Welcome! To me, to you and to my Blog! Let me speak, share, cherish, romance, express... And here...I shall tell, talk, teach, tour... The journey so far has been long and lusty..With roots in Palakkad and succor from Bihar, this Indian writes as just Geeta on her many loves...reading, travelling, cooking, knitting..well expect anything and everything..for I do have an opinion..a view....sometimes most baffling!
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Thursday, April 16, 2015
The Resolution
Over the last few days a lot
has been telecast about the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) or the Common Man's Party. Every
time the spectre of AAP is aired, I am reminded of Baba Bharti and his
majestic horse Sultan; from a story titled, Haar Ki Jeet, I had read
in my Hindi text book in primary school. It is the story of a mendicant, named
Baba Bharti who used to lead a pious life in the outskirts of a village. His
only worldly possession was a grand horse named Sultan. There were many who
coveted this horse.
One of them was a dacoit
named Khadag Singh. When he heard about the horse, he wished to possess it. He
was told that Baba Bharti would never sell it or part with it. So if he wanted
to own that fine horse, he had to steal it. One morning , as Baba Bharti was riding on his
majestic horse, he was stopped by a pitiable man, begging for alms. As Baba
Bharti slowed down, the beggar overpowered him, and revealing his identity, the dacoit said that all he wanted was the
majestic horse.
The Baba was taken aback. Yet
he spoke, ‘The horse is yours, this moment onwards. But promise me - you will not reveal
to anyone how you obtained Sultan, what treacherous means you adopted to seize
him.’
‘Why?’ countered
the fearsome dacoit.
The heartbroken Baba said, ‘After
listening to your story, people will
stop giving. They will lose faith. They will not trust anyone and will
never help the needy.’
Khadag Singh escaped with the
grand horse. The baba went home a sad man. Early next morning he thought he
heard the horse neigh. He remembered how he had lost the mighty horse to the
menacing dacoit. His legs carried him to the paddock. His Sultan, his gallant
Sultan, with bridle in place, was neighing impatiently, waiting to be fed. Baba
Bharti was overjoyed, he hugged the strapping horse and kissed it. In his loss,
lay his victory. The dacoit had indeed had a change of heart!
Now to the events. It is
common knowledge that the AAP was formally launched on 26 November 2012 after a
series of agitations against the then central government, which was weighed
down by one scam after another.
The AAP raised hopes and
rekindled a new hope in the people, who started envisioning an India , rid of
corrupt politicians and practices. Several thousand people gave it their
all and provided support and succor to the fledgling party. Eminent
personalities endorsed the party, adding wisdom and respectability. AAP promised to be transparent and democratic in its fight against corruption.
After
initial hiccups, the AAP bounced back and formed the government in Delhi , winning with a thumping majority. I
live far away from Delhi
and I don’t know how it is being governed. But the AAP has been in the news for
everything except what it had promised to do. The differences, the dissent, the
drama, the dismissal - all have come to the fore. This has shocked and
surprised me for I expected the party to manage its affairs in a mature and
honorable way.
Sometimes, I wonder who is the common man for whom the
party was formed? It caught everyone's imagination- the rich and the poor, the
elite and the ordinary, the educated and the unlettered. Every section of
people had its own grievances and the AAP promised to address all of them. It
was a party built on faith. At that time, we did not worry about this...who
were these people in whom we were reposing this faith?
More than anything else, now,
I will be wary of people's promises. It is difficult to place faith again in
people who promise to fight for you. That is why I find parallels with the
story. I know Delhi
has been overpowered. I am waiting for the end of the story, for the
resolution.
Monday, February 23, 2015
You are cordially invited!
During the years I attended school,
we carried home invitations for our parents, inviting them over for the Annual School
Day or the Sports Day. Our teacher would painstakingly write neatly on the
board, ‘Mrs. & Mr. _______’, ask us to take it down on the
envelope and complete it by adding our father’s name and surname. She would
also specifically mention to add ‘Dr.’ where applicable. One was very particular about spelling for ‘Dr. Chakraborty’ would not attend if he
was addressed ‘Dr. Chakravarty’! We seemed to have little problem those days as
we did not have any other title to worry about. An army unit came much later
and I often heard my friends remark how careful they had to be while addressing
army personnel!
Personally, I have never had
any issues for I was used to seeing my mother’s signature which included Smt.
(Srimathi, for short) her name followed by my father’s name. When I started
signing, I gave up the Srimathi part, writing my own name and my husband’s
after it. So it was easy to address me as Mrs. Ramani. As a school teacher,I have given out invitations
and followed the same technique as did my teachers in school and for some
reason it wasn't a big deal until today!
Giving out the invites, I wrote
on the board, “Mrs. & Mr. ___________” and called upon my class,
fourth graders, to take it down on the
envelope and complete it by adding their father’s name and surname. I also
specified the ‘Dr.’ bit. Just a handful
of them got it the way it was expected of them. Most of them wrote down their
mother’s name with a Mrs., followed by their father’s name with a Mr. And of course, added, businessman, advocate,
actor for right measure! One child wrote only her mother’s name and told me,
matter-of-fact, the she didn't have a father!
