From & To Sathish #5 - Page 131

https://youtu.be/A-12DgWPCxE

Avan, Aval Adhu 421

Opinion – a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge. Advice – guidance or recommendations offered with regard to prudent future action.

Question-Middle English: from Old French question (noun), questionner (verb), from Latin quaestio(n- ), from quaerere ‘ask, seek’.

Question meaning-a sentence worded or expressed so as to elicit information. a matter requiring resolution or discussion.a doubt about the truth or validity of something.

Questions in my opinion are like all our lives. We have that general and accepted way of living that most adhere to and then on the other hand we have some who live the way that he or she so desires. There is no perfect answer to life and what we call a peaceful life is in reality a compromise and a general consensus among those that are living it. Win some. Lose some. ( Come closer and hear my whispers. Win some and lose a lot).

Secretly, it is not, I give a little and you give a little and we both benefit from each other. It is more like you suffer a bit and I suffer a bit although, in reality, the suffering is mostly one-sided. It gets worse when children are involved.

Daksha true to her mind looked at Ravi and then at Madhurima with twinkling eyes and a witty but naughty smile dancing on her lips and asked the question, ' Master, Grandmaster, what about that love that is as pure as yours but is sadly one-sided and remains doomed and unreciprocated?'

Madhu who was not used to this line of frank and open discussion and that too concerning deeply personal matters, looked at Ravi, who was smiling calmly, and wondered if Daksha would consider her rude if she did not answer.

Her dilemma and the burden of answering Daksha's question were helped by Ravi's reply.

' Advocate Daksha Parthiban, is this a general question or does it concern someone we know well.'

Daksha smiled and said, ' Well that depends on your answer or the lack of it.'

' I will answer your question as I have always done and will continue to do so. But, my question remains..'

Daksha who had rolled the dice and set the game in play, looked at Ravi pointedly, ' My answer remains the same. I was the one who asked the question and I will answer yours after you have answered mine.'

Then a new player entered with eyes brimming with anger and standing in front of them, Rasaathi Ammal glared at Daksha and said, ' Pardon my intrusion madam advocate. I hope that you grant this old lady some leeway and you will look upon this intrusion of mine with kindness and with less sadism than that you are exhibiting right now to your friends and worse to a woman who is right now a guest of this house and in case you have forgotten, so are you.'

Ravi who knew his mother very well, instantly recognized the tone and the anger that filled it and realized his mother was on a warpath and immediately placed a hand around her and tried to calm her down by telling her that they were just teasing and bullying each other with these mock trials.

For the very first time in his life, his calm words failed and so did his loving arm that he had thrown around his mother which she shrugged off in anger and glared at him and then turned and gave her full attention to Daksha and asked, ' Young lady, I have often heard with my own ears you going on and on about your vast knowledge in Indian criminal law and how good your cross-examination skills are.'

Rasaathi Ammal stopped and taking a deep breath asked in a calm but scathing tone, ' We all appreciate your legal skills, knowledge, and intelligence but...' she paused and asked, ' But what I want to know from you and have been meaning to talk to you about it for a long time now concerns the art of cross-examination of witnesses.'

Parthiban threw one look at Ravi who shook his head and opened his eyes wide and frowned, signaling him to stay quiet and not do anything silly to antagonize his mother any further.

Though she felt a bit nervous and scared at being confronted by Ravi's mother, she did not back down and asked respectfully, ' Amma, honestly, I was just playing with them, teasing Ravi like we normally do.'

' Normally do ' Rasaathi Ammal repeated the words of Daksha and looked at her and everybody else, ' Is there anything normal about this situation we are in right now, or for a matter of fact, think hard and tell me has there been anything nearing the state normal in all our lives?'

A sadness filled her eyes as she spoke, ' Yet, in the name of games, play and in the name of friendship you constantly harass your friends and those you seemingly care and respect and who in turn care a lot about you.'

Ravi knew it was time to control his mother and take charge of the situation and called her, ' Amma, please ' and no sooner had he said those words, Rasaathi Ammal glared at him furiously and yelled, ' Child, you will remain quiet and until you are spoken to and until your time comes to speak up. Is that understood?'

