I dont know

My son asked me yesterday , "Amma , Do you know which God is the most powerful?"

I smiled and said , " I dont know who is the most powerful. But I like Ganesha because he listens to my prayers . He is the God who blesses people with the intelligence they need and also helps in clearing obstacles. He is cute in his appearance. Another thing is that he loves food too . Me too a food lover. So, I like him"

My son," Amma , what are you saying ? Vishnu is the most powerful".

I : Is it so ? I dont know..I dont even know how many gods exist. In our Hindu religion, there are so many Gods starting from Brahma , Vishnu , Siva , then the 10 avatars of Vishnu , sons of Siva - Ganesha , Subrahmanian , Ayappan , then all the Goddesses like Lakshmi , Parvathi , Saraswathi and so on and so on..

For Christians, Jesus is the God and Muslims "Allah"

But Appu I really dont know whether we have so many Gods . I dont know. If they exist , where are they ? I dont know "

Appu : You dont even know where Gods are. They are in the sky.

I : Oh , is it ? What are they doing there ? ( I said in the mind : Oh God , I am not a atheist. I dont know what I am talking . Please forgive me ....continued) ......Where do they live there in the sky ?

My son : I dont know. You tell..

I : Even I dont know.. It is believed that Gods are omnipresent. I mean , they exist every where. In this pillar , air , sand every where in any form..Now if you ask me whether they exist. I dont know. But one thing ---

Appu : What is it ?

I : Gods do not have existence if human beings or life does not exist on this earth.

Appu : Why ? What are you saying Amma?

I : Gods cannot exist without human beings. If there is no life on earth , who will Pray to God ? What will the God control ? He will be out of his job. Now , Gods say that they created human beings . May be , for their existence..( God , please forgive me once again ..I sometimes dont know what I say ). So , it is like nature's balance. Animals and Plants depend on each other. Same way , Gods and human beings depend on each other.

Appu was listening to me carefully with mixed expressions on his face.

I : Appu , has somebody seen God ? May be you feel god. Like the way you feel air , but don't see it. Like I sometimes feel that Ganesha listens to my prayers.. ( Yes , he does , Okay ? )

Appu : Amma , but is there a God ? You tell me clearly.

I : Appu , I wish if God were there. But if he is there , why so many people and children are struggling on earth ? I dont know..
But I also dont know how we will survive if we did not have water , air and sunlight on this earth..So , somebody knew that we need all these.. Somebody knew that earth needs to rotate for us to have days and nights. Somebody knew that we need oxygen in the air to survive. Somebody knew that we need eyes to see, ears to hear , legs to walk.....I used to wonder when I was carrying you why it should take 9 months to deliver a matured baby ? Why cant it be 7 months for the baby to be matured ? Or why cant it be 11 months ? Who decides this ? So , someone has programmed this period so accurately. Who is that Genius ? I dont know..

Appu : Amma , do you know how the earth was created. It is all because of big bang. My miss told that one day earth will be destroyed by a meteor colliding on earth. Is it so?

I smiled and said : Yes. Scientists believe that earth was created like that.. But no one knows clearly.

Appu : Will the earth be fully destroyed one day ?

I : Dont know..May not..

Appu : Okay tell me now whether God is there or not.

I : Dont know. But one thing for sure.. God listens to my prayers. I prayed so much when I was carrying you to have a boy baby.
( Until my marriage , I probably had more liking for girl children. Probably because most of my aunts were having girl children. After the trauma of my marriage , I felt that I should have a boy baby because I realised that it is a pain to be born as a girl. I did not want my child to go through the trauma of a failed marriage like mine. So , I used to pray whole heartedly to God to bless me with a baby boy. Those days , I used to chant "Lalitha Sahasranamam " every day. I used to dream about how my baby will look. I had a very clear picture too about how he will look. )

God blessed me with a cute son, you..And you know , when you were born , you were looking exactly the same as the baby boy I had in my mind.

Appu : So, amma , do you say God exist ?

