Recharge yourself with meditation

Murphy’s Law says if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. Every time we solve one problem a new one springs up. This is a common, normal experience for all of us. Maybe no one can escape this or be free of problems. However, the least we can do is to ensure that we do not fret and worry about them. The pressure of life is so great that any stresses will affect us physically and emotionally.

The solution is not to succumb to our frustrations by fighting back or running away from them. Those reactions can create still more problems for us in our relationships. We therefore need to find an acceptable alternative solution to defuse tensions. Meditation is one way to counter stress, as it is a process by which we can experience higher spiritual realms. Meditation helps by bringing physical relaxation and it also puts us in a state where we are absorbed in an enjoyable, blissful experience and become oblivious to the problems of the outer world.

We select a pose in which we can remain calm and quiet. By focusing our attention on a point between and behind the two eye brows, we withdraw our attention from the outer body. The body then becomes as relaxed as it is in sleep and the mind is free to go in search of realms with in. With this inner support we can then face our problems with a clear mind and find solutions. We are able to make more rational decisions because we see life from a higher angle of vision. We feel less stressed as we remain calm, which in turn relaxes the body, and thus our chances of stress related illness decrease.

It is possible that as you sit in meditation all sorts of turbulent thoughts will come to your mind. This happens because of the deep rooted tendency of the mind to dwell up on worldly objects. To counteract this a point of focus will come to the rescue. The panchakshari Om Namah Shivaya mantra will induce seekers into deep meditation. The five syllables are the bij-aksharas or seed letters of the five elements: earth, water, fire, air and ether of which our body is made. Constant repetition of these holy syllables, either verbally or mentally, generates powerful spiritual vibrations, that will render the mind pure and one pointed. This leads to awakening of the kundalini, the spiritual energy that lies dormant at the base of the spine, the muladar, in each individual.

As you progress in meditation you will come to experience a sublime state, which will lead you to realise your inner most self, the abode of eternal consciousness.

We can meditate at any time of the day. We can begin our day with meditation, also end the day with meditation, during travel, during office lunch breaks, or immediately after returning home from a hard day’s work. We can overcome life’s stresses and strains and discover the key to relaxation and tranquility.

Ensure your holidays are enjoyable experiences

Now and then, every one of us has the basic urge to break away from routines so that our days are different. Going away to a new destination or a favorite location helps us to fulfill this need and we return mentally and physically recharged. We enjoy the experiences, the enlightening interactions and the learning and pleasure of being one with the nature. Being able to enjoy late mornings and late nights, to go out dressed in your fine holiday clothing, to shop with gay abandon, eat in road side cafés and taste choice local recipes adds additional thrill to the whole adventure!

In order to ensure it becomes an enjoyable experience we must take some small steps well in advance. Most experienced travellers do all this as routine and if we follow in their footsteps we can be reasonably assured that our holidays will also become an enjoyable experience.

It is vital that one decides the location, month and days of travel well ahead. The preferable month to do this is in January for the obvious reasons. For most working people a six day get-away from Sunday to Saturday twice a year seems ideal. Of course there are exceptions, and when you go for package tours the days of tours are already fixed and you can select the one most suitable for you. In addition to your holiday plans, there is always the option of weekend breaks.

The very next assignment will be to undertake some research and collect all the information about the place you intend to go. This should cover: weather information, road maps, distances, routes, modes of travel, languages spoken and the political climate (eg. disturbances such as possible strikes). Details of information centres and tourist spots should be clearly listed so a decision can be made as to what to see and what to bypass! Linked to this is what you will need to take with you. It advisable to take two trolley/wheel bags of different sizes in addition to shoulder bags. The shoulder bags help to keep your hands free during daily outings whilst giving adequate storage space for extra cash, camera, water bottle, emergency medicine, towels/tissue papers and even some snacks! Do not overload your bags and leave adequate space for your holiday shopping and new purchases that you may buy during the trip. Why not pack an extra shopping bag too?

Before you leave your house or flat it advisable to check the doors and windows to make sure they are safely locked. Ensure that appliances such as the TV, music systems, audio video equipment, computer, gas and microwave are off or disconnected. However it is a good idea to keep the fridge running with some essential food which can come in handy when you return home.  It is not advisable to talk about your going away for a trip in wide circles. Better just to inform a selected and trusted few and one or two close neighbours or flat mates. Prepare a list of things to be attended to on return as a priority so that things arent forgotten. Charge your cell phone and camera and pack your daily needs (medicines/prescription and reading materials). It is wise to prepare a new telephone index with important contact numbers. It is a good idea to carry different modes of cash like travelers cheques, debit cards, hotel vouchers and credit cards and an extra lock and key which can come in handy in new locations. If carrying cash it is best to split the cash with your co traveler, this will then spread the risk and ensure cash safety and security. It is better to have separate covers with allocated money for each activity, it will make things easier and ensures better finance control.

In case you are using a hired car, make sure you get a reliable and reputed operator and ask for an experienced and senior driver. Treat him cordially with all the dignity and respect due to another passenger. Get his cell phone number and clearly spell out your rules for the journey: safety norms, speed limits, test his knowledge of the route and locations. Do not assume or take anything for granted. Also invite him to join in on refreshments that you have en-route as this will help create a better rapport. Let him know you have come for a peaceful holiday and the lesser the hiccups, the better it will be for all!

It is a good idea to leave your valuables and excess cash in the hotel’s locker or deposit it with the hotel and get a receipt. Enter the information in your personal diary and remember to inform your co-passenger on such essential and important the details. Do remember to collect back the same when checking out! A good idea is to plan for each day during the previous evening after dinner, when you are noting down the highlights of the day. In case you are planning to stay with friends, inform then in advance and ensure they are expecting you before you arrive at their house. Buy some small gifts for them and offer to share a part of their daily work load as this will always a nice gesture on your part. Remember to take their family out for dinner before you leave them and also post a nice thank you card for their hospitality.

It is worthwhile to buy some small and useful gifts for your friends back home. If you have a video camera, ensure you use it to capture moments of your trip as you will enjoy watching it once in a while, particularly when you need a bit of cheering up! It is very good medicine. Time your return home to be at least a couple of days early to your actual day of going back to work. This will give time to get back to your routines in comfort. Once you settle down, enjoy the pleasant job of handing over the gifts to your friends, sorting your holiday photographs, forwarding these to friends and perhaps writing your experiences down (or on to your blog!). Wait awhile before thinking about your next holiday for it will come sooner than you expect!

Travel opens up everyone and is a great panacea for the many issues affecting us. So do keep travelling and enjoy the experience. You will become a much admired and sought out person for you will have so much to share. A treasure of wealth which all can joy.

Reflections of a holiday in Ooty, Coonor and Coimbatore

“Every night as you go to sleep, your vision doesn’t sleep, your goals don’t sleep, your aspirations don’t sleep, your world doesn’t sleep. The power to make your dreams a reality is in your own hands. Make your move first and he will do the rest for you!”

