Happy Independence Day ...

 In a world where I wonder If the WTO still exists ... May countries use the WTO to end Arbitrary Trade Wars and May all our Neighbours get onto a Path to Progress and Stop Envying the Hardearned place Indians have painstakingly carved for themselves ...

May this Entire Region Improve relations with each other and remember that we are Carved from the Same Block and share blood relations and DNA with erstwhile Parts of India ...
May India truly Become a Leader in this Region and show the World How to Forge Ahead Without War
Tact and Chanakya Neti should help us turn Foe to Friends and Solve Age Old problems with Adroitness that makes India a place where Solution Seekers take Succour
May we as a Nation learn to be the Bigger and Better Entity and not Resort to Petty issues some folk seem to be stuck in ...
May we keep our Focus on the Bigger Picture ...
May we not Forget Climate Change and keep aside funds to deal with it ... may we help Everyone in this Region deal with Climat Change with Co-operation
May we become the Nation that Turns the Tide on War and put up an United Front to deal with Arbitrary Tade Wars and Focus on Collaborations for Knowledge Sharing and Persistent Progress ...
May All the Foreign Travels by Leaders help us Learn from Best Practices everywhere else and incorporate it here
May India become a Leader in Uniting this Region and moving forward ... if we have extreme poverty in neighbouring states ... it will become a Dead Weight around our ankles ...
Ergo may Governance be Thoughtfull and Gracefull too
May Ashoka be a Guide to understand ... avoiding war leads to Prosperity for All ...
May the Government have EU as a goal for This Region where we can have a Border like the one we share with Bhutan on all sides ...
May we have something to Gloat about before hitting the 80th year ...
Jaihind ...

Happy National Handloom Day ...7th August

 7th August 2018

Happy National Handloom Day....it is a labour of love ...the history teacher in school ...Mrs Gena Lemos used to tell us about the special weavers of India who grew their thumb nails long and used to weave the finest of muslin saris through the holes drilled on their thumb nails …. the British cut off the thumbs of those weavers and that method of weaving died out completely ….

the thriving handloom industry of India took a heavy beating during the colonial years to provide a market for the cloth woven in the industry in Britain ….

luckily handloom got the patronage of Royalty( in some cases) and the Govt and has a niche market ….

in rural areas many women know how to weave and have small looms in their homes ….. it is a way of life in rural India

7th August 2018 traditional clothes

 being Indian means .... loads of Types and Genres of clothes ok ...then my parents are from Kerala...i was born and bred in Maharastra.... and i got married to an Assamese ....then i have to have operations on my hand ....during which time i lose ooodles of weight and then there was the stint with teaching in colleges ...ergo Saris, And western clothes i wear during normal times ...then the western wear that fits Only post operation times ....

then there is the Assamese wear which is the mekhela chaddor .... the home wear ones and the silk ones ....

then there are the Mallus saris ...white with gold borders and pallus.... and the Mallu mundu and neriyathu ....which is the very traditional two piece Mallu wear ....then a few typical Maharashtrian saris ....

i Rarely wear all the traditional clothes i have ....however can i give away those things ...Noooo ...everything has a whatever and however kind of RTC (reference to context) plus there are occasions i have to wear some of it .... it is so expensive that ...even if i give all the old stuff away ...buying news things would seem like a crime ....  

every year i give away clothes i do not wear ...mostly Indian wear and saris that i can give away .... now there is vey little left to give away ..... and yet ....there is a load of stuff ...that is waiting patiently for ....just airing and putting away ....

first i used to get upset with All the travel across the lenght and breadth of the country and the few times i travelled outside India .... 

now i feel it is good way to Know ...How much of Jazzzmatazzz i own .... and it is the Bestest Barometer of Frugality .... 

Everytime i feel like buying Anything .... i just have to remember three words ....

Excess Luggage Bills !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LMAO LMAO LMAO

paper correction ...7th august 2013

 when i used to teach ....paper correction was quite tedious ...a few hundreds or even running to beyond thousand five hundred !!!!!!!!!!......but the silver lining for me was the sheet of paper for the HERCULEAN BLUNDERS ...poor things some kids dint know proper usage of english.....i never ever cut marks for grammar .....but i would write down some great ones .....some great stories too i got for economics theory ..... and when the others and i were very bored and needed a break .....i wud enact the big bloopers .....was such awsum fun .....dont think other profs ever did whacko things like us in the CAP room ..... i also played music on low volume to kill the monotony ......

i cant find my sheets of carefully preserved papers to put on my blog ....am so heart broken .......a mistake i make alllllllllll the time .....i put away things so carefully and then i forget where i put it .....mustve been a squirrel in my last birth .....or some squirrel DNA in my blood i guess

Climate Change… 7th August 2019

 Went chasing some Sun...I didn't get a direct.. one on one...though latent  .. took in the Atmosphere and walked a bit and tied a door that has got jammed and washed my hands and drenched my skirt and shoes ....hopefully the torrential rains that have been predicted ...won't happen ...it did not rain much yesterday and today too there is just light rainfall

And when the whole world is busy honking and running about their morning schedule ....to be able to stand in the rain and listen to it's faint pitter patter on my umbrella ....and keep my face towards the non existent sun ...is what makes me Lucky ...to have been able to Quit an industry i did not gel with much ....to keep being able to tinker with things .....to be able to have my kids with me 24x7x 365 ...to be able to homeschool them ....to be able to share with them and see them grow 

decided to count a few manageables today morning

last year my cousin who is a bank manager got a long leave due to the floods and she told me how her friends in low lying areas caught the fish which swam into the lower floors of their houses and ate those fish too ...to survive 

here in Pune water born diseses must be a problem in some low lying areas ....however the muncipality does use the necessary precautions when dealing with a calamity 

natural disasters and rain patterns changing is something we will have to find new ways to cope with ....instead of finding more ways to contaminate water and soil and now the mountains and Himalayas and the Moon too....heard that humans have left a lot of waste up there on the moon too ....

