Category: Vancouver diary

The flight from Vancouver to Chicago was memorable; the Sun brightening the entire sky, the clouds glistening as if they are all made of pure silver, crimson  beams passing through in between, layers and layers of snow covered mountains and then barren hills exposing the silent brooks,water falls  and weak dents, then green or dark  squares and rectangle, clearly earmarked by straight lines, mostly, occasionally circular, which turned out to be motor roads leading from different house colonies, the houses revealed in between them only when the aircraft slows down. The weather was exceptionally friendly and otherwise such a breath-taking view from the sky was impossible. Our life journey too, even by road, depends on favorable climates, both internal and external!.

To look down from the sky has always been man’s  ambition, envying the birds, who effortlessly  soar high, flutter, shoot up , dive or settle on a tree. ‘Even a small animal like squirrel climbs up the trees with such an ease, why can’t I?”, he asked, tried to climb trees, succeeded and  then tried to trek the hills, mountains and his joy of viewing the earth below from the high pedestal was unique, as I had while bird’s- eye-viewing the City of New York, the rivers, the crowded streets, woods, from the tops of skyscrapers, including the 102-story, Empire State Building, located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City,

From bikes to balloons, then to aircraft and from there to spacecraft, we have pushed ourselves higher and higher and yet to many, who have participated in those thrilling voyages, the best part of it was looking back towards home, the sweet home!

Every one has to go back to, from where he started. For some,  the return journey turns difficult. Much depends upon how we prepare ourselves for that. Preparation doesn’t mean keeping our things well packed and pushing the baggage below the pillow . Keeping the mind clean and prepared to start the engine the moment the bell rings, helps. Another way is to ignore the fact that the journey is new but only a continuation of the present one.

I have been here for five weeks now and could see a few places depending on the limited time  my nephew Ramu and his wife Ashu, busy medical practitioners could spare. The Nature has showered Her bounty unreservedly on this land and first taste  of it, I had when I stood awe-struck before the Niagara falls several years before. I raised my head and hands towards the sky to thank the Supreme Power for giving me eyes and an opportunity to view the wonder of His creation:

Vancouver is the largest city in Western Canada, one of the most beautiful cities, ranked as ‘ the world’s most desirable place to live’ in a survey of 140 cities by the Economist magazine’s intelligence unit. Located at the South western corner of the province of British Columbia, it is situated between the North Shore and coastal mountains and the edge of the pacific ocean.

Wherever you turn, the mountain ranges, some snow-capped ,  greet you. Drive a few miles, you will land at the shore of a lake or at the foot of a water fall. There are 1 million lakes in Canada, claims a plaque on the long corridor of the  ‘Canada Place’, the main cruise ship terminal for the region, from where most of Vancouver’s famous cruises to Alaska originate. From here, You get a mesmerizing view of the city nestled between mountain ranges, while you can watch the Pacific ocean right under your eyes. The sea-jets fly and land on water, the jet boats speed up while raising its head high proudly, the city watches from behind. ‘Are they, husband and wife or father and daughter?’, I wondered looking at the mountain standing like a sentinel to take care of the Pacific Ocean flowing below .

The  450 feet long Capilano suspension bridge, hangs between two hills. A Plaque displayed on one of the tree-top platforms explains that the canyon flowing 230 feet below was shaped by the sheer force of water ,which manged to erode the solid granite wall creating such a big gap, due to the long term process for  the past 100 million years, consequent to the avalanche of natural forces such as  volcanoes, waterfalls, air, thunder, lightning  etc.Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into.This forms a canyon. There is a demonstration piece of rocks eroded by water- dripping, for the 15,25 and 50 years . A small canal has  formed on the 50 year-block. No wonder that the assault by massive water force for millions of years, could break the solid granite mountain, create a wide crevice of about 500 feet wide and shape a canyon several hundred feet below!

Apart from the hanging bridge there are several smaller and narrower bridges for cliff walk and treetops adventures. It was exciting to cross the rocking, hanging bridge and tread the tree-to-tree narrow passages enjoying the nature’s abundance all around. I was excited to know that squirrels leap branch to branch, in the sky-high tress and land safely on the land!

Here is a video show of the Capilano air-walks.

Had been to ‘Hell’s Gate’-yesterday . ‘Not surprised’, this is what you say. But I tell you, it was an awesome sight!