Since January we had been thinking of going away for a long holiday for rest and quiet away from life’s routines. Considering the hot weather in Chennai from April to June, the preferred location was any nearby hill station with an elevation of over 4000 feet. Our inner mind also craved to complete the much aspired trips to family temples near Coimbatore. That settled it and Nilagiris was the choice.

With support and encouragement from Vivek, Vaishnavi, Arjuna and family friend Jaya, we planned an itinerary for two weeks. From then onwards the rest was only a question of preparation and execution which was fairly easy compared to earlier bridges we have had to cross!

We all have some favorite trains and mine happens to be the Nilagiri blue mountain train running between Chennai and Ooty. We instead drove from Mettupalayam as the hill train was cancelled (a small disappointment). However, the road trip was equally enjoyable with the comfort of breathing the wonderful smell of Eucalyptus as we started climbing through the hairpin bends, appreciating the special signals of our driver to other bus, car and lorry drivers- a very courteous lot!

We halted for an hour near a waterfall for breakfast and continued via Coonoor to reach Ooty. We stopped to buy some fresh vegetable and fruits from the city market enroute and then by lunchtime we checked in to the resort in the lovely Elk hills above the lake. A comfortable room with good furnishings facing the town, a small compact kitchen with all utilities: oven, fridge, utensils, shelves and wash basin. Geetha was quick to unpack and lost no time in busying herself in the kitchenette (as she had come well prepared from Chennai). A menu of Pongal, Sambar and Salad was ready in no time and was the first of very enjoyable meals.

In the early afternoon we went to the botanical gardens (formerly the Royal Botanical gardens) to see the galaxy of flowering plants and lovely decorations for the annual flower show which was scheduled in two days time. We saw vibrant salvia, asters, marygolds, dahlia, anthuriam, hoyhocks, roses, antirinum, sweetpeas, and button roses. We walked down to the Tibetan shops to buy sweaters and scarves (they sell good quality at reasonable prices) and on to commercial road to buy Amma’s favorite homemade chocolates and essential medicated oils. The air became cooler around 4 pm and so we enjoyed a hot cup of Nilagiri tea and biscuits.

During the following days we established a routine of morning walks, trips to Ramakrishna center for prayers and meditation and visits to selected tourist spots in the afternoon. We enjoyed the trips to the rose garden, wax museum, boat house near the lake, chellarams and flower shows. We also browsed and shopped in supermarkets, department stores, modern stores and the shops run by tribal-toddas. Lunch was had out in the Marwari hotel (good, simple food). We could watch the IPL 20 matches in our room and participated in games organised by resort people. We enjoyed a trip to a tea factory to see the process of tea manufacture, buy their special tea packets and joined in a group trip to viewpoints like the Pykkara hydro project. We regularly visited a nearby temple of Vinayaka, Durga, Amma, Navagraha and the hill God Muneeswarar to pray for the success of Arjuna’s Graduation, the winding up from Virginia, safe travel and settlement in Texas and the safe return of Vivek and Cathy to London. The regular feedback we received from Arjun kept us in a peaceful and happy frame of mind. God answered our prayers and we were proud of the role played by all members of the team. Good show!

We said good bye to Ooty on the morning of the seventh day and arrived in Coonor to check in to Hotel Vivek by midday. Here we had to evolve a different routine as there was no facility for cooking. The hotel was in upper Coonoor overlooking a tea estate, fairly close to Sims park and the market area, Bedford circle. The changes unfortunately gave a sore throat for myself and indigestion for Geetha. However with the help of a nice Lady doctor (Dr Chitra Devi originally from Coimbatore) we managed to get the correct diagnosis and medication.

Coonoor is a nice compact place, milder in climate compared to Ooty, a calm, quiet town surrounded by tea estates. It has many famous landmarks like the military academy, Madras regimental centre, needle factory, Ketty valley, Sims horticultural park, boarding schools and shopping malls selling hill products. We spent a lot of time walking around Bedford Circle and Sims park. We also managed a visit to Ketty valley to see a real-estate development covering over 30 acres, where a promoter from Bangalore was developing a layout and selling housing plots from 10 cents (one “cent” is 432 sq feet) to 20,30 and 50 cents. The site is 5 to 6 kilometres from Coonoor (midway between Coonoor and Ooty). The cost and registration of a 10 cent plot comes to 19 lacs and with the construction of a 1000 sq feet house it would come to 32 lacs! Unfortunately this costing does not fit with this writer’s dreams. The vision was to have nice big house in such a hill station in 4-5 acres of wooded land facing a valley. However, some day it will certainly happen!

After 5 lovely days in Coonoor we drove down to Coimbatore to check in at Hotel Sri Lakshmi at Gandhipuram. We had a 3 day plan here which included: a trip to Palakad Manapully Bagavathy temple, a trip to Marudamalai Muruga temple, Saibaba temple, Danavathri temple at Kottakal ayurvedic centre and a trip to Isayoga centre at Vellingiri hill. We managed all the trips very well with help from my friend at Coimbatore, Dr Raghunath, and concluded the visit by boarding the train to Chennai as per schedule. It was very satisfying to be able to thank God in our favorite temples for his support, help, directions and blessings to members of the family: TVR, Geetha, Penny and Bill.

Back at home we settled in immediately, but took a week to get adjusted to the weather! However, it’s a fact of life so no use complaining about it. We surprised our friends with gift packets and showed them the photos. They were happy for us and hoped and prayed that we get blessed with such holidays at least twice a year. For they say we deserve it, will it come true?

Chennai is now a favoured destination

Chennai becomes a very special city for tourists and locals during the months of November, December, and January. A fusion [ called Sangamum in Tamil] happens. There is music in the air, Carnatic songs and clasical keerthanas are sung by exponents in concert halls accompanied by instrumental musicians on violin, Mirdangam and Ganjira. Dance presentations such as Bharat Natyam, Kutchupudi, and Odessy take place. So do drama and theatre festivals, craft, art expositions, book exhibitions, Pongal festival , magic shows and circus shows. You name it, its all there, reflecting our culture and heritage. The mild weather prevailing during these months encourage our participation and involvement.

These are special months for the deeply religious. The Tamil months of Kathigai and Margazhi are considered very auspicious. Devotees of Muruga and Ayyappa undertake their Padayathra trip to the hills after the austerity days. The fronts of houses are decorated with Ramgoli and lamps. Sisters pray for the welfare of their brothers and brothers in turn give presents and gifts!

The state sponsored Trade and Tourism fair takes place in the city with stalls of departments, industries, traders and special organizations. In addition there are eateries, fun games, special promotions of furniture, household and electrical items such as air-conditioners, TVs and cars all in the comfort of the trade centre. Expositions of exclusive handicraft items, village artisan’s products, clay products, leather and brass wares can also be found on show!

We have heard of the Dubai and Singapore shopping festivals and now we have a Chennai shopping festival too. During the last week of December and first week of January most of the department stores come out with unbelievable discount offers for all products of home use. It’s a great shopping phase for all middle class people and many save up during the year to avail these offers! They share information with friends and it is a fun time, a happy phase for all, as new products come home much to the merriment of all concerned. It is also a two sided coin as the benefit goes both to buyers and sellers.