It got me thinking. Thinking
the way my nine – year olds did! My
daughter continues to use her maiden name after marriage. And so do many women
today. How can a child identify its mother with the father’s name? Also the
term Mrs. now seems obsolete and Ms. redundant. And why the partiality towards doctors? I realized it is a deeply
personal and sensitive issue and, with divorces and remarriages on the rise, we
need to realign ourselves to the modern social setup.
Dear parents, you are cordially invited. Shouldn't that be sufficient?
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Happy 2015!
Another New Year! Happy 2015!
Each passing year has its own milestones. 2014 was special, personally. The littlest member joined our family, my sweet granddaughter, Samyuktha. And in 2015, she is already a year old!
What I seem to miss most are hard copies of photographs! The photo album! How does one preserve those wonderful memories and refresh them from time to time, alone or even with friends?
I felt the same after my holidays.Well, as they say, you need to change with the times for fear of being left behind! So here I am rfreshing those wonderful months in a foreign country with my very own ones. Here is one way I tried reliving those days and I reproduce another of my earlier attempts, at savoring all those moments again!
A-Z in Washington D.C.!
Are you ready to journey with me …
On a virtual holiday to Washington D. C.?
A dream come true. For me it is!
It begins with a drive to Annapolis!
You hear about it….all too often
So I visit the city of Boston.
All around me, I see Color and cheer
And for that, thank you dear!
And next, we go to Baltimore
To see the Dolphins,swim and soar!
Then to Ellis Island, on a ferry
To the guardian angel, lady Liberty.
By now, the Food buds are all aglow
With pasta, pizza and Mexican burrito!
Like a wanderer..whimsical
I see the green Garden..Botanical
Our journey must go northward
To the hallowed portals of Harvard
And then to still higher ground..
To the IMF, we are bound.
Do not miss the memorial JFK
At Arlington cemetery. Stop and pray!
Song and music..get that high
At the Koncert...nearby.
..Drops of water make mighty oceans.
Drops of water make the Luray Caverns.
So much to see..so much to hear!
Broadway? Mamma Mia! I have no fear.
Watch the Orioles and Red Skins fight
At the National stadium, where no vuvuzelas are in sight.
Now for a cool splash. Let the waves rain!
It is Ogunquit..in the state of Maine.
Connect with family, friends and all
Just Post messages or simply call!
A Quick getaway to Ocean city
And keep up that feeling of gaiety
At night let us not forget to pack.
For a River cruise on the Potomac
Then to the wilds of Shenandoah
Trails and cottages…...mmmuah!
And when you hear the spirits, get down to pray
For the Temple is not far away!
U see…this has been my itinerary.
Like that of the Mariner …you have to agree!
To visit the Varsity and the Capitol
The White House …and museums all
An Xperience, u’ll be asking for more!
Yaaay! For the last leg of our tour
Elephants, Bears, Birds.. all at the Zoo
Its right there …on Connecticut Avenue.
Each passing year has its own milestones. 2014 was special, personally. The littlest member joined our family, my sweet granddaughter, Samyuktha. And in 2015, she is already a year old!
What I seem to miss most are hard copies of photographs! The photo album! How does one preserve those wonderful memories and refresh them from time to time, alone or even with friends?
I felt the same after my holidays.Well, as they say, you need to change with the times for fear of being left behind! So here I am rfreshing those wonderful months in a foreign country with my very own ones. Here is one way I tried reliving those days and I reproduce another of my earlier attempts, at savoring all those moments again!
A-Z in Washington D.C.!
Are you ready to journey with me …
On a virtual holiday to Washington D. C.?
A dream come true. For me it is!
It begins with a drive to Annapolis!
You hear about it….all too often
So I visit the city of Boston.
All around me, I see Color and cheer
And for that, thank you dear!
And next, we go to Baltimore
To see the Dolphins,swim and soar!
Then to Ellis Island, on a ferry
To the guardian angel, lady Liberty.
By now, the Food buds are all aglow
With pasta, pizza and Mexican burrito!
Like a wanderer..whimsical
I see the green Garden..Botanical
Our journey must go northward
To the hallowed portals of Harvard
And then to still higher ground..
To the IMF, we are bound.
Do not miss the memorial JFK
At Arlington cemetery. Stop and pray!
Song and music..get that high
At the Koncert...nearby.
..Drops of water make mighty oceans.
Drops of water make the Luray Caverns.
So much to see..so much to hear!
Broadway? Mamma Mia! I have no fear.
Watch the Orioles and Red Skins fight
At the National stadium, where no vuvuzelas are in sight.
Now for a cool splash. Let the waves rain!
It is Ogunquit..in the state of Maine.
Connect with family, friends and all
Just Post messages or simply call!
A Quick getaway to Ocean city
And keep up that feeling of gaiety
At night let us not forget to pack.
For a River cruise on the Potomac
Then to the wilds of Shenandoah
Trails and cottages…...mmmuah!
And when you hear the spirits, get down to pray
For the Temple is not far away!
U see…this has been my itinerary.
Like that of the Mariner …you have to agree!
To visit the Varsity and the Capitol
The White House …and museums all
An Xperience, u’ll be asking for more!
Yaaay! For the last leg of our tour
Elephants, Bears, Birds.. all at the Zoo
Its right there …on Connecticut Avenue.
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