tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67978144862472873762024-03-13T11:06:03.260+05:30Tectonic ShiftsOf life changing events. And events changing life.
Of life. And all that's in between.Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-74531842860236964192015-10-22T19:30:00.001+05:302015-10-22T19:31:26.151+05:30Happy Dassehra! Why is it the Internet of a Festival?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>If you’ve been with me the past few days as I went round the
blog floor in nine nights of dancing and corresponding colours, thanks for
making it to the final culminating day.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The nine nights end with Dassehra – the final 10<sup>th</sup>
day – again celebrated differently in different parts of India. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>In a nutshell however the day represents triumph of good
over evil, the victorious and the vanquished.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujEBznXvZxzODAzyYcNX5goGbEG-hglE9gjuUB6YpZ59qWW9zkBWkg3afwuE4vz95Ddk0a2K7r6WSTfMQKOJoeRO9RjQ3K_p5f2E1aWzSek1j7Vzc3755WYes6962X-9cwh5x2gcBMuU/s1600/HappyDasara.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhujEBznXvZxzODAzyYcNX5goGbEG-hglE9gjuUB6YpZ59qWW9zkBWkg3afwuE4vz95Ddk0a2K7r6WSTfMQKOJoeRO9RjQ3K_p5f2E1aWzSek1j7Vzc3755WYes6962X-9cwh5x2gcBMuU/s320/HappyDasara.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But for me the past nine days and the nine colours have
given rise to more questions than answers and would love all of you to try and
answer as many as you can down below in the comments section of the blog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Question 1.<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My friend RP happily suggested that these colours always
existed and there is also a specific logic behind the symbolism of the colours
for each day. I buy that logic 100%. The symbolism of colour in the Indian
social and religious scenario is huge. But what beats me is something else – <b>why are the colours different for different
years? <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here are the examples:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.india.com/top-n/navratri-special-9-colours-to-wear-on-each-day-of-the-festival-and-their-importance-154941/?gclid=Cj0KEQjwwIKxBRDKhOz7ytT30vkBEiQAT1NaPV1KBN4fhtTR3cUdP8lHHiH2-DKLf1S8tCRdUKXVt8saAlxf8P8HAQ" target="_blank">Colours of 2014</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.india.com/whatever/navratri-2015-colours-know-the-9-different-dress-colours-to-wear-on-each-day-during-this-navratri-620166/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Colours of 2015</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Who did this? The Internet? The Gods? The Goddesses?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Question 2</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While the Goddess worshipped on each day wears a colour that
represents what She stands for, why do devotees wear another colour on that
day?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Question 3</u> (and this one is simple!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Did you follow the colours all 9 days? If yes, post your pics with the day and colour and we'll make a festival of it!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u>Question 4</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I know this festival has always been celebrated with aplomb. But why do I feel this celebration has gone up several notches now? Is the net making it bigger than what it is? Are the colours a new phenomenon? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Let's keep this conversation going. It's about 20 days to Diwali now! Stay blessed.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Have you been following the Navratri posts? Here they all are...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival-sky-is-limit.html" target="_blank">The sky is the limit</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival-go-pink.html" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 18.2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Go Pink. Because you rule</a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival-purity-of-white.html" style="color: #444444; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Purity of White</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival-flames-of.html" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Flames of Orange</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival-grey-day.html" style="color: #444444; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Grey Day</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival.html" style="color: #444444; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Internet of a Festival</a></span></div>
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Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-30868846178987333262015-10-21T10:34:00.003+05:302015-10-21T10:34:49.341+05:30The Internet of a Festival - The sky is the limit<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnyg7qzcKa91yL33U4edKW3_ArTylVOyxd8jbJ5dbTTL2XbWhCn5jkkTKJz3jSRiLgaBQ7vhlGfsx5ns7e1VkrY9fj2LuLjos8IULKyJreKDnoZ-PW5g8RmYkBGBQeZ_xw5axGQ95phts/s1600/blue-sky-clouds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnyg7qzcKa91yL33U4edKW3_ArTylVOyxd8jbJ5dbTTL2XbWhCn5jkkTKJz3jSRiLgaBQ7vhlGfsx5ns7e1VkrY9fj2LuLjos8IULKyJreKDnoZ-PW5g8RmYkBGBQeZ_xw5axGQ95phts/s400/blue-sky-clouds.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">It’s the ninth
day of the fabulous Navratris, Nine nights of dancing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Nine nights of
worshipping the Goddesses that represent power, wealth and wisdom. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Really if
you have these three, the world is at your feet and what you can do with it is
up to you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">The sky is your
limit now and significantly today the colour is sky blue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">In India, in
Hindi, the word would be Aasmani – literally translated – <i>that of the sky</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">I know sky blue
is a particular light blue but empowered with Shakti (Power), and the wealth of wisdom,
today on the ninth day I wish to think more of the sky than just the blue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Today you are
empowered with not only calming effect of blue. But also the metaphor of the sky. Truly
where you are concerned the sky is the limit as to what you can do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Look at the sky,
sometimes it’s clear, sometimes cloudy, sometimes blue, sometimes grey. Always
changing. Always a pleasure to look at. Always creating that sense of space and
calm, that sense that one can just reach out and touch it and yet it remains an
aspirational goal one wants to strive towards. </span></div>
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Today is your day to stretch, stretch your limits for the rest of the year…
stretch them till you can touch the sky. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">You’re blessed.
Go do it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";">Have you been following the Navratri posts? Here they all are...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival-go-pink.html" target="_blank">Go Pink. Because you rule</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival-purity-of-white.html" style="color: #444444; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Purity of White</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival-flames-of.html" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Flames of Orange</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2px;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival-grey-day.html" style="color: #444444; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Grey Day</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival.html" style="color: #444444; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Internet of a Festival</a></span></div>
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Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-6836590073601188952015-10-20T07:00:00.000+05:302015-10-20T11:17:18.759+05:30The Internet of a Festival. Go pink. Because you rule!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFVCEe_pLDq-NzGYxNNK2OBLOoqDhz0A_hzll6iyidAcF_IQ5QTdbK_5HD86DynYoEeFjweyxxPIUez8PiMpSavg3aWdLK1tbGBs6SyjJCw8zAUdITmxrd-5X_2Eu-l6aw2BqIPlwJyU/s1600/pink1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTFVCEe_pLDq-NzGYxNNK2OBLOoqDhz0A_hzll6iyidAcF_IQ5QTdbK_5HD86DynYoEeFjweyxxPIUez8PiMpSavg3aWdLK1tbGBs6SyjJCw8zAUdITmxrd-5X_2Eu-l6aw2BqIPlwJyU/s320/pink1.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Remember the day
you wore a pink dress and felt wonderful? </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Felt supremely confident yet
compassionate? </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">nd felt like you could...well.. rule the world? </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Wasn't</i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"> it the loveliest of pinks? </span></i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Weren't you quite the royalty?</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Get this right,
all you wonderful people. This is India. When we say pink we do not by any
chance or quirk of fate mean baby pink or salmon pink. We mean <b><i>Rani
Pink</i></b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkkZ-a8L8j2NNVpMdb7GQofjsRZbvIOLPU4SJSo5aZi92QyTR-X1Q3i_MoeNkXxQx5w97V9RBh75a4Kvvuba-OZru5Pv_vpMie2Hmaf0RsmhSg3dnLUwOm4zF6_TtQUSnG4_32la1VsLk/s1600/Pinkflowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="73" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkkZ-a8L8j2NNVpMdb7GQofjsRZbvIOLPU4SJSo5aZi92QyTR-X1Q3i_MoeNkXxQx5w97V9RBh75a4Kvvuba-OZru5Pv_vpMie2Hmaf0RsmhSg3dnLUwOm4zF6_TtQUSnG4_32la1VsLk/s200/Pinkflowers.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let me explain.
The word <i>Rani </i>means Queen in Hindi and Rani Pink is the bright fuchsia pink
that was a part of the wardrobe of the Queens of yore. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And what better a colour
to adorn yourself with, than that gorgeous richness of a jewel tone that
encompasses the softness of a rose with the fire of a ruby. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is Rani
Pink, the queen of all pinks. The pink of the abundant bougainvillea, the pink
of the cherry blossoms, the pink of the bridal outfit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s the colour
of hope and healing, a colour that tones down the fire of red but still imbues
you with the assertiveness and maturity of a more responsible and nurturing
love. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybyAMnjJXh997QB1IHTApfUI90sqYQ0Mm-Bxu9_FSiiGpaRlrnwPHFfTvkfIlX8akfB4H44KgC-9B1alSbEGjXJ91eIpUkRiIQEPSJ-aSM2xUG2uPHDZaexUjod0L5glgYI3T2Xz6qms/s1600/cherryblossom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybyAMnjJXh997QB1IHTApfUI90sqYQ0Mm-Bxu9_FSiiGpaRlrnwPHFfTvkfIlX8akfB4H44KgC-9B1alSbEGjXJ91eIpUkRiIQEPSJ-aSM2xUG2uPHDZaexUjod0L5glgYI3T2Xz6qms/s320/cherryblossom.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And most
importantly, it’s the colour adorning the most beautiful of queens. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So get into the
pink of things today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Because you definitely rule. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today is the eighth
day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tomorrow, the colour is sky blue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Stay blessed.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Missed earlier posts on this festival? Get them here - </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival-purity-of-white.html" target="_blank">The Purity of White</a></span></div>
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<a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival-flames-of.html" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Flames of Orange</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 18.2px;"> </span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #eef4fa; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival-grey-day.html" style="color: #444444; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Grey Day</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival.html" style="color: #444444; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Internet of a Festival</a></span></div>
<o:p></o:p></div>
Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-73585438111932538692015-10-19T07:00:00.000+05:302015-10-20T11:10:23.390+05:30The Internet of a Festival - The Purity of White<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm57oT-tOzGMCJOk5q5t5o4zRAxdb1rx61a5Bj01kaIPr2dPtyfSuhvyu7bwn8S8_lSSHccjfL-vNCeNYUVDJsiMNu-nFPYUGQh_nd5R2NB6wLmj9AS5aTbt121c7ci0BLKRZbH9sgNEI/s1600/Lotus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm57oT-tOzGMCJOk5q5t5o4zRAxdb1rx61a5Bj01kaIPr2dPtyfSuhvyu7bwn8S8_lSSHccjfL-vNCeNYUVDJsiMNu-nFPYUGQh_nd5R2NB6wLmj9AS5aTbt121c7ci0BLKRZbH9sgNEI/s320/Lotus.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I love wearing
whites and have a whole lot of whites in my wardrobe. But it’s important to know
that while white is used for finer occasions, in India white has a somewhat
serious meaning.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">First, white technically
is the absence of colour. And it takes on sombre tones in the Indian context. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In older more traditional times it was the only colour
widows were allowed to wear. The reasoning behind that was that it helped her disconnect from
the pleasures and luxuries of active and normal participation in society and
life around her. Today it is the acceptable color at funerals and ceremonies that
mark death in the family. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">But white also stands for peace and purity. Like the pristine lotus that grows beautifully in the murkiest of waters. In
principle; white, as a color, repels all light and colors. And it repels evil. And t</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;">oday is the day when the Goddess
protects her devotees from all evil. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif;">So today dress up in your whitest whites. And
stay blessed.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Missed earlier posts on this festival? Get them here - </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #eef4fa; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #eef4fa; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">
<o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival-flames-of.html" target="_blank">The Flames of Orange</a> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: #eef4fa; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival-grey-day.html" style="color: #444444; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Grey Day</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival.html" style="color: #444444; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Internet of a Festival</a></span></div>
</div>
Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-28206294041881848762015-10-18T13:21:00.002+05:302015-10-20T11:00:49.047+05:30The Internet of a Festival - The Flames of Orange<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgon5m-96c0oWaPVD3YegUStcRwXCGrncg66Rb-NlHEMot7fbW5V2RNgawqfgqJbpHvsU6FxyJ8JAEz1BViuYzfDuAXw6Mt7IAEvyseUtpTkPlSUdktWJjahC7Rgrs1ogpzpEm4z823HXE/s1600/fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgon5m-96c0oWaPVD3YegUStcRwXCGrncg66Rb-NlHEMot7fbW5V2RNgawqfgqJbpHvsU6FxyJ8JAEz1BViuYzfDuAXw6Mt7IAEvyseUtpTkPlSUdktWJjahC7Rgrs1ogpzpEm4z823HXE/s400/fire.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The colour saga continues. It’s Day 6 of the Nine Nights of
Dancing, Navratri. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today’s colour is orange. And if you’ve not read the earlier
posts on The Colours of Navratri, the links are below. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While orange is everything bright and beautiful that India
and Indians stand for what’s really worth talking about is the symbolism of
orange.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
Most people know that orange has immense religious significance because most of
the monks wear orange but most also don’t know why they wear orange.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
Orange or Saffron, actually represents the colour of Agni or fire. And fire is
sacred because it burns away all the impurities, dispels darkness and gets rid
of ignorance. There couldn't be a better representation of purity than with the
colour orange. Orange flags, sometimes triangular, sometime forked, atop the
perch of Hindu temples, are representative of this. The flames of orange. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In all its representations, the colour orange comes out as
the shining symbol of the search for light, the light itself, the quest for
knowledge and wisdom.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Besides it’s the colour of the setting sun, ripe tangerines,
autumn leaves, the evening sky, and of the ubiquitous flower of worship
in India – the thickset marigold. Get all of this in one colour – orange.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So brighten up today. What better colour to wear, no matter what
it means to you. It’s bound to bring with it joy and vibrance and the shining
light of knowledge.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And remember, Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge is
watching. Stay blessed.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Missed earlier posts on this festival? Get them here - <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival-grey-day.html" target="_blank">The Grey Day</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival.html" target="_blank">The Internet of a Festival</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<o:p></o:p></div>
Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-64999678021603714252015-10-18T00:36:00.000+05:302015-10-20T10:59:49.976+05:30The Internet of a Festival - A Grey Day?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In continuation with my earlier post, (here's the link <a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/10/the-internet-of-festival.html" target="_blank">The Internet of a Festival</a>) today’s colour is grey.
