100th Article

Technically the last article was my 100th article. But four articles were pulled back and movedto draft status for the following reasons

1. three of them were mere translations and not my views. 

2. I myself could not stand the negativity of the fourth article :-)

So, this one is my 97th article not 101st!

It is going to be 7 years since I started blogging! 100 articles in seven years is not a big deal! It works out to be an article a month; may be a little more - four articles a quarter! But it feels good :-)

I am looking back! This has been a wonderful experience! The range of emotions I went through before and after I wrote each of these articles is pretty large! Mostly, feelings like gratitude, happiness, anger, frustrations, surprise, urge to share the lessons etc. triggered the articles. After I wrote them, it was a different set of emotions!  But the driving factor for most of the articles is some level of dissatisfaction with something or the other. Maybe, it is a good idea for me to look at some metrics related to this aspect :-)

More than these emotions, I am happy about a few learnings about me!

1) In this whole process, I discovered how I choose the language of my articles!

2) I learnt how to use these blogs to communicate with people! In fact, instead of spending time explaining my views on a topic, I share my blog link if I have already written about it. If not, I consider writing an article if the topic is worth. This is an interesting development in the last one year after a mentor suggested to use the blogs to communicate. Interestingly it is working well and it saves a lot of time explaining my stance!

3) My reader circle expanded and included very close associates. My parents, aunt, cousins, teachers and colleagues became my readers. When I started writing, I thought  I was able to write my mind without masking anything only because readers did not include any known people and the moment some known people start reading my blogs, I may start masking. But interestingly, except for just one article out of the 97, I did not need a mask! I was my natural self and did not feel like hiding anything!! I like it that way!! Hmm….

4) More than negative criticism, appreciations made me more nervous about my writing skill!  Though I smiled and thanked those who appreciated, my mind usually drifted off to thinking about my writing skill and the mistakes I have made in the article. Interesting!

5) I cant say that my writing skill has improved significantly as a result of writing for such a long period! Maybe average article count is too low for making reasonable improvement! points 4 and 5 are contradicting each other! hmm... interesting!

6) Many of my friends (readers) are also debataholic (nice word, isn't it) like me. I ended up writing follow up articles as a result!

Thank you all for the patronage! As always, feedback, suggestions and questions are welcome!

Shameless…….

Ha! It is tiring to be in the same state for centuries together! It is even more stressful, if we think of the great thinkers and philosophers this country had a few millennia back and where we are in our ability to think!! In a country where a king was ready to crush his own son to death as a punishment for killing a calf, where a king died on spot realizing the wrong judgement he gave, there is a judgment asking the victim to marry her rapist! It is even more annoying to listen to or read the supporting arguments for the judgement! Some one proclaims that the judge has given this judgement with a fatherly affection! Oh my! What else can we expect from a crowd that gave two National Awards to a movie like Pudhiya Paadhai? As a society, are we losing sense of what is just and what is not?

We go to an extent of deciding what someone should eat and ban eating beef but have no such feelings about consuming alcohol! Of course, consuming alcohol is also personal and others do not have a say in it. But, it is harmful to health, it affects the mental stability, ability to work and ultimately the economy and atmosphere at home! So the family can ask someone to stop consuming alcohol. When it comes to eating meat, even the family can not and should not influence the personal choice of an individual! We get this mixed up! Government sells liquor and bans beef! We do not seem to understand the intrusions into other's personal space!

We want to fight against "Yoga day", but we are okay to celebrate all the other "days"! We are okay to dance till midnight on the new year's eve & the like and we are okay to burst crackers to disturb those who do not celebrate! But we are not okay for a group of people to gather to improve fitness!

Our undergraduate and graduate students will fight for the right to kiss in public but no such protests against inefficient teaching, inadequate labs, libraries, or other improper infrastructure at the higher educational institutes! Are we losing our sense of priority?

How do we shake this country to think properly?!

ஆள்வினை

I bumped into a TED talk today! I am glad I did! It is a talk by Sam Berns. It made me think, wow, how often do we think that the problems in our lives are bigger than us! And here is a young man, who understood life so very well and lived every single moment happily despite anything else!! Sam had a strange decease called Progeria - a rare decease that accelerates aging. Only about 350 people are affected by it in the entire world and there is no cure for it!

Here is the gist of the video 1) I choose to focus on activities I can do, and make adjustments so that those activities that I love to  do but in the cant do category move to the can do category. 2) Surround myself with people I want to be with - especially people of high quality who are energetic, enthusiastic, empathetic. 3) Keep moving forward! No point in looking backwards! We open new doors by moving forward 4) never miss a party :-)

The positive energy Sam radiates is awesome! The smile on his lips, voice and eyes puts all those crib and cry for simple issues to shame!  When I watched the video, I did not know that Sam has passed away!! He passed away last year - a few months from the recording. Hmm… How long we live does not matter! How we live is the only thing that matters!! I don’t know if Sam was thinking about all his unfulfilled dreams when he died but I am sure he would  not have regretted that he should have lived a better life! That is a big achievement!

I am comparing it with my life! Of course, the challenges I handle are not that big or not that cruel as the ones Sam had to face! But then, size of the problems does not matter that much as the reaction to the problems! From that sense the comparison is reasonable!!!

The questions I keep asking myself are, if I have to leave this world today, what will I take with me and what do I want to feel. I am happy that I have a life I do not regret at all! Like Sam puts it and like all of you, there are things in life I love to do but I can't do, I have learnt to accept them; if there is something I can turn positive, I give my best shot ! I am blessed to be with magnificent human beings who support me as much as they can. And I am very  choosy about whom to be with; I stay away from those who start a "why me" story. I stop to reflect but not to regret! I have realised that, ultimately what matters is the enthusiasm with which we lead our lives daily and the effort we put in to make things better! I think I acquired this attitude  from Thirukkural!

