remember somewhere in my school days my teachers used to tell.

But now? Oh, no! I remember a saying 'No bad action is a crime until the person is caught red handed' Isn't it?

When you see Government servants (they may be officers, but they are by the people, of the people, for the people.Right?) amass crores of Rupees and hide in their houses, what do you think? Are they not hiding money belonging to the people? That doesn't mean that the money is people's. The same amount could be spent on building roads and giving all amenities to the public. But how do you think the higher up officials think so meanly? may be they think of their own kith and kin as 'people'!

But I have an MD who is a great man. When the words were being relegated to the dictionary, he has revived these words. Remember? otherwise, please see the subject title.

Today when I sent a note saying that these two are like the 'shruti' (sound done using a Tanpura) in a classical concert. the sound of this is not at all very audible to the audience who have come to enjoy the main singer's songs. But for the main singer, this is a must. without Shruti he / she cannot sing properly.

Honestly Shruti becomes integral part of concert. Like Dr. DVG's Vanasuma (forest flower) which loves to hide, but let its fragrance spread. The flower prays God to make its life useful like this.

Honesty and Integrity are like the shruti. There and not there.

Ethics v/s Efficiency

When you appoint a person as your assistant, what do you see in that person? Ethics or efficiency?

Touch question isn't it? but nowadays the thin line between ethics and unethics (!) is almost vanished.

I remember the novel I have written on this subject. One of the characters is very efficient, but unethical. The boss turns a blind eye to his unethical ways since he helped his boss in finding the house, in taking around his family etc., The other person is very straightforward but little less efficient.

The story goes on...

My thinking here is that a person who is ethical, if inefficient,there is a chance that that person would improve the efficiency. On the other hand an unethical person however efficient that person may be, there is always a little skepticism as far as that person is concerned.

Don't you agree with me? or do you have any other thinking regarding this subject?

A story

When I went to Oman, I wrote a small story in one of the local newspaper's Thursday Magazine. It was a readers' column where we could tell about any incident.

I wrote about a heart problem person who goes out walking since his scooter is out of order. He buys a book and keeps reading and walking. When he was on the down gradient suddenly a car comes down fast. A cyclist comes in the way of car and to avoid the cyclist the car swerves to the side where the hero is walking unaware that a car is behind him.

Suddenly the book flies off his hand and he falls down. The crowd comes to surround him and a guy who was a doctor in the crowd feels this person's pulse and declares him as 'dead'. Actually he says the person died of heart attack. There is no visible injury caused by the car.

The book which flew out of hand is lying on the road and the pages are moving making a noise due to the breeze.

Some one picks up the book and reads the title 'An art of dying'

How do you feel it is?

My Doddamma

She was born as the first one of a big family. My maternal grand father had 7 children. She was followed by 3 more sisters. Then 3 boys were born. My mother is actually the middle one.

My doddamma (Elder mum?) was just 13 year old when she got married. She married a 19 year old person. So, she was away from her parents' place very early.

She had 6l children. 2 sons and 4 daughters.

She saw a lot of pain in her life. Her eldest daughter died in a fire accident. One more daughter became a widow very early after a late marriage. Another daughter died due to some illness.

My doddappa, doddamma's husband died of mouth cancer.

Sorry, is it boring?

I am trying to see her life from her point of view.

With all these tragedies, she survived till yesterday. She was 87 recently.

She has almost not seen her childhood. ok, she has not been free during her teenage.

Recently before she fell ill, she used to hop between two of her sons and a daughter.

She had developed love for watching Tamil and Hindi TV Serials. In fact she was addicted.

What else she could do?

She was left alone in the house. The curse of modern life. The men and women of the house work outside. the kids go to colleges.

She was left alone and she was having friendship with all the TV serial Characters.

She suffered for about 6 months with some problem and she was hospitalized for 6 months.

Yesterday all her miseries have come to an end. (Even the miseries of people who were serving her).

May her soul rest in peace!

The title need to be addressed! In sanskrit Mana means heart. Do you listen to your mind or your heart? In which situation? When you need to take a rational decision, then the mind should be listened to. When the decision is emotional, then heart takes over the mind. but knowing the pros and cons of each decision. Never ever we should feel 'I should have taken the other decision'.

Today I went to my earlier job's place. The colleagues were very cordial. They know that I know that they miss me. But what to do? the show must go on.

The surprise was from one colleague who is always silent. I had sent a thank you note to all. He had replied! That he feels I am one of his favourites.

Talk about hidden friendships!

I have given the title as Mana Manthana. It is churning of mind and heart.
When Demons and Gods fought for Amruth, the heavenly nectar, the hill used by them to churn the ocean started slipping. Then Lord Narayana took the form of a huge tortoise and slid below the hill and held it properly for these two groups to bring out the nectar. the first thing that came out was haalahala meaning poison. Lord Shiva drank it and made things easy for the churners.
so, world would have both poison and nectar. The nectar would not come immediately. First the poison would come out.
Even in any discussion, the bad blood should flow out first. once the dirt gets cleared, we get a sweet result.