Meandering thoughts - Sita Sreeraman

When I first came to London, I wondered what the Christmas fuss was all about. Beginning October and November, the stores all got decked up in Christmas finery and look grand, colourful and inviting. The High Street (main street in each area) and other important streets like Oxford Street, Regents Street, Bond Street etc get decked up in colourful lights and look festive. And Christmas carols fill the air - Jingle Bells and others. There is a change in mood, people are thinking of gifts to buy, family get togethers, family dinners and churches. And homes and shops sport Christmas trees- the evergreen pine with a tangy turpentine smell and a conical shape, colourfully lit with lovely baubles and decorations. The local flower stores all begin to stock Christmas trees, sometimes the Farmer’s Market does some and in the weeks leading to Christmas, you sometimes find trees for Sale on the Pavements near the Underground tube stations. Last year plastic black Christmas trees were the fad, thi

As I start writing this blog, I think of the various small things that are particular to the upbringing in Iyer families. The first thought that comes to my mind is that I am part of a sect that has practised non-violence and vegetarianism for centuries, that believes in Advaitha and chants the‘Gayathri Mantra’. And that I am part of this wonderful unbroken tradition of 7000 to 8000 years. As Iyers, our life is based on the teachings of Adi Sankara, the doctrines in Bhagavad Geetha, Vedas and Upanishads. We pay obeisance to our gurus Adi Sankara and the Sankaracharyas of Sringeri and Kanchi and other great people like Ramana Maharishi, Sai Baba. We usually have a photo of the gurus in our house and visit them when we can. We believe in rebirth and karma yoga and bhakti margam. Being an Iyer, using the credentials of Gothram,Vedam, sub-sect(Vadhyama, Vadama etc) and my grand parents names gets me connected almost instantaneously with another Iyer anywhere in the world. If I were a man,

When I first came to London and had yet to find a job, Sekar suggested I do some volunteering work. This would help me network and interact with people. One day as Narayan and I were coming back from Waitrose our local grocers, a ‘Volunteers Urgently Needed’ board caught my attention. So we walked towards it and I found a notice that said “The Oxfam Book Shop needs volunteers urgently”. So the next day without much confidence, I walked into the shop and asked to see the Manager. Martin Penny the Manager said I was welcome and gave me a form to fill. He explained I would work on replacing books in the shelves and I could do either mornings or afternoons (10 to 2) and (2-6) on weekdays or 12-5 on Sundays. I went back on Monday at 10:15 and Martin showed me and another volunteer called Naila around. He showed us the different sections in the bookstore and the basement where the books were stored and sorted. He showed us how to price the books and how they need to be organized on the book-

Narayan came home one evening and asked me if I have heard of Mata Amrutananda Mayi, she would be visiting London and ‘The Guardian’ newspaper had a nice article about her. I told him what I knew from hearsay - that Mata Amrutananda Mayi or Amma as she is fondly called was from Kollam, she belonged to a fisher-man family and she was self-realized in her teens. The thing that was unique about her was the hug that she gave people. She had a huge following in native Kerala. I remembered Appa and Dr. Radhakrishnan had visited her in connection with the Yagam and she made them sit on the dias along with her. Appa fondly recalls how she sang “Chalanga katti odi odi va”, a Bhajan which Amma sang and he said it was just incredible. Narayan got me print-outs containing details of Amma’s visit and her program in London. She was coming on a Sunday and was staying until Wed morning. Sunday would be too crowded and I had an exam on Monday, so I decided to go on Tue, the 28th Oct. I left home around

Kollam Mami as she is known is an inspiring lady, who is bringing about a lot of change at grass-root levels in the villages of Kerala. In particular, is her work at Madikunnu temple. Every Wednesday, Kollam Mami decided to have the chanting of Lalitha Sahasranamam, followed by a simple pooja by the participants. Initially people came in small numbers. These days, every Wednesday people in many hundreds and thousands gather to chant Lalitha Sahasranamam. It is not uncommon to see 10,000 and soemtimes 25,000 people attending this function. We have to keep in mind that this is happening in a small village like Madikunnu and not in a city! Miracles have been known to occur - a lame boy started walking after attending the Pooja. And other changes are slowly happening - participants are seeing an increase in their general well-being, giving up smoking, drinking and meat eating, children are studying well and a general increase in wealth and prosperity. The people who run the show, doing the

