ஒருவாய்ச்சோறு

ஆசி வாங்குவதற்கல்லாமல், யார் காலிலாவது விழுந்திருக்கிறீர்களா? மன்னிப்பு கேட்டோ, உதவி கேட்டோ காலில் விழுந்திருக்கிறீர்களா? நிஜத்தில் அல்லாமல் மானசீகமாகவாவது விழுந்திருக்கிறீர்களா? எத்தனை பெரிய உதவிக்காக? அப்போது உங்கள் மனநிலை என்ன? உங்களைவிட வயதில் குறைந்தவர் காலில் விழமுடியுமா?

சிறுஉதவிக்காக பிறர் பாதம் பணியத்துணிவீர்களா? ஒருவாய்ச்சோற்றுக்கும் ஒரு குவளை நீருக்கும், உங்களைவிட ஏறத்தாழ 40 வயது குறைந்த, முன்பின் தெரியாத பெண்ணின் பாதம் தொடுவீர்களா? உள்ளிருக்கும் கௌரவம் இடம் கொடுக்குமா? அப்படிக் கேட்கவேண்டுமென்றால், அந்த கர்வமழிக்க எத்தனை நாளைய பட்டினி வேண்டும்?

எண்பது வயது மூதாட்டி பாதம் தொடமுயல பதறிவிலகியது வலி என்றால், அதன்பின் அந்தப்பெண்மணி என் தலையில் கைவைத்து "மகராசியாய் இரு மகளே" என்று வாழ்த்தியது இன்னும் அதிக வலி! என் கைகளைத்தொட்ட அந்தக்கரடுமுரடான கரங்கள் அந்தப் பெண் கடுமையாய் உழைப்பவராயிருந்திருக்கவேண்டும் என்று உணர்த்தின! உழைத்ததைச் சேர்த்துவைக்க இயலாத நிலையா? அல்லது சேர்க்க நினைக்காத நிலையா? பிறர்க்கு வாரி வழங்கியாதால் சேர்க்கவில்லையா? சகமனிதர்கள் கைவிட்டனரா? காலம் கைவிட்டதா? உள்ளுக்குள் ஆடிப்போய்விட்டது!

ஒருவேளை உணவும், கொஞ்சம் பணமும் தவிர கொடுப்பதற்கு ஒன்றுமில்லை. காலப்போக்கில் உடைகள் மாறியதால், பயணத்தின்போது கையில் புடவைகளில்லை. வெய்யில் காலம் எனவே, சால்வைகளில்லை. பல்லில்லாத பாட்டிக்குக் கொடுக்க வாழைப்பழமில்லை; ஆப்பிள் மட்டுமிருந்தது! நெடுந்தூரக்கார்ப்பயணத்துக்காக, கையோடு எடுத்து வந்த மதிய உணவு உள்ளே இறங்க மறுத்தது! ஒருவாய்ச்சோறு!

இதைத்தாண்டி இன்னொருகேலி உள்ளோடுகிறது! என்னோடு வாருங்கள் என்று சொல்ல மனமில்லாமல், கொடுக்க ஒன்றுமில்லாதற்காக வருந்தி நாடகம் நடத்திக் கொண்டிருப்பதாக!!

Bharathi

This is in continuation of my earlier article கீதையின் கண்ணன். Okay, not exactly continuation in literal sense :-)! But, I myself was not convinced with my last paragraph of the earlier article which states that I like Bharathi because he too likes Krishna like I do! That statement kept peeping into my mind sometimes with a grin and sometimes with a sad smile. I think, that statement is only partially right, the other half is I like Krishna because I like Bharathi & he was one of the people who introduced Krishna to me strongly.

The schools I studied had close association with Bharathi! The village I was born and brought up was his wife's native village and he lived there for many years.  The names of the schools had his name as a result; there were a lot of opportunities to read his poems and learn about him as a person. There were a lot of events around him in the school. His birthday and death anniversary day had all types of events a school will host. There were taluk, district level events and events hosted by other literary  associations too.

The college where I did my graduation, though it did not have his name, was proud of being associated with him (who is not proud to be associated with him anyway!!!); and gave me more opportunities to know him better and deeper by means of competitions and other events.  It got into a nice virtuous cycle! The schools influenced reading, reading made me understand the beauty of his poems & created an appreciation for the fact that there is at least one poem to suit every single emotional state one would go through in life, that appreciation created affinity, affinity influenced reading! He became one of the role models for me! To me, he is one of the people who represent almost all of my value system:  value others as people, respect other culture but celebrate and cherish your own, fight for justice and freedom, take responsibility but give room to others to be themselves,  enjoy nature, all art forms and be cheerful at all times!

