BEE-ing Human, Deforestation

The title may sound wierd.. What has being human and deforestration got a connection? There certainly is...

Well, am not just refering to being human but also be(e)ing human. Yes, of late, I have been hearing and reading that Bees are constructing their hives wherever they feel like. Yes, there is a bee-hive at the back side of my apartment. I was actually petrified looking at it and it gave me a kind a goose bumps looking at it. The anxiety or you may call it paranoia remained in me for 2 days.

Setting my fear aside, I was thinking what made Bees construct their hives at the rear side of my apartment. It is a known fact that Bees make their hive in a dark enclosed or dry space such as a tree trunk or a top roof. I have also seen the bee hives at the entrance of a temple tower(near gopuram as the ceiling is very high). But, this time around, they chose an apartment ceiling and they constructed one... It is really interesting to see the bees ( different types - Worker Bee, Queen Bee, drone etc) doing different tasks to ensure their objective is met. There are lessons to be learnt from Bees/Wasps. We could seldom see them taking rest during day time. As soon as they see the sun, they start springing in to action. They go kilometers to bring in pollen and honey from flowers. In general, there are many people who eye for the honey they have in their hive. The honey is not for the humans to use, but for its larvae, and infants. It is very interesting to see the way they plan and execute their objectives.

Interestingly, the bees presume the tubelight brightness to be the natural light and they start swarming around the tubelight every morning. As a result, if I open the door in the early morning, say 5 am, I see many bees swarming. This has potential risk/danger. Although, I buy in to the concept of demolishing any insect/bird's nest is a sin, of late I see them as a potential risk to the apartment per se.

The bees constructing their hives has got a link to deforestation. Since, the trees are cut down both in forests and in residence, this results in many dangers.

1. Bees losing their location.

2. We do not inhale pure oxygen.

and many....

How mind travels through the week - Seize the day

Right from schoolhood days to college and to the next level, we have witnessed many good things, some stressful events, a lot of challenging times.. Whatever it is, we always eagerly await for Weekends. Ain't we?

Some of us could have been the best in the school, very studious, continuously performing in college, highly competent and successful, highly engaged at work place. However we are, I am sure every one of us eagerly look for the weekend with lots of plans!

According to me , there has been many stressful weeks which had made me to think on going back to work the following week! Am sure, people reading this may also have encountered this...

A small imagination on how our mind travels during the week!

Monday Blues - On a bright Monday, your mind says, "Oh my God!. 5 more days to work!". One is yet to come back from the Sunday mood. You hit the work place, see loads of mails, meetings, take on calls, so on and so forth...If your mails are positive, you kind of do away with a Monday. If you face any slightest discomfort, your entire week is souped.. So, Mondays are critical ;)

Tuesday - On a Tuesday, you come to a reality that the week has begun, you have loads of work, concentration on work. You forget about other things.. Even things you are to pick up on your way back home.

Wednesday - On a Wonderful Wednesday, a reality strikes with a pinch of sugar, that you are already approaching the mid day of the week.. So, (personally) you start planning for the weekend.. Still, focus on work and go on tight scheduled back to back meetings. If you are in a responsible position, your day gets hijacked with discussions..

Thursday - You never know how Thursday go - partly work, partly planning, partly fun,...

Fabulous Friday - a day you eagerly expect to come and countdown starts from Monday..This is when you see fun at Workplace!!

On an excellent Saturday and a Sunday your plan works - going out, meeting friends, weekend lunch/dinner, a good 8 hours of sleep, practice - anything that you learn on music so on..

I am sure this is how a week goes for all of us or at least some of us!. Some days, our time is hijacked ( yes, you are totally unaware of your time). But, all it takes is to have a liking towards whatever we do!...

The latin phrase, "carpe diem, quam minimum credila postero" translating to, "Pluck the day, trusting as little as possible in the future". So, let us enjoy the day, whatever the day is, instead of saying "Ayyo, Monday vandhuduche!! ( Oh my god, Monday has come!! :( :( )!

