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Thursday, January 21, 2010

remembring 'achchan'

I remember a very vivid picture of him lying on the metallic bench covered with white cloth upto the neck,chicken pox marks on his face which were almost receding, maybe due to lack of life and heat in the body,not conducive for the virus to thrive.He was about to be pushed into the red hot furnace for cremation, my brother and myself doing the last rites.
This picture remains very clear because that was the most recent, and i would like to remember more of him,i try many a times to recall the small incidents, which in a way craft a bond between the father son relationship for the 12 years,we were together.
But,we humans have this tendency to forget and time always plays funny,it doesn't respect people,relationships and it is beyond any emotional bondage.But even then...sometime not everything is elusive and things which i dont remember of him,i hear from many people who were around for longer times and who have known him much better..
As a son,I had the opportunity to learn very few things from him,and the one I still remember is when,during the usual geetha paraayanam in the evening he told me,always think good of others,and do your maximum to help people in need.you may suffer a lot, but if you always think good ,it will always come back to you as kind,and mostly when you need it.He lived his thoughts.He never amassed any wealth in life and whatever he earned gave it to his long list of kins.
He left us a legacy,a treasure of goodwill,which is invaluable and even today when I hear people talk about him in high esteem, my eyes start to fill and i have goosebumps all around.What he said was right, for we are known by his name, even today.
He was a very tough man,who grew up as the eldest of 9 members and had lot of struggle in his life to sustain a livelyhood for all the members and he succeeded.I get strength from him when i face difficulties in life and realize how tough a life,he would have led.
I have rarely seen him laugh but, i believe he was a very jovial person too.his younger brothers tell me about the pranks they all used to do,when he returns on vacation from border.As he was the master of the 'house' he would ask each of his brothers to massage him,lying on his back and they would compete with each other to do it for they know that they are going to get some real 'tip' from him after that.
I remember him today,as he was taken away 25 years ago,exactly on the same day.Its a long time, but then his memories even if few,have brought us so far and long time to go further till I too go into oblivion,as do everyone else,but what we leave behind is important,as he did...

Friday, January 1, 2010

2009 that was..

The year 2009 will be known as the recession year world over,for the year exposed America,which was considered to be the vast and the strongest economy, at the same time the phenomenon had least effect on the developiong economies like India,whose GDP grew at an astounding 7.9% in the last quarter.Hope,2010 bring stability and growth world over,with the rate of unemployment coming down.
We saw terrorism being rife and spreading like forest fire even to a state like kerala,thought to be the safest abode for anyone.We saw how fundamentalism and fanatism can destroy a country like afganistan and another in the path of anarchy in pakistan.
The year brought demises for legends like Michael Jackson and geniuses in their fields like murali and lohi.It also brought joy in the form of oscars to a music maestro in rahman and rasul and gulzar.
From the world of sports, the downfall of a 'tiger' and resurgence of Indian cricket team to the pinacle of world cricket with contributions from that tiny giant called sachin,who completed 20 years playing for the country,what a feat and what a man!?
Indian political scene, as always have been,a tumultous one with some uncalled for and hasty decisions, marred with scandals and scoops involving governers,police chiefs and beuro 'craps'.
The world also saw the first 'black' president of America in the year and we still realize that discrimination in the name of colour of skin is still a talking issue,when emphasizing on the first ever'black'!!! sad..
And I would rate the incident, which followed his election as the president,the most surprising and unprecedented event of the year...and that is the 'giving away' of Nobel peace 'prize' to Obama.He himself would have got embarassed, not because of his non worthiness for it but beacuse of the awfully premature decision.Does this show that a coveted award like Nobel has also crumbled against the weight of the most powerfull man on earth,the president of America??
What surprises me most was the rules and regulations which govern the decision for giving the award,in the commities of the previous years were blown in the air.
I think of a man called Gandhi,who never recieved the award on the grounds of a technical reason that he had been assassinated the following year when he was nominated.We cannot say that he was humiliated because of this,'cause noone has got the status of humiliating'the mahatma'.It is the award itself which has got demeaned by not having his name on it.
Another person coming to my mind is mother teresa who got the award at the fag end of her life,although she too doesnt need any awards to be recognized,in fact it is the Nobel itself which got honoured by the mere touch of those frail hands of a simple 'god' who lived amongst us.uh! how can I stop my tears...a mere thought of this woman can fill our hearts with love and compassion.how lucky were those who could see her ,touch her and feel her..
And so..2009 ended and began another package of 365 days,full of hope.
Let peace prevail,let people learn to love each other and at least remember those wonderful human beings who sacrificed so much to make our lives worthy of living.....