Monsoons in Pune 7/08/2019

 

iron doors expand so much during the rains ….. and can not be locked ….ergo used some wire to tie it up ….few days back it created a loud ruckus at night when there was a strong wind blowing …. 

Pune used to get mild to arid level rainfall during my growing up years ...

never ever saw mildew and moss or mold during the 80s and 90s  ...whereas used to have to Air every kind of silk and expensive wear in assam and annamalais due to rains the whole year practically 

I used to long to come back to the dry arid climate of Pune ..water shortages notwithstanding …. 

in 2004 for the first time Pune got torrential rains and I wondered if I had bought the rains with me from assam 

from that year onwards ...rains in Pune have been heavy ...Of course it had to be due to the major Afforestation drive taken up by NGOs and citizens of Pune …. 

water shortages are not an issue in my part of the city and is kind of induced in some parts thanks to the tanker public and the middle men and contractors 

my locality was Never soooooo Green during my childhood days ….everytime we had guests at home from Kerala ...I had to go with a cousin or whoever was visiting to buy chicken from a poultry farm near the house I stay now ….

it used to be a Walk in Scorching sunlight ...one or two trees only ...

now I can walk all over my locality and not get one bit of sunshine due to the number of trees 

the people in charge of pruning trees have not done their bit ….or else the electricity dept would not be having so many power cuts 

usually the people prune big trees before the monsoons …. dunno why they did not do so this year

7th August 2025 

PS: they regularly do prune trees before monsoons … 

this summer even the drains were also cleaned to avoid water logging …

Hmmm… rooftop… 7/08/2019

 

standing on the rooftop terrace and listening to the mild rain and then the slight fragrance of these small flowers ….. was a nice way to take a break ….. luckily the rain has stopped ….. first it does not rain for all of June and then it does not stop …. 

most people in Pune drop everything and go bridge hopping when the monsoons peak …..this year it is a bit too scary to go watch the bridges ….

musings ...7th August 2019

Sometimes the Knock from Destiny is so very Gentle that I do not see it …. sometimes I feel I do not want to go into the Arena anymore ….. the point is will the Arena let a gladiator go ….for once it smells a gladiator …. the gladiator had only one task ...

to enter the arena and get annihilated in the name of the game …..Gladiators are not human ...nor does anyone feel or weep for fallen gladiators …. fights are what they are Groomed for since the time they are born

the arena is their Final Destiny ….and those that run the fastest ….away from the arena get arrested in their tracks when their eyes open ….they can not run ...they have to stay and face the crowd that is booing and or cheering

their lot is …. Not to Question Why ...but to Do and Die

Parenting 5th August 2018

 I was wondering what to do with the Boxing Fixation ...last time I would go after them for reading their Bible of Football and hide their football every night without fail and it had the Contrary Effect ….my kids went Krazy for football …. every day for the last few days I would wonder about How to get the kids OFF boxing …. 

and then suddenly ...just like that ...

Boxing is Off !!!!!!!! 

the new friend they had made is a huge JP and LP fan and Boxing was his idea …. both that kid and mine went to different boards and schools …. finally those kids dumped a friend my kid had introduced to the group  

and the differences started …. 

it became a school thing and the collaboration is sooo Off … 

when discussing what happened and how it happened and everything else …. I voiced howwww horrible Boxing can get to be …. no matter if it is Amateur ….. luckily the elder kid agrees on most things I suggest …. 

Phewww…. that was that 

however the most surprising thing was the networking and crowd support boys get ...the minute their friends got wind of an event being organised around a Boxing match …. out came a friend who is into Football and is a State Level Boxer !!! 

the last school my kids went to was an IB board and the friends the elder kid made are his big fans too …. ergo he is used to making decisions ...it was educative for him to deal with older kids and getting into a situation where those boys were not in favour with his designing ….

another thing I was worried about was ...Not knowing the parents of these new kids …. I know the parents of all their other friends and I know who my kids should not call during exam time …. as I know what each parent's goal for their kids are ….

meeting and discussing and setting the rate for hiring a venue and everything else that went into organising an event …. I take it as practical application of what they learn from text books ...

ergo it was not time wasted … plus the elder kid got a brush with dealing with people older than him ….

the little one is still boxing in the air …. hoping that will stop soon … hmmmm 

and I seriously Hope ...Fauzy Tube gets well and returns to YouTube …. he is any day better... than the others out there … 

as for me ….I learnt how peer pressure can be a Force to reckon with …. vehemence and force to deal with peer pressure can have weird outcomes at times …. ergo I was waiting to see how this would pan out ...as every time I wanted to meet his new friends …. something would come up and I never got to meet those kids and talk to them ...

