"Amor Fati".

It's an invitation to meet life as it comes.

A delayed train, a rejected application, a broken relationship - life regularly hands us circumstances we would rather not have. Amor Fati, Latin for 'love of fate', offers a different response : instead of merely tolerating what cannot be changed, embrace reality and work with it.

The phrase is most closely associated with Friedrich Nietzche, although it has affinities with the ancient  Stoic attitude towards fate. For Nietzsche, it meant more than resignation - it called for an active affirmation of life, including its difficulties. To love one's fate does not mean believing that everything that happens is good; it means accepting what has happened without becoming trapped in resistance to it.

A failure can become a lesson; an unwanted change can reveal a new direction; a difficult person can become an exercise in patience. When something goes wrong, instead of asking, 'Why did this happen to me?', ask, 'Why did this happen to me?', ask, 'What can I do with what has happened?'

The challenge is not to love every circumstance but to meet whatever comes with the freedom to respond wisely.

Courtesy. The NIE of 30 Aug.

Something to ponder upon!

I cried after reading this.

* One day your parents will become your children. Not in age, but in need.

* There will come a time when they forget things you just told them.

* When they move slower, ask the same question twice and need help

   with what used to be easy.

* Don't see it as a burden, see it as debt of love being paid back.

* Call them more, visit them more.

* Speak softer while you still can.

* Because one day the phone will stop ringing.

Love them today, tomorrow might be late.

The real luxuries.

 (a) A good night's sleep.

 (b) Slow mornings.

 (c) Freedom to choose.

 (d) Time for fun and play.

 (e) Listening to birds singing.

 (f) Long walks.

 (g) A good book.

 (h) Favourite home-cooked food.

 (j) Colourful sunsets.

 (k) Ability to freely express yourself.

 (l) A good nap.

 (m) A good conversation.

My take 

Life only gets to be very interesting with experience of any or a combination of the luxuries, cited above.   

Nepal's disaster.

160 killed in deadly Nepal deluge; at least 133 Indians among 844 missing

Water rose 30 feet and at least 160 people were killed, while hundreds of others, including scores of Kailash Manasarovar pilgrims from India, remained missing after a flash flood and mudslide of unprecedented scale in Bhote Koshi and Trishuli rivers tore through a part of Nepal-Tibet border yesterday morning. It was a glacier break up!

It swept away settlements, hydropower units and the pilgrim route.

My take

A tragedy of unimaginable magnitude! My prayers for Nepal and its people!!

A quiet Thiruvonam.

Got up at 5, sent the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

It was pitter patter rain right from early morning!

Walked within the house, recited my prayers, carried out my exercise routine followed by bath.

Wore the onakkodi got from the Kuthaampulli received as complimentary from the weavers' village when we'd gone there shopping a few months back! Lekha had also done that!!

A great Thiruvonam sadya - a wonderful effort on the part of Lekha and the maid.

Had a siesta while Lekha watched the Malayalam flick, "Mohiniyaattam".

The evening chores.

We saw Drishyam 3. Good movie; the suspense was maintained till the end.

We, also, saw the grand finale of the children's reality show, "Top Singer Season 6" on the Flowers channel.

  

Wise Zen Monk Once Said....

1. When you walk, walk fully - rushing makes you miss the journey.

2. Eat with gratitude, every grain of rice carries unseen hands.

3. Own little, for possessions quickly begin to own you.

4. Speak only when your words are better than silence.

5. Anger is like hot coal - you burn yourself first before anyone else.

6. The mind becomes calm when the body learns stillness.

Tailpiece.

A great lesson!

The energies.