I : Dont know..But there are somethings I cant explain..There are so many things in this world which none of us can explain though we claim that we know so many things. There is mention of "pushpaka vimana" in ramayana when we claim that Wright brothers inveneted plane. There is a mention of Nava grahas in Indian Astrology many many years ago.How was this known so early that we have nine planets ?

Appu : Amma , Enough , enough..I am going down to play..

I might have looked like an atheist in the beginning and a strong beliver in the end. You might have also felt that I tried to confuse my child. I shared with him my thoughts. He is much more rational and intelligent than me..So I thought of sharing my thoughts for him to think over.

Now who am I ? An athiest or a believer ? I do believe. I need someone to talk to , some one to support me and someone good and nice at heart who listens to my (everybody's )grievances..That is my definition of God. I believe in doing good things and helping the needy . We need to have an element of goodness or God to behave and act in good ways. Believing in god is same as believing and doing things which are for the goodness of man kind..

Women of The Year 2008

10 year old Nujood Ali and her attorney Shada Nasser from Yemen shared the bright lights with such luminaries as Sen. Hillary Clinton, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and movie star Nicole Kidman in the big city of New York , as winners of Glamour magazine's 2008 Women of the Year award.

Nujood was married off earlier this year to a man three times her age. He sexually assaulted and physically abused her. But unlike other child brides in Yemen, she didn't suffer silently.

Poverty often leads to child marriage since a typical Yemeni earns about $900 a year, and marrying off girls means fewer mouths to feed. Then there is a question of honor. One of Nujood’s sisters had been raped, another kidnapped. When her father heard the kidnapper was eyeing Nujood, he thought marriage would save her. Instead, she says, she was beaten by in-laws, and nights were a hellish game of tag, with Nujood running from room to room to escape sex with her husband; he raped her anyway.

Nujood begged for help. “I was sad and angry,” her mother, Shuaieh, says, “but I still felt [her marriage] was the thing to do.” It was Nujood’s “auntie”—her father’s other wife, a beggar who lives in one room with her five children—who told the girl she might look for justice in court

Two months after her wedding, Nujood returned to her family’s house . When her parents left for the day, Nujood did something virtually unheard-of in Yemen: She went out by herself and took a bus and a taxi to Sana’a’s main court. All morning she waited, until a judge saw her sitting there. “I want a divorce,” Nujood told him. The story of Nujood’s audacity spread to Shada Nasser, a human rights lawyer. “I didn’t believe it,” she says. She asked why the girl needed a divorce. Nujood’s reply: “I hate the night.” Nasser agreed to take the case free of charge. “But you must smile,” she said, “and you must trust me.”

Nassser helped her get a divorce in what is widely considered the first such incident of its kind.
Nujood's ordeal, triumph and her eventual return to some semblance of normalcy as a schoolgirl were chronicled in the Los Angeles Times.

The pair were also featured in the November issue of Glamour magazine and have become cornerstones of a charity drive to raise funds to fight child marriage.

I am inspired by Nujood Ali ! I wish her all the success in life !

Believe it or not

Recently I happened to watch the 'Viswasichalum Illenkilum" show in Asianet. It was all about the ghost of a lady being present in the Universty College Campus at Karyavattam , Trivandrum. The people who got interviewed as part of this confirmed that they had seen the spirit. The psychology professor the channel interviewed also confirms the presence of some thing unknown to us. Ridiculous ! How can such a popular channel promote such blind beliefs ?

Many a times , when I see the films centered on lady ghosts , I used to wonder why all these ghosts are of ladies ? Any film you take , only lady gets portrayed as ghost. And the other interesting thing is , they get into the bodies of only ladies and not men.

I remember an incident which happened during the first year of my first job. I was living in a working women's hostel at that time .

One night , around 10 PM , I happened to go to the next room and I saw a big crowd inside the room . Just wondered why ? They all were sitting infront of the Ouija board .

For those of you who dont know , an Ouija board is a board which has english alphabets , numbers ( 0 to 9 ) and "Yes, No" printed on it . This is used to communicate to spirits. The planchette ( a 3 legged device which is used for movement on this board) or a coin is used for moving from one alphabet to another alphabet. The team using this board would keep their forefingers on the coin , invite a spirit , once the spirit gets inside the coin , the coin would move. Then the team can ask questions to the spirit. The spirit in the coin would start moving by itself from alphabet to alphabet depending on his/her answers..In short the spirit spell the answers.