I, religiously (pun intended, and how) wore a grey T-shirt today. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Personally I don’t
like grey as a colour. It doesn't do much for me (and I don’t mean on my hair!) It makes me feel low and dull. It’s fine where it belongs as a neutral shade to
let other colours stand out. Else, it is exactly where it stands in the world of
literature where grey days and grey evenings, grey landscapes and grey areas
are nothing short of energy-sapping.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But today’s colour was grey so grey I wore. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I
thought ( a bit rudely perhaps) whether women around will be in Fifty Shades of
Grey but my Inner Goddess quickly rapped me on my knuckles and I came back to
focusing on other things. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The plan for today (being a Saturday) was to have a little excursion with
two friends to a fashion designer’s studio. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yes. It’s a name that has caused many a ripple in sartorial
circles. Salim Asgarally is doing fashion divas and the remaining goddesses on
this side of the planet a favour – with a silver sale commemorating 25 years of
his contribution to the sparkling world of high fashion.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I went to his studio with two friends DO and SG. DO had
been invited to his studio and since it was in the area where I live we had
decided to go together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For those who know Salim Asgarally, I don’t need to say the
work was great. What I did love and appreciate about this work was the kind of style and elegance that I could resonate with and the classic wearability of the stuff. Many
a times I have walked into a fashion studio and walked out empty-handed and with
an empty feeling like I don’t belong to this world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But this was different. And as we ooh-ed and aah-ed over the
beautiful whites, the lace and cutwork pieces and the surprising yet elegant
combinations of colour, style and form, I chanced upon something I liked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH237LGBuwfuIf8QVyk5tj1TGyA0eyh-d8-z1G0FTpE8Lz7HLLvkiUErS4to6-i05rKmMWyEi-4JzOM2WeqovnGt9q_46rWlcL8F2LPXr0QefjJxROw1G2wivn85XvE4pp2Y_bhu1DDGE/s1600/Grey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH237LGBuwfuIf8QVyk5tj1TGyA0eyh-d8-z1G0FTpE8Lz7HLLvkiUErS4to6-i05rKmMWyEi-4JzOM2WeqovnGt9q_46rWlcL8F2LPXr0QefjJxROw1G2wivn85XvE4pp2Y_bhu1DDGE/s320/Grey.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A simple, elegant grey saree blouse. Just what I needed for
a saree I had. I picked it up put it aside and went on to pick up many other
stuff. Much trials (and tribulations) later… trying on various stuff of
(sometimes) smaller sizes, I tried the grey blouse. Salim had graciously said
he’d alter stuff in case it needed to be done… but this? It fitted like a T!
(Not sure how a T will fit me… but oh well… English does have its expressions!)
I had to have it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And so that was it… this elegant, silvery grey thing was
mine, mine, mine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And then I realized in any case the colour of the day was
grey! I mentioned it to Salim and he said, yes, that’s because the dress
chooses you! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Lovely thought, isn’t it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And below is the link to the film he made on this where he talks about the fact
that there is energy in the inanimate. It’s not a very long film but if you’re
pressed for time, watch it from 3:00 minute onwards and you’ll get it. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
Meanwhile, I will continue with my worship of the Grey Goddess of the Day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Stay blessed all of you!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And don't miss this link - </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSm-ncFLsqQ" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Salim Asgarally - The Dress</span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-76646739484377017032015-10-16T21:48:00.003+05:302015-10-17T22:00:52.712+05:30The Internet of a Festival<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYIMYHg4KXB6hulSjw5VWUpSnhdzfkTfe2ILTispofb4Dq3o90PTzpzNYjNgUNR67xwrP067jruRyZ6uo6w_ZsFF05uBlomQBKg3K5XCsboz4o7oUCnBt_5kVJXbPy11cxLzeo59Wq-DA/s1600/goddess_of_colours_by_pixiecold-d6afvte.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYIMYHg4KXB6hulSjw5VWUpSnhdzfkTfe2ILTispofb4Dq3o90PTzpzNYjNgUNR67xwrP067jruRyZ6uo6w_ZsFF05uBlomQBKg3K5XCsboz4o7oUCnBt_5kVJXbPy11cxLzeo59Wq-DA/s200/goddess_of_colours_by_pixiecold-d6afvte.jpg" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The festival season is upon us here in India. It’s non-stop
celebration from now on. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
It began a while ago with the Ganesh celebrations some time ago and sashayed
smoothly into what are called the Navratris. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For the uninitiated, Navratris literally translated mean 9
nights and these nine nights are celebrated differently across the country. But
that’s not what I want to talk about. Today I want to talk about the internet
of a festival.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s strange how the internet has transformed the way we
celebrate our festivals. For instance, I always knew that in Gujarat and for
most Gujaratis the Navratris are celebrated with 9 nights of dancing. When this
is done well (and I don’t know how to do it well, but some women excel at it)
it looks beautiful. In the dark of the night, women in their colourful finery
dance in a circle with the clapping of hands or with sticks with their male
partners. It’s amazing to watch as the circle moves to unison with the clapping
sounds, swaying of the bodies and the swishing of the lovely skirts the women
wear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now comes the internet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And what I realize is that each day has an assigned colour.
I’d love to know in which age this was decided. Was it in the Neolithic Age,
the Paleolithic Age or maybe it’s the Fashion Age. Or the Internet age? <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(I have a few questions … like who decides on the colours but I will leave those for now.)</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Nine nights of the
Fashion Goddess <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here for instance are the ‘prescribed’ colours this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day 1 Red<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day 2 Royal Blue <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day 3 Yellow<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day 4 Green <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day 5 Grey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day 6 Orange<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day 7 White <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day 8 Pink <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Day 9 Sky Blue.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now this is what you are supposed to do. On each of the days
wear something of the specified colour. Simple?
Right? I think so too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Not only simple, I thought it was fun. Now I am not the
religious kind but a little bit of a smile from the Goddess (and there are
three here – Power, Wealth and Knowledge) would always help jog me along
further in my life. And if it meant digging into some dark depths of my
cupboard to look for (even) sky blue stuff, why ever not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPw4KXblQYS1RhKxcxK-0Xe2bR-mUh3sUD6m3elGw8SIF6JYBqf2RR20e9-PpyFTeGPMQ3Q_VqNzgABvxMn88ddKpQO4_Dec8eC2DpFaFmRS7cF09OIcGq7zIDOwXN3stE9zmvH8SnPWc/s1600/Green.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPw4KXblQYS1RhKxcxK-0Xe2bR-mUh3sUD6m3elGw8SIF6JYBqf2RR20e9-PpyFTeGPMQ3Q_VqNzgABvxMn88ddKpQO4_Dec8eC2DpFaFmRS7cF09OIcGq7zIDOwXN3stE9zmvH8SnPWc/s320/Green.jpg" width="239" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As someone who always has ‘nothing to wear’ I took this as a
bit of a challenge. One - to convince myself that I do own the possible nine ‘divine’
colours that the Goddess would approve of. And two - to add some colour into my
daily mundane work life. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I have embarked on this ‘colourful’ journey. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Red for the first day was easy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Royal blue was also right up there. And I was quite
victorious at that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If my closet is a bit awry, it’s because the yellow things
was right at the bottom and some things did get upended on the second day.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But today was the fourth day and today green was a bit of,
let’s put it this way, a challenge. So I used my resourcefulness and wore something
cream with black and added a green jacket. I did wear green earrings. And just to
appease the green goddess I also wore a tinge of green eye shadow. Ha! Triumph!
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The way I look at it is this. If the Goddess of Green is
looking around she is going to be assaulted by yards and yards of green with
the women in sarees, long flowy kurtas and similar. When she sees that speck of
green in my earrings, the dot that goes for the eye shadow and the thready lace
jacket… isn’t she going to be impressed with my creativity? Don’t Goddesses
also need a challenge? Don’t they also want some brain teasers looking for the
green in the ones who chose to follow the colour circuit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well, here I am. I am feeling blessed. And the grass is
definitely greener on this side. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>(Four more days to go… I will update you in a later post as
to how the nine days went! Am sure the Goddesses are waiting!)</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p> </o:p> </div>
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Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-30087660353483905152015-10-13T01:31:00.000+05:302015-10-13T16:02:41.458+05:30How do I write, when and... why!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuUt9P75NCZZumO-jiJhsJTQUF6-9D-6tTSEfKKA-k34gTEOmHfzrnWYq51Ls8qA11-CZqsn5SOc44ofjW6DZ9HhU_8mFWrauuxJP0RrrXerGmvAxk5vtoOh1Cqlkg1og-Rh-w8L6awfY/s1600/IMG_7596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuUt9P75NCZZumO-jiJhsJTQUF6-9D-6tTSEfKKA-k34gTEOmHfzrnWYq51Ls8qA11-CZqsn5SOc44ofjW6DZ9HhU_8mFWrauuxJP0RrrXerGmvAxk5vtoOh1Cqlkg1og-Rh-w8L6awfY/s320/IMG_7596.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've been asked how I get the time to blog fairly regularly.<br />And I have an answer that does not make sense (at least initially).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Traffic.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And by traffic I don't mean the social media traffic of readers that beat their way to my blog. I mean genuine horrendous crawly mind-numbing traffic! Okay, may not be mind-numbing but definitely the clutch-brake-move-an-inch-forward kind.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now you'll wonder if I write while I drive. No, I don't. I write on my desk in the office though it's mostly at home. But I think more than I write. Often a post arranges itself in my head before it forms itself into characters on the screen. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Which is why the 'traffic' instead of a hindrance becomes a help. In my head, words are fighting to get into their places pretty much like kindergarten children running amok in a play school. It's only when I sit down in front of my keyboard that they sullenly fall into line, hands on the shoulders of the toddler in front of them taking tiny little steps to go back inside. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once that is done, it's a few revisions, few arrangements of the line, sending one errant child to the back of the queue, bringing another one forward, gently asking a third one to stand aside and await his turn for the next time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once all that is done, I read re-read, correct the typos... then it's off. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, I blog on varied subjects and platforms - random thoughts, Customer Experience and I also post short stories on another blog sometimes. So often it depends on what I am writing on and then of course it may take longer than usual - a short story invariably takes longer because I write so much more than necessary - then I ruthlessly edit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That still does not the key question - why I write</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. I write because it's easier to express on paper (figuratively speaking now) than to speak. Years ago, when I actually wrote on paper it was putting that pen on paper that actually got the thoughts flowing with the ink. And as the words formed whorls and shapes on paper my thoughts took form and what was just a thought or just an amorphous mass of words getting sculpted into shape with the nib of my pen into something meaningful. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Something that's more permanent than my thoughts in the traffic!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And here are the links to my three platforms.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://www.tectonicshifts.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Random Thoughts on Life</a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.customerdark.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Insights into Customer Experience</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /><a href="http://www.thecrackdmirror.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Short Stories</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-57480856011672698482015-09-16T15:57:00.000+05:302015-09-16T15:57:20.262+05:305 ways to bring your holiday back to work <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcvkb0Ue_BbfLduK4TTcYcg2YpjCUnXxEKv6oa6s8jtVD5caYDgbXXSCd59ATAddWWZq0LvJU5GVKkizKWY-KIhmtrqNhG0SxDln8lY7jId8mQciFjubuqlABhvvMyrzAtLvp8_VObjQs/s1600/ZuriKerela.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcvkb0Ue_BbfLduK4TTcYcg2YpjCUnXxEKv6oa6s8jtVD5caYDgbXXSCd59ATAddWWZq0LvJU5GVKkizKWY-KIhmtrqNhG0SxDln8lY7jId8mQciFjubuqlABhvvMyrzAtLvp8_VObjQs/s320/ZuriKerela.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s wearing off! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The 3-day, really really short vacation
I took last week. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But before it is relegated to just LIKES on my Instagram
uploads, I’ve decided I will continue to bring back my holiday at work. And no,
that does not mean I will not work…</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I’ve found FIVE simple ways to do it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>1. </b></span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">Holiday is work. Make work a holiday</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We all know that planning and organizing
a holiday is hard work. If anyone knows how difficult it is to plan a holiday,
I do. I thought it was tough when the children were small. It gets tougher when
they are older. Managing dates, schedules, even flight timings - especially if it’s
not to one of the big metros in India - become a challenge. But you juggle
everyone’s calendars, find dates and time and plan how to get there. That’s a
lot of hard work done with oodles of enthusiasm. And now, when you are back to
work, there’s an upcoming project deadline – why not apply the same formula?
