A Non-NRK Onam (5 things - Week 75)

You don't know what you have until it's gone. That's very much the case with all NRK - Non Resident Keralite - in the case of things related to their homeland. With the festival of Onam beginning tomorrow, social media is already swelling up with 'missing/enjoying home/onam' by the said NRKs.

And for the first time in five years, yours truly is not on the list of the said NRKs.

The Onam that I used to have before my 'vanwas' to the North of India was pretty much uneventful. My family is not known to celebrate Onam as such. That isn't meant to be disrespectful to the festival, but a fact that was because the basic reasons of celebrating Onam was already satisfied at our place throughout the year.

Onam is traditionally a harvest festival. The story of 'Mahabali' is entwined with this very much. So, the festival is now celebrated as the homecoming of the Greatest King to rule over this land. And as in celebrating any festival, Onam calls for a gathering of all relatives and a sumptuous feast. But the problem was that most of my relatives live close by, and we are not that inclined to indulge in feasts. So, in the end, every day felt like Onam - or more to the point - Onam felt like any other day.

But all this changed once I left my homeland to the varied landscape of Delhi. Without the comforting sight of swaying coconut trees and crows in flight, the yearning for something resembling home is very high on each NRK's priority list. And celebrating Onam grandly in such faraway lands provide at least a temporary respite for them.

Everyone cleans up for the celebration. They make different types of "pookalam" - floral decoration. They put on their "onakodis" - new dress that is bought to wear for Onam. They practise "thiruvathira" - a dance form. They prepare the "onasadhya" - the feast. They gather everyone - from their locality, from their office, inviting friends of their friends, even complete strangers. And this is how a NRK celebrates his Onam. Not in all, but most cases, this celebration would also include copious amount of liquor of the foreign kind and beef fry of the homely kind.

Even though I was home for three Onams out of the four years that I spent at Delhi, I enjoyed my NRK Onam more than the one at home. Playing the role of guests in 2010 & 2011 at IIT Delhi, in 2012 at Tomychan's and Sreekumarettan's places, then turning into hosts for 2013, holding the festivities at our own place with our own sadhya.

And we arrive at the Onam for 2014. And it's special - not just because it's one I'll celebrate at home, but because it is laying the foundation for an even better Onam in 2015. But even though there will be changes in the places, the people, the situation, etc etc, some things will always remain constant - things which make every Onam special. And for this week's "5 things", we'll revisit what was written last year - all these things which make Onam special.

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1. Pookalam

Nothing, but floored Floral decoration.

2. Onasadhya

Please don't be alarmed. This is only the minimum required accompaniments.

3. Onakodi

4. All the people

5. Mahabali

***

Malayalis might right now think of Onam more in terms of discount sales and exchange offers. To anyone talking about Onam, my mom (having learned it from some comedy show) says "Onam is when you can exchange anything, but your parents."

But Onam is a lot more than that. The true meaning of Onam lies in the above mentioned "5 things". Onam is about being creative, about having delicious food to eat, about having brand new clothes to wear, about sharing all these with your near and dear, about remembering an age of unmatched governance.

After this, I plan to go out and see my city decorated with lights and sights. In the company of my friends, without the thought of an impending departure casting a dark shadow over every bright moment, I'm going to enjoy this year's Onam in all its splendor that this land has to offer. This Onam will be the first one that I celebrate knowing the true essence of the festival. In a way, this is my first Onam in Kerala.

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In case you are interested in further reading about Onam, I would recommend you to visit the following link, where the author describes the onsadhya in minute detail.

http://www.cucumbertown.com/gods-own-feast-ival-onam

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pullikalli

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So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend and an even better Onam!!

'til next week.

Throwback Friday (5 things - Week 74)

The actual modern day slang for the idea I’m going for is “Throwback Thursday”, but since we are doing this on a Friday, we’ll make do with “Throwback Friday”. I guess the only reason why they call it Throwback Thursday is to get two words starting with ‘T’ together.

Well, the idea or concept behind this “Throwback Thursday” is for people to reminiscence something from the past. If you had to instruct your friend on what to do for observing “Throwback Thursday”, you would tell them something like this -

“Look back into your past – your childhood, your teenage years, your youth – and tell us something you miss having right now.”