5th August 2018

 

black is the granite 

strong is the coffee 

light weight the frothy bubbles

sad is the story

this is the first coffee mug i bought when shifting to mumbai after getting hostel accomodation there ....it was August 1995 and i had just joined work ...went home for Onam that year and went shopping for essentials to carry with me to mumbai and this mug i bought in Tulsi Baug ...a shopping area for steel products and all kinds of household items ....i like steel better than ceramic as one it does not break and two it lasts Forever 

and off i went back to mumbai to work for a minimum of two years for the sake of a good start in my CV ... the kids father had left for assam and i wanted to live away from home to be able to write and recieve letters and be able to talk via the phone with him ....everything was being done to keep a long distant relationship alive 

what life is preparing us for is never clear nor do we Ever see or know how the rest of india lives ....despite the kids father getting a job with an economic journal in mumbai ...i told him his family would be wild with me if he stayed back here and specially since his father was a widower and liked the kids father the most .... i thought it would be best if he went back to assam ...

the risk was the relationship ending ....and the Worst Part ...i had Zero Clue as to what life in assam and tea is All About ...

i was in a 7 seater room initially ....5 engineers from Tamil Nadu, me and a Mallu lab techncian ....the mallu girl was a very innocent and friendly person .....however mallus stare ....early morning on my second day in the hostel and first day of travelling to college from the hostel ...i went to the bathroom and finished and went to the room in my blouse and petticoat with a cover on top of my blouse and found the mallu girl watching me ....it was unnerving to see her stare ..... Mallus can stare the most in all of India ok 

then i opened both the doors of my cupboard and stood in between them and drapped my sari ....it was irritating and time consuming ... and i went down to have breakfast at 6.50am ....it was just being made ....big fat medu vadas ....meaning big fritters made of black lentil ....and i Groaned 

if took one bite of it ...i would Not be able to speak for a week ...

went running to the bus stop on an empty stomach ....and compared to buses in Pune where no one looks at me and no one tries to get Fresh ....mumbai buses were Irritating ....once or twice i remember getting down from a bus and feeling sick to the point of wanting to Puke 

finally i came up with a theory that men in Kerala and mumbai are the same and rather horny ...the bus travelling kind at least ....sic to the core 

ate at the college staff room kitchen from a kaka there and it became my one good meal of the day ....only problem was that ....i could get my first meal only after the first lecture ....ie after 8.20am ...at 7.30am no food .....and i always feel the B.Com students in Maharashtra have the worst timetable ...actually it is so as many of them do their Chartered Accountancy along with graduation and can do their Articleship peacefully after 11.30 am when college is over for the day 

reached back to the hostel and went down with a coupon for food ...got to know that if i wanted lunch ...i should have to leave a tiffin box at breakfast time ....i was hungry and upset and did not have the will to go out and eat Alone ...went back up and had snacks ....took a nap and then hand washed quite a bit of clothes ....

then took this cup and went down to get coffee ....the kitchen girls were giggling at how i did not know the system and i too laughed about it 

now anger, hunger and wallowing in self pity is a lethal combination for things to go Wrong ....

and as if on cue on my 3rd step i tripped and dropped hot boiling coffee on my left chest ....went running down to the cafeteria and poured ice cold water on myself and soooooo wanted to cry ....took antoher cup of coffe and went back up to the room ...ate biscuits and applied a calamine lotion where my skin had turned a raw red and swollen ...

thought about what i was doing and when things would turn …..

that night i told my roomamtes about my brush in with a burn... and they Immediately suggested a Kovil trip ....all those engineers were such staunch temple goers and i was their interpreter and guide in mumbai ...

i would go to all the tamil kovils in chembur but i put my foot down about going to mahalaxmi on a sunday ....when i had prep to do and i was not free at home like those engineers were ...

practically every evening they would go out .....one girl was engaged and she had the Most Desparate urge to roam around ....

as we women know what our Lot in Life becomes once we get married ...the jail term starts and all movement Questioned and counter questioned and debated and then we get to step outside the house .... even if we are breadwinners too ...we have our movements outside the house curtailed... life is very different 

my cup i used all through my mumbai stay and then i used it in pune and then i carried it to assam and then it went to tamil nadu and then back to assam and from there to pune and then to bahrain and back from bahrain ...back again in 2017 and finally after soooooooooooo many travels it is back in Pune ....

my cup and me still going strong as ever

4th August 2019

 I was in a two seater room ...meaning I shared my room with just one other …. and my roommates kept changing … however eating cheat meals was my thing and I made all the roommates eat too and I would tell the IT folks about Obsessive Compulsive Eating and the psychological funda behind it and how we are sooo right to get into OCE ...to Deal with the Soul Eating place that Mumbai is …. it was Cribbers Incorporated come night time at the Birla Hostel for Breach Candy nurses in Chembur ...the 4th and 5th floors were for professionals from outside the hospital 

we all had money and never had a financial crunch ...ergo the eating was not budget eating ….however sometimes we would eat biscuits and jam and biscuits and a chocolate spread …. and south Indian snacks I kept buying from near my college.... and Salad ….vegetables and fruits I ate the most ...because the minute I saw oily flat bread and dal and rice and the vegetable dish …..I would go back up to my room on some days …. 

my throat would cry seeing oily food …. taking class with a sore throat was Killing …. 

bread was a staple product I picked up and I would go buy palak/spinach paneer from a restaurant near my hostel ….

