SwamyVerse: 2015

27 Nov 2015

2KYOT - C2 - Greatness of Rain - K15

2000 Years Old Tweets - Swamy's Thirukkural blog series

Chapter 2 - Greatness of Rain (வான் சிறப்பு) - Kural 15

It has rained like it has never been in Chennai. So much so that people like Swamy who live in Chennai are pinching ourselves today that the Sun is out in all its warm glory and the sky once again is shining in blue hue.

Swamily had its share of powerless days - despite no life-crippling inundation in their residential area - which continues intermittently, including now, as Swamy writes this post (thank you Luminous Invertor & Exide battery - you're truly life savers)!

You can read Swamy's #chennairains rant on Facebook or Google+ (& Like / + him on both, for automatic notification of regular updates ;)

As Chennai slowly and painfully swims... umm, limps back to normalcy, cursing both the voluminous downpour that broke many a past record and the administration that continues to struggle but certainly trying to do its best to get the city and its citizens with indomitable spirit back to normal living conditions, it pays to rewind a little over 2000 years to know what Thiruvalluvar said about how precious Rain is!

#15 கெடுப்பதூஉம் கெட்டார்க்குச் சார்வாய் மற்றாங்கே

எடுப்பதூஉம் எல்லாம் மழை.

Rain hurts when it doesn't pour and enthralls when it pours.

It is Rain that makes Life perish (when it doesn’t pour) or nourishes it (when it pours).

Of course, Namma Chennai makkal may agree to disagree and say it hurts even when it pours - like a double whammy!

It pays to remember Chennai's usual struggle for water - due to scarcity - in summer, if it doesn't pour like this during monsoon. The problem isn't with rain per se', which has been pouring diligently during every monsoon (with very few exceptions), but with the planners, enforcers and people themselves, who chose to tread roughshod over all the water bodies and channels to divert excess water to them, systematically over the years. 2015 #ChennaiRains is a strong wake up call by mother nature to all - greedy & needy!

P.S. In case you're wondering, no sir/ma'am, we won't complain against any intolerance by Varuna bhagwan & talk about leaving our motherland & dear Chennai. To know why, you've to read The Tolerant Indian!

@PrakashSwamy

Note: This post is part of Swamy's blog series on the epic book of Tamil poetry Thirukkural, thought to be written over 2000 years ago by the poet ThiruValluvar, in an enchanting Tweet long couplet format, which is amazingly relevant even in the digital space of today!

Be Joyful & Spread the Cheer :)

12 Nov 2015

2KYOT - C88 - Knowing the Enemy - K875

2000 Years Old Tweets - Swamy's Thirukkural blog series
Chapter 88 - Knowing the Enemy

The embers of Bihar election heat wave have started cooling down, coinciding with the arrival of monsoon, which as always has inundated most of Chennai. It was a decisive victory for an unlikely coalition of 2 sworn rivals - Nitish & Lalu (both former CMs of the state), who started out in politics together, under a common umbrella & leader, against an autocratic ruler at the centre and the atrocity of that rule called Emergency.

It was also a blow to the ambitious new BJP regime headed by the charismatic leader Modi, who genuinely wants to make this once-great nation great again and his party leader Shah, known for his organizational prowess that brought their party to power at the centre - considered impossible in this nation dotted with selective secularist leaders misleading voters all the time - not too long ago.

Since the threadbare analysis of the viciously fought election is being done by all kinds of glitterati - including the selective secularist elite - on many television channels (most of which spectacularly failed to predict the eventual victory), let's spend our valuable time in understanding what Valluvar has got to say about this kind of scenario, in his epic Thirukkural, a book of 1330 couplets that amazingly are like tweets, written over two millennia ago!

Kural 875
தன்துணை இன்றால் பகையிரண்டால் தானொருவன்
இன்துணையாக் கொள்வற்றின் ஒன்று.

When you're alone and face two enemies (or opponents), it's better to offer truce to one of them (or make one of them your ally).

