LIVE AND LET LIVE!

LIVE AND LET LIVE!

Sunday 25 December 2016

SWAAMIYE OH SWAMIYE !



                                    SWAAMIYE  OH  SWAAMIYE

 G.VENKATESH

Image result for picture of people  pulling temple car


   During the 1930/40s  World War II had broken out . 

The British our then masters had declared an emergency and ordered evacuation in  like Bombay, Calcutta. 

Thus my father sent my mother and children to our ancestral home in our native place  Chokkanathapuram, a sleepy  village in the Kalpati district of  Kerala.

The village  consisted of about 60 assorted houses, along with a school, provision stores and two temples.  

The people by and large were very friendly, deeply religious  and superstitious; 

all of them seem to know each other very well; unlike in the big cities, where one does not sometimes know his immediate neighbour,.

By and large the people were agriculturists although there were some who were priests, and traders.

As everyone knows , at that time there was no electricity in the villages; thus soon after sunset, and the evening prayers at the temple, the village would be deserted, as everybody would be in their respective homes. 

Although it is more than 70 years, now, I still remember a few incidents very vividly as though it happened yesterday.  One was the oil bath  which I detest even today; 

but, my mother insisted on my undergoing this ordeal every Saturday;  

Well, if getting your body completely oiled was not enough, my mother believed that for the oil to soak inside the body fully,  my oil soaked body had to be in the sunshine for about one hour! 

To add insult to injury, I would be asked to go to the nearby river with only a loin cloth for cover up  along with others and take a bath.

Another ordeal I had to endure was to take a purgative at the beginning of every month.

My mother believed the  purgative kept me healthy free of any sicknesses. 

It was castor oil; and somehow my mother forced it into my mouth; 

Those days that was the only purgative available;

those who have tasted castor oil will understand my plight.

It was always a wrestling match between me and my mother; 

The winner of course was my mother; 

she would wrestle me down, pinning my arms and legs to cut off all escape route, close my nostrils forcibly  with her fingers to open my mouth and shove the castor oil down my throat..

To add to the agony during the day I had to pay frequent visits to the toilet, which was a dugout in the courtyard  behind the house.

Ofcourse, it was also a fasting day for me  and only in the night, I was given some rice along with boiled water!

Sometimes I felt the elders, beginning with the grandparents, enjoyed my plight and whenever I got into any mischief , would threaten me with this punishment !

An interesting  personality in the village was  Keshavan.  
A 50 year old bachelor,  he was the go to man, [Man Friday ] for the village;  

When any house needed some help they would turn to Keshavan.

There was a barter payment system; so for services rendered, Keshavan's charges were  free day and night meals at the house, he helped.  

Further Keshavan would also buy  from outside, , whatever items not available in the village.  He used to take me along [ofcourse with my mother's permission)  in his bullock cart.   

Keshavan also served as the communicator, from the outside world to the village;

God knows from where he got the information; 

but the village eagerly awaited his news, at the temple  every morning;   

Of course there were no newspapers at that time, in the village.

I learnt about the German's bombing Madras port in the war from  Keshavan;

One of the days, the village looked forward to was the annual temple day festival.       

Generally it was a two day affair where in  Rath   (temple  Chariot)  borrowed from the main village Kalpati would move from our village to nearby villages and return  before night to the village. 

There was a belief among the people that if  young children when hoisted and made to sit all alone,  at the very top seat in the Rath, for one entire trip of the rath, would imbibe the courageous qualities of the Lord  Krishna.

My mother, much against my wishes, took me to the rath  and arranged for this ordeal for me !

To be seated all alone, right near the very top of the rath, was really very scary  for me ! for the entire  trip;  

Luckily for me I did not make the mistake of looking down from where I was seated.   

While it  was lonely  at the top, I somehow managed to pass the time and returned to the village safely !

At the culmination of the festival, the households, prepared  prasaadams [offerings] for the temple of God Krishna;  

There used to be friendly contests from the village housewives on the offerings.

Now since our family deity was Lord Ganesha, my mother had made 108  Kozakattais [ modaks] considered the Lord's favourite; 

My mother was an expert in preparing modaks.  

In deciding the quantity of each constituent[  rice flour, jaggery, cocoanut,  etc]  to forming the modaks so that each of the108  pieces looked identical as if made from a die, there was nobody to beat her.  

My eyes, looked at the modaks greedily wondering when I will get my fingers to snap 1 or 2 and put it in my mouth. My mother had warned me with severe consequences, if I ever touched the modaks, before offerings to the Lord.

After a long wait, my mother took some of the prasadaams to the temple at an auspicious time.  

Sure enough, it was the envy of all in the temple.

Now there was a custom in the village among the elders, to recite the holy scriptures while the offerings were made at the temple. among them was Keshavan.   

Many of them would swoon  during the end of the recital, and the village believed that those who  had  swooned had  attained [become] God;  

the villagers would then prostrate before them shouting   "Swaamiye, Swaamiye" [meaning, 'God, God',];

Sure enough Keshavan, swooned and started  walking   towards my house.