Ravi nodded and looked at Madhu who with her eyes told him that it was okay and that sometimes certain things had to be sorted out and if needed in public.

Rasaathi Ammal looked Daksha square in the eye, ' Daksha, this is my case and my questions concern it. The case is hypothetical but real.'

' A middle-aged man stands accused of raping a 16-year-old girl who had worked as a servant in his house and the case comes to trial. It is obvious that the man is guilty of the crime but his highly-paid criminal lawyer kills the case and breaks it by his brutal cross-examination of the victim. He does this in open court by asking her all kinds of sexual questions and her own fantasies and in the end, makes it look like she was the one who wanted the accused man to rape her.'

Daksha looked down in shame and said in a sad voice, ' Amma, it is a sad situation but that is how the law works. Innocent until proven guilty. I have seen several cases of this nature in my few years of practicing law. It is painful to watch and God only knows what the victims must be going through in their heads?'

Rasaathi Ammal smiled and pointed to Ravi and Madhu, ' Forget God and what he knows for I know what my Son and my daughter are going through right now facing your barrage of supposedly intelligent questions.'

Slowly she turned and pointed the same finger at Daksha, ' You are subjecting my children to the same pain and torture in the name of cross-examination and you pass it off as play and a game of question and answers.'

The moment those words were said and the pain and intent behind it revealed, Daksha broke down and fell into Rasaathi Ammal's arms and began to sob like a child.

' I am sorry. I am really sorry for hurting you. Please believe me when I tell you that was not my intention.'

' Rasaathi Ammal held her gently and whispered to her, ' I know that very well child. We all know that you mean well but then there is a time and place for everything. You are guilty of only one thing and that crime is being inappropriate with your thoughts and opinions. Sometimes, the truth is not what life is all about for lies can be beautiful too.'

Turning to Ravi and Madhu, she said, ' Please forgive my outburst. I could not stay silent and watch my son being bullied and that too when he is under so much duress.'

Daksha looked at Ravi and with tears in her eyes and apologized sadly, ' Master, I am sorry.'

Ravi opened his arms and Daksha went into them and both stood hugging each other.

Parthiban raised his hand and Ravi asked him what was on his mind.

' I was just wondering if the wedding is on or if it is going to be postponed for a few days.'

In the Wild West of USA, in the late 19th century, a Dutchman went into a bar, took out his two guns, placed them on the table and ordered drinks for himself and the twenty other people there and said "When I drink, everyone drinks". Everyone gratefully accepted a drink.

He finished his drink and ordered another and said, "When I have a second drink, everyone has a second drink". Again everyone gratefully accepted.

When the big bill came, the Dutchman stood up, fired his pistols in the air, paid for his two drinks and said, "When I pay, everyone pays".

That is how the proverb " going Dutch" came into being.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzF2xBGzzA0

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

Avan, Aval Adhu 422

Any other woman other than Madhurima would have felt a surge of insecurity, if not a twinge of jealousy seeing her man hug, hold and whisper to another woman like lovers do but she felt the opposite.

She stood looking at Ravi holding Daksha and recollected her Grandad's words from long ago. Madhu had heard him praying to God for the safety and well-being of all living creatures on Earth and out in the universe and had jokingly questioned him, ' Dadaji, I can understand if you pray for us and for your friends but why pray for creatures out in the universe and for people who don't even know or will ever meet in this lifetime. Can they hear it and will it be of any help to them?'

Dadaji smiled and in his old, wrinkled face that was covered by the whites of winter that comes with old age, his eyes twinkled brightly like stars that were young and in prime form and said, ' Madhu, it matters not whether our prayers are heard or are of any help to those out in this world and other worlds. They might not be able to hear it and as you said, we will never meet in this or future lifetimes ' and pointing to the sky above and lifting his arms like a bird would spread its wings before flying, ' God hears everything and sees everything. It will take all your love, prayers, and wishes and will deliver it to those in need of it at the right time.'

Madhu closed her eyes and prayed for the well-being of all of them and thanked God for blessing Ravi with such great friends and watched on with pride and gratitude filling her soul.