 ‘ Hell’s Gate’ is the mountain range where the mighty  Fraser River, is forced to restrict  her free flow by sheer physical strength of the mountains – 200 million gallons of water (double the volume of Niagara) per minute has to pass  through the narrowest point of the river just 110 feet or 33 metre wide passage. So, the river thunders!

 “We had to travel where no human being should venture for surely we have encountered the gates of hell”. – said Simon Fraser, 1808, after whom the river is named. We could  witness firsthand what these words really meant to that early explorer.

Driving  the Scenic Fraser Canyon with its 7 mountain tunnels into the historic heart of British Columbia,  we visited the scene of biggest ‘rush’ on the Gold Rush Trail, where white men who entered in search of gold were beheaded by the natives. The aerial trams gave a birds’ eye view of this historic landmark and the fury of the river in restricting her freedom.
The Fraser River too in a few million years, might be able to erode the rocks, break her shackles and flow free.

The video will tells you my ‘hell experience’!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5tw-utNBdI‎

From the deck, I watch the thick forest, across the road, with a narrow path which I tread in the evening hours.. It is the abode of a bear, I am told. That could be the reason why the small little birds have built their nests on the top branches of the towering trees and not on the small bushes which are in plenty around.

In which form am I to worship the Nature? In her most fearsome form with thousand faces and thousand limbs, ‘aneka baahoodara vaktranetram’, creating ferocious volcanoes, furious lightning and thunder, vulnerable  wind and rain, which work for millions of years and smash great mountain walls to carve a timid stream or in her admirably lovely form of an amazing angel , who play with toy-like  squirrels that leap from branches of sky-high trees and land safely on the ground and nil-weight birds  who build safe homes for their little ones on  the terrace of such huge trees?

The unusually bright sun, alluring early morning rituals combined with music and poetry, attendance of all the invitees and  appealing food, all made the formal  grihapravesaham to Ramu’s new house in Vancouver, a colorful event.  Sreeram Shakti  Bhattar from the  nearby Surrey Yoga Hanuman temple, originally form Sriperumpathur, inaugurated the event with  auspicious,  pre-recorded nadaswaram music, followed by his Vedanthadesiaka stuthy in Samskritham and then in Tamiz and Vigneswara stuthy. There were three sets of thamboolam with dakshinai  placed next to the manjal pilliar, the turmeric idol of Ganesh, for Mahavishnu , Guru and Brahmanals, learned brahmins and the learned priest made me Brihaspathy, guru for Ramu, for which I hesitated  initially as I thought that position should go to Ramu’s father, ignorant of the fact that the thamboolam  included a new 10 Canadian $ note and coin!  Bhattar’s pooja, with liberal quoting from Tirupavai and other Tamil devotional literature, without leaving the Samskrita mantras behind, would have pleased the gods, as our gods love music . Undoubtedly, it was pleasing for the family.  A few years ago, I participated  in Ramu’s another grihapravesham at Newcastle upon Tyne, near England and the pooja conducted by a panditji  from Allahabad  had no music content though he too followed  the scriptural guidance scrupulously and satisfied  us.

From place to place, the sampradayam, method of  performing  religious rituals  differ though  all priests basically follow the  Vedic scriptures. In some parts of the country, pradakshinam, circumambulation to the deities are done anticlockwise, an unacceptable method in the southern part.’ Why not, that is how our Earth orbits  the Sun”, I told a friend who raised objection.  In our own part of the country, there is marked difference in Vedam recitation  and worshiping methods between Namboodiries and Tamil Brahmins.

 It is not the procedure but the intend, interest  and dedication that counts .

Comes to my memory, many marriage celebrations,  I had attended.

Many Telugus marry after sunset, as they follow the moon’s path . in a marriage I attended during the wee hours, the bridegroom,  who had spent two sleepless nights on his hospital duty, was inattentive with his head sagging , while the priest was dictating the mantrams.

” Levura moddu-wake up, you idiot” I alerted him.

”Sivudu, I’ am dreaming my girl friends” replied the jovial guy in Telugu, forgetting for a moment that his girl was sitting close by. The bride  was not Telugu-literate but the words, ‘girl friends’ rung the caution bell and she looked at her mother, anxiety darkening  her look.  Her wise mother, all mothers become wise when their daughters are about to be married, heard and understood my friends’ comment well, consoled her daughter,” child , you don’t worry. All his dreams will be over when you enter his life”

” Athagaru, eamantunaru- what did you say?” enquired the sleepy guy to the elderly lady.

