Obama comes to town!

The whole of India was excited by Mr. President's visit. He and his wife indeed made a charming pair. Their agility, in particular, amazed me since we are used to watching only ageing prime ministers and presidents who find it difficult to climb even couple of stairs to a podium. But while chatting with my daughters about missing out on meeting Obama in person , my younger daughter commented that she was happy that he was not visiting her school- she pitied those school children who would have had to slog for hours on end to practise their dances, speeches and behaviour in the presence of the president. The students' Diwali holidays would have been ruined!
I totally agree with her view. Even during my school days, a visit by a dignitary was a nightmare for the students. I vividly remember one such visit by a governor and how we were made to stand in Chennai's summer heat for hours together to practise welcoming him with flowers. We were made to wear pattu pavadai (heavy ones with jari borders) and deck up our hair with kunjalam (as though all the governor was here for, were our hairdos!). We stood there from morning to evening. With each passing hour, we wilted and we weren't even allowed glass of water. It was plain torture and by the time the governor arrived a full 3 hours late, we were totally exhausted and just wished he left quickly. The whole exercise of showering him with flowers and petals (by now, dried ones) lasted for less than two minutes and we had wasted two months practising for it. He hardly noticed us girls and there was no appreciation from the teachers either, for withstanding so much heat and thirst.
Forget being photographed with the governor or getting his autograph, we were only relieved to see the back of him and rushed to grab our bottles of drinking water.
Visiting presidents or prime ministers are a real pain for school children......... there is no fun or excitement left when they are being tortured through continuous practice sessions and extra hours of work. So don't believe the media about Obama's visit being great, ask the school children whether they really understood who they were meeting or whether they actually enjoyed his visit.

Devasthanada Oottaa (Temple food)

Last week I made a short trip to Dakshin Kannada. I visited Saradambika temple at Sringeri and Annapoorneswari temple at Oranadu. The temple at Orandu is situated right on top of the mountain peak and is very beautiful and serene, set in the midst of lush green mountains. Not being a very religious person, the trip was primarily to accompany my music teacher for a concert at the temple.
The most attractive part of the trip was the winding, well-laid roads around the ghats and greenery and last, but not the least, the sumptuous food served in the temples. We visited the smaller temples in and around the place and it was surprising to notice that all these temples too serve food (lunch and dinner) to the devotees. We were at a small temple at a place called Kalaseshwar near Sringeri at lunch time and though the tourist crowd was scarce, the whole village as well as the school-going children were there. They all quickly make a visit to the sanctum sanctorum and then, enjoy the food. Even the priests at the temple urge the devotees to have their food first and then take the darshan. Having the Devasthanadha Oota (meaning, food at the temple in Kannada) is considered to be very auspicious and people in and around the temple ensure that you eat well.

At Sringeri , serving the food is a very scientific and systematic process, with huge solar cookers installed inside the premises. The arrangement of the serving plates (in the shape of a pyramid) itself was a worthy sight and number of volunteers involved in the scheme is amazing.
These temples are doing such a great service to the humanity that nobody is left hungry in the villages in and around the temple. There are no beggars and people say that robbery too, is very rare.
This trip was a gentle reminder to me that temples serve not only religious purposes, but also that they serve as socially active centers. It gave me great satisfaction when I bought rice (sold at the temple premises) as my offering to the temple and donated it. I was sure that few mouths were going to be fed with that.

Blood tests

As a student, I wanted to become a doctor just like all other girls of my age, but my scores didn't allow me to become one. The closest I came to working in a hospital was as a paramedic. I worked as a laboratory technologist for a couple of years in a reputed hospital. Handling scores of patients everyday, it was a nightmare to work round the clock. Sometimes, I would be so tired at the end of the day, that preparing blood test reports as the last duty of the day used to be a very tiresome one. I never attached any importance to the numbers I put down as test values. The fact that a patient's blood sugar was too low or that his urea was high didn't matter to me. They all boiled down to just figures which I had to fill up, wind up and go home.
But now, as a responsible wife, daughter and mother, my attitude towards the blood test reports has changed drastically. Every time I take my mother to the doctor or my husband goes for a check up , I am so nervous about the test results. I don't want my husband's blood sugar level to go up by even one milligram and I can't stand the sight of a red mark (sign of high value). I pray fervently that this doesn't mean something grave. Every time I take my children for a blood test , I forge deals with God-an offering for a perfect blood test report.
The same numbers which didn't matter to me as a paramedic is of utmost importance to me now. Now I realize how much it must have mattered to that person involved; how many prayers would have been said while collecting a report. I wish I had more understanding of the responsibility I had towards the patients while preparing those reports. I wish I understood the pain of the person who saw a not- so- good report. Most of the times, our sympathy for people in distress is very superficial and we actually don't connect with their pain.
We never realize the plight of another person unless we're forced into their shoes.

I Met VISHWANANTHAN ANAND!! Twice!!!