As I wrote the blog on AMMA(Mata Amrutananda Mayi), I kept thinking how the best hugs have come from the babies in the family. It was August 1995. Appa and Amma went to Ayakudi to bring Vansathi Manni and my 2.5 month old niece Aparna to Trichur. Chitra, Dr.Mama, Krishanan Chitappa and I were in Trichur. I remember how we spent the whole night talking. I was so excited I could not sleep. And then I saw Aparna. It was love at first sight, my niece was a lovely bouncy baby with the best smile I knew. And I was smitten, totally smitten. She was so tender and so small, I would be scared to hold her. But in no time, I became an expert, I knew how to make her laugh loudly and she always hugged back so well. Harini arrived in June 1996. I first saw Harini when she was 10 days old for her naming ceremony. And she was so sweet and small. And it was gain love at first sight. Harith came in Aug 1996. He was born in Trichur and it was really exciting days. Amma’s 60th Birthday was celebrated in

I was born in Trichur. Amma, Sangam Chitappa and Chithi went to the Trichur Mission Hospital for a check-up and then suddenly I was born. No preps, no pain, no fore-warning! They were not prepared and Chithi was left with the baby me while Chitappa went to Trikkur with the news. Of course, it did not help at all that it was the 1st of April and no one believed anything. Chithi took care of me and Amma. So my relationship with Chithi started right then, she was the first person to carry me. Amma recollects how among other things Chithi would rub butter over me when I was a baby so I would have good skin. Until we moved to Trikkur in 1988, I remember visiting Trikkur only about 4 times. The first time was for Kalyanam Chitappa's wedding. Then a summer vacation when I was in the 1st or 2nd standard. Amma got 6 dresses made by Babu tailor especially for the occasion. One of them was a black polka dot with leaf green butterfly sleeves, which I left behind at Trikkur and the other is the

It was admission time for the Pre-Degree courses at St.Mary’s College. As I waited in the queue, I found Delji in the same queue. Delji was my cousin Raji’s class mate of 10 years from the Holy Family school and I had met her a few times. Glad to see at least one familiar face, we exchanged Hellos and stood together. We both noticed a couple of girls at the front of the queue – one of them was slightly plump and the other had a wonderful smile. After the admissions, the two girls came over and introduced themselves – they were Binu and Deepa Das respectively from the Sacred Hearts school. Raji my cousin had finished her admission to the 2nd group and we headed home. A few days later, the college started and I found I was allotted to the B1 section. Delji, Binu and Deepa were in the same section – a relief! I was introduced to Manju – who studied in Holy Family and knew Raji and Delji. Traditionally, students from Holy Family and Sacred Heart, both girls only schools head to St. Mary’s

My hair is skirting about 2 inches below the shoulder; I can do a neat plait. As I comb my hair, a familiar dilemma rises in my mind – do I continue to grow it or trim it short? This dilemma started when I was a 5 years old. When I was five, the decisions were simple. Baby (Anitha) my best friend of those days had a bob. Since she was my guru, heroine, best friend and idol rolled into one that was the only way to go! So, short it was! So, it was off to Ramathilakam Aunty, the unofficial beautician of Cement Nagar. We did not have beauty parlours in those decades. Aunty had a good sense of style and really liked me, so she did it for me. As usual, Amma came to know of the deed only after it was committed. (How some things haven’t changed over the years!) But a few days/months after the hair-cut, I would want it all long, so I could put flowers in the hair. So I would decide no more cuts. The decision of course could reverse any moment! A few years later came Appa’s retirement and the m

Sunday - 09 Nov was the 41st instance of the Vidya Sidhi Pooja at the Trikkur Kamakshi Amman temple. The Pooja was started at the instance of "Kollam Mami". Kollam Mami is a devout person who initiated the chanting of Lalitha Sahasranamam at the Madikunnu temple every Wednesday, the crowds coming for the Sahasranamam are now in thousands and miracles have known to occur. When Kollam Mami visited our Kamakshi temple, she wanted to start a Pooja that would provide educational benefits of the children of Trikkur. Thus was born the Pooja. It started as a simple affair and has grown into a grand one. I am proud to say that Krishnan Chitappa and Babulu Athai along with Ammanji Athu Ramachandran Mama and otehr Trikkur elders have been running the show very successfully. I was fortunate to attend the Pooja during my trip to India in July. About 10'o clock on a lovely monsoony rainy morning in Trikkur, along with about 50 or other kids, I sat down for the Pooja. The temple p

People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered; ...Forgive them anyway! If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; ...Be kind anyway! If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; ...Succeed anyway! If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; ...Be honest and frank anyway! What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; ...Build anyway! If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; ...Be happy anyway! The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; ...Do good anyway! Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; ...Give the world the best you've got anyway! You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God; It was never between you and them anyway.