Positive energy

* Giving

* Forgiving

* Honesty

* Love

* Trust

* Calm

* Motivated

* Gratitude

* Passionate

* Efficient

* Happy

* Bravery

* Joy

* Inspired

* Loyal

* Selfless

* Proactive

* Diligent

* Kindness

* Creative

* Responsible

* Confidence

* Supportive

* Peaceful

Negative Energy

* Dishonest

* Complain

* Sadness

* Selfish

* Lazy

* Jealousy

* Confused

* Hate

* Procrastinate

* Fake

* Regret

* Hopeless

* Stress

* Worried

* Superficial

* Worried

* Self-center

* Ego

* Arrogant

* Greed

* Ignorant

* Violent

* Anger

* Fear

* Impatient

* Inferiority

* Indecisive

* Loneliness

* Indifferent

* Uncertainty

My take

Don't have to emphasise on being positive! Your energy shapes your life!!

Something big is moving under Kashmir.

That was my first instinct when 

Sergio Gor entered the Valley and

met CM Omar Abdullah.

Because history has a bad habit.

It whispers first.

Then it screams.

So forget today's sweet words.

Below is the American trail.

Ambassadors.

Envoys.

Meetings.

And then....

Look at the aftermath.

1950-52

Loy Henderson.

Chester Bowles.

Met Sheikh Abdullah.

1953

Sheikh resisted full integration with 

India.

Sheikh was later arrested.

1961

JK Galbraith

Srinagar.

1962

Sino-Indian conflict.

Ladakh burned.

1963

Hazratbal relic crisis.

Mass unrest erupted.

1964

Chester Bowles.

1965

Pakistan launched Operation

Gibraltar.

Infiltration began.

Full war followed.

1987

John Gunther Dean.

Met Farooq Abdullah.

1988-'89

Armed insurgency exploded.

Jun 1995

Frank Wisner.

Met officials and separatists.

Days later

Tourists kidnapped.

India was embarrassed.

1996.

Wisner returned.

Hostage crisis continued.

Militancy remained brutal.

1996

Wisner again.

Weeks later.

Candidates attacked.

Rallies bombed.

Polling challenged by militants.

Feb 1997

Wisner again.

Met Hurriyat separatists.

Mar 1997

Sangrampora massacre.

Jan 1998

Wandhama massacre.

Oct 1998

Richard Celeste.

Met Farooq Abdullah.

Separatist Shabir Shah.

May 1999

Kargil war.

Dec 1999

IC-814 hijacked.

India released Masood Azhar.

Oct-Dec 2001

American strategic activity surges.

Powell.

Rumsfeld.

Blackwill.

Blair.

Feith.

Haass.

13 Dec

Parliament was attacked.

Jan 2002

Robert Blackwill.

May 2002

Kaluchak massacre.

Dec 2002

Blackwill again.

Mar 2003

Nandimarg massacre.

24 Pandits killed.

2006

David Mulford.

US activity inside Kashmir

intensified.

Jul 2006

Bombay local train blasts.

189 people killed.

2008

David Mulford again.

Washington watched Kashmir 

closely.

Separatist politics.

Then...

Nov 2008

Bombay terror attack.

166 people killed.

2013

Tim Roemer.

Met Omar Abdullah.

Afzal Guru executed.

Valley unrest returned.

2015-'17

Richard Verma.

Visited Valley reportedly.

2016

Burhan Wani killed.

Mass unrest followed.

Then Uri.

19 soldiers killed.

Aug 2018

Kenneth Juster.

Met Omar.

Feb 2019

Pulwama.

40 CRPF personnel killed.

Jan 20

Juster returned.

May 2020

Handwara operation.

Senior officers were killed.

Apr 2025

US VP JD Vance arrives in India.

Next day.

Pahalgam.

26 people killed.

And now...

Aug 2026.

Sergio Gor.

Srinagar.

Met Omar Abdullah.

He calls J&K an "important part of India".

Good words.

But he did not say "integral part of

India".

History leaves an uncomfortable 

shadow.

Tailpiece.

(a) Watch the room after the

handshake.

Watch the border after the

photograph.

Watch who starts moving after the

cameras leave.

Correlation is not causation.

But intelligence agencies do not

survive on coincidence.

They survive on patterns.

And Kashmir has punished 

complacency before.

Don't look at his words.

Watch the actions that follow. 