Not many opportunities come our way, to meet celebrities in person (this, despite living amidst celebrities like Sachin and hordes of Bollywood film stars in Bandra). But years back, when I was in college, I literally rubbed shoulders with Vishwananthan Anand who was invited as Chief Guest for our college Sports Day (and the surprising aspect was that he too was a college student then). I was part of the reception committee as a member of Students' Union. We had the privilege of spending a few exclusive minutes with him. But the thought of taking his autograph slipped my mind. Now exactly 20 years later, my daughter, as a junior journalist of a newspaper got the opportunity to meet Anand again.
But the amazing feature of this celebrity was his simplicity. He still retains the boyish charms of his younger days , with lot more feathers in his cap. He is also very humble. His wife, Aruna, seems to be a pillar of support to him and personally, I was thoroughly impressed with her sweet smile and concern in giving the people who vied for Anand's attention the opportunity to chat up with him.
Anand is a truly gifted player and a gifted human being with such a supportive better-half.

Ranjithas of different colours

Recently the name Ranjitha has been in the news quite often. First it was actress Ranjitha's involvement with Nithyananda and now Ranjitha, the hockey player who has filed a complaint against her hockey coach for sexual abuse. But what amazes me is the total contrast in the reactions of these two Ranjithas for the same problem, namely, sexual abuse. Though much has been written about the video exposures of actress Ranjitha with Nithyananda, I feel she has been totally wronged by the media. The focus of exposure should have been Nithyananda and not the actress. But I also feel she didn't have the guts to stand against a "holy" man of poor moral ethics. Whereas the hockey player, despite the threat of losing her position in the team, and the prospect of giving up her passion, has chosen to stand against the wrong doing and has dared to go against the system.
But does this not reflect the attitude of women in our society towards sexual abuse? I always thought, uneducated women from lower classes are bolder than their educated counterparts in dealing with sexual abuse. A uneducated woman or even a villager doesn't mind dragging her man on to the streets to expose him, if he sexually abuses her. But the so-called educated women, from middle and upper classes of society silently put up with so much crap from the men in the family and are scared to seek legal help. I know of a highly educated acquaintance of mine being pushed to insanity by her husband, who doesn't want her to socialise or mingle with her family or friends . She is a nervous wreck and there is no trace of the once bubbly, active and highly talented girl in her. I just hope that more middle class and upper class Ranjithas, like the hockey player come out boldly, make a statement and seek justice for any wrongdoing against them.

Drama in real life

My husband and I always start the week with brisk walks in the mornings in the picturesque Promenade (past midweek, the enthusiasm wanes and we totally stop going for a walk by the weekend........you know, the usual valid reasons-rains, hectic working day or got to leave early for office). These are the times we discuss our life and its problems (read argue). I have always had this humble opinion that I am a brisk walker and a more active person than my husband and at any given opportunity, I remind him of that.
On this particular day we were walking and were just about to enter the Promenade when suddenly, I felt a hand on my neck. Before I could react, I heard my better half shouting and realised that there were two guys on the bike who were trying to snatch my mangalsutra...gosh! How can this happen to me? My first reaction was to see whether the chain was intact. And then I had to rub my eyes in disbelief when I saw my usually lethargic husband chasing the thieves who were riding away on their bikes.
But the worst part was two more accomplices of the thieves who had been following on another bike started chasing my husband. All the drama was happening before my eyes and I was standing there like a stupid, dumb spectator. The whole scene had shifted to the highway and I could not actually see what was happening.........but I realised that the guys on the second bike were hitting my husband. I was shocked and suddenly realized that this incident could really turn into a nightmare........but then the thieves too , I think, were too shocked that a middle aged man can chase a bike on foot and still keep up with them. Anyhow they gave up on him and fled the scene. Thankfully, my husband was not injured and I could see the incident in a lighter vein (of course only after a few days and not immediately, silly!). Now-a-days I don't challenge him about his excercising routine or tease him saying that he can't even dream of taking part in the Mumbai Marathon.
Such an incident could have turned for the worse for us......I could have lost a valuable chain or my husband could have been injured badly........but I thank our stars that none of this happened. I have promised myself never to take my life for granted. Just one small incident or one mishap can change the entire colour of life. I think all of us must appreciate each and every day, every moment of life with more spirit and happiness.

Child abuse

Blogging after a long time! The vacation in May and few disturbing happenings made me think about what I should write. And then, the news that a pre-teen dyslexic girl was raped by her tutor has made me really want to put down my thoughts on this topic. It is sad that this girl had undergone the mental and physical torture for over four months without her parents' knowledge. I feel that this is the zenith of ignorance today's parents show towards their children. How can somebody leave such a small girl all alone at home at the mercy of such a monstrous tutor? Why is materialism given so much importance, that parents tend to think that the child needs all comforts, more than their presence? This child, who has grown up all alone and has undergone so much, won't have any respect for her parents. How can a mother ignore the signs of physical abuse in her child for so long? How many parents realize that when they are slogging far away in an office, the child could be physically abused by watchmen, servants, car drivers, courier boys or even the next door neighbour?

As a teenage girl, even after having led a protected life, with a mother around all the time for any help, I felt there was physical abuse which I had to face either while travelling or attending classes. Or while walking back home a bit late in the evenings, or sometimes even with the ward boys when I had late night duty in the hospital where I worked. I used to feel so terrible about being a girl or a woman. But when I read such articles of child abuse by teachers or even fathers, my heart bleeds for such children. People who have the moral responsibility to protect innocent children, themselves turning into monsters is really something to be taken a serious note of! Its time for mothers/women to buck up and do something against this malice. It's the duty of every mother to ensure that they are alert enough to note any change in the child and be good listeners to their children rather than being money making machines.