anyways All the Bad Experimenting made my HB hit a dangerously low level and I finally went to a doctor ...and then Quit teaching in Mumbai … life was soooooo Peacefull post that …. 

before joining the hostel ...dal, eggs and potatoes I could not stand the sight of ….post joining the hostel I would eat eggs at home like I had Never Ever seen food ….and Everyone would feel soo bad to see me eat something I used to hate LOL LOL 

dal I used to hate even after hostel ….till I was carrying my first child and I went Aggressively Vegan with a Craving for alcohol …. and I started drinking dal .... I used to wonder what was Wrong with me ….all of a sudden ….tough it was to crave and never have alcohol …. LOL LOL 

my elder child used to be very a picky eater for quite a few years ….after he was 8 ...he would not eat non veg ….now he does not like fish or mutton or pork or duck ….eats chicken and turkey ...though he does not like turkey legs … LOL

4th August 2020

 thanks to 21 years of living with a Capricorn ….Gaslighting I have dealt with ...till I would feel like ending it all in Assam ….my responsibility towards my child is what helped me Stand Up for Myself ...

I know vindictive behaviour … Scorps are made out to be the Worst of the Sun Sign …. I am different …. I Understand and always Forgive ...till the point I have reached Saturation Point and am Full ...

then I do not Listen...Even to Myself … even if it means a Hara Kiri of sorts …. the Japanese are very Tough on themselves ….their code of conduct and Standards for Code of Conduct ….Ruthlessly Difficult 

they live by it …. 

Let us All look for the Best in the World and help share information that Really Helps ok …. 

I ended up getting into controversies at Every work place ...because I would fight for Grace marks to be higher ….to listening and hearing out kids in distress and Being There for them …. it was What I was Getting Paid for ….

so I would feel bad and understand other people and them getting to be in one controversy after another and I would feel bad to read some of it 

there is a very kind side to all in those circles ….. Nurture Only that aspect ...

Always was Respectfull and will Continue to be 

let not people who write to the PM about Instagram hate directed towards themselves and their kids …... be owners of Pages that use and encourage using of crass language as a pos .. I guess the front benchers want such language and gulu gulu to get their share of whatever 

it is each person's notion of creativity and I should be last one to judge ….considering the fact that I do not know the M of movie making or the C of creativity

we all are made of flesh and blood only ….I am not made of stone …. my blood is not Blue nor do I have a sackfull of money 

butttt….

If you read my profile 

I have said I love to Argue about good topics 

if you just want to Pitt your brains against mine 

let the games Begin !!!!!

Jio !!!! 

magar jeene bhi do na …. bhaiyon

PETA Listening ???

Take a walk in any residential locality in Pune and one can not miss the amount of dog poop on the roads and sidewalks ... it's a quintessential part of living in India ... pet owners do not clean up after their pets ... ergo it is cleaned up by the sweepers employed by the Pune Municipality ...

however my question is this...
no tax for owning pets and no charges imposed by the municipality either ...ergo why do non pet owners and everyone else have to deal with the huge amount of dog poop on the roads ...
in 2018, 2019 and 2021 and 2022 i have written soooo many times about this issue ... with a Simple Solution
have a sand pit in each society for pet owners which can be used by pets for pooping and it can be cleaned a few times a day by a designated cleaning personnel or let some society kids earn some pocket money by cleaning out the sand pit used for pooping
Why should Everyone in a locality have to Deal with dog poop alllll over the place
Isn't it as unhealthy as people pooping on the roads ?
Solutions can be soooooo simple
But since time immemorial ...
pets pooping on the roads is a Given in India and Pune
and no one thinks anything about it
during monsoons that poop gets into the slushy water on the roads and it's pure ewwww
and Yet ...Everyone is soooooooo OK with it
Ethical Treatment of animals should also Do something about the Ethics of polluting Allll of the roads and sidewalks in India no ???
Naaaaaaa pooping on sidewalks and roads is the fundamental right of poor pets right PETA
seriously
one small snadpit in each locality or society is 4 much to ask for ehhh ???
Pluzzzzz India let us make India Public Defecation Free in it's True Sense ... no animal poop on the roads either Pluzzzzzzzzz
PMO's Office Listening Pluzzzzzzz ...

NIOS

 Written on 25th of April 2019 

I think the Ministry of HRD should conduct a study about the pass % of students doing NIOS …. I think it is high time parents stopped lamenting about their kids failing and not being able to cope with the syllabus 

and my sample size is sooooooooooo Small 

from April 2017 when I first met other parents of kids doing NIOS.. to this Feb when I went to get my younger child's assignment back …. 