(b) The BRICS summit is slated 

during mid-Sep in India. Xi Jin 

Ping and Putin are going to be

with Modi. A new economic 

order is in the pipeline which

the US dreads.

Is the US trying to torpedo it?

 

"Periyar Kullan" gets national recognition.

Bringing joy to around 200 farmers in Ernakulam and Thrissur who have been working for its conservation, Periyar cow, also known as Periyar Kullan, has been recognised as a cattle breed indigenous to Keralam.

Through the ICAR National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources' registration,  Periyar cow is the second breed to get the tag in the state after Vechur Cow. 

It's mainly seen in Koovappady, Angamaly, Kothamangalam and Chalakudy regions. With minimal human interaction, it thrives under semi-feral and graze in a single managed unit in vegetation comprising trees, shrubs and grass rather than open pastures.

They are small to medium in size and weigh between 150 and 200 kg. It has a dark brown colour which makes it stand out from other native varieties.

Know-cow

* Periyar cow population : Around 1,000 in central Keralam farms.

* Average milk yield : 2.5 to 4 litres.

* Milk is classified as A2 Beta casein, the healthiest variety.

* It contains 4.5% fat and 9.1% SNF (Solids Not Fat).

* First breeding usually occurs at 26 months and first calving at 35 months. Gestation period is 279

   days.          

Courtesy : Excerpted from Gopika Varrier's article in the NIE, 22 Aug.

Brazil emerges.

Brazil emerges as alternative to China as US, Australia race to secure rare earths.

In the global race to secure rare earths that are key for everything from mobile phones to green technologies, Brazil is emerging as an alternative to China's dominance, particularly for the US and Australia.  

Back at The Quarterdeck.

Was up and awake most of the night to monitor a drip that was being administered on Lekha. Sleep was constantly interrupted and in between, I'd recited my prayers. However, what made me comfortable was that Lekha never complained of pain, post-surgery!

Got up at 5, sent the messages, went partially through my chores and was out of the room by a trifle before 6. Walked those 60 metres to the Thiruvambady kshetram, had a great darshan of the good Lord. There was hardly any crowd and my visit this morning was for thanksgiving on Lekha's behalf for easing out things thus far and for the procedure having gone off fine.

Returned, had my cuppa tea and carried Lekha's cuppa to the room, along with the sweet buns. The forenoon was spent in collecting the discharge summary, bills for payment and having a short nap, in between. Manoj was our chauffeur and had arrived at the hospital's parking, on the dot at 2!

We, finally, left the hospital by a half past 2. Did the following things :-

    

    * bought vegetables

    * bought fruits and

    * all the three of us had tea and snacks before reaching home.

Was at home by a half past 4, opened up the house soon after and arranged things that were to be done tomorrow.

A good scrub and bath; lit up the puja room lamp and settled down to watch our favourite television programs. Frequent power cuts made our viewing difficult.

Lekha had made a beautiful dinner and we'd non-vegetarian food after more than a month thanks to the Ramayanam month!

Tailpiece.

Another mission accomplished; shall wait for the biopsy results.

    

 

Lekha’s surgery.

Was up and awake around a half past 1, past midnight. Had, then, got up at 5, sent the messages, the morning chores and was out of the room a trifle before 6. Walked all the way to the Thiruvampaadi temple for my tryst with the good Lord.

Prayed for Lekha’s surgery to go well, with minimal or no pain at all and to steady Dr Sreekumar Pillai’s hands during the surgery! Returned, collected Lekha’s morning tea and buns from the canteen.

Both of us were ready before 8 so that Lekha could be readied for the procedure by the staff who’d come by for the forenoon watch. Rema and Padmakumar had dropped in by then from Thrippunithura. Lekha was wheeled into the pre-operative ward by a half past 10 and the surgery of removing the plaque from her tongue was over by a quarter past 12. She was in the ICU-post surgery till 8 in the evening.

Rema and Padmakumar had returned by 10’ past 5.

A quiet evening after the hectic activities and tense moments of the day!

