Do learn from the defence forces.

It is very true. Your religion is the religion of the troops you command, your unit and your regiment. You die for your country in the ultimate reckoning. The truth, however, is that you die for your regiment which, sometimes, has members from many religions and castes, though it may be named after one group or region to instill a sense of belonging.

Also as an officer, one has to compulsorily learn the language of the troops! Could be Tamil, Punjabi, Gurkhali, Assamese, Bengali or whatever! You go to pray at all places of worship that your troops pray and celebrate all festivals. That is why the Indian Army has always beaten the Pakistanis. 

It is not that their troops are inferior, it's the Officer Class. The ratio of officer to soldier dying in battle is much higher in the case of the Indian Army as compared to the Pakistani Army in all the wars fought so far. Reason, Indian officers lead from the front and the troops are willing to follow their officer and give their life. That has been the tradition.

To give an example of this relationship : in the 1965 War, a Major George (Malayalee) of the Gurkha Regiment was captured by the Pakistanis and his mutilated body was found stuck to a tree, by his troops. The Gurkhas went with their khukris drawn (the curved dagger used in close combat and part of the Gurkha culture) and returned with numerous pairs of ears and magazines of the Pakistani soldiers responsible for this heinous and cowardly act.

Once the khukri is drawn out of its sheath, it has to see blood. If nothing else, they snick their finger to let the blood touch the blade and then they put it back. The Gurkhas are very loyal and fearsome fighters.

This is applicable to all the Indian Army Regiments. India has the highest battlefield in the world, Siachen Glacier, 18 to 22,000 ft high and all the possible terrains in the world! The American troops come to train with the Indian troops to learn High Altitude warfare and Jungle warfare.

     *            *            *

In the villages, every Shaheed's (Martyr) home is a War Memorial and the parents are proud that their son died for the country!

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. Earlier the 'aarathi' of the house was carried out as is the usual practice on all Wednesdays.

Attended the webinar, "Generation of Green Economy through People's Participation" by Shri TKA Nair, IAS, Former Principal Secretary Secretary to the PM. It was interesting.

Today, too, there was an unscheduled power interruption for the entire day from 0930 - 1830 hrs. Have to speak to the local KSEB head and stress upon the fact that he cannot do this without prior intimation and sufficient warning to the consumers. It's utter nonsense!

PS.

Adieu Vani's Achhamma.

Vani's achhamma, all of 97 years, passed into the mist of time around a half past 3 in the wee hours of the morning due to old age complications. I remember her lively nature, chirpy with plenty of interesting conversation, outgoing nature and so full of love. Today is 'Dwaadasi', an auspicious occasion and therefore, because her death happened on this day, it's believed that her soul has gone to heaven! 

May her noble soul rest in peace. With tears and prayers.  

I want to remember your face!

In a telephone interview, the radio announcer asked his guest, a millionaire, "What made you happiest in life?" 

The millionaire said :

I have gone through four stages of happiness in life and finally, I understood the meaning of true happiness. The first stage was to accumulate wealth and means. But at this stage I did not get the happiness I wanted.

Then came the second stage of collecting valuables and items. But I realised that the effect of this thing is also temporary and the lustre of valuable things does not last long.

Then came the third stage of getting big projects. Like buying a football team, buying a tourist resort, etc. But even here I did not get the happiness I had imagined.

The fourth time a friend of mine asked me to buy a wheelchair for some disabled children. I immediately bought a wheelchair but the friend insisted that I go with him and hand over the wheelchairs to the children. I got ready and went with it.

There I gave these chairs to these children with my own hands. I saw the strange glow of happiness on the faces of these children. I saw them all sitting on chairs, moving around and having fun. It was as if they had arrived at a picnic spot. 

But I felt real joy when I started to leave and one of the kids grabbed my leg. I gently tried to free my legs but the child stared at my face and held my legs tightly.

I bent down and asked the child, "Do you need anything else?"

The answer that this child gave me not only made me happy but also changed my life completely. This child said, "I want to remember your face so that when I meet you in heaven, I will be able to recognise you and thank you once again".

Tailpiece.

Got up a trifle after 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. 

One of the girl students of the Mercy Institute of Technology, nearby, had contradicted Covid-19 and is in hospital. A few of the students who had interacted with her, along with the teachers, are the ones who've been quarantined in the house next door. Was given this information by the owner of the house this morning.

It was a rainy day, all through! Because of the rain, the Kudumbasree workers could not be deployed around the Raj Nivas, to cut and remove the wild grass and weeds. And the Met department has predicted heavy rain, along with lightning and thunder, from today till the 16th.

 

The God of Spinoza.

When Einstein gave lectures at US universities, the recurring question that students asked him most was : Do you believe in God? And he always answered : I believe in the God of Spinoza.

Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy, along with Descartes.

(Spinoza) : God would say :

Stop praying. What I want you to do is go out into the world and enjoy your life. I want you to sing, have fun and enjoy everything I've made for you.

Stop going into those dark, cold temples that you that you built yourself and saying they are my house. My house is in the mountains, in the woods, rivers, lakes, beaches. That's where I live and there I express my love for you.

Stop blaming me for your miserable life; I never told you there was anything wrong with you or that you were a sinner or that your sexuality was a bad thing. Sex is a gift I have given you and with which you can express your love, your ecstasy, your joy. So don't blame me for everything they made you believe.

Stop reading alleged sacred scriptures that have nothing to do with me. If you can't read me in a sunrise, in a landscape, in the look of your friends, in your son's eyes.......you will find me in no book! Stop asking me "Will you tell me how to do my job?" Stop being so scared of me. I do not judge you or criticise you, nor get angry, or criticise you, nor get angry, or bothered. I am pure love.

Stop asking for forgiveness, there's nothing to forgive. If I made you.....I filled you with passions, limitations, pleasures, needs, inconsistencies.......free will. How can I blame you if you respond to something I put in you? How can I punish you for being the way you are if I'm the one who made you? Do you think I could create a place to burn all my children who behave badly for the rest of eternity? what kind of god would do that?

Respect your peers and don't do what you don't want for yourself. All I ask is that you pay attention in your life, that alertness is your guide.

My beloved, this life is not a test, not a step on the way, not a rehearsal, nor a prelude to paradise. This life is the only thing here and now and it is all you need.

I have set you absolutely free, no prizes or punishments, no sins or virtues, no one carries a marker, no one keeps a record. You are absolutely free to create in your life. Heaven or hell.

I can't tell you if there's anything after this life but I can give you a tip. Live as if there is not. As if this is your only chance to enjoy, to love, to exist.

So, if there's nothing after, then you will have enjoyed the opportunity I gave you. And if there is, rest assured that I won't ask if you behaved right or wrong, I'll ask. Did you like it? Did you have fun? What did you enjoy the most? What did you learn?....

Stop believing in me; believing is assuming, guessing, imagining. I don't want you to believe in me, I want you to believe in you. I want you to feel me in you when you kiss your beloved, when you tuck in your little girl, when you caress your dog, when you bathe in the sea.

Stop praising me, what kind of egomaniac God do you think I am?

I'm bored being praised. I'm tired of being thanked. Feeling grateful? Prove it by taking care of yourself, your health, your relationships, the world. Express your joy! That's the way to praise me.

Stop complicating things and repeating as a parakeet what you've been taught about me.

What do you need more miracles for? So many explanations?

The only thing for sure is that you are here, that you are alive, that this world is full of wonders.

- Spinoza.

  *         *          *

The guy does it again!

Farooq Abdullah has now exceeded all limits when he said that with China's help he'd like to restore Art 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. It's seditious and anti-national; the clown Rahul Gandhi has supported the statement without understanding the consequences - or does he think that he can get away with such acts? Why don't these chaps face the repercussions of the law? How do they get immunity from legal action against them?

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. Took part in a webinar from 1200-1300 hrs on "Agri-Eco Innovations for Entrepreneurship" by Prof VK Damodaran, Founder Director and Former Vice Chairman Energy Management Centre, Kerala. A nice and interesting lecture.

A quarantine has been set up at the technical institute behind our house. Was damn furious about the police, the panchayat and the Variath people - whose house this is - for not having taken me and the others in the neighbourhood into confidence before the execution! 

PS.

My uncle, the late Santhan kochachhan's nephew and Kocha chechi's eldest son, Babu, passed away due to Covid. He was 57. RIP Babu, my tears and prayers. May your near and dear ones have the strength to tide over these stressful times.  

   

Word of the day.

Meliorism

noun : mee-lee-uh-riz-um

Definition : is the belief that the world tends to improve and that humans can aid its betterment.

Examples.

"Meliorism is that comfortable midway point between pessimism and optimism, wherein its possessor conceives of her actions as capable of bringing about a better future".

"An old truism holds that the pessimist sees the glass as half-empty while the optimist sees it as half-full. But active and engaged people don't bother to measure the contents of their cups. They savour what they've got, drink it down, then go looking for a refill. One name for this approach is meliorism. Meliorists want to make things better - to ameliorate them".

Did you know?

In 1877, British novelist George Eliot believed she had coined meliorist when she wrote, "I don't know that I ever heard anybody use the word 'meliorist' except myself". Her contemporaries credited her with coining both meliorist and meliorism and one of her letters contains an early documented use of meliorism; however, there is evidence that meliorist had been around decades before she started using it. Whoever coined it did so by drawing on the Latin melior, meaning "better". It is likely that the English coinages were also influenced by another melior descendant, meliorate, a synonym of ameliorate (to make better or more tolerable) that was introduced to English in the 1500s.

