I'd got up at a half past 5, gone through my chores and was ready by the time Anto, with his auto rickshaw had arrived at the gate and pressed the doorbell. The trip to the Thiruvenkitachalapati temple took under 10' and there was a short wait as Ramachandran Ilayathu(The 'ilayathu' group are the experts in the field that conducts such ceremonies) was preparing the venue for the conduct of the ceremony. There were about twenty five of us - both men and women - who'd arrived at the temple premises to partake in the ceremony and the spot was adjacent to the temple tank!
I'd changed my rig(One has to be topless, the gents only, mind you!) and taken my place. Sitting down cross legged for, even a short while, has become a Herculean task and the ceremony lasted for about 20'. I heard the gentleman sitting next to me asking for forgiveness from his dad as he went through the paces - did he ill treat his dad or did not look after him, I wonder? I mean why was he asking for forgiveness if he'd loved, respected and cared for his dad?
Once the ceremony was over, there was another round of sprinkling water on myself - the symbolism of having a bath - visited the temple to offer prayers, changed clothes and handed over my 'dakshina' to Ramakrishnan Ilayathu.
I'd returned, satisfied that I could concentrate and spend time for my dad during those 20'!
* * *
The appointment of the new Army chief has raised a lot of heat, The new incumbent has superseded two of his seniors and hence, the debate. What's really sad is that the media has gone to town saying that the superseded officers lacked the requisite experience to become the chief which is wrong, biased and an unfair judgement of those officers! It must put a stop to such rumour mongering, forthwith. There doesn't seem to be any controversy regarding the Air Chief's appointment, thankfully!
When discussions veer down to seniority vs. merit, a whole lot of meanings are churned out much to the detriment of the organisation. In the process, the guy who's emerged the winner ends up looking the loser having acquired his new status through gratis! Sad!!
Had I been in that place, I'd have felt very conscious, wouldn't have been able to look into the eyes of my men, wondering as to what they thought of me after having heard of all the muck! What the people in the civvy street can never understand is the sacred bond that exists between a military leader and his men. He motivates them by setting an example in whatever he does and exhorts them to give the supreme sacrifice when the 'izzat' of the nation or the 'paltan' is under threat. Conversely, every man under his command is constantly looking up at him to understand as to what's in his leader that he doesn't have!
Tailpiece.
Saw the reality show, 'The little super dancer' on Sony TV. The little ones - five of them - are powerhouses of talent. Congratulations, Ditya for having won the top spot! The remaining four were equally good and their progression is gonna begin.
I'd changed my rig(One has to be topless, the gents only, mind you!) and taken my place. Sitting down cross legged for, even a short while, has become a Herculean task and the ceremony lasted for about 20'. I heard the gentleman sitting next to me asking for forgiveness from his dad as he went through the paces - did he ill treat his dad or did not look after him, I wonder? I mean why was he asking for forgiveness if he'd loved, respected and cared for his dad?
Once the ceremony was over, there was another round of sprinkling water on myself - the symbolism of having a bath - visited the temple to offer prayers, changed clothes and handed over my 'dakshina' to Ramakrishnan Ilayathu.
I'd returned, satisfied that I could concentrate and spend time for my dad during those 20'!
* * *
The appointment of the new Army chief has raised a lot of heat, The new incumbent has superseded two of his seniors and hence, the debate. What's really sad is that the media has gone to town saying that the superseded officers lacked the requisite experience to become the chief which is wrong, biased and an unfair judgement of those officers! It must put a stop to such rumour mongering, forthwith. There doesn't seem to be any controversy regarding the Air Chief's appointment, thankfully!
When discussions veer down to seniority vs. merit, a whole lot of meanings are churned out much to the detriment of the organisation. In the process, the guy who's emerged the winner ends up looking the loser having acquired his new status through gratis! Sad!!
Had I been in that place, I'd have felt very conscious, wouldn't have been able to look into the eyes of my men, wondering as to what they thought of me after having heard of all the muck! What the people in the civvy street can never understand is the sacred bond that exists between a military leader and his men. He motivates them by setting an example in whatever he does and exhorts them to give the supreme sacrifice when the 'izzat' of the nation or the 'paltan' is under threat. Conversely, every man under his command is constantly looking up at him to understand as to what's in his leader that he doesn't have!
Tailpiece.
Saw the reality show, 'The little super dancer' on Sony TV. The little ones - five of them - are powerhouses of talent. Congratulations, Ditya for having won the top spot! The remaining four were equally good and their progression is gonna begin.
No comments:
Post a Comment