Karnataka is finishing its SIR

Over 1.08 crore voters will be removed from the electoral rolls of Karnataka at the end of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Another 25 lakh voters could find their names missing if they don’t provide relevant documents to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) in the next phase of the exercise.

Till date, the state has 5,54,32,314 total electors. As of 17 Aug, 1,08,31,945 electors (19.54% of the total electorate) were listed under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO)category after the house-to-house enumeration process.

15 lakhs ‘untraceable/absent’ category; 65,61,607 (11.84%) under permanently shifted; 16,38,839 (2.96%) dead, 7,07,792 (1.28%) duplicate or already enrolled and 3,94,722 (0.71%) as others or not wanting to sign the forms.

Of those removed, 43.53% were from Bangalore’s four districts - Bangalore Urban (17,26,634 or 42.94%), BBMP North (10,58,104 or 45.36%), BBMP South (10,64,044 or 49.61%, the highest in the state) and BBMP Central (8,66,406 or 45.84%).

Lowest deletions are in Udupi (63,364 or 5.96%) followed by Haveri (1,15,068 or 8.62%).

My take

The Election Commission of India is doing a thorough job and I sincerely hope that wrongdoers and frauds are put in their place.

Tailpiece.

Left home by a quarter past 8 to reach the Saroja Hospital by a quarter past 9. Lekha was put through the pre-surgery checks like :-

      * X-ray chest PA view

      * Blood and urine tests

      * ECG

      * Lekha had also met the ENT specialist for the discomfort in her ears.

Our room was 208. Padmakumar and Rema had come to be with us, all the way from Thrippunithura and it was wonderful! They returned by the 1710 Paalaruvi train.

Mission Samudra.

Vizhinjam port is set to script a historic milestone in India's maritime sector as it prepares for the official inauguration of its export-import (EXIM) operations slated tomorrow.

Mission Samudra - state government's flagship port-led industrial and logistics development - is built around the vision of a 'Port City' that positions Vizhinjam as the anchor of a wider Vizhinjam Maritime Economic Region. The scheme is backed by a Rs.400-crore catalytic fund. Officials expect 'Mission Samudra' to draw over ten times the public investment in private capital by 2031.

Located just 10 nautical miles from the major east-west international maritime route. Vizhinjam possesses

a geographical edge that no other port in the country can match, requiring minimal diversion for ultra-large container ships traversing the Indian Ocean.

This strategic-positioning allows European-bound cargo to reach its destination in just 24 days - a full 10 days faster than existing routes - prompting global shipping giant Mediteranean Shipping Company (MSC) to integrate Vizhinjam into its prestigious direct Jade Service connecting Europe and Asia. Exporters who have thus far shipped cargo to western markets via Colombo, Singapore and Dubai will now be able to send consignments directly from Vizhinjam.

Excerpted from : The NIE 17 Aug

My take.

Vizhinjam is gonna take off from here to unimaginable heights and levels!

A quiet Sunday.

Today's the last day of Karkkidakom and it's Atham. Mom's remembrance day comes toward the end of Chingam!

Got up at 5, sent the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre.

Walked within the house, recited my prayers, carried out my exercise regimen followed by bath.

Breakfast of appams and stew.

Worked on my laptop. 

Lekha's beautician had dropped by on her beckoning and got all her jewellery removed as preparation for the surgery.

Lunch followed by siesta.

The evening chores.

Lekha finished her Ramayanam recital 2026 this evening! Put the copy of our Ramayanam into its bag and into the wooden vault of the puja room.

Completed a month of vegetarianism and felt nice about it!

A quiet evening.

The 80th Independence Day.

Got up at 5, sent the messages, opened up the house for the day, lit up the puja room lamp and switched on the hymns on the home theatre. The chores and hoisted the tricolour at our balcony on the dot, at 8 AM. It always gives me a great sense of satisfaction and pride while hoisting the national flag!

The Independence day function at New Delhi was being played at the background. 

Walked within the house as it was raining outside, recited my prayers, carried out my exercise regimen and had breakfast before bath.