Pongal is the harvest festival which is celebrated with prayers and thanksgiving to the Sun. This is followed by thanksgiving to the bulls and cows (our farmer’s friends). These are big annual events in the villages and smaller towns of Tamil Nadu.

We also have an annual cultural event conducted by students of IIT called Sarang. Music performances [Indian and western], dance shows, clay modeling, crosswords and plate painting are some of the events. Then there is the Mega Book Exhibition with over 150 stalls displaying the latest and most famous books in the market.

The annual conference of Theosophists is conducted in spacious premises in Adyar. Delegates come world over for the conference, discussions, groups and meetings. The Festival of Kalashetra gets underway with wonderful dance dramas and music performances, beautifully presented in open air and indoor auditoriums. We also have the Chennai Sangamam Shows wherein artists from rural South India come in groups to present at various events. These are a fascinating reflection of village arts, dances, music on drums and is a state promoted project to revive and help village artisans.

We get the opportunity to hear the lectures of well known speakers like Swami Dyanandha, Swami Boomanandha, Swami Paramarthananda, Nochur Venkatramanji, Swami Sudhananda and others. Specific chapters of the Bhagavad Gita are taken up for weeks of presentations in auditoriums. Each day’s session would be a maximum of two hours, and each are very useful teachings and rare opportunities to correct our living styles and attitudes.

In addition to all this many special events take place such as the Heritage Walks. Groups of people are taken around the historic places of Chennai escorted by a guide. Places to be seen include forts, palaces, ancient churches, temples, museums and Adyar Creek. There are tree walks in the Guindy National Park for schools students. Then there is the turtle walk which takes place on full moon days along the coast during the egg laying season, which all age groups participate in.

Rarely does one get such opportunities to witness as many events in three months! Chennai is very popular and is catching the eye of everyone in India as well as people from overseas. The festival has evolved and is run by local people for the benefit of everyone! This trend is likely to continue in the coming years on a much bigger scale and will invite tourist groups from all over to come to India and Chennai.

Life restarts at sixty

The coming of sixty years denotes the beginning of a very personal, exciting phase of life. It is very challenging and equally thrilling because to make it a success or failure depends greatly on your mental framework and attitude. The positive factor here being your own achievements in the past 60 years, God wants you to live this phase still better and therefore this opportunity has been given to you! An opportunity to catch up with all that you could not do, for whatever reasons, they do not matter now, for what matters is here is the chance, better make good use of it!

In order to make a success of this important activity one needs to shake off and shed a few things. The computer savvy among you will understand if I say erase or delete here! Foremost in this list are words like AGE and RETIREMENT. Age has never been a yardstick to measure one’s personality/attitude/or abilities. Ageing is a part of nature or growing up and has many positives which offer immense benefit. In real life there is nothing called retirement from all. It is a word coined by those escapists who want to hide in their own web or cocoon. Like self pity all these thoughts can trigger negative emotions and they rightly deserve to be tossed in to a dustbin or moved to the delete section! We see many people nearing sixty starting to give over importance to their health problems or ailments and will only talk about this most of the time. This neither helps them, the ailment or the listener! In fact this can be their favorite topic for all occasions which psychologists would term as attention seeking techniques. So why join the band wagon? Be different, live your sickness cheerfully with the support of medicines, Yoga, and meditation. Think of the millions who have much more serious ailments, but who live better than you. In fact they can make others laugh, so where is the problem? It remains well hidden in our mental framework, fuelled by unrealistic and unknown perceptions.

Sixty therefore is not the time to withdraw from life, on the contrary with our background and experiences in life, we can be much sought after persons. This is the time when one is free from routine family obligations, job pressures, and is at peace with one’s self! Double blessed are those who have an understanding spouse with similar perceptions of life. The love, peace, and joy one experiences kindles our imagination. As a result creativity blossoms and spritual awareness is pronounced with deeper insights in to life. We become balanced, content with minimum essential needs and wants. As a result a great spectrum of happiness emanates within you, which you only can experience and enjoy! In this stage and phase the imbalances of daily life will hardly make a dent in you as you learn to forgive and forget.

We are now free to explore all that life has to offer! Be it a new hobby, learning a language, music, writing, travelling to new locations, gardening, cooking new recipies, painting, mountaineering, exploring jungles, learning yoga, meditation, enrolling for voluntary social work, giving a helping hand to orphanages/senior citizens homes….the list is limitless! Sixty is certainly not the time to abandon your desires or interests; rather it is the ideal time to pursue your long cherished dreams, passions and past times. Listen to your voice and out will come a long list of things undone for many reasons and now is the opportunity. Remember most of the Nobel Prize winners in all fields are veterans.

So sixty is not the end! It’s a renewal or a new beginning. Accept the realities, but do not succumb to them. Ageing is inevitable, as is the associated symptoms such as absent mindedness, but this does not affect our creativity, mental acumen, shrewdness or discerning ability. Like our body which needs a dose of physical activity and exercise to stay fit, our mind must also be kept engaged, kept stimulated and rejuvenated with new things which we enjoy doing. Sixty is the right time to reassess our life and plans and act to fill up the gaps to the greatest extent. We have handy tools like the computer, internet, Dish TVs, cell phones and a big range of electronic gadgets which helps us to connect to people far and wide, to such an extent that loneliness will become a forgotten word.

We can become achievers even after sixty, for achievers are not born, they are made! It is not through inheritance, family lineage, connections or support. History tells us such back door entries have never sustained nor celebrated the joy of achievement. This is the time to gain and to give. Senior citizens are much cared and sought after in countries like India, Japan and China for they have so much to give. The paths they have travelled are milestones and directions to the emerging younger generations. This will direct them to achieve a balanced life with a good foundation on spiritual wisdom, build a super structure adapting to current needs and never to sway to temporary swings and attractions. Like a land mark, you will live a life well lived and well remembered.

My heart is beating (It keeps on repeating)

Have you tried to give a definition for Heart? Try and you will realise how difficult it is, considering its unique nature. Simply put one can say it is a very hard working organ and the only source of energy for our body to function properly, that is for the brain to think, lungs to breathe, muscles to act all done by an organ weighing only 330 grams, a size similar to our wrist, and its activity involves pumping of blood to a distance of one hundred thousand kilometers distance, with a beating rhythm of one hundred thousand times.

All cells of the heart have a unique capacity to beat/vibrate all the time to act like a pump which can move blood and oxygen in one way traffic. How does it function like this? An unanswered question till today! Its functions start three weeks after the fetus is formed, initially as two parallel tubes with inter connections, and in five weeks the compartments gets formed, and in eight weeks its fully formed, and in sixteen weeks it starts functioning – beating and repeating and never stops until…

I had to undergo a CABG (coronary artery bypass graft) to provide an alternate path for the blood flow. They diagnosed that I have three blocks in my heart and the only solution was to go in for an open heart surgery where another vessel and route is created to maintain the normal flow/function of the heart and this tube (vein) is taken from my leg. This is the best way I can describe what I had undergone. This has also stimulated my interest to know all about heart, its functions, likely problems, remedies etc. I have attempted to put all this information in a short form so that it is useful for others like me to understand the issues involved. I also like to state here that the information is my understanding of the subject and should not be taken as a recommendation or guidance. For that the best person is your doctor and nobody else.