Juggle dates and times, sync calendars and match ETAs and ETDs with a smile on
your face. Enthusiasm does make a dull day brighter. And work akin to a holiday</span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>2.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b></span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">Get your schedule really right</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The right schedule is a tight
schedule. On a holiday? Well don’t we move to a schedule even on a holiday?
Starting from something as small as putting your Out-of-Office message,
packing, to making it to the airport on schedule, our life on a holiday still
revolves round a clock. Go to the finest property there is and you find there
are breakfast timings and lunch timings, dinner timings, pool timings, gym
timings… and also time for room service. And yes… what about the ‘free relaxing
45-minute massage’ at the Spa that was included in your package? First you pre-book
the appointment for that, then you make all effort to land up at the Spa at the
stipulated time. Really, moving pretty much to the clock. Do it with that same
smile at work and things instantly seem better. The clock remains the same,
remember?</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-size: large;"><b>3.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b></span><b><span style="color: #8e7cc3; font-size: large;">Make the most of it</span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now this is strange. You are at work
all day and you end the day having done not much or sometimes too much. Your
day stretches into weeks and months in much the same manner. Flowing with the
tide. But on a holiday you are on limited time. And you try to squeeze in as
much as possible in the day. Sightseeing? You start early and end late. Food?
You want to try all the local delicacies – even delve deeper and want to learn
the recipes. You plan in advance. You stick to your plan. You stretch your day.
You stretch your night. You work hard at this. This being your holiday. Did you
see that? How the lines are blurring? Work-Holiday-Holiday-Work. Now backpack
into work in the morning and approach it that way… and see what happens!</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;"><b>4.<span style="font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal;"> </span></b></span><b><span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Break the routine. With another routine.</span><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJfRPkQ-4mDl1Q46QNML78o3NO0sFFdN4owL6KDcU6Zl7wgA4npiXvumo0mWNOL3J08tTEqDYVsdx0DSzsnz0sTb-FqXbvBfdO6V0RGs27nbORIzoGLrfs-FLNPFZDS6SimYpVI0Mz_8/s1600/LotusPurple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQJfRPkQ-4mDl1Q46QNML78o3NO0sFFdN4owL6KDcU6Zl7wgA4npiXvumo0mWNOL3J08tTEqDYVsdx0DSzsnz0sTb-FqXbvBfdO6V0RGs27nbORIzoGLrfs-FLNPFZDS6SimYpVI0Mz_8/s320/LotusPurple.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I am always planning to begin getting on to
an exercise regime and somehow that fails. Predictably so. It’s usually blamed
on the alarm clock, the long hours, the cats and (although quite rarely) on me!
But come a holiday and I am up with the lark (literally at times) I am off to
the hotel gym then energized enough to go for a swim and a bit of yoga is
thrown in on the side – not to mention long walks and haughtily saying no to the
golf cart transport that the hotel offers. It’s great. And that’s where the
holiday comes in handy. Here’s an unmatched routine that I can bring back in my
suitcase with me. The zest to work out – and finding the time to do so. If I push
myself even a little I know this can be my new routine and I can be a new me!
Woohoo Holiday!</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><b>5.<span style="font-stretch: normal;"> </span>Think fresh </b></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So I do have an iPhone 6 and
pretty much like the ad says, I take pics that scream 'Taken on an iPhone 6'.
Isn’t that what a holiday is about. The brilliance of the sights and the colors
that surround you? I think it’s also something to do with the perspective that
lowered defenses bring to a holiday. You are no longer in the sparring stance
that you are regularly in at the office. And suddenly everything is so
beautiful. Look around and you still see those bright-coloured opportunities at
work. Which reminds me of a time recently when the entire floor in my office gravitated
towards the windows because lo and behold… there was a rainbow in the sky! Holidays
help you think fresh, look at things with a new perspective and see the world
with renewed vision. Make this last. Bring it back and keep the rose-tinted
glasses of your holidays on. And soon work could (at least most of the time) seem
like a vacation – okay a stay-cation!</span></div>
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<b style="color: orange; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Happy Holidays at Work!</b></div>
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Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-25950004155207978032015-08-14T02:04:00.002+05:302015-08-14T02:19:03.538+05:30A song with a story<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmWmbQ8MwNxmyGAntuNwNNymnsenwBTIKLMZ4f29KPqEb3gqQLeFErik-iz0S4CNXZsTLZSeHI3VqnmeOOvd1sPuqigDxrtqMzO6XDSyxynNBvhxqrahRxN03_o3qZ-n-twvJleB4Oyho/s1600/ShipInStorm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmWmbQ8MwNxmyGAntuNwNNymnsenwBTIKLMZ4f29KPqEb3gqQLeFErik-iz0S4CNXZsTLZSeHI3VqnmeOOvd1sPuqigDxrtqMzO6XDSyxynNBvhxqrahRxN03_o3qZ-n-twvJleB4Oyho/s400/ShipInStorm.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">18<sup>th</sup> Century. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Off the coast of Ireland.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A stormy night at sea. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Waves chopping, rising several feet high. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And an ancient sailboat being tossed around in what is a
devastating storm. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As the storm rages on with no hope of abating, one sailor
gets down on his knees and prays.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Prays with all his heart and
begs forgiveness for his sins. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Prays fervently and promises to mend his ways. </span></i><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Prays for redemption.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>The seas calm down and over days the ship sails
back safely into the harbor and a repentant sailor comes home - a changed man.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That man was John Newton, a slave trader, a man of many misdeeds
and (while not immediately) he slowly turned from an atheist to a believer (<i>I once was lost, but now I am found</i>) and in his
most pious moments he composed a hymn – one that has over centuries been a hymn
sung in troubled moments – a requiem that graces churches during some of the
most poignant funeral masses. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here are the words of the autobiographical hymn. Most people know the song but not the story.</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">Amazing grace, How sweet the sound</span></i><br />
<i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">That saved a wretch like me.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">I once was lost, but now am found, </span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">Was blind, but now I see.</span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear, </span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">And grace my fears relieved.</span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">How precious did that grace appear</span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">The hour I first believed.</span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">Through many dangers, toils and snares</span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">I have already come, </span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far</span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">And grace will lead me home.</span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">The Lord has promised good to me</span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">His word my hope secures; </span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">He will my shield and portion be, </span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">As long as life endures.</span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail, </span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">And mortal life shall cease</span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">I shall possess within the veil, </span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">A life of joy and peace.</span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">When we've been there ten thousand years</span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">Bright shining as the sun, </span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">We've no less days to sing God's praise</span><br style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" /><span style="color: #474747; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">Than when we've first begun</span></i></span><span style="color: #474747; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px;">.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There have been
so many versions that it’s difficult to choose one so here are three of the ones I’ve
heard and liked. I am sure you have your own favourite. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Accompanied by bagpipers, this group of Irish singers called
<b>Celtic Woman</b> brings an ethereal charm to the hymn. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsCp5LG_zNE&list=RDCDdvReNKKuk&index=2">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsCp5LG_zNE&list=RDCDdvReNKKuk&index=2</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And here’s an a capella version by <b>Hayley Westerna. </b>Appreciate the simplicity of the melody and the depth of the words coming right through.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mnTKN8LuiY">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mnTKN8LuiY</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And set against the backdrop of the ruins in Rome, <b>Il Divo</b>
give their version of the hymn. The interlude with the bagpipes and the variations
in their voice add a unique quality to this rendition. Have a listen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYMLMj-SibU">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYMLMj-SibU</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And if the words keep ringing in your head… well… it’s
amazing grace, grace that will lead us home. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-76029925898351098712015-08-02T15:45:00.000+05:302015-08-02T15:45:57.967+05:30A circle of friends<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPdPwbcOZDrhEGKr7CoGC9cVvSeZP_5r8ZhF6dvup_N0rCxdu2TyAVvz05jaqyQjuR-jeZ4xPH4L6DUWpVnECG1irdv6ilXqKGYs95625w0JIuuF-Lp2csJjPN2_Xpn2JAGdVE6xA-IU/s1600/ring_of_flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPdPwbcOZDrhEGKr7CoGC9cVvSeZP_5r8ZhF6dvup_N0rCxdu2TyAVvz05jaqyQjuR-jeZ4xPH4L6DUWpVnECG1irdv6ilXqKGYs95625w0JIuuF-Lp2csJjPN2_Xpn2JAGdVE6xA-IU/s400/ring_of_flowers.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Have you ever wondered why it's called a circle of friends or </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">a Friend Circle? It's no coincid</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ence. <i>It IS a circle</i>. A circle that envelopes you as tightly or as loosely as you want it. A circle that protects you from all those 'slings and arrows of outrageous fortune' (Thanks Shakespeare - you couldn't have expressed it better!). A circle that allows you to touch each and everyone at one time or all times, a circle you can widen and narrow through life as life demands. And a circle that responds. The way you want it. Growing looser and tighter around you.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And there's more to the circle. It means things go round. What goes round comes round. And you pass on that wonderful feeling of friendship that one friend gave you to another friend. You pass it on. You pass it forward. And you get it back from someone else. One good turn after another.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And since it's a circle it can turn and it can spin. So you have those heady spinning moments with friends that you can never forget, pretty much all your life. And you have those turning points where friends meet and part - and then meet again. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And because it can turn, it can go clockwise .Or counter clockwise. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today is Friendship Day...once again. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Not that any other day is not for friends. Most of us, at some time or the other, are thanking a friend for being there in our times of need. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But today of all days maybe it's time to turn around and see what you can do for your friends. Turn around, spin the circle counter-clockwise, pull it close, and thank all those who have ever been your friends. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>(From me, a big <b>Thank you</b> to my friends -today and every day!)</i></span></div>
Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-73214394677896916232015-07-27T15:06:00.002+05:302015-07-27T15:23:02.088+05:30Think...don't blink!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was caught in an intensely heavy shower this morning. The one where you cannot see the car in front of you and all you can is a blur of hazy red lights. The one where traffic slows down to a crawl - a blurry sea of red blobs moving slowly and carefully forward. But with these red blobs I now see the blinking yellows!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDgqjLyLMCApTwn4qAn6LVgUMGXY4Gw7lShTJOqg0eAbAenVXHKw5fR930zSVYSMmIsC_NsB69DlIMB1GPnozsA1OZTlRP4IjU1ZKO5TQt6lybn2h6nhMAHBwx-ZWn0WqCAGOi6MAo80/s1600/RainDrive.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRDgqjLyLMCApTwn4qAn6LVgUMGXY4Gw7lShTJOqg0eAbAenVXHKw5fR930zSVYSMmIsC_NsB69DlIMB1GPnozsA1OZTlRP4IjU1ZKO5TQt6lybn2h6nhMAHBwx-ZWn0WqCAGOi6MAo80/s400/RainDrive.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Last year, I thought the blinking yellow lights were the right thing to do. So I tweeted to fellow drivers to keep them on. Several vigilant tweeters/drivers responded. It was not correct to have the hazard lights on during the rain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My research since then has confirmed this. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From what I understand using your hazard lights while driving in the rain is actually more hazardous than using just your indicator lights.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />In hindsight I agree.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /><b><i>For instance, how do you signal left or right turning? </i></b></span><br />
<b><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Or if the traffic is crawling how do you signal that you have stopped?</span></i></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In many countries and states in the US, this could actually be fined by law. I am not sure what the Indian laws say but if I think a bit, this logic is right. So I do put on my brights or just my headlights but not my blinkers during a rainy drive.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /><b><i>What about you? I'd love to know your views. </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-13767807102299363762015-06-29T15:22:00.000+05:302015-06-29T15:42:15.861+05:30#InsideOut (Or-who’s-at-your-console-right-now?)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnSTMGhu4XAXUd2VByKqi6VDkiaQSeJ1B2hQea6LCTKKbSRLuAFlmYmbZcDBw15P5rExz0SXJ6jrb2HN8lv50k5eg5fenGCom0DsK6b_WAIZWS3_ebqVW5Yp1myWr2_gkofFxoNxW7Fk/s1600/Insideout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcnSTMGhu4XAXUd2VByKqi6VDkiaQSeJ1B2hQea6LCTKKbSRLuAFlmYmbZcDBw15P5rExz0SXJ6jrb2HN8lv50k5eg5fenGCom0DsK6b_WAIZWS3_ebqVW5Yp1myWr2_gkofFxoNxW7Fk/s1600/Insideout.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tell me you’re not governed by your emotions and I’ll tell