Thirukkural dedicates an entire chapter to ஆள்வினை- enthusiasm and effort. I like all the 10 couplets. But I have a favourite kural (618) that  is in the big poster on my wall!

பொறியின்மை யார்க்கும் பழியன்று அறிவறிந்து

ஆள்வினை இன்மை பழி.

The other side of the coin!!!!

This week has been a mix of emotions for me! This probably is the strongest! 

This article is a continuation of a couple of articles 1. Why Sukanya? 2. Brainwashing attempts. The trigger was a WhatsApp message that depicted the relationship of a senior male politician with an actress turned politician as an unprofessional one. I was taken aback for the nth time by this text received this evening! When I wrote my earlier articles, I was not this furious.  I should say, I was biased to an extent or in other words, I did not consider the other side of the coin that much!

I am thinking of the comment on chief minister's  letter to the prime minister on the fishermen's issues. That was an expression of an ugly mind. The only reason for the comment is, the chief minister and the prime minister are of different gender! It is the same case with today's WhatsApp text too. The political leader referred to is above 80 years old and the actress is above 45 years old. How can someone think of such a relationship between the two!

This annoying message I got today was sent by another lady, that too with a smiley! It made me even more furious.  She is working in IT industry; so she doesn't have a choice but to work with men. And, she comments this way on another woman!  Isn't it a shame?!?  Isn't it an expression of a biased dirty mind!?!

I'm seriously considering adding a few more  questions  to women as part of my Why Sukanya article.

1. Can you not trust other women to be as genuine as you are? If not, how do you expect others (including your spouse) to trust you?

2. Do you really understand how the world will go with your negative comments about another woman; that is, if you make a statement about another woman, that statement is valued as truth more than a similar statement made by a man? Have you read about the research done related to this? Do you care?

3. Do you know how your arbitrary comments can impact another woman's confidence, choices and decisions - More the genuineness, more the impact is! Just a remark from you can change someone's major decision and impact them for the entire lifetime! What will you do if it is on you, your daughter or sister?

4. Do you know that you are actually stopping your own progress - by making 1) genuine men more scared by such comments 2) other men exploit innocent women (by getting them worried about such statements)? 

5. The text message could/may have been created originally by a man who wants to stop women from joining politics or becoming more popular in politics or winning. Can you not use your brain before forwarding such Brainwashing attempts?

I am FURIOUS! Can we not teach humans to be humans and use their brain before acting?

இசைத்தமிழ்

முத்தமிழுள் இசைத்தமிழும் இயற்றமிழும் கவர்ந்த அளவிற்கு நாடகத்தமிழ் ஈர்க்கவில்லை. ஒருவேளை, இயலும் இசையும் தேவையான கதை சொல்லியதால், நாடகம் தேவைப்படவில்லையோ என்னவோ! எழுதுவதற்கு இயல் கைகூடினாலும், படிக்க இசையே அதிகம் கவர்கிறது!

இசைத்தமிழென்றால் அது கம்பனாகவோ, வள்ளுவராகவோ பாரதியாகவோதானிருக்கவேண்டும் என்பதில்லை. கூத்தின் நடுவே வரும் திரையிசையாக இருந்தாலும் அது இனிமைபயப்பதாகவே  தோன்றுகிறது! திரையிசையை ஒரு சின்னத்தீக்குச்சிக்குத் தின்னகொடுக்க நினைத்த வைரமுத்துவே பழைய பனையோலைகளில் எழுதியபின் திரைக்காக கவியெழுதும்பொது என்போன்றவர்கள் ரசிப்பதில் வியப்பென்ன?

ஒப்புமை சரியில்லை என்று இலக்கியவாதிகள் போர்க்கொடி தூக்கலாம்! பாரதியின் காதல் கவிதைகளை வாசிக்கும்போதும் தேசபக்திமிகும்; அவர் கண்ணம்மா தனியிருப்பாதாக சிறையிருப்பதாகப் பாடினாலும், அது இந்தியத்தாய் சிறையிருப்பது கண்டவேதனையாக நம்மால் எளிதில் உணரமுடியும்; ஆனால் வைரமுத்து தாய் மண்ணே வணக்கம் எனப்பாடினாலும் அதில் தாயன்பு தெரிவதைவிட தேசப்பற்று தெரிவதைவிட காதல் வழிவதாய்த்தான்படும் என்ற கருத்து கட்டாயம் வருமென அறிவேன்! ஆனால், ஒப்பீடு கவிகளுக்கிடையே அல்ல! எனவே, நண்பர்காள்! இதுகுறித்த வாதம் தவிர்ப்போம்! :-)

தமிழின்கூறுகளில் இசைத்தமிழ் மற்ற இரண்டையும் தன்னுள் அடக்கியிருப்பதாகத்தோன்றுகிறது! நாலடியில், இரண்டடியில் உலகஞானம் அளிப்பது இசைத்தமிழின் உயர்வன்றோ? அதுமட்டுமல்ல, ஒருவரியில் கதை சொல்லும் வலிமையும் இசைத்தமிழுக்கு மட்டுமே இருப்பதாகப்படுகிறது. சமீபத்தில் என்னைக்கவர்ந்தது  திரைக்கவிஞர் கபிலனின் "குழந்தையருகே குரங்கைப் பயந்தேன்" என்ற வரியொன்று! இதை இயலாலோ, கூத்தாலோ விளக்குவதற்கு எத்தகைய முயற்சிவேண்டும்? முடியுமா என்பதே கேள்விதான்!