*From & To Sathish* - Thread 4 - Page 82

Good morning. I wish you a beautiful day.

I am not a very religious person. Spiritual, yes, a bit but I do believe in the existence of a higher power. Yes, absolutely. From, that very first moment when I consciously locked eyes with It and saw my own reflection in the glass housing in which God appeared as Narayana, Shakti, Ganesha, Lakshmi and Muruga, I knew that here was one place, a solace, an oasis in the desert called life where I could rest and reflect.

Some temples, I frequent for they still maintain peace and quiet in this loud world of mobiles, ringtones and WhatsApps ( wondering if I should launch an app called Whatsdown).

Noise pollution aside, voice pollution really drives me mad and I think that people have generally become louder and louder not only with their thoughts and opinions but also with their voices and screams.

Maybe, it is because everyone is clamouring to be heard and noticed over other clamouring voices and yells.

I have made peace with my sleeping and waking hours and Insomnia be damned, I have found peace in rising at 2.00 am in the morning.

Quiet, tranquil, solitary and such virtues aside, my main advantage is that I have the computer for myself and that saves me from losing out to my pondatti and also having to slink away with my tail tucked in, safe and sound.

Like that first conscious moment when I saw God, really saw God through the glass, through the imaginary four arms, gold and jewelled crown.

It is not about God. It is not about religion and other technical terms. Rather, it is a process, a journey and a voyage into yourself and your own soul and thoughts.

The topic of God is a subject of looking at yourself, controlling yourself, rising from the mundane dredges of shallow life and starting a conversation with yourself, with God itself.

I think you, me and all of us are here to discover for ourselves who we are and why we are and the first step we must make is to ask those questions to yourself and not pose it to others, for the answers might drive you to kill yourself, kill the person who answered or get killed by the person who answered.

Even these thoughts of mine are just reflection and they might sound amateur and silly but it is a start. A start of the journey of which the beginning and the end are the same point of origin.

ETA-ONE LIFE.

TIME IS OF NO ESSENCE.BUT LIFE IS.

Son : Appa , how you survived without 4G 5G during your time?

Father : My Son, during our time, there used to be 3G, that is Mata ji, Pita ji and Guru ji.

With one tight slap from them, our whole "Network" used to get automatically activated

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei3z4WXYmnU

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaR9euUOnkQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7qI9mCDVvU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpJDmKKz3yg

Jannal Oram 405

Raman logged into his mail and clicked on the link that the late Jamun aka Dhanraj Malik had sent to him and leaned back as a video screen popped up with a blank screen.

V.k.Singh looked at Preetha and asked her to hook up the video to a larger screen, which she did by typing a few commands on to her pad.

They sat in front of the screen and watched as the screen came alive and showed Dhanraj pulling up a chair in front of the camera and clearing his throat, folded his hands across his chest and then made himself more comfortable by stretching his legs in front of him and then stared into the camera with a smile.

This was the first time that Jeeva was seeing Jamun aka Dhanraj and she whispered ' boy, the man does look like a filmstar and hot to boot' and saw preetha glance and smile at her and then hurriedly turned away before her boss caught her expression.

From the screen, Dhanrajs voice filled the place as he began to speak and he spoke only to Raman.

' welcome my warrior friend. So, here we are with you having said sorry to me and Sharmilee and also after having given us a proper cremation.'

He smiled sadly and continued ' Raman, the name is so powerful and a name that you truly own and maybe you are just as good as the original owner of it.'

They all watched him as he turned his face away towards the window whose curtains were fluttering in a heavy breeze and turning back to the camera ' I was born out of love to a Hindu Brahmin and Muslim parents and right from the start, my life was an uphill climb. I joined the army so that I could have a place to call my home and people to call my family, but that too did not work out very well.

My fellow commandos cruelly massacred an entire village and I just could not stand by watching and doing nothing. I could not justify their actions and so I judged them and executed them and then went into hiding, deep into the Burmese jungle.'