you two things <br />
1. I’m a direct descendent of Cleopatra the Queen <br />
2.I live in Alaska. (So.. ha!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I managed to catch this movie over the weekend. It’s one of
those clever Pixar productions that let you enjoy the film when you are
watching it but set you thinking on your way home and don’t allow you to stop
pondering on it for a long time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let’s get one thing straight though. It is a 3D Animation
film, but the child-rating ends there. This is for adults too. It’s about how we
behave (as adults) all the time – no matter how old we are. (In fact it’s how
even dogs and cats behave! What a brilliant touch that… at the end! But I’m jumping
the gun here)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So the little girl is Riley and all’s well in her world – or
so we think. Because her world is fine but the world inside her head is just
about to go absolutely haywire. Bring in just five emotions at the console in
her head – Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust and a change of place -from
Minnesota to San Francisco- and there ensues mayhem. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I won’t go into details of what happens, but how things
happen is a fascinating journey of the emotions in the mind and the mind of the
emotions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The film gives you a deeper insight into memories – core memories,
long-term, short-term and how in an intricate labyrinth inside the head the
functioning of the various islands is managed brilliantly by the different
emotions. Joy takes centre-stage here. With her buoyant personality, her
brilliantly cropped blue hair and her bare feet, she’s always positive about turning
things around. This is, of course, versus Sadness whose blueness (literally and
otherwise) can dampen or sadden even a happy memory. And not very surprisingly that blueness does
not change back to its original golden yellow. Well… we’ve heard of song sung
blue, everybody knows one!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1a9yJQpK09Ng0yFJnOp_JYpywmHAQ51ZLOIji1MUIfOrHeGOx-iJn2LledCRWw6RgfDN8-40haiCGMWr2Dx600veTGJc-gYvg1GRhAlOLgnCFf0XeZHrswLwCMkXbbbrtodvRRL6YDw/s1600/InsideOut2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw1a9yJQpK09Ng0yFJnOp_JYpywmHAQ51ZLOIji1MUIfOrHeGOx-iJn2LledCRWw6RgfDN8-40haiCGMWr2Dx600veTGJc-gYvg1GRhAlOLgnCFf0XeZHrswLwCMkXbbbrtodvRRL6YDw/s1600/InsideOut2.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I do know there are several posts doing the rounds of how
correct or incorrect the references to memory and emotions are. But I’d park
that aside. Isn’t it brilliant how the five emotions sit at the console and
fight their way through the day and get busier at night when Riley goes to
sleep? What’s even more amazing is the way long-term memory is looked into and those
two characters that, while in charge of long-term memory, suddenly revive one
and send it back into the consciousness. Very much like the stupid songs in
your head that you remember suddenly and they refuse to leave! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I don’t know about you but the film sparked my imagination and
I now am certain I have a larger, more complicated console. There’s of course
Sarcasm in a brilliant orange definitely sporting a Lancome Rouge in Love (170N
–just in case you’re in Duty-free!) and there’s Envy in a greener green than
Disgust, getting more lurid every time I see a fabulous pair of shoes. Then I
have Despair, who is Midnight Blue and gives my Sadness a run for her blue
money. Despair’s Midnight Blue strikes especially hard when I meet some moronic
characters who I think have no hope. Fortunately Sarcasm steps in with her
flaming hair to save the day. I do have (oh my) Goodness but she lurks in a
dull grey in a corner and is not allowed to come much to the fore thanks to
Sarcasm and Anger. Now Anger is another one coming on to the console in full
glory. When I drive, Anger is at the console, and believe me, it helps. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What’s not really right in the #InsideOut business inside my
head is the Memory Dump. My tiny two characters who are in charge are a tad bit
inefficient and seem to send the wrong bits to the dump – things that don’t go
to short-term or long-term memory – but land up in that endless black hole –
the dump. Fortunately, for me, I don’t give it much thought (largely because I cannot remember) and also
because my Joy is a nice sunshine yellow – and steps in at the least
provocation (not barefeet – but wearing new shoes) and makes everything nice
and yellow and happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But coming back to Riley and the film, it’s really touching
that in the end you do need a bit of Sadness and that light blue tinge to make everything right! You really have to watch this film – the animation is spectacular. And
the imagination - really commendable. Mind blowing, would be a better
word I guess.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s a brilliant lesson in Psychology and especially if you want
to figure what’s happening at your console, you need to see it. I am going
again – so that this does not go into my Memory Dump. </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">(Oh! I can already see Joy doing a little jig there!)</i></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-14321312447944178272015-06-28T21:14:00.003+05:302015-06-29T06:59:54.460+05:30The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - a Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxj7kLlFDcVOzDqLfsrRmyoT9NhQLpootyGZCqESzPmCgN6aGPrCKm3KqVMGQOYBH31mIxKf93YDmz8T7ofY524PZQj-uKCJw2hzGjsCL0I5JF5efM5oawHGeOhiggB1OBwJNV4C7skE4/s1600/boy1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxj7kLlFDcVOzDqLfsrRmyoT9NhQLpootyGZCqESzPmCgN6aGPrCKm3KqVMGQOYBH31mIxKf93YDmz8T7ofY524PZQj-uKCJw2hzGjsCL0I5JF5efM5oawHGeOhiggB1OBwJNV4C7skE4/s320/boy1.png" width="281"></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Once in a while you read a book that scrapes a raw nerve
right in the centre of your heart and
leaves it exposed and bleeding… for all times to come.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne is one such
book. Filed under ‘a-book-for-keeps’ category, it’s a book that is dramatic in
its simplicity, mature in its innocence and heartrending in its factual tone and
manner.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are enough books, reports, films and recordings of the
gruesomeness of war but not many take the unique perspective that this one
takes. Set in the time of the second world war, it’s a look at Germany from the
viewpoint of innocence – through the eyes of a nine-year old boy Bruno. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As the family moves to another location, the import of which import Bruno
does not understand right till the very end, Bruno struggles with the curiosity
and loneliness of a boy his age and over a period of time makes friends with a
boy ‘across the fence’ who shares the same birthday as his. How much different could
they be, he wonders, and yet his new friend is on the other side of the fence
and they cannot really play together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What the book brings out in its stark innocence is the
horrors of the war, the unsaid atrocities of the Holocaust and the simple truth
that sometimes the ones who get caught in the crossfire of an adult issue are children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For a nine-year-old boy who lives in the midst of a warring
nation – being shielded from the gruesome aspects of war is the very reason why
he himself becomes the victim of it. The end is almost anti-climactic in its
simplicity. The naivete of the two boys as they promise to remain ‘friends for
life’ pulls violently at the heartstrings as darkness descends. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The book in its sheer simplicity ends with these telling
words, <i>“Of course all this happened a
long time ago. And nothing like this can ever happen again. Not in this day and
age.”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Yes may be. Not on this scale but if you come down to
warring adults and innocent children, it does continue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a must-read for every
adult. It’s a <i>must-reflect-on,
must-think-about, must-not-ever-forget</i> kind of a book. Like I said in the beginning, it exposes a raw nerve and leaves it like that. But I am glad I own a copy. Thanks NB.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-32799474344050814272015-06-18T18:46:00.002+05:302015-06-19T14:25:30.308+05:30I like the rain <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><i>I like the rain.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The June-July-August rain. When it has set into the season
in its full glory. The monsoons. The monsoon. Rainy season. Whatever you call
it. Unlike a lot of people I know, I like the rain in Mumbai.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It took me two hours to get to work today. But I like the
rain. And just about everything associated with it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It pounded on the roof of my car, splashed at me from
oncoming traffic, got swept away by my efficient wipers and relentlessly blocked
my vision, I smiled and thought to myself – I like the rain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I like the rain as it washes away the dirt and grime of this
city. I like the muddied water as it runs down in thick rivulets across and by
the side of the roads. It’s almost like the rain is frantically trying to clean
up the mess that city has made in the past 8 months and has been given a short
span of 3-4 months (with dry spells thrown in) to make it all better. And as
hopeless as it seems I like that the rain is doing its utmost to bring the city
back to its clean self again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But I know in a city like Mumbai, the rain shields so much,
covers so much, blinds so much. And if anything understands this city it’s the
rain. The rain sees through the dark side of the city, empathizes with the
painful side, equalizes the inequality with one heavy shower and pounds on rich
or poor alike. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Overcast, cloudy, grey, black, dull and dreary, the rain is
witness to all the city’s dark, dingy misdoings. It creeps its way through dimly
lit alleyways and runs through the murky menagerie of human existence. It
settles in patches of the underworld, treating the dons and underdogs alike,
all covered with the same muddy splashes, all stepping into the same morass of
morality, or immorality. I like the rain in all its darkness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On the outside, someone is crying. But the rain sends a wet protective
cover and cries along - with the woman who has lost her house, the man who has
lost his job and the brutalized young girl who has lost her faith in humanity.
I like the rain as it cries with us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In the relentless pounding , you don’t hear the cries of the
wronged woman or the abused child. It’s all part of the dinning sound that
helps this city move on heartlessly to its next destination, next job, next
day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And here comes the rain again. It still tries to do good.
Brings new leaf, new colour, to the dust-covered smoke-filled, smog-inhaling
trees, unveiling the clear tropical green in the few patches that they still
survive. Against a mundane grey backdrop of rain-soaked high rises the glisten
of the green gives me new hope. I like the hope of rain.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And then the skies darken again. There’s a deafening peal
of thunder and it starts pounding relentlessly on my roof, making silent the
music that’s playing in my car, almost insisting I listen to its own drum roll
instead. The car fogs up again shielding me from what the rain is shielding from
the city – and I watch as the dirt and the grime and the dark, dingy
underworld, gets yet another washing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><i>I do like the rain.</i></b></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-32039455079551711732015-06-12T18:04:00.005+05:302015-06-12T20:24:31.997+05:30The culture wall. Time to break it!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When you are entrenched in a global marketplace you can’t
but help meet, interact and work closely with people of different countries. But does working across boundaries mean a global mindset?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitsngDoIhFgY8w2T5WlEy5BeJ5J9tDCRGifsBmBq8ghzELpQhDxXvHujgIsuHmZZhCsjeBzcTspGzM8vbGiAlfYome4-U-uPHSktKHtjqkuW6NxkGArAQnrCxbHXGM8jbWikgqLeegbJs/s1600/CultureWall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitsngDoIhFgY8w2T5WlEy5BeJ5J9tDCRGifsBmBq8ghzELpQhDxXvHujgIsuHmZZhCsjeBzcTspGzM8vbGiAlfYome4-U-uPHSktKHtjqkuW6NxkGArAQnrCxbHXGM8jbWikgqLeegbJs/s320/CultureWall.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But what we look at as geographical boundaries are actually
huge cultural walls. Breaking through these walls with the right awareness,
understanding and communication skills is the trick to a truly global mindset. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am increasingly getting steeped in culture, cultural
differences, challenges and the issues culture brings to the workplace. It’s
the elephant in the room – looming large as the world becomes a smaller place. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And now the elephant has begun to raise its trunk and people
are sitting up and taking notice. However taking notice does not tell anyone
what to do about it.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The bricks of miscommunication<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s important at the outset to even acknowledge that there
are going to be cultural differences. The second important thing to note is
that while it’s called a cultural difference the manifestation is not an
outward gesture, it occurs largely in communication – or rather
miscommunication. And that’s what builds a wall. It’s built with bricks of
misinterpretation, miscommunication and misunderstanding. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Indeed, India is at a huge disadvantage here. Look at the
young English-speaking, pizza-eating, mobile-toting crowd and you’ll find that
they can be largely compared to the youth of the west. And yet our cultural
traits are such that we are at a huge variance from the rest of the world,
creating a hotbed of communication conflict. All, unfortunately in the same
language.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You speak English?<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Let’s look only at English as a language here. English is a
second language for most Indians. We have done our entire education in English.
For a large number of urban Indians, English is more a native language than our
respective mother tongues. For instance, how many of us can read or write our
Indian mother tongue and the accompanying script? How many of us speak our
mother tongue more than we speak English? And finally, how many of us even <i>think </i>in our own language? We speak,
read, write, think and even dream in English. But how close are we to, forget
the rest of the Europeans, even the English? Probably as far apart as we are
geographically.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Because we speak English our culture is mistaken to be like
the English culture. But our DNA does not change because of a deeply entrenched
foreign language. Nor does the 5000-year old cultural nuance. Our social norms
remain the same. Our mindset unchanged. In that respect the Asian and European
nations that speak a different language are at an advantage here. People
‘expect’ them to behave differently. And
also ‘accept’ the difference. Indians who speak English however are mostly
misunderstood. We speak pure English, then go on to behave in a purely Indian
manner. And this is the stuff that makes the wall bigger, taller, wider.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Breaking the wall</b><o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s time to take it down. But it’s not enough to want to.
