I have today posted a blog on the above topic. Many more moments are to follow.
Sugavanam
Monday, March 24, 2008
Some unforgettable moments in my life.
Aug 1969. Earlier on 20th July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human being to set his foot on the moon . The local American consul General office in Chennai had received the film of this historic happening and they were screening it free for the public of Chennai , in the Children's theatre , Triplicane for about a week in Aug 1969.
Since they anticipated a huge rush, they had advertised in the paper that the public had to collect the free tickets in advance on first come first served basis. It was a Monday and it was a weekly holiday for us. I left my room at about 830 am( I was a bachelor , residing in Triplicane at that time ), took a cycle on hire and went to Midland theatre, booked a ticket for the evening show of a film ( Poojaikku Vandha Malar, If I am not wrong ), and from there went to Children's theatre , stood in the queue for more than one hour , collected the ticket for the next thursday's show and was returning to the room via Bells Road.
It was about 12 noon then. There was not much traffic on the road , but it so happened that a small boy riding a cycle, suddenly came to the main road from a side road and to avoid hitting him, I swerved my cycle and at that moment my right leg got caught in the front wheel and I was thrown up and onto the road , because of the sudden braking action due to my leg in the front wheel ! I fell on the road and went unconscious immediately. When I woke up sometime later ( about 15 mins afterwards, I was told ), I saw a big bus wheel near my head - about two feet from my head !! And the passengers of the bus were standing around me.
When I became fully conscious, I was told that the bus driver of the bus which was coming behind me saw me falling on the road and in a flash, swerved the bus to one side to avoid running over me . Thank God, he succeeded in his attempt and brought the bus to a halt near my head and the bus was standing at 45 degrees to the road !
Though the cycle got badly damaged , I escaped with some injuries in the hand, leg and face ( fortunately nothing happened to my head) .
After thanking the bus driver and the public who helped me regain consciousness, I brought back the cycle in a cyclericksha, handed over to the cycle shop, went to a nearby ESI dispensary, got the injuries treated , came back to the room, slept for three hours, and went to see the film in the evening!! ( Only to forget the pain )
A close shave with death . How can I forget this moment ?
Sugavanam
Since they anticipated a huge rush, they had advertised in the paper that the public had to collect the free tickets in advance on first come first served basis. It was a Monday and it was a weekly holiday for us. I left my room at about 830 am( I was a bachelor , residing in Triplicane at that time ), took a cycle on hire and went to Midland theatre, booked a ticket for the evening show of a film ( Poojaikku Vandha Malar, If I am not wrong ), and from there went to Children's theatre , stood in the queue for more than one hour , collected the ticket for the next thursday's show and was returning to the room via Bells Road.
It was about 12 noon then. There was not much traffic on the road , but it so happened that a small boy riding a cycle, suddenly came to the main road from a side road and to avoid hitting him, I swerved my cycle and at that moment my right leg got caught in the front wheel and I was thrown up and onto the road , because of the sudden braking action due to my leg in the front wheel ! I fell on the road and went unconscious immediately. When I woke up sometime later ( about 15 mins afterwards, I was told ), I saw a big bus wheel near my head - about two feet from my head !! And the passengers of the bus were standing around me.
When I became fully conscious, I was told that the bus driver of the bus which was coming behind me saw me falling on the road and in a flash, swerved the bus to one side to avoid running over me . Thank God, he succeeded in his attempt and brought the bus to a halt near my head and the bus was standing at 45 degrees to the road !
Though the cycle got badly damaged , I escaped with some injuries in the hand, leg and face ( fortunately nothing happened to my head) .
After thanking the bus driver and the public who helped me regain consciousness, I brought back the cycle in a cyclericksha, handed over to the cycle shop, went to a nearby ESI dispensary, got the injuries treated , came back to the room, slept for three hours, and went to see the film in the evening!! ( Only to forget the pain )
A close shave with death . How can I forget this moment ?