He looked directly into the camera and into Raman's eyes ' I was not born a bad person but I became one due to circumstances. I came out of the jungle thinking I could make a quiet living somewhere doing some job, but then Sharmilee happened. Again, I could not abandon her in that brothel, a child, barely ten or eleven and so I rescued her and again I judged and executed the bad people.'

He slowly dropped his eyes and stared at his palms and spoke ' I guess fate had destined me to become a killer and so I dropped all pretenses and embraced my calling and Sharmilee came along with me and our destinies became entwined.

I began killing to survive and to take care of Sharmilee and soon I lost my conscience and humanity with all the killings. I knew that Sharmileee was not all there in her head and that her psyche was all torn and molested by people and life and so I did not reign her in and instead went along with her bloodlust and madness.

we were not born bad people Raman and I am telling you all this, confessing all this to you because I want you to forgive me and accept my sincere apologies for having been a part of the killing of your friend, Vijay in Delhi.

I am sorry Raman. I really am for I know what it feels like to lose someone whom you love very much.'

He turned towards the window and pointed to the darkness outside ' My Gulab is out there waiting for me, calling for me and I think it is time I went and joined her.'

He turned to Raman ' I have sent you another link and it will give you access to all my bank accounts and the passwords are listed along with it.'

This is my gift to you and your pregnant wife and to the child that you will soon have in your arms. Something, that I and Sharmilee will never ever have the privilege to enjoy and although that is sad it is probably right.'

He slowly placed his hands on his thighs ' Raman, one small favor, please. Donate some money to orphanages and schools for under-privileged children for that will probably buy me and Sharmilee some small degree of pardon from God, in case we meet him or her.'

Dhanaraj's face filled with a smile and he said in a soft and sad voice' Bye Raman. I wish you and your family the very best.'

THE END

Jannal Oram-Epilogue

Dhanraj Malik had left behind nearly two crores in his accounts and Raman handed that part of the transactions to V.k.singh and the department.

Three days later, Raman and the entire family left the army base and returned back to their house in Adyar.

Raman had requested V.k.singh a few months to wrap up his commitments before he joined the number one intelligence agency in the country and it was grudgingly granted.

A week later a parcel was delivered and Raman was shocked to see it was from Dhanraj Malik and it was a later along with a flash drive.

The letter informed Raman about all the other bank accounts that Jamun had not revealed in the mail link for he knew that the Government would confiscate it and requested Raman to keep this letter and the accounts a secret.

It took Raman nearly three days to go through all the accounts and found nearly 200 crores of cash in offshore accounts and then there was the matter of a swiss bank account which he did not even dare to touch at that moment.

Raman took out a safety deposit locker in the nearby ICICI Bank and placed both the letter and flash drive in it and turned his back on it for the time being.

Kavita was given a seat in the bye-election and won it with a sweeping majority and was inducted into the State cabinet and was handed the Irrigation portfolio.

Things were back to normal and just a few months more were left for Jeeva's date with motherhood and one evening as she and Raman were walking around the quiet lanes of Gandhi Nagar, she looked at him and said something.

Raman smiled and said okay.

The 18K bus slowly pulled up and halted at the bus stop and the few passengers seated inside were shocked to see both the bus driver and conductor jump up from their seats as if they had been stung in their b..s by a scorpion and leapt out of the bus.

The bus conductor Chandran and driver Thangaraasu, their faces beaming with happiness greeted Raman and Jeeva and then excitedly enquired about both of them.

Chandran then gently took Jeeva's arm and helped her into the bus and seated her just behind the driver's seat and joined Thangarasu and congratulated both of them for getting married and wished them the very best.

Jeeva and Raman thanked them and the bus moved away from the Saidapet bus stop and headed towards Parrys corner.

The December wind blew through the window and made a mess of Jeeva's hair and it stuck to her face as black lines.