What is an absolute must is first to accept that there exists one, second to
know that we are on two opposite sides of the wall and the third is the
willingness to create a doorway through the wall – a passage so to speak – for
the two cultures to come halfway to accepting and acknowledging differences and
ready to work with them. That will be the essential first step to the crumbling
of the wall. And the first glimpse of what is truly a global mindset. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">(And you’ll hear more of this from</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> me.)</span></i><br />
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Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-56822359838966508112015-05-08T22:04:00.002+05:302015-05-08T22:10:08.257+05:307 sins that dwarf your social impact<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzPk6kjpOAAx0whIx_B_L63KSY-fBF2BjKRb4z193nuwnprf9-WdD5F_CXBPvmkkpfQZgUD1oscWBIXFPUKgFWssn0CM9giDJXqRySEwys-lKXSMuugIABWNf2fx4aIfplls-J_LEm0E/s1600/the-seven-dwarfs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyzPk6kjpOAAx0whIx_B_L63KSY-fBF2BjKRb4z193nuwnprf9-WdD5F_CXBPvmkkpfQZgUD1oscWBIXFPUKgFWssn0CM9giDJXqRySEwys-lKXSMuugIABWNf2fx4aIfplls-J_LEm0E/s320/the-seven-dwarfs.jpg" width="320" /></a>I can’t seem to let my fairy tales go. And Snow-white seemed to be peeping out of her cottage when I last browsed through LinkedIn and saw some glaring gaffes that people were making in their social media communications.Seriously this can dwarf your social media impact and make you go from Happy to Dopey and Grumpy. Check whether you're making any of these 7 common mistakes.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1. The wrong message for the medium </strong>Is what you're sharing not right for the people who are reading it? Your audiences on Facebook and LinkedIn are different. And their reasons for being there are different too. This may sound odd but pictures of your niece's 5th birthday or cute kitten videos are meant for Facebook not LinkedIn. You making faces? Instagram it. Sharing your insights on the marketing summit you attended? LinkedIn is where the people will listen to you. Then again, unless your name is Socrates or Plato, avoid putting up philosophical statements and pithy proverbs on LinkedIn. (Yes, a Steve Jobs statement is fine). By the same logic, your profile pic on LinkedIn should ideally not be the one you shared on Instagram last week from the beach! Sounds basic or patronizing? Scroll up and down your pages and you’ll see how many people get that wrong.</div>
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2. <strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Your links don’t work </strong>I’ve done this myself. In my excitement to publish my latest blogpost, I just copied the link on my tweet and pasted it, leaving out a vital character. Fortunately moments after I shared it I decided to check the link. <em style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And it was not working</em>. Nothing sets you back in social-media-savvy status as a link that does not work. And when it does finally work, it’s unlikely that your audience is coming back to check it out again. A lost audience is lost forever.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4d4f51; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 30px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
3. <strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Typos and grammatical errors </strong>Here’s the thing, and disagree if you like, if you have chosen to write in English, it needs to be correct English. Typos just showcase you as being lazy and careless. And grammatically wrong English can once again set you back in your social media reputation. Also, needless to say incorrect punctuation could lead to misinterpretation. Check, recheck your writing. Proof read, if not once, at least two times. It’s a must and you owe it to your readers.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #4d4f51; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 30px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
4. <strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">No point of view </strong>It’s a sharing economy now. And when you write posts or share on social media you are not a reporter really. You’re sharing a point of view. Unless it’s a piece of news that you are sharing, you need to state where you stand. If your post or statement does not have a point of view, it’s not really worth sharing. On the flip side, it’s not engaging your readers either.</div>
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5. N<strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">o clarity </strong>Time and again you come across a verbose post that rambles on and on and does not make a clear statement. You may have a point of view, but if you have no clarity or are not expressing it clearly, it’s lost in the woods. It’s really like not having a point of view. In this case, start again, re-read Point 4.</div>
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6. <strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Wrong Tone of Voice </strong>This is subtle but important. What are you writing about? Coaching? Are you a coach? Then your tone can be authoritative. Coaching again? But you are being coached. Your tone needs to be that of an eager learner. Are you talking about your learnings in the last marketing campaign you spearheaded? Here’s sharing from an experienced person. These are the right tones of voice to take. Get patronizing and preachy and you lose that connect. Get flippant and you lose credibility. Get the right tone. Get read. And get the necessary impact.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjynIIvjOG20FG99P3_Yd0D1unpiB1D5Sdutmxo1na29ZXvfS_HZ1_Z-XkjOZhyOBEEklz9MzU5uo9gsKNN7aOBLFaSxGVduFguU7l1V9JhvFAKu9uIhBVZFenXk40rE-ckUUuTIxdQZg/s1600/snowwhiteand7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjynIIvjOG20FG99P3_Yd0D1unpiB1D5Sdutmxo1na29ZXvfS_HZ1_Z-XkjOZhyOBEEklz9MzU5uo9gsKNN7aOBLFaSxGVduFguU7l1V9JhvFAKu9uIhBVZFenXk40rE-ckUUuTIxdQZg/s320/snowwhiteand7.jpg" width="320" /></a>7. <strong style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Too long </strong>And it’s fortunate this comes at the end, because today’s currency is time. And if your post is too long, it’s less likely to get read. Too long-winded, it’s less likely to get read. Too verbose, it’s less likely to get read. So ideally, keep it short. Add subheads. Get to the point. Quickly. If you do have a lot to say, break it up in a couple of posts. Link back to the previous one. Chances are all will be read, and even if not, you’ve made a point in each one.</div>
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And so let’s aim for a fairy tale ending to your social media impact and may your impact be gigantic!<br />
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Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-4774828846355060812015-04-23T14:13:00.001+05:302015-04-23T14:34:14.893+05:30For the love of reading...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On World Book Day,
this is my tribute to my lifelong companions.</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFO_NeA90Ayhyphenhyphen8Y4O3xo3nbBDdIlXjzwRiMCD0piZiNeV2_76MM3ZRh-RltUvKenogWQezJAaGTuhSfNolA_4Cgu5fKjzpcCzpjZOWu4ptcibGcWIakfd-hzzqPGaCTmyesXug2q8ftr8/s1600/GordonTheGoat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFO_NeA90Ayhyphenhyphen8Y4O3xo3nbBDdIlXjzwRiMCD0piZiNeV2_76MM3ZRh-RltUvKenogWQezJAaGTuhSfNolA_4Cgu5fKjzpcCzpjZOWu4ptcibGcWIakfd-hzzqPGaCTmyesXug2q8ftr8/s1600/GordonTheGoat.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The first book I ever remember reading (and re-reading over
and over again) on my own, was a book called Gordon the Goat by Munro Leaf. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was a simple story of a goat who followed the herd, got
caught in a twister and decided not to follow the herd again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Simple. Yet as a child, it fascinated me as day after day I
leafed through the book over and over again. I didn’t go anywhere without the
book. If we went out of town the book came with me. It was my constant
companion on long train journeys. Just one book. That I’d read, turn over and
read again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Years later, my mother asked me why I read and re-read the
book. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“<i>Because I didn’t understand it!</i>” I said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What a revelation! Today I am not even sure why I said that.
But something in the yellow book drew me to it. Gordon the Goat himself fascinated
me. As a pretty confused creature with one slightly crooked horn, I feel as a
child I could relate to his quirkiness. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I could relate to the predictability in the book. I probably
was fascinated with the fact that he got caught in a twister. So maybe the book
appealed to my sense of adventure. And finally when all was done, Gordon came
back to sanity and decided to lead a peaceful life grazing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But more than anything Gordon the Goat gave me an undying
relationship with books. It meant that a book could be a constant companion. A
book could be a friend, a teacher, and an escape mechanism. And that
relationship has not changed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When my children were young, I not only gave them book, but
read to them – always. (I will not mention painful bedtimes when I read The Little
Mermaid or Goldilocks or Chicken Little for the 45<sup>th</sup> time) but books
were the glue for our time spent together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As they grew up they started picking up their own books and became
avid readers themselves. Many a tenacious parent would ask me how I got my
children to read. How did I manage to ‘force’ them to read? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
“<i>Force?</i> “ I’d ask. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My answer was simple. “<i>I read to them.And </i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>I read</i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I believe the love of reading is something that we learn
subconsciously from our parents by mimicking their behavior. And it’s something
that one has to thank their parents for if they have cultivated it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I still
have this enduring relationship with books. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The genres have changed from fairy tales to children’s fiction, PG
Wodehouse and Agatha Christies, to bestsellers, to classics and English and
American Literature, self-help, spiritual, management, healthcare and
what have you! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I read some, like some, dislike some. Reread some again. I lose myself in books. Find myself in some books. Get involved. Can't seem to get uninvolved with some. Own
some. Give away some. Share some. Never ever share some. Always gift some. And also get them as prized gifts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And the relationship has deepened and
grown stronger. A relationship that has never let me down.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I could probably write a book on this! Couldn’t you?</i></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-12626023466398396712015-03-27T14:17:00.003+05:302015-03-27T18:39:35.944+05:30This shoe does not quite fit!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_NTjnvsVv9nNoVGmWFcPbD3LPuPLwFj_-cnJckmomaTmJtUcBgW1vXC0NiAIv9Ib-eKycPF03vxoESyHHAYrHfK1x7xlDAfY4I2JwyVcDI5HdyFqAihIZZCkykRh8o3LCBTfa9anGooc/s1600/GlassSlipper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_NTjnvsVv9nNoVGmWFcPbD3LPuPLwFj_-cnJckmomaTmJtUcBgW1vXC0NiAIv9Ib-eKycPF03vxoESyHHAYrHfK1x7xlDAfY4I2JwyVcDI5HdyFqAihIZZCkykRh8o3LCBTfa9anGooc/s1600/GlassSlipper.jpg" height="218" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Cinderella movie left me feeling like something was wanting. Like a shoe
that does not quite fit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>"Now, now, you say",</i> pretty much like Cinderella’s mother, “<i>Have
courage and be kind.”</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Okay I am going to do both. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had watched the trailer. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With much magic the fairy godmother turns Ella’s dowdy
ballet flats into glass slippers!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cinderella exclaims, “<i>But these are made of glass!</i>” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And the fairy godmother replies with aplomb, “<i>And you’ll
find them very comfortable!”</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now that’s a modern day fairy tale for me. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brought up on large doses of fairy tales, I still love watching
movies based on fairy tales! That part of me has not grown up I think. And most of these films respect the fact that a
movie made for children will necessarily have a (maybe reluctant) adult
audience. Most of these films therefore seek to amuse the adults while the
children remain happily engaged. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I found Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella sadly lacking in that
department. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A modern remake of Cinderella necessarily had to have some
contemporary overtones. The statement of the fairy godmother about the glass
shoes being comfortable was one. But it seemed to begin and end there. I just
wish they would have added more. So much more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The movie stretched in the first half. Just to establish the
overarching statement from Cinderella’s mother:
<i>“Be kind and have courage”</i>.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I get that. I'm vacillating between both - kindness and courage as I write this. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I will be kind, but I do have courage to say
that the sugary sweetness of the film was almost bordering on large doses of aspartame. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51OmA975DTmZ_L_wAsr-Hz58qNHqQSklWeridX0hFLF5lI8Qb8RSOfHUWtOEhpXXiDecRkiPYPAGjdI3tqBNdDRo1JXJY2O6M1dlyw8xLTm5L5AX5qLEgQTllqx1pJZf6TwZKNeqr3OE/s1600/vogue-a-cinderella-story-051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51OmA975DTmZ_L_wAsr-Hz58qNHqQSklWeridX0hFLF5lI8Qb8RSOfHUWtOEhpXXiDecRkiPYPAGjdI3tqBNdDRo1JXJY2O6M1dlyw8xLTm5L5AX5qLEgQTllqx1pJZf6TwZKNeqr3OE/s1600/vogue-a-cinderella-story-051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51OmA975DTmZ_L_wAsr-Hz58qNHqQSklWeridX0hFLF5lI8Qb8RSOfHUWtOEhpXXiDecRkiPYPAGjdI3tqBNdDRo1JXJY2O6M1dlyw8xLTm5L5AX5qLEgQTllqx1pJZf6TwZKNeqr3OE/s1600/vogue-a-cinderella-story-051.jpg" height="180" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The stepmother! Most of Cinderella is
about the stepmother isn't it? Yet, the stepmother is a somewhat insipid
character sporting the latest makeup shades – her only misdeed after she moves
in is that she loves partying! Cate Blanchett does do a fine job here but then
that’s Cate for you, not the stepmother. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Her two daughters, somewhat like Alice’s Tweedle Dee and
Tweedle Dum (more Tweedle Dumb) could have been given smarter stupider lines, if
you know what I mean. There could have been humour in dumb and dumber. Yet it
ends with somewhat slapstick running around and fighting crassly. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The farmhouse setting for Cinderella’s home is idyllic, what
with the adorable farm animals. Much could have been built around that. To be
fair the four mice have been adequately portrayed – and the fat one does seem
to love his cheese. The goose that goes honking to meet every arriving horse
carriage is funny too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpdurA1UU21ASAikzD5hJDEKDkr0m7FloMMCPcBR_LG4sgyoi439bhNdiO61e5jNsAn7eYFUavHzAKrEzsn_ndBp_aDHXBih9zPg-gn5dWBKExeKiPAY2gfZytpkR_JYeReEjnx7vtnmk/s1600/cinderella-images-annie-leibovitz-543524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpdurA1UU21ASAikzD5hJDEKDkr0m7FloMMCPcBR_LG4sgyoi439bhNdiO61e5jNsAn7eYFUavHzAKrEzsn_ndBp_aDHXBih9zPg-gn5dWBKExeKiPAY2gfZytpkR_JYeReEjnx7vtnmk/s1600/cinderella-images-annie-leibovitz-543524.jpg" height="188" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But heigh-ho! There it stops. And you’re left wanting. More geese.