Our heart beats all the time (even during a heart attack) and you probably know the two movements, defined as systole and diastole and in the process oxygen is supplied to all parts of the body. Even though it appears to be a continuous function, in reality it is not so. The heart takes a fractional rest in between. It beats seventy times a minute, pumps approximately five liters of blood and functions all 24 hrs of a day, even when you are asleep. Don’t we owe a debt of gratitude and a big thank you to our heart once a day? Whose heart it is anyway? So why hesitate?

We all, well at least most of us have a tendency to take things for granted in many matters, particularly in matters outside our control and we apply the same logic to our heart, little realising that our life styles, attitudes, food habits, undesirable habits and our pedigree have a say or impact on the working of our heart. The poor innocent organ which takes all the punishment for wrongs not done by itself and we think we can get away from it unnoticed till our hyper tension, treadmill test, and finally the angiogram proves otherwise. We will blame everybody else, the easiest escape route available to us all.

Experts in this field would say that there are many reasons why we get a problem with the heart. One is that if there is history of heart problems in the family it is always advisable to underscore the fact you could be a potential victim and guard against it all the time. Overweight, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, irregular and untimely food habits, highly tensioned and reactive life styles, high and regular intake of junk foods and fried, roasted oily foods, excessive smoking, excessive drinking, feelings of anger, hatred, jealously, bolted emotions etc can be some of the factors that can affect the normal functioning of the heart leading to problems like blockages in surface blood vessels of the heart or major blocks in arteries. One or multiple blocks needing a angioplasty or open heart surgery as the case may be. In all such cases it is generally advised that we go for an early correction than to live with it in fear all the time, causing tension to us and to others around us.

The open heart surgery (CABG) done for me involved preparation mentally so that all aspects are understood clearly. It enables oneself to prepare himself better and face the ordeal cheerfully and boldly instead of worrying unnecessarily. That what is being done is for my own good and healthy life, done by experts with experience and long training in this field in a specialised hospital and it is a routine procedure for them. Besides one can recover fast and be back home in 10 days time and through a process of recovery can come back to normal activity in 3-6 months. That the success rate is over 95% in these surgeries and in most cases patients who had undergone this need not go back for further operations of this kind in most of the cases. So there is nothing to lose – the cost benefit ratio is very favorable.

In CABG the bone protecting the heart/chest called the sternum is opened (after the patient is sedated) the heart should not beat to facilitate surgery. For this a solution of pattasin mixed in cold water is used and it stops the heart functions. It’s called cardio plegia-t substitute. The heart pump machine is connected to the heart till the surgery is over which in normal course of time takes 2-3 hrs. After the procedure is done a small current is passed which makes the heart click back to normal operation/or back to life! Said to be a great sight to see!

I was put in a special after care ward for 3 days for close monitoring with regular checks of all parameters by trained team of people/duty doctors and of course by the surgeon who did the surgery. I had to wear a tight chest band, and feeding was by intravenous tubes. Visitors to see only from a glass partitioned door outside as every day more and more patients came in to the ward which had about 20 beds or so I had plenty of company! Days rolled on fast and before I knew it I was back to my room allotted in the hospital, with only one attendee allowed (my son Arjuna stayed with me). Visitors were allowed and my wife Geetha beautifully managed the other end for us, finding time to visit me every other day. Arjuna was a source of moral, mental, helpful support as usual and on the 10th day we packed back home after farewell and thank you to all in the hospital connected with my surgery. My eldest son Vivek and his wife Cathy were in regular touch with Geetha all the time and spoke to me as soon as I reached home. As visitors were not encouraged for a month and I recovered it’s always advisable to seek the support and help of any known paramedics provided by trained institutions for a period of 4 weeks to be available on call or even stay 24 hrs for the first 2 weeks or so, and this helped me to a great extent as a supporting person will be required during this phase for sponge baths, dressing, medications, food administering etc. We are required to report to hospital 10 days after, one month, 3 month and 6 month and one year after for checkups and reviews.

Some of suggestions made during after care and to be adopted in general are the following:

• Walking, preferably in early hours for 30-45 minutes a day at least for 5 days a week. Practice breathing exercises, meditation.
• Eat oil less food, increase fiber content oats/cereals, and take fresh vegetables and fruits, sprouted grains, dry fruits. Avoid all junk foods, fried items and non vegetarian food. Reduce salt in food; avoid sugar as much as possible. Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water per day. Stop all Aerated drinks.
• Control weight, maintain BMI applicable to you. Never over eat. Eat as far as possible during a fixed time of a day and leave a gap of 2 hours after supper and before you go to sleep.
• Live a relaxed life, read, develop new hobbies, travel, and learn to enjoy company.
• Draw an agenda for each day for special activities.

While these things are done for your care it is equally important to know and learn the first aid techniques to be done in case you are suspecting someone having a cardiac attack. Always keep aspirin at homes as it can come handy during early stages of an attack

The symptoms are severe pain in the chest, sweating excessively, breathlessness. Learn the techniques for mouth to mouth breathing. Take a deep breath and blow through person’s mouth keeping the head slightly raised. Repeat this 15 times every minute. While doing this another person should do the chest/heart massage. Keep the left palm over the right and press the chest. Repeat this seven times a minute. Observe, the patients lungs for onset of breathing. Give them a tablet of aspirin immediately as this will reduce the impact of the attack. Alert the closest hospital with facilities and ask for an ambulance. Alert the person’s doctor/or family physician to reach the hospital (or home if there is time). All of this can save a life but time and presence of mind and quick actions are a must.

An early morning walk in Chennai

Thirty minute moderate exercise every morning at least five days a week is getting to be a well accepted mantra everywhere for our well being and healthy living. Walking is the top recommendation! The benefits come free and plenty and one feels on top of the world. There is also an equally relaxing aspect to this, which you will know and appreciate only if you read this article. Let me tell you all about it, being a walker myself.

If you carefully notice you will find very amusing scenes and scenery as you walk. Let me start with the regular group of oldies, they are usually five to six, and all differently costumed (for that is least of their priority). They will almost block the width of the road, and you know they are coming from the loud and high pitched discussions and criticism about everything on earth except themselves. They all read many papers, see TV programmes, for that is one of their main occupations in retirement other than eating, sleeping and of course morning walks. Topics range from politics, drama, cinema, music, TV soaps, sports, Sensex (an Indian stock exchange), price spirals, economy, travel and weather! Their walking speed is fairly good and so is the distance walked; the secret is that both go unnoticed as they are deep in their discussions.