Raman sighed and gently brushed away the hair and looked at her and said ' I love you Jeeva.I have loved you from that very moment when my eyes first saw you and when you too saw me. We were meant to be together no matter what and so here we are baby.'

Jeeva smiled and leant her head on his shoulder and whispered ' yes, here we are baby, back in the same bus and sitting next to the window through which I used to search for you every day. This used to be my vantage point to watch you as you got into the bus and I used to watch you in the mirror that is over the driver's head.'

Both looked at each other and happily stared at Chennai as it sped past them through their bus Jannal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH3_Jna80Uk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z9orCP8jIU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ziNk53ikVI

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

Absolutely love what this woman wrote

At the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman.

The caption was "This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?"

The gym gained popularity and business soared as ladies wanted to be like a mermaid. This continued till a lady (clothing size unknown) saw the pic and caption and wrote her response and pasted it alongside the pic.

It read as follows:

"Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.

They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.

They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.

Mermaids do not exist.

But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?

They would have no physical relations and could not bear children.

Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.

And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?

Without a doubt, I'd rather be a whale.

At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.

We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn't enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.

We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.

Just sit back and enjoy yourself"

I love her response and her attitude towards life!

Moral - eat whatever you want to eat, and if someone tries to lecture you, eat them too.

Vaanathai Pola

“If I were rain, That joins sky and earth that otherwise never touch, Could I join two hearts as well?” Tite Kubo

Maybe in this lifetime and maybe never, ever. But, I dream and set free my thoughts, hopes, and wishes and they blot the sky like cotton candy clouds and I lay on Earth watching the blue sky turning black.

But, the sky is just not what we think, is it now, my friends. The reason the sky is blue is because of three simple factors put together: that sunlight is made out of the light of many different wavelengths, that Earth's atmosphere is made out of molecules that scatter different-wavelength light by different amounts, and the sensitivity of our eyes. Put these three things together, and a blue sky is inevitable. At night, when that part of Earth is facing away from the Sun, space looks black because there is no nearby bright source of light, like the Sun, to be scattered. If you were on the Moon, which has no atmosphere, the sky would be black both night and day. You can see this in photographs taken during the Apollo Moon landings.

The sky is not a roof, a ceiling which we can touch but just a mirage that appears so. The sky is the edge of the cosmos in which you, me and all life along with our planet and our solar system are floating in along with trillions, Zillions of other stars and other Galaxies.

The sky, the Cosmos is infinite, without an end or edge and it holds within its womb all that you see and all that you love and feel..

The only thing comparable to the sky, the cosmos is one's soul, one's imagination and yes, love. For, love makes all things bearable.

Love, even if it is only in your mind and not present in the one you hold it for, still shines brightly. But, when two souls come together then the sky is the limit and then love is not befitting a word to describe them and what they feel for each other.

Our new story starts from Swamimalai, Kumbakonam for that is where Lord Muruga explained the meaning of Pranavam to his father Lord Shiva and earned the name Thagapan Swamy.

Radhu endra Radhakrishnan sets off on a voyage to cross the gulf between decades, generations, cultures, and Ideologies.

"Why is this new journey titled Vaanathai pola, Satish?" you might ask or wonder and my answer is that we are the sky, the cosmos and we are filled with the same essence.

Even the tiniest atom of a particular element is identified by the same name, regardless of its size. Even if the cosmos is infinite and endlessly eternal, it still fills our being and since we are its child, doesn't that make us a part of the cosmos too.

Vaanathai Pola -1

“Mist to mist, drops to drops. For water thou art, and unto water shalt thou return.”― Kamand Kojouri

Anyakshetre krutam papam punyakshetre vinasyati

Punyakshetre krutam papam Varanaasyam vinasyati

Vaaranaasyam krutam papam Kumbhakone vinasyati

Kumbhakone krutam papam Kumbhakone vinasyati

Kumbakonam, especially Mahamagham, is the ultimate destination to get sins absolved. The word Mahamagham itself is a combination of three words, sandhi as grammar would define it - Maha, Maa, and Agham – meaning supreme, sin and 'won't come near' respectively. A dip in the tank at the appointed hour is believed to wash away sins.