Nitish was smart enough to do just that and allied with Lalu, against whom he has fought and won elections in the past. Lalu too was smart enough to accept the truce offered by his rival who took the kursi away from him (& his wife). No one knows how long this uneasy alliance will last (considering the more vocal & naturally dominant Lalu has won more seats than Nitish, whose cleaner image helped him not only win the election but also will ensure his continuity as Bihar CM, as Lalu is barred from contesting elections for a few more years), but pretty much everyone knows how the Bihari bhais got the math right - irrespective of whether either of them even know about Thirukkural or not!

@PrakashSwamy
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Be Joyful & Spread the Cheer :)

2 Nov 2015

2KYOT C2 Greatness of Rain K12

2000 Years Old Tweets ~ Chapter 2 ~ Greatness of Rain ~ Kural #2

The monsoon has finally arrived in Chennai. Instead of heaving a sigh of relief (most of the water bodies that supply water to Chennai residents have more or less dried up), Chennaiites have overnight started cursing the intermittent showers due to the following reasons (minimum list, of course)...

Diwali shopping - It's hard to imagine how pretty much an entire city goes bonkers & try to shop during just a week before Diwali - the traffic in many commercial zones have already gone beyond unbearable!
Roads - Or whatever is left of them. Change in governments don't matter. Change of Mayor doesn't matter. Nothing seems to matter when it comes to the condition of Chennai roads - especially during monsoon. All those who are dreaming about migrating to Mars are most welcome to do their terrain training in Chennai. This November is highly recommended as the best time for superior survival experience!
Diwali itself - kids are going to be very upset if it rains cats & dogs on Diwali day; fathers are going to be very very upset because the great deal they got on Chinese crackers will be wasted; mothers are going to be extremely upset as they can't visit near & dear to show off their new design saree or churidhar they got by swimming in the human ocean at one of the top 3 destinations - Saravana Stores, Pothy's (all Kamalhaasan fans are going there by default this year & also wear the dress bought there for the 1st show of his next movie தூங்காவனம் :O) & Chennai Silks. Since 2 of the 3 are located in Velachery now, Swamy is so relieved that he chose to move out to Pallikkaranai 4 years ago (exactly a day after Deepavali - talk about timing ;)

And while it continues to rain, cooling a parched earth but raising the temper(ature) of yet-to-do-Diwali-shopping-just-in-time-for-Diwali families, there's so much more comic relief on Chennai roads, including but certainly not limited to...

Parking the bike wherever it started pouring & hiding under bus shelters, flyovers & shop entrances - if you are in a car & bewildered as to how there can be a traffic jam in pouring rain, that too on a highway, all you need to do is look around & above for a circular flyover (a notorious design that's present pretty much all over the city, where everyone takes a turn but no one waits for anyone creating a logjam every now & then), because it's guaranteed that a 106 motorists would've abandoned their motorcycles on the road & hiding right under the flyover :O
Pillion rider holding an umbrella over the rider's head - it's not just ridiculous but extremely dangerous, so it's certainly not hilarious, at all. But when you see it - again and again and again, the only thing one can do is LoL :D
Not venturing out in rain, at all - it's really funny that anyone who can ride a two wheeler is perfectly fine riding out in blazing sun (which is a little over 11.5 months in Chennai), that too without a helmet to cover the only head s/he has got. But the same stupid person isn't ready to venture out riding in the rain, despite the scientific fact that about 74% if a person's body content is................................................................ just water! BAU Humbug :{}

Jokes apart, it would be interesting to know what Valluavar got to say about this truly enchanting but apparently bewildering - especially for the hilarious species called humans - thing called Rain!

19 தானம் தவமிரண்டும் தங்கா வியனுலகம்

வானம் வழங்கா தெனின்.

Without rain, benevolence (giving) & penance (realization) will cease.

Oh, now we get it! People hate rain because giving & realization (which are supposed to elevate their miserable lives to an altogether different level) already ceased to exist. Ah, humans :(

@PrakashSwamy

P.S: If, like Swamy, you're also enchanted by the amazing natural phenomenon called rain (or even if you aren't yet), do enjoy his blog post exclusively about it ~ Rainchanted!

