My Letter To Editor @ Deccan Chronicle - Feb 21, 2012

P.S: There is one more, I am yet to post it in blog :)

My Letter at Readers' Opinion - Deccan Chronicle

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/editorial/letters-editor/rural-sanitation-825

Exam tension
It has become crystal clear that irrespective of the syllabus stress and anxiety due to exams is constantly on the rise among students and parents (Students keep fingers crossed, Feb. 19). The government should try to introduce a stress-free education-cum-examination system. The focus must be on knowledge acquisition and not exams.
Sudha Subramanian

Bhumi

Activity: Bhumi is one of India's largest independent youth volunteer non-profit organisation. Our volunteers work amongst orphaned and underprivileged children in Chennai, Thiruvallur, Bengaluru and Chandigarh with the aim of providing children with quality education and enable them to become responsible and productive citizens of the future. The efforts of our volunteer force consisting of over 300 students and young professionals under the age of 30 benefit over 2,500 children every year.

Details: 1. Kanini Computer literacy programme involving teaching of basic and advanced concepts based on the children's aptitude levels.

Support: Education, Children, Environmental Conservation, Mentorship

Note: Bhumi is an under-30 youth volunteer organisation, and to be able to reach out to more children, we need volunteers who can spend 2 hours every weekend to teach at an orphanage near their residence.

This post is a part of BlogAdda's Bloggers Social Responsibility (BSR) initiative. I am exercising my BSR. You can too with three simple steps. Visit http://www.blogadda.com/bsr/ and support the NGO's.

Unsung Songs

While the not so new-fangled radio stations are blaring with those alleged hit songs, hundreds of songs from Tamil films are under-rated in my opinion. I list here few of the songs which are not heard too often but have stolen my heart:

1. Song: Poovinai thirandhu (The song is mesmerizing with Shreya Goshal's voice)
    Film: Anandha Thandavam
2. Song: Ennuyir thozhiye (A different composition by A.R.Rahman)
    Film: Kangalaal Kaidhu Sei
3. Molachu Moonu (I love it much)
    Film: Velayudham
4. Manasukkul manasukkul (Excellent composition)
    Film: Anjaadhe
5. Mazhaye mazhaye (Beautiful composition)
    Film: June R
6. Anbe endhan anbe (Moves me a lot)
    Film: June R
7. Thulasi chediya (Good one)
    Film: Seval

Some of the over-rated numbers in my opinion are:
1. Song: Sahara Film: Sivaji
2. Some of Ilayaraja's songs which I find to be terribly repetitive! (No offence meant)

P.S: I shall soon add more songs to the list and links to listen to them online.

Cognates & Faux Amis

Cognates are those words that mean the same in French and English whereas False Friends ie. Faux Amis are those that have dissimilar meanings. Few examples are quoted below:

Cognates:
Reception
Television
Internet
And a lot more...

Faux Amis:
Aimer (To wish) vs. To Aim
Rester (To remain) vs. To rest
Timid (To be shy) vs. To be timid
Ignore (To be ignorant) vs To ignore
And a lot more..

How to Type in French in MS Word 2007

The steps to easily type in French and spellcheck in MS Word 2007 are as below:

1. Open MS Word

2. Go to Review tab

3. Click on Set Language in the tool bar and choose the language as French (France)

4. Now type your content as though in English and get your Spelling & Grammar correction done by Word.

Typing Special Characters:

1. Click on Insert -> Symbol -> More Symbols
2. Select the required symbol and click Insert button
3. Alternatively, you can also allot shortcut keys for quick usage

Happy typing!

French Alphabets and Accents

Alphabets:
Alphabets are the same as in English, though the pronounciation varies -
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Accents:
Accent Aigu as in é
Accent Grave as in è, à
Circonflexe as in ê
Cédille as ç
Tréma as in ë

The Why Question

Ask a layman or a genious if the habit of questioning 'why' is a good sign and as most would expect, the reply would be a big 'yes'. In fact, many would stress that 'Why'-ing is an indication of curiosity, intellectualism, creativity blah blah and would commend you if you heed to it. It is all right, I agree, but not everytime and everywhere. To me, questioning is not always laudable, reasons being that it could often poke into a person's personal space or at times, the interrogated wouldn't have a convincible answer. Normally, I fall into the category of the latter, yet, rarely, I lose the interest to answer, too.

In most cases, I have been incessantly questioned when I get chance to meet strangers or people nearly strange. I am quoting from some of my day-to-day experiences I have had, just for a funny remembrance:

When I accidentally meet those to-be-friends, those relatives with whom I have lost touch for quite a number of years or those I am at the verge of forgetting, the first spontaneous chain of words from them is, 'So.. where do you work?'. I respond meekly, 'Xyz company'. (You may pounce at me that such happenings are common anywhere. But to me, a question is a question. The more the same question is asked, the more does it irk me.) And the conversation continues as:

He/She: Been in same company all these years?

Me: Yes

He/She: Why? No intention to move to this Abc company? The daughter of my neighbour's cousin's brother's... is working there.

Me: *Blink Blink*

He/She: How do you commute everyday?