I have noticed 70% of the people I have met lamenting about failures ...and re-exams ...imagine this % in a small sample size of ...a max of 300 people associated with NIOS that I have met since 2017 

in 2017 too I went on about the status of things ….. however it is high time we change the system …. 

when the pass % is so low in this special group of students ...does it not cry out for a change and giving this group additional attention ???

another trend I hope to see Changed is the way school management treats kids scoring less than 60% in their 8th grade ...immediately such kids are dumped into the NIOS system …. pvt schools have to stop focussing on Data regarding their students passing out … 

when I was in school ...there was a sizeable group of kids who got less than 60% in 8th, 9th and even during 10th prelims ….no one hounded such students … 

we as a society are still stuck in traditional thinking patterns ...it is a Crying shame when we can see how opportunities have increased manifold …. 

kids of this new era have a gazillion areas to go in for specialisation …. forcing them to score 60% is cruel ...what is worse is making them feel like lesser beings for doing a different board ...after forcing this different board down their throats for scoring less than 60% aggregate in SSC, ICSE or CBSE ….

scams pick up speed in no time in our modern times ...no 

 

pathetic is the state of affairs ….pvt schools and their kraze for fancy data and disregard for the student per se is what is adding fuel to the fire 

why do middle aged people wanting an educational qualification need to learn any subject 

why can't we allow such working professionals to do good quality project reports about their work environment from different POVs and award them a school level certification for their detailed reports ????

simple and doable and easy and not rote learning and not dumb methods followed from forever

why do we give Zero value to the scores of poor who work for a living ...no matter if the person is a Municipality Cleaner ...he is adding value in her/his own way ..right …. so why can't we cash in on the work that such people do ….add necessary language skills to such people and make them write about themselves and their work ...

why make such people mug up facts and figures 

instead let us use their POV to make better governance policies ...at the same time ...we improve their ways of thinking and problem solving and give value to the service providers who work so hard …. be it a cook, househelp or a rickshaw driver or a clerk or anybody else ….I hope that education becomes a means of furthering their contribution to their place of work ...rather than stuffing information down their gullets ...which has zero applicability for this class of students attempting NIOS ...

similar project mode should be made available for the artists and sportspersons going in for NIOS ...

treat each category of students differently ….and see the Ripple Effect of such changes in imparting education....

cramming and rote learning and memory should never be tested …. 

the system needs a complete overhauling ….top to bottom

my words on 22nd March 2017

 my paternal grandfather and the millions he made in the 40s 50s and 60s ....somehow ...i always felt there was a curse on the huge compound with 4 bungalows ...4 of my uncles Never took up business ...one who took it up ..ran it aground ..with his Believing ways ....

however my grandad's brothers used him as a stepping stone ..to become big names in that very town ....
in my mom's side too the extreme heights my maternal grandad and some of my cousins are on ...even now ....
made me see how much better life was in Pune ...where no one cursed anyone and people were practical and simple and extremely hard working ...

both sides of my parents family ...made me want a life of a middle class person ...away from being Known and in the limelight ....
sometimes an ordinary simple life is a blessing ....

sometimes the tragedy keeps going on ....two days back my cousin on my maternal side lost her only child ...an 18year old girl child who was doing her engineering .... both my cousin's parents are no more too ...my parents call them once in a while and they call my parents sometimes ...as my cousin and her siblings have no one to consult in some cases or sometimes it is to simply share...
this cousin was my childhood best friend and glass bangle buying partner in Kallada ..my mom's village.... younger than me by 2 years ....someone who was under complete bed rest for this girl child ...her child was her world ....her husband holds a very high public post in Kerala ... such terrible times for my cousin sister and her husband .....
all i can do is send them positive vibes and hope to meet her before i leave India ...

however my kids think very differently ...as luckily they have not seen Kerala and my elder child remembers nothing of the times in Assam
i see the Panicker spark to do business in my elder kid ..since he first sold his cricket attack cards at 8yrs of age ....and ...put an online adv for his beyblades during his computer class in Bishop's Pune ....and best part he gave my phone number as the contact number ....
and now his youtube company ...as he calls it ....

Stressfree Work Environments are more Productive ...

 Never think that Stress in the work place results in Productivity or Progress ...

