RANDOM THOUGHTS

Days appear to be flying with lightning spped with the arrival of GOD SEND liitle angel to our home.I meant my grand son. And that is one excuse(I mean baby sitting for my grand son) i can confidently and assertively tell to any one for my inability to be present or particiapte in a function or a meeting. And hence the focus is not on any thing nowadays except the little acts, smiles, whispers and tears that he often exhibits to convey his moods to those around. As MR Younus Bhoy, rightly said the other day (when he called me over phone on 16th July) we are now blessed with opportunity to document and treasure hold the growing of this little gift from god, minute by minute, thnaks to the technological advancement.Gone are the days when parents seperated due to work schedule, visits abroad have to wait for months to have a glimpse of their child.Now with instant recording of voice/photos go thru internet/cells in no time.And waht a relief it is to the parents! There are quite a few things which were narrated by Younus Bhoy .AND THE MORE HE TLAKS THE MORE I GET ENRICHED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE SHARED BY HIM.His talks this time hovered around the CINEMA INDUSTRY OF HIS DAYS and how his family had a share to contribute to the same, his thoughts on Buddha (Recall the discussion forum's views from Ram and prasad on the same), his impressions about the great city of joy Kolkatta(and how he endorsed my views , perhaps to the dislike of Ram??) , his ideals on secularism (with particualr reference to Sri Gurumurthy;s essays on the same in Thuklaq), his praise on the excellent attempt of Sri Sridharan in bringing a taste of Chinese literature to Tamil minds and so on and so forth.I was amazed as usual at his remembrance, choice of chaste language used by him , the diversity of topics that he is able to discuss at ease .I wish that Ramanathan, Chitra Sivakumar and others at HK make use of his presence to the most to share his wisdom and experienceover decades at appropriate forum. The ILAKKIYA in the recent past had not been active.The recent elections to the presidential cndidate could be a topic for sharing views. Rest of thoughts later as my grand son had already sent signals for his wish to sleep on my lap.

My lessons from those around

LIFE IS FULL OF ROLE MODELS When i sit and relax on the corridors of my spacious house enjoying a steam of coffee with a copy of TOI and a novel of BALA KUMARAN to keep me company and the bewitching smiles of my grand son adding to the beauty of the here and now momnents my thoghts travel down the memory lane . In particular it revolves around some of the people in public and private life with whom i had been dealing with in the last one year who made every moment spent with them worthy of rememberance and invaluable.And that made every minute of the life in the past one year July 11-June 12 filled with meaning and a sence of purpose. I list them below and it is not any reflection of my priorities as all of them are to be prioritised on equal footing. It starts with my friend Mr PRASAD in Hongkong who took time to complete a thirteen posts blog entiled as ' NINAIVALIAGALIL KAMABAN" beutifully focussing on his first attempt . on some of the ever green unforgettable poetic beauty of kamban and making the reading a loveable experience by enriching each episode by correlating his experiences of similar situations in his own life. It is not to be mis construed that his life is equated to that of Rama. On the other haNd it is to make us understand that RAMA, THE SUPREME, lived the life of a human BEING, setting in the process beautiful learning points in times of challenges.I am awaiting the beginning of next series by him. It moves down to my friend and collegue Ms Sarada , who moved to Singapore , under very challenging and unenviable circumstances (even making her to think abt resigning her job due to pressures of one kind or the other )and who had successfully accomplished a term of three years service under very tryig and challenging domestic and office environment and returning back to India with grace and confidence to add to the strengths of my erst while department.She left with a new born baby of 3 months old and she will be returning with a lovely kid of 3 years old with accompanying experinces to share . As a person who had tried to create a second line of qulity personnel at the dept level my personal joy is manifold on her return. I look forward to her come back. And there is always the figure with fatherly attitudes and affection.Sri Younus Bhoy , whose book about his escapades in Burma penned by MU Ramanathan is only an appetiser of sorts. Every time when he talks to me ( which is like a flowing river, very balanced and composed and lasting easily half an hout to 45 minutes ...mind it is a distance call from him from Hongkong) it is like experiencing an encylopeadia.His experinces with film industry, in tester years, his awareness about the roots of India and the problems that it faced after independence, his down to earth understanding of the basics of the Tmailanguage and his talk in chaste tamil are all some things to be experience to be believed. I am sure that HK tamils like Mr Ramanathan, Ms Chitra sivakumar and last but not the least Sri Guru ( an apt name based on his wonderful knowledge on tamil literature)would make use of this great man;s experiences to the full. Then it is also time to reflect on my daughter and son.Daughter for her becoming a matured woman in the past 12 months knowing to balance between her parents in laws and the new gift of god (her son of 39 days old) and also for having successfully proved her credentials to her employers which resulted in her second promotion in her second year of service , a feat which possibly makes her options difficult at the moment , but which she is sure of handling in time to come. Softness where required and firmness where it is needed are her assets which she is nursing to the best of her abilities to stay put in the competitive world and seeing her in action is a real treat to treasure. Equally fitting, if not more , is the contributions from son. Probsbly one of the very few to pitch for his second Phd within an young age of 26 -27, he was always around when needed and with out being asked for.To be by the side to share, witness, enjoy, and to excell (some times by participation and at other times by silence )in apt measures , again the moments are to be experienced and can not be explained.I am awaiting for his tenure to complete by this time next year and looking forward to his return with glory and in style. Last but not the least, my better half.A working engine round the clock, always looking for perfection (ofcourse in what all she does) and full of energy unmindful of the physical ailments and the limitations of sorts often cropping up.there is a biologicalclock in every one of us to control us and our activities. But she carries biological clocks for the welfare of all around. One to wake up, the other to take care of grand son's needs, the third to attend to daughter;s wants, the fourth to address the loneliness of son and the fifth to attend to an ailing mother. There used to be times of complaint that we were not devoting time to each other. Now that has been replaced by prayers that we should have time to sit and relax atleast for a couple of hours each day.And am sure that is the way i can reward her for all that she has done and been doing for the family. And each of them had shown me the way to live the life in totality.TO live the life with an understanding and love and in peace. A BIG THANKS (IS THAT THE RIGHT WORD!!) to all