I understood Keshavan's motive; he had set his mind on eating our house  modaks;

My mother followed and  invited him into the house towards, our  house deity and all in the house shouted "Swaamiye  Swaamiye"[ meaning God has come to our house];

My mother placed the modaks, before Keshavan  during the recital;  

Keshavan, started eating the modaks, one by one;  

my mouth was watery and I envied  Keshavan;  

Finally, after partaking of about 30 modaks,  Keshavan left.  

Finally  I managed to get my hand on two of the modaks.

The taste was heavenly and vanished down the throat  within seconds !  



















































Monday 22 August 2016

OLYMPICS OR OLYMPITS

                    OLYMPICS   OR  OLYMPITS





Venkatesh G.




In the dying days of the Rio Olympics, our athletes brought some cheer to the country.

We have to thank  Sidhu and Sakshi  and am praying to God,  Yogeshwar  follows suit.

In, the last few days, we have responded in an unimaginable way, to their successes.

The media both printed and  visual went gaga and all out to sing the praises of the concerned athletes.

There were interviews with the parents; pictures of the athletes and their families from their childhood days;  

It looked as if the country had no other news to report on these days.

There was good wishes greetings from the President down the line to the common man.

Even the VVIPS  (matinee idols, sports stars,present & past prominent high society members, the politicians and what have you.)

But tell me are we not going overboard a little ?  

I cannot imagine  what the celebs would be like if we had a Michel Phelps or Usain Bolt in our country; 

probably the Govt would have declared a  holiday for a week and maybe some crazy followers would have made idols of these stars  and worship them for days on end !

But come to the flip side;  Where are the critics?  the few on a silent  media ( their voices ) were muted.

Does it mean that in India we have come to accept whatever is dished out and do not want an improvement  in our performance and standards!  

We have come to accept that there will be corruption and nepotism in selecting  the contingent !   

there will be members charged with doping; members who are , physically unfit, within our contingent;  

We willmake tall claims that our selection standards and performances are  world standard!only on action day, things turn out to be totally  different(there was the case of the timings of the relay squad, said to be second best in the world ,only the squad did not figure in the finals);

there will be jealousy and envy within the squad; we will continue to send athletes  based on their past performances; 

completely oblivious to their present form and of course we will send in numbers greater  than the past Olympics  (I suppose to show we have made improvements and progress, but also to accommodate more officials in the party.)   

Finally we will make tall claims that our performances ( and  therefore the medals tally)will be much much greater than in the  past Olympics. 

Only the results were completely different; 

It is shameful we only made the headlines, not based on our performances, but for other wrong reasons! 

It is a shame that a country of 1.2 billion could finish only 67th or so; 

that we could not see our national flag in the centre or hear our national anthem  play out at least once in the victory ceremony;

Please tell me, my fellow country men & women _

What is there to celebrate here?



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Thursday 7 July 2016


TREATMENT DILEMMA



TREATMENT DILEMMA


Image result for picture of crabImage result for picture of wheat grass





(The characters appearing in the  below blog bear no  resemblance to anyone living or dead.)


DHARAMKumar   was a renowned cancer surgeon  of  Pune.  He was well known and had a flourishing practice.  He had cured  many terminal   cancer patients  to normalcy and was regarded as a doctor with a " healing hand "  ;

 Dharam came from a family of natureopaths;but Dharam had chosen to follow the allopathy route and had specialised in cancer surgery

His son Prakash  was a bright lad, and Dharam hoped that Prakash would follow in his footstepsafter his time But.  Pra kash would often spend his spare time going through the ancestral books andjournals of naturopathy of his forefath ers   ;


and it was no wonder that when his father asked himwhat career he wants to follow .  Prakash replied that he wanted to be a  naturopath;

Many years later, Prakash became a qualified naturopath;  He was happily married ; His patientswere from all walks of life, as his consulting fees were nominal; Moreover he prescribed very fewmedicines, as he believed that the human body can cure itself of sicknesses, if it is given time and left alone.

His wife Sonali, looked after the  house hold duties ; and mainly spent her time within the four walls of the house, and very rarely went out.

On one Sunday, she was down with a high fever and she
 informed her husband of it  during lunch; she also said she had some  thickness in her left breast ;

After physically examining her, Prakash's worst fears had come true; the dreaded " C "  disease had penetrated the very walls of his own house, nay his own wife; his first reaction was to inform hisdad; but then a question crept into his mind; does it mean that the scriptures of naturopathy , he practiced, has no value. what would happen to his practice if the word goes around that for his wife he had resorted to allopathy.

No,  thought Prakash , he should have faith in his profession and stick to it.

Sonali looked at Prakash, and asked him "Is anything seriously wrong with me , Prakash?"

No, said Prakash bravely ; I want you to observe a fast and drink hot water  only; if you feel veryhungry, eat raw  fruits and boiled vegetables only. You will be alright within a few days.

Sonali followed her husband's advice to the letter.

Meanwhile, Prakash's mother Vasantha , became aware of Sonali's fast and was searching for an answer; She probably thought that Sonali was observing some religious rites so as to get pregnant ;  however as days passed, she noticed that
Sonali's condition had deteriorated.