it results in harassed workers .... i may have stopped using Swiggy but that founder has a motto that is worker friendly ... he does not think much of those who keep ordering at night or whenever
I do strongly believe that the short span delivery system that is highly popular today is not very worker friendly ... though it is a boon for slightly forgetfull homebodies like me ...
in Parry Agro they benchmarked The Maverick aka Ricardo Semler ... he empowered his workforce and got them to be Highly Conscientious/Responsible
such a workforce doesn't need Supervision
Immediate reduction in a line of Supervisors and Managers ...
and when i used to work .... Exam Department was known for fights and memos ... when i joined i got a memo thanks to a friend from the Math Department and it was Intense the Pressure for submission of corrected papers ...
No One gave me an Iota of consideration as i was using my left hand to correct and i correct with a difference ... i write notes on the sidelines to Justify the marks given ... i was the Royal Scapegoat and my neck was Always on the line and being in the line of fire meant that ...Anyone and Everyone could take potshots at me ....ergo every other Assistant Prof could correct ... but i had to Justify and Be on Guard ... i never had the liberty of letting my guard down for even a Nano Second ...
Ergo when i started handling Central Assessment of Papers ...i first ensured that Everyone ...specially the Math Department got enough and more time to correct ...never gave that friend a memo Even when she was late ... she did say that for the first time ....paper correction is not Harried a task ...
Paper Correction unfortunately is a Core Activity and if Profs have peace of mind .... marking will be Kinder ... i hoped ...
i sincerely hope that student evaluation should not be based on Rote Learning anymore .... we need to change our system of Tests and the huge emphasis on Rote Learning in many Faculties ...
some faculties like Medicine ... i am not sure if we can get away with Rote Learning ... a doctor can not keep searching a system to know how to diagnose ...
ergo all i know is that a workplace that is Stress Free is a Happier Place as in South India ...there was Intense stress for tea planters as the Geography is such that there is Constant Run Off due to torrential rains and the hilly slopes where tea is planted ... plus the quality of leaf and tea is quite different even when it is Orthodox Tea(higher priced ) as compared to CTC ... plus elephants were a cause for stress as they could wreck havoc and they were Always Revered and Never ever harmed ....
but they were reason for cost to the company from the environment ... the entire region was a Wild Life Sanctuary ... plus there was a very Active social life ... going to and returning from those numerous parties was a huge stress factor for the wives ...specially me ... as it was a long drive back and even if the person driving has had only a few drinks ....one could end up in the river as the roads were narrow ...a few luckily stopped right at the edge of the water before going in ....
however in the north east ...tea planters had excellent quality due to the Alluvial Soil due to Constant Floods and the terrain was flat ...practically no run off and plucking was easy too ... so tea manufacturing per se was easier
the problem was threat to life from idiotic humans who wanted freedom from India ...those buffoons (Insurgent Groups) were the bane of the tea planting industry ...
external conditions being constant ... in the north east ...tea manufacturing and work was Easy and life was calmer ...however those with Factory work ...always had a killing schedule .... worked from 11pm-3am ...then from 6am-9am breakfast break ...back to work from 9.30am to 1.30pm ...break for lunch and nap till 4pm ...work from 4pm--8pm ...dinner and nap till 10.50pm ...back in the factory at 11pm ...
most planters were used to this schedule and wives usually were free to take the vehicle with a driver and have a social life ...shopping and going to the club ... not chez moi though ...
i had total and complete house arrest ... and i got sooo used to it ... i have been taken out of the Tea Estates of assssssam but i kind of live like that...i rarely feel like galivanting around ...
Ergo ...woh Sikander kya tha jisse Zulmm se Jeeta Jahaan
Pyaar se joh jeete dilon ko woh zhuka de aasmaan
who was that Alexader who conquered with cruelty
he who conquers with love will be able to make the skies dip/swoon/bend

Yippee for Some Cloud Cover today ...

 

Hallelujah…there's cloud cover today ...and i am happy for the construction workers ...working on the 10th floor (i guess) in the distance ... i was thinking about them when the sun was really hot yesterday afternoon before i started cooking ....

i got some bad FakeNews and felt soooo bad about someone's passing... that i put on music and decided to rest my eyes on the greenery outside my window ... and i noticed the labourers toiling in the hot sun and felt bad about the amount of time they had to bear the strong sunshine ....

In Bahrain during peak summer ...construction work would get done at night ... to ensure that the workers have a better deal ... in these times of Living with Climate Change ... it is good that at least some folk in the construction business have started genuinely caring about the workforce they employ ... it is difficult to switch timings when the construction site is in a residential area ... i guess

today i am glad for the dip in temperature as that means a bit of respite for those who work so hard to make homes they will never live in ... ironies in life are so strange .... people who work the hardest ...specially physical labour earn the least... but if any Executive tries construction labour for a day ... it will put them out of circulation for a week ...specially the sun's intensity ....

i guess that is what is life ... the harder the physical labour ... the lower the pay ... however ... in Kerala those engaged in physical labour get paid very well ...ergo it is difficult to find house help or farmhands of late ...

the good part is ... the Standard of Life has gone up ... many folk who are labourers and from the rest of India ...go down to God's Own country and work there and tell their folk back home that they are working in Dubai ... for them Kerala is akin to Dubai ... LOL ...

My Aunt Vijayamma ...