Ask any person with memory, and they’ll give you a long list of such things. And if you had asked me, I would have an even longer list, split categorically. One such category is the “Retro List” – the list of items that I loved to use then, but which are obsolete now.

You want examples?? How about that special kind of pencil, which had lead on little bullet-like things with an eraser on its cap?? After using the current bullet, you had to take it out and insert it at the bottom of the pencil to have a new bullet to use. A brilliant apparatus, which kept most of us primary school-ers, enthralled through our classes.

You want more examples?? How about disk cassettes?? Long gone are the days when we used them. The temple in front of my house is celebrating “Vinayaka Chathurthi” today. And I saw them using a DVD player to play the devotional songs. Such is the reach of modern technology into one of the most ancient institution in our land.

What I remember most about the Cassettes was the thrill and pain of hearing your new favourite song again and again. There was no “repeat current song” option. After you heard the song once, you had to press rewind for the correct amount of time so that the disk is returned back to the starting portion of the song you want to hear. Those were the days when you had to work to show your desire to hear a song repeatedly.

I’ve one more example – the floppy disk – all 12079600 bits of 1s and 0s of it. That’s 1.44MiB by the way – not enough for you to store even one digital picture that you take from a modern camera. And I used to love them – with their snapping heads, and ability to transport data – both concepts beyond my grasp then. The “then” I mention is before this millennia. And by the turn of the new millennia, I was turning the useless floppy disks into pen stands by gluing together five of them to make a box.

All this brings us to the topic of this week’s musing.

***

I’ll let you in on a plan of mine. People normally plan for their kids to get rich. They buy land, gold, or get LIC plans to make sure that their kids have money at the right time. I’ve planned two generations further. The coin collection of mine is how I intend to make my great grandkids super rich. :D ;)

At around the same time I was using those things I listed above, I started a hobby. I started collecting coins. Not the foreign ones to show off in front of my friends. That was only because I had no source for foreign coins.

But I had plenty of opportunity to collect the coins distributed by our Government, and this week’s 5 things are the five most significant coins in this collection of mine.

Let’s start, shall we??

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1. One rupee note

I have no way of knowing the age of this note. One speciality of this note is that it’s not signed by the RBI Governor, but by the Secretary, Ministry of Finance. (open the image in a new tab, enlarge and check for yourself)

2. 5 paise coin

Yes, we once had coins for 5 paise. And yes, we had square coins.

3. 10 paise coin

I guess the 10 paise coin was developed by someone who appreciated curves. ;)

4. 20 paise coin

We still haven't reached the usual circular shape yet. This 20 paise coin is of hexagonal shape.

5. 25 paise coin

Finally, we arrive at the circular shape. A 25 paise coin.

***

All these coins are of no value in legal tendering in India. This article in the RBI site states that,

"Coins in India are presently being issued in denominations of 50 paise, one rupee, two rupees, five rupees and ten rupees. Coins up to 50 paise are called 'small coins' and coins of Rupee one and above are called 'Rupee Coins'. Coins in the denomination of 1 paise, 2 paise, 3 paise, 5 paise, 10 paise, 20 paise and 25 paise have been withdrawn from circulation with effect from June 30, 2011 and are, therefore, no more legal tender."

But with time, I believe that these coins will gain value as artifacts from a past era. And that's how my great grandkids are going to get rich. ;) :D

***

  

None of the above five specimen is the most interesting one in my collection. That honour goes to the following 50 paise coin – minted in 1974. This is the fourth decade of its existence. Just think about that. It’s older than most of us.

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So, that's all for this week then.

Have a great weekend!!

'til next week.

Landing in Your dreams (5 things - Week 73)

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This is the second part of an earlier post, "Leap of Faith". For continuity, it is recommended that you read this post after going through the previous episode in this series.

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I hope you understand the concept of alternate universe. If not, allow me to demonstrate the concept with a simple situation, which you would have come across in your life.

Imagine that you are driving to meet a friend of yours. You know the address, but not the way to reach there. If you arrive at an unknown junction, with no soul in sight to ask for directions, you will make a choice on which road to take to continue your journey. After you make a choice, you follow that road and reach your destination. And that's your universe.

But if you had chosen another path to take you forward, then it is entirely plausible that you would have encountered a completely different journey. A journey which shares nothing in common with your current universe, but for the starting point. And that journey is supposedly been undertaken in an alternate universe.