ராஜாவின் ராஜாங்கத்திலிருந்து....

From Gnanadesikan to Ilayaraja...
1976 ல் அன்னகிளியிலிருந்து தொடங்கிய இசை பயணம் 45 வருடங்களாக தொடர்ந்து, நம் இதயத்தையும் மனங்களையும் மெல்லிய இசையால் கட்டி போட்டுள்ளது...ராஜாவின் பாடல்களை பற்றி பேச ஒரு நாள் போதுமா.. இல்லை இல்லை பல வருடங்கள் வேண்டும்..
அம்மா என்று அழைக்காத,ஆகாய கங்கை,இசை மேடையில் இன்ப வேளையில் /இளைய நிலா,ஈரமான ரோஜாவே,உன்னை நெனச்சேன் பாட்டு படிச்சேன்,என் இனிய பொன் நிலாவே /என் கண்மணி என் காதலி,ஏதோ மோகம் ஏதோ தாகம்,ஒரு ஜீவன் அழைத்தது / ஒரே ஜீவன் ஒன்றே உள்ளம், ஓம் நமச்சிவாய / ஓம் நமஹா....

How can one forget..
சின்னஞ்சிறு வயதில், வெள்ளை புறா ஒன்று, நதியில் ஆடும் பூவனம், என்ன சதம் இந்த நேரம், இதயம் ஒரு கோவில், எந்த பூவிலும் வாசமுண்டு, பூமாலையே தோள் சேரவா, காதல் ஓவியம், காளிதாசன் கண்ணதாசன், மற்றும் காலை தென்றல், மாலையில் யாரோ, இரவு நிலவு ...
ஆயிரம் மலர்களே மலருங்கள், ரோஜா ஒன்று, தலையை குனியும் தாமரை, அழகு மலராட, தென்றல் வந்து என்னை தொடும்,
இப்படி அடுக்கி கொண்டே போகலாம் மெலடி-ஐ!!!.
3 ஜூன் பிறந்த நாள் கொண்டாடும் இளையராஜாவிற்கு 'நலம் வாழ எந்நாளும் எங்கள் வாழ்த்துக்கள்'...
Over 950 movies, around 4500 songs.. 4 National awards... Lots of State awards...I listened to a Radio channel where he had told, he is yet to learn music!!.. Such is his modesty.. You can call him whatever you want..
But the underlying truth is if you listen to any of the melodies, your day or night is made...!!

To talk about his music, my wall is not enough.. err. Even Great Wall of China is not enough!.

Village things in City!

While my mother and I stopped at a coffee powder shop (a regular place) to buy Coffee powder, there was an old man selling Greens (Keerais) and alongside, he had a few Baby Jackfruit (Palamusu / Palakkai in Tamizh) arranged neatly. Curious, the coffee powder guy who hails from a village asked my mother what is that and what they make out of it!.

I was surprised!.If only a purely city bred person had asked this question, I would not have been surprised. It was an interesting question from him and my mother gave good explanation.

Adding a surprise to me was, he said in his native place(Andhra) , they pluck Agathi leaves (don't know the exact English word for Agathi keerai) and stock and feed to goats during rainy season as they would not be able to go in rain for want of food.. And also I heard from him that they do not sell Maavadu also. Rather they do not use that at all!. And he also said, "Madras la dhaan madam ellathaiyum kaasakkaranga!". (Only in Madras, they make money out of everything).

The surprise element was I was on a thought that only in villages, they make food out of such types(full utilization). Perhaps he does not know what Tamilnadu villages do!...

I heard that they make Koottu, Vegetable (poriyal/ karamathu) out of Palakkai. Why not we also try it :-)!!.

Trust

We often hear this word in one form or the other.. The word trust has several connotations. It may be a combination of emotional and a legal act. I am not going to give any gyan on Trust. And everyone of us have the trust understood in our own terms. There is always a golden rule associated with Trust - Be it creating a trust or building it or holding -'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!'.