More mice, even more lizards please? Oh yes, to be kind, the little touch of the
lizard footman flicking his tongue for a passing fly was good. See? But that’s
not enough. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’ll be kind. I think the fairy godmother brilliantly redeemed
not just Cinderella but even the film with her magic. The pumpkin outgrowing
the greenhouse was unexpected and fun. I
loved the glass slippers. I loved how they are ‘slipped’ in with large doses of
humour from the fairy godmother. (Watch the trailer if you haven’t seen the film yet). And
the bit of the carriage and the coachman and the footmen turning back to their original
selves was very well done.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie3tEPiIprZNa13ueuV0sugM2vux9Cm97MUt7aklozouBeOODE_oIC4cTGVAKfdNR8vxpFfwmEJ4cWNiX2zqlXFepij-vfoqvu22MUrZEaM5s4lIIcwOb-vVBzk7ePpOiNXLsuDSk4Ayk/s1600/Cinderellas_Dress_2015.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie3tEPiIprZNa13ueuV0sugM2vux9Cm97MUt7aklozouBeOODE_oIC4cTGVAKfdNR8vxpFfwmEJ4cWNiX2zqlXFepij-vfoqvu22MUrZEaM5s4lIIcwOb-vVBzk7ePpOiNXLsuDSk4Ayk/s1600/Cinderellas_Dress_2015.png" height="131" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But here comes courage. The song! The song: the lullaby that
Cinderella’s mother sang to her in her childhood. Nice touch. Nice lullaby. But
nowhere else is she seen singing that song. Nowhere else is she even singing! Logic eludes me here. Something tells me
that’s not the song Cinderella would be singing the day the prince arrived at
her house. It’s neither happy nor sad. It’s a lullaby for God’s sake.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes, it’s a fairy tale. Yes, it's for children. Yes. I've to be kind. But, the Cinderella film leaves you wanting.
Wanting for more. More wit. More humour. More fun. More song. More animals and
maybe...more time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The clock striking twelve has left a lot of work undone, hasn't it? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What did you think? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Haven't seen the movie? </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Watch the trailer here!</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20DF6U1HcGQ" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20DF6U1HcGQ</a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Words cannot describe... </i></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>We turn to Nature when we want a breather.</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>And then Nature gives us this moment that just completely takes our breath away</b>!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>My second day was relaxed. With a planned outing to the Kovalam beach in the evening. I had heard about the beach being beautiful... but it was more than that... and I'll let the pictures do the talking!</i></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-pl0lSKvA3Si2nExdoXrSN7P_UIpsDw6oQiN-w7_Oyq1CU1rJ8ylv9WpGpxIRSRtGEC8GTVyXj31g7dOTKm8YUx1W_pXScn4vV7GusaseYF5kZ05ebSHZR1uv2GpDWOMsCAOFGVcEfMM/s1600/IMG_1555.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-pl0lSKvA3Si2nExdoXrSN7P_UIpsDw6oQiN-w7_Oyq1CU1rJ8ylv9WpGpxIRSRtGEC8GTVyXj31g7dOTKm8YUx1W_pXScn4vV7GusaseYF5kZ05ebSHZR1uv2GpDWOMsCAOFGVcEfMM/s1600/IMG_1555.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>An infinity pool greeted us as we walked in to The Leela Kovalam</i></span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZcxrONHd9CX9sygj9JtA-YKYUCWtqn4NvE8OqCpyOn9a2dwRnKBswcn2Pzgcgo8CUIhS8QjRGktav0mMfkqBDsJqnhLPV9F5GmfmppZVCmRXiFvStDGV-mNzve2h4r0cKSJ2ydQOYUo/s1600/IMG_1556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtZcxrONHd9CX9sygj9JtA-YKYUCWtqn4NvE8OqCpyOn9a2dwRnKBswcn2Pzgcgo8CUIhS8QjRGktav0mMfkqBDsJqnhLPV9F5GmfmppZVCmRXiFvStDGV-mNzve2h4r0cKSJ2ydQOYUo/s1600/IMG_1556.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The setting sun was in all its glory... but that was just the beginning</i></span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0RO1a-OGS2ijGtTZtabk0RV1FVkhF5Qc29iKTJhs0nprhDaAlGWxOzMZBMux_8iG-qV0FOE2_yYkUCVFPyAJ2wcFxhWNQdHvL-5KAJLT8ENf56-ZUHtYrzaUO7P-3gO46l82TXixTbfc/s1600/IMG_1560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0RO1a-OGS2ijGtTZtabk0RV1FVkhF5Qc29iKTJhs0nprhDaAlGWxOzMZBMux_8iG-qV0FOE2_yYkUCVFPyAJ2wcFxhWNQdHvL-5KAJLT8ENf56-ZUHtYrzaUO7P-3gO46l82TXixTbfc/s1600/IMG_1560.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Going behind the main facade of the hotel we came upon the real picture!<br />If I saw this picture elsewhere I'd think it very cliched! </i></span></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Y7Ptl4V37T23eHbJWyu4Aynk048BvzGhwEpividZpxetGPLfXczp7rO1sgTg7HXk1QwVNTQv-XsTDErEU6PF_j4TsK08g5Z8dU-efRBbSIdhceydZNYfQ6FZp9nBZTcNqyqzUh7RLyQ/s1600/IMG_1561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Y7Ptl4V37T23eHbJWyu4Aynk048BvzGhwEpividZpxetGPLfXczp7rO1sgTg7HXk1QwVNTQv-XsTDErEU6PF_j4TsK08g5Z8dU-efRBbSIdhceydZNYfQ6FZp9nBZTcNqyqzUh7RLyQ/s1600/IMG_1561.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>But here it was a picture-perfect moment! </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>And then! The Sun decided to get even more gorgeous!</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFBm41pTGW_rCTci2R0SMdGYk1qPm6f-yKAR0NTvFTx7ik63ytHtl0oPDAJZUncJOxQVoE074ojS3e-2tBHbBJbjpO_s31RHSviTXWTJRoPHslSczEl2D_dprMJS94beVV-MwQkCBD6Ig/s1600/IMG_1568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFBm41pTGW_rCTci2R0SMdGYk1qPm6f-yKAR0NTvFTx7ik63ytHtl0oPDAJZUncJOxQVoE074ojS3e-2tBHbBJbjpO_s31RHSviTXWTJRoPHslSczEl2D_dprMJS94beVV-MwQkCBD6Ig/s1600/IMG_1568.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Like this!</i></span></td></tr>
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<span id="goog_688835211"></span><span id="goog_688835212"></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhy5i390GTAe5kKAU4LjL5llhqa_BUl2boSFsvaWZa8f1d7h1iFiA8oNgHmQ3f0RmqfhZBLTpJAhmorB7PzY0x52WuAkTnxnLFg6Iw-3dpdjiNn1lldMpQg41wVJZs9VyLySFVyKA1PY/s1600/IMG_1569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqhy5i390GTAe5kKAU4LjL5llhqa_BUl2boSFsvaWZa8f1d7h1iFiA8oNgHmQ3f0RmqfhZBLTpJAhmorB7PzY0x52WuAkTnxnLFg6Iw-3dpdjiNn1lldMpQg41wVJZs9VyLySFVyKA1PY/s1600/IMG_1569.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Or closer still... almost saturnine!</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjldfug7BCJZl7bKs7E68uTYL1L9nzLz3C6Fb6lKpy260T8_3p9oXEGVWA2x6m5SBHnmMfHwIFK7Wucpw1cy0O8iL9JHf3RKFCkmavXYfLswkVJDa7s_G3bnS0Vl_MJw-RAHSu-4oTl5ls/s1600/IMG_1574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjldfug7BCJZl7bKs7E68uTYL1L9nzLz3C6Fb6lKpy260T8_3p9oXEGVWA2x6m5SBHnmMfHwIFK7Wucpw1cy0O8iL9JHf3RKFCkmavXYfLswkVJDa7s_G3bnS0Vl_MJw-RAHSu-4oTl5ls/s1600/IMG_1574.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Till it set..</i></span>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifn2zYAl4BYQzGZTlrT8uwNdvFIkHrigoZamp039x2X9JacfElmBTsoR1oRGOkGF5MpS_sSXWBML-ujYrS3im0qT8Ok-NdnPW51el1mj9430cAEZQdNv2izB_zJRm32wveOK4VgYmnDlw/s1600/IMG_1582.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifn2zYAl4BYQzGZTlrT8uwNdvFIkHrigoZamp039x2X9JacfElmBTsoR1oRGOkGF5MpS_sSXWBML-ujYrS3im0qT8Ok-NdnPW51el1mj9430cAEZQdNv2izB_zJRm32wveOK4VgYmnDlw/s1600/IMG_1582.JPG" height="640" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Leaving the sky like this...</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>And then finally giving way to a beautiful crescent moon</i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZR04YWgSidAjA8E7TyokwjiybUlkags3C0rSoux9iixdED9TkcMy1CAT_ZXb72-_Xu4Ku1K2IGFJtCzJQ7xdzzRGSHYcWrFBqy2QiUWJnSnyliUqcMK8ThpXO2T_sSojpzo6nB1s6i8/s1600/IMG_1590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZR04YWgSidAjA8E7TyokwjiybUlkags3C0rSoux9iixdED9TkcMy1CAT_ZXb72-_Xu4Ku1K2IGFJtCzJQ7xdzzRGSHYcWrFBqy2QiUWJnSnyliUqcMK8ThpXO2T_sSojpzo6nB1s6i8/s1600/IMG_1590.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>And then we had lovely dinner on the beach </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>with the waves gently lapping the shore in the moonlight, little crabs scurrying along sideways on the wet sand, </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>a light dinner served to us under the twinkling stars, </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>feeling blithe after witnessing the beauty of the Sun, the Moon and the Sea, </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>all in the space of one spectacular evening. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">SG, SV & AK.. thanks for a memorable evening</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><b>We'd see much more the next day, but that's Day Three, isn't it? </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;">Have you read Day One? If not, click here </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://tectonicshifts.blogspot.in/2015/03/south-by-south-east.html" target="_blank">South by South East - Day One</a></span><br />
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Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-21931503347460135202015-03-16T01:34:00.003+05:302015-03-16T01:34:43.194+05:30South by South East! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>My five day sojourn in Kerela! Day One</u></b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYVWz_Cr_VPerT7dpooiW6eLVDYLp96_ZcYNu2Ut-h9yYHJtXpSK-x1hplm-AlKbSEZXh00r3oWWfLRkYaU17Igj2cMr-wZy7PJB6eDvft1i4ZSbAK2BGj6dfJqzniVLk_vR2qr9knJlI/s1600/ASH_9954.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYVWz_Cr_VPerT7dpooiW6eLVDYLp96_ZcYNu2Ut-h9yYHJtXpSK-x1hplm-AlKbSEZXh00r3oWWfLRkYaU17Igj2cMr-wZy7PJB6eDvft1i4ZSbAK2BGj6dfJqzniVLk_vR2qr9knJlI/s1600/ASH_9954.JPG" height="425" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.6666669845581px; line-height: 14.5666675567627px;">It is with a bit of embarrassment that I admit, I had never been to Kerela. Two plans made earlier did not fructify. And it rankled. So it was fortunate that this happened one cold December evening. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 12.6666669845581px; line-height: 14.5666675567627px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Obsessed with putting
that one pin on the map, I made a sad face as I said, <i>"I've never been to
Trivandrum...</i>" (now known as Thiruvananthapuram TVM for this post). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">SV rose well to the
occasion. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">She promptly invited me over. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">While it seemed polite and casual at
that time, it was, minutes later, followed up with a concrete plan. </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">"<i>Come,
end of February"</i>, she said, "<i>I've planned something.</i>"</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Here's where context-setting is important.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">SV is a dear friend's dear sister. And I've
known her for the last 3 decades or more. We've met off and on but (sadly) not
frequently enough. Yet the wonderful part is that when we meet we just pick up
the threads from where we left off. Of late, we've reconnected on Facebook, and
I've discovered that she's an avid traveller and I follow her trips with
vicarious pleasure!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">When we met in December, it was at the reception
of my friend's dear daughter.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Coming back to the point at which I got my
invite to TVM, it was a social occasion so I did not actually whoop with joy,
what with decorum and all. But to say the least, my inner travel spirit was
doing the samba (or probably Kathakali)! </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;"><b><i>I
was thrilled</i>. </b></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">That was in December and while this was almost
three months away, I really wasn't sure it would happen.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;">I got more words of wisdom from SV, <i>"Why
don't you book your tickets, you can always cancel if you can't make it."</i></span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Sounded like a plan and between travel for work,
an offsite, and some time off the tickets were booked and I was ready for my
first-ever visit to Kerela!<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>And so it came to pass.</b></span></i><i><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">This year, 2015 from February 21st to 25th, I spent some
wonderful times with SG, my childhood friend, SV and AK her sister and husband
- my hosts, in the heart of Kerela, better known as God’s own country.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">There are many ways of seeing a new place but
experiencing it with the people who know it from their childhood is quite
something else. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm not the
one-place-a-day kind of traveler. I'm not even the must-see-everything kind of
person. I prefer to soak in the sights and the sounds, understand the
background, pick up a recipe or two, basically dig up the roots behind what we
do and how we are and why we are the way we are. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Throw in a bit of history and
legend and my holiday is complete.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">As an Indian in India, I
was still foreign to the language and culture here and that's what I was eager
to learn. With my three companions (and the several others who hosted me with
great warmth) I discovered with unbridled joy what makes this God's own
country.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">What follows is an day by day, outing by
outing, travelogue of my brief (5-day) sojourn in Kerela - my first time but
definitely not my last. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background: white;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Stay with me...<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></i></div>
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</span></i><b><u><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Day One
- 21<sup>st</sup> February 2015</span></u></b></span></div>
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I was told jokingly, as I waited in anticipation for my flight, by my dear
friend that I will have to speak in Malayalam when I get off at the
Thiruvananthapuram (say this with the speed of lightning and you've got
it right) and ask for a prepaid taxi! As a rejoinder I asked, "<i>what's
Malayalam for Hurry up and get me there already!</i>" </span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;">But to my relief English was pretty much
understood so before I knew it I was in a cab and off to my destination. We
turned away from the airport and I caught my first glimpse of a beach, the sea
gently lapping at the brown sands, boats beached on the shore, nets cast and a
midday sun making the sea sparkle. The southern coast of India, my first view!