In other words, he is the only poet with whom I do not have disagreements yet!! Sure, I am not a literarian! But I read the works of Thiruvalluvar, Avvai, Bharathiar almost every week and Gnasambandar, Maanickavachakar, Sundarar and Kambar every now and then;  have started reading "Naaladiyar" by the Jain saints. Except Bharathi, I don’t seem to agree with all the other poets fully! There is at least one point I strongly disagree! I used to wonder if his poems are like the food cooked by my mom - I will never feel that I don’t like the taste, ever! Do  you like your mom's cooking because that is what you are used to or because she and you share same tastes or because she knows what exactly would you like! Hmm… He was not alive when I was born, so the third option is ruled out!! I started reading the other poets about the same age and I do not agree with them fully now; so first option is also ruled out!! So I feel it is the second option - that we both have same taste or values! 

I questioned the views of Kambar even as a small girl though I liked his language (I should say I was deeply fascinated by the linguistic beauty of his work) and as I grew up I strongly resisted his views on many aspects of life. Sure, he would have been restricted by the original story written by Valmiki! But I do not think I can take his views light because of that. Thirukural is one of the most translated work in the world and it is praised as a universal book of principles. Surely, Valluvar is one of my favourite poets and I consider him a genius. But I disagree with some of the principles described in thirukural! Good example is about the description of a good wife! One who worships (!) the husband can command the nature even if she does not worship God or has not done any penance to get such power; if she asks for rain, it will rain! There are similar examples for every poet!!

When I think about the reasons, more and more I am convinced that it is the second option - alignment of value system! There is a recent example to prove that. As a person, I never considered renunciation as a better virtue;  performing one's duties with utmost sincerity & commitment is much better than renunciation has been my view always. In fact, many times, I despised renunciations!  I read recently that he too did not appreciate renunciation; though he respected Swami Vivekananda, considered him as the chosen man for propagating Indian Philosophy, he did not like the fact that Vivekananda became a sanyasi. It was a new thing and surprising to learn that he condemned Swami Vivekananda for renouncing! Hmm… Surely, it is not the other two options at all!

I am still reading his work - 30 minutes once or twice week! I randomly open some poem and read. Interestingly, the randomly picked poems match my frame of mind on most of the days.  Kindness, love, anger, disgust, cheerfulness, agony, curiosity,  firm belief in future, courage… think of any possible emotion! He has at least one poem!

The poem I read today is on Krishna and it starts with the following lines! Hmm…

வேத வானில் விளங்கி அறஞ்செய்மின்

சாதல் நேரினும் சத்தியம் பூணுமின்

தீதகற்றுமின்!

Do what is right and just. Even if death comes as a result, be honest and remove all evil! Why would I not like him so much!

தமிழென்னும் தேவமொழி!!

In one of the conversation with a friend of mine, there was a point of contention - Tamil does not have examples of karma yogis. I refuted and said Thiruthonda puranam quotes a lot of karma yogis, in fact extremists! The example I quoted was Siruthonda Nayanaar.

He was committed to feeding a shaivite saint before he eats lunch everyday. Sure, for someone who was the chief of army, feeding one saint everyday is not a big deal. That too money was never a constraint for him; The king realized what a great person he was and requested him to continue his Shiva worships giving a lot of money, land all other retirement benefits. Meeting a shaivite saint everyday would not have been very difficult considering the period in which the story happened. In such a conducive environment, sticking to the principles and delivering the duty accepted is fairly easier.

But Shiva appears as a Biragi - a sect of shaivite saints - one day. He almost challenges the ex-chief of army that he can not feed him! The food he asks for is unbelievable!  5 வயதுக்குட்பட்ட, குலத்துக்கு ஒரு குழந்தையாய் இருக்கும் பாலகனை, தந்தை பிடிக்க தாய் அரிந்து, பக்குவமாய், மனமுவந்து கறி சமைத்துத் தந்தால் அருந்துவேம். Wow! What an order of menu!

For someone to raise to the level of chief of army, it must have taken sometime; he then leads a war against another great king and wins the war, retires from the post, settles down in hometown, gets married, starts a family and the child is about five years. How old is he when Shiva appeared as Bairagi? Forties!?! At least in late thirties, if we assume that he took over as chief of army from his father !?! Butchering a five year old son is a tough thing to do; how hard it would have been for the parents to cook him! they had to do the whole thing with the happiness of cooking for a great guest!  வேறு வழியின்றி கொடுத்த வாக்குக்காகச்செய்தலே கடினம். இதில் மனமுவப்பது எப்படி?  அதுவும் இலையில் அமர்ந்தவர் தலைக்கறியும் கேட்க, தாதி அதைச்சமைத்து வைத்ததற்காக நிம்மதியடைவது எப்பேர்ப்பட்ட மனம்? Now a days, cooking for a guest itself is too much! It is much easier to host them in a hotel. How can someone cook their own son, that too whole heartedly like cooking delicious food for a rare guest!