Sugavanam
Thursday, January 24, 2008
In memory of Girija
A few months after our marriage, Girija one day asked me to tell her how a factory functions.
I explained to her the functions of Research& Development, Manufacturing (including purchase, maintenance, and housekeeping), Quality Control, Marketing, Finance and Human Resource Depts. After patiently hearing my narration, she said that the home is also a factory but, added “ in factory you have different people for different functions, but at home, I am the only person who takes care of all functions”! How right she was!
She designed how a home should look like (She gave the main inputs for construction of the flat where we live now ) , she has designed frocks for Sudha and Suba, has designed a no of hand works in small beads . She was always on the lookout for new menus and at various times surprised us with fresh and delicious dishes.
About manufacturing, I need not elaborate on how she managed . But I must mention that the delivery was always on time (The breakfast would be ready on the table by the time I came to the dining table and my lunch box would be ready by the time I put on my shoes ).Productivity was high - she would finish cooking (breakfast and lunch ) in a very short time sometimes even before 7 AM - , Wastage was almost nil and there was hardly any customer( Read relatives/friends) complaint. - All the qualities that Total Quality Management speaks of.
Her housekeeping ability was something I used to admire ( though I did not help her much ! ). She was particular that the house must be neat and tidy always. Everyday, the first thing she would do was to keep the previous day’s newspapers in its place, clean the TV stand, Sofa, Center table etc. Then only she will enter kitchen. And immediately after finishing cooking, the Samaiyal medai will look spic and span. She was very particular that even the daily use clothes like towels, banians, lungies etc are to be folded in a particular manner and kept neatly. There will be orderliness even in her way of hanging clothes in the balcony for drying (all towels together, all banians together etc).
Though she had not undergone any course on 5S* , she was following the concept 100%.
(5S is a Housekeeping concept developed by Japanese. If somebody wants more details on what is 5S, pl let me know)
Quality Control – Yes, she gave great importance to this and whatever she did, be it cooking, or the purchases –groceries to textiles to jewelleries, or the housekeeping, they were all of a very high standard with little to complain about.
She was successful in Marketing also, I suppose. (Marketing is ‘Knowing what the customer wants and fulfilling it ‘ ) . She was very particular in cooking the food we liked. She took extreme care to please all . I have many times admired her determination to help others or resolve their problems.
The day I married her, my financial burden was transferred to her and my responsibility was just limited to earning and handing over the salary to her. It was entirely her ingenuity that helped manage the family, give good education to Sudha and Suba, plan for their marriages, conduct their marriages in a decent manner, buy a flat and a few plots and effect reasonable savings at the time of my retirement to lead a comfortable retired life. She was meticulous in budgeting and spending. She was keeping day today account on expenses to the last pie. And at the end of every month, she used to review with me the actual expenses with budget. And whenever I looked worried whether we would be able to meet the expenses of Sudha, Suba’s higher studies or their marriages, she used to assure me that it would be managed. And how well she managed them!!
She was a perfect Human resource Manager, I would say. Ask Sudha and Suba .She was easy going but at the same time, she ensured discipline. She trained them, developed them, encouraged them to be independent, and increased their self-confidence. She took great pain in their well-being and ensured that they got the best of everything. She will listen to them and give solutions to their problems. She has never let them down anywhere. She groomed them to be women of character and good manners. If Sudha and Suba are today managing well their families, the credit goes entirely to Girija. She was more than a friend, philosopher and guide not only to S&S but to me as well.
This wonderful person who ran this factory so efficiently for more than 30 years, is no more here. The factory however remains, silent and calm , with tears of her memories flowing across the rooms that were charmed by her presence till recently.
Sugavanam
Today is Girija’s 52nd birthday.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Maargazhi Maadha Bajanai
After I read Magesh’s blog on Avaniavittam , my thoughts went back to my school days when I took active part in Maargazhi maadha bajanai at Tiruppapuliyur ( TPR in short ).