I just could not believe how the coin moves from alphabet to alphabet. Sometimes , the movement was so fast that my friends holding the coin were finding it difficult to still have the grip on the coin. After the team finished all the questions , then it was farewell time. The coin moved out of the board by itself indicating that the spirit had gone.

Initially , I was very very scared about the whole thing .After seeing this Planchette game for 2- 3 days , it gave me the courage to be part of the team to call the spirit. I was n't married at that time. Every girl was interested to know the name of the guy whom they would marry. The spirit invited like this once ,told me that I would marry a guy called "Vikas".

I became more friendly with spirits . I used to tell my friends in office about this game. I even told my cousins about it . My cousins and I played this oncewhen all of us were there in our "Tharavadu". After playing this game twice or thrice at my "Tharavadu" , I realised that the answers had some thing to do with my presence. I was ofcourse not moving the coin. That I was sure. But , the answers were probably those which I had in mind or in some cases my wishes or dreams what ever. But the force is ofcourse not my physical force. I could realise that it is probably my mind which could move this coin. Some power which is there inside us which moves the coin..It is true.. The moment I realised this , I stopped playing this game. It could be dangerous to play with your mind.

I investigated a bit on this . According to scientists , this movement of the coin is due to
ideomotor effect. Now , what is Ideomotor effect ?

Thanks to Wikipedia ..I have just copied and pasted it here..

The ideomotor effect is a psychological phenomenon wherein a subject makes motions unconsciously. As in reflexive responses to pain, the body sometimes reacts reflexively to ideas alone without the person consciously deciding to take action. For instance, tears are produced by the body unconsciously in reaction to the emotion of sadness, usually without any intervention of conscious will.
Stage hypnotists exploit the ideomotor effect for entertainment value, convincing volunteers to perform some action without consciously deciding to do so. The volunteers usually have no memory of their performance, much like sleepwalkers who are unaware that they are acting on stimulus existing almost entirely in their own minds. More subtle unconscious physical reactions are often used by magicians and illusionists to perform "mind-reading" tricks

So do we still have to continue to promote and propagate such blind beliefs ??

Na sthree swathanthryam arhathi

As a woman currently settled in God's own country , many a times , I have asked this question to myself..Are the women in Kerala treated with respect here , specially in this advanced era ? The answer is "NO". But is it so in other states ? Again the answer is "no". But , may be a bit better in cosmopolitan cities.

When I made the decision to move from Garden city to God's own country , my friend asked me ,"Do you feel that you are going to be comfortable there ? Do you think that a divorcee can live there peacefully ?"

I said ,"Dont know . But I will manage." I had my own reasons for relocation.


I was looking out for an apartment for rent. As usual , I have to manage everything myself. When I go alone to landlord to enquire about the house , they just cant digest how a lady can come alone and take a house on rent. The situation is the same , be it Bangalore or Kerala. If I say that I am a divorcee , at least some may have second thought to let out the house to me. So , I always used to say that my husband lives abroad and hence my son and I live with my parents. It may not be possible all the time to take my parents too to see the houses. So , when ever I find a house of my liking , I take parents and son there to show them the house. Then the landlord gets convinced. Look at the pain of a divorcee..Even after divorce , she cant tell that she is a divorcee. And I have to tell that he is NRI and that leads to more trouble because they think I am damn rich and ask for more rent..

My son always used to get confused as he does not know what to say when someone asks him about his father. When I was in Bangalore , the lady in the neighbouring apartment was very curious to know when this NRI husband will land in Bangalore. I normally say ," a year later". At least , for a year , people should not pester me. 6 months later , the lady repeated the question when we met in the corridor of my apartment building . My son , 6 years old then , was also there with me when I said ,"yes , he will come in March". My son smiled and said ,"Aunty , No he wont come. He has never visited us ". I was shocked at his response , tried to put up a smile and then said,"he is just kidding" and some how managed to rush back to my apartment. After I reached home , I told my son , " You should never say like this infront of others. Yes, Amma said lie. But here people dont understand our pain. So , we need to pretend that your father visits us." He understood and promised that he would not repeat the same.