Be Joyful & Spread the Cheer :)

28 Oct 2015

2KYOT C70 - Acquainting the Powerful - Kural 691

2000 Years Old Tweets ~ Thirukkural ~ Chapter 70 ~ Acquainting the Powerful ~ Kural 691

Until united with one of the four families that claim to be hers, Geeta will be more or less Bharat Putri (India's Daughter). It's practically impossible for an anonymous citizen to meet and spend time with the PM, President & a CM who doesn't see eye-to-eye with the PM in a single day - especially after straying away from one's motherland into a not-so-friendly neighbour nation.

So, how should one acquaint such high & mighty, if ever an opportunity presents itself, however incredulous as it may be - like Geeta's triumphant return to her motherland and the seemingly endless felicitation by the powerful beings of the nation?

Since nondescript citizens acquainting the high & mighty has happened all through human history (Kusela & Krishna, Kaudilya & Chandra Gupta, Kavichakravarthi Kamban & Sadayappar, Mahakavi Bharati & Ettayapuram King, Umaruppulavar & Seethakkathi...), it's no wonder that such a sensitive relationship didn't escape the keen eye of Thiruvalluvar.

691 அகலா(து) அணுகாது தீக்காய்வார் போல்க
இகல்வேந்தர்ச் சேர்ந்தொழுகு வார்.

The way to acquaint the powerful is similar to the way one is with small fire created to keep oneself warm out in the cold - neither too close, nor too far.

@PrakashSwamy

P.S. This Kural also happens to be something Swamy's father - an old-school government employee, steeped in loyalty & obedience - used to quote often. Swamy & brothers will forever remain grateful to him for providing them good education, which is the foundation of their Life today.

Be Joyful & Spread the Cheer :)

27 Oct 2015

2KYOT C46 Avoiding Wrong Company K452

The top news items that are all over the media are both about return to motherland of two entirely different citizens for entirely different reasons.

Geeta's return is all about good - not just of Bharat's 'people's choice' government but also of our love-to-hate neighbouring nation's willingness & (rare) cooperation to make her return to motherland happen.
Rajan's (pending due to formalities) return is all about India's 'decisive' government's quest against all kinds of evil - especially black money kind - and bring the perpetrators of crime under the ambit of the law that (supposedly) applies to all citizens.

Wonder how both stories are connected in more ways than one? As ever, Valluvar has the answer for this citizen conundrum too!

452 நிலத்தியல்பால் நீர்திரிந் தற்றாகும் மாந்தற்க்(கு)
இனத்தியல்ப தாகும் அறிவு.

Flowing water 💦 will imbibe the land's attributes. Similarly, humans will imbibe the attributes of the group they being to!

Life isn't isn't just about who you are, but also about what company you keep!

@PrakashSwamy

13 Oct 2015

2KYOT C55 - Good Governance - K549

The recent spate of incidents highlighting intolerance of one segment of people towards another, both citizens of the same nation, is a challenge many countries struggle to tackle. Racial hatred and protests continue in the US, long after Lincoln abolished slavery, despite having proudly elected someone from the once-enslaved community as President of the country, not once but twice. Religious hatred and violence prevails in many countries, resulting in preventable loss of human lives and stalling constructive progress necessary to uplift quality of Life.

With the elite intelligentsia returning their government given awards, protesting lack of decisive action from the government/s, media too has raised its already high-decibel pitch a few octaves higher. Here's a tip to the beleaguered government from Thiruvalluvar on its responsibility to act decisively.

549 குடிபுறங் காத்தோம்பிக் குற்றம் கடிதல்

வடுவன்று வேந்தன் தொழில்.

Protecting citizens from violence and punishing perpetrators of violence, without bothering about criticism, is the ruler's responsibility.

President Mukherjee's call against intolerance, Prime Minister Modi's endorsement of & emphasis to follow the same and Maharashtra CM Fadnavis' decisive action to provide protection for the book launch of former foreign minster of a not-so friendly neighbour nation are all steps in the right direction. All governments - including the central - should be as decisive in ensuring safety for freedom of expression and preventing any attempt by anyone to suppress it.