What's wrong Beti, she questioned Sonali, one day;

“Oh Maaji,  I am not well and Prakash has told me, that I will be Ok if I fast by drinking hot water  only”;  

Vasantha put her palm on Sonali's forehead and said Oh BETI, you have high fever; please go and take some rest;

That night Vasantha told her husband, Dharam,  “I am sorry to tell you that Sonali is not well at all Prakash has told her to fast and take only hot water ; it is not working at all , please talk to your son i mmediately”.

Dharam replied: “This  is the problem with naturopaths they do not believe in modern medicines to cure patients quickly. Vasantha, I cannot interfere in their personal relations and in this problem!”

Vasanta
: Sonali also said , that she has some thickness in her left breast "

Dharam : What did you say Vasanta  , do you realise what you are saying it means, means; Oh my   God ! Where is Prakash  I must talk to him immediately ! Prakash , Prakash Where are you Please come here I want to talk to you…”

Prakash: "Yes papa , you wanted me ;
Dharam: “Please close the door behind; What is wrong with Sonali , Prakash?”

Prakash:  “Papa, Sonali is suffering from the early stages of breast Cancer. but I have cured many through naturopathy; so I did not inform you”.

Dharam:  “Beta, dont take Sonali's sickness  lightly; Its best that you get her admitted to my hospital immediately;  I will  handle her case on a war footing”

Prakash: “Papa, then what will happen to my profession, my clients?  The word will go around that when relatives are involved, I resorted to allopathy”.

Dharam:  “This is not the time to talk about your profession; when a dear one's life is involved.Besides what will our inlaws think about this matter?”

Prakash: “I will think it over papa and let you know tomorrow”.

That night Prakash  could not sleep; Thoughts concerning the future of his profession and Sonali's health kept alternating in his mind.  In the middle of the night, he woke  up Sonali;

“What is it Prakash?” ,  she asked.

“Sonali,  I have to tell you, you are suffering from   Cancer ; While you may be cured by my methods, it is time consuming; but father's allopathic treatment will yield   quick  recovery; of course, the treatment is harsh and severe;  you will have to bear it patiently; keep your faith in God, andeverything will be alright in the end.


Sonali was admitted to the cancer hospital the next morning;


She underwent surgery and part of her breast was amputated  Radiation, and  Chemo  Therapy follow ed;   During that period Sonali  looked like  a ghost of  her former self  ;  She had lost her hair;

Finally she was discharged , but had to report for observation as required by the hospital.


During one such observation, the oncologist, told Dharam and his son, "I am sorry, but there seems to be a setback to Sonali's condition; I think she has to take chemotherapy treatment again; and I recommend a stronger dose of chemotherapy, to get her to normal; but I leave it to you to decide  before I start”.

The news shocked Dharam and his son; “We will let you know” replied Dharam.


At home, the family was in tears; They were at their wit's end; Finally, Dharam spoke with tears in  his eyes; " I am sorry Prakash, but the treatment suggested does not guarantee 100% full recovery; It varies from person to person”.

 “Its alright , Papa, but Sonali will not be able to withstand the new treatment.and I have decided to go back  to Naturo therapy, so as to save her life”

Dharam looked at his son  and said, “Beta, if this is what you want to do,  I wont come in your way”.

Sonali was back on a diet of hot water, fruit juices and boiled vegetables;  Later Prakash gave her as medicine  a decoction of boiled herbs and wheat grass ;

It looked like a miracle, but Sonali seemed to have won her battle as tests showed that the disease has been arrested. . The recovery was very slow;  but Sonali showed courage and determinationand stuck to her faith in her treatment.

Finally her battle was won and   her body was free of the scourge  That was a very happy dayin the Dharam household .

Allopathy and naturopathy together joined forces and won the battle for Sonali. .



G. Venkatesh
























Wednesday 27 January 2016

THE VEGGIE SELLER



THE VEGGIE SELLER


g.venkatesh


He  is  up  there in  the street    
every morning early!
to peddle his wares to the neighbourhood  
to bring to every boy and girlie
his great collection of eatables good!

Hear him belt out his veggies list
with prices added in its midst!                     
He sings it out in his native tone
all through the morn.

Come on  and  buy out your veggies          
Just as  your bargaining  price readies;
and when you see his smiling face
he looks a happy man at that  place !






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Wednesday 20 January 2016

OH ! GOD ALMIGHTY, BLESS THEM ALL !


OH! GOD ALMIGHTY,
BLESS THEM  ALL !



 Bless them all, bless them all -

 the  short  and  the tall and the small !

 Bless all the enemies and bless allthe  friends

 Bless all the neighbours and bless all the rels!

 Bless them  all bless them  all!



To Sabari Malai, good wishes to pilgrims all_


the High and the Mighty and the  tall!

Blessed are they to get the lords presence _


a moment they will treasure for the rest of 

their lives!


Bless them all bless them  all !



Oh God Almighty, let the women seek your 

presence;

What wrong have they done to deny them this

sense!

Remove this injustice and bless them all!

Bless them all bless them all!



g. venkatesh