Then there are the ones who bring their dogs for walks. The dogs being home fed are generally healthy and well and will keep a fast pace pulling the owner, who will be forced to follow and many times it becomes a mild running for them! The walks for these dogs are a great outing for they are kept tied up most of the time at home. Therefore they are bouncing with energy and enthusiasm. You will notice that these dogs will have a “don’t care” attitude to the local street dogs seen on the road and they will quietly move to the other side of the road, scared so much that they sometimes forget to wag tails. Poor stray dogs! A comic scene will also emerge many a times, as some walkers who are scared of dogs will also quickly cross over to other side of foot path seeing the dog coming, only to find some stray dog hiding there. So they invariably have to demonstrate their kung fu styles with the walking sticks they carry in their hand.

Now the scene will shift to teenage girls (we have to pay close attention to find out if it is a boy or girl, for these days they look alike!). With a tight pony tail, which will swing from left to right as they walk, a tight t-shirt, a cell phone in their belt, an iPod attached to ears and a trouser of varying length from thigh, to knee, to ankle with some patches and holes. They walk with a care free attitude and a serious face, perhaps the mind is too occupied evolving solutions to problems like what to wear today, which food joint to go, what excuse to give for coming late, how to get more pocket money from parents or deciding which class to bunk today! They have their own problems and walking time is the best time to find solutions, generally solitary time.

We also find some elderly couples, who still care for each other (walking together is a proof enough), in a very relaxed walk, simple clean white dress, the man with Vibudi and the lady with Kum kum and fresh flowers indicating they have already completed their home prayers. It is a very pleasant sight to see such people. Truth, tolerance and fellow feeling still go strong in the world today because of such people. They have time to wish and greet known people, and exchange a word or two. The Blessed.

Leaving these people behind, as we move closer to the sea front, a new scene emerges. Runners on the beach front, people practicing free hand exercises, people doing Surya (Sun God) namaskar worship, people in various yoga postures, some in deep meditation, and some quietly sitting observing the sun rise, fishermen coming back from their trips and daily catches. In some quite spots you will find people practicing musical instruments like violin, guitar and some even ventilating their vocal chords to a full pitch. A free for all situation.

Many a thought will come to your mind, let them come and go. When you learn to ignore them they stop coming and a sense of bliss comes to you, a scene in which creative and purposeful ideas emerges which will have a bearing to your activity of the day.

On a morning like this, I was sitting on a bench near the sea front, when a well built Sardar-ji came and sat in the same bench. I smiled and asked about his well being, but he refused to answer saying he won’t answer to unknown people. I smiled and kept quiet. The next day the same Sardar came and sat in the same bench and I repeated my enquiry. “Have I not told you my answer yesterday sir” said the Sardar! I said we have already met yesterday so you can speak to me! Even the Sardar had to laugh at that and said yes sir we are friends from today and shall meet every morning at this bench.

Early years of my career – Rising Sun

Calcutta is an important entry in my life’s diary. It is here that I started working with the ICI Group and also the place where we set up our first house. Oh! Calcutta! was a film released at that time, which played to full houses for many months. A beginning which always brings back fond and pleasant memories.

I was staying with my brother Ramani in Chennai looking for possible job opportunities after my post graduation, when a letter came from the ICI Group asking me to appear for a preliminary interview in their Chennai office. The date was very close as the letter sent to my home address was forwarded to me by my parents who had no inkling about its content. Call it a very lucky break as they were doing these preliminaries all over India and only the short listed candidates were to go to Calcutta. I was one among 20 they had called for the interview at a south regional level. My record in the college spoke for  itself and I was one of the four selected (one was a staff from their department under consideration for elevation). Ramani was a great source of support, guidance, and help. He gave me a steel gray blazer and a striped tie to wear and I was off on my own to an unknown city, with hope, aspirations and great dreams. I travelled first class for the first time! My mind told me, you are beginning to feel as if you are somebody already, for those days first class travel by trains was something only the rich could afford and I was not anywhere near that category! Two nights and one day travelling appeared to be a very long journey for I was in a great hurry to reach Calcutta.

According to our plan I checked in to a simple South Indian hotel near the Chowringhee office of ICI, a day ahead of the interview date, to get over the travel fatigue and be fresh the next day. A total of 15 candidates had been short listed for the position they called “Management Trainee, Agriculture Division”. The day started for us with a briefing, then some written tests followed by a group discussion, to assess leadership qualities, all in the morning under the watchful eyes of their HR team. I had decided to take a middle path. Neither to dominate nor take a back seat, but to present my views boldly, and clearly, in minimum time (for I knew they would ask me to elaborate further in a personal interview). We were then taken to an executive lunch room. There was a bar too, and many of the Managers were having a quick pre lunch cocktail/drink or two and catching up with gossip! I was quite comfortable with all this (because of my planters background) and pretended to participate in the idle talk. My mind was preparing for the afternoon and for the real interview- to face three of their top managers in a do or die situation! I was called after four candidates and was subjected to a barrage of questions, many of them provoking, but I kept my cool posture and answered them all smilingly. The department Manager asked me in one of his questions “what will be your aim, if you were selected?”. Promptly I replied- “To reach your position in the shortest possible time!”. He wished me luck in return. I returned to my seat, fairly satisfied with my performance. At four thirty pm the staff advised the rest to return home and I was asked to stay back. I was informed by the department head of my selection and was advised to stay back overnight and come next morning to formally meet the Chairman and Managing Director Sri AL Mudaliar! He also enquired whether I was comfortable with the place I was staying (I said quickly – no problem) and also offered any help needed for canceling and re-booking tickets, if so, the travel department of the company would take care of it. I felt I was being treated as a staff member already! I thanked him, smiling broadly, and escaped quickly for I was bursting with excitement thinking all which came in to my mind at that time. After reaching the hotel and changing over to casual dress (for I needed the coat and tie next day, it was my only jacket!), I raced to the telegraph office to send a telegram to my brother Ramani informing him of the news. I knew he would inform my parents. I celebrated with a beer and bhel puri sitting on the lawns of Chowringhee grass maidan. I returned for an early supper, for tomorrow was to be a great and eventful day. In my dreams I visualized how the chairman would look, what he would ask, how his room would be. My sleep was full of dreams that night.

Back in the ICI office the next day, one of Mr. Mudaliar’s secretary told me he would see me around 11.30 am. I could wait or go and return later. I preferred to go out to see the museum close by to keep my mind occupied and returned in time. As expected it was a short courtesy meeting. He greeted and congratulated me and expressed his happiness that a candidate from the southern region of India had succeeded and been selected. He said he hoped that I would live up to the standards of ICI and wished me all the best in my career. I thanked him and promised to live up to the expectations (which I did over a span of 9 years). Sri Mudaliar was the first Indian Chairman in ICI India (A subsidiary of ICI UK) and was a descendant of the famous Mudaliar family from Madras, a pioneer family in the education and industry fields.