HAPPY Father;s day to one and all

8 MOTHS TO THIS DAY (`11/6/2012) had gone past since my retirement on 11/10/2011. Like for many of those who retired, to me also it started with lot of questions and more importantly as to what next and when. I had a few ideas and desires and I was not sure as to how to go about them.then it struck me that if I had lived these 60 years to my satisfaction I could live thru the remaining phase too with satisfaction. It also dawned upon me that the force which showed me the way al along ( Call it as God or destiny or the inner guiding force)is there to guide me and I have to keep listening to it and I precisely did the same. And the responses were astounding. The responses came from many directions and each of them came as if it is a continuation of an earlier communication.They also came at the right intervals to make me to halt and take my decision in the proper perspective. And when I look back I feel I should feel contended with the journey in the last 8 months. I have lived my dream (though short and sweet ) of sharing my experiences and expertise as a seasoned banker with my faculty chore helping in the right dosage;First as consultant with Manipal Global university Bangalore and later with Centralised Training Solutions Mumbai as Domain expert. Remuneration was secondary. PRIMARY THING WAS the confidence reinforced in me that I can be a successful sought after faculty even after retirement and the satisfaction derived out of training young aspirants which made one forget the age difference and start feeling youngish.In the process I had used the interaction I had with participants to make use of the same successfully when I was called upon to interview candidates for Probationary officers in my erstwhile bank during the first week of June at Delhi.It enabled me to read thru the insights of candidates, their aspirations, their wants and needs and to take the appropraiate decision as to the suitability or other wise. And during the interugnum I was also making use of my professional qualification to assist those in need in finalysing the credit/compromise proposals and in completion of statutory branch/central audits of banks in time.Here again I was concentrating on the satisfaction component arising out of my contribution in work rather than the fees that it fetched and in fact many of the assignments are on a friendly basis and no regrets as each day was unique in giving me fresh experiences which can not be valued in terms of money. And when I am penning this mail few openings both in professional body as also in y erstwhile bank are available as a faculty besides number of joint prospects with like minded friends. I hav €e decided to flow along the tide instead of forcing any decion or any path to choose. And I must thank a whole lot of friends and well wishers in this journey.All my collegues and well wishers from my erst while bank and department who time and again made me strong and going, all my professional peers who joined with me in my bank some 33 years back ( some of them no more and some of them not in contacts but those few who are regularly in contact to share the precious moments of frendhip), my friends from Hongkong stint ( Especially Mr Prasad whose writings on Kamban made me to make my browsing experience richer,Mr Gurunathan whose approach to literature and the deep knowledge that he exhibits in analyzing an Issue is a treat to watch, Mr YOUNUS Bhoy who makes it a point to call and share his rich heritage and experiences every now and then, Mr Ram , Mr Sekar(SBI)Ms Chitra sivakumar, Ms Geetha Barathi,Mr Ramanathan and a host of other tamil friends who make the experience with Ilakkiya blog an invigorating one, Mr Sridhar who has made a unique contribution with his research work on Chinese poetry all of them keep this journey afloat and last but not the least all my family members WHO SHOWED WHAT a boon it is if a person has the good and understanding wife son and daughter. . Some things are required to be shared then and there as other wise it may loose its significance or it may not reach the deserving person at the right time.And hence this blog post to thank one and all for the journey all along and for journey still to be made. MAY THE JOURNEY GO ON MAY THE FRAGRANCE OF JOURNEY LAST LONG MAY CHEERS AND HAPPINESS BE IN EVERY DWELLING AND MAY PEACE AND UNDERSTANDING REIGN ALL THROUGH. SAMPATH KUMAR

