*From & To Sathish* - Thread 4 - Page 76

Originally posted by: Raman_jeeva

When do you become just your child’s ‘Plus One’?

by Shoba Narayan, Hindustan Times, Octobr 27, 2019

Graceful ageing is about giving up power but retaining self-control.

Good morning Satish,

Wishing you and your family a wonderful belated Happy Diwali!!

Thank you for sharing yet another brilliant article on the diverse family units in our country.

I do think such articles show how we as a society are evolving.

I believe at the heart of every family unit is the mother. A child emotionally thrives when he or she is raised by a happy mother. The child may have the best of clothes, best of grandparents, best schooling and even the biggest home to live in, but a child feels emotionally empty inside when his mother feels empty too. I know people who have been raised brilliantly by their grandparents, but they are forever wondering why their mother never gave them that same kind of love and attention.

It is not essential that the mother needs to be a "perfect" woman, but it is vital that she is happy. Her mental well-being matters a lot when raising a child.

A woman is happy within her family unit when her choices are respected and her opinions matter.

In our ancient patriarchal society, you can see how this went against a woman's true sense of self-worth. Her needs were kept at the bottom of the family chain until her son got married.

(This was why giving birth to a son raised her respect in society. Giving birth to a son meant that she would eventually be the family's future "matriarch". This was a power of position equivalent to being the First Lady of her family.) Of course, she has had to work all her life to earn that position of respect. And by the time she got it, she would command such respect with full authority and years of experience behind her. However, as she grew older and her health deteriorated, she had little choice but to be dependent on her son's family to look after her until she died. Her emotional health once again declined as her freedom of choice was deprived from her.

Things have changed a lot since then. Today, a lot of women belong to the working class. She has the freedom to make choice and she is bold enough to let people know her opinions matter. This has changed the family structure tremendously.

When the older generation treat the daughter-in-law like shit in her newly married years, she is not one to take the suffering silently anymore. Rather, she knows that when her time comes, she will strike back like a vulture. Until then, she decides to remain the coy and sweet bride.

She knows her in-laws will be dependant on her as they get older, and she knows how to change that position of power in her stride. Basically, if elderly parents want to be well-looked after by their son's family in their old age, they need to respect the daughter-in-law and her freedom of choice. It is her call if she wants to be in a nuclear family or in a joint family. She can make peace with everyone and stay or she can create hell in the house and leave.

I still feel in the patriarchal society, a woman holds the most power in the house. It depends on a woman's attitude on how the future family will be raised.

I think this is how the elderly are now realising that it might have been wiser to invest in raising a daughter rather than in a son. Like that saying goes "you have a son with you until he takes a wife, but you have a daughter with you till the end of life."

Elderly parents want to be physically and financially independent, but wish to be emotionally dependent on their children. Daughters hold that key to emotional well-being for their elderly parents. Nowadays, I see more daughters attending and accompanying their elderly parents' doctors appointments rather than having the son or daughter-in-law taking them to the doctor and "manhandling" them. Again, the woman plays a crucial role here in graceful aging.

I remember an elderly man once said to me that he would like to move in to his daughter's place once he gets too old to look after himself. I asked him why. He said she would look after him like her own child but she would still give him his dignity of being a self-respected adult. He said he wouldn't mind his grown-up daughter stripping off his clothes and seeing him naked and bathing him and changing his soiled sheets. But he said he would die of mortal embarrassment if his daughter-in-law had to do the same task for him. He said he was happy to stay independent for as long as he could, but if he had to let go of his dignity before he dies...he said he would happily surrender that dignity to his own daughter instead of his daughter-in-law. (However, I do know some grown-up sons who have showered and toileted their elderly parents till they died.) This was told to me by an elderly man who died a few weeks later. He died under his daughter's care.

Who we choose to be comfortable with to surrender our dignity to in our final days should determine how we plan to live our life and how we choose to set up our family structure accordingly. Even in our last days, we should have a choice and our opinions should matter. Otherwise, we would remain another lifeless soul on a large family portrait with a straight face and a forced smile....and sadly, that might be all that we are remembered for once we have passed on.

Good morning my dear friends,

Spain, Just the words well written will not do justice to your thoughts and the last post and I repeat, that you should write more and share with all of us your perspective of not only a woman but that of a doctor, wife, mother, and friend.