The timing of the festival is determined by the specific position of the sun, the moon and the stars. Generally, this happens on the full moon day of the Tamil month of Masi (solar Kumbha month) - either in the latter half of February or in the first week of March.

Legend has it that Siva directed the rivers to go to Kumbakonam and bathe in the Paapanodhaka Tirtha (Mahamagham tank) at the auspicious hour (avabhruta kala) to get back their purity. They had approached Him with the grievance that they were groaning under the weight of the sins deposited by human beings. Thus it is believed that on Mahamagham day that happens once in 12 years, all the rivers are present in the Kumbakonam tank and a dip here is akin to bathing in rivers flowing across the country. In fact, the entire Hindu pantheon of gods is said to be present there.

It was 5.30 on a December morning. The air around the tank was cool although a bit unpleasantly so and the waters would be even colder. But, Radhu aka Radhakrishnan reveled in the chilling waters and felt lighter from the day before. The lazy December sun struggled top crest the eastern horizon and rose just a bit over the temple tower of Lord Kumbeshwarar and bathed all that it saw in a blaze of Gold and even the waters around him in the tank appeared to shimmer and flow like molten gold.

Radhu raised both his hands above his head and bringing them together chanted ' Shambo Mahadeva' many times and then closing his eyes soaked in the cool tank waters and then slowly got out of the tank and walked up the ancient stone steps.

Most people gave way to Radhu for his physical appearance was very imposing and his eyes were piercing in their look. Radhakrishnan stood tall at 6ft 2inches and he was blessed with good genes. His face was in proportion and in perfect balance and so was his upper and lower body and he himself had never taken his blessings for granted and worked on it and had honed it to perfection.

But, his real power lay in his brain and the power of thought and action.

Radhu was known to be a man of little words and needs and spoke very sparingly and when he did speak, people listened and they listened very carefully. But, they would lose to Radhu in the game of listening for he had mastered the art of listening to a rare level and nothing escaped his ears and eyes.

The man who sat waiting for him on the stone bench under the neem tree watched quietly as Radhu dried himself and slipped into his clothes and then handed him the package and said ' everything is there. All that you requested and a little more.'

Radhu looked at him ' Is that a tinge of doubt that I hear in your voice?'

The man much older than Radhu smiled ' maybe but more than doubt it is worry and nothing else Radhu.'

' Worry? why?'

The old man's face filled with surprise ' You dare even ask that question of me when you are well aware as to how much I care about you and also how grateful I am to you for all that you have done for me and my family.'

Radhu nodded and only flashed a smile in return and then got into the car that was parked nearby and it headed towards the Town bus stop.

Getting out of the car, he looked at his watch and saw that it was 6.00 am and opening the back door picked up his luggage and looked at the old man who had driven him and said ' Bye.'

The old man watched Radhakrishnan and thought ' It is only a matter of time now. All the best Radhu.'

The bus left Kumbakonam on time at 6.15 and soon sped swiftly towards Chennai.

Radhu closed his eyes and fell into a deep and undisturbed sleep.

Vaanathai Pola -2

Today, most of the human race is consumed by the act of consumption of nearly everything. From food, drink, clothes, news, everything is lapped up and after being consumed, discarded. But, the field of print and broadcast has now mastered the art of regurgitating what they consume and that is what is mostly served to deserving people who have set aside their brains and consciences and almost unconsciously watch television, glued to it like zombies.

Even the most violent rapes and murders are old news once consumed and all those employed are on the constant lookout for new and more grisly news. what does this tell about us?

We are what we eat.

We are what we say.

We are what we do.

We are what we think.