world is worth living

Little darling called as Angel Suddenly life has become full of beauty , love and charm. Every worry disappears like salt in ocean, Every argument becomes a win win for every one around The schedule of sleep goes for a sixer outside the window panes The minority rule prevails over the majority. It started all 36 days back on the mid night of march 9th Little angel. Called as my grand son arrived He became the chief guest and he also became the chief host. He became the fulcrum of the entire family. His smiles brought laughter around And his tears brought the world to stop a beat His cries became a dictionary of sorts and Salutations to him created a new vocabulary He brought the best out of every one and Any thing that is bad disappeared into oblivion in his presence His habits became the law of the home And his little cries lead to debates on his wants Finally to conclude that all that he wants is a hug from a dear one. He brought his uncle from abroad over night He made the rare friends and guests to come for a glimse He made every one retired or in service equally busy And rewarded them with his million dollar smile every now and then. He made this father;s day special when I got the call from son abroad AS HE SHOWED THE VALUE OF FATHER SON RELATIONAHIP ONCE AGAIN!!!

woman turns into a mother-engengu kaninum sakthiada

Life is full of joys for those who are prepared to wait and watch.For others it is a race run with out knowing the destination and direction. And the more one is prepared to live the life, the way it unfolds , the journey becomes peaceful and harmonious . Therefore for a man at 60 plus, it is but natural to wait , watch and start experiencing things in a perspective, totally different from the one earlier accustomed to. Yes the occasion is Mother's day and the experience relates to seeing my daughter who bloomed in to a house wife, last year, blossoming into an affectinate mother last week. Seeing the woman in all her grandeur and beauty is only when she becomes a mother.There are a few things , (however much the counterpart male members can boast oftheir capabilities to achieve), which can not be equalled by stronger gender is mother hood.The fathers can be good friends , taking responsibility to lead and guide and enduring endless strains to see that their wards occupy the top slots in their life journey, but the credit in totality goes to mothers who are instrumental in shaping the child, in their womb, for nine to ten months ,to deliver it safely and securely in to the world at large. There is a great proverb that God can not be present every where and therefore he created mothers.Every mother is an embodiment of energy imparting life and character into her child and the transformation a women undergoes from womanhood to motherhood is some thing seen to be believed.Woman may miss out on responsibilities as a sister, wife ,lover or as a friend in need, but then as a mother they are all embodiment of Goddess herself.Maha kavi Subramanya Bharathi wrote "Engengu kaninum sakthiada"and followed it with his exponential description of "YATHUMAGI NINDRAI KALI , ENGUM NEE NIRAINTHAI. IN THE journey of life. we miss out on experiences when it personally happens to one self as we are part of the same and do not know how to distance oneself from one's own experiences.Yes when i became a father i missed out on little precious joys like, rejoicing at the first cry of the baby, enjoying the first smiles of the baby, clapping on the occasion when he/she first wet your clothes and so on and so forth. But then as a grand father when i sit and watch the little tresure of my daughter, with out any mental tensions and worries of jobs left incomplete at the office,a tight time schedule for a meeting , a difficult boss to handle, a work force difficult to handle and so on, these little acts of the kid, and every one of these acts, right from the time the kid opens his eyes to greet in the morning, the cries that follow for mother's lap, the bewitching smiles, lasting for few seconds now and then,the continuous movements of legs and hands throwing away all clothes and bedding into disarray in no time, (the list is endless ) makes these as golden moments of joy and peace. And the PATIENCE, RESPONSIBILTY, LOVE AND AFFECTION, THE SACRIFICE OF SLEEP AND FOOD, for the good of the little kid,exhibited by my daughter are traits possibly exhibited by all mothers , but then when witnessed in close quarters touch a chord in you as a lovely note of music and a warm kiss of fresh cool air on sunny afternoon. ETHTHANAI KODI INBAM VAITHTHAI ENGAL IRAIVA.....salutations unto thee and entire mother hood