Times are changing. Technology has made many things easy and convenient and yet life suffers through rapidly degrading relationships and I say that in a general way.

Maybe, I am old-fashioned and come from conservative times. But, values and virtues are losing appeal and it can be seen in everyday life and every hour of the day.

Anyway, coming back to Jannal Oram, the lines are ready and all I have to do is sit and put them into words and post them here.

So easily said for that thing called laziness has taken hold of my limbs and soul and telling me ' sat, take it easy and chill. just a few more chapters and take your time and make them good, really good.'

Maybe today or at the most tomorrow, I will try and sit down and finish Jannal oram.

I have to add this tiny info concerning the crackers that have ruined my hearing and most certainly my concentration.

I place my fingertips on the keys and an atom bomb like cracker goes off leaving me peeing in my pants and cursing filthily, and yes, that too in Tamil.

Enna seivathu

Kaadhalukkum Tamil

Kaadhaliyai Kadhalipaatharkum Tamil

Inbathukkum tamil

thunbathaal varum sogathukkum tamil

Anbukkum tamil aval idhal suvaikkum tamil

aval udalum tamil

aval aadaiyum tamil

kaalaiyum tamil

malaiyum tamil

iravum tamil

iravil varum kanavum tamil

pirappu thai mozhi

pirantha pin naan vaazhnthu kondirupathu

valluvanin mozhi

Avaiyin mozhi

en eesanana, aasaan kodutha mozhi

en peyaril sateesan endru

pirantha pothe kalanthu

vazharnthu, vaazhnthu kondirukkum en mozhi

en jeevanin uyir mozhi

tamil, tamil, tamil

Jannal Oram 376

The reason Raman and his family were now under the Indian Army's special commando group was that first and foremost they are out of the civilian network and that immediately means that their whereabouts were totally private and safe from the prying and news-hungry eyes of both the print and broadcast media.

You just don't and cannot f..k around with the Army for they will shoot first and worry later and the security cover for Raman and his family were provided by the same commando group whose job was to protect the Prime Minister and the President of India and their families.

Raman stood up from the chair and began to walk towards the entrance where a vehicle had been placed specifically for him and with a ranking officer along with six commandos to escort Raman to the command structure of the base where General V.K.Singh, Additional secretary, RAW was waiting for him.

He paused, turned and then looked at all of them with an endearing smile ' I just want all of you to know that I love you very much and I am because of you all and I am nothing without you all.'

He looked at all of them ' We are disconnected from the outside world and can communicate only with the express permission of V.k.Singh. This whole base is under a security blanket for there are a lot of other sensitive projects going on right now that are related to national security.'

Jeeva looked at the others and then replied ' Ram, honestly, I think for the first time in a very long time, we all can sleep in peace knowing that you are safe and in good hands. More importantly, far away from any danger or dangerous killers. So, don't worry about our needs to connect with the outside world for all that we call our world is right here in this house and you are the sun and star of that world. This will do and will do just fine for all that matters is you and us being together.'

Shaktivel clapped loudly ' bravo, bravo Jeeva. Just what we were all thinking.'

' Iyaa, you and your safety are paramount and the only thing that matters. As far as we are concerned, our lives have been made worthwhile by your achievements and glory. For, whenever they mention your name, they will mention our names too.'

Raman walked quickly to his dad and hugged him tightly ' Appa, it is your blood and your genes that have made me, created me and I am because of you and amma.'

A cheerful and peaceful smile now lit up his face now he knew that his family was safe out of danger and he now could peacefully go ahead with the work that his new employee, the Indian Government had given him.

The army jeep took about ten minutes to travel the two km distance to the nerve center of the base for there were so many checkpoints that they had to cross before reaching the squat, lengthy looking building that bristled with dozens of dish antennas on its roof.

Alighting from the vehicle, Raman looked at the building and then laughed aloud and a voice from behind asked ' What is so funny about this building?'

Raman turned around on hearing the familiar voice of Brigadier Sooryanarayan and said ' Funny because it looks so much like the studio floors in AVM.'

If he had thought that the seemingly always angry officer would retort in a rude manner, Raman was disappointed when the older man smiled slightly and nodded ' You are right young soldier for our building does resemble a film floor.'

' Soldier sir, you called me a soldier. why?'