Forget Jayalalitha, as even Karunanidhi who passed away just last year, is old and stale news and importantly, yesterday's news. So, in this atmosphere, the news about the brutal attack on a highly decorated officer Brigadier Rajashekar was soon relegated from the front page to the inside pages and then that too was removed.

The attack on the former army officer and a highly decorated one at that had hit the headlines and then slowly began to slip and slide into the second and third pages and over the next few days, only a perfunctory bit of news was added to the papers and lesser time was allotted in the Tv channels.

Unknown men, former unknown army officers, people and experts from all walks and corners of life had thumped their chests and tables and screamed their throats hoarse on hearing about the attack and then it all died down.

But, the army did not stand for this and a lot of pressure was brought on the Prime Minister and who in turn leaned down heavily on the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu who in turn promised to arrest the criminals who had committed this dastardly act on a former war hero.

A special team headed by Deputy Commissioner Ilavarasan of the CID branch was given charge of the case and the investigation had begun with deadly earnest.

Deputy Commissioner Ilavarasan of the 1999 IPS batch was a very honest and highly disciplined man and whose reputation had led him to be unofficially nicknamed in the official circles as the Pitbull. For, like the scary pitbull, DC Ilavarasan never ever let go of his quarry once he got a sniff of it.

Although a man known for being methodical and successful in all his investigations, he was also known for his distinctive style of operating and that was to take every step with great care and consideration.

He had two golden rules that he followed very diligently and that was to never to judge and label anyone guilty until enough proof had been gathered against the accused and the second rule was to find the motive for the crime as that would lead to the person who committed it.

Brigadier Rajashekar had been found brutally attacked and lying by the side of his Honda city car at about 10.30 pm in the night by a patrol jeep and had been rushed to Global hospitals for treatment.

The doctor's report stated that the ex-army officer had been stabbed many times and had been left to die but had miraculously survived and now lay in a coma.

Deputy Commissioner Ilavarasan had started with Brigadier Rajashekar as the starting point and the center and hoped to expand around it by finding witnesses and suspects to proceed with the case. But, all he got was empty leads and suspects who had airtight alibis.

The only person who had the motive to commit this attack was the local ruling party councillor, Rangaswamy who seemed to have had a few altercations with the Brigadier over the years and particularly from the time Brigadier Rajashekar had started " The Flock" an Educational institution meant for children specially sent from orphanages and also for children of martyrs of the armed forces of India.

Deputy Commissioner Ilavarasan had discreetly made calls and spoken to many party people from that area and had found out the reason for the altercations between the local councilor and Brigadier Rajashekar had been the land on which " The Flock" was built on.

The brigadier who now lay in a coma had purchased the 50 acres land in Navalur during the mid-90s when the land had been very cheap although it had sky-rocketed over the years to astronomical levels.

The packet of land that Brigadier Rajashekar had purchased had been from the councilor Rangaswamys brother who was no more and it had been purchased at a price of one lakh per acre and today in 2019 the same acre stood at several crores of rupees and thinking this had been the motive, Deputy Commissioner Ilavarasan had paid a visit to the man concerned.

But, even a veteran police officer such as him could not move easily against a lowly councilor and who was not only from the ruling party but also had the backing of powerful cabinet ministers.

A meeting had been held in the commissioner's office and both the councilor along with his advocate had attended it and had answered all the questions that Deputy Commissioner Ilavarasan had posed to them.

After they had left, Chennai Commissioner Vishwanathan had looked at Deputy Commissioner Ilavarasan ' Ila, take it easy and go slow like you always do and finish the case.'

' no proof sir, and he has a solid, and airtight alibi. He was attending a function in Salem with the education minister and importantly our Chief minister was there too.'

One month had passed away and the trail was turning cold and it is at this time that the bus from Kumbakonam carrying Radha Krishnan along with other passengers stopped at the Kathipara junction.

The tall man got down from the bus and lifted a hand and an autorickshaw pulled up to him.

' Global hospital, Shollinganallur.'

