A wonderful line; a beautiful lesson -

We all have to choose between what is right and what is easy.

A thought inspired by talks by Swami Chinmayanandaji

I am smaller than my house. My house is in a street of a big city of a state. The state is in a big country which is a part of a huge continent. The continent is a part of the Earth. The Earth is a tiny speck in the vast universe.

I am just a small negligible nothing compared to the Earth. What would be my entity when compared to the universe?

How I wish my ego was as tiny as I am!

A thought inspired by talks by Swami Chinmayanandaji

I am smaller than my house. My house is in a street of a big city of a state. The state is in a big country which is a part of a huge continent. The continent is a part of the Earth. The Earth is a tiny speck in the vast universe.

I am just a small negligible nothing compared to the Earth. What would be my entity when compared to the universe?

How I wish my ego was as tiny as I am!

Ram and Ravana

Rama Navami, the day that marks the birth of the King of Ayodhya, Rama also marks the miraculous appearance of Sai Baba in Shirdi and is hence celebrated as Sai Baba's Janma Tithi.

Vijaya Dashami, the day Lord Rama defeated Lanka Naresh, Ravana marking the victory of good over evil is the day Sai Baba attained Samadhi from His physical body.

Such deep teaching even in birth and death. Sai Baba appeared on Rama Navamai and attained Samadhi on Vijaya Dashami or Dussehra signifying that Rama (good) and Ravana (evil) are all within us, within ourselves. 

End the evil within us and let the good, the Truth alone prevail!

A New Day...

A new day has begun and with it, it brings new hopes and new ideas and new desires…

A new hope of having made a better day than promised…

A new idea of making a better day than promised…

A new desire of making a better day than promised…

Promises made to myself, and those promises broken because…

Somethings are not in your realm of control…

Somethings are best left unsaid…

Somethings are ….. Somethings…

The apology tendered by Mr. Parasuraman

The New Indian Express came out with an unconditional apology from the writer Mr. Parasuraman when the Gujaratis and many others reacted to their article published on Feb 21, 2011. 

Nice to see that public opinion/criticism was taken constructively and that the morals of the media are in place.

Long Live Democracy!

February 23, 2011

To, 

The Editor,

The New Indian Express,

Kochi

This is in reply to your article titled "blunt edge - whose commandos are they?"

You have indeed succeeded in creating a sensation with your article. Congratulations on that, if you may! But let me tell you that you have succeeded in pissing-off people in the process, so much for your venomous article.

The article published in The New Indian Express dated Feb 21, 2011

Mr. Parasuram (I strongly believe he is a coward. Please convey this to him.) has written some very derogatory comments about the Gujaratis living in Kochi. I see no reason for him to do so, unless he had some stake in the Indi Commandos and was deprived of the same by the team owners. First of all he is forgetting that the IC is a cricket team and not a terrorist outfit owned by somebody living in Gujarat or for any part of this Earth, for God's sake.

He also seems to be very much in tune with the Gujarati lifestyle because he has named some food items which the Malayalees are not easily familiar with. So, I would say he is stabbing his friends in the back.

He calls the spice traders smugglers. Gujaratis and the people of Gujarat are the highest tax paying people of the country. Your newspaper is also from the Goenka group. They are marwaris, I believe. Smart business people.

I know you are not about to print this letter in your "Letters to the Editor" section and even if you did, it would be edited to suit your taste. I don't even want you to do it. I dare your respected journalist to go back to the ethics of his profession and write. I also dare you to publish similar hate-articles against the minority community. The next day your office would be ransacked and gutted in fire.

You may have gained some, but remember you will lose some too. People like myself who always read TNIE will now switch to some other daily. My money will not go to feed the mouths of hate-propagators.

If you have the courage and the morals, please make your respected journalist write an apology to the Gujaratis. I don't think you will do it, because you simply don't have it in you.

With all due respects cos you deserve none,
Shefali A Shah,

Cochin

Foundation Vedanta Course

Foundation Vedanta Course:

Perfection can be reached by diverting your attention from the body, the mind, and the intellect to the Life Principle, the unchanging factor which animates them. To begin with, you may choose an ideal to work towards which is higher and nobler than the usual selfish interests that we have in life. Thereafter, dedicate all your activities to this ideal. You are then bound to progress in life materially and spiritually. A perfect individual is one who chooses the highest divine Principle as the ideal and dedicates all activities to it. Such an individual lives a life of total independence and is freed from the influence of the changing perceptions, emotions, and thoughts. '

Lesson 1, Foundation Vedanta Course.
Register for the postal/online course today.
Visit: www.chinfo.org/foundationvedantacourse

What brought me to the Chinmaya Mission?