' Any soul who takes up arms and makes a stand to protect and defend his nation is a soldier and you, my lad, have done that more times than my own officers have done.'

Raman was taken aback with these kind and mellow words from the normally bristling and raging bull that the Brigadier had been and in turn, bowed his hand and said ' Thank you. Coming from you even the tiniest compliment and sign of approval is a great reward to me.'

Brigadier Sooryanarayan extended his hand and Raman took it and both shook hands in peace and friendship.

' Come, let me lead you in and introduce you to all the members of our team and we will get that out of the way and before the boss, V.K.Singh joins us.'

Raman ' ok. Will it be long before he reaches here?'

' He is here inside the building but in his cabin on an important call concerning some foreign national who is supposed to have entered our country and we are not able to keep locate him for he seems to have gone underground.'

Raman worriedly ' another potential threat, Brigadier?'

Brigadier Sooryanarayanan shrugged ' who knows Raman? might just be nothing in the end.'

The brigadier swiped a card and stepped up closer to the screen on the wall and faced the camera and spoke ' Brigadier Sooryanarayanan with Raman. The password is Raman_Jeeva.'

A Greenlight flashed on top of the door and opened inwards and let loose a draught of cold air from inside its air-conditioned space.

' Raman_jeeva is the password to this entrance. Really. Are you kidding me?' Raman asked the Brigadier.

' Don't ask me lad for the boss V.K is the one who drummed it up and changed it earlier today.'

A few Hindi songs that I listened to more than once.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aaRllt7VP0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaKGB05oKYk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCTr8f4878M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YqmSp22-60

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUS31GnQuBU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbkJ5HhFXdg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU74a-uhd2Y

To improve Vodkabulary the following books are essential reading.

01. Bar and Peace

02. Tequila Mockingbird

03. The Old Monk and the Sea

04. Blender's Pride & Prejudice

05. The Last of the Mojitos

06. Ale of Two Cities

07. The Absinthe- minded Professor

08. Scotch-22

09. Lord of the Gins

10. Love in the Time of Rum & Coca-Cola

11. My Experiments with Booze

12. The Monk who sold his Bacardi

13. A Brief History of Wine

14. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Beer

15. Drunk Dad, Sober Dad

16. Adventures of Huckleberry Gin

17. Charlie and the Vodka Factory

18. Twenty Thousand Pegs under the Sea

19. The Three Whiskeyteers

20. Not a Pint more, not a Pint less.

CHEERS!!

An everyday miracle

The heavy rains had eased to a persistent drizzle and donning my cotton hat I stepped out of my car with my cotton bag full of biscuits. Sunfeast Marie biscuits had been changed to Marigold as all the dogs had protested and as per their requests and I headed towards the beach and after feeding the first batch of six ruffian canines near the police booth opposite Cozie I walked towards batch near the Gym.

As I was feeding the dogs and crows I saw this young girl in a black and white design Chudidar totally distressed and wondering what was going on, I walked towards her and asked her the reason for her panic-stricken condition.

She looked at me totally lost and managed to whisper ' I lost my mobile ' and seeing the phone in her hand, I asked her about it and she replied ' that is my friend's phone that I am using to call my mobile.'

In her excitement to take some pics of the pigeons that were feeding, she left her phone behind on the platform opposite the Karl Schmidt memorial and by the time she realized her mistake, it was gone.

I tried calming her down and told her it was okay and that she could first contact the cops near the booth but there was no calming the girl and she said ' iphone sir and very expensive.'

Just as we both were trying to stop passersby to know if they had seen anyone picking up a phone, I saw in the distance, few regulars to the beach waving their hands frantically to get our attention.

She was praying and I was praying too and hoping that one of them had some information, I told her that I knew all of them and that they were my friends and together we walked towards them.

There are many batches and groups of regulars on the beach and this batch is mostly made up of retired state govt employees from the TNEB and Metro water department and you guessed right, a bit coarse and vulgar in their style of spoken tamil and the air around them is always filled with heated arguments about current politics and cinema.

But all of them are die-hard Mgr fans and you guessed it and all stood up as me and the girl neared them and one of them showed a phone and said ' sir, I found this phone and I think it belongs to this woman' and handed it to her.

The poor girl burst out crying and stood staring at her mobile phone totally overcome with emotion and relief.