In those days, the Agraharams of TPR were dominated by Brahmins. The Maargazhi Maadha Bajanai used to be held in a grand manner. The Bajanai was led by one Mr Duraiswamy Iyer , a Bank officer who was an expert on Bajanai songs .
The Bajanai used to start at about 4 30 am and it will come near our house at about 530 am.( Our house was in the middle of the Bajanai Route. ) Most of the days , I and a few of my agraharam friends of the same age group, will join the Bajanai at the starting point itself ., if not, we will join it when it comes near our house. Some 20 / 25 elders ( including our father ) and about 10/ 12 boys will take part in the Bajanai which will end at the Bajani Madam near the Paataleeswarar temple at about 6 30 am.
There the crowd will swell to more than 50/60 - You know why ? - because of the steaming Vennpongal prasadam that will be served after the deeparaathanai.
We the senior boys will become volunteers once the Bajanai reaches the Madam and will look after the distribution of Pongal. Now about this distribution. The Pongal will be distributed in Badam leaves only. For this, we used to collect Badam leaves from a house which was near our house ( Tasting Badam Paruppu is a separate story and will be narrated in another blog ! ) everyday and preserve them carefully in the Bajanai Madam. Badam leaves was preferred because it was strong and at the same time broad enough to hold the Pongal.
Needless to mention, the broadest of the leaves will be reserved and kept separately for the Volunteers! And before the distribution begins, a good amount of Pongal will be kept separately in a big bucket , ( for volunteers ,of course ) . The Pongal used to be sponsored by the various families residing in the agraharam and unless one reserves a day in advance, they may not get a chance to sponsor ! Such was the demand .
On a few days, the Pongal left over after distribution will be much more than what we can carry home and in those days, we (the volunteers) will have our Breakfast in the Bajanai madam itself !
On special days like Vaikunta Ekadasi, Tiruvaadhirai, New years day, Bogi day etc, there used to be more than one Prasadam , the additions being usually Sakkarai Pongal, Sundal etc. And those days were the ones when we used to have great difficulty since there will be a huge gathering . But we always managed and ensured that everybody got the prasadams by adjusting the quantity per head.
Those were the happy days at TPR when we had the full satisfaction after singing songs in praise of God in the early morning and doing some social service too ! Will we get back those days ?
In those days, the Agraharams of TPR were dominated by Brahmins. The Maargazhi Maadha Bajanai used to be held in a grand manner. The Bajanai was led by one Mr Duraiswamy Iyer , a Bank officer who was an expert on Bajanai songs .
The Bajanai used to start at about 4 30 am and it will come near our house at about 530 am.( Our house was in the middle of the Bajanai Route. ) Most of the days , I and a few of my agraharam friends of the same age group, will join the Bajanai at the starting point itself ., if not, we will join it when it comes near our house. Some 20 / 25 elders ( including our father ) and about 10/ 12 boys will take part in the Bajanai which will end at the Bajani Madam near the Paataleeswarar temple at about 6 30 am.
There the crowd will swell to more than 50/60 - You know why ? - because of the steaming Vennpongal prasadam that will be served after the deeparaathanai.
We the senior boys will become volunteers once the Bajanai reaches the Madam and will look after the distribution of Pongal. Now about this distribution. The Pongal will be distributed in Badam leaves only. For this, we used to collect Badam leaves from a house which was near our house ( Tasting Badam Paruppu is a separate story and will be narrated in another blog ! ) everyday and preserve them carefully in the Bajanai Madam. Badam leaves was preferred because it was strong and at the same time broad enough to hold the Pongal.
Needless to mention, the broadest of the leaves will be reserved and kept separately for the Volunteers! And before the distribution begins, a good amount of Pongal will be kept separately in a big bucket , ( for volunteers ,of course ) . The Pongal used to be sponsored by the various families residing in the agraharam and unless one reserves a day in advance, they may not get a chance to sponsor ! Such was the demand .