It was November 2002, Children's Day was being celebrated @ the KDO (for the uninitiated it means Kutchi Dasha Oswal - the community I belong to) Mahila Manch (the ladies wing of the community). Three ladies were invited to make the evening special for the children. They started off with Hindu prayers (I have to specify, bcos KDO is a Jain community) and I was glued; glued forever. I don't really know what they made the kids do later, but I was hooked for life.


I later learnt that the three ladies in question were Sarojben, Neela Vasant and Neela Rajesh and these three ladies took Bal Vihar classes for children every Saturday from 4 pm to 5:30 pm. It sounded nice and interesting 'cause otherwise I wasn't doing much in life except cook three times a day and be a dutiful housewife (whether I liked it or not). I so wanted to join them. I don't know why, where, how..but some strange power kept pulling me towards the Bal Vihar. I just wanted to be there. I expressed my desire but it was phoo-phooed.


I forgot all about it. Rather, put it at the back of my mind with the thought that it will never work out. But God has his plans and no one can phoo-phoo them.


It was March 2004. Arvind and I moved to Lalan Road; not a very good address, but we were moving out of a joint family and setting up our own nest. So the address was really not important. We had dreams, aspirations and hope.

And, who is my new neighbour but Mrs. Neela Vasant herself. WOW! Was God being generous or what? We got off on a fantastic start as neighbours. Slowly, the seed of joining Bal Vihar started sprouting again. I expressed my desire to my hubby and with the green signal, offered my services to Bal Vihar via Neela Aunty.


And, I have not looked back since. My association with the Chinmaya Mission had begun. I was on my journey. Journey of life.


I have turned a full 180 degrees as a person; and still more room to change and get better.


I love my life. It's worth everything I stand for today. 


God has indeed been kind and gracious. I know He is there for me. With his Blue Umbrella. I can feel His presence in my every day. He works miracles in my life and I feel them. 


I have found some of the best gems in his treasury and they are my crown jewels.

Tere Bin Laden

"Tere Bin Laden" really inspired me to get onto the blog and write about it.

The movie is about a young Pakistani who is so smitten by the idea of migrating to America that he would do just-about-anything to fulfil his dream.

After being rejected 6 times in a span of 7 years, Ali Zafar, the young aspirant finally resorts to manipulating his passport and for that he needs loads of moolah. He chances upon a dumbo Osama look-alike called Noora (wonderfully played by Pradhuman Singh). Ali, along with his crook friends Gul, Qureshi, Lateef and Zoya trick Noora into speaking in Arabic which is actually a threat to the USofA.

This fake tape triggers the Great American war on Afghanistan.

They decide to tape another film where Osama is pleading with George Bush for a cease-fire.

What leads them from the frying-pan into the fire is what makes up for the whole movie.

Endless joy as the humour is clean and fun to watch.

Exceptional performances by Ali Zafar and Pradhuman Singh.

My vote : Watch it!!!!

One of those days...

Have you ever woken up feeling like "This day is different"? Well, I did yesterday and indeed my day did turn out to be different.

I woke feeling on-top-of-the-world (it was my b'day, you see) and it was like a day specially blessed by God. Everything just fell in place on it's own accord. It was one of those days when you feel like God is really watching over you and silently removing all obstacles, minor and major, from your path so that you can tread carelessly and not trip over anything.

I lived a dream yesterday. My husband made my day extra special. He made me feel like I was the only person to have ever had a birthday. He was so thoughtful. I couldn't stop gushing about the day being so special.

Thank you God for the beautiful day and thank you dear husband for making it special... Love you!

Kai baar yun hi dekha hai, yeh jo mann ki seema rekha hai, mann todne lagta hai;
Anjaani aas ke peeche, anjaani pyaas ke peeche, mann daudne lagta hai...


Such depth in such simple words. All of us, sometime or the other, have been victims of our flighty minds. We wish to break the barriers that bind us physically and our mind takes wings and flies and flies into our dream world. Someone I know once told me that our mind was way faster than the fastest jet ever built. To prove that do as I say :


1. Close your eyes


2. Think of the one place you would love to be in


3. Lo! You are there.


Wasn't that faster than the jet?


Kai baar yun hi dekha hai....

My food trip to Bangalore - 4

Day 4, Jan 02, 2010


The last morning of the holiday was upon us. Having been to all the hot-spots in the city, we had a lot of time on our hands and hunger-pangs in our stomachs. We set out @ 8 am with our minds set on the b'fast of the day. Our taxi-driver suggested Adiga's @ Malleswaram. 


