One of my favourite songs during pimary school days...:)

Once I had a fancy to see a foreign land
I sailed in a boat in a very good mood
To see the Zulu land

A gentleman sat beside me in a cool and easy way
When I passed my love to him
This is what he said

Eechakka macha eecha poocha chiyangu macha cholo
Chiku chiku cholo chiyangu cholo
Eeya eeya yo!

Movie Review: Ustad Hotel- Its Rejuvenating!!

Ustad Hotel, written by Anjali Menon and directed by Anwar Rasheed is quite a watchful film. The writer has finely scripted it with simple and elegant language. The film brings freshness. Though there has been successful films based on food, like Salt N’ Pepper, this film out-stands the others with its innovative theme as well as the heartening take-home-message. Dulquer Salmaan, Thilakan, Nitya Menon and other actors have done justice to their roles. Anwar Rasheed, a highly promising director, shows his versatility once again. The film can be given 3.5/5.

Gulbarga Gacchami...

This March, I had a chance to go to Gulbarga, a city in North Karnataka. Gulbarga, in poetic Persian meant 'The land of flowers and petals'. It is 200 km away from Hyderabad and 623 km north of Bangalore and I went there for attending a seminar organized by the University of Gulbarga. We reached there on an early morning by train. I was 1053 km away from my home in Kollam and this was the farthest I have been.

I was excited!

The seminar organizing committee member collected us from the station and took us in an auto to the venue and reached the hostel by 5’o clock. I was thrilled and didn’t sleep, while the others went to. As the Sun started its voyage in the east, I took my camera and set out for a walk. It was little wintry outside. Near to our hostel was the University Ladies hostel and I saw some girls going for jogging. They were beautiful and it was a pleasant sight to be true. I walked all the way through the University road and saw different Departmental buildings. The whole University stood in about 200 acres. The sun was picturesquely intensifying between the trees and my camera eyes clicked it without contemplation. There were also other older people who were out for their morning walk. The weather conditions slowly changed and slightly started to show its bitter face. 

It started to be hot and dry. 

Gulbarga has a highly versatile climate where the temperatures varied from 7 degrees in the winter to 48 degrees in the summer. It was midsummer and the heats were at its zenith. Later I just enquired to the University students for a nearby place to visit. One of them showed me the Buddha Vihar which was seen as a white marble dome about 2 km from the University building. It was recently built and inaugurated by our president Prathibha Patil and His Holiness Dalai Lama. As planned, I set out for an evening walk. This was not a wandering, like I did in the morning. I had a target, The Buddha Vihar and that truly makes a great difference. Thoughts about my Guru and Buddha flickered through my mind. It was twilight and the white dome became bigger and larger as I walked closer. 

Everything seemed picturesque! 

I saw for the first time in reality, a different face of beauty of Her. I deeply breathed as I walked. Though the day was really hot, the slow winds were hot and dry, the air seemed fresh to me. I entered the Buddha Vihar. Again for the first time, I was seeing such a big Vihar, much bigger than the Sree Narayana Guru Vihar at Varkala. It was neatly and orderly maintained. Near to the entry steps, I saw statues of Dalai Lama and some other people, as if they are marching towards the Mandir. I was feeling very thirsty after walking 2 kilometers and asked the gardener who was cropping the way-side bushes as he pointed to a big pot kept under a neem tree. I dashed to the pot and gulped down two glasses of water. Contented, I entered the Mandir. 

Really, it was gorgeous!

It was a big dome and sounds really echo for many seconds. The cealings were colorfully decorated with marbles and at the other end of the entrance I saw His statue. I walked nearer. Bhajans were played through a CD player. I saw the statue of Budhha, as of sitting in half Samadhi with His eyes half closed. Nearby to the statue, a lamp was lit, some agarbathis were kept burning, a photo of Dalai Lama and a chair which He sat during the inaugural function. I gave my pranams and prayed. I then came out and went downstairs to the meditation hall, where too, was a statue of Buddha and some children were reading a scripture and it sounded like: Namo buddham sharanam gacchami. Namo dharmam sharanam gacchami. Namo sangham sharanam gacchami… I was obsessed hearing the word ‘Gacchami’ and just wanted to know its meaning. 

