Count your blessings - 15 days that changed the way I looked at life

I happened to read a blog posting on Zen principles. The last few lines of the posting went like this – ‘Everything that moves around is a creation of the mind, and if we firmly have our feet on the ground, we will see that every moment we live life itself is a miracle of nature. The way our organs work, the way we breathe without any sound, the way the earth spins without we spinning - all are perfect examples of miracles at work’.

How very true! We often don’t count our blessings, but keep searching for new miracles. God makes us walk through difficult times so that we learn through adversaries - here is my personal experience.

One fine day a month ago, my mother was diagonised with a critical illness. It threw my family out of gear, and we could not believe it.  She has to be operated upon immediately, and the entire family was together to help her get through the various tests and examinations she had to undergo for the operation. My mom had not been in hospital since the last 35 yrs, and so you can imagine how we were taking it.

I was cursing God all the while – why my mother?....

All of us were there with my mom – praying and telling her everything will be alright, internally fearing what would happen to her. When my mother was first reluctant for the operation because of the huge cost involved, my brother  said, ‘I can work hard, and earn this money again, but I will not get you back Ma’. He was the one who insisted that we go ahead with the operation no matter what the cost. 

The operation was successful, and she is recovering and undergoing further treatment now. When I look back on those fifteen days which made me look at life with a totally different perspective, I somehow believe God had a reason for putting us through this.

-          I am grateful for having a dad who was with mom all the time, consoling her and assuring her that she would be fine. I have never seen my dad shed a tear in my entire life. He would just hold her hand and say a few soothing words which would be enough for my mother to smile and go to sleep. He was miserable the whole day when she was in the ICU post operation. He would recollect all the good old days he spent with mom and kept saying that she had the best of everything in her  life. Only then I realized how much he loved her.

-          I am grateful to have got an understanding husband who was there beside my mother, said the right words and did the right things. He wept with me when I could not bear my sorrow, and was constantly in touch with my mom reassuring her that everything will be alright.

-          I am grateful for a caring brother who broke down when my mother was upset saying that she was a burden to all of us. He put on a brave face throughout the ordeal, while I knew what he was going through within.

-          I am grateful to some of my relatives who rushed to the hospital to visit Mom. When one of her brothers stroked her head and consoled her that all would be fine, mom was visibly happy.

-          I am grateful to a friend who transferred a huge sum of money to my account overnight and insisted that I return the money only after my mom is back from the hospital

-          I am grateful to yet another friend with whom who I had lost touch for several months surprisingly called to say hello. He would call me or send me messages almost every day enquiring about my mother’s health. He was there to pray for my family, gave examples from his own personal life to say why God was doing this to us, and consoled me all through those difficult days.

-          I am grateful to my superiors at office who were understanding and gave me several days off from work to be with mom.

I realize I am blessed with wonderful parents, caring brother, loving husband, and such good friends who stood by me when I needed them most. What else can I ask for? I have now learnt to live life for today and be thankful for all that I have got.  I am grateful that amma is breathing today, and I am sure God will help her get through this difficult phase.

We never know when our last day on earth will be. So, face each day with a smile and thank God for  giving you yet another day to live, and love.

God bless!

Obesity in Children

I mentioned that my blog will have stuff about issues I am concerned about, and this is one of them – Obesity in children. 

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Chennai/article596488.ece?homepage=true  

Check out the above article in the newspaper – A survey shows alarming levels of obesity among Indian children. All of us are aware of this trend as we read about it often in all health related articles, but most of us are helpless when it comes to diet restriction in children. I know a kid who is obese for her age, and the doctor had advised her strict diet restrictions. The child’s mother uses different measuring scoops to cook for her daughter, and becomes very hysteric when the child has eaten an extra mouthful!

It is heart-breaking to see the kid at the table – wanting to eat a little more of her favourite dish, but is afraid to ask for more as she is very scared of her mother.  We adults ourselves find it difficult to maintain a strict diet regime, so forget about children.

I want to give the example of my own son who is now in high school. He was very plump when he was younger. All his teachers at school loved his chubby cheeks, and he would always come home red faced complaining that his teachers and friends pinched his cheeks! He was a cute little bubbly boy, and we loved the way he looked, and as he looked healthy, I never gave a thought about him being obese. My family, friends and everyone in the apartment adored him and most of his friends called him ‘Ganesha’. There is no other bliss to a mother than having her child loved by all people around her, and so I just gave him everything to eat to remain that way! He loved to eat, and I would cook or buy him anything he wanted!