We were surprised to notice that the darshini style b'fast was the only way people here had their b'fasts. And, I was always made to believe that food should be had seated and not on your feet. But, I guess, Grandma stories are ...


We ordered idli, vada, dosas and coffee, the regular. Oh! How I just could not eat the dosas. They are too heavily ghee-laden and too thick for my choice. But the idli, vada and the coffee was nice.


We made our way to Devanahalli where we visited a Jain Temple. Beautifully done up place...


Our lunch destination was, Raj Vansh @ Sigma Mall.


Warning: The menu contents may make you drool and your mouth water. Please read at your own risk...


The Menu:

• dal-bati, churma (loaded with badam, pista)
• masala dhokla
• kati roll (it was more like a rolled-up cutlet, actually)
• papad
• sweet & sour chutney
• coriander chutney
• salad
• raita
• vatana nu shak (green peas curry)
• punjabi aloo (potatoes cooked in punjabi style)
• turiya vatana (ridged gourd and green peas)
• ker sangri (traditional rajasthani vegetable)
• aam ras kadhi
• gujarati kadhi
• dal
• rotli
• puran poli
• puri
• aam ras
• rosogolla
• fruit custard
• plain rice
• khichdi
• pulav
• paan (@ rs 15 each)

Phew...couldn't eat more... The lunch thali costs just Rs. 200/-. We had to have a siesta after this- a 1-hour siesta.

Evening tea was @ barista @ garuda mall. This was to be our last evening in Bangalore. And we also had to finish some mithai shopping for friends and relatives. So off we went to K C Das (the best in town for son papdi and bengali sweets), Anand Sweets. 

Anytime you go to Bangalore, do not miss pani puri @ Tiwari Sweets (very close to Commercial Sweets).

Also worth trying are the chaats @ anand sweets..

Our holiday came to an end and surprisingly, inspite of a good time, I was glad to be returning home...

My food trip to Bangalore - 3

Day 3, Jan 01, '10


The new year had dawned and the heart was flying high with excitement. What is in store this year?... Lots to ponder...


The moment I woke up each day in Bangalore, I would only be thinking about food. Never saw myself get so hungry ever...


I was @ the hotel coffee-shop by 7:30 to start gorging on the food. There was lots on offer, but sadly the place was filled with some weird smell that made me want to puke. But, my stomach had a mind of it's own and I had to eat. Reminded me of the ad "Mummy ki sunu ya tummy ki"...


A quick toast-butter-jam coffee made my early b'fast. Arvind and I then headed to "Madurai Idly Shop" in Koramangala (now, that place is a cool 40 minutes away from the place we were staying in). The b'fast combo there consists of 1 idli, 1 vada, upma and chutney/sambar for Rs. 25 only...


We had a darshini b'fast (darshini in karnataka means a quick b'fast where you stand @ the table which is probably shared by many others and grab a quick bite) and headed to explore the place. We took an auto to Jayanagar in hunt of a chocolate place called Choco World and instead found Anand Sweets there too. Having had a full b'fast did not stop us from sharing a "rabdi". Believe you me that the rabdi was awesome.


We thought we would have to skip lunch now that we had over-loaded our stomachs with more than it could hold. Headed back to the hotel and called a taxi to take us to Pinia (I don't know how it's spelt). On the way, we decided to go to Ulsoor to a quaint little shop called Jute Cottage. Now, this place is pretty close to Indira Nagar and I was very keen to click a picture of Rahul Dravid's home. Its another matter that once we reached his doorstep, I got cold-feet... (he stays @ Srishti, 12th Main, Indira Nagar).


On the way, we decided to have lunch (yeah, crazy aren't we?). We halted @ Nagarjuna (andhra food). Spicy to the core and even tastier. I had more than I could imagine... It was simply delicious... Please try it once...


The 1st Jan was spent eating and eating more...


We made three social calls that day and all our hosts were more than gracious. They stuffed us with food and more food and we ended the day with ice cream called "Death by Chocolate".. :-P


:)

My food trip to Bangalore - 2

Day 2, Dec 31st, 2K9.


The day started earlier than expected on a holiday @ 6 am. Headed for a shower and had to literally drag my hubby out of bed so that we cud go grab a hearty b'fast. We had decided that the b'fast @ the hotel was a strict no-no and so we went b'fast-joint hunting.