Trikkur Puzhai or Manali Puzhai flows behind our house in Trikkur. It meanders its way past Anthathu Mama's house to our house and then to Porangavu Temple and flows further down past our Thopu and Paadam. We have a 'kadavu' or a bathing ghat so we can approach the puzhai from our backyard. The view from the puzhai is lovely - there are coconut trees lining the banks on either side. And since the stream meanders a bit, we have an incredible view of the donwstream and upstream. The puzhai has its own cycles - during the monsoon, the stream has muddy brown waters and there are currents, during the summer the waters are tranquil and green and quite deep until the waters are pumped out for irrigation purposes, when the waters recede from the shore and there is only water in the deepest. Cocunuts, mangoes and thenga mattais fall into the river and it is nice to catch a good one. Of course we are lucky they don't land on our heads instead! Once we descend into the tranq

Sree Gurubyo Namaha! Appa was felicitated today by Dr. Abdul Kalaam on the occasion of the centenary celebrations of Swami Ranganatha Nanda in Trikkur. Chithi, Sundari Chithi, Amma, Krishnan Chitappa, Babulu Athai, Jaya Chithi and Jayaraman were fortunate indeed to attend the occasion. Appa was honoured for his commitment and activities relating to Vedic revival. Appa started his sojourn into Vedic activities on the instructions of Maha Periyava. Appa has been active with Vedic activities right from when we were in Cement Nagar. It started with building the temples in Cement Nagar & Hagari, the two Chaturmasyams and the conduct of Yagams at Cement Nagar and Hagari, in addition to other devotional activities. Appa participated in yagams whenever he could - all as per the instructions and guidance of Maha Periyava. After retirement, Periyava told Appa to concentrate on Vedam completely. Appa had two job offers after his retirement, but Periyava's explicit instruction to Appa

When I was writing about Bhajanais, I was reminded of the various lovely songs that are so integral to all our get togethers. Sree Chakra Raja, Pazhani Malai Kovilele, Thechi Mandaram Seetha Kalyana at the weddings Chitra's Mamava Pattabhirama which she specially learned for her nalangu Villaya Idu Nerama (courtesy Bangalore Paatu Mami) Our Nalangu special songs: Ye Aatha Athorama varaya Yamuna Yatrile Lalaku Dol Dapima Bin Tere Sanam thithi thara thi thi thom Yerumbaya Erumbellam kudi Others: Tere Meri Beech Me, Style Style Thaan, Machane Aha (Thangam special along with Sadanam) Shantamee Rathriyil (Chitra's song n dance performance) Lakshmi used to sing a nice Asha Parek number pruposely in nasal tone, can't remember the exact song though! Raji's Rosa Poo Chinna Rosa Poo Chitra and Poorni - Sree meenakshi Thaye undan Santosh's song Innum Ennai Enna Seya Pogiray from Singara Velan Sangeetha Swarangal (Azhagan) Gali Gali Me Phirtha Hai Saathiya, My Love Meri Priyath

I was thinking of Bangalore and our family when I suddenly was hit by memories of Bhajanais. I realized they are just so integral a part of our family. The family songs from Pazhani Malai Kovilile, Thechi Mandaram, Sree Chakra Raja, Seetha Kalyana and the Ayyappa Bhajani songs - most of us identify with it and so many occasions in our lives are linked by these special songs. Going back to bhajanais, Bhajanais in Cement Nagar would happen every Friday night in the temple and were the high point of the week. Later, when Sabari Malai became popular, the Ayyappa bhajanai used to be held in the temple on Saturdays. The nice thing about the Bhajani was about Amma and Vijayan, both of them sing very well and were asked to sing during the Bhajanais. Vijayan is especially good at imitating people and he would imitate Sesham Raju sir, so well. Appa would occasionally join in with 'Nataraja Narataraja Narthana Sundara Nataraja" or "Ashta Sidhi Nava Nidhi Ke Datha" and we would