This Aunt of mine helped Everyone and went out of her way to be there for anyone and everyone ... on my trips to Kerala when i used to be sent alone ...after 8th grade and 9th grade and 10th and 11th grade ... my aunt would come and pick me up from my maternal granny's house or even from her elder sister's house ...in April 1988 my granny had shifted into her 3rd child's house ... that aunt's house was in town and this aunt would come all the way from the estate she would live in and pick me up and we would change 3 buses to reach her beautifull estate ...
the fragrances that used to hit me when i would walk from the bus stop to her house ....were sooo very unique ... it used to be a long walk to the estate ...and on the way there was a bunglow belonging to an Ex Officer from the Navy ... and i would always wonder how remote that place was for someone so used to town postings and the sea ...
my aunt's house was a long way away from the sea ...there were ponds there ... and one on the premises itself ... i keep asking my aunt about the trees in her compound ... i knew them sooooo very well ....they were huge and the ground littered with fruits ....two of the trees had the fruit which bore the nutmeg as a seed ...
there were a large number of cashew nut trees and we cousins would go pick up the casuarina fruit and get it back to the house and separate the nut from the casuarina apple and make a small bonfire and roast the nuts and then get our hands all dirtied by breaking the nuts and then sit around and eat it ...
being chased by a python once and then there was my favourite tree of all ... the Ilimbika tree near the toilet ... recently when i was talking to my aunt ... she said that uncle had bought that tree on one of his trips to north Kerala and he has cared for it quite a bit till it started bearing fruit .... my cousins unfortunately did not care much for that tree and the youngest boy of the house cut it down a few years ago ... i felt so bad to hear about that tree getting cut down ...
it was one of my Favourite trees ...
to the backside of the bathroom on the outside of the house ...were the clove trees and the fragrance in that part of the property was even more Awsum
to the left side of the back entrance was the breadfruit tree .... a huge one at that and it always bore a lot of fruit ... then there was a big cow shed near it and the spare rooms there got used in the later years when they uprooted the casuarina trees all around and planted rubber ... then there used to be a machine of some sort ... and a room to dry the rubber sheets ...a little away from the bread fruit tree was the big cement tank ...more like a man made pond and there two nutmeg trees right next to that water body ...
my aunt keeps lamenting that since there are no workers to pick the fruit ... it keeps falling into the pond and rotting in the water ... earlier they would make pickles with the outer covering of the nutmeg fruit ...
Mace looks sooo Brilliantly beautifull when one breaks open a nutmeg fruit ...it looks shiny and quite like plastic and i would find everything in their house sooo exquisite and fascinating ...
then there was the terrace farming ...
their house was in a bit of a valley ...kind of ... from the main door to the road in front of the house there was a steep climb ..and to the left side of the driveway ...was an area where my uncle had introduced step farming ...
there was purple yam and other horticultural crops planted and i loved the root vegetables which were a staple part of the diet ...
to the back of the house were extensive farms and to a little distance to the left of the house were the banana plantations ...
exploring the property was one of my fav things to do ... and walking in the water running through the drains dividing the paddy lands ...
so much to see, know and explore ...there was no TV in their house and we never were in the house enough to ever get bored ...
if it rained we still would be out in the fields ... in the evenings we would sit around and play board games and talk and we always wound up early ...as everyone woke up before the sun as the cows were always milked very early before sunrise ...
my aunt would start cooking very early as there were soooo many farm hands to feed and colossal amounts of food got cooked everyday ...as by a half past noon all the farm hands would troop into the house after a wash to have their lunch ... after they left ... my cousins and i would eat lunch and either go out again or sit around and play games or talk ..sometimes we would argue and time always passed sooo quickly when we were at Kotathala ...
To the north of the main road was the Bhoothataan mala aka the ghost mountain ...sometimes my aunt would drag the lot of us to the temple there and make us all pray ... and she would offer special puja in all our names ... that was fun too ...the rocks on that Ghost mountain were jet black and warm to touch and i would run around to my heart's content ...
years later when i was having major stomach pain when working full time in the college next to my house ...my aunt cut up jackfruit and dried it and then had it ground and sent the powder to me ...
it helped me with the stomach pain ...and i felt so gratefull for her having taken the effort to go out of her way for me ...
my dad and all of us kept calling her to come to Pune and she never wanted to even visit any place ... she is sooo tied to her land and house ...she has been looking after it for soo long all by herself ... during 6th grade exam time ...there was news that her husband was backstabbed by the greedy conniving people in that locality and so he just walked out of the house and that place and no one ever heard of him ever again ...
no one knows what happened to him as he disappeared into thin air ... the people in that locality are really ungratefull and mean ... he did so much for the progress of that remote region ... he was a contractor and used a lot of his own money to build access roads and ensure connectivity ...
that uncle's brother was shot down by the police for being a communist in the early 80s and i remember seeing this aunt and her entire family's photograph in a Malayalam weekly ... sitting in an Air Force station in a remote part of Pune... i thought that were quite well known ... in a tragic way though ... i never ever saw that uncle's brother ...
that uncle always bought really brilliant dress materials for his kids ... and i loved all the clothes that my cousin Molly owned ... i would borrow her clothes when i went over as they were long skirts with very short tops ... i would look very thin in her clothes and they would collectively hoo and hawww about town people transforming into proper village folk when they wore village wear and we would giggle a lot ....
the year uncle disappeared .... during the holidays post 6th grade ...i started cooking for the family and my dad's friends too ....when someone dropped by ...plus i was cooking for the alcoholic brother too ie my uncle ...it was really tough and so were the flat breads i made ...horror stories
my dad never ever complained about any food Ever ... he would quitely eat whatever goulash i ended up making ...
the alcoholic uncle was a bloody pain but i Ignored him royally ...
sadly for my aunt ...life has always been tough since she got married ...she was the most beautifull daughter of the house and a doctor had come asking for her hand in marriage and she was keen on that proposal ...
alas that did not work out and my grandad liked the next proposal very much ...it was my uncle's second marriage and he had oodles of property and lots of money too and my maternal grandfather said yes ...
there were loads of loud comments about her beauty as compared to the groom's during the marriage ceremony itself .... i guess whatever is Destined happens ... no matter who wants what ... she helped her husband fully and looked after her mother-in-law very well and had four children ... but something about that beautifull house in that awsum location was not right ...
that house saw constant sadness ...one after the other ...they still own a lot of property and they do not want for anything
but i hope they would get some peace of mind ... that things would be calm among the siblings and aunt gets to spend the rest of her days in peace ...
such little she asked for ...peace of mind .... and it has been the Most Elusive ... her entire life ...she Strived hard and met all kinds of situations head on ....poor thing had no other option but to be Strong for eveeryone ...
since 1983 ..the year uncle disappeared ...she has been Brave and dealt with all kinds of problems and looked after the land ... why can't the universe give her some peace of mind now at least ... what a diffiult life time of tears she has been given ... Cruel is life for the Very Kind and the Very Brave ...

Never ...not just a Housewife ... an epitome of Selflessness ...