I actually did not want to confuse my child. So when I moved to God's own country , I did not want to tell the same NRI story. I approached the caretaker of an apartment complex to find out whether any apartment is available for rent. I had taken my mother and son too with me for house hunting. He asked me where my husband is. I said ," I am a divorcee". My mother looked at me . I said ,' It is okay". The caretaker did not say anything. He talked to the flat owner and arrnaged house for me. The next day , meeting also was scheduled with the flat owner. Before I left , the caretaker told me ," Madam , dont mistake me. Please do not tell that you are a divorcee. Tell them that your husband is in Dubai. People may not understand sometimes." I smiled and said "no issues".

Now,some people in the other apartments want to know when my NRI husband would come back and why I am not going there..I just dont care. My son keeps getting confused about what to say and what not to say..I said ,"Just dont care. You tell that you dont know and amma only knows".Sometimes I feel that it could have better if I said I am a widow because people are so averse to the word "divorcee".

In the school at Kochi , I told once to his class teacher the fact that I am a divorcee. One day during our conversation my son opened his heart and told me that his teacher told to all the students in the class that he does not have father. His lips were trembling and eyes were filled with tears. I realised that the wetness is spreading to my eyes too. i consoled my son and said," Just dont care. Though your father does not live with us , there is God with us always . So dont worry."I did not know why she did that.By the time , it was end of academic year ..So I did not probe..

Life has been tough after I moved to God's own country for various reason..Many times I felt like moving back to Bangalore. Many a times , I cursed myself for moving here..But I am managing..It is a matter of survival. I

I dont think that the society needs to be considerate towards ladies..At least allow them to live..

ഭൂമി സുന്ദരം

എന്റെ ബാല്യ കാലം

രണ്ടു ദിവസം മുന്‍പ് രാത്രി ഒന്‍പതര മണിയുടെ ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണ ലീലകള്‍ എന്ന സീരിയല്‍ കണ്ടു കൊണ്ടിരിക്കുകയായിരുന്നു. ദുര്‍മരണം സംഭവിച്ച ഒരു അന്തര്‍ജനത്തിന്റെ പ്രേതം ഒരു ചെറിയ പെണ്‍കുട്ടിയില്‍ കടന്നു കൂടിയ ഒരു കഥയാണ് അന്ന് സീരിയലില്‍ കാണിച്ചിരുന്നത്. പെണ്‍കുട്ടി വളരെ നന്നായി അഭിനയച്ച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു. ആ കഥ എന്നെ കൂട്ടികൊണ്ടുപോയത് എന്റെ ബാല്യകാലത്തിലെക്കാണ്.

എന്റെ അമ്മമ്മയുടെ അച്ഛന്‍ (മുതുമുത്തശന്‍ ) ഭട്ടതരിപ്പാട് ( നമ്പൂതിരിമാരില്‍ തന്നെ ശ്രേഷ്ഠം ആയ ഒരു വിഭാഗം )ആയിരുന്നു.ഞാന്‍ മുത്തശന്‍ എന്ന് തന്നെ ആണ് വിളിച്ചിരുന്നത്. സൂര്യ നമസ്കാരവും സന്ധ്യ വന്ദനവും പൂജകളും മുടങ്ങാതെ ചെയ്തിരുന്നു മുത്തശ്സന്‍. എനിക്ക് അന്ന് ഏഴ് എട്ടു വയസ്സ് പ്രായം .ഞങ്ങള്‍ അന്ന് തറവാട്ടില്‍ ആണ് താമസിച്ചിരുന്നത്.