On that note, I am going to share a short story (I came across) - I mean really short. The story is between a father and a daughter.

Once, a father and his little daughter were crossing a bridge. The father was a bit scared and wanted to be safe and told to his daughter"Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don't fall in to the river".

The bright little daughter said, "No Daddy, you hold my hand".

The father was a little confused and wanted to know the reason behind his daughter's statement. "What is the difference?", he asked.

The girl said, "There is a big difference".

"How?" asked the father.

The daughter gave her view - "If I hold your hand, and something happens to me, chances are that I may let your hand go" and continued saying, "But, if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will never let my hand go!"

In any relationships, trust is the bedrock on which it is built. The essence of trust is not in its bind but in its bond!

Signing off

SPH

The Burned Biscuits..

One of an interesting message I stumbled upon!!!...

When I was a kid, my mom would prepare special breakfast every now and then. And I remember one night in particular, after a long tiring, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely burned biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed!. Yet, all my dad did was reached for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and ate every bite.

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I will never forget what he said. Honey, I love burned biscuits.

Later that night, I went to kiss my daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your momma put in a hard day at work today and she is real tired. And besides - a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!. You know, life is full of imperfect things.. and imperfect people. I am not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversarys just like everyone else.

Whatever I have learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults - and choosing to celebrate each others differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing and a lasting relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burned biscuit isn't a deal-broker!

We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!.

Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket - keep it in your own!!!

God Bless everyone.. and always!!!

Just a matter of Rs 25/-

Recently I came across an inspiring story. I wanted to share this with all of you(I have added a couple of points).Very true in our lives! Please park a few minutes to read this!
A woman came home from work very late. Coming late is many a times tagged with tiredness, irritation, hunger. She saw her five year old son patiently waiting for her at the door. The conversation began between the tired mom and the calm son.

Son: "Mom, may I ask you a question?"

Mom: "Yeah, sure son!. What it is?"

Son: "Mom, How much money do you make in an hour?"

Mom got irritated (the added irritation) and said, "That is none of your business!, Why do you ask such a question?".

Son: "I just want to know Mom. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?"

Mom:"If you must know, I make Rs 50 per hour!"

Son(putting his head down):"Oh!.. Mom, may I please borrow Rs 25?"

The mother was furious and said, "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense stuff, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolities" The little boy extremely disappointed went quietly to his room and shut the door.

The woman sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he asks such questions just to get money?". The mother's ego was on a little high and we generally don't like being questioned on salary right!

After about an hour or so, the woman calmed down. She started to think. May be there was something he really needed to buy with that Rs 25 and she really did not ask for money very often. The woman went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

"Are you asleep, my son?" she asked.

"No mom!, Am awake" replied the boy.

Mom said, "I have been thinking, may be I was too hard on you earlier". "It has been a long day and I took my aggravation on you. Here is Rs 25 you had asked for!"

The little boy happily sat straight up smiling. "Mom, thank you so much". He said in very happy tone!. Then reaching under the pillow, he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The woman on seeing that he already had some money got wild and angry again. The little boy not bothering about his mom's reaction, slowly counted all the money and then looked up to his mother.

The mother asked him, "Why do you want more money when you already have some?"

"Because, I did not have enough, I asked you Mom!" pat came his reply adding, "Mom, I now have Rs 50 with me. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home soon tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you!"

The mother was crushed. She put her arms around her little son and pleaded forgiveness!

How true it is!. We get engaged in to work so much that sometimes we fail to think about family. We work so hard in life. It is a good reminder to all of us that we should not let time slip through our fingers withing having spent some time with those who really matter to us and those who are close to our hearts.

If we die tomorrow, the company we work for will immediately find a replacement within hours/days. But the family/friends we leave behind will only feel the loss for the rest of their lives!!

Please remember to share that Rs 50 worth of your time with the someone you love and care.

PS: Not only for Moms, but all hard working people!

Signing off

SPH