Category: A12– Everything under the Sun

The first lesson a retiree should remember is his children have not retired from service along with him and he should not therefore, encroach on their time.
The second lesson is he has retired and he is the master of his time.
The third lesson is as he is the master of his time, he should use it scrupulously .
The forth one is he took retirement not for sleeping.
The fifth one is he should wash his plates and clothes and spread his own bed at night and roll it in the morning.
Twenty years after retirement, I’m learning these lessons !
Enjoy your day, if it is day for you there and enjoy the night if it is night for you there.

You never know when you have to walk alone
So, try to slowly loosen your attachments.
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Ananya, my grand daughter(9), had a noble thought on the eve of her cousins’ return after the holidays and immediately she called for a meeting of other kids ( 6 – 10) and organized a fund raiser for orphanage, in our basement, last night. She  opened a counter with a card board box with an arch  cut-opening for fortune telling. Ask a question on your future . The reply instantly written on a piece of paper, comes out through the counter. I asked 5 questions and got instant replies, and at the end a bill for five dollars!  Divyaa opened a head massage and hair fashioning counter. The two boys, Raaghuv and Nikhil, had a counter for palm paintings. At the end, snacks were served. The session lasted an hour as we, four elders to be served. The service was of top quality.
Their very thinking and initiative were admiring . What I liked most was their initial investment of 45$ from their Own money, so that we won’t hesitate to shell out from our pocket.
A cheque in the name of the orphanage was drawn, including their earning for the evening plus their own contribution.
The little Dhruv is too small to join them. He was crawling around, enjoying the fun.
Let noble thoughts come to us from all sides, including from  kids.
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Clay is good for making pots but never a castle. That doesn’t mean that clay and pots have no value or importance.
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Aspiration is not bad as long as it is not for another one’s belongings.
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If your scriptures, Babas and religious heads ask you to control your anger, they do it with good intention. But in practice, it is not that easy. You will continue to shout at your husband if he, in the busy morning hours, adds a spoon of sambar powder to rasam and coffee powder to sambar. Anger, in some form or other is bound to come out in the form of shouts. In a way it is good as otherwise you will unleash your fury on your colleagues or subordinates or children. Husbands are easily accessible; they are tolerant.
For husbands it is not a problem. They will take take a shower after their chorus to cool off before going to office.
I’m not a Baba or Guru. I talk practically.
Continue shouting at your husbands. For generation, their seniors were doing it at their wives. for no reason. ‘No reason’ I said as there is no record to show that any wife had added coffee powder to sambar, any time in history. I repeat i talk practically.
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Pushing you up or pulling you down- it is your mind first, then only others, money, circumstances, people etc.
So, if you are able to bring your mind under your control, no adversity can affect your equilibrium adversely. Use whatever tools you want, but make an attempt. I’m sure you will win, if not immediately, later when you grow further.
All need some balance
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Running helps in a competition or to catch a thief or a train or to trim you body muscles.
But in life as a whole, after running all the way and when you reach the end of the road, you should not feel that all that speed was unnecessary. Many of us run. Nowadays, running starts soon after you learn walking, right from your LKG days to the NRG ( no- return gate). In the olden days, the elders used to walk, long distance but not run. In between, they used to sit and chew a pan roll . You know pan rolls are ideal relaxers. I remember the leisurely way, my father, otherwise a busy man, used to take his own time to enjoy hIs frequent pan chewing.
So, walk and run only if absolutely essential. But come what may, stop for a while to enjoy a cup of chai, hot tea from the roadside Nair shop or to buy an arm length of jasmine flower garland for your wife or a toy for your children awaiting for your arrival. And reach home in time to spend some good time with your family.
Then, at the end of the road, you won’t be disappointed.
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Inserting both the hands into his pant pockets, raising his head proudly, looking deeply into the eyes of the young man who had come for the interview, the CEO majestically questioned, “what plan,what stuff, what material, what idea, ideas you have to double my earnings in two months, if you are appointed in my company. Give me your answer in two words”
The job-seeker calmly replied,”first, appoint”
The CEO, was a smart man, “I appoint you from today, but for only a day”, he roared, pride protruding at each word, “come on, give me your plan and execute”
“You quit; I will run the show”

Why he stared ?
 