@PrakashSwamy

11 Oct 2015

2KYOT C26 Meat Avoidance K258

There has been a huge furore about the common Indian's right to eat the meat s/he wants. As usual, everyone who thinks s/he is someone has an opinion. A few have gone to express their beliefs & views physically. The elite intelligentsia with impeccable designer wardrobe and alien accent have pretty much concluded that there is no semblance of human rights left in this nation (no sir/ma'am, they can't even wait till the next election to somehow bring down a democratically elected popular government). A few of them have chosen to return the awards given by past government (yep, the same extraordinarily lethargic and incredibly comical establishment with a vocally challenged head whose strings were held tightly and made inoperable by a dynastic power center, that was kicked out hard by the humble Indian voter in 2014 and is desparate to find relevance with their dimple chinned fair knight in blunt armor who seems to have borrowed a gene or two from a hilarious former warmongering head of a so-called superpower) to the present government to express their dismay at the attempts to stop the common man's keen interest in consuming a very specific kind of meat.

And the poor Gomata (mother Cow, which incidentally is treated as a member of the family & also worshipped by Hindus who own/manage farmlands that typically have milch cows), without realizing all this ruckus is about her kind, is straying around the concrete jungles created by horrendous humans with one extra sense than her, searching hard for some green blades of grass to nonchallently chew, so she can be ready to be milked twice daily by the same utterly ungrateful humans. And once they are convinced that her productivity (of milk) doesn't meet their unrealistic expectations, they'll either butcher and sell her meat or safely ship her to other countries to be butchered and eaten there.

With many a religion preaching non-violence, not just in actions but also in food - Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainishm, et al - originating from this once-great nation, it shouldn't be a surprise that Thiruvalluvar has dedicated a whole chapter (Chapter 26) for Meat Avoidance (புலால் மறுத்தல்)! Here's one of his Kurals that offers an amazing insight on this situation!

258 செயிரின் தலைப்பிரிந்த காட்சியார் உண்ணார்

உயிரின் தலைப்பிரிந்த ஊன்.

Those who think to comprehend (facts, truth), won't eat a (dead) body that has no Life left.

One may be a meat eater or not and it's a choice one has made. But all meat aren't equal (for most people, at least) and people are choosy about which meat they eat - predominantly guided by religious beliefs. And that's exactly the contention here, where the majority citizens of a nation believe the meat of a particular animal - Cow in this case, worshipped as God, treated as part of the family and understood as essential for the agrarian way of Life - should be avoided, from both killing & consumption.

Since the elite intelligentsia won't listen to any Indian wisdom, here's PETA's 10 Reasons To Avoid Eating Cow Meat.

Oh, PETA also kindly offers a list of Meat Replacements.

In case that doesn't convince them, here's what Sadhguru (founder of Isha Foundation, a global spiritual organization with millions of volunteers that also works extensively on rural education, health & upliftment) has told the media about avoiding Cow meat. https://youtu.be/7R7TEXKqdSI

Here's what one of the sacred scriptures of Hinduism Bhagawad Gita says about sacredness of cows.

Here's Buddhism's view on meat eating. Mahayana & Zen Buddhism avoid meat eating, while other sects remain ambiguous.

Here's Jainism's view on meat eating, including specific mention of avoiding Cow meat.

While the founders of Sikhism & Zorastrianism seemed to have propogated avoidance of meat, surprisingly Judaism & early Christianity too seems to have been more inclined towards avoiding meat!

It's a no-brainer that violence in the name of anything - including food preference - need to be condemned and the violators should be tried legally in a court of law. Perpetrators of hate, irrespective of their religious affiliation, should neither be supported nor encouraged - especially by the high & mighty.

While everyone is entitled to have a view & also express it vocally in a democracy, would the same vocal people - especially the elite intelligentsia - who vociferously support the right to eat meat of one's choice, do their bit to promote what's held as taboo by other religions? It's a known fact that another global religion too has singled out an animal whose meat the faithful are 'prohibited' from eating - not just in this country but anywhere on this planet! But no pseudo-secular flag waving, award returning, meat eating elite would even dare to speak about it openly. And that's the sad state of an eminent ancient culture that has been systematically eradicated by innumerable invasions and inevitably reduced to the mockery called secular democracy!