I whispered ' thank them and be on your way and please be more careful in the future.'

one of the men asked her ' amma, evvalavvuma intha phonu?' and she replied ' One and a half lakh' an answer that left me and the others shell shocked and speechless.

She thanked them and then thanked me and I said ' naa enna panne. Onnu ille.' She said ' ille sir, you searched with me and tried to help me and then came with me and got me my phone back.'

After she left, I looked at them ' great job guys and maybe it is true that it still rains because of good and honest souls like you.'

A miracle if you ask me and so many happen every day and all over the world.

Jannal Oram 377

Pancha Bhootangal signifies Air, Water, Fire, Earth and Ether and all of them come together to make life possible on this planet called Earth.

“I consider that a man's brain originally is like a little empty attic, and you have to stock it with such furniture as you choose. A fool takes in all the lumber of every sort that he comes across, so that the knowledge which might be useful to him gets crowded out, or at best is jumbled up with a lot of other things, so that he has a difficulty in laying his hands upon it. Now the skillful workman is very careful indeed as to what he takes into his brain-attic. He will have nothing but the tools which may help him in doing his work, but of these, he has a large assortment and all in the most perfect order.” Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet

Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics). His work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. He is best known to the general public for his mass-energy equivalence formula E = m c 2, which has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation".He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to theoretical physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect", a pivotal step in the development of quantum theory.

Einstein passed away in 18 April 1955 at the age of 76 and his ashes were cremated the very next day. But, only later was it found that his brain had been stolen by the very doctor who had conducted an autopsy on the late genius.

Thomas Stoltz Harvey was the pathologist who conducted the autopsy and later kept Einstein's brain without permission for decades. Surprisingly, Einstein's brain weighed less than a normal man's brain. 200 Grams lesser at 1200 gms when a normal man's brain weighs about 1400 gms. But, decades passed before the brain could be studied in greater detail and during that time, it spent its time in a cider jar filled with alcohol.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2014/04/21/the-tragic-story-of-how-einsteins-brain-was-stolen-and-wasnt-even-special/

The reason that I started this chapter with information about Albert Einstein's brain is that the brain is where everything happens. Where every bit of information is processed. It is the CPU and it is the RAM memory and it is everything and the only organ which is the reason you are alive and feel alive and the rest of the body are just organs to do its bidding and carry out its commands.

You feel so much and all that happens in the brain. I am writing right now with my hands and all that is happening, originating in the brain and as life dictates, some have better brains than most.

If you remember some of my thoughts from Redemption, you will recollect that Rudran thought, moved and acted so fast because of having been blessed with two brains. One his own and the other of Bhairav's that was buried deep in his own and so his brain operated like a supercomputer.

But that was a story and story of aliens and fantasy that might come true sometime in the future millenniums when life from different galaxies stumble on our solar system and maybe come visiting us and imagine what will happen if our biology mixes with that of theirs and that was the origins for Azhagan and Rudran.

Anyway, here we are with Raman being given a temporary consultancy position with Raw and who has been invited to their nerve center deep inside the Avadi Air force base to help out in their efforts of tracking and bringing down Jamun aka Malik.

OVERCLOCKING

Overclocking is the action of increasing a component’s clock rate, running it at a higher speed than it was designed to run. This usually applies to the CPU or GPU, but other components can also be overclocked.

Increasing a component’s clock rate causes it to perform more operations per second, but it also produces additional heat. Overclocking can help squeeze more performance out of your components, but they’ll often need additional cooling and care.

Your computer’s CPU comes from the factory set to run at a certain maximum speed. If you run your CPU at that speed with proper cooling, it should perform fine without giving you any problems.

However, you’re often not limited to that CPU speed. You can increase the CPU’s speed by setting a higher clock rate or multiplier in the computer’s BIOS, forcing it to perform more operations per second.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/198882/overclocking_for_newbies.html

Ten percent of the brain myth

Certainly there is no truth to the idea that we only use 10 percent of our neural matter. Modern brain scans show activity coursing through the entire organ, even when we're resting. Minor brain damage can have devastating effects - not what you'd expect if we had 90 percent spare capacity. Also, consider the situation when neural tissue representing a limb is rendered redundant by the loss of that limb. Very quickly, neighbouring areas recruit that tissue into new functions, for example, to represent other body regions. This shows how readily the brain utilizes all available neural tissue.