Me: Train

He/She: Bus is more comfortable than train. Train generally is full of rush. Why do you go by train then?

Me: *Blink Blink* (Too impatient to even answer briefly)

He/She: Hey, didn't you travel abroad? My friend's son works for the same company and he has travelled some four times.

Me: Blink Blink.. Yeah (God knows what this yeah means).

Friend: How long have you been working?

Me: N years

Friend: N years!! OMG! You must have been so patient to have worked for these many years, aren't you?

Me. He he. Yeah, perhaps! 

Friend: So, what do you do? 

Me: I work in Xyz

Friend: Oh cool!! Then why are you participating in this programme? Why do you want to try this out? Why this.. and why that.. Why here.. why there...

Me: :| :'(

And the list goes on and on. All these might sound too corny but I am highly nagged to listen to the same questions over and over, especially to those I personally have no logical answers.Tell someone you are in a job and they ask you why this job. Or tell that you don't work right now and still you are asked why. Tell them you are married and you are questioned oh, why so soon. Or that you aren't yet and they ask you, what?, it's high time! My response to such inundated questions is just a simple smile as I don't have an answer myself to most of the ones posed at me. Probably one day I would rationally come up with a reasonable reaction. Until then, things would be just as they are. No reasons. No logic.

There was this saying by Pearl Bailey that I read once I was randomly googling - 'I don't really look forward to anything. I just wake up in the morning everyday and whichever way God turns my feet, I go.'. And that perfectly describes me!

Decoding Islam

A thought provoking write-up on decoding Islam with well elaborated ideas on Talak, Bride-Price, Parity and lot more:

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/editorial/op-ed/decoding-islam-200

Love - Lost & Found

I am not much of a poetry person, at least until now. Yet, there is something that I adore and would like to engrave on my blog. Here follows an excerpt from Only Love is Real by Dr.Brian Weiss quoting a poem of Victor Hugo.

And still her grief would not abate.
At last she bore another child, and great
Was the father's joy; and loud his cry: "A Son!"
That day, to thus rejoice-he was the only one.
Dejected and wan the mother lay; her soul was numb. . . .
Then suddenly she cried with anguish wild,
Her thoughts less on the new than on the absent child. . . .
"My angel in his grave, and I not at his side!"
Speaking through the babe now held in her embrace
She hears again the well-known voice adored:
"Tis I,-but do not tell!" He gazes at her face.
-Victor Hugo

The summary as I understand: The stanza brings out the grief of a mother who has lost a child and doesn't have the heart to come out of the sorrow even as she bears another son. As she laments, the new-born held in her hands confesses to the disheartened mother that it is the same soul that has come again. Reincarnation beautifully explained!


P.S.: I'm still trying to figure out to which poem of Victor Hugo's does this piece belong to. More of Victor Hugo's and other poets' collections are available at: http://www.poetry-archive.com/

Green Coalition

Activity: Green Coalition Network is an independent non-governmental environmental advocacy organization that was informally founded in the year 2000.

Green Coalition is dedicated to improving public health standards, protecting the environment and promoting sustainable development & ethical business.

We provide practical eco-friendly solutions that integrate long-term economic prosperity and sound social development, thereby bringing about real positive change. We implement this by influencing public opinion, building constructive partnerships with industry and the government and promoting community and corporate programs focused on youth & public participation.

Support: environmental awareness, environmental education, environmental advocacy, public health, fair trade, sustainable development, Third Sector Consulting

Note: We want more active volunteers and members. You can also have a look at our current requirements at the page below
http://www.greencoalition.net/volunteer.html

This post is a part of BlogAdda's Bloggers Social Responsibility (BSR) initiative. I am exercising my BSR. You can too with three simple steps. Visit http://www.blogadda.com/bsr/ and support the NGO's.

Gift for love Or Love for gift??

As the day of Valentine is approaching, I see most pages in newspapers with articles overflowing on love, sharing and everything on Valentine. Turn around everywhere and talks are on about the so-called selfless love, romantic songs falling on your ears from all directions and more so on the idea of gifting beloved ones with which greeting card sellers and flowerists or bouquet vendors would profit the maximum, not unbeknownst to us.

With regard to any celebration, be it birthday, wedding anniversary etc., Valentine's day included, I am totally apprehensive over the idea of gifting. The grown-up in me comprehends that the motive behind gifting or receiving gifts on V-day is to shower your affection on your love-lady/lad. Invariably, I also question if such a custom we have proudly acquired from the west and following with utmost concern than any other from our beautiful tradition has led us to somewhere where gifting has become obligatory. As I view my society, just like how people are enormously pride at watching a newly released movie on the first-show of the first-day, there is a sense of pride in the show-off that goes after  gifting. In other words, besides love, is it also an indication of an irresistible feel for gaining attention amongst friends or surroundings with the richness of the gifts shared?!

At the end of the much-hyped V-day, in case the cupid-struck youngsters are amicably demanded to share what have been showered with on their special day, it is nearly mandatory to bring out the bragger in them, to implicitly prove that he/she is the best lover in the world. Because, innately, deep inside, the world around judges people based on what they gift or have been gifted or they might be mocked at or looked down. 