The results of the historic US election 2008 are out - Barack Hussein Obama has won the Presidential Election with no doubts whatever. The time for Vote For Change and Yes We Can is definitely here. The world has been closely following this election and indeed it heaved a collective sigh of relief at the results. What is it about this election that has mesmerized people and why are other countries taking such an interest in what is a US domestic issue? The war in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economy and climate change have been the three main issues in this election and they are no doubt what interests the rest of the world as well. But for me it is the super hero appeal of Obama! That Senator Obama who is an African-American, has 'Hussein' as his middle name, has no political lineage like the Bush, Clinton dynasties pulled it our by sheer hard work, passion, self-belief and intelligence makes him an great hero. We can look up at him and say "Yes We Can!" . And heroes

Uma, thanks for putting me on the movie lane. I sat down to list some of the movies I enjoyed watching, here it goes. Enjoy! www.imdb.com is a good movie database. Roman Holiday : Audrey Hepburn My Fair Lady The Sound Of Music The Bridge on the River Kwai, A Passage to India : directed by David Lean 12 Angry Men The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) : Steve McQueen Tootsie : Dustin Hoffman The Godfather : Al Pacino, Marlon Brando Philadelphia, Termial, You've Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, Cast Away : Tom Hanks Disclosure : Micheal Douglas, Demi Moore Charlie's Angels Signs : Mel Gibson Die Hard : Bruce Willis America's Sweethearts : Julia Roberts, John Cusack, Catherine Zeta Jones Notting Hill : Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts The Wedding Date Maid In Manhattan : Jenniger Lopez Speed, While You Were Sleeping, Two Weeks Notice, Miss Congeniality : Sandra Bullock A Walk In the Clouds : Keanu Reaves: City Slickers : Billy Crystal Bridget Jones Diary & Bridget Jones: The Edge

I was looking at the mirror the other day and suddenly I saw something that caused me to totally freeze over. Was I seeing right? Did I need a new eye test? No, it was there right in front of me - a long gray hair that wound it ways from the front left scalp. I am only 33 I heard myself say, am I becoming totally gray? All the shampoos I could hear Appa and Amma say. I touched it tentatively and checked it. It was gray definitely. I held on to it and frantically tried searching the rest of my scalp. I twisted myself into some wierd Yogic positions to see round the back of my scalp, but really could not. And I was scared to as well. I decided I would be less stressed (wish we had a stress switch which we could turn off and on), would have regular oil baths and eat greens. I would also get some Vitamin tablets. I would exercise regularly, sleep well and eat well. I would use only Thaali and Shikai from now on, for which I would definitely need to go to the Indian area or make a trip to I

I got some professional certifications this year. In reality, this was not one of those things that I had planned. Every time someone mentioned the certification I would think I should do it. But then the cost, the effort, the time and a small fear of failure would put me off! As it happened, when I got to work one cold January day, two of my colleagues were discussing the exam pretty seriously, one of them was doing the exam in the first week of March. Initially I was not interested but as they started discussing the dates, the syllabus, the books, I was drawn in despite myself. And I started looking at the website, at the syllabus etc and thougt why not. Before long, I had registered for the exam and sent an email to my Manager about taking the day off. Soon, we were browsing, searching for the recommended book. We searched a few book sites online, called Waterstones and finally got our copies of books. We were quite excited. And then came the study part. Since three of us were doin

One of my friends was exclaiming the other day that these are exciting times and the choices available today from careers to products is amazing! And lamented how all these choices makes decisions so complicated. I agreed with her, thinking of all the times I bought something only to exchange it for something better. And also feeling at times totally lost(mind completely blank, not to be confused with nirvana or self-realization) when I had to buy something as simple as a soap. Should I get a a mild/moisturizing/exfoliating/glowing/ relaxing/invigorating/calming/organic one with Lavender, rose, chamomile, wine, apple, cinnamon, pear, grape-fruit etc fragrances or fragrance free, for oily, regular, mixed skin type, enriched with Vitamins, Minerals as a Soap bar, gel or liquid wash? So,to save time and make myself feel more in control, the decision making super-woman that I am, I decided to close my eyes and picked something. It felt so good, I had mastered the art of shopping and was ba

I was in Madras in August this year and my mother-in-law mentioned that windows need to be kept shut as a monkey and its parivaram were doing the rounds. I managed to see the family one day in the trees around the apartment. I was reminded of the monkey menace when we lived in Cement Nagar. There were several parivarams of the Rheusus monkey in the area, each family dominated by a rouge male. We had 2 coconut trees, a mango tree, a sapota tree, a custard apple tree and a Badam tree in our garden. So we were prime targets and there were quite a few antics. The monkeys would take great pleasure in drinking all elaneers(tender coconuts) - we would realize the coconuts were all empty & wasted only when they started falling off one by one. And then they would strip the coconut flowers one by one, so no coconuts that season. They would try doing the same with the mango tree and of course as the badam, mango and sapota ripened, they would have a gala time! Of course, we soon procured a bi