For many people, the 10 percent myth sounds both feasible and appealing because they see it in terms of human potential. Many of us believe that we could achieve so much more - learning languages, musical instruments, sporting skills - if only we applied ourselves. It's easy to see how this morphs into the shorthand idea that we use just 10 percent of our brain's capacity or potential.

Meditation

Meditation is a practice where an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state. Scholars have found meditation difficult to define, as practices vary both between traditions and within them.

Meditation has been practiced since antiquity in numerous religious traditions, often as part of the path towards enlightenment and self-realization. Some of the earliest written records of meditation (Dhyana), come from the Hindu traditions of Vedantism. Since the 19th century, Asian meditative techniques have spread to other cultures where they have also found application in non-spiritual contexts, such as business and health.

Meditation may be used with the aim of reducing stress, anxiety, depression, and pain, and increasing peace, perception, self-concept, and well-being.

Martial arts

We are all aware that exercise generally has many benefits, such as improving physical fitness and strength. But there is one activity that goes beyond enhancing physical and mental health and that is martial arts which can boost your brain’s cognition too.

Researchers say that there are two ways to improve attention, through attention training (AT), and attention state training (AST).

AT is based on practicing a specific skill and getting better at that skill.

AST, on the other hand, is about getting into a specific state of mind that allows a stronger focus. This can be done by using exercise, meditation or yoga, among other things.

It has been suggested that martial arts are a form of AST and supporting this, recent research has shown a link between practice and improved alertness.

Blessed but crooked

Lance Edward Armstrong (born Lance Edward Gunderson; September 18, 1971)is an American former professional road racing cyclist, infamous for the biggest doping scandal in cycling history.

During the Tour de france, Armstrong burns between 6,500 and 10,000 calories a day. the average active man burns 3,500 calories a day.

Armstrong's heart is almost one-third larger than the average man's. His resting heart rate is 32 beats per minute. At peak performance, it can top out at 200 bpm. The average resting heart rate for men is 70 bpm.

His lung performance while cycling is just about double that of an average man's during exercise. His lungs use about 85 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight, compared with the 40 used by the average male at peak performance.

His femur (thigh bone) is significantly longer than that of an average man's. This additional length makes for the ideal cyclist body; it enables him to apply superior torque to the pedals.

On October 2, 1996, at age 25, Armstrong was diagnosed with stage three (advanced) testicular cancer (embryonal carcinoma).The cancer had spread to his brain, lungs and abdomen.He visited urologist Jim Reeves in Austin, Texas for diagnosis of his symptoms, including coughing up blood and a swollen testicle.On October 3, Armstrong had an orchiectomy to remove the diseased testicle. Asked in a later interview what he thought Armstrong's chances of survival were, Reeves said "Almost none. We told Lance initially 20 to 50% chance, mainly to give him hope. But with the kind of cancer he had, with the x-rays, the blood tests, almost no hope."

But, Lance Armstrong beat cancer and went on to become one of the world's most famous and successful cyclist by winning the Tour de France race multiple times. In case you are wondering what this race is all about, hold on to your chair ladies for the Tour de France consist of 21 day-long segments (stages) over a 23-day period and cover around 3,500 kilometres (2,200 mi).The race alternates between clockwise and counterclockwise circuits of France. Breathe and think, 3,500 kms in 23 days. WTF are you crazy?

Then, this guy blessed with all these superior physical organs confesses that he used banned drugs to win and was cast out, and now lives as a castaway, a pariah.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lance_Armstrong

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/mar/09/lance-armstrong-cycling-doping-scandal

Panchabhootangal. Now, take Raman who is blessed with good genes and who takes it to the next level by training and becoming a master in Martial arts, both Judo and other styles. He also does a lot of meditation and this only boosts his already perfect body and brain and boosts his mind and thought. Take it again to the next level, where his soul thinks for others and thinks good and kind thoughts and now take it again to the next level when all this comes together and answer my questions, Is Raman a hero or not?. Is Raman special or not?.

We all could be Raman's if we wanted to and all it takes is effort and in that simple word, effort that goes hand in hand with Laziness ( somberi) is what life is all about.

Doers do and talkers talk and sleepers sleep and sleepwalk.