‘Gacchami' got into my tongue.

I just wanted to Google it and thought will see to it on my way back. There were cushions arranged in front of the statue to sit and meditate and in one of them I sat and slowly closed my eyes. Thoughts were coming in between of the word ‘Gacchami’ and all, but I meditated for some time and got up. I came out of the hall and went around the Mandir and meanwhile I googled the word on my phone and came to know that ‘Gacchami’ meant ‘I GO’ in Sanskrit. I saw the pictorial Sun, now behind a gateway and was clicked to memory. I came to the front of the Mandir, gave my last humble prostrations and came down having rejuvenated, my mind still on the Statue. It was late dusk and was getting dark. I thought of His life and slowly walked back to the hostel, contented. 

Thanks for reading…

Prayers to the Almighty, to give us all, a happy and contented life…

Have a beautiful time….

Book Review: Wise and Otherwise by Sudha Murthy

I just finished with a beautiful book written by Mrs. Sudha Murthy – Wise and Otherwise- A salute to life. It’s a non-fiction genre which has fifty one vignettes showing the varied faces of different people which she met around her voyages in India. When a person with experiences pens-down, it will be surely readable. The book is quite inspiring, and worth reading. It might be more motivational for women and children as most of the episodes concentrate on strong women and her students. The book shows that, in everybody’s life there will be many experiences which we just forget off. It explores India and its mixed cultured people. The book also discusses on globalization, next-generation people, poor and the affluent, kind and the greedy, fake and multi-faceted people. Some of the chapters may seem repeating or little boring. But overall, I think it is wise to read Wise and Otherwise.

The simple and elegant 'Kayalvaram's

Kerala is blessed with a good number of lakes and rivers. Ashtamudi Lake fondly called as the Gateway to the backwaters of Kerala is one of the largest and deepest lakes in Kerala. Ashtamudi means eight cones in Malayalam. The banks or kayalvaram of the Astamudi lake near my house in Kollam is one of my favorite hangout places. If I am there in my house in Anchalumood, mostly during weekends and if I am free, it will be sure that I will be there at the banks in the evenings. There are mainly two kayalvarams which I love to be – the Pokumthazha Kayalvaram and the kayalvaram near to Velayudha Mangalam Temple (there are many other Kayalvarms too). So, what makes me magnetized to this area? It may be the blissful silence whereby being there is like meditating. It may be the stunning scenaries- the Chineese nets, the far away seen Shaktikulangara bridge, the skies, the rising and  setting sun, the boats that passes by slowly, the breezes, the scriptures which is read from a nearby temple and so on…

Each minute has its different beauty at these Kayalvarams…At the Pokumthazha Kayalvaram, it is more silent and lonely than the other kayalvaram. The little bushy like area, the umbrella trees, the straight and slanted coconut trees and the shallow banks makes it little different from that of the other Kayalvarams. This Kayalvaram can be a good hideout than a hangout area. 

 

Hope these types of kayalvarams and other hangout places bring positiveness and bliss in our lives.

Prayers to the Almighty for blessing us with zest throughout our life.

Thanks for your kind perusal...

Best wishes...

To write...

We have all written compositions and essays for examinations in schools. It was interesting to write about a topic we like or even about the given specific topic. Writing is a better way of communication. From the first to the twelfth standard we have been writing essays for Language papers. I am not talking about the essays we write for the Science or Social papers. I loved to write compositions during my school examinations. I even remember how daringly I wrote about Sania Mirza during my tenth standard board exam English language paper. But that lure has gone in the last few years. I would like to rejuvenate my writing skills. To be an efficient writer, you should be an above average reader. It is scarcity of words more than grammatical problems that lead to communication gaps and deprived writing skills. Read as much as you can. Increase your vocabulary. There is more associated with writing. Writing helps to activate the neurons. As said, it’s a better way of communication and through writing great thoughts and imaginations occur. Writing is a way of expressing your feelings through words. The young generations are now deprived of reading and also with good books. With the advent of internet, most people, especially the young are attracted to the bad side of it. But a lot of good articles for people of all ages are available in the internet. It’s all about the attitude and the surfing skills. 

Blogs, brings out a positive attitude ie to write.