Five days from now, I’d be sadly bidding farewell to this very same sight. </span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="background: white;"><u>Recognised !</u></span></b>
<br />
<span style="background: white;">In about 30 minutes I was there! Put up at a
guest house which was an erstwhile palace, I was greeted with great glee by my
friend and taken to our room!</span><br />
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<span style="background: white;">A flight of stairs opened out to a
verandah and a hallway and then led to a passage with rooms. Room No
4 was large and spacious with an ante room and a rather large bathroom. While
exuding old-world charm it was equipped with every modern amenity - from an air
conditioner to a coffee maker.</span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">“<i>It’s an old maharaja’s
palace</i>,” gushed my friend, SG! </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12.6666669845581px; line-height: 14.5666675567627px;">I wasn’t complaining. Who would, when you are recognized as one befitting a palace. While simple and elegant t</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12.6666669845581px; line-height: 14.5666675567627px;">he hall both above and below still had old furniture and large frames of Raja Ravi Verma paintings adorned the walls. T</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12.6666669845581px; line-height: 14.5666675567627px;">he grounds around it were expansive and one could well imagine the days of yore when the place was in all its glory.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">An erstwhile private residence of the Maharaja, the Belhaven Palace had been passed on to the British and later on the estate with the palace came
to belong to the RBI management who turned it into a guest house. Apparently it had old passages as bomb shelters underneath, which were later sealed during the British rule. How interesting. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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O<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">ur evening that day took
us to another ‘royal place’. A bit in the shadows but royal nevertheless. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmPGRCor707LbBAUA6lCBXffSldv2QabhigiQT_NPq0zk27VKMtq_Y7YTStBy11sEsID6h7c2jLfVAdLZdLveO-yskotRFiCnb8KrWMHTIwPDXLtJiSKGxulzOYiEoJXCvnWVnJq81Loc/s1600/ADA_9750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmPGRCor707LbBAUA6lCBXffSldv2QabhigiQT_NPq0zk27VKMtq_Y7YTStBy11sEsID6h7c2jLfVAdLZdLveO-yskotRFiCnb8KrWMHTIwPDXLtJiSKGxulzOYiEoJXCvnWVnJq81Loc/s1600/ADA_9750.JPG" height="133" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnfkBrRjWIKa59yJYGhVkW_kR0CuZtGHa8Db6tXDDm21pZpYzRzO_M79jvA5o7XpHG7fMqOru2aaV2jAVa0sBFOvuGhBvMhwriTDivi27Fs56MYtNmQGkEdXvUz8P4ZbHeKExT6bQYyv4/s1600/ASH_9935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnfkBrRjWIKa59yJYGhVkW_kR0CuZtGHa8Db6tXDDm21pZpYzRzO_M79jvA5o7XpHG7fMqOru2aaV2jAVa0sBFOvuGhBvMhwriTDivi27Fs56MYtNmQGkEdXvUz8P4ZbHeKExT6bQYyv4/s1600/ASH_9935.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Villa Maya (link
below) was made expressly for one of the king’s consorts. An imposing multistoreyed
structure in fine teak wood and brick, it is now refurbished in all its glory.
Now a heritage place for dining and and outdoor events, this is where the
evening celebration was on. The place is beautiful. Teak wood and stone stand
silent witness to the days of yore as ancient, traditional artefacts still
grace the place. Frangipani trees lit with twinkling lights added to the
ambience and we had a lovely evening of celebration. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What a wonderful time… and
yet just my first day! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;">(<b>The next day would take us to a lovely beach to witness an epic sunset and a beautiful crescent moon!</b></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>But that's Day Two...)</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Want to know more about Villa Maya? Here: </span></o:p><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.villamaya.in/people.php">http://www.villamaya.in/people.php</a></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyUL10UQYyXoPk3fZaeZwnWW5i97WQtbrkm2uqbp3QBaMuN8jC8ueEyKMpfaGEPqWRbMQi4SvwJIAS9mg__PfMNTM4hU4zbe9iDlBClPVSkApuD5LUAI-3sQxMp76nzANMujULtxtjwY/s1600/IphoneEarphones1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTyUL10UQYyXoPk3fZaeZwnWW5i97WQtbrkm2uqbp3QBaMuN8jC8ueEyKMpfaGEPqWRbMQi4SvwJIAS9mg__PfMNTM4hU4zbe9iDlBClPVSkApuD5LUAI-3sQxMp76nzANMujULtxtjwY/s1600/IphoneEarphones1.jpg" height="320" width="238" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Last weekend I became the proud owner of a much-awaited iPhone 6. (Broke the bank, but put an un-wipeable smile on my face!)</b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>And then I discovered the fancy moulded earphones! </b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Now I do know that there are some problems with the earpiece. People hear crackling sounds and stuff. </b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span>
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Me? I don't hear anything! Chiefly because they just don't stay in my ears! And that reminded me of something I had written some years ago. </i></span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To be exact, in 2008! </i></b><br />
<b><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, ears don't change! </i></b><br />
<b><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So here goes. </i></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes. I need a hearing aid No I am not stone deaf (nor tone deaf for that matter). </span><br />
<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Just a case of less-than-perfect ears.</i><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It couldn't have been at birth. I am sure my solicitous parents would have done something about it. After all, didn’t my mother trudge from homeopaths to allopaths alike to get rid of my ‘common cold’? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Unfortunately when it was discovered it was a bit too late. And a trifle embarrassing. Because unlike me the world had moved into the ‘Pod Age’ and anything (except maybe a washing machine) had earphones!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It started with the walkman. But that was not so bad. It reminded me of my school days when truant hair was kept in place with a hair band. (That it quite stopped the blood flow to my brain is something I could go back with to my teachers now. But I digress.) The walkman, like I was saying, was not all that bad. It had ‘headphones’. A band round the top of your head, ending in earmuffs on both sides. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>How cool was that!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That unfortunately got progressively worse. Before you could really start walking with the walkman, the disc player came in to force. And with that came a change in fashion. (Electronic fashion maybe, but then I have never been able to keep up with the latest trends. Bags, shoes or clothes, I always find I am outdated. Outshadowed by quite a few years, by those ‘today’ women. I mean, I was not born yesterday, but in the wardrobe department, I am still there.)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Anyway, there I was with this metallic purple disc player, the right thing to carry when you are on the move. For me, this was a sort of ticket into ‘today’. I mean, what does it matter if the shoes belong to the nineties as long as the disc player is the centre of attention? No one will ever notice, I thought. And so jovially I started out to make my almost first impression in this impressionable world.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The cd I was going to listen to was slapped together by today’s generation. Hip, happening music. Bands whose names you dropped to get raised eyebrows and a nod of approval from the younger generation. I was there… or at least getting there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Then horror…</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I start the player, the cd revolves madly in the player, I am supposed to hear the music, but I can’t. I just cannot. To my dismay, I realize that the earphones have slipped out of my ears. I hastily put them back, sponge and all… and get ready for the grooves again. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The music starts. I listen to the first few beats and as the music builds up… a trifle too much on the right! Mono…it’s mono…I turn my head to the left…ooops...it’s the left earphone… slipped out… wonder how.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Quite un-cool but guess I should not be moving too much.</i> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So I decide to sit still. And it happens again. These earphones are not quite there in terms of product design, I think. My solution to this was to stop using the disc player. Later on, an attachment to small speakers made the Discman more desirable again. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But before that could happen, the cell phone came into power. And with that the ubiquitous handsfree. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The rules the traffic police came up with in terms of using the cellphone while driving still confuse me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Any woman worth her multi-tasking life will tell you that the handsfree is really a boon to her existence. For the simple reason that, whether she is driving or not, her hands have to be… you guessed it, free. Free to put on the final touches of make-up. Free to comb her hair. Free to look for that laundry receipt in her bag. Free to even paint her nails while she is talking to a client. So handsfree it was for me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was undeterred by the fact that the wires would get inextricably tangled. The fact that it was ‘mono’ was initially a great delight. At least it would fall off only one ear. Besides, I had a choice. Two ears, one earpiece! Voila! If I could get them to stick to my tympanic membrane I would have done it. <i>But while I unsuccessfully tried them on my left ear and then my right, the single earpiece kept falling off.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The roads, I blamed this time. The bumps on the roads. Extra air in my tyres. But imagine my frustration when it would fall off even when the car was stationary. I started looking around: at other people. No one seemed to have the problem. The earplug seemed to be glued to their ears. As if made to size. I tentatively asked a few youngsters if they had ‘a problem’ with their handsfree. They looked at me confused. Problem? Why would there be a problem? They listened to FM, mp3 and had conversations with friends with the device safely lodged into their aural cavity and it did not seem to bother them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>It was then that I started looking inwards. </i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Looking inwards at your own ears is, if not difficult, close to impossible. It’s worth a try if you haven’t done it before. And on no account was I going to get the friendly neighbourhood ENT specialist to look into my ears. But even without expert medical opinion something inside me tells me things are drastically wrong. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While I can hear, I do have a hearing problem. And while my ears (unlike Tyson’s) are all there, there’s something missing. The shape, the model, the construction. There is something that could be drastically wrong.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Recently I heard that there are new soft spongy earphones that kind of adapt to the shape of your ear. I have not tried them. Something tells me that if these do not work, it could just be the final proof that something is wrong with the ‘shape’ of my hear.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>In summary, today, I'm coming to these thoughts I had back in 2008! </b></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>My ears are funny! My years are not helping! SIGH!</i></b></span></div>
Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-57826670966299133392015-01-21T22:49:00.001+05:302015-01-22T14:12:41.435+05:30Caesar! You still rule.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2XGPGWhUZN3LAdXOCbDdrqIvzGjJsw96u3IWqo7IVrVjbdpDY-hdKTWck3jKKZABXJBF-m4yK1hMoCr1WijhM0CIZzAl1PBWw82zCTuJmkcTIEG_iigINGMFz8WXCJP2x5kc98_Pb3PI/s1600/IMG_0336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2XGPGWhUZN3LAdXOCbDdrqIvzGjJsw96u3IWqo7IVrVjbdpDY-hdKTWck3jKKZABXJBF-m4yK1hMoCr1WijhM0CIZzAl1PBWw82zCTuJmkcTIEG_iigINGMFz8WXCJP2x5kc98_Pb3PI/s1600/IMG_0336.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I reach home, it’s late. It’s after a hectic day and a
grueling drive. I let myself in with the key and walk silently into my room.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By the time I switch on the lights and sink on the bed to take off my shoes, he’s there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He jumps up on the bed, rubs himself against me and
purrs. For the first few seconds, he is
happy I am home. <i>Then the complaints
begin.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That’s Caesar. All of
16 years. Growing grumbly as he grows old. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The conversation ensues. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes Caesar…<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">PURR<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How was your day
Caesar? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">MOW<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh! It wasn’t great, was
it? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">MOW! (Now that IS angry!) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do you want to tell me
what it is? <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">MOW! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course he wants to tell me. He jumps off the bed and turns
around to see if I am following him. His indignant look tells me to ‘move it’
and I heave myself off the bed to follow him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am shown his food bowl (one of the three) – that’s only
half-filled! Sacrilege!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">MOW! he says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Meaning: Look how negligent they are in this house!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From there he leads me to the toilet where his litter tray is
not exactly sparking clean. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">MOW! I’m told. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes, Caesar. I’ll
clean it. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He watches as I make is squeaky clean and leads me to the
other bathroom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">MOW! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Woah! The mug with his drinking water is only half full. For
our man, it’s a glass half empty and the entire household has failed him. Once
again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>Of course, I’ll refill
it for you</i>. He watches me refill it, but of course, doesn’t drink from it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Satisfied with the round, we come back and I settle down to
watch some mindless television and he settles down to ignore me for the rest of
the evening. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">His work is done. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The rounds are done. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The message has been loud and clear. MOW.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The entire household is inefficient (water not filled to the
brim), uncaring (fresh food not refilled every 30 minutes) and positively
unhygienic (litter tray not sanitized three times by three people). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After profuse apologies, when he goes round to curl himself
up with his tail sticking into my nose, I know I am forgiven and all is well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Caesar I miss you. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My turn to complain now.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">MOW!<br />
You left us so suddenly – almost with the same uncertainty that you came to us.