So, our hero Raman enters the building with Brigadier Sooryanarayanan and into a world full of spies and espionage.

Jannal Oram 378

Raman stepped into the building and then had to cross through another door that had armed commandos standing guard and both soldiers immediately saluted Brigadier Sooryanarayanan who barked ' At ease gentlemen' and entered the darkness beyond.

The building's belly seemed to swallow Raman who stepped inside and felt like he had stepped into some sci-fi movie set and went " Wow! Now that is something that a common man does not get to see even once in his life."

The inside of the building stretched and ran away and as far as he could see it was filled with computers and work stations that was helmed by hundred or more people who all had their heads bent, lost and busy in some secret mission and data collection.

The left of the building was lined with cabin and out of one of them came V.K.Singh who waved his hand and beckoned both of them.

Even from far away, Raman could see the stress in V.K.Singh's face and his normal calm and cool face had been replaced by an ugly scowl and he hurriedly waved to a few people who ran up to him and said ' Ram, something very important has come up and I am sorry that I cannot be with you right now. '

He introduced the four youngsters to Raman ' Shaji from Kochi, Balbir from Delhi, Sukhi ram from Bihar and this is Preetha from Chennai and I have assigned these four to help you out and they will brief you and assist you in any way they can.'

He looked at Raman ' Sorry son, have to rush because the whole intelligence network is on fire, starting from America, Europe to here in Asia.'

Raman in a calming voice ' Is there anything I can do to help sir? If so, just ask and I will.'

V.K.Singh looked at the four analysts ' all of you wait at the station that has been assigned for this case and Raman will join you shortly.'

After they had left, Brigadier Sooryanarayan asked V.K.Singh ' what new fire is burning your usually calm and cool backside and a rear that has seen far worse and stressful situations over the years and has come through unscathed.'

V.k.Singh mumbled a name, a word, and the Brigadier not hearing it asked ' V.K, what was it you said?' and Raman said " Abbas, is that a name or a code sir?'

Brigadier Sooryanarayan went quiet and Raman saw both the senior men look at each other and then asked V.K.Singh ' gentlemen, are you okay?'

' Raman, Abbas is the name of one of the most dreaded terrorists that we have encountered and yet we know very little of him and his movements. Even the world-famous Mossad has just a pic of him and which is too grainy and pixellated to correctly confirm his appearance.'

He looked down at the ground and cursing softly said ' Rumors are floating that this terrorist Abbas Khan is heading our way and the unconfirmed reports from Israel say that he has crossed over into Indian territory and is here in our land right now.'

' Sir, what does the name or word Abbas mean ?'

V.K.Singh's face revealed the seed of fear and tension that had taken root in his heart and said ' Ram, Abbas is an Arabic name and it means Lion. In Arabic, this name is given to the meanest and strongest lion in the pride! It is the lion that all others fear."

Abbas is most probably going to be our next story and yes, it will feature most of Jannal Oram's characters and yes, as always, it will be love and only love that will be the hero and the heroine of the story.

https://stepfeed.com/arabs-love-lions-so-much-they-name-their-sons-after-them-in-15-different-ways-8872

Jannal Oram 379

The room was nearly silent but for the hum of the AC and the room lay silent but for the steady and clean breathing sounds of Minister Durai Pandi Arumugam.

His eyes fluttered like the wings of a hummingbird and then opened wide and took in everything that was around him. He felt a lot better than he had felt when he had suffered the heart attack after hearing his son Vijay's death. Slowly, he turned his head to his right and saw his remaining beacon, his sole lighthouse reading a book, drenched in a soft yellow light that formed a halo around her and the chair that she was seated in.

Still, silent and cloaked in relative darkness, he watched his child with immense love and pride and his thoughts took him back to old memories. Back to the time when under Puratchi thalaivi Amma's rule, their party had swept into power with a landslide victory in the 1991 elections.

One day, after a hectic round of campaigning, they all had stayed in a hotel near Madurai for the night when Amma's secretary had knocked on his room door and had informed him that she had requested his presence along with that of a few others for a hurried meeting and also to discuss the schedule for the next day.