So, in an alternate universe, I'm writing this blog post from Gurgaon. I'm quite happy with the progression I've made in the organization, having completed four years at the office. One more year and I'll be getting a gold coin to commemorate my services to the company. My marriage would have been fixed, with the ceremony to be held within this year. I would be double checking the tickets I booked for coming home for Onam next month, just to make sure that I didn't get anything wrong in it.

In that alternate universe, I didn't take the Leap of Faith.

But I'm in this universe with you. You join me as I write this from my home in Thiruvananthapuram. I'm looking forward to receiving the offer letter that would indicate the completion of the first phase of the leap. The thoughts of marriage are as far as they ever were. And I'm with my family more often than not these days. Everything that I expected, and more, have been obtained from the leap - the decision I took to change my field of career completely, after investing successfully for three years in the previous one.

***

Right now, it feels like I had been given an objective question to answer by someone - let it be God or Devil, Fate or Destiny.

"Choose to live out any one of the following dream of yours.

1. The family - being as close to them as possible so that I can support them as they have supported me.

2. The job - being in a job which utilizes the best skillset of mine (programming).

3. The city - being able to settle down here in Thiruvananthapuram.

4. The bonus - the bonus can be discussed only in abstract terms right now due to its volatile nature. Don't worry, I'll let you know about it soon enough.

5. All of the above"

Well, I didn't need to think twice before opting for option No.5. And so here I am, starting to live my dream of working in a good job in my own city, being close to my family, and with the bonus in my grasp nonetheless. I took the Leap of Faith and I've Landed in my Dreams.

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And do you know what the best part is?? By making that decision to follow my dream, and by the chastising experiences over the past ten months, I feel more mature and accomplished, content and happy, confident and ready to face all oncoming challenges head on. I could try and forge sentences to inspire you to follow your dreams, but I feel that my own personal experience would suffice.

But just in case you are interested in hearing inspiring quotes on the same, we'll be having five of them as the "5 things" for this week. Let's start, shall we??

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1. Steve Goodier

“Leaving what feels secure behind and following the beckoning of our hearts doesn't always end as we expect or hope. We may even fail. But here's the payoff: it can also be amazing and wonderful and immensely satisfying.” 

2. Isabel Lopez

“If you can’t believe in miracles, then believe in yourself. When you want something bad enough, let that drive push you to make it happen. Sometimes you’ll run into brick walls that are put there to test you. Find a way around them and stay focused on your dream. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” 

3. Moffat Machingura

“Follow your dreams. I am not saying it’s going to be easy, but I am saying it’s going to be worth it."

4. Billy Joel

“You can get what you want or you can just get old.” 

5.  Paulo Coelho in Adultery has summed it up pretty nicely in the following words.

"Going after a dream has a price. But however costly it may be, it is never as high as the price paid by people who didn't live."

***

The iconic representation and the source of the term "Leap of faith" came from the following picture.

I wish I was a bit more skilled in digital art work. If that was the case, I would have turned up with a better depiction of landing in your dreams that this.

It's obvious that I gained a few pounds during that jump, right?? Can't ask for a better depiction than that, I guess.

***

Like I mentioned before, I understand truly well that landing here is just the beginning. To continue living this dream, I would have to put in tremendous amount of effort, maybe more than what I already did to get so far. But now I know that dreams do come true. Now, I know that if I strive hard for it, it'll come to me one day or another. It might be a cliche to quote this from "The Alchemist" now, but it is true in it's entirety.

"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

***

So, that's all for this week then.
Have a great weekend!!
'til next week.

It's not as easy as it looks (5 things - Week 72)

I know I know I know.

Today is our Independence Day. And the entire nation just celebrated it with renewed vigour, as we have always seen over the years [This is the 68th year of Independence.] But if you are here hopeful of reading another patriotic prose, well, let me redirect you to two of our previous articles - from last year's Independence day and from this year's Republic day.

Happy Independence Day!!!

As for today, I don't feel any compelling reason to write an article on India just because it is our Independence day. I don't want to set a tone of patriotism which is visible only on National Holidays. That is not to say that I didn't take part in the celebrations today - I proudly walked with my head held high and a tricolor pinned onto my shirt.