@PrakashSwamy

Be Joyful & Spread the Cheer :)

9 Oct 2015

2KYOT C24 Fame K231

"In the future everybody will be famous for fifteen minutes!" Andy Warhol is said to have famously told in 1979. His was a time when you've to be talented to perform something noteworthy & lucky enough to be noticed by someone worthy, who would promote you to an audience, so you could become rich & famous and the promoter could become richer (s/he won't promote just you, naturally).

Warhol was right in predicting that as a future event, as there wasn't much of media, other than print & radio, to propagate someone's fame, at that time. Even if someone's talented, s/he needs the media for fanning that 15 minutes of fame. So gaining fame at Warhol's time took time. But things were about to change dramatically soon.

CNN started 24x7 news transmission in 1980. Larry King's interviews went live in 1985. www wasn't born until 1991. Big G (ahem, not that long bearded fella in flowing white robes believed to be up in the air, but Google) started its endless searches in 1998. Facebook made everyone like anyone in 2004. Any human being with a camera that can capture motion picture could beam himself or her cat & dog to the world thanks to YouTube from 2005. The little blue bird that can digest only 140 characters per bite, err tweet, started flapping its wings in 2006. Photographs changed forever from rectangle to square, thanks to Instagram, in 2010. And so on and on and on...

The explosion of social media & on demand availability of bandwidth gave an opportunity for every Tom, Sheikh & Harini to go for their 15 seconds of fame (inflation adjusted ;), right from their couch or car or anywhere. And having read or heard about a million self-help books from thousands of motivational authors, the minions of this tiny planet took Warhol's words to the heart and decided to become famous, come what may. Wouldn't it be really interesting to know what Valluvar said about Fame 2000 years ago!

231 ஈதல் இசைபட வாழ்தல் அதுவல்லது
ஊதியம் இல்லை உயிர்க்கு.

There isn't any better purpose in Life than offering something (to others) and cherishing the accolade (or fame) that follows.

Hmmm, is it any wonder that fame is still hard to find for many, despite the myriad ways available now for anyone keen? Before you crave for that 15 seconds (or minutes) of fame and despair when it eludes, as ever, take a moment to think what have you got to offer that your fellow humans may find valuable!

@PrakashSwamy

Be Joyful & Spread the Cheer :)

8 Oct 2015

2KYOT C12 Objectivity K119

Talvar has stirred the collective imagination of a nation about the subjectivity of law enforcement agencies and everyone who is someone - including those who haven't even seen the movie yet - is expressing their shock & dismay at how the system simply failed to offer justice to the parents - both educated professionals belonging to the higher strata of society - who stand accused of killing their child. Of course, it's the same bunch of gossip gluttons that has indulged in devouring the media's nine course spicy subjective meal on another filicide, served 24x7, only a few weeks ago.

To understand the irony of our contradictory existence, we need to look at what Valluvar told about objectivity over 2 millennia ago.

119 சொற்கோட்டம் இல்லது செப்பம் ஒருதலையா
உட்கோட்டம் இன்மை பெறின்.

When your mind isn't subjective, your words (& deeds) too won't be (subjective).

Unlike the industrial age supervisors & knowledge era managers who suddenly wake up from their subjective waking slumber and instinctively switch the objectivity light on, to play the practiced role of dispeller of darkness during the evil annual rituals called appraisal & promotion, when nice things like hope & motivation (of their minion subordinates) usually run away scared, the rest of humanity apparently learned to live comfortably in the subjective darkness, forever.

Pretty much every member of this hilarious species that appears to be devolving now, after evolving over millions of years from apes (who thankfully stopped evolving & continue to live happily with one less sense), shamelessly remain staunchly subjective in pretty much every single action concerning their own success, growth, wealth & popularity, but wax eloquent about the need to remain objective, in whatever one says or does, without batting an eyelid. Thanks to #Thiruvalluvar, we know why!

@PrakashSwamy

Note: This post (Kural #119, Chapter 12) is part of Swamy's blog series on the epic book of Tamil poetry Thirukkural, thought to be written over 2000 years ago by the poet ThiruValluvar, in an enchanting Tweet long couplet format, which is amazingly relevant even in the digital space of today!

Be Joyful & Spread the Cheer :)