Ravi who still held Daksha in his arms slowly let go of her but not before asking in a gentle voice that only she heard if she was okay. She looked up and nodded with a naughty smile that could only bloom in her soul garden and whispered back, ' I am, master. I am a tough cookie.'

Ravi winked and mouthed, ' Sorry ' and she replied silently, ' It's okay. Your mother is like my mother and she is right. I stand corrected.'

Bending his head, he brought his lips close to her left ear and said, ' Don't stop and please don't change but for my mother, and that too only when she is present ' and looked at Parthiban and replied to his question.

' Our marriage will happen but whether it is going to happen tomorrow or at a later date is up to the lady by my side ' and turning to Madhu, ' ma'am, can you please answer the question?'

Just as Madhu stood wondering and pondering on the question about their marriage date, Ravi's mobile phone rang loudly and diverted all their attention and also gave her a temporary reprieve from answering the question.

Ravi looked at the screen and saw that the caller was not in his contacts and seeing the number realized the call was from someone who resided in Delhi.

' Who could be calling from Delhi? ' Ravi wondered and looked at Madhu who quickly scanned her memory and realized that only she knew Ravi's mobile number and had not shared it with anyone else.

Ravi Kumar too was thinking hard as to who could be calling him from Delhi and for a moment wondered if it was Gayatri and then quickly swept that thought away for she was on a flight that was about to take off and then, Ravi remembered the mysterious uncle who Gayatri had called from Kodai and had asked for help and help had come but a bit too late because of the landslide and the heavy fog.

' Could it be him who is calling? ' Ravi wondered and tentatively answered, ' Hello. Ravi Kumar speaking '.

A familiar voice replied, ' Young man, I am really glad to hear your voice and from the way you sound, I can see that the attack by the Paliyan did not do any lasting damage.'

' Mr. Devathoothan? Beedi man, is that you?'

He looked at Partha and Daksha and pointed to his phone and raised his hand and asked silently, ' How did he get my number?'

' Master sir, this phone from which I am calling also has all your friend's numbers stored in it along with their photos.'

' Whose phone is this, Beedi man? Who has all that information stored in their phone and why?'

' The ones who came to kill you but got killed in the process. Sad, if only the Paliyan had the luck to meet me before he met you for I would have warned him of the consequences to his life and that of his clan.'

Taking a deep breath, Ravi asked calmly, ' How can I help you, Mr. Devathoothan?'

Ravi heard Beedi man pulling on his beedi several times before he answered, ' Young man, get married tomorrow without fail for there is a chance that if you do not do so, then you will never marry in this lifetime. Even if such a thing did happen, you will not marry the woman who stands next to you.'

' I want to beedi man but what about her and what she wants and what she thinks is right.'

Beedi man sighed loudly, ' I told you what I felt in my soul and what was conveyed to me by powers, not in my power.'

Coughing loudly, he cleared his throat and said, ' Ravi, there is something else that I see but I am not sure what it is for I am seeing it for the first time.'

Ravi felt a strange sensation begin to numb his legs and slowly crawl up his spine and he asked in a strange voice, ' What is it? What do you see?'

' I am not sure what it is but something is approaching you and the others and your village town of Kumarapalayam.'

https://youtu.be/0yzEXc1-_Dw

https://youtu.be/ifm4VoA0s84

Doctor : Your Liver is enlarged

Patient : Does that mean it has space for more whisky ?

("Positive Thinking" 😄😄)

Lady to her dietician :- What l am worried about is my height and not my weight.

Doc :- How come???

Lady :- According to my weight, my height should be 7.8 feet... 😜

( "Positive Attitude" 👍)

A Man wrote to the bank. "My Cheque was returned with remark 'Insufficient funds'. I want to know whether it refers to mine or the Bank".

(self confidence 😂😂)

*This one is classic !!*

A cockroach's last words to a man who wanted to kill it : "Go ahead and kill me, you coward. You're just jealous because I can scare your wife and you cannot..!!!!" 😅😅😅

*Always be positive even in difficult situations*