വീട്ടു വളപ്പിനോട്‌ ചേര്‍ന്ന് ഒരു വലിയ സര്‍പ്പക്കാവ് . സര്‍പ്പക്കാവില്‍ ഒരു പാട് പ്രായം ആയ ഒരു വലിയ ആല് മരം. പല തരത്തിലും ഉള്ള ഒരു പാട് പക്ഷികള്‍ അതില്‍ കൂട് കൂട്ടി താമസിച്ചിരുന്നു. രാര്ത്രിയയാല്‍ കാലന്‍ കോഴിയും മൂങ്ങയും മൂളുന്ന ശബ്ദം കേള്‍ക്കാം . തൊടിയില്‍ രണ്ടു കിണര്‍ , ഒരു കുളം . കുളം മുത്തശന് തേവാരത്തിനു ( കുളി ) ഉള്ളതാണ്. രണ്ടു കിണര്‍ എന്ത് കൊണ്ടെന്നാല്‍ ഒന്ന് മുത്തച്ഛനും ഒന്ന് ഞങ്ങള്‍ക്കും.

മുത്തശന്‍ ഞങ്ങളുടെ വീട്ടില്‍ സംബധം ചെയ്തതാണ്. അന്ന് നമ്പൂതിരിമാര്‍ അമ്പലവാസികളുടെ വീട്ടില്‍ സംബധം ചെയ്യുകയാണ് പതിവ്. നമ്പൂതിരി കുടുംബത്തില്‍ മൂത്ത ആള്‍ക്ക് മാത്രമേ വേളി കഴിക്കാന്‍ പാടുള്ളൂ. അങ്ങിനെ മുതു മുത്തശ്സന്‍ അമ്പലവാസിയും (അമ്പലത്തില്‍കഴകം ചെയ്തു ജീവിക്കുന്നവര്‍. വാരിയര്‍ , പിഷാരടി , നമ്പീശന്‍ എല്ലാം ഇതില്‍ പെടും ) സുന്ദരിയും ആയ എന്റെ മുത്ത്‌മുത്തശ്ശിയെ സന്ബധം ചെയ്തതാണ്. മുതു മുത്തശ്ശിയെ ഞാന്‍ കണ്ടിട്ടില്ല. അവര്‍ ഞാന്‍ ജനിക്കുന്നതിനു മുമ്പേ മരിച്ചു .

മുത്തശ്സന്‍ ഭാട്ടതരിപ്പാട് ആയതു കൊണ്ട്, അമബലവാസികള്‍ ആയ ഞങ്ങളെ തൊടില്ല . അതുകൊണ്ട് ആണ് രണ്ടു കിണര്‍. മുത്ത്‌ മുത്തശ്ശിയെ തൊട്ടതു കൊണ്ടല്ലേ ഈ കാണുന്ന തലമുറ മുഴുവന്‍ ഉണ്ടായത് എന്നൊക്കെ ആര്‍ക്കും ചോദിക്കാം .ഞാനും പിന്നീട് അറിവ് വെച്ചപ്പോള്‍ ചോദിച്ചിരുന്നു. പക്ഷെ അന്ന് അങ്ങിനെയുള്ള ചോദ്യങ്ങള്‍ക്കൊന്നും പ്രസക്തി ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നില്ല. അന്ന് അങ്ങിനെ ഒക്കെ ആയിരുന്നത്രെ .

വീട് തന്നെ ഇല്ലം , വാരിയം എന്ന് രണ്ടായി തിരിച്ചിട്ട് ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു. പടികള്‍ ഇറങ്ങി ചെന്നു കയറുന്നത് വാരിയതെക്കാണ് . അതിന് അപ്പുറം ഇല്ലം ആണ് . രണ്ടിനും ഇടയ്ക്ക് ഒരു ഇടനാഴി ഉണ്ട് . വാരിയതിന്റെ നിലത്തിന്റെ നിറം ചുവപ്പാണ് . ഇല്ലത്തിന്റെ നിലം കറുപ്പും. ഇല്ലത്തേക്ക് ഞങ്ങള്‍ ആരും മുതസ്സന്റെ അനുവാദം ഇല്ലാതെ പ്രവേശിക്കാറില്ല .