<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That was memorable. It was the year 1998.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ours had been suddenly designated a ‘petless’ house. After
17 strong years, Gooch my stray cat who ruled across two households had called
it quits. The children had never known a house without him. Now suddenly it
seemed strange. I held out for a while, watching in amusement my daughter went to multiple households asking
if we could ‘borrow’ their pets. These ranged from turtles to a squawky but
dear parrot and several smelly but adorable dogs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then I succumbed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I got two cats. . The
idea was to get the children to decide which one to keep. One was a beautiful
grey Persian. The other was this good looking mixed-breed who came from some suspect
lineage. Bad idea! We couldn’t choose. We kept both. And with the beautiful
Cleo, Caesar came with a substantial The reign of Caesar and Cleo had begun. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s a long story full of antics, broken pots, destroyed
plants, scratched sofas and a house full of fur. (And it’s also another post.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This one is about Caesar. Caesar, the discount cat. The cat
who was given to us almost free – with a regal Cleo – who never let him forget
that. Caesar on the other hand didn’t mind at all. He grew large and furry and
fat with happiness. And his happiness revolved around Cleo – except for the
times she didn’t let him sleep or tripped him when he walked by.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But many a times I’ve walked into hallowed boardrooms full
of hushed silence and teak wood furniture and serious bespectacled gentlemen,
to brush off a huge tuft of fur stuck on the side of my trousers! There have
been times when unsuspecting guest have walked away from the house with an
unexpected gift of a ‘fur coating’ from Caesar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Caesar grew to be fairly social. He partied with the teenagers.
Watched hindi serials with the aging. And
frequently sat through long phone calls with me. Or watched me when I worked. When
bored he walked across my laptop pressing several random keys (that’s making a
statement, isn’t it?) and jumped off with a nonchalant air.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He was there to greet me always, always when I got home. As
he got older it was largely to complain about the lack of the children being
the house. That largely meant no one was there to entertain him. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There was always a mutilated box for Caesar in the room. A
box that was his playpen, his property and his plaything. Try claiming the box
and he held on to it with his paws sprawled across it covering every square
inch with his ample girth. Then he looked up as is to say, Try and match that
Buster!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most of the time, like most of his relatives, he slept. That
of course, was the daytime activity. At night, Caesar was in his element. And
almost always on the wrong side of the door. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So it’s 3 am and he wants out of the room. He checks out
whether you are fast asleep. Then systematically starts dropping things off the
bedside table. One by one they go crashing down, till you get up, wild with irritation
and throw him out of the door. Very blasé, he walks out, having achieved his
objective. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1rPSXsq0CPxyluH39mMhCUdGZLlwOuH15cV3dvXdPj8uU1A4iARLF_EIKomH0EDNv2rGiP7J0BKjscPCm7AEgyggwLkk4q-B6j4i7XF0EvrxtWVupZEw51IRa_t1VM6ZL-M8j0fiDmEM/s1600/IMG_0292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1rPSXsq0CPxyluH39mMhCUdGZLlwOuH15cV3dvXdPj8uU1A4iARLF_EIKomH0EDNv2rGiP7J0BKjscPCm7AEgyggwLkk4q-B6j4i7XF0EvrxtWVupZEw51IRa_t1VM6ZL-M8j0fiDmEM/s1600/IMG_0292.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To come back, the door stopper was raised niftily with a paw
and then slammed down hard. If you had just settled back down into REM mode after
sending him out 45 minutes ago, you are now almost falling off the bed startled
out of your skin. You open the door to yell at him and he bounds in and curls
up on the bed, settles down and goes to sleep! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Beast! I say as wearily I get back in to bed. He purrs,
readjusts his fatness and goes back to sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In September this year
Caesar left us. Suddenly. He had a night of uneasiness, after which he decided
to call it a day. He left more than 16 glorious years behind him and a few
broken hearts. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As we pick up the
pieces of our broken hearts, we still find fur in some corners of the house.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Caesar! We miss you.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You still rule.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We still hear that
indignant MOW. <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We still expect to
see you at the door!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I do hope that wherever you are in Pet Heaven you are
purring contentedly and having fun. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I do hope all the doors are open for you and if not, you are
systematically sending things crashing down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And for those who oppose you, you can always say MOW!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-19518401552797099272015-01-02T10:00:00.000+05:302015-01-02T10:08:39.558+05:302015 - The YEAR of the T.H.I.N.K<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The easiest thing to do with New Year resolutions (and you
must make New Year resolutions – I do that every year) is to copy-paste last
year’s resolutions. Ideally do it without thinking. If you are thinking, do it with
the confidence and conviction that this year you will be more successful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Great plan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But this year I </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">went THINK. THINK. THUNK. And changed the way I made my resolutions. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So this year is not about resolutions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This year is the year of the</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> year of the T.H.I.N.K. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here's what it stands
for. And I welcome you to follow it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">T stands for Thinking
about Thinking<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NOW. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, in my mind, is a peril of today’s instant technology
world. You are expected to respond to Whatsapp messages now. You are expected
to respond to email s now. You are expected to answer calls now or send a
message now saying you’ll do it later. And then, later becomes now again! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then there’s the immediacy of social media. Facebook asks
you, “What’s on your mind?” They mean what’s on your mind NOW? Twitter wants to
know, “What’s happening?” Obviously,
now. What’s happening now. Which is fine. I understand the urgency of the world
wanting to know what’s happening now. I don’t understand (or have thought much
about) my having to respond now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So when the world wants to know what I am doing NOW, I am
going to step back and think before I respond, and think about whether I do
want to respond. It’s no longer going to be about NOW. Not about TODAY. I’ve to
get thinking about tomorrow . And day after. And the week after. And the month
after. And probably 2020. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I’m going to think more. Think harder, deeper, clearer. And
maybe the NOW when used for thinking will bring me so revelations. (I’ll let
you know, but not now.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So here’s my advice for you. Don’t respond to those urgent
things unless they are important. Think. Think twice. Think more. And it’s fine
if you don’t respond at all. As long as you thought about it. You get the drift? </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">H is for Home<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Home is where the heart is. It’s also where the hearth is.
Well, not so in Mumbai, but hearth as a metaphor for warmth is where you need
to get the fires roaring. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">2014 has not been a great year for the home with some
unscheduled repairs. 2015 is a good year to think about home. (See? Already,
thinking!) So it’s time to warm the hearth with friends over and family
get-togethers, with games played together, meals cooked yourself (even if the family
members are victims of your experimentation!), home is where the attention should
be pointed to this year. And it’s not
just the four walls of home – it’s about all the people in there and the ones
that come and go! Home is the centre of attention this year. Try it. I’m sure I’m
going to have fun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I is for… well, I!
<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Time to get selfish, guys! It’s going to be about I, me
myself. Concentrate on the mental, physical and a bit of spiritual well-being.
Every year starts with the resolution to lose weight , eat healthy, get fit. This
year is the same but different. This year the focus is shifted on I. me, myself
and whatever it takes to get me better. If it means learning new lessons,
taking new courses, getting intellectually savvier, so be it. Make this the
year to be a better you. And I do want
to end the year better in every way. A whole lot better. More whole. More you. A better you. I am determined to do
this. So move over world, a more self-oriented me is coming your way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">N means NO<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I still haven’t learnt the art of saying No. (Yes I know
there are self-help books available on that subject – I haven’t read any of
them) But sometimes saying No is a good idea. Sometimes it’s not. I want to be
discretionary. Okay more discretionary. And this is the way you do it. I’ve
regretted saying No and I’ve regretted not saying NO. I want to go back to
point 1 of this year’s resolutions and think about why I am saying no and to
whom and to what effect. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oh yes, let’s any way say No to bad habits and such. No to some
excesses and No to… well… to certain Yesses that we say without thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">K is for Knowledge<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If this year stretches bare in front of you, it’s because it’s
a blank page. And you can choose to write what you want on it. Look at it
another way, it’s also the written page that is still unread. 2015 (like all
the years before that and after) should still focus on knowledge. On knowing.
More. More about things you know. Some things about things you don’t know about. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It’s
about knowing me, knowing you. It’s about knowing the difference between
information and wisdom. Knowing what stays, what goes. Knowing that this too
shall pass and knowing that at the end of it all you are still an ignoramus </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">barely</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">circling the periphery of a vast pool of knowledge still undiscovered. So
back to books and learning and books about learning! Stagnate and perish. Learn and evolve. Knowing is all. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I think T.S.Eliot put it succinctly when he said this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F9F9F9; line-height: 30.0pt; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/t/t_s_eliot.html" style="background-color: white; color: #0000aa; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-decoration: none;" title=""><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img alt="We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. - T. S. Eliot" class="bqPhotoFullDesktop" src="http://www.brainyquote.com/photos/t/tseliot109032.jpg" style="border: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: middle; width: 620px;" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>2015 is the YEAR of the T.H.I.N.K. </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hope I succeed in making it so. What about you?</span></div>
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Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6797814486247287376.post-37512313398323680172014-12-17T12:48:00.001+05:302014-12-18T15:23:10.707+05:30I am a coward<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibzk4VxUCrnM0oazkbAmF0qKS-RpbBvGJ3feRgBd7361EPQjODQEAhgZ6Bgcx40lUJW6SPRH4hQt7tEcZye1qdQrg9tpehoIFX2XpW2hrRdYHYjIn8Z7m6sSZNT990BHBAypBaq2iMloY/s1600/Candle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibzk4VxUCrnM0oazkbAmF0qKS-RpbBvGJ3feRgBd7361EPQjODQEAhgZ6Bgcx40lUJW6SPRH4hQt7tEcZye1qdQrg9tpehoIFX2XpW2hrRdYHYjIn8Z7m6sSZNT990BHBAypBaq2iMloY/s1600/Candle.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am a coward. I am unable to speak out. I am unable to
express myself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Everyone has come forward and condemned the heinous
criminals of Peshawar. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Everyone has expressed their grief to the bereaved parents. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am a coward. I have nothing to say.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What do you say to more than two hundred parents who sent
their children to school like it was another day, only to realize it was their last?
Can I look that parent in the eye and say I am sorry? Can I say time heals all
wounds? Can I even say time wounds all
heels – that’s really not going to get their children back, is it?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Somewhere I had read, a child as being a piece of your heart
that you allow to roam freely outside. That piece of your heart is gone. Now what
do you say to someone who has lost a limb – a hand or leg, or in this case a
piece of the heart? That life will go on? You’ll manage? What?!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These are parents with shattered hearts, desperately picking
up the fragments, holding, clinging on to the shards, even if they bleed them
dry. No tears can express their grief as they walk in a daze trying to come to
terms with a bleak future where no night ends, and mornings don’t herald a new
beginning. Where there’s no hope of
seeing the sunshine of their child’s smile every morning. Where life stretches eons
ahead like a barren landscape: endless, colourless, hopeless. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Can I talk to these parents? I am a coward. I can’t.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Instead, I’ve shrunk into a dark corner in the recesses of
my mind, crumpled up into a heap. I cringe at the very thought. I can’t bear to
imagine the grief. I cannot empathise with them. I cannot sympathise. There are
no words. These are no tears. There are no sobs that wrack the body with grief.
There is just a wounding of a heart, tears of blood and a painful realization. I
can only imagine the terror, the screams, the horror that hundreds of little
souls went through. Nothing, nothing will ever be the same again for so many
people. I can’t light a candle even in my mind; right now I don’t see it
dispelling the pall of dark despair that this heinous act has cast. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And as I make myself smaller and smaller crouching in the
dark, damp corner of hopelessness, all I can say is may the rest be a little
more hopeful, a little more courageous than I am. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>I for one am a coward. And I have no words to say for
humanity. Or the sheer lack of it.</i></span></div>
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Ypsilonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15094259846593103883noreply@blogger.com2