But that is not to say I don't have any patriotic message to share with you. I've shared the following video multiple times with you, and I am not going to stop now. Go ahead, watch the silent national anthem and get your share of patriotic goosebumps.



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As our last week's guest post writer found out to her amusement, churning out a bit of prose within a time limit is not an easy task. "It's not easy as it looks." - her words, not mine. Those words spurned me onto thinking about other such stuff which we think is pretty easy, but actually requires a lot of hard work, patience and dedication.

And so, for this week's '5 things', we'll be having a look at five such things.

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1. A working Mom

I don't think I will have to explain too much about this. A working mom, who wants to balance her career and her family, without losing any important moment in both is really a miracle in execution. I've had the chance to meet quite a few such women and I take my metaphoric hat off to them.

2. Begging

Ok. Surprise inclusion alert. You would think how come this is in the "not as easy as it looks" category. Let me tell you something. Human emotions can drive them to do crazy things. The feeling of hunger is one such emotion, the effects of which are many. We've heard stories of people stealing food and/or other items to make sure that they have a morsel of food to sate their hunger. But the chances of them turning to begging to get some money to do the same are not many. You know why?? To do that they would have to let go of their ego, their pride. But I guess it is easier to do something illegal than to do something which hurts your pride.

3. Keeping a class of students in discipline

The only opportunity I got to teach a class of students was way back in 2006, when for Teacher's Days, the 12th standard students would come and teach their juniors. Suffice to say I wasn't successful in keeping them quite for the half hour or so alloted to me. You have to respect and admire the teachers who can keep a class in check with only a glare.

4. Crossing the road in Hyderabad

a. Look Right.
b. Then look left.
c. Look Right again.
d. If there's no immediate incoming traffic, cross the road.

The way I was explained the rules of crossing the road were found to be naive at best when applied on the roads of this city. After almost three weeks in the city, these are the self formulated rules on crossing the road that I've to share with you.

a. Look Right, gauge the number and speed of incoming traffic.
b. Look Left and do the same.
c. Repeat the previous two steps until you can find some sort of rhythm to the traffic.
d. Find a herd waiting to cross the road (or at least one co-crosser) and stick to them, if you are not finding any rhythm.
e. Make sure that your legs are ready to perform the sprint function as soon as the command is issued from the brain.
f. As soon as you find an opportune moment, start running across the road (flailing your arms at this juncture is a recommended procedure to attract attention of incoming drivers.)
g. If you are not in a pool of blood, you've crossed the road.

You would think that it is fairly simple, but that was for crossing a one way road. I'm yet to write it down yet, but the alphabet series would be insufficient to jot down the rules of crossing a four way junction in Hyderabad.

5. Finding Love

We've seen it a thousand times in the movies and the books. The protagonist finds his/her complimentary soul in the easiest of manners. All they have to do is to be at the right place at the right time. Unfortunately, for the less-protagonist souls among us, this doesn't happen, ever. I can say with full conviction that finding love is not as easy as it looks.

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I know I know I know.

After publishing the guest post last week, I did promise you that I would write a post myself. But I wasn't able to. All my creative resources were effectively employed elsewhere. At the end of the day, I wasn't able to bring myself to sitting down in front of the laptop and to give you some food for thought.

Keeping all that aside, I would like to give you my word that I'll be publishing the second part of my 'Leap of faith' series next friday. The jump I made during November 2013 reaches it's landing point over the next week. And in the next post, I'll describe to you how it felt to take the jump from "what I am", then to be caught high up in the air, then about getting swayed left and right in the winds, and how I pinched the bonus point, before, hopefully, landing safely at the point of "where I want to be".

***

Look forward to this space next week then.
Have a great weekend!!
'til next week.

Guest Post : Escape through books (5 things - Week 71)

So, as I was saying last week, I'm currently facing unforeseen circumstances on a top secret mission at an undisclosed location. What are you saying? Oh!! So you are saying that I said I'm at Hyderabad last week?? Well then, I'm facing unforeseen circumstances on a top secret mission at a previously disclosed location. Which brings us to today's post.