The last b'fast of 2K9 was @ Brindavan Hotel, M G Road. As they say, "never judge a book by it's cover", so too, here we were surprised. We were pretty put off by the appearance and the general hygiene of the place, but decided to go ahead since it was recommended by a trust-worthy friend. We ordered idli, vada, plain dosa and coffee. It was truly tasty and all this for just Rs. 80/- WOW!


Looks can, after all, be deceptive!! :-)




The lunch on the 31st was with our relatives @ South Indies, Infantry Road.


The speciality of this place is that the menu comprises exclusively of the 4 southern states of India, viz. Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. And they are authentic to the core...



We had the lunch buffet and don't ask me the names of the dishes on offer there, coz I couldn't read them then and do not remember them now. All I remember is that I had a wonderful time there...

We now reach the climax of the day... The New Year's Eve.. As I have mentioned earlier, my husband and I were celebrrating our 10th wedding Anniversary on the 1st of Jan, so we decided to make it extra special.

We booked ourselves a table at The Gateway Hotel, Residency Road.

It was par excellance... The arrangement there was beyond expectations. We were seated at our allocated table and were then introduced to Raja and Munish who were to take care of us that evening.

The starters started coming to our table one after the other... there was "hara bhara kabab", "cheese and veg balls", "cracker pizza" and several others which I don't seem to remember.. We then ordered a drink for ourselves and hit the dance floor.

The food spread was huge and very filling. The dessert table was the best. Wide variety of desserts and I just couldn't decide on how many to eat...

Our evening ended @ 12:30 that night and what a way to ring in the new and ring out the old....


Happy 2010 to all...

My food trip to Bangalore

Hi! Happy New Year to all who bother reading this stuff...


Sorry about that, but I sometimes wwonder do I really have it in me to write a blog? But I enjoy it nonetheless.


The last year was very eventful for the whole world, what with the recession hitting the headlines and everything, but personally for me too it was a very eventful year.. A lot of things happened and a lot of knots in relationships got loosened (if not totally released). But the most happening thing of last year whas the holiday in Bangalore. My husband and I were celebrating 10 blissful years of matrimony on the 1st of Jan and we decided that having survived so long togehter was reason enough to celebrate. So, we planned on taking the last week of the year off and headed to Bangalore. The City of Gardens and The SIlicon City and The Lake City, phew, too many names for 1 wonderful city.


We wanted to eat and drink and be merry and that is exactly what we did. We ate, we drank and we did merry. And believe me, I'm no foodie but the way I hogged you would think I was starved and had just arrived from a drought-hit area.


We reached Bangalore on the morning of Dec 30th and soon after a shower, we headed to the world-famous MTR (Mavalli Tiffin Room). We ate rava idli, khara bath (thats the kannadiga name for rava upma) and dosa (the dosas in Bangalore were pretty thick to begin with and loaded with ghee and smeared with chutney-not my type at all) and coffee. Now, before I go further, let me tell you I AM NOT A FOODIE, but I loved eating in Bangalore...

Lunch on the 30th was @ Rajdhani, a Rajasthani/Gujarati food outlet in UB City Mall. The choice of food was wide-spread but found it a wee-bit expensive..


Hardrock Cafe was our pub destination for the 30th and boy! it was worth the trip. Very nicely made up place.

We walked the Brigade Road (THE destination if you want to ogle at the beauties out there) and all the walking made us hungry again and we headed to Mast Kalandar which was a damp squib... We quit the place and luckily found Oye! Amritsar two buildings away. And the dinner there comprised of aloo-mutter, dal makhani, roti and jeera rice. AWESOME...

This is the story of Day 1 in Bangalore.. There are 3 days more to go and there will be a special for each day.
Until then, ciao....

Nuggets of wisdom

On Jan 8, 2008, I had the good fortune of attending a spiritual discourse by Swami Ishwarananda of the Chinmaya Mission, Los Angeles, USA. (Hard to believe he was a software engineer before he turned to this path and that was 23 years ago.)

He gave some wonderful tips on "Successful living". I put forward the same as understood by myself.

1. Change yourself - We cannot change anyone and attempting to do so only brings sorrow. However, we can change ourselves. Gandhiji once said "You have to be the change you want to see".

2. We should have the strength to change what we can; The courage to accept what we cannot; and the wisdom to know the difference between the two.

3. Success is relative to happiness - Do not rely on others for your happiness as that only paves the way for sorrow.

4. Smart people learn from other peoples' experiences.

5. (This I still have to learn to do) Know how to die cheerfully!

Anger Prevention Kit

Think!
A matchstick has a head but no brain.


Whenever there is a little friction, it fires up.


Let us learn from this little matchstick.


We have both heads and brains.


Therefore, let us not react on impulses.


Always judge and then act.


Keep Smiling!

Courtesy: Bal Vihar magazine Oct, 2009.

Hi! Recently I was gifted this book "Seeds of Wisdom" by Osho by a very dear Aunt of mine. The book is a compilation of short anecdotes which Osho uses to enlighten the ordinary human mind towards the Higher Truth.

I have read a book partly since it needs to be digested and not swallowed. Here, I share a short story from the book.

"Our Mind, Too, Is Full Of Holes"

The night is past and the rays of the morning sun are spreading over the fields. We have just crossed a small stream. Hearing the sound of train, a flock of white herons flies from the white lilies towards the sun.

Then something happens and the train stops. Halting in this lonely place feels good to me. My unknown fellow passengers are also awake. They boarded at some wayside station in the middle of the night. Perhaps taking me for a sannyasin, they come as though to touch my feet. An eagerness to ask something is in their eyes.

Finally one of them speaks, "If it does not inconvenience you, I wish to ask a question. I am interested in God and I have tried hard to reach him, but all to no avail. Does this mean that God does not favor me?"

I say, "Yesterday I went to a garden. Some friends were with me. One of them was thirsty so he lowered a bucket into the well. The well was very deep and it took some effort to pull the bucket up, but when it appeared at the top of the well it was empty. All the others laughed."

It seemed to me that the bucket was like a man's mind; it had many cracks and holes. Of course, at first it was filled with water, but every drop ran out through the holes. Our mind, too, is full of holes.

Offer the leaking mind to existence as persistently as you wish, it will return to you empty. If you repair the bucket beforehand, my friends, it becomes easy ti fill it with water. Of course, the leaking bucket may cause you to undertake many exercises in asceticism, but it will not quench your thirst.

Remember that existence is neither sympathetic nor unsympathetic. It is your responsibility to keep your bucket intact. The well is always ready to offer you water. It will not deny you.

Kaminey

Don't go by the title, it's just the name of a new hindi movie starring Shahid Kapoor (in a double role), Priyanka Chopra, Amol Gupte and many others.

The first time I heard the song "Dhan Te Nan" on TV, I was hooked. Something inside me (not my Conscience, my instinct) told me this movie is going to be a cult movie. I had the feeling it was going to be different from the others (how cliched). And refreshingly, it is DIFFERENT!!

To begin with, the title is so unusual. I mean, Kaminey means RASCAL and nobody wants to have a swear word as a title, but it totally justifies the movie. The music is simply fantabulous (Vishal Bharadwaj after Omkara, and no hangover after beedi cos the music is different). Gulzar's lyrics are simple yet deep. I would say Gulzar is one talented person who has been completely overshadowed by the more-glamorous peers.

The story as all know is about twins brothers Charlie and Guddu (played excellently by Shahid Kapoor). The two brothers have a speech defect each, where in Charlie cannot say 's' and he instead says 'f', like "manhoos" would be said as "manhoof" by Charlie. Actually, he does say it in the movie and it sounded really funny. Guddu on the other hand stammers in his speech.

The story revolves around the two brothers and their lives.

The first half of the movie is slow-paced (do not mistake it with tortoise-paced, its much faster than that) where the director (Vishal Bharadwaj) is setting the base for the movie which seems to fly in the second half.

Not a dull moment in the movie. You would expect such movies to be serious, but its a pleasant surprise to see some light moments in the movie which are so natural. I mean, you don't have to force a laugh, you automatically laugh.

Shahid Kapoor shines in his portrayal of Charlie, Guddu is lovable but wonderfully executed by Shahid again. Priyanka as Sweety, Guddu's girl is superb. A typical maharashtrian girl, loud and gets her way out of sticky situations. One particular scene that I totally liked her in is when she confronts her politician-goonda brother Bhope Bhau (Amol Gupte) and his gang towards the end of the movie with a gun that looks heavier than she is. The look on her face where she wants to protect her husband is so natural.

I also liked the character Mikhail (played by Chandana..., sorry I don't know the full name). His friendship with Charlie is so deep inspite of being in the underworld.

The movie Kaminey has a negative title, but the message I got from the movie is

• good always prevails over evil
• blood in thicker than water

Ultimately, Guddu succeeds in partly transforming his wayward brother Charlie and the two brothers come to each other's rescue.

I loved the movie! Worth a watch, definitely!