മുത്തശ്സന്‍ പാവം ആയിരുന്നു. ഞങ്ങളെ തൊടില്ല എന്ന് മാത്രമേ ഉള്ളൂ. മുത്തച്ചന് പൂജകള്‍ എല്ലാം അറിയാമായിരുന്നത് കൊണ്ട് ചരടും ഏലസ്സും ഒക്കെ ജപിച്ചു കെട്ടുവാന്‍ ആയി പലരും വരാറുണ്ട്.

ഞാന്‍ അന്ന് രണ്ടിലോ മൂന്നില്ലോ പഠിക്കുന്നു. സന്ധ്യ സമയത്ത് ഞങ്ങള്‍ കുട്ടികളെ ( ഞാനും ഏട്ടനും ) മുത്തശ്സന്‍ വിളിച്ചു പൂജ മുറിയില്‍ ഇരുത്തും. നാമം ജപിക്കാനാണ്. "ശിവ നാരായണ ഭഗവതി ശരണം " എന്ന് നൂറ്റി ഒന്നു പ്രാവശ്യം ജപിക്കണം. ഒന്ന് "ശിവ നാരായണ ഭഗവതി ശരണം ", രണ്ടു "ശിവ നാരായണ ...", മൂന്നു "ശിവ ...", ന്നു നൂറ്റൊന്നു പ്രാവശ്യം . പിന്നെ മുത്തച്ഛന്‍ ചൊല്ലി തരുന്ന ഭജനകള്‍ ഞങ്ങള്‍ പാടണം. ചുരുങിയത് ഒരു മുക്കാല്‍ മണിക്കൂര്‍ എടുക്കും നാമം ജപം തീരാന്‍.

അങ്ങിനെ ഒരു ദിവസം ഞങ്ങള്‍ കുട്ടികളെ വിളിചിരുതുന്നു. ഞങ്ങള്‍ ശിവ നാരയണ ഭഗവതി ശരണം ജപിക്കാന്‍ തുടങ്ങുന്നു. എങ്ങിനെ എന്കിലും ഇതൊന്നു കഴിഞ്ഞു കളിയ്ക്കാന്‍ പോയാല്‍ മതി എന്ന് ആണ് ഒരു വയസ്സിനു മൂത്ത എന്റെ ഏട്ടന്റെ വിചാരം.

ഒന്ന് , രണ്ടു എന്നിങനെ നാമം ജപം മുന്നോട്ടു പോവുകയാണ്. അമ്പതു ശിവനാരായണ ഭഗവതി ശരണം. പെട്ടെന്ന് ഏട്ടന്‍ ചൊല്ലുന്നു . എണ്‍പത്തിഒന്ന് ശിവ നാരായണ ഭഗവതി ശരണം. അമ്പതു കഴിഞ്ഞു എന്പതി ഒന്നോ എന്ന് കരുതി ഞാന്‍ നോക്കുന്നു. പുള്ളി എന്നെ നോക്കി ചിരിച്ചു തുടരുന്നു. എന്പതി രണ്ടു "ശിവ നാരായണ ഭഗവതി ശരണം ". ഞാന്‍ അന്നും ഇന്നും ഹരിസ്ച്ചന്ദ്രന്റെ പിന്ഗാമി ആണ്. ഞാന്‍ അമ്പത്തി രണ്ടു , അമ്പത്തി മൂന്ന് അങ്ങിനെ ചൊല്ലി നീങ്ങുന്നു. ഏട്ടന്‍ ആക്കട്ടെ എന്പതി ഒന്ന് എന്പതി രണ്ടു എന്ന് കുറച്ചു കൂടെ ഉറക്കി ചൊല്ലി മുന്നേറുകയാണ്.മുത്തശ്സന്‍ ശരിക്കും കേട്ടോട്ടെ എന്ന് കരുതി . മുത്തശ്സന്‍ പൂജ സാമഗ്രികള്‍ ഒരുക്കുക്ക് ആണ്. അപ്പൊഴാണ് മുത്തശ്സന്‍ ആ പൊരുത്തക്കേട് ശ്രദ്ധിച്ചത്. രണ്ടാളും ഒരുമിച്ചു നാമം ചൊല്ലാന്‍ ഇരുന്നതാണ്.