 The Panthalugaru,  the priest came to her rescue:

”Madam says that with love and care, her daughter will never allow you to sleep and therefore you can’t expect any dreams” . The priest laughed loudly and the bridegroom repeated that faithfully. At least that he did correctly.!

The pandits are always down to earth though their job is to bring down the celestial to the earth below.

They know how to make  others happy, as the Bhattar did, by elevating me to Brihaspathy for a moment.

A nephew of mine married a Telugu Brahmin girl and the Iyengar  priest lacing his mantrams with lively jokes and lovely lyrics, made the event memorable. This wedding took place in in the morning hours and though he too is a physician, had no night duty and therefore was not sleepy. More over, he  had to be disturbed from his seat, as an aged guest needed immediate medical attention. He had, therefore no scope  to dream and more over the alert mother in law was keeping a watch on his whispers into my ear.

Prior to her procession to the  dais, ceremoniously carried by her four uncles in a bamboo basket, the bride had to perform an hour long worship, which included  recitation of Lalitha Sahsranamam  and Gouri pooja, a unique practice.

In another wedding, also of my another nephew that took place in Gowhati, the mother in law was not to see the bride groom, when his procession entered the wedding hall. His wedding with an Assam Kshatriya girl was memorable, as I  had to act as the priest in the absence of the designed priests’ missing the flight from Kolkatta. I managed somehow, filling up the blanks by devotional verses known to me but when the time for ‘asheervadam’, blessing by the elders came, I became helpless. The ‘akshadai’ the tamarind powder-mixed rice, I handed over to the assembled elders, for placing on the heads of the couple,as a token of their blessings, when the pair prostrated before them, they put on their own heads!  let them too live long and bring out 16 children, though for some of the couple it was too late for the noble act.

Our scriptures , fortunately  are not water-tight compartments. There is ample room for moving hands and legs .They are only guides for enjoying a happy, healthy, useful life in this  world ; they are not prison manuals or passports  for the life-after.

Let us tie threads only around the kalasams, sanctified  water pots for worship, and not around us.

June 21, 2013

 

I have been dropping Ramu’s kids and collecting them from their school which is close by.

Am surprised to see the Principal waiting  at the gate, every morning to  receive the kids , smiling and showing his closed fist  to receive a hit from the little fists of the kids or give them mild hit.  Today being the last working day of the current academic year, he saw off each kid at the gate with individual farewell message.

 

This is something new for me. I have not seen the principals receiving the kids at the gate, in the Elementary schools in USA.  Is it because that the school I know there, are public schools?

 

Anyway, my memory goes several milestones down below and I see the stiff and serious looking C.S.Sesha Iyer standing at the entrance of the PMM high school, donning a snow white, starched pantchagatcham, a light golden colour coat and a bright angavastram hanging around his neck and dropping up to his knees awaiting to punish the late comers like me, with a harsh look and a warning and even with a thrash with a long bamboo stick, kept ready in his hand.

I had to walk over a mile and cross a river in between to reach the school but that was not an excuse. He was teaching English for us in the tenth standard and it was my love for Shakespeare and Shelly that created a warmth in his heart for me and I was allowed to enter the class with a clearance signal of  ‘hmm’ sound from his mouth turned to an angle and a  stern look.

 

When he called me to his room to say, ‘good bye’ after the last examination, tapped on the shoulder and advised, ‘Shakespeare and Shelly may not fetch you a living. Physics and Chemistry might. Read a lot during your leisure hours”. He, then,  handed over a sleek book. That parting gift  wrapped with his blessing was neither the work of Shakespeare nor of Shelly-

 

That was Vishnusahasranaamam in Samskritam

In Vancouver, since  3 days, with my nephew  Ramu.  Ramu and Ashu both medical specialists, go to the hospitals and children to the school. We three oldies, my first sister Ammu, her husband Ambi and self, spend our time  chatting incessantly and  the youngsters wonder, ‘ from where do they derive so much energy?.  Does the energy expand as per the need?’.  It does. You w’ll agree with me had you been chased by a mad street dog, a bad boss or a greedy wife. If you had never been chased , wait till you reach our age and observe how the theory of expansion works.

” chuppani had already  left this world long back but when he emerges  from the well of our memories, he becomes active, moves around  the water, might  even climb up the wall of the well and join in our conversation. Such is the attraction of the debate of seniors.