They say that for everything one loses ...someone in some other part of the world gains that what one loses ...
i have been Extremely Lucky to be on a break from full time work since April 2012... i got to watch my kids grow up ...taught them instead of sending them to cram classes after school ... babysat them and their school friends ... carted them to and from sports meets far away and met many fellow aggrieved parents who kids were KRAZY about sports ...
blogged like a lazy ass ... Ranted to the High Skies on FB ...
Researched (some folks nomenclature for such Research is Stalking) mais i am quite gentle (some folks nomenclature for such genteeeel ways is Narcissism :P :P :P ) about my flaws ... at least i know that i can be a Hypocrite, Extremely Contradictory, and Narrrrcisssitic :D :D :D and Psychotic and Neurotic and the Ghost et moi and my ghostly tales make me A SCZOID :D :D :D
hmmmm let's just say the list is a Mile long
Mais in my defense .... at Least i am un peu Self AWARE :D :D :D
coming back to the original Plot
i am sooooooooooooooo Gratefull Yee Universe
for all the Free Taim to dote on my Precious DNAs both are Martian Imports :D :D :D
in 2012 i watched Hercule Poirot aka David Suchet like iohhhhh ... my afternoons alone were spent in Awsum Company avec Mr Poirot
then i read online and fought online aka Anti Corruption aka Fought Tooth and Nail with Intels from Ivy League Universities all over the globe ... lol
then i went and Rained on Phillip Nikolayev's Indian Poetry Group ....iohhhhh Never Been Such a Gooofy Dodo Ever ... i saw intels Arguing about Poetry and me-an Honours in Economics with a wee bit of French Literature (elective) and Existentialism-Philosophy(yet another Elective) decided to give Published Poets and World Famous Authors a lesson in Logic about Poetry .....ewwwwwwwwwwwww yuck moi and my Jhansi ki ulooo/owl ways post the anti corruption gang bust ....
uffff EPIC Face Palms and sooooooo Ashamed of my Don Quixote-esque Stooooopidesque Stint amongst those Erudite Authors and Poets .... eeeowwww it was
then i kinda settled down and went on like a Rottweiler after some mallu teachers in an Indian School in Bahrain ...
came back to India and Absolutely Fell in <3 with FB for it's Live Events ...getting to Hear Nobel Laureates from the comfort of my bedroom .... bought a few things via the FB market place ...
cooked and looked after my kids ...homeschooled them and finally started making videos about food
dealt with cancer while i was at home .... vis a vis ...so many patients who are working full time while dealing with cancer ...
post Radiation ...i have binge watched online content like my life depended on it LOL
i have Thoroughly Enjoyed watching all Genres of shows and movies online ...watched Avatar 2 twice in the comfort of the gold theatre during my chemo days...
my kids treated me to exquisite meals at the Ritz Carlton and other equally good restaurants on various occasions to cheer me on with the milestones crossed in my fight against the big C
i have been jolted by my Big Friend/Lovvv and his Team at Meta ...a few times LOL
i used to be present and type for a nano second and Find AWSUM excuses to RUNNNNNNNNNNNN away
However i am here to stay this time around MarkO
And when i heard my Fav Cousin and Support from Malluland say that she doesn't remember when she last watched a movie and that she never watches Television or gets time to socialise ...
I felt soooo sad for her ... i hope i get to go meet all of them in Malluland soon as i Owe her a Few hours of Leisure ... i hope i can take on her responsibilities and give her some free time ...
Shaila Chechi and her Mom aka my Aunt are the reason my parents finally sold a shop and house ...and later land my dad owned in Kadapakada in Kollam Dist...
My Aunt insisted that my parents stay with her and Close the deal and return to Pune with money to buy a house and marriage and a cushy retired life ...
when my Aunt insisted ... it meant that much additional work for my cousin .... i have been having awsum long holidays since the mid 80s with my cousins in Kollam and Trivandrum-TVPM
and they took me around the place and cheered me up and it was thorough Rejuvenation and i loved spending time in their company ...
be it my first wrap around skirt or first home made icecreams which was such a Wovvv factor as a 4-5 year old ...or even being the reason Madre cooled down about me going for the Jaipur Literature Festival --the agenda was meeting the Ostracon folk and taking the group to the next level--did not happen ... but that was a Wonderfull Experience going for the fest and getting to meet The Guru and new members i had signed on thanks to their links with the Guru...
To Shaila Chechi gently cheering me on in her oh so Subtle ways two days ago ....
I so hope the Krishnan Chaanaar Clan understands how much you have done for them and the Countless Delicious Meals you make for ALL and Sundry ...
Dearest Chechi you are not Just a Housewife and i Hope that Everyone can see How Selfless You have Been ...
The sarees you have given me and all the Long Distant Gentle Encouragement .... mentioning Mr Thesaurus Tharoor's name was a Master Stroke in Negotiation according to moi
That one statement calmed the Madre who was in Riotous Banshee mode ... i never followed Thesaurus nor would i spend time listening to him then as i was Only interested in Ostracon and World Peace ... LOL
However i have Never Ever Thanked You ...
Hat Tip Shaila Chechi
May Your Tribe Increase
and
May You Get Enough and More People Volunteering to Pitch in ...so that you and your Fav Person get to catch a movie and get an evening or two of complete Relaxation and some Free Time
You never Complain about anything ... i am making this Clear as ... people are just Waiting to Misconstrue and be Malevolent ...
🙏🏽