Back in Coimbatore, I waited for my appointment letter to come (I still have it) and it arrived asking me to report to the ICI office in Madras. This I did and I soon found accommodation at the YMCA Royapettah, a central area in Madras. I shared a large room with another in a double storied block. I opted for the ground floor, facing our football court and tennis court. The tenants ran the food department and divided the expenses equally. I settled down quickly, anxious to establish a routine, and reported for work in official dress which was a sleeved shirt and tie. I soon settled in to a 9 to 5 routine, Monday to Friday. My boss, the regional sales manager, was an experienced sales veteran who had come up the hard way, rising through the ranks in ICI. A pleasant person with a high degree of humour, strong willed and much admired and respected by our colleagues in Calcutta. The Madras region accounted for more than 40 % of the sales turnover and profits of our division and here my initial training began. There were half a dozen office staff, over 6 senior field representatives, junior assistants and over 50 major distributors and stockist covering the four southern states. There were other divisions like Pharmacy, Paints, Plastics, Explosives, Rubber chemicals and a trading division all supported by similar teams of people, working under the administrative control of a senior sales manager. We worked in a centrally air conditioned building, with two canteens, an executive dining room, and a staff dining hall.

During the initial weeks of orientation I went through all divisions to familiarise myself with their activities before settling down in to my own division routines. Having an Agriculture degree and plantation work background helped in the learning the process particularly from a technical angle, but the commercial and marketing was new to me. I had to learn the hard way, travelling with the field and experienced staff almost 15 days a month, and reporting my observations for validation by the manager. I managed to send money home every month to my parents, and also bought gifts for my elder brothers and sister from my first salary with enough surplus cash to lead a healthy life of a bachelor. I played tennis in the YMCA courts early morning three days a week, went for weekend swimming in Savera hotel, and for films in the nearby cinema, mostly English, and in the process became a well accepted and admired figure at the YMCA.

After six months, I was instructed to report and join at the head office in Calcutta for further orientation and training. This meant I had to pack up just as I was beginning to enjoy my days in Madras! A new phase was about to begin which lasted for the next 9 years.

Now in the management cadre, I was entitled to air-conditioned first class train travel whilst going on a transfer. I boarded the Calcutta mail after a send off party by office colleagues and another by YMCA friends. Ramani and Padma had come to the station, along with a few of my ICI colleagues and travel department staff. I checked in to the Spence’s Hotel Calcutta as arranged by the company, a three star western hotel to stay till I found my own accommodation (a maximum time of 2 months was allowed by the company). I reported to the Manager of the division and started my routines. Certain specific tasks were allotted to me, in addition to assignments given by the manager and General Manager of the division. Writing letters and communicating Head Office decisions to regional mangers was uncomfortable initially as they were seasoned veterans and many years senior to me! However, I acted as a neutral go-between, particularly in sensitive issues giving the devil it’s due. Being at the corporate Head Office I had to learn many things fast and act quickly, for lethargy and delays were not excused. But I managed to overcome any issues, as my approach with seniors in the regional office paid good dividends. Fax and telephone calls came to my help many a time (there was no e-mail at the time!).

I managed to get accommodation in the Central YMCA which was walking distance to the office, sharing a room on the third floor with another. It was a large self contained room with bath and a personal valet (who attended to four such rooms). My chap was a senior man from Orissa named Munda, I liked him from the start. My roommate was a quiet chap named Banegal (a Parsi), many years senior to me. He worked in an engineering company in supply and distribution. I became friendly with the YMCA Secretary, one Mr. Mukerje who had a lot of respect and appreciation for ICI (ICI and ITC were the two majors and Indian subsidiaries of UK concerns). It was fairly easy to get permission to do some cooking and entertaining in the room (quietly of course) at the weekends- some good gifts did the trick! Breakfast was cereals, toast, eggs and coffee. Lunch was at the office, and evening dinner was chapattis, vegetables and a fruit or a pudding. Not bad, for all for we paid was around Rs 600 per month for board and lodging. On week days I spent my free time writing letters, reading, or shopping in the new city market close by. On weekends I played tennis at the ICI lawn courts. Friends and I would arrange to get together in my room where we would cook Rasam and Sambar or go for eat outs in the compact Chinese restaurants or else would have Pani puri, Cutlet/Katchori on the maidan. We would also go to the cinema (there were 4-5 movie houses close by).  I used to send money home to my parents regularly and would also send special funds or gifts for their Birthdays. I bought new clothing on a regular basis – shirts, ties and shoes – maintaining a standard as per office protocol. In addition I had to buy special clothing for the Calcutta winter of four months.

I was never good at saving money all my working life as I was an impulsive and hasty buyer. Perhaps it had a connection to my past. When I was young, fancy and luxury goods were out of bounds and not in my reach. Thus, I acted in a great hurry to catch up! Fortunately this tendency is a thing of the past now. Now I am trying to make amends for that mistake and I feel I am facing in the right direction. My writings will support this faith and belief. Nothing is too late if you are prepared to work at it with all your involvement. In such cases wealth accumulation is only part of the game (to meet your needs and leave a good portion to your children and grand children), where satisfaction and achievement are the true goals.

However I do not want my children, friends and well wishers to commit to this major block (of not saving) and should save a certain portion of their monthly income (at least 25%). It will come handy for your rainy days, retirement, any special requirements and to help the needy too. It is also a fact that I was always happy to allocate some money every month to my parents, my way of saying thank you to them and I am grateful for my wife Geetha who also thought on the similar lines and supported me whole heartedly. She used to push me to buy the needs of our parents whenever we were on a holiday to Coimbatore, much to the delight and happiness of my parents. I am fortunate that my sons are acting and thinking on similar lines and it is our turn to feel delighted! Blessings of our parents are above any expression and comes all the time, any time, to support us. I could not have even dreamed of my present house without my parent’s blessing and I have been  seeking their guidance and support every day, in the past, now, and will do so in the future.

Back to my YMCA days. Some three years of my life rolled by gracefully. I could have easily added an MBA degree by postal course, as my friend Asok Roy in the next room did. He even coaxed me, but I said no, I had had enough of studying for now and ICI, my company, was not going to recognise my MBA knowledge, for they had better practical training methods and systems.

Back to my working life. Trips from Calcutta to regional offices were a regular affair. Problem solving trips, need based assignments and so forth. Such visits called for preparation of notes and background information and I became very busy before and after such trips. This was a “Henry Kissinger” type job, preparing a balanced objective analysis without wounding or finger pointing at anyone. I was always a part of the team when regional managers were called in to Calcutta where accumulated and bilateral issues were involved. Another very interesting session was the bi yearly and annual conferences for reviews, budgets, sales forecasts and plans for the next year. We had very experienced office staff at Head Office who attended to the day to day correspondence, product planning, liaison with plant managers, orders, dispatches, inventory schedules and collections. I was given opportunities to manage the regional functions when the managers went on their annual leave or seconded to overseas assignments in the short term. In such situations, I was accommodated in the posh company guest houses, and was treated to all benefits applicable to staff on tour. These were very interesting experiences for me particularly in the Delhi region (Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh ,Jammu and Kashmir and parts of Rajasthan) and in the Bombay region and East India (Assam, West Bengal, Tirupura and Magalay).