Due to yours truly being temporarily disposed of, I requested our last guest writer Saiprasad, my dear brother to write today's post. Mr."I can't work creatively with deadlines" declined. And I turned to my close friend, Sreerenjini, who after some persuassion decided to indulge us with a short post on the books which influenced her. So, without further ado, here's what she has to say. Enjoy!!!

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Are you are one of those who fall madly, deeply and passionately in love with books, right from when you learned do read?? Then, you would know that feeling when you get a new book in your hands. That book you always wanted to read, with that crisp aroma of new paper and freshly printed ink.

As it hurts to take a break in between, you carry it wherever you go - reading it at the dinner table, reading it when we should be studying, reading it late into the night, until we finish the last sentence in it, and are left on the threshold of reality again.

While other people think about it as ”it is just a book”, we fully enjoy the experience - making the plot our own. When we turn that last page, we know that those words have touched our souls forever and those characters are going to stay with us for a while - well, at least until when we start the next book.

But have you ever wondered what are we looking for?? Is it to get lost in that world, or to get the answers to some unknown questions?? Like someone said, books are great healers - they provide us with a way to seek answers. Or maybe, it just gives us a chance to explore something unusual, a world we couldn't explore otherwise. Reading is a true adventure, which is filled with new discoveries and self-fulfillment.

The amount a book can influence us is related to how much we, as the reader, could relate to it. It is not just the “answers” or knowing the unknown factor. We can be involved in a book upto any level that we desire - from being the protagonist to being a spectator. But when we close it, we are back in the real world, but only after experimenting with the plot through the characters.

***

She actually didn't read the memo which said that "When you jump from prologue to the bullet points, say something to the effect of '5 things for this week are'." So, I am here to bridge the gap. For the "5 things" for this week, we'll have the five books that have influenced our author. Here they are.

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1. The Harry Potter series

Many of you would call it as a children’s book, but to me, it is one of the most beautifuly written piece of literature ever. It taught me that good always triumphs over evil. Darkness is always vanquished by light, and life is all about the choices you make - they define who you are. And that "help always finds those who deserve it.” As a child, growing up with the magic of harry potter and the life he had with his friends, truly made my life a bit more magical.

2. God Of Small Things

God of small things brought me back to the bitter truth of life - that everything is not always fair and that bad things sometimes do happen to good people. The way Arundhati roy broke my heart while still making me smile is a true mark of her writing skills. Esthapan and Rahel taught me that you may leave behind your childhood innocence, but never down the lane do we really lose it.

3. The Girl With Dragon Tattoo

"The girl with dragon tattoo" was another eye opener. It taught me the depths of emotions that a woman goes through - how she can be good and bad, beautiful and grotesque, light and dark - all at the same time. How a man - be it your father, your brother, or a complete stranger - can ruin your life, and force you to take decisions that have repercussions, which are beyond your control.

4. A Thousand splendid suns

This is another book which is very close to my heart. The life lessons that I learned from Mariam and Laila‘s friendship will remain forever in my heart. They taught me that love is unconditional, and the sacrifices you make for the people you love are truly what makes you a good human being. Mariam found a sister in Laila, and their relationship touched me more than the love story that was conveyed through the book.

5. Brida

Another masterpiece from none other than Paulo Coelho, the man who performs miracles with words. There will be a phase in every girl's life, where she could relate to Brida and her journey. Since I was going through such a phase when I read that book, it will remain close to me forever - finding her own destiny, the soul searching.

Don't tell me that you wouldn't like to meet your soulmate like brida found hers. Every girl who read this book would wish to see that point of light above the shoulders of her man. After so many romantic novels, the classics and the crap. it was the first book which put a little bit of logic into the concept of soul mate. 

”When you find your path, you must not be afraid. You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes. Disappointment, defeat and despair are the tools god uses to show us the way”

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Well, thank you very much for those insights. Hopefully, we'll have more inputs from our latest guest writer.

And for those of you, whose weekend gets ruined without having a post from me, don't worry. With all things going fine, I'll be publishing a post in the next 48 hours. The content and tone of the post depends on what happens in between now and then though.

I could leave you on a suspense there, but that's not me. I'll go ahead and make fun of the person who helped me out with the post today with this pic.

Not that being a bookworm is a bad thing. This was just for humor.

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Well, that's all for this week.

Hope you have a great weekend.
I'll be here missing my lovely Thironthoram.

'til next week.