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Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes. Because for those who love with their heart and soul there is no such thing as separation.

- Rumi.

Tailpiece. 

Got up a trifle late around a half past 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. Suma was given a day off , by Lekha, as her leg was giving her problems. Video called my sisters and had a fairly long chat.

Participated in a webinar from 1200-1330 hrs on "Farmer Producers Organisations & NABARD" by Shri RK Srivastava, CGM, NABARD, J&K. It was interesting and gave me quite a few inputs to dovetail it with the children's schooling to develop interest in agriculture!

Plenty of bananas from the huge bunch that we got from one of the banana trees of our backyard. Distributed it in the neighbourhood too, as has been our custom. 

Insults for enjoyment!

Insults when coated with humour and wit make for a great combination - here are a few :-

  1. She has a supreme court figure ---- no appeal.

  2. He is a real big gun --- of small caliber and immense bore.

  3. She dresses to kill --- and cooks the same way.

  4. He was a premature baby --- he was born before his parents were married.

  5. He was born in the United States --- terrible things happen in other countries too.

  6. His obesity --- is surplus gone to waist. 

  7. He left his job because of illness and fatigue --- his boss was sick and tired of him.

  8. His credit is so bad --- he cannot even borrow trouble.

  9. He kept learning more and more about less and less until now --- he knows everything about nothing.

10. What he lacks in intelligence --- he makes up in stupidity.

11. He may talk like a fool and act like a fool but don't get the wrong idea about him --- he is a fool.

12. It is not that he does not have presence of mind --- his trouble is absence of thought.

13. Her photographs do he injustice --- they look like her.

14. He is as phoney --- as a dentist's smile.

15. He started out in life as an unwanted child --- now he is wanted in 10 states.

16. She has --- a keen sense of rumour.

17. He is jack of all trades --- and out of work in all of them.

18. They are in Iron and Steel Industry --- she irons the clothes and he steals.

19. She thought she was getting a model husband --- too bad he is not a working model.

20. He is so boring --- he cannot even entertain a doubt.

21. He gave a very moving performance --- everyone moved towards the exit door.

Tailpiece.

Got up a trifle after 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. The power interruption was sudden and without any warning which began at 0940 hrs and ended by 1630 hrs; the electricity board guys will never improve.

Participated in the first webinar from 1100 - 1230 hrs on "Green Economy and Green Jobs" by Mr B Shadrach, Advisor Skills, Commonwealth of Learning (Manpower Cadre). It was interesting. The second was the 'Aazhchakkoottam' from 1600 - 1700 hrs on "Cancer patients and Covid-19" by Dr A Sajid, Clinical Superintendent, Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram.

Couldn't participate fully in the second webinar because my cellphone had very less charge!

The Chevy was delivered by 1700 hrs after the completion of its servicing.    

Mars to shine bright!

Do not miss it! Mars to shine brightest on 13 Oct, won't happen again until 2035!!

In exciting news for space enthusiasts, Mars will shine brighter than at any other point in the year, on 13 Oct. The Red Planet will not appear this bright again till the next 15 years, so make sure you don't miss this opportunity.

Notably, Mars is the closest planet to Earth and the fourth closest to the Sun. What is the reason?

According to Sky and Telescope, this is because Mars will be in 'opposition', directly opposite the Sun, making it shine along Earth's horizon in the northern hemisphere.

This opposition will be extra special due to the orbits of Earth and Mars lining up to be at their closest to each other. That's when Mars will be at its absolute brightest point for the year, rising at sunset and remaining up until sunrise.

On that day, Mars will also be at its maximum apparent size when viewed through telescopes. "October is a great time for viewing Mars, as the planet is visible all night right now and reaches its highest point in the sky around midnight. This period of excellent visibility coincides with the event known as opposition, which occurs about every two years when Mars is directly on the opposite side of Earth from the Sun", Nasa wrote in a sky watching guide.

"This is also around the time when Mars and Earth come closest together in their orbits, meaning the Red Planet is at its brightest in the sky, so don't miss it", it further said.

By the end of November, Mars will be only a quarter as bright.

How to watch?

You'll be able to look for Mars when the Sun is setting and sky gazers in the northern hemisphere will be in a better position to spot it. Sky watchers can just use a pair of binoculars to watch Mars and even a cell phone with a quality camera on it. You can also view this phenomenon with a naked eye.

Source. India.com via dailyhunt.

Tailpiece.