Harini, my lovely niece was about 6 or 7 years old, when one day she came home and told us how her class-mate Neha was mean to her. In an attempt to cheer her up, and hoping that she would find it funny, I told her a joke about Neha. Well, it was a straight lift from the character Kutchu(from my class 2 & 3 English). Kutchu was known for being dumb. So Kutchu became Neha in the jokes. The first one went like this: Neha's grand-mother was ill and the Doctor prescribed a medicine. The medicine came as a tonic and among the other things listed on the bottle's cover were the words - SHAKE WELL. Neha reads this and since she thinks 'I am an expert, I know everything' (that like in the movies, is Neha's byline) and goes about giving her grand-mother a wee good shake before giving her the medicine. Of course, the parents intervene and give Neha a good slapping. And Neha's paati is called 'Shaker Paati' from then on. And it was a super-duper hit! Harini love

When I was in India, all my papers fitted into 2 files - one contained school certificates, the other contained the Pass Book, Cheque Book. All my clothes came colour co-ordinated; as Salwar Kameez sets or as a Saree& Blouse, I did not really need to spend time on them except for the mix and match ones. All clothes were made basically for one season - with average temperatures about 28 degrees. If the temperature got lower than these, I would add a sweater or a nice shawl! Shoes were also designed for one season in mind. Jewellery was basically in gold and could be used to accessorize any salwar/saree one wore. The rules of dressing was just one - modesty! You can wear the salwar kameez to the temple, wedding, concert, school, office and the same goes for pretty much any other dress. Fast forward now - I moved to London 3 years ago. I have learnt that papers are important, they are proof and basically needed for everything from library membership, gym memberships to Visa processing

After my trip to India, spending time with Appa, Amma and in Madras, I began to feel I was overly materialistic, always hoarding and shopping. I made up my mind that on return to London, I would get down to basics, only buying what was needed. Contentment would be my new watch-word! I also decided to take stock of my situation - basically checking out what all I own. I would retain waht I could use, give away some and bin the rest. So I made a list: 1. Papers 2. Books 3. Clothes 4. Cosmetics 5. Accessories - ear-rings and chains 6. Stationary 7. Medicine Cabinet 8. CDs 9. Kitchen grocery 10. Kitchen Utensils 11. Cleaning Supplies The whole sorting exercise looked like Himalayas with each activity looming as a peak to be scaled. There was an odd bit of a curioisty though to see how it would all turn out! After some amount of procrastination, when I would duck whenever I saw the list, I decided to start with the easy ones - the Grocery and Utensils. I made a list of the grocery supplies

BBC4 had a 'Whale Evening' last evening - they had a series of programs the whole evening about whales. And it was just so amazing! The idea was to promote awareness of these great animals and also highlight how man is driving these wonderful mammals to extinction by wholesale hunting a couple of hundred years ago for whale oil and for meat, and the continuing hunting today, pollution and military operations. Thse animals communicate by sonar and military sonar interferes with these cauing breaching and hence death. NASA continues to use whale oil as a lubricant in space-ships even today. They are yet to find a man-made substitute! I was specially moved by the program on Gray Wahles. Super-moms as the anchor of the program called these creatures, these are truly amazing. These mammals travel 6000 miles to and fro each year(yes, 12000 miles every year) from the lagoons of the Baja Peninsula near Mexico, all the way to Bering Sea in the Arctic. They travel at a speed of 3 miles a

Thatha's Devasham this year came on 21 Sep. As has been the tradition, all our parents are meeting in Trikkur. It has been 17 years since Thatha passed away. Thatha passed away in Sep 2001 at the age of 92. I remember Appa coming home early one morning from Kalyanam Chitappa's house and was just so emotional and could not say anything. We knew then that Thatha had passed away. T.R. Paramehswara Iyer as my dear Thatha was called, was an erudite Sama Vedic scholar. He was privately tutioned in English and other subjects. His English as I still recall from his lovely letters to us, is still the best. He was a very generous man. He woke up at 3:30 a.m. every morning and chanted slokas until 6:00 a.m.. Then he would spend time in the lovely garden he had created, collecting flowers for his daily Siva Poojai. He would then have coffee and an oil bath and then sit down for the Poojai which would go on until 1 p.m. After that came lunch and a short siesta, followed by writing letters,