Personally I feel that such customs have also been a grand factor in the increased expectations of today's world. I remember reading somewhere, 'You are what you gift'. And as with anything and everything, this could be viewed positively or negatively. On the negative front, on such occasions, you are determined by what you present. Sadly, today's 'selfless' love expects it, too.

Once when I shared with my classmates and teacher that it was my nephew's b'day, the immediate question from my teacher was, 'hey, what did you gift?'. I was dumb-stuck as soon as the question was posed at me because, the thought of gifting my two-year old nephew never crossed my mind, until I was asked. Most of the times I go out, I get something or the other for my loveable nephew with all love in the world, regardless of whether he needs/asks for it or not. The love I and my family have towards him is inexplicable. But when I was questioned about what I gave him on his b'day, I had no answers which had the possibility of creating a false impression on the affection I have for the baby. The whole day, I was pondering, how the perception over gifting has changed, over time.

Like I read today, I strongly believe that the concept of gifting has to never be obligatory and it is an involuntary instinctive feeling. Love is never compulsive, and so is presenting gift. In short, if you do not gift your valentine on the V-day and your amour loves you as much as always with no disappointments, then, I hope, it is one of the signs of selfless love and a less materialistic society.

BlogAdda

Su Do Ku

How I detested it in the past and how I adore it now! Once there was this puzzle-solving session during my college days and I struggled to complete correctly even half of the Su Do Ku the prof gave. Highly amazed at some of my classmates cracking it in less than half an hour, I came to deciding then and there that this is not gonna be my cup of tea. Never. Ever since then I never bothered or volunteered to try it. So all these years, a strict no-no to Su Do Ku even if someone would offer me a crore to solve one easy puzzle. And more so, not even a head-turn from me on those appearing in the everyday newspapers, either.

Therefore it all remained the same until one fine day when my neurons worked overtime and sent (rather received?) a signal to try it out. I was so surprised at how I could do it too. Not to mention that all these days, I had consiously put myself behind and never let myself try the simplest of things. Today, things are upside down with it. I don't find a day complete without solving atleast two of it. Day by day, I am observing myself the improvement I show tremendously.

Practice makes perfect and hopefully someday I will reach heights with my writing, too. Still there are lots of areas where I would wish to lay my hands. The list never ends. However, glad, my thought processes are continuously improving and so am I. Kudos to myself, this time. I love Su Do Ku!

Security As Such

Of late, I must say, certain undesirable happenings have forced me to think over the importance or perhaps the role of men in any woman's life, in general and to point it out straight- in terms of security. All these years I have never felt the uncontrollable adrenaline rush of noticing someone frequenting around your residence trying to capture a glimpse of what's in who's, let alone seeing a robber.

Twice has it happened that I came to casually note that 'someone' moving around at midnight and the sense of panic cannot be described in words. The ever-increasing pressures of economic conditions remain one of the main reasons for increase in thefts, not to mention the influence of films. Darn it.  By God's grace nothing serious has happened in our appartment as safety measures have been undertaken, yet questions keep popping in my brain's window on the security issues that still bothers women in our so called modern society. I repeat the nostalgic verses from my high-school prayer - My angels, protect me.

Having said that, anytime, it is an undeniable fact that the presence of men poses an increase in security irrespective of whether they are truly courageous or not and if they will really be of help in case of emergency or when in need. The mere presence of such a male, I guess, protects us to a great extent. I sense that, the much needed psychological feel of security is practically multiplied with a father/brother/husband figure.

I recollect that once we got stuck at a famous temple with no buses to catch at midnight. Thankfully came another family under similar situation and know what, with the aide of a woman, her entire family including her hubby and us, could catch an auto, chase a bus, successfully get into it and reach home back at that odd hours. All of this was led by a woman and the man in her family was nothing more than a simple presence. But as I imagine the situation without him, I could strongly relate that the already prevailing challege of getting back at untimely hours would have still become a bigger problem, had the gent not been there.

Although it is commonly worded that women are independant now-a-days, events such as these reinforce the necessity of a fatherly figure in the least of concerns. I constantly wonder what gave my mother the courage to bring her children up single-handedly and I consciously keep myself up and brave when insecurity raises its head at times. Nothing is totally new in this world and it is all to be faced, I tell myself.

Hopefully

Back to blogging with my first post of this year. With all the hustle-bustles of life I had almost forgotten that I own a blog and that I wanted to pen down as and when I was triggered to write. Not been into blogger for quite a time, now as I read myself my posts it looks as if the events have all happened yesterday.  2011 was a mixed year, I have had my own share of happiness, desires, sorrows, disappointments, the grief of missing loved ones, confusions and what not! A year filled with experiences to mould myself in and out. And before I could blink, a month has crossed in 2012! How time runs, hmm.. And it sounds interesting and a bit funny to re-read my own few posts and now I imagine how much would I have progressed/transformed in terms of thought processes and as a person as such if and when I go through all of my writings years later. To discover and rediscover what I was, I am and what I would be.. this is a neat platform. I hope and wish to continue writing! May blog keep me inspired and motivated! God bless!