It was real heavy rain, along with thunder and lightning, all through the night thanks to the trough of low over the Bay of Bengal. Had got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. Spoke to two of my classmates, Sudhakar and Jojy - I was speaking to the former after a lapse of almost eight years and he stays pretty close, at Palakkad. It was his birthday. The Harisree Department Store rep delivered our monthly stock of grocery, soon after lunch. 

Attended an interesting webinar by NN Panicker, International expert in Gandhian Philosophy and in Ocean Engineering on the topic, "Sahajivan Swaraj for a green economy". It was between 1500-1630 hrs. It did cut into my siesta but was definitely worth it!

The servicing of the Chevy got over around 1800 hrs and hence, told them that they could deliver it tomorrow morning.   

A nice story from the air!

Surreal experience narrated by Group Captain Sanjay Mishra, Captain of the Indigo flight from Delhi to Bangalore.

It started with the lead informing me that the lady on seat 1C, is an expectant motherfeeling a little restless and that she had not eaten anything since morning. She was comforted and was given fluids and something to eat. A while later, her anxiety and restlessness increased. She also started complaining of stomach pain. As the situation was developing, I asked the lead to page for a doctor.

By sheer providence and divine destiny of this would-be-new-born, there were two very accomplished doctors on board. One of them, Dr Nagaraj, was a plastic surgeon working in King Fahd Hospital in Riyadh and the other, Dr Shailaja, an Obstetrics surgeon , heading the fetal medicine department in Cloud Nine Hospital. We were near Jaipur, cruising at FL (that is 39,000 ft). 

She was initially diagnosed with gastric pain or just constipation and the doctors felt that she would be fine. However, her discomfort and restlessness kept getting worse. Both doctors were in constant attendance. I spoke to the lady doctor who assured me that she was watching her carefully. A little later, north of Bhopal, came to know that she had started bleeding followed by the shattering news that she was suffering an abortion. 

Forward galley and the lavatory were swiftly and efficiently converted into a makeshift ward/labour room taking all precautions by an excellent team of cabin crew who rose to the requirements of the occasion. They were very brilliantly supported by several Captains and Crew, travelling ACM and Dead Head. I was waiting for one final update from the doctors to decide on my next course of action.

As I was mulling over this disheartening piece of news, heard and noticed sudden increase in the activity levels in the cabin......screaming......shouting......clapping and a faint cry of what sounded like a new born....It was a baby boy! From a feeling of deep sadness, it turned to a feeling of intense joy.....never witnessed fortunes turning so swiftly and so miraculously!! Don't think there was a single soul on board who didn't have goose bumps on him or her at that moment.

So the youngster was born on Cloud Nine with the help of a doctor from Cloud Nine! The baby was premature and there was not much clarity on how many months pregnant she was.....could have been saying anything......she had earlier mentioned 5 months?? My decision making skills were getting tested with rapidly unfolding situations.

Although the doctors confirmed to me that the mother and child were doing well.....things could again worsen any moment. Nagpur was 500 m in thundershowers......Indore had a closure.....Hyderabadwas the best option to divert in case of any new contingency. At the bottom of my heart, I was hoping and praying that the youngster on for another hour and a bit.....he did well......much better than expected at his ripe old age of five minutes. 

I didn't want her to land up in Hyderabad in these Covid times and with a premature baby as she was travelling alone. In my address to the passengers, I informed them that "We have an extra passenger on board...." POB was also revised.....plenty of congratulatory calls on air on Nagpur, Madras and Bangalore frequencies......Nagpur gave me direct BL552 for Bangalore 27L from just south of Bhopal......enjoyed the uninterrupted high speed run! Post landing 'Birth on Board' form was filled in a domestic flight in India ever.......and it is most appropriately titled FFS 007.

On ground amid all the frenzy, I could sense a genuine sense of happiness and joy, among all present, KIAL staff, Aster Clinic staff.......in all the gloom surrounding us, people were looking for a reason to celebrate and they got one...! There were banners, chocolates, gifts......and the brave mother was given a rousing reception! 

Met 007! Had a look at his face......of course, he was unaffected by all the commotion around him......by now he was an hour and a half old....As for me......I couldn't have asked for a happier Air Force Day eve!

A baby boy was born on Indigo flight enroute 6E 122 Delhi - Bangalore. Flight landing at 1940 hrs. All operations normal. Mother and child healthy!

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. As I cycled on the exercise bicycle at our balcony, saw a team come by in a pick up truck, cut down two big trees with a portable, electric lathe chopped them efficiently into logs of requisite length, loaded them neatly on board and drive off, all within a matter of 45 minutes. There was no sign of any left overs; they'd done a neat job.

Sent the connected documents, for filing my IT returns, to the chartered accountant and my friend, Denny. Meanwhile, our Chevy was taken to the Geeyem Motors for routine servicing by Sreejith, who'd fetched up a trifle after lunch.