A strong body, a strong mind, a disciplined life- these should be our first priority.

” You are going to Baltimore, we can expect good stories”- wrote a co-member from Iyer123  group, when he knew about my recent trip to USA.  I am going back to my country shortly to attend three family weddings , two in Bombay and one in Hyderabad. During this short period of two and half a month, I could write a few stories , which are generally well-accepted going by the responses received.
I hope I have done justice to the expectation of my friend who wrote to me earlier.
I could talk to a number of members of Yahoo/thath-patty groups who are in US and also could meet a few of them staying close to my children’s’ places of stay. That is the reward I get for my writings and I am really proud of that.
I will be in Chedda Nagar, Chembur on 7-8 June and at Goregaon on 22-23 June for the weddings and have sent the invitations to those whose postal addresses I have. It will be my pleasure to meet as many friends as possible during the short sojourn. The third wedding is in Hyderabad and along with the bride from Australia nearly fifty people are coming from that country to attend the wedding, on a one-month tour program. Welcome to them and welcome the foreign exchange.
More than any thing else, this camaraderie is most important and let us continue that at every level. Friendship itself is a reward. And it is a thrill to meet or at least  talk to some one, with whom you fought like ‘eliyum poochayum’ in the forum.  Even when we write harshly against any co-member or their post, let us immediately send a letter of correction and if our ego doesn’t allow us to do that,  let us  not carry our  anger and enmity to the next day nay, the next minute. After all, the forum is there not to exhibit our power of language or education ; It is a friendly group to exchange views. And our views may not be the same as that of any one else. I myself have changed my own views soon after clicking the ‘send’ button and requested the moderator to stop the circulation. Last week I wanted him to remove a comma which found a wrong place. You may call it my stupidity. You might be right, but it also shows my eagerness to present a matter as correctly as possible.
I am reproducing a mail received recently from an unknown elderly gentleman and I will tell you, at the end, why I refer his mail to you:
” My name is Perinkulam Ramanathan.  Obviously, , my father’s place of birth was Perinkulam, and there are many many Perinkulams in USA where I live.  To be exact, I am in New Jersey, where a good number of Kerala pattars reside.  But I see of course more of Tamil Iyers and Telugu families, and a lot more Hindiwallas, whose language I don’t understand.  I grew up and studied in Koduvayur where the headmaster was my chittappa, Perinkulam Venkateswara Iyer, whose son Perinkulam Natarajan is here in New Jersey.  I never learned Hindi because in the Hindi class the kids were throwing paper balls at the Hindi master.  I was the only one trying to pay attention to him.
But without the knowledge of Hindi or Gujarati, you cannot shop in Indian groceries in New Jersey.  Thanks to the Gujaratis, we have access to Indian spices and puzungal arisi without which I cannot exist.
I am probably as old as you are, but in good health, thanks to my yoga practice and yoga teaching.  I will be close to 80 years of age soon.  I want to reach that milestone and therefore I am fully active.
The doctor who gave me an annual checkup recently told me that my heart is as strong as that of a marathon runner and she declared I am perfectly healthy, which I confirm from the way I feel.
Time to go and teach a yoga class.  The Americans have perfected the art of teaching yoga even though they may not be aware of the esoteric practices of yoga which only a great yoga master like Sri Krishnamacharya (who lived 100 years) can instruct.
More later.
My congratulations to you for the impeccable way you express the language.  Hats off to you.
Ramanathan
Feel free to write to me of course!
I am fascinated by your articles some of which I have read.  You write like the famous writer R. K. Narayanan whom I met briefly when he visited USA.  You speak your mind and are not afraid to say what you think.  You are full of wit and humor and your eloquence in writing is very evident.”
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The purpose of my quoting this mail is to tell you, how even our own people, once they are here, give importance for their health . Health care is extremely expensive here and not only that,  who will take care of us if we are constrained to stay in bed, even for a week or two? Sri. Ramanathan Anna, at 80 is teaching Yoga and you know how  tuned his body should be to perform and teach difficult asanas ! I hope to meet him this week end and I am sure he will be driving his own vehicle. I told you recently about an American who told that his first wife , at 95, is driving her car through the busy New York city roads. I see here many men and women in their eighties and nineties, coming to Walmart , driving their own cars and I am sure they will be cooking their own food and maintaining their houses
Many of us in India, men of the present generation,even at 50 or 60, cannot sit on ‘sukhasanam’ just cross-legged on floor. Our elders could maintain their body much better, because of  walking and other physical movement involved in their  day to day work. There was no need for them to go to Jim.
With better medical facilities and lesser superstitious beliefs, our elders would have seen more moons.
It is imperative that we should start loving our life for which loving our body is the first step. where ever we are, in India or outside, we should  realize that self-dependency is the best , however well you are treated by your children or other kin .

A strong body, a strong mind, a disciplined life- these should be our first priority.
Baltimore,
May 21, 2011