“That rare quality in womanhood, the art of being silent”,
I casually mentioned to a friend.
He stared at me as if I belonged to another planet.😀
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A smart Job- seeker
Inserting both the hands into his pant pockets, raising his head proudly, looking deeply into the eyes of the young man who had come for the interview, the CEO majestically questioned, “what plan,what stuff, what material, what idea, ideas you have to double my earnings in two months, if you are appointed in my company. Give me your answer in two words”
The job-seeker calmly replied,”first,  appoint”
“OK, you are appointed for a day, today,” the business captain was generous,,
“What next ?”
” You quit; I’ll run the show,” replied the young man
 
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Chinese whispers
 
In one of the refresher courses for senior administrators, I attended in Delhi, the lecturer, whispered in the ear of the first person in the first bench a simple sentence . He was to pass it on to the next one and he to the third and so on , all through strictly whisper only.
After the message got circulated through the entire class, The last person in the last bench was asked to announce what he heard.
“My wife has a tail but she is not an animal”- He stood up and announced.
When the burst of laughter subsided, the lecturer asked the first person in the first bench to announce the original message he received and passed on to the one next to him.
“Life is not a laughing matter, but never fail to laugh”
Rumors are calamitous. We generally hear what we like to hear. An administrator should always cross check, especially when his action would affect someone adversely .
Starting from the family relationship, up to the country’s governance, it is essential to ensure that the information collected is accurate .
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Sent from my iPad
On Jul 13, 2014, at 10:33 PM, “Sivasubramanian Perinkulam” <[email protected]> wrote:
 

Knowing the actual condition, I can’t say, ‘wish her a speedy recovery’.
How to wish her death? Am I human or demon? But the fact is that. And the fact is that the devoted kin are praying for that , not in a temple, but within themselves.
The  father of the second friend, going by the report, is also not encouraging. I vividly remember his smiling face and serious speech full of wisdom and wit, when he released his own book, a product of a decade’s hard work and research . All those are gone. He is not able to utter a legible word now. He breathes through a machine . In the olden days, if the breath stops, no scope for brining back the bird which flew out of the cage. Now we bring it back and  tie to the cage momentarily  for a few days.
A distant relative of mine, passed away last week at the ripe old age of 98/99 peacefully. She had a body wash in the evening, applied vibhoothy on her forehead , went near the pooja room and sat there for a few minutes minutes closing eyes.
Like the peels of a banana fruit, the body fell.
There is a prayer in Samskritham, starting with,
“AnAyasena Maranam…, which my father included in his daily worship. As a child, who knew a few Sanskrit words, I used to wonder, why he, in the pink of his health, was asking for death, may be hassle free.
Now, I realize its purpose. Now I repeat that prayer!
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“Strong winds are injurious to shrubs, due to lilies, thunderbolts to mountains and the wicked to the virtuous”
(Chanakya)
“My son is good, his friends spoiled him,”— We hear; Accept. it could happen.
“My son is good, his wife spoiled him”- Not accepted. No wife does it, as unlike the friends, she would be the first sufferer.
But still if it happens, you are to be blamed as you raised your son as a coward .
Chanakya didn’t say this, but he would have endorsed me, were he alive now.
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Many children cursed as ‘good for nothing’ by their parents in young age are found to be the best supports for the old parents.
Moral : Don’t curse your children . They choose your nursing home.
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When I found one of my stories reposted without mentioning the author’s name, I wrote:
“I’m happy that you loved my story and reposted it. However, As you haven’t mentioned my name, I’m disturbed like the one who finds his wife seated on another man’s lap”
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The sky has never fallen down by your telling a lie or cheating your wife. Only your trustworthiness has and will fall.
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“Aren’t you the same loose-talk Neelandan whom I met in the Guruvayoour Temple?”
“No, that was my grand pa. His name too is Neelakantan”
“You look much older than that orientation- lost old man”
“Oh, that is because I’m married and he remains a bachelor”
“Are you kidding? A grand son for an unmarried oval-shaped oldie ?”
“He had a knack of becoming father, remaining a bachelor.
You will be surprised to know that you are one of my cousins”
“Thank you my brother. I have to meet some one urgently. Good bye”
“Hope the person whom you are going to meet is not our grand pa, that orientation- lost oldie”
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More than your buying a diamond ear stud or a latest fashion wear, if you say one word of appreciation on the food she serves , your wife will get excited.
Every time she serves food, every time you enjoy, say a word of appreciation, she will enjoy it.
Always remember your house is not a restaurant, where you eat, pay your bill and walk out.
And your wife is not your cook or server. She is your wife.
That doesn’t mean that you should not give her any tips. Those tips are ear stud and fashion wear!
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I don’t know who gave him the idea to include, in the return gift -cover, a wedding photo of the newly wed couple.
 
 
 
Within an hour those lovely photos were lying scattered all over the hall, many stamped on by the guests returning after a sumptuous feast.
Not a single gift packet was however, found anywhere over there!
This really happened in Hyderabad and my fried Reddy, didn’t forget to mention in his invitation that the bride was his ‘okkattae koothru, only daughter’. After the girl was married off, he was blessed with another ‘koothru’ and that is a different story!
I missed the second wedding in my friend’s house. Hope he didn’t include the photos of the just-weds in the return – gift pack.
 
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‘ Many’-should not be allowed to become ‘too many’. Anything, money, property, friends, everything should be within the manageable limit, including your attachment to close relatives. That helps in the long run, when a load shedding becomes necessary. Load shedding is unavoidable one day or the other, for any one, including you and me.