Unless you are a karma yogi who is determined to deliver the duties without any feelings, it is absolutely an impossible task.  I don’t know if this story really happened. But living by the principles, not going back on the commitments given is the highest virtue! Living by the principles in a conducive environment itself takes self-discipline. But when things get harder, when your most cherished or valued relationships or things are at stake, keeping up the commitments is a virtue; when you have all reasons and opportunities to fall prey, do something or not do something, if you can resist that and live by your value system, that is the best of penance. இளையான் அடக்கம் அடக்கம் கிளைபொருள் இல்லான் கொடையே கொடைப்பயன் எல்லாம் ஒறுக்கும் மதுகை உரனுடையாளன் பொறுக்கும் பொறையே பொறை. Is there a better example?

Note: Language in which I write my blogs depends on the trigger of the article. In a quick review of my articles, I realised that if I was using English when the trigger happened, then I write in English; if the trigger was in Tamil, then the article is also in Tamil. This one is a bit strange! The trigger was in Tamil and I was responding to it in English! Hence the article was running in both languages in my mind…. Interesting….

That is outside my boat!

That is outside my boat by Charlie Jones and Kim Doren is an interesting book I read in the past one month. Interestingly, it was not a planned reading!! I should say this book landed on my plate by fate! But I don’t regret reading it at all… Not even a single bit… I just loved reading it :-)! "Don’t only try to accept the troubles in your life, celebrate them, learn from them, grow from them and turn negatives into positives" is one of the strongest lessons from this book I would think. You may think you are out of choices but life gives you more choices!

In fact after I wrote the above sentence, I was wondering if I am doing justice to the book! There are too many good things about this book! The lessons it highlights from real people and their lives are so striking!! "The measure of a person is not what he does when he is standing on the top of the world, but what he does when he is standing on the deck and his ship is sinking" Wow… I was super impressed by this statement… it is not that we don’t know similar statements. But the simplicity with which the stories are narrated makes it so enjoyable and insightful. Good read!

ஈகையும் இரவாமையும்...

அறத்துப்பாலில் இல்லறவியலில் ஈகையை வைத்து, பொருட்பாலில் குடியியலில் இரவாமையை (அல்லது இரவச்சம்) வைத்த வள்ளுவரின் அறிவாற்றலை எவ்விதம் போற்றுவது!! வள்ளுவரிடம் மட்டுமல்ல, ஒளவையிடமும் இதே மனப்போக்கைக் காணலாம். ஏற்பது இகழ்ச்சி என்ற அடிக்கு அடுத்தது ஐயம் இட்டு உண்!  இரத்தலும் ஈயாமல்  இருத்தலும் இழிவு என்ற தெளிவு தமிழின் ஞானத்திற்கு ஒரு நல்ல உதாரணம்.

ஆனால், தெருமுனைகளில், கோவில் வாயில்களில் சின்னஞ்சிறு குழந்தைகளைக்காட்டி இரக்கும் பெண்களைப் பார்க்கும்போது இந்த ஞானம் பறந்துவிடுகிறது! குரங்காட்டிகளைப் போல, பாம்பாட்டிகளைப் போல, குழந்தையாட்டிப் பிழைப்பதா என்ற ஆதங்கமோ, இப்படிப் பிழைப்பதை விட குழந்தையைக் கொடுத்துவிட்டு ஒழிந்து போ என்ற கோபமோ அன்றன்றைய மனநிலைக்கேற்ப ஏற்படுகிறது.

கடந்த வாரத்தில், ஒரு தெருமுனை பிச்சைக்காரியிடம் காட்டிய கோபம் இன்னும் மனதின் ஓரத்தில் உறுத்திக்கொண்டிருக்கிறது! இன்னும் சற்று அதிக நேரம் என் வாகனம் அந்த இடத்தில் நிற்கவேண்டியிருந்தால் அப்பெண்ணின் நிலை என்னவாயிருக்கும் என என்னால் அறுதியிட்டுச்சொல்ல இயலவில்லை. வள்ளுவரையும் ஔவையையும் நினைத்தவண்ணமாக நாட்கள் நகