My Experiences with Arunchaleshwara - Girivalam in Tiruvannamalai

Tiruvannamalai...a place that became close to me after my marriage..for my husband was born in this temple town and I had loads of relatives living there and the story of my inlaws first meeting in this town during our grandfather A.K.Sekar's shooting in the Arunachala hills some 50 years ago.  My few visits to Tiruvannamalai was for the family functions and quick visits to the magnificiant temple of Lord Arunchaleshwar and Godess Unnamalaiaar, was all that I had in my life till yesterday.  

Today my connectivity to this place and the god is totally changed.  As we were relaxing after a busy Sunday afternoon, I asked my husband if we can go to Tiruvannamalai Girivalam as the full moon is just peeping in, the first day of the Marghalzi month and also auspicious time as he is on the mandala puja to Sabarimala.   He readily agreed to my surprise. We requested my mom to take care of my daughter and got onto our bike and zoomed off to the CMBT bus stand..where we took the first bus available at 8.30 pm...and then started to talk about the memories of our place..we dozed off as the breeze of the winter night started to smile on our faces...We woke up at 2 am when the bus reached T.V.Malai...after a small cup of hot coffee...we started to walk.

From the place we embarked..15 kilometers ahead of us...first time I did not doubt my fitness.  Small treks and runs were different.  This is something got to do with me and my mind.. heart and  devotion...my physical strength verses mental ability... above all the blind faith in the possibilities ahead.   We reached the Rajagopuram after offering prayers at Rettapillayar (Twin Ganesha's) temple and stood for a minute in silence to enjoy the moment of a good beginning.  

As we walked 50 meters, we got our first stop at the temple of Indra Lingam ( on the East)...this is the first of the Asthalingams that are around the Arunachala hills.  Every few meters, we found a small temple., a nandhi statue or a pond gracefully greeting us at the mid of the night.  The resonances of the Om Arunachala mantra in the air, and the chill winds touching us gracefully and the full moon guiding us as our friendly guide, we could not ask for more.

It was sheer faith that made us walk, like it did to millions of devotees who throng the route of Girivalam - a 14 kilometers path around the hills of Arunachala every full moon night month after month.  To me, its winning over my own self.  My own limitations and it was like heading towards a finishing line..this time at the feet of the temple that I admired for its grand architecture, faith and magnificiant technicalities of the temple towers.  

You have to see it to believe it.  The sculptures are sheer artistic excellence and shows the brilliant creativity of our ancient era.  The structures remain as a testimony to our engineering abilities of an era that did not have any technology that we witness today.  However, they are far superior in the terms of creativity, sustainability, attracting and monitoring earth's movements and astrophysics that never became a debate with the dates written from times immemorial.

As we moved across the next 7 temples specially said to be created by the god's themselves, I could not stop pondering from the depth of knowledge and the sheer brillinace of our ancestors who made accurate predictions of the times, directions and zodiac significances.  We cannot rule out this at all, as in real terms of its sheer mathematics and science everywhere...in terms of calculations of the temple structures, directions of the dieties, the placing of the ponds and the visual treat of the mountains and the dancing of the sunrises and full moon shines...it pushed me into a trance of happiness and inner self-realization 

8 Lingams Around Girivalam Path:

 

Lingam	Direction	Moon Sign	Distance from the starting point
Indra Lingam	East	Vrishabha, Tula (Taurus, Libra)	50 m
Agni Lingam	South East	Simmam (Leo)	1.5 Km
Yama Lingam	South	Viruchigam (Scorpio)	3 Km
Niruthi Lingam	South West	Mesham (Aries)	6 KM
Varuna Lingam	West	Makaram, Kumbam (Capricorn, Aquarius)	8 KM
Vayu Lingam	North West	Kadagam (Cancer)	9.5 KM
Kubera Lingam	North	Dhanush, Meenam (Sagittarius, Pisces)	11 KM
Eesanya Lingam	North East	Mithunam, Kanni (Gemini, Virgo)	13 Km

    

As we reached 10 kms mark, I gave a hi-fi to my husband feeling elated like a child...and then the next 5 kilometers was bit tiring but the strain of the joints and the feet did not hinder our spirits.  As we kept chanting the slokas and songs, we found the strength to move on.  All that we did was to stop at 2 places for a quick 2 minute power breaks to hydrate ourselves with lemonade in the midst of winter night...not forgetting the lessons of the marathons and runs I witnessed.   

The best was my awe at the Irrukki Pillayar temple, this small temple has no diety but a small passage that we have to crawl through and Raghu did attempt it as I was excitedly waiting for him to come out and wondering what if he gets stuck in the narrow passage...but when he made it, he was full of excitement and contentment.   

 

Our only aim was to complete the girivalam before sun rise..and Hurray! we made it...in 3.5 hours and reached the place where we started by 5.45 am.  We decided to go for the darshan and God was graceful to give us a very satisfactory darshan without much of waiting...Monday morning, Margahazhi month beginning...full moon day..felt like a blessing.  

I am religious and have strong faith in god, but I never believed in doing anything superficial to please the Gods..But with this Girivalam, I understood, its not to please the gods, but to please one's innerself and consciousness. It is just like reinventing your ownself.  The herbal and ecological balance of the nature, of the mountains,  the gravitational energies of the full moon, the spirit of the heart and the faith in yourself will make everything possible in this world.  And probably that is what makes this place a sure come back one for many who experience this.

At 8 am we finished the temples visit and had a good breakfast and took the bus back to the city and to our routines quickly...and Raghu went off to office as soon as we reached Chennai and I slept off till my day began at the Eastern Timezone...this time with no fears or dreams, but with just a strong inner peace.

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To know more about the Tiruvannamalai Girivalam, please read on:

About Girivalam: (14 km)

• The circumambulation of Arunachala is known as Giri Pradakshina in Sanskrit and Giri Valam in Tamil. Performing pradakshina of Arunachala is considered to be beneficial in all ways. Typically, pradakshina is done in bare feet, with the Hill on the right. Sri Ramana Maharshi once explained the meaning of the word pradakshina and how it should be done by a devotee: "The letter "Pra" stands for removal of all kinds of sins; "da" stands for fulfilling the desires; "kshi" stands for freedom from future births; "na" stands for giving deliverance through jnana. If by way of Pradakshina you walk one step it gives happiness in this world, two steps, it gives happiness in heaven, three steps, it gives bliss of Satyaloka which can be attained. One should go round either in mouna (silence) or dhyana (meditation) or japa (repetition of Lord's name) or sankeertana (bhajan) and thereby think of God all the time.
• Throughout the year, pilgrims engage in a practise called giri valam (circumambulation of Annamalaiyar temple and Annamalai hill 14 km in circumference), considered to be a simple and effective form of yoga. The circumambulation is started from the temple with barefoot and is considered a sacred act.The central government of India asked the Tamil Nadu government through the supreme court to direct the path of girivalam under the provision of the proposed Tamil Nadu Heritage Conservation Act. There are 8 small shrines of lingams located in the 14 km circumference of the hill, each one associated with the 12 moon signs. These are collectively termed as Ashtalingam (meaning 8 lingams) and is considered one of the rituals of worship during the girivalam (circumambulation of the hill).

 

The Arunachaleswarar temple at Tiruvannamalai is a very ancient temple in Tamil Nadu. It is said to be around thousand years old and patronised by the great saints and poets of Tamil Nadu. The prominent among them are Appar, Sambamdar, Sundarar and Manickavasagar and Arunagirinathar. This has great reputation among all Shiva devotees since Arunachalaeswar is prayed here in the form of fire, fire being one of the five elements that composed this universe. The other four elements of the panchaboothas are vayu, akash, jalam and earth.This beautiful temple is located at the foot of the Annamalai hills that falls under the Tiruvannamalai district about eighty kilometers away from Vellore town by road.
This temple city can also be reached from Chennai the capital of Tamil Nadu that is around 185 kilometres by road. It is believed that Shiva is also in the form of a hill and hence it is called as Annamalai hill. Anna means all powerful in Tamil and malai means hills. Since this god is considered very powerful thus it is compared to the mountain that cannot be moved and strong. This god being believed to be part of the hill, hence it is also called as Annamalayar among its devotees.
Arunachaleswarar temple has six prakarams around the temple. Every full moon day of the month Girivalam is undertaken by the pilgrims. Lakhs of devotees participate every month in this healthy ritual. This word Girivalam is the origin of the tamil word giri meaning hill and valam means coming around. Hence coming around the hill is called as Girivalam in Tamil.

To come one full round (Girivalam) the road round the hill, it is around 14 kilometres. And people both young and old religiously go round on the full moon day. It is said to bring in abundant peace or calmness for the mental well being and also refreshing for the physical fitness.

This abode of Arunachaleswarar, the Annamalai hills at Tiruvannamalai has varied interpretations over the years. It is believed this hills took different forms at different period of time and age. During the Kirthayugam it was in the form of fire. The next Threthayugam it took the form of emerald, known as manikkam in Tamil. In the course of Dweparayugam it existed in the form of gold. Now in Kaliyuagam it has taken the state of rocky hill.

At Arunachaleswarar temple there are eight lingams known as Ashtalingam. They are positioned at different locations and facing various directions. Each lingam signifying different directions of the earth. These lingams are named as Indralingam, Agnilingam, Yamalingam, Niruthilingam, Varunalingam, Vayulingam, Kuberalingam and Esanyalingam.

Each lingam addresses different aspects of man’s life and they bless the devotees with different types of benefits. It is believed to be installed by various gods. Also these lingams have a dominant navagraha and praying to each lingam brings forth various benefits that is being bestowed by that navagraha on the devotees who prays to that particular lingam to achieve the desired results.

The first lingam on the Girivalam is the Indra lingam and this lingam has east as its cardinal direction. It is said to be installed by lord Indran the celestial king. The dominant navagraha of this lingam are the sun and sukiran. Worshipping this lingam blesses the devotees with long life coupled with prosperity in abundance.

The second lingam on the Girivalam is the Agni lingam. This faces the south east direction. The uniqueness of this lingam is that it is the only lingam that is placed on the right side of the path on which one goes Girivalam on the full moon night every month. Praying to this lingam helps one to keep away sickness and to maintain good health. The dominant navagraha of this lingam is Chandran. It also helps the ardent devotees to counter the problems that they come across in the life’s journey. This lingam is located near the lotus tank.

The third lingam on the Girivalam is the Yama lingam. This lingam signifies the south direction. It is said to be installed by the god of death Yama. The dominant graham of this lingam is Sevvai. It has a holy tank known as Simma theertham. Worshipping this Yama lingam relieves the devotees of their financial constraints.

The fourth lingam on the Girivalam is the Niruthi lingam. The cardinal direction is South East. The dominant graham of this lingam is the Ragu. This was installed by the king of the giants. This lingam also has a holy tank called as Sani theertha. Devotees worshipping this Niruthi lingam are freed of their problems.

The fifth lingam on the Girivalam is the Varuna lingam. This lingam signifies the west direction. This lingam is installed by the Varuna god who is the creator of rain on this earth. The dominant graham of this lingam is the Sani. There is a holy tank named as Varuna theertham. Devotees worshipping this lingam are protected from all critical illness. This Varunalingam also takes care to elevate their social development.

The sixth lingam on the Girivalam is the Vayu lingam. This lingam is placed facing the north west direction. Vayu lingam is installed by the god of air himself known as Vayu baghavan. The graham that is dominant is the Kedhu. Offering prayers to this Vayu lingam gives strength to fight all heart ailments, stomach problems, lung problems and general illness.

The seventh lingam on the Girivalam is the Kuperalingam. This faces the northern direction. The dominant graham is the Guru. And the Kuperan or the god of wealth has installed this lingam. Offering prayers to this lingam regularly helps the devotees to achieve prosperity.

The last lingam on the Girivalam is the Esanya lingam. And this lingam faces the north east direction. The god that installed this lingam is the Esanyan. The graham that dominates this lingam is the Budhan. Praying to this lingam gives peace of mind to devotees and develops a positive attitude in them to achieve success in all their pursuits.

Tips to follow while going Girivalam

1. It is advised that devotees go Girivalam only barefooted.
2. Always view the top of the giri all through their Girivalam.
3. Preferably Girivalam should be undertaken only during full moon nights or else in normal nights.
4. To chant during Girivalam the namam of Om Arunachala.

 

 

A year gone by as we lost our Delhi Braveheart - Yet the Crimes continue with no shame!

Every 20 minutes a Rape happens in India.  1128 rapes registered in 2013 compared to 468 cases registered in 2012.   This is still prevalent…Despite the change and campaign that engulfed after Delhi’s Brave Heart was gang raped in Dec 2012.   Police humiliation in handling of the rape/ sexual victims is still in existence, people walk out free after being involved in rapes, sexual assault and exploitation and stalking.   

India woke up to speak up against violence against weaker gender.  However, the men don’t stop zipping up given a chance, be it in a lift, or a corridor in office or a deserted street.  Forget the marital rapes and abuse that happens time and again inside the four walls of our India homes.  Unfortunately laws have its own loop holes and people still do not fear the law of the land to harass a woman.   Sex trafficking is a big business in India.   

Sexual harassment is every day “Breaking news” in the TV channels.  Acid attacks and stalking are every where in the newspapers.  Sending out our girl children out of our homes alone is always like having fire in the belly.  Leaving children with elders or even grand parents care is no more a security for there is a scare of the molestation.  Walk, Rise, Talk and Fight against Rape.  But nothing makes the mistakes stop.  Women are time and again raped, gang raped and left to die on the streets.    

Women’s rights are only in law books and not practically followed in India.   Fight for better law and order and not revenge still continues flustered.  Many women do not feel safe even in the public places.  Using public transportation without getting pinched on your backs or men rubbing from behind is still a distant dream.   Minor accused escapes in name of Juvenile law.

Even before Delhi Brave heart who stole the country’s attention, there are several Sunitha Krishnan’s who rise beyond the sense of being lost and raped and reconstruct their lives and silently set a path for others to survive and rebuild their own lives.  Government plays a very minor role in rescue and providing rehabilitation as after such incidents the families and society disowns them.   Effective legal procedure with a sense of responsibility and law enforcement is the need of the day.   Though now more rapes are reported, the legal system is still not adequate to put an end to this menace.  

People peace marches, candle lighting vigils, talk shows and repeated TV campaigns and political parties and social organizations did bring in a lot of awareness of sexual harassment of women.  Unfortunately the Mumbai Shakthi Mills Rape case, Tejpal sexual harassment case of a journalist, and several hundreds of reported cases continued in 2013 giving no respire to Indian women.  There are thousands of other incidents that go unnoticed, unrecorded and silently suffered.  More and more there are campaigns going on to prevent such issues; more seems to be the cases coming up.   

Probably the trend of violence was always there and only gaining momentum to fight after the death of India’s Brave Heart named Nirbaya.  Only wished her real name is known and we know her face to pay her rich tributes or may be silently visualizing the way we want is a better solace.  

A year gone by …and women of India and the world continue to fight for their safety and honor.  The fight only seems to strengthen day by day bringing people together to fight against injustice.   The age old law books seem to be no where clearing the dust and re-writing the pages of history with punishments that would bring in fear in the society to do such crimes.    

No one can save us, except ourselves.  Instead of teaching arts, science, dance and drama, parents should first make self-defense a compulsory education to children both girls and boys.  This should ensure that they protect themselves against any form of abuse and molestation.   Work place harassment should come to an end with corporate’s and government houses tightening up the internal policies and make people aware of the consequences to such acts.

We need to make our boys and brothers respect women, treat them with dignity and respect their emotions and safety.   It is only when women at grassroots and homes teach their children and bring in the moral values instituted in from a very young age, we can get rid of this perverts in the society.  

RIP Brave heart.  A year went by since your struggle for life started, and you disappearing into the test of time becoming an angel of fearlessness and voice of the Nation against such crimes.   

Wishing that a new dawn is in store in future when my country wakes up with a happy song of its girl child and not the shrill cry for justice.  Jai Hind!

Up the Chennai Lighthouse....High the Spirits of Heritage....The Story of lighthouse lovers....this time it got to be Chennai Bloggers!

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon…after all the excitement of the Wipro Chennai Marathon and a sumptuous lunch ( breaching my diet on a Sunday afternoon)…was about to catch up a quick energy nap, when I realized that I promised Deepak that I will be joining them to view from the top of the Lighthouse…. Yeah…In 5 minutes I got ready and my family were just equally excited to join me….my daughter and co-blogger and my husband took the drive to Marina as it was drizzling all around.

It was such a peaceful and tranquilizing afternoon that you cannot ask for more in Chennai …pleasant weather and excitement like a school kids ready for an excursion.

I was more excited to see our Chennai Bloggers friends behind the lighthouse…and also the long queue; with loads of people in raincoats and umbrellas.  Sashi kept telling that we may not be able to make it…then we checked with the police who were guarding the long queue and he gave us hopes that We Can Make It!  Yaah…. We got in the queue after a refreshing Chuku Kappi …with cameras on the shoulders...meeting the other bloggers who joined us by then and it was a lovely little wait from Kamarajar Statue to the light house as we caught up discussing the marathon...

  

Chennai’s refreshing winds…the sailing small boats in the rain and my little one tempted to eat off the samosas.  Once we neared the gate and looked back at the long queue behind us…the sense of making it was more…a kind of adrenaline saying that we are ahead!   

Once we got the tickets and went into the queue inside. We realized people were waiting for the lift.   With the spirit of marathon of the day…everyone opted to walk up…first thing they did was to give me a sympathetic look as if ‘will this woman climb?’…I thanked PINK and my fitness motivator none other than my husband who took small steps with me as I made it to the top of the 9^th floor without much of a hurdle….We stopped at every floor to watch the sea and take a minute to enjoy the breeze coming out of the windows.   

Same time I could not stop scolding the irresponsible people who started to scribble on the walls of the light house with their love stories, names and symbols….Common People. Grow Up!

Reaching the top was like conquering something…We were excited and the groups were already clicking pictures not to miss even a minute of the time we got to stay on the 9^th floor with the kind of mad rush on a Sunday evening.  The crowds were just swelling.  We watched the Bay of Bengal with awe. And the small colorful boats reminding us of the romantic songs with the waves of our beaches.  

The cars looked closer than before. Probably after climbing up the Sears Towers in Chicago…the height was not the excitement.  But climbing up our very own Chennai Light house was the key.  I showed a statue of elephants that got hidden by a political hoarding…and Sashi was just quick to capture it in his lens.   The photographers did an amazing job of capturing every side of the city from the top.   The sea, the sand, the building, the marina stretch, the Bay of Bengal with its mighty clouds that evening just added to our happiness.    

As we descended down the steps, we felt like going around a merry –go-round….and then the technical museum was in the cards.  Half the party left to have the techie party inside the museum as half of us took few extra moments to watch the crowd and the lighthouse from outside, closer, merrier and brightening up our Sunday!

Then, we had to leave and the rest of our gang took the steps in rain to the beach for further fun.   Had it not been for the group I am sure, it would not have been the excitement we felt.   How many of us get to go on excursion to heritage sites these days being at work full time?. But taking a planned break to do sweet little things add value to life…

As we were about to say our bye’s, the plans for the next day long trip few miles away from Mahabalipuram started to get discussed…and sure…we are in for this.  This time with more bloggers and more fun!

Thank you friends and CBC for making this visit memorable…

Dedicated this post to my friend Lori Feret who is a vivid researcher on Michigan Lighthouses and fondly called as Lighthouse Lori. 

Lori Feret is an amateur photographer with a penchant for lighthouses. She has been visiting and photographing them for about twenty years. Lori is an active member of the Great Lakes Lighthousekeepers Association, the U. S. Lighthouse Society, and several local lighthouse societies.  According to her, our shores and lakes attract stories of old Indian legends, tales of wandering ghosts from lost ships, sightings of ghost ships and accounts of sea monsters. Lighthouses seem to attract many a story of paranormal activity

4 Types of Leaders- Which Type are you?

WE see leaders all around us...Be it the political landscape  of the country, board rooms of the Corporate's or spiritual or inspirational platforms.  Leaders are said to be born and further pruned...to become very influential leaders who become change agents.  They earn respect, command power,  influence decisions, make new missions and sometimes create larger revolutions.   

 Every civilization evolved with a great leader behind it.  Every freedom struggle or great achievements happened with a front runner who lead the masses towards a greater changes in human endeavors.  However, from a management perspective, leaders will fall under one of the 4 types of leaders and it this categorizations defines the kind of leadership and purpose.

4 Types of Leaders

1. Executors

2. Managers

3. Sellers

4. Technical Leaders

Executors:

Executors basically are the one of the best leaders in the world.  They lead by example.  They have a definitive motive and work meticulously towards the same till they achieve.  Some forms of leadership styles may include coercion, power, influence, or even non-violence.  Mahatma Gandhi is said to belong to this category of leaders.  People get influenced strongly towards the objective of leader and follow for a purpose.  Executors basically get their own set of followers and emerge as winners in the cause.  The momentum remains the same once the leader is able to set the path. These leaders have strong influence on their teams and goals.

Managers

Managers are typical leaders who follow stereo type tasks of management and routine work controls.  They work in a sequence towards progression with already set goals and business objectives. Most of the managers influence the teams by effective management and approach-ability, recognition and manage and control roles and responsibilities.   They ensure that the teams gain knowledge and skills to perform their jobs.  They do formal and informal coaching and mentoring and mostly do not act on their own but are guided by the organization principles and objectives. Managing performance, wellness, workforce planning and effective controls make managers good leaders.

Sellers

Sellers are a very unique blend of leaders.  Their primary objective is to achieve financial and business goals.  They create a huge momentum of need for the products and services and bring in a demand that is built out of this approach.    Bravest and best lessons of leadership can be seen in Sellers.  They are the one's who create a need, create a supply and bridge the gap between supply and demand. These sellers can sell from a Pen to a Peninsula with their effective leadership combined with persuasive skills and communication effectiveness.

Technical Leaders

Man would have remained in the stone age had it not been for this segment of leaders.  Technical leaders are the one's who motivate innovation, bring in progress,  amazing engineering abilities, medical revolutions, scientific advancements, nuclear emergence, space research and educational tools and methods.   Indispensable technical abilities of these leaders make them vital for change in the chosen fields, be in science, technology, medicine, space, arts or even preserving history and creating ecological balance in this planet.  Steve Jobs and Bill Gates can be considered as leaders in this category. These leaders are truly thought leaders and inspire the new gen world towards a great advancement.

So which type of Leader are you?   

A crusader who inspires as an executor, or a manager who controls and manages a team, a seller who creates a demand or a technical leader who craves for innovation?   The type of leaders is different from the leadership styles we often read in our management lessons.   Once you self-introspect on what type of leader you are, the leadership style combination defines how successful you  can be.

Bottomline:   Leaders create legacies to remain forever!

Disclaimer:   All pictures in this article are taken from internet.  Any copyrights issues can be informed to the author  The article is original property of the author. 

40 Golden Rules for a Happy and Healthy Life

Health:

1. Drink plenty of water.

2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.

3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants, and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

4. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

5. Make time for prayer and reflection

6. Play more games.

7. Read more books than you did in last year.

8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

9. Sleep for 7 hours.


Personality:

10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day —- and while you walk, smile.

11. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

12. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

13. Don’t over do; keep your limits.

14. Don’t take yourself so seriously; no one else does.

15. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.

16. Dream more while you are awake.

17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

18. Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.

20. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.

21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

23. Smile and laugh more.

24. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.


Community:

25. Call your family often.

26. Each day give something good to others.

27. Forgive everyone for everything.

28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.

29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

30. What other people think of you is none of your business.

31. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends will. Stay in touch.


Life:

32. Do the right things.

33. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

34. Forgiveness heals everything.

35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

37. The best is yet to come.

38. When you awake alive in the morning, don’t take it for granted – embrace life.

39. Your inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

Last but not least:


40. Enjoy LIFE!

- Thanks to the author and my daughter for sharing with me !

Rent My Womb!

She came and she saw my child

Beautiful bundle of joy and kind

Her eyes were green and thoughts gone wild

She snatched her from my arms being unkind

I felt sad that she could not be a mother,

Offered her to help the way I can do better

Promising her tears to go away titter

And let her thoughts not go to wither

What can I do to help her from not being a mother?

Can I give away my precious bundle of joy to share together?

Or can I rent my womb in turn for her joy

And make her also feel the warmth of being a mother

I could see her love for children

And the way she can take care of them in random

Why was God so unkind not to give her, her own?

To spread the happiness and belonging grown

She was just another ordinary woman with all the feelings

Reacting to the sensitivities of the society towards barren ladies

Cried alone and showed fake smiles when she was in a group

Yet, she cursed her destiny and her life that was in a soup

I could feel her sadness and relate to her as a woman

She cried when I said that I would bear her child

Caught my hands and whispered silently in my ears

That she can never feel the child her own when I am around!

Where can I go, from this world afar?

Just because I thought to be kind making her as a mother

To share my space of physical pain for her joy

At the end, I realized I need to say to this thought, a Good Bye!

Giving a child in adoption is not just another solution, having the mind and thought, heart and soul to share whom you have is the boldest thing you could do.  If infertility is an issue, open your hearts to receive the god’s child left alone in this world.  Surrogacy is just a social taboo. If that could solve the problem, go ahead and do it. But just do it on time and with the biological mother’s full will and warmth. Not for money and renting the womb…and let the foster mother shower love and care just like her own. After all, we are a country where we saw Lord Krishna enjoying both Devaki and Yasodha…foster care is not new to this world…where hearts can open to welcome anyone with same happiness and peace!

Is it not time to bridge the gap between to-be-parents and orphans in this world, so that we fill a great joy in the lives of both?   Instead of making infertility an issue,  childless couples lives a misery,  orphans children abandoned in this world,  we need to look beyond our limitations and take the bold steps that are necessary to become a better society, as strong individuals and above all happy self's by doing what our hearts say is right and what our sensible thoughts make us believe we can and move on!


Inspired by Suliaman's Poem: http://sulaimansait.blogspot.in/2013/10/surrogacy-controversy-poem.html

What is Rubella and why Inner Wheel is keen to get this vaccination as part of its health care drives?

Rubella is a disease caused by a virus, Rubella. Rubella means “little red”. Red spots appear on the body like a rash during the illness.  This disease is also called German measles. It can affect any one, young or old, male or female. Most often young children transmit the disease to adults.  

Rubella could become widespread in schools, camps and crowded places as it is  transmitted by air.  When Rubella strikes a pregnant woman, it could be most serious, not for   the mother, but for the child she is carrying. During pregnancy the Rubella virus  reaches the foetus and interferes in its growth and development. Depending on the  stage of pregnancy,this may result in an abortion, still birth or severe congenital malformations involving various organs.

All those who have had MMR  as a child should be given a booster dose  after puberty ie, NOW.!"

The following tables give some idea of these defects.

Abnormalities due to Rubella in first trimester.

60 – 75 % Hearing loss.

50 – 90 % Eye defects

40 –50 % Heart defects

25 –40% Psychomotor retardation

*PREVENTION IS THE ONLY CURE AND IMMUNITY TO THE DISEASE ONCE GAINED IS PERMANANT.

For adults a single vaccine of Rubella in a single dose is effective  for a minimum period of 20years.

Let's Act Now and Let's make India Rubella Free

Inner Wheel joining hands with Rotary International aims at eradicating diseases and bring in a healthy and happy society and hence the urge to get our girls vaccinated for a healthier families.

Pictures Courtesy:  Inner Wheel District 323- Rubella Awareness and Vaccination Camp- MGR Janaki College-  5 Oct 2013.  

Over 8,000 persons gathered at YMCA, Nandanam, on Saturday to try their hand at a Guinness record at an event organised by Rotary District 3230 — Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam-  The Hindu dated 7 Oct 2013

Bird Old Age Home- Acharappakam, 2 hours drive from Chennai- Needs Support

Service to the society is considered a service to God.  People live in a precarious situation.  Sense of insecurity prevails love and affections and passionate treatment are quite uncommon.  Under this background BIRD is rendering humanitarian service to the downtrodden rural people.

Birds Mission is to provide Total Health Care for needy people living in our villages.

The Bureau of Integrated Rural Development (BIRD)  is a registered 27/91 non-governmental Oranization and non profitable organization.  Since its inception in 1991, the organization has been active in the village of Acharappakkam and Chithamur blocks of Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu, India, providing assistance and services to the people of these villages

The Organization over the years has conducted several medical camps, eye camps and awareness campaigns on HIV/AIDS and has been rewarded by international community for its efforts

Birds Mission it to provide total care for the Aged and Handicapped

Eyecamps conducted have benefited numerous aged people having cataract problem.

At present, the organization runs and maintains and sustains the following:

1. Home for the aged destitutes
2.  Day Care Center for needy children
3.  Mobile Medical care unit

The Organization provides shelter, food, clothing, medicare to aged destitute and handicapped people.  100 kms from Chennai, 1km off the Chennai-Tindivanam Highway the home is located overlooking hills in the  Perumberkandigai Village, Thozhupedu Post- 603310, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu.

They look towards help in trying to fulfill the hope for better tomorrow.

There are various ways by which we could contribute towards sustaining the aged people.  Needs of rice, dhall, cereals , oil, tea , clothes, medicines etc., on a regular basis or sponsors can provide a piece meal on any given day

Sponsoring of a meal will be as follows:

1. Full Day Meals- Rs 1500/-
2.  Lunch Only-  Rs 1000/-
3.  Breakfast Only-  Rs 750/-

Only Vegetarian food will be served.  All contributions to the organization are tax deductable under 80-G of the Income Tax Act., and the Organization is also registered under FCRA  with the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.

Future Plan

1.  Construction of the old age home in the site already in possession of the organization
2.  To expand the formation of women self help groups with a target of 100 groupds during this year with an ultimate object of forming a strong women federation
3.  Construction of creche for the children of landless agricultural and other women labourers
4.  To Purchase Van for running Mobile Medical Care Unit as well as emergency use of the old age home
5. To augment resources for drugs and medicines for running of mobile medical care services with an intention to cover more number of villages.

Organizations Financial Status:

The Organization is managing the financial affairs through local contributions with a meager government support in implementing the welfare programs.  The Organization will be thankful to the donors who will appreciate the mission and come forward to help them financially to do more service to the humanity.

Vision

1.  To upgrade the socio economic status of the people of downtrodden
2.  To create world of heaven where the old aged live with peace and comfort.
3.  To make the poor children to attain a noteable educational background for their betterment
4. Above all to preach spiritual values among the people to sink their differences and to live peacefully

Mission

By Rendering Selfless service with zest and zeal

For further information and details, please contact

The Secretary

Bureau of Integrated Rural Development (BIRD)

No 62, Karapgavinayagar Koil Street

Perumberkandiai Village

Thozhupedu Post-  603310

Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu, India

Phone :  9443152930

Email:  birdoldagehome@gmail.com

Cheques should be drawn in favour of 'Bureau of Integrated Rural Development'.

FOMO- The new disease in the block! Time to Say Good Bye!

The first thing I look upon when I wake up is to check my cell phone for any message and I jump out of my bed and get ready for a coffee with my morning newspaper. Inadvertently, my hands reach to the iThing around… Be it the iPad, iPhone or the nearest laptop, and my poor wireless blinks at me with tiring looks. Yeap, probably I would have shut it down just a few hours ago forcing myself to sleep.

The morning newspaper gives me its hate look… with all the dirty news of the world these days we are forced to chew in…
Accidents, political big wigs shamelessly screwing each other, children forgotten in cars,  parents committing suicide along with their innocent children, and women getting raped time and again, gang raped be her a child of 3 or a grand mom of 80, all they need is a hole to screw…  
Shameless perverts who roam around in this world even after such worst crimes.   

Then runs my eyes to the new movies page, which I usually don’t watch, and to the new restaurants advertisements that I scroll through… Of course, I do make time for this and what attracts me the most is the happenings in my City- yes, Events!   For they help me to plan my “out of work & home” hours, as if it were another 8 hour routine in my life every week. Forget about the reminders from the secretary of the clubs I am associated with, sends me frequently about the meetings- General Body, Executive Committee and Projects… Yeah… >Projects Everywhere!

Amidst all this going on, I still feel the vacuum!  Is this a depressing condition?  I asked my doctor one day.    He says that my body and brain are fighting with each other and  my brain is not letting the body rest… Why is this so? 

I used to sit quietly and meditate for long. Laze on a weekend siesta with an old book, just to re-read the pages I loved… or just look around and do nothing, but give space for words to write my most cherished poems.  But in the last couple of years, things have changed.   When I feel vacuumed!  Seemingly left with nothing to do after finishing everything I “HAD” to do… I take the interesting part of every one’s lives today, the drama of the day to unfold.  What’s happening in the other people’s lives?   Who is going where?  What is that they got today?  Where are they heading to for the weekend?  Who is celebrating their birthday today …or who is having a sick moment, where I can hop in and say a regular Hello!

From the time Face Book took over people’s life, agriculture became virtual Farmville, and Twitter became Flash News and LinkedIn became permanent open live resume, Orkut became the first death in the social media, hotmail nailed underneath leaving behind yahoo and Gmail to take over and online banking became the mode of trade… My pages on poem hunter became my live storage of my scribbling uneasy lyrics, and eventually my blog became my outlet, an open diary and a solace… I am for sure most of us are suffering from the new disease - FOMO- the Fear of Missing Out!

Even people who were once upon a time, with “Who Cares” attitude, today silently watches the social media space and enjoy the fun of the drams unfolding on everyone’s walls each day.  

These silent sneekers are the people who do not post anything or comment on anyone’s posts, but who turn out to be the most frequent visitors, who are keeping track of everyone. 

Those who frequently post, find this as a medium of outlet or take this as a comfort factor that there is a whole world out there to share your life day after day… right from buying a fish, sleeping in the noon to organizing a event and being part of a larger cause…they type, they forget and leave the news for the rest of the world to eat the way they want to…like a banquet dinner to chew!   There are few people who still worry about the privacy of the information shared and keep it very restricted. Probably they are the one’s who are very cautious of the good-bad internet world and they actually enjoy a right balance of information, fun and the cyber space.  

Companies and Employers are keeping a close watch on the social media activity of the employees… Today it is made as part of the business conduct, that what you post is your responsibility and not that of your employers and advices for a social responsibility to whatever you vent in the free virtual world that is not completely organized and controlled.

However, it is very important to keep track of what you do and what you share.   One thing is frequent, posting good pictures is causing jealousy amongst our own set of family and friends… For those who are mostly indoors, feel left out when friends post pictures of vacations and out door activity.  Sometimes, frequent updates from few people irritate us as if they are over boarding us with unnecessary information.  Few updates are very knowledge oriented and welcomed by many.  Few events keep us informed and educative.  They make each one of us think

The quotations and moral messages come in every day from every corner of the world.  Even if few inspire us and follow even few of them, our lives will change for good.

Above all,   it is time to stop – the Fear of Missing Out

• Students are losing out on their study time to the time on internet
• Employees are getting distracted during their working hours on the stuff that is not so important to work
• Friends are feeling jealous and envious at time, and breaking relationships
• Families are getting united, at the same time frustrations are getting on top and creating havoc in most unexpected turn of events
• Communal violence and protests are sparking up with the wrong motivations and communities targeting all sides to influence those who are weak and vulnerable
• Humor is finding its new place and lot of things of things are educating people in terms of cartoon, same time it should not go over the thin line of control…as long as no body is targeted, insulted and injured in this process….social media will remain a blessing

 As we control the fear of missing out, we get to be more cautious about the time we spend on useless surfing, spending on unwanted search engines…and being excited on staying connected through any of the channels. Be it Face Book, Emails, Twitter, LinkedIn, Whatsapp! Tumbler, Hi5 or Instagram!.  

The first step:  Decided to spend just 15 minutes every day on personal mails, 15 mins of social media and spend rest of the day in old style…going out and talking to people than on SMS and phone,  playing games outdoor than on Xbox….chatting with neighbors’ over the real walls,   pruning a little garden than planting trees in Farmville,  and above all taking time for a cause than to support with 1000 likes on a face book page…and make the best use of  internet time to get out of this nonsense FOMO -   I will not let any disease to take over me. 

Defiantly FOMO-  Its time for you to GO!

Note:  All pictures are taken from Internet! Any copy right issues, please let me know-  Umasree Raghunath