YOUNUS BHOY-THE HUMANITARIAN

My first post for the fiscal year 2012-13 and my 100th post in my blog attracted various comments, some of them with dire criticism and some of them with overwelming enthusiasm.In fact after quite a few months this post has evoked quite a lot of response .And i must first of all thank all those who commented whether in agreement or in disagreement as i have always believed that there are always two sides to a coin and individual perspectives differ. This post, as a sequel to the same has arisen because of the call which i had from one of my role models,a senior citizen from Hongkong, and more importantly a balanced man in his approach to issues and on his comments on various aspects of life.Sri Younus Bhoy!It started with his appreciation of the finer aspects of my post on City of Joy, the pains that he took to convince those who had a different opinion on my post and his own experiences about the city of joy all formed part of his interesting conversation. Despite the limitation of his age and the distance that seperates us he has invariably made a point to call me when ever there is an occasion that calls for warmth and understanding, there by reestablishing his contacts, in his own inimitable style of chaste tamil which comes to him so naturally that it is a pleasure talking to him for hours to gether. My first association with Younus Bhoy was in 1998-99 when i was first introduced to him by Sri MRS.The acquiantance established then moved from strength to strenghth, when he chaired a number of tamil debates organised by the HK cultural association, in which i took active part either as an orgnaiser or as a speaker and later in the meetings and picnics organised in which Sri Nirmal (Exnora)Sri YG Mahendra and Crazy troupe and a lot of HK FRINDS which created opportunities to become closer to him. IN FACT ONE OF THE debates wherein i took the stand that a community need not be blamed in a blind manner for the atrocities perpetrated by a mindless few , in which Sri Ramanathan , heavily thrashed my comments for a six, paved the way to understand the brilliance and balance of this great man Younus bhoy.Later Mr Ramanathan himself penned the book on behalf of Younus Bhoy stand testimony to his winning charms over rhe rest by his approach. His insatiable appetite for Tamil language , his down to earth converastion with warmth and affection with any one and every one (despite the fact that he would have met them only for the first time)his recollection of his days in Burma (the heights and fall which he witnessed )the tenacity and iron will with which he moved to HK wherein he established his roots again, and his hospitality whenever any one visits him at his palce in HK are all qualities that every individual who would like to make life meaningful and peaceful should emulate from him. Though we were seperated by thousands of miles , the first call invaribly will always be from him,to greet me/comfort me whether it be my promotions up the ladder , whether it be my retirement, whether it be my daughter's marriage or whether it be my son's attainments in the field of linquistics and phonetics.This morning the call coincided with his greeting me on my daughter's becoming a gifted mother (and the day happens to be the mothers day-by his choice) and the feeling that it gave me could not be described in words.the fact that it also coincided with my completion of 32 years of married life yesterday, gave more meaning to such blessed talks.Unlike many who just makes it a formality to wish , Younus bhoy, has taken pains to search for my residential number from quite a few of HK friends (including Ram, another post in the offing later on the thoughts shared by them abt my post on City of Joy) and chosen the day when routine will not be a pressure (either to the called one or the caller) and takes his time off to concentrate only on the called person at the other end.Thoughts that he shares,the memory lane that he walks down, the quotable quotes that emerge in the process and warmth and affection that oozes out ofr each such conversation, so naturally are some things to be experienced and can not be explained. His book on Memoirs of Burma (Authored by Ramnathan ) indicates many facets of his personility.But his personality as a caring human being and above all a warm friend and a guide, comes out in such conversations. Salutations unto SRI YOUNUS BHOY, FOR HIS EVER LASTING AFFECTION, AND GRATITUTE UNTO THEE for having blessed me with such unfogettable VALUABLE relationships. sampath kumar