They all had hurried to her room which was the biggest one in the hotel and the only one with a sitting room, that allowed seating space only for a very few people. Six chairs had been placed in a semi-circle with one against the wall and a few feet away and when he had entered the room, Amma's head was bent, lost in the book that was on her lap. Durai Pandi Arumugam was well-read and intelligent but only in Tamil and he envied those that could speak, read and write many languages and his new leader was one of them.

He remembered the first time when he had visited Poes Garden in 1989 and had been ushered into Amma's private space that was her library and his mouth had fallen open, amazed and awed at the sheer number of books in the large room.

' more than 800 books Arumugam sir and I have finished nearly all of them', she had said in her strong and bold voice. He remembered when he had taken both Kavita and Vijay to Amma's residence to get her blessings and she had gifted each of them, many books and had told them to read and read a lot and increase their knowledge.

Kavita reading her book appeared to him exactly like his late leader and he kept staring at her and she looked up.

Getting up, she switched on a single light that just about illuminated her father's face and hurried to his side, worry and panic painted on her beautiful face and froze seeing him smile and seeing the familiar shine in his eyes.

She sat by his side and gently brushing his hair back, caressed his cheek and asked ' Appa, how are you feeling?'

' With you near me and my eyes and soul full of you, nothing can touch me, baby. I am fine and feel much better than the last time that I opened my eyes.'

He held her face and gently pulling it rested it on his ailing chest. Father and child unknowingly gave, willed the other their own energy and will and it seemed that both their hearts beat as one.

He apologised ' sorry da kutty chellam, you were totally engrossed in your book and I seemed to have disturbed you.'

She sat up and looked at him angrily ' Neither I nor my book is important dad, for the only thing that is important right now is you and your complete recovery.'

Father looked at his child and saw her eyes filling with tears and he gently wiping them away ' why these tears Kavi?'

' I am scared appa. I was feeling so lost and lonely for Vijay went away and you were taken to the hospital and in a critical condition.'

' But, you had Raman with you and by your side, Kavi.'

Kavita burst out crying and Durai Pandi knew that her tears came from her core, her soul and all that she was.

He pulled her back and resting her head on his chest, gently stroked her head and shoulders, like the way he used to do when she had been little.

Father began talking to his child ' Kavi, nothing is certain da. Vijay, who we all thought of as our wall, our foundation is gone and it does not matter how he is gone? Forget our Vijay, remember how we felt when our Amma left us although we knew in our hearts that there was a chance that she might not make it for you, me and all of us saw how weak she had been and how much she struggled with her diabetes and still managed to campaign just months before she passed on and like a miracle brought us back to power, even though the floods of the previous year had devastated most of Chennai and Tamil Nadu.

You were not yet born when Amma brought us to power back in 1991 and you were not there when she was nearly disrobed in the assembly by some of the thugs from the opposition. Yet, like a phoenix, she rose and spread her wings and taking us under it, braved all obstacles that came her way.

Once, I and a few others caught her in a vulnerable moment and she revealed her souls for a few moments. But, what she said at that time is etched, burnt and scarred in my soul.'

Kavita looked at him' ennappa, what did Amma say?'

'I too felt love once, just once but lost it and I have never loved again. Now, all that is left in my life is Tamil and my Tamil people and they both are my only family and my only children. My time is now not for me but for the party and for the people of Tamil Nadu. In the eye of the public, I am a spinster and barren. But, in my soul, I am married to this land and all its citizens are my children.'

Kavita was too moved to say anything and her father said ' That is why we named her " Amma".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIgLhXfyMJk

Good morning. I wish you a beautiful day. All the best.

There are some special moments, sacred even, when the sun rises and hangs on the horizon like a tiny red ball and all I can think of is, a Bindi, Sivappu pottu on a her forehead. The red bindi stays the same although the skin and tone of the forehead which is the sky changes from namma dravidam color to that of a oriental tone and yes many a time an alien gray and blue.

I smile to myself and whisper 'Pottu, avallukku mattum alla, anniyarukkum azhagai irukku.'

Kurazhlum aval

Kuralum aval

paarvaiyum aval

sollum aval

seiya solbathum aval

azahgu enbathu aval

azhagendra sollukum artham aval

silaiyum aval

silayaga enna nirka seivathum aval

silaiyai rasikka sonnathum aval

Thaiyum aval

Thaaramum aval

kaadaliyum aval

en sontham aval

en ella bandhamum aval

Aval, naan vanangum Shakti