After about 8 years I was transferred to the Bombay region, to help and support the region after the retirement of the then regional Manager Sri Khare, a very good guide and mentor of mine. They filled the gap with the appointment of a more senior colleague of mine and I was shifted to Chennai in a nationwide re-organisation. I was happy (for I could support my parents better), but the happiness did not last, as in a further move they wanted me to take over plantations in Karnataka. I agreed even though it was another shift, and requested to be based at Coimbatore or Bangalore instead of Chikmagalur, an isolated town in Coorg. This became a prestige issue and a point of disagreement with the Management. I resigned, after securing a senior position in a developing company. I had expected my boss at Calcutta to support me, having worked very closely with him for 8 plus years, but for reasons unknown he remained unsupportive. However, I was young, experienced and capable of doing something substantial to many growing companies in my line of profession. This I did, with the support of my wife, and young sons (Vivek was 4 years old and Arjun was just born). I worked hard to increase the sales turn over of the company by ten times and gave them an all India presence. There were plenty of sacrifices, including twenty days travel. In the end the company (a family group), became rich and arrogant and did not fulfil any of the promises made to me. One such person was to become Managing director of a new subsidiary, and at this point I realized that the situation was no good for me and I left the group. In all my following jobs, I decided to do more of a consultancy role with cash down payment offers and in the process helped three groups in the Orchard and Farm sector.

One of my dreams and desires was to become a resident manager based in India or anywhere else for an international company. Two such opportunities came very close but did not click. Call it my destiny, what else! However the positive side of it all was that there were many learning points:

• Self organisation
• Planning and preparation
• Allocation of responsibility
• Financial planning
• Organising support systems and backups
• Central control
• Review and compliment the performers, encourage the others

Britishers have taught me among other things that to organise others, you have to be better organised first. Perform first and then expect performance. You first set examples and ensure it is followed. Be lavish in giving the right compliment where needed and above all never be afraid of failure. Review, re-look, till you get the right answer and therefore success.

The rising sun also has its descending phase, but only to rise again the very next morning.

A family holiday in a different world – Kairali

During January 2004 we (Geetha, Arjuna and I) decided to go to Kerala for a holiday. We searched various destinations on the internet, and found that most of the destinations were quite appealing to our taste. Therefore we had a difficult choice to make! So we decided to look at it from a different perspective- why not make it a health holiday? The ayurvedic way and…. Bingo! Kairali Ayurvedic centre gave us exactly what we were looking for, a short health recharging programme at Palakkad in Kerala – Gods own Country. Besides Palakkad being my place of birth, I desired to show my wife and son my village, family temple and my old school. With this bait the approval was unanimous! So we packed for an overnight train journey after booking our programme with the centre who had given us a detailed plan for three days.

We were picked up at the railway station at five am (I was awake with excitement as early as 4 am). After a short drive of about 15 kilometers we arrived for a ceremonious welcome. Welcome greetings, with our programme file and a chilled soft drink (fruit juice). We were escorted to our cottage which had a sit out, a large living/bedroom and bath with a small garden with plenty of ayurvedic plants and flowering shrubs in front. They must have had over 30 cottages of varying size and the whole resort area was green everywhere, with fragrance in the air, situated in a sloping valley, with water ways in between, spacious lawns, and plenty of shady trees.

Facilities offered included a detailed health check up, done by a physician, who would then make a plan for oil massage treatments administered by experts. There were also hot and cold baths, a swimming pool, tennis court, library, reading room, an exhibition hall, yoga and meditation hall and simple but wholesome kerala vegetarian food offered through a buffet system.

A typical day started with a hot filter coffee served at the cottages at 5:30 am. We would then get ready to go for Yoga classes which started at 6:30. Experts explained the basics and took us through a simple programme of initial yoga postures, helping and guiding us all the time. I found performing as a group is good fun, being a rigid bodied person with little flexibility! I tried my best to cope initially but failed miserably! The teacher, a good samaritan, did not laugh but coaxed and cajoled my body to reach some degree of perfection. Arjuna and Geetha managed effortlessly, smiling at me all the time. There were many people from the UK, Germany and Australia who had come to the resort on a long term basis. Three weeks, six weeks and eight weeks plans, some with health specific problems, made for a good cosmopolitan group! After one hour we would go in for breakfast. We were served with cereals, corn flakes and some fruits like papaya and pineapple followed by a choice of Dosas, Idly, Aappam, wheat Uppuma with Kerala dishes and coffee. For people who had registered for short programmes, like us, the good doctor had not prescribed any food restrictions (thank you!).

By 9 am we would head to the hospital complex to meet the Ayurvedic physician for our review. There we would get our day’s prescription, recommendations to be executed by other staff and then head to the massage centre. We were well received. There are separate wings for men and woman and we handed over our bodies to them, literally speaking, for two hours. We lay down on a curved table with minimum dress and they applied different oils to our bodies, head, eyes etc and then they started massaging. A nice warm treatment by two able persons on either side, they would talk only to keep you awake. Most people, including myself, would go to sleep under the care of their hands. After some 60 odd minutes we were escorted to a warm bath followed by a cold shower. Then they applied a nice scented powder on our heads to prevent catching a cold. We marched off to the dining room with a roaring appetite. Back after a simple lunch we rested a while. Some would go for a swim, or to the reading room, or to play tennis as sleeping is not advised except for 30 minutes, if really needed.

By 6 pm we assembled for a meditation session for one and half hours. Various levels of meditation techniques, stages and principles were explained to us. We started with the first level, methods on how to deal with the wandering mind and candle light focusing methods. The result was we emerged as new human beings with a higher degree of confidence, recharged to face our problems and to arrive at sensible solutions without taxing our body.

A light dinner was served afterwards and we went for a walk around the resort through a softly lighted and well paved footpath. We settled down on a bench and began to reflect inwardly, no words were spoken. We could hear the crickets, grasshoppers, rustle of leaves and twigs under the canopy of a soft breeze and the gurgling sound of mountain streams. Our inner peace was reflected in our faces and we thanked God for creating such a wonderful world in which to retire to a peaceful sleep.

On our last day after a half minded goodbye and a heavy heart, but a nice feeling, we drove to Palakkad town. On we drove, further down, to our family temple at Manapully kavu Bhagavathy to witness and pray during the evening Aarthi – a glorious sight with a thousand lights round. We proceeded to our ancient village Tirunillayi and to the house where I was born. The present owners of the house received us well with happiness. Both Arjuna and Geetha were amazed to see their kindness and hospitality, simple folks with uncomplicated life styles. Happy gifted village folks, we prayed in our village temple and drove back to the railway station at Coimbatore in time to catch the train to Chennai. The resort people had kindly packed us some food for the night which was very thoughtful of them. We reached Chennai fresh the next day remembering to send a nice thank you note to Kairali for giving us such a memorable holiday. A note in my diary after this trip reads: “Try and do as many trips as possible to Kerala in future. There remains to be seen and enjoyed a hundred more places and your time is lesser by the hour. So make haste!”

