Dew

India must have once been a land where art and architecture, science and commerce, spirituality and hospitality, lived in every mind at work. If not, how do you explain the Mysore Palace in all its grandeur and eye for details, built years ago? The intricate art work, the wooden carvings, stone sculptures, and the paintings tell us so much about the artistic talent prevalent in the olden days. There surely must have been an entire clan well-trained in the art work or may be there were people with in-born talent in art work on various media - Wood, Stone, Canvas, Wall, Metal and Fabric. Makes me wonder - With almost no automation back then, how did people manage to build master pieces without a single blatant flaw? How did people manage to paint segments of a picture in multiple card board/canvas/wood sheets and fit these pieces into a complete beautiful picture on the ceiling of the palace? How do paintings as old as few hundred years stay fresh and alive till date? Has anyone in India...

Abhiyum Naanum (அபியும் நானும்) is the recent clean movie that has hit the screens. The movie begins in a park where a young father is playing with his daughter. He meets an old man and they strike up a conversation, the common subject being parenting. The old father recalls little joys and some lovely moments in his life, as the father of a very sensible girl. Since this is a very recent movie, I am not getting into the script of the movie. If you are a young father, you'd love to walk with the movie. If you are an old father, you'll agree about few things and won't agree with most others. If you are a son, you may not really appreciate the movie, unless you want to understand parenting. The movie portrays the affection between a father and daughter. Right from the day the kid is born, till she gets married, director Radha Mohan has chosen some very common, very simple incidents that can make wonderful memories for any father. The father Prakashraj's affection for the ...

In a conference, there are times you welcome a tea break.. It all depends on what kind of session you just came out of. On one of these welcome tea breaks, I was very busy chatting about random technical and non-technical subjects with a friend. This friend Mr.K, was one of the senior members in my professional community. His friend Mr.S, also a senior, joined us for a quick minute to talk about the quiz competition that was to be held that evening. The quiz committee had told us to find our own team members for the session. Mr.S told Mr.K : "I want you to be my in my team, so I can, ... okay, so we can, win the contest ." [ Smiles all the time...] Now, this is a very casual and simple statement between two friends.. alright.. but then if you look close enough, rather think a little, it will bring a very understanding smile to yourself. How often have we actually told someone, I need you to be in my team for us to win? Very Very rare.... It takes us all generally a while to...

December is all about Winter and Christmas.. Christmas is all about care and share.. Christmas is all about prayers and wishes.. Christmas is all about colors, bright and beautiful. . Christmas is all about cakes and sweets.. Christmas is all about chocolates and wine.. Christmas is all about presents and visits.. Christmas is all about love and people.. I guess most of us either know or agree with most of these.... Yesterday I happened to visit a friend. It was a Merry Christmas day in their lovely home... I noticed love and care filled the air all the time.... its not very often you get to be in such company outside your own family... My friend's family had invited about four of us for lunch. They are five in the family. So, in all nine of us plus their birds and our maid who helped us all had a wonderful Christmas lunch.. Just think people... To cook for so many of us, a meal that satisfied every one's tastes on Christmas day - not forgetting the time spent in prayers, the d...

I met a friend, after what seemed like ages, on Google talk yesterday. It is Christmas vacation and I asked about vacation plans.... " I want to stay home, spend some quality time with my family, this vacation. " was the prompt response... Now, if you know me enough, you surely understand that I would have been surprised beyond limits.... To think that a software personnel getting two weeks vacation like a school kid is in itself rare, and to think that someone actually wants to spend all that time at home is more than just 'RARE'... I wanted to know the 'why' of it, then and there. So I asked " If not planning trips outside your town, are you not planning a few visits to your friends' places?" He said: " You should either be close enough to share work or your friend should have people to help with the arrangements for party, lunch or dinner...and not everyone you visit is comfortable with you helping out, and not every other house has someo...

Vaaranam Aayiram, Soozha Valam Seidhu....( வாரணம் வாரணம் சூழ வலம் செய்து ...) That's how a Thirupaavai ( திருப்பாவை ) hymn begins. The Thirupaavai is the set of hymns recited by this young girl Kodhai ( கோதை ) also known as Aandal Naaichiyaar (ஆண்டாள் நாச்சியார்) to praise the Lord Krishna. She lived in Srivilliputtur, South India. This town was her world and the temple of Lord Vishnu, her paradise. Her father Periyaazhvaar ( பெரியாழ்வார்) did not know that Aandal tried on the floral garland, that was meant to be offered to Lord Krishna, on herself once every day, before she offered it to God. Unless she is satisfied that the garland is perfect for her Krishna, she would not offer it. This is much against the usual practice where we dont offer flowers that we have tried on already to the God whereas the reverse practice is usually considered the norm. It is said, that one day, when Periyaazhvaar refused to take the already 'tried-on' garland and got a fresh one done for the...

I chanced to attend this very interesting session in one of the conferences yesterday that said, Look for the Zen moment always... Ever seen a flower bloom? Even seen one petal fall off a flower? Ever watched the moment you understood a concept in class? Ever kept tab of the moment you understood a joke? Ever watched the flutter of a butterfly? Ever taken time to watch the color of a sunrise change? These are some of the heavenly/interesting/wonder filled moments that cannot be defined, however much a wonderful prose writer or poet you are. It is that one moment ( could be less than a second ) that turns around your perspective towards something... It is called Zen Moment. Though Zen sounds slightly philosophical there is a lot of practicality in this. Every day is a new day with new challenges at work. Most of us easily rate the work after a few years of experience, as 'Just the usual' or 'Nothing unusual about it'. That's when work becomes a monotonous and stressf...

Fashion.. That's a movie for people who can handle some reality check in everyday life. Meghna Maathur is an educated girl from Punjab. Her father is talking about an articleship with some Chartered accountant while she is keen on pursuing her teenage dreams of becoming a model. Much against the will of her parents and with some help from a friend of friend, she takes this bold step to go to the city, which she, like everyone else believes to be the Fashion Destination in India. It was a very hard time for a town-bred girl to handle the 'just-no-way-out-of-it' situations in the fashion world. She made friends, lost some good friendships, gained some not-so-great-friendships, mistook some relationships, gave up some in-born, home-bred and precious values, drifted from her principles, did things that didn't quite agree with her as a person, tasted success, struggled to handle the lime light it brought, became high-headed, changed her self to remain on the spot light ...