But, slowly things changed. He was often very tired, he would not go out to play, would skip even march-past practice in school, and always gave an excuse to skip his games class (I heard about his later from his teacher). We lived on the third floor of our apartment, and he would take the lift as he could not climb the stairs. When we took him to the beach to play, he would just sit beside us, and not even budge to play in the water. He hated to walk, and most importantly, I found it extremely difficult to buy shirts and trousers his size!

I finally woke up and tried all means to reduce his weight. I hired a yoga teacher to teach him at home, but he could not even squat on the floor, and refused to take up more classes. Cycling was his favourite sport, and after two rounds around our apartment, he would come back home panting. He would then be at the TV or the computer. I tried to give him less food – but it was just not working as he would always cry that he is hungry, and I could not bear it.

Well, after a lot of thought on various aspects, we put him in a boarding school where games and sport were given high priority. TV and Computers were not allowed in the school. He had to run atleast 800 mts every day, play football and tennis. We found a drastic change in just two months. When I visited him, I could not even recognize my son. He had shed all his excess weight, and was as trim as ever. He was active and healthy, and so were all other students in the school. Well, now he has also learnt swimming in his spare time!

I am not saying this to put your children in boarding schools. What I would like to stress is that is easy for children to reduce weight if they are exposed to a lot of physical activity, and not diet restriction alone. So, if your child is obese, please ensure that they run and play in school, at home or anywhere else they get an opportunity. From my experience, physical exercise alone will bring in long term results.

Cheers!

Sri Gopalakrishna Swamy Temple, Chamraj Estate, Nilgiris

Located amidst lush green tea gardens in Chamraj Estate in the Nilgiris is the Sri Gopalakrishna Swamy temple where the presiding deity is Lord Krishna. The temple is run by Chamraj Estate, and is managed extremely well. The temple premises are always neat and clean, and the smiling Lord Krishna is so very divine.

Chamraj Tea is one of the most popular tea brands in the region. Chamraj estate is enroute from either Ooty/Coonoor to Kundha. You will find a Kiost selling selling different varieties of tea just at the entrance to the Chamraj Estate. The temple is located on the opposite side of the road. Never miss this temple with modern architecture if you happen to drive down the place.

Here are some pictures:

Chamraj Tea Factory

Sri Gopalakrishna Swamy Temple

Small waterfall at Chamraj Estate

Cheers

Hethai Amman Festival - December'10

The deity of the Badaga community in the Nilgiris is HETHAI, the all powerful Goddess whose history is an epic of inspiration. The sacred abode of the Goddess of the Badagas is Beragani village, where the annual festival Hethai Habba (Habba means festival) is held. I was blessed and lucky to participate in the festival celebrations in Beragani and Manjoor village last December.

The Badaga community is the largest indigenous social group in the Nilgiris. Hethai Habbai is the time when the badagas located across India and the globe visit their home town to seek the blessings of their traditional goddess. The Badagas have an amazing tradition and culture. I can vouch that they are one of the most kind, simple and hospitable people on earth. You can google to find out lots of information about the badaga community, their tradition, songs, history of goddess Hethai, etc, and so I will not go deep into that here. There is a lot of information and videos available already on the web.

It is awesome to see lakhs of devotees dressed in their simple white traditional dress participate in the festive celebrations. You can never distinguish between the rich and the poor - all are the same before goddess Hethai. Although the main festival is celebrated in Beragani, it is observed in many other hatties (villages) as well.

I was pleased to meet many youngsters from the badaga community employed in cities like Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai etc, who made it a point to take time off from work to participate in the festival and seek the blessings of goddesses Hethai. It is good to know that they still value their tradition.

And, do you know what is the offering made to the goddess since ancient times till date - 25 paise !!. Yes, Hethai just wants this much from her devotees. However, thousands offer donations by means of rice and other vegetables for the Annadhanam.

Here are some pictures of the festival at Beragani and Manjoor village that I captured during my visit in December '10.

Way to Hethai Amman temple

The abode of Goddess Hethai

Devotees at the temple

Devotees climbing a steep hill to pay respects to the lord

Devotees thronging the temple for this annual festival

Devotees at the temple

Food being prepared

Devotees at the temple

Music and dance are an inseparable part of badaga festivals. I captured some pictures from the Hethai Amman festival in Manjoor village.

 

Cheers

     

Cabinet approves bill to check child sex abuse

Check out this link http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cabinet-approves-bill-to-check-child-sex-abuse/757299/1

Finally there is law in India to check child abuse. The papers have an incident of child sexual abuse almost every day which is very alarming. We are living in a society where parents fear even sending their children out to play. Lets hope that this law enforces stringent punishment to the offenders. In any case, parents must take caution and closely monitor the whereabouts of their children.

Cheers