"എന്താ ഇത് ഗുരുവായൂരപ്പാ നീ ഇത്ര പെട്ടെന്ന് നാമം ചൊല്ലി തീരാരായ്യോ ? "

മുത്തശ്സന്‍ എന്നെ ഭഗവതി എന്നും ഏട്ടനെ ഗുരുവായൂരപ്പന്‍ എന്നും ആണ് വിളിച്ചിരുന്നത്. ഞങ്ങളുടെ പേരുകള്‍ എത്ര പറഞ്ഞാലും അദ്ദേഹത്തിന് മനസ്സിലായിരുന്നില്ല എന്നാണ് ഞങ്ങളോട് പറയാറുള്ളത്. അതുകൊണ്ട് അദ്ദേഹത്തിന് ഇഷ്ടം ഉള്ള പേരുകള്‍ "ഭഗവതി , ഗുരുവായൂരപ്പന്‍ " എന്ന് ആണ് ഞങ്ങളെ വിളിച്ചിരുന്നത്.

ഏട്ടന്‍ " അതെ മുത്തച്ച. തീരാറായി എന്ന് പറഞ്ഞു പൂര്‍വാധികം ഒച്ചത്തില്‍ നാമ ജപം തുടര്‍ന്ന് ."

മുതസന്‍ " ഭഗവതി ഇപ്പോഴും അന്‍പത്തി എട്ടില്‍ ആണല്ലോ. എഭിയന്‍ എന്നെ പറ്റിക്കാന്‍ നോക്കാന് അല്ലെ. ആദ്യം തൊട്ടു ജപിക്കാ "

ഏട്ടന്‍ എന്നെ ഒരു കൂര്‍ത്ത നോട്ടം നോക്കി വീണ്ടും തുടങ്ങി ഒന്നില്‍ നിന്ന്.

പിന്നീട് ഏട്ടന്‍ ഈ സൂത്രം പ്രയോഗിച്ചിട്ടില്ല. പക്ഷെ മുതസ്സന് സംശയം വന്നു പല പ്രാവശ്യം വീണ്ടും ചൊല്ലിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്. അദ്ദേഹത്തിന് ചെവി അല്പം കേള്‍വി കുറവായിരുന്നു. അന്ന് മുതസ്സന് എന്പതി മൂന്നു വയസ്സ് ആണ് പ്രായം. ഞങ്ങള്‍ കുട്ടികള്‍ പറ്റിക്കുന്നു എന്ന് അദ്ദേഹത്തിന് തോന്നിയിട്ടുണ്ടാകും.

ഭഗവതി ,ഗുരുവായൂരപ്പന്‍ എന്നി പേരുകള്‍ ഔട്ട് ഓഫ് ഫാഷന്‍ ആയതു കൊണ്ട് ഞങ്ങള്‍ രണ്ടു പേരും ഒരു ദിവസം മുതശനെ ഞങ്ങളുടെ പേരുകള്‍ പഠിപ്പിക്കാന്‍ തന്നെ തീരുമാനിച്ചു.

തുടരും . ..

My heart aches..My heart bleeds...

Today's (7th Jul 08) newspapers have reported the tragic death of 2 workers while working at a construction site in Kakkanad , Kerala.

http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/07/stories/2008070757980300.htm

And to add to the shock , this is the second such incident happening at the construction premises of the same builder..

Who is bothered about the death of these poor workers ? Most of them are from outside Kerala. This must be at least a 5th such incident I have read in newspapers.

Each time I read such news , my heart aches...
Which party or which union would raise voice for protecting these unfortunate who toil in such unsafe working environments just to eat twice ( or thrice ??)a day. I am sure that their wages also must be very low compared to the workers in Kerala.

I realise that I live in heaven when I read such news..All my problems are nothing..

It was my dream or ambition when I was a teenager to work for the society when I grow up .But ,today I need to work for the whole day to earn a decent livelihood for my family. Where is the time for social work ?

I wait for the day when I could spare some time for the less fortunate..May be , my son has to grow up a bit more to take care of himself..

My heart aches..my heart bleeds..