CITY OF JOY FOREVER

Kolkatta-The city of joy It is a strange and lovely coincidence that my first post in the fiscal year(sorry for that usage of accountants ) happens to mark my 100th post in my blog and relates to one of the cities which to a significant extent directed my life while i was in my mid 20s. Kolkatta , is known as city of joy , for any number of reasons, spelt and not speltfor many ;but to me it remained to be a city of joy for three important reasons.Reason number one it showed me what true love and affection means ....coming from a family whom i met there the first time ....Family of Sivamani.One may get close and friendly with one memebr of a family but to get so close and affectionate with every member of a family is unique. I developed such warmth and friendship with this family thAT it lasted for all most a decade with that intensity before i moved over to Delhi and tehn to Hongkong, loosing contacts with them. But as some one said, true friendship need not be measured in terms of the number of calls made or the number of meetings had, and the same would come in at the most wanted time with out any efforts.So let me count on that to establish the lost contact. Reason number two is the Bharathi TAMIL SANGHAM and Tamizh mandram wherein i was attrated like an iron ore being attracted by a magent .This association later paved the way for my particiaption in various debates and speeches (some of them still green in memory not only because of the contents but because of the contenders and the so called calf love association developed then (perhaps not mutual as i am already hooked to my sister's dear daughter)and the opportunities it created to meet and spend time with some of eminent personalities like KI.VA.JAGANNATHAN, Sandilyan, DEEPAM Na.Partha sarathy,Saraswathi Ramanathan, Kavi perarasu Kannadasan , MALAN, and a score of other distinguished writers and speakers.The fact that i donned the role of secretary of Tamil Mandram in its 25th year of existence and had the fortune of meeting and spending time with one of the down to earth chief ministers that the country ever encountered (MR Jothi Basu)in the celebrations of 25th year and that i got three coveted prizes , one for the critical write up on THI,Janagiraman's marappasu,the other for a short story written (which in fact is my mirror of reflections of my association with Number 5 , thakur bari road,Lake market,where the family of Sivamani and K lived ) and the third for my winning a sppech competition (at the end of which the judges called me and said that it is high time i stop particiapting as a debater and instead should occupy the role of a judge)from hands of the special invitee kaviarasu Kannadasn are events which are etche strong and green in memory.Time spent with Kannadasan in the journey to Shanthi niketan , is a dream come true in those years.With out making a rference to KA/SU MANI and MU.NA (the latter i met during this visit almost after 27 years)the association with Tamil mandram will not be COMPLETE who in their own ways contributed to the growth of TAMIL LITERARY activities in those years.And the innings stArted here W.R.T MY literary tastes, later bloomed further when i landed in Hongkong, when i was offered the opportunity of becoming the president of HK CULTURAL ASSOCIATION ,25 years later. Reason number three is the KALI MATHA of Kalikhat, who taught me lessons in my walks of life, in her own inimitable style. rewarding for pains taken and punishing for misdeeds and giving proper directions.And ofcourse the fourth reason and fifth reasosn are the friend circle (Consisting of Thirumoorthy, Subbu, Raghavan, Venkat ramani and Sreedhar --out of whom i am still in touch and close contact with the middle three having lost contact with the first and last)and the Popular canteen which provided food for 30 days with a coupon book of Rs 23 in those days, irrespective of power shedding or floods or draught. And the memory down the lane,now, is because of my recent visit to kolkatta when i spent a week at the famous Lindsay hotel, near park street, overlooking the city market and adjacent to the famous Eden gardens , bringing the memories of ever dynamic dada Surav Ganguli and the affectionate personality called Subir Chakraborthy who retired as a GM of the bank in which i worked over 4 decades.I was there for the audit of a State bank associate and it coincided with the first IPL match of the seasn, the curtains having risen the previos day at Chepauk, CHENNAI.oNE SHOULD BE IN EDEN GARDENS TO KNOW why the cit y is called as city of JOY.Kolkattans live their life with a passion, never ever seen else where,Whether it be watching sports, or whether it be bargaining and buying goods on the street side shops, or whether it be the travel thru any numberof modes available Viz tram,metro, minibus , taxi, Hand pulled rickshas (The first and the last still avl only in Kolkatta), whether it be the enthusiasm with which they go for morning Jilebi with pot tea, whether it be the craze for sambar which they exhibit in indian restaurants Komala vilas and Prema cafe, whether it be the devotion that they show when they rise as a sigle united force in celebrating Durga pooja, there is no comparison and no equals / At the beginning of my first innings of career it was Kolkatta which paved the roots for the same and the start of my second innings after retirement again enabled ne to have a relook at Kolkatta.I went to Kaligaht, The Dkshineshwar temple, the Belur matt, the south indian restaurants that i used to visit in lake market, the Ram mandir at Lake gardens , walked thru the sarat bose road and nTahkurbari road RELIVING the memories of the yeater years and spent couple of hrs with one of the oldest acquaintance in UCO bank , who joined the bank and remained there to rise to the level of its GM. sOME CITIES DRIVE YOU AWAY.SOME CITIES ENGULF YOU WITH WARMTH AND AFFECTION WHEN EVER YOU VISIT. AND THE CITY OF JOY, TRUE TO ITS NAME BELONG TO THE SECOND CATEGORY. Hats off to the city, its tradition and culture and to all its warmth and loving memories!!