Sporting a red turban with a yellow, green and white Bandhani pattern, PM Narendra Modi outlined the 'saptadhara' vision to achieve holistic national development and self-reliance viz. :-

    * Manufacturing excellence (cost, quality and scale)

    * Farming/food processing

    * Technological innovation

    * Gati Shakti connectivity

    * Self reliance in defence

    * Push toward green and blue economies and

    * Global soft power (yoga, healthcare, tourism and creative arts).

He said youth will play a crucial part in these reforms. Moreover, he exuded confidence that India will have achieved the target of being a 'Vikasit Bharat' when the nation celebrates Independence Day in 1947. 

My take

While for the first time, the national song "Vande Mataram" was played at the Red Fort. Keralam became the only Congress-ruled state to avoid singing of the national song! At the Congress party headquarters at New Delhi, the group sang the entire national song with Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi desperately trying to stop the rendition of the national song but to no avail! Made a spectacle of themselves in the bargain!! Serves them right. Have still not got as to what their anti-national-song-stance is for!!!

  

Women hold very few top management roles.

Latest data submitted in Parliament shows that women held only 17.2% of senior management positions in corporate India in 2025-'26.

9 Women CEOs in India's 500 listed firms

Of the 2,52,103 senior management roles recorded that financial year, women held 43,331 positions (17.2%), while men accounted for the remaining 2,08,772, government data presented in Parliament showed. There were only nine women chief executive officers (CEOs) leading the country's top 500 listed firms, as per the Ministry of Corporate Affairs data.

Women hold only 29% of Director posts

* On company boards, the disparity was similarly stark. Women held 10, 36, 694 director posts against 

   25, 09, 619 director positions held by men, which is about 29% of the total as of 30 Jun 2026.

* However, women in senior management rose from 34, 879 in 2022-'23 to 43,331 in 2025-'26, a jump of

   24%, outpacing the 12% rise in men.

Last 3 financial years were taken into account to compile the data.

 

Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill.

Much against many agencies and the opposition parties, the FCRA Bill, 2026, has been referred to a 31-member joint committee of Parliament. The opposition came up with its standard argument that the bill is against minorities and NGOs.

The committee has been asked to submit its report to the Lok Sabha by the last day of the first week of the Winter Session of Parliament in 2026.

My take

A few important bills that should have been legislated in Parliament have to now wait till the Winter Session 2026 of Parliament.  

NASA invites India to be part of its Moon Base Mission.

The ambitious Moon base mission is a program to build humanity's first lunar outpost near the Moon's South Pole.

Invite follows US-India Space Group Meet

According to the US space agency, the project aims to unlock scientific discoveries and prepare for future deep space exploration. India and US explored expanding space co-operation at a meeting of their Civil Space Joint Working Group held in Bangalore last week. The two sides agreed to advance discussions for co-operation on open scientific data sharing.

Step-by-step approach to build base

* The Moon base will be built in phases, says NASA. It will begin with robotic missions to test new

   technology, then build systems and infrastructure needed to establish humanity's first long-term

   presence on the Moon.

* The first phase will focus on gaining reliable access to lunar surface and building a deeper under-

   standing of the environment.

This is the 9th meet of the India-US Space Joint Working Group held last week.    

Muziris project set for a global push.

Revived water-taxi services by Onam

* To feature in upcoming Travel Mart.

   The plan is to revive and relaunch the Muziris project by featuring it as a major global attraction

   in the upcoming edition of the Kerala Travel Mart (KTM). Around 1,200 tour operators are exp-

   ected to participate in KTM, providing a platform to promote Muziris as a heritage tourism dest-

   ination.

* Earlier, the project had a total of 11 vessels, including five water taxis and six open-top boats.

   Three outdated boats had been scrapped, while the remaining boats have been taken up for

   repair and maintenance.

* Plans on

   * Tourism department expects the repaired vessels to resume services during the Onam holiday

      season.

   * Water tourism circuits connecting various heritage locations are also being planned as part of

      the revival.