On a few days, the Pongal left over after distribution will be much more than what we can carry home and in those days, we (the volunteers) will have our Breakfast in the Bajanai madam itself !
On special days like Vaikunta Ekadasi, Tiruvaadhirai, New years day, Bogi day etc, there used to be more than one Prasadam , the additions being usually Sakkarai Pongal, Sundal etc. And those days were the ones when we used to have great difficulty since there will be a huge gathering . But we always managed and ensured that everybody got the prasadams by adjusting the quantity per head.
Those were the happy days at TPR when we had the full satisfaction after singing songs in praise of God in the early morning and doing some social service too ! Will we get back those days ?
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Videography
I have a liking for videography. The interest in this hobby started way back in 1997 ( first ,interest in the Digital camera and then Video camera) . It was when my office purchased a Digital Camera for general office use and I being responsible for 16 Spare Parts Warehouses all over India started using this to take some photo's of these WH's to show to our directors the improvements being done. At the same time , i took some photos of family members or important places I visited during my tours to these WH's.
This was appreciated in the office as well as in the family circle. Then came the camcorder. My office had one and with the experience i had in the digital camera, I got the nod unanimously to use this camcorder at the AL's official functions (in which I took part). I was the honorary videographer in many functions which included dealer conferences both in India and overseas !!
i used this during our Singapore trip ( myself, Girija, Sudha and Subha)in 2001 and we have three cassettes of very good memories of that wonderful trip.
Seeing the photos and videos that I took , our ED ( Mktg ) nominated me as the chairperson of the photography club that he formed. ( It was another matter that the club ceased to exist when that ED ( M) resigned shortly afterwards !! ).
I finally had the chance of owning one myself when I purchased the Sony Handycam from Japan ( courtesy Ashok ) in Dec 2003. Ashok handed over that to me in the last week of Dec 2003 and the first video that I took from this handycam was the New year eve celebration at Sudha's apartment on 31st Dec in which one year old Dhanush took part in the fancy dress parade( not competition ). He was dressed as a Murugan and it was fantastic. From that time onwards, there was no stopping for my heriocs with the camera. Fortunately for me, function after function came in quick succession and my Handy cam was very busy and I gained good experience.
Some of the important events that have gone into this camera are
The growing of Dhanush ( still continuing )
Arvind Poonal
Arvind nichayathartham
Ashok Kalyanam
Arvind Kalyanam
Priya Nichayathartham
Priya Kalyanam
Sudha's house making( shot over a period of 10 months )
Sudha's Grahapravesam
Janani Nichayathartham
Hari's Seemantham
Subha's Marriage reception at Pune
Sudhan's nichayathartham
Raja Uncle's office functions
As I get more and more experience, I find it more interesting and also I am learning to use the various options available in the camera- like fader, memory mix ,backlight setting etc.etc.
It is really a fun. Try using it. You will love it !
This was appreciated in the office as well as in the family circle. Then came the camcorder. My office had one and with the experience i had in the digital camera, I got the nod unanimously to use this camcorder at the AL's official functions (in which I took part). I was the honorary videographer in many functions which included dealer conferences both in India and overseas !!
i used this during our Singapore trip ( myself, Girija, Sudha and Subha)in 2001 and we have three cassettes of very good memories of that wonderful trip.
Seeing the photos and videos that I took , our ED ( Mktg ) nominated me as the chairperson of the photography club that he formed. ( It was another matter that the club ceased to exist when that ED ( M) resigned shortly afterwards !! ).
I finally had the chance of owning one myself when I purchased the Sony Handycam from Japan ( courtesy Ashok ) in Dec 2003. Ashok handed over that to me in the last week of Dec 2003 and the first video that I took from this handycam was the New year eve celebration at Sudha's apartment on 31st Dec in which one year old Dhanush took part in the fancy dress parade( not competition ). He was dressed as a Murugan and it was fantastic. From that time onwards, there was no stopping for my heriocs with the camera. Fortunately for me, function after function came in quick succession and my Handy cam was very busy and I gained good experience.