Vaanathai Pola -3

Brigadier Rajashekar had been the victim of a brutal assault by one or more assailants. After being attacked, he had been left to die and he nearly did due to blood loss but had been saved by the police officers who had been on their night patrol on the OMR road. Rather than wasting time by calling for an ambulance and waiting for it to arrive, Head constable Jeevarathinam had lifted the critically injured Rajashekar and placing him in the back of their jeep had rushed him to Global hospitals for immediate treatment.

Rajashekar had suffered a total of 16 injuries of which four had been serious. Of the four, three had been stab wounds to his stomach region and which had caused, stomach lacerations, spleen damage along with cuts to his large intestine. But, the most serious injury had been the blow to his head that had fractured his skull and resulting in him slipping into a coma.

It had been touch and go the first ten days and each time the doctors had concluded that it was time, Rajashekar had come back fighting with a feeble pulse and a will that could not be so easily doused.

So, Rajashekar Varman lay in a coma and he lay neither here nor there. Neither alive nor dead. Neither in the present nor in the past and now only time would decide his future as to how much time he had left.

The only person breathing consciously without the help of machines was Girija Padmanabhan, Rajashekar's elder sister and she sat gazing at him with the eyes and soul of a mother.

Girija had once been a reputed surgeon in the Cardiology department but now in her late sixties, she restricted herself to being a consultant to some of the leading hospitals in the city. Her late husband had himself been a very popular surgeon in the Neurology department. Both of them were very fond of Rajashekar and whenever he had holidays to spend, he would fly down to Chennai and spend it with his sister and her family.

Girija and her late husband Padmanabhan had stopped with one child, a daughter who was married and well settled in Canada. After her daughter Suganthi had left for Canada, Girijas husband had passed away after suffering a massive heart attack and his sudden death was a reminder to Girija that even they, doctors were not immune to the whims and fancies of Death and that it would come and could come any moment.

Girija was in her early seventies now and sat quietly in the room that her brother was in, fighting for his life and holding on to something.

Girija had rushed to the hospital and had been allowed access to all the information regarding his situation for she knew almost all the doctors in the city and had mentored many of them who were now at the top of their fields. That, she was also on the board of the directors of Global hospitals group and also an important member of the Indian Medical Association was too much of authority for any doctor to take on and all protocol and formalities had been brushed aside and Girija has spent almost every day by her brothers side and had in fact spent many a night with him in the room that he was in, watching over him, talking to him and singing to him.

Every day, Girija sang her brother's favorite Bharathiyar song that their mother used to sing to them when they were growing up back in Kumbakonam in their Agraharam and even after they had shifted to Chennai and long after they had both grown up and had become adults.

The song was "Aasai mugam maranthu poche" and anytime Rajashekar heard that song, he used to freeze, drop anything he was doing and would listen to it as if he was in a state of hypnosis. It did not matter if it was their mother just humming it or if it was from the radio but he would listen to it and only after it was over would he proceed to do whatever he had been doing.

The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is the most common scoring system used to describe the level of consciousness in a person following a traumatic brain injury. Basically, it is used to help gauge the severity of an acute brain injury. The test is simple, reliable, and correlates well with the outcome following severe brain injury.

Every brain injury is different, but generally, brain injury is classified as:

Severe: GCS 8 or less

Moderate: GCS 9-12

Mild: GCS 13-15

Rajashekar's state was very severe as he had not responded to any of the stimuli and the doctors had given their verdict but Girija had smiled and replied ' I will wait for God's verdict and also my brothers verdict for he if he managed to stay alive when he should have succumbed to his fatal injuries, then that means he is fighting and hanging on and if he is doing that while in a state of coma then I too will fight along with him.'

The one thing going for Rajashekar was that he was breathing on his own and breathing well and his heartbeat was steady and in a pulse range of marathon runners and that which would make most of today's youngsters hang their heads in shame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib3r6mPD3aY

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