My colourful college days (1962-1968)

After doing my Pre-degree at the State Arts College, Coimbatore, it was time to decide on the future direction of my education. There were many problems and obstacles primarily because of the rules of the state Government which gave preference to students based on a caste system, an ill conceived biased policy which gave low priority to students, such as myself, who belonged to a forward class. In spite of good grades we had to fight for a seat on any professional course. My first priority was to go for medical colleges. I was not successful and therefore I focused all my energies to get on to agriculture courses. Thank God, with the help of my eldest brother Ramani and the state Agriculture Secretary, I managed to get a seat of admission at the Agriculture College, Coimbatore. After some nervous waiting I took a secret vow to get back at the authorities by excelling in studies far ahead of the 90% of the students who had entered through the back door. A performance which I was able to fulfill all the 6 years, with the support and guidance of the Gods of my understanding: Marudamalai Muruga and Vauputhra Anjaneeya.

I enjoyed a satisfying performance with awards, medals, recognitions, positions of importance in college committees and games teams. Whom should I thank for all these? My teachers, my gurus, my parents, especially my mother and my supportive brothers and sister. As they said, you do your part well and God will take over the rest- and it happened! Besides, it was a lesson learnt. Whatever you do, if you do it with your complete commitment and involvement you will succeed. Well proven all through my later years!

It was a resident course with a few exceptions given to students who had their residences close by and I was one of them. Our house was 6 kilometres away from the college and I had a bicycle to cover the distance, generally four trips. A typical day started at 5 am as we had field practical classes all week from 6-8 am in subjects like Agronomy, Horticulture, Animal husbandry and Civil/Mechanical engineering. We were required to report at 6 am in half sleeve shirts and trousers in field Kaki colour with our pocket notebooks and pencil. In a class of 400 students we were divided in to three batches AB, CD, EF and allocated per name initials. I was in CD group, the only Raghuraman. Thank God for it, for there were many students with the same name and we had to call them by their different initials. In the process I was also given the name TVR, easy to identify and address!

Let me talk of some of the colourful classes now. For Agronomy we had to report in the central farm of the college. There were four blocks in the farm each with 100-200 acres of land. There was a farm manager and field supporting staff, all separately treated as a profit/loss centre under the overall control of a senior farm manager. There were huge go-downs for storage of grain and harvested produce, stores for tool and implements, sheds for manure and pesticides and many rows of cattle shed with huge animals for field work and many tractors. After a quick briefing session by our teachers we would go to the fields for the days class work. It could be anything, any operation going on in the farms we would participate. We would undertake and learn the work. Sometimes it could be the preparation of the field involving bullockor tractor drawn ploughs, levelling, irrigation, sowing, weeding, interculture, fertiliser application, harvesting, packing and transporting to the yard. The animals were well trained and soft in behaviour and knew their jobs better than us. We had no problems with them after we overcame their initial fear. I was half the animal’s height and would look insignificant compared to their girth and stature! They sometimes bothered me but would listen to my direction most of the time. Some days I would quietly carry some treats for them well hidden in my pockets which would be gladly accepted!

I vividly recall a few incidences. Once we were given training in Guinea grass cutting. We were taken to a large lush green grass field where grasses were ready for cutting. We were given a plot each to cut, tie and shift to a tractor trailer. Even though they had drained the water from the field earlier the ground was slippery. It was fun initially, but after some time it became a little tiresome, so we were allowed a breather and a drink of water. Back to work, and in a mood of over confidence, I cut the grass and pulled it closer, far too close along with the sharp sickle and down went the blade of sickle deep into my leg about half an inch. I screamed in pain, was given emergency treatment at the farm and taken to a nearby hospital for ATS and a proper dressing. It took almost a month to heal and I was nicknamed “jumping jack”! After that I was fairly careful with implements, particularly the sharper ones!

Many a day I used to go to these classes in the early morning after a glass of hot chocolate. My mother had not liked this at all and was persuading me all the time to eat a breakfast which she was willing to make for me even at five am! But it did not work so she tried another way. It was a time when my elder brother, Das, had come home on leave. He was in the Foreign Service working for the central Government and had the opportunity to work in many places including the Far East, Middle East, Europe and US. His visit was one that all members in the family looked forward to, as he would bring utility and electronic goods for the home and many gifts to each and every one of us. Much to my surprise he had come one day early morning to my field class in Agronomy under the pretext of seeing our classes and was chatting with my class teachers. He smiled at me good naturedly and waved. I was working in the middle of a muddy paddy field. What transpired between him and my teachers I did not know until I was given a nice dressing-down by my teachers for coming to field work classes without having breakfast! Though I was annoyed with my brother initially, I gradually started to get up early enough to eat a breakfast before going to classes. In the process mother was happy, my endurance went up, and this habit came in handy for me in my later years as an orchard/plantations manager when early breakfasting became a routine!

For practical lessons in Animal husbandry we would go to the college veterinary hospital early morning and were taught procedures to diagnose sickness, medicines and administration techniques. The animals involved were cattle, goats and poultry. I learnt with fascination how the doctors there effortlessly treated other outpatient animals (dogs, cats and horses). I liked this subject and used to score very high marks in the class and won many prizes. However the civil engineering practical was a bore. The mechanical engineering was tolerable as it involved tractors, pumps and farm machines and this field knowledge helped me a lot later. I dearly liked chemistry and we were taught physical chemistry and organic and inorganic chemistry in both theory and practical forms. Horticulture was another subject I excelled in. It was a delight working with orchard trees like mango, sappotas, grapes, bananas, and lemon. For training in hill fruits like apple, pears, plums and pineapple we were taken to farms in hill stations.

Four years rolled along effortlessly, the bottom line being I came out with first class grades with many a distinction in selected subjects. I was among the first ten of a class of 400 students. Prizes and medallions were conferred which made my teachers, parents, and well wishers proud. I was also involved closely in college dramatic and debating teams. In field games I was the college cricket captain, and a reserve player in hockey and tennis teams. We won many inter-college cups in cricket and once we won a hard fought tournament called the Rukmani memorial trophy in Palakkad, competing with many colleges of Kerala. My college sports authorities awarded me the college colour in cricket for this achievement, an award which goes with some golden stripes that I had to wear for special occasions.

In those days jobs were given by the state department for those who had written the final exams, as there was a severe dearth of staff in the agricultural field. I received my order of posting to go to Ooty, a hill station, for a special project on a soil conservation scheme and a farm experimenting with hill vegetables. I was thrilled. A salary of Rs 300 per month felt great. Off I went to join the project, staying in a hotel/boarding house sharing a large room and bath with two other officers. All expenses including food came under Rs 200 leaving a surplus of money to buy things for my mother and father during my monthly home visits along with a big basket of hill fruits and vegetables much to the delight of my parents. It was a great pleasure seeing my mother fill up the fridge and kitchen shelves saying when Raghu comes home, the entire market comes home!

Each and every father and mother give their best of what they can to their children and in the process endure many a strain and tension without a complaint. They expect nothing but a kind word in return. Every son and daughter should remember this all the time and ensure that their words, acts and deeds reflect a care and concern for their parents to make their life as pleasant as possible, now and at all times.