Some of the important events that have gone into this camera are
The growing of Dhanush ( still continuing )
Arvind Poonal
Arvind nichayathartham
Ashok Kalyanam
Arvind Kalyanam
Priya Nichayathartham
Priya Kalyanam
Sudha's house making( shot over a period of 10 months )
Sudha's Grahapravesam
Janani Nichayathartham
Hari's Seemantham
Subha's Marriage reception at Pune
Sudhan's nichayathartham
Raja Uncle's office functions
As I get more and more experience, I find it more interesting and also I am learning to use the various options available in the camera- like fader, memory mix ,backlight setting etc.etc.
It is really a fun. Try using it. You will love it !
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Autos in Chennai
It is really a mystery as to why any Govt in Tamilnadu is not able to control the Autos in Chennai. They are just about 50000 in nos and if a Govt cannot control this small number, how can they claim to have control over the whole state of more than 5 Cr people ? Or is it that they do not want to control ? If it is so, why ?
Whenever I go out of Chennai, I am at peace while travelling in Autos, be it Bangalore, Pune, or Hyd . There you can get into any auto, at any place, any time , get down at any place you want, you are not charged more. Oh, in Chennai, the Auto meters are all " Soodu vachha meters" - to those who do not know Tamil- "tampered meters". No two autos will show the same fare for a fixed distance , but they all will show about 200 to 300 % more than the normal fare !!
And if you want to engage an Auto in the morning, the driver will ask you for "extra" saying that he will not get any passenger for the return trip. And this will be the excuse , whenever you travel or wherever you travel. They want Extra , that is all.
Of course, because of all these problems, for the last two years or so, no person living in Chennai will agree to pay the fare based on meter reading. He will bargain , but most of the times , end up paying a higher amount that what is due.
Now , with the raise in petrol fare, we are in for trouble once again. We all know that an Auto will run about 20/25 Kms for a litre of Petrol. So for an increase of Rs 3 per litre of petrol , the increase in running cost will be only 15 paise per KM. but the autos will demand an increase of atleast two, if not three rupees per KM.
So, if I was paying Rs 70 to T Nagar ( a distance of 9 Kms )till now, I may have to pay now Rs 85 or 90 from now onwards .
It is really a pity that the Govt is silent on this issue . It is the duty of the Govt to fix reasonable fare and see that the Autos follow the system. When will we get a functioning Govt in Chennai ?
Whenever I go out of Chennai, I am at peace while travelling in Autos, be it Bangalore, Pune, or Hyd . There you can get into any auto, at any place, any time , get down at any place you want, you are not charged more. Oh, in Chennai, the Auto meters are all " Soodu vachha meters" - to those who do not know Tamil- "tampered meters". No two autos will show the same fare for a fixed distance , but they all will show about 200 to 300 % more than the normal fare !!
And if you want to engage an Auto in the morning, the driver will ask you for "extra" saying that he will not get any passenger for the return trip. And this will be the excuse , whenever you travel or wherever you travel. They want Extra , that is all.
Of course, because of all these problems, for the last two years or so, no person living in Chennai will agree to pay the fare based on meter reading. He will bargain , but most of the times , end up paying a higher amount that what is due.
Now , with the raise in petrol fare, we are in for trouble once again. We all know that an Auto will run about 20/25 Kms for a litre of Petrol. So for an increase of Rs 3 per litre of petrol , the increase in running cost will be only 15 paise per KM. but the autos will demand an increase of atleast two, if not three rupees per KM.
So, if I was paying Rs 70 to T Nagar ( a distance of 9 Kms )till now, I may have to pay now Rs 85 or 90 from now onwards .
It is really a pity that the Govt is silent on this issue . It is the duty of the Govt to fix reasonable fare and see that the Autos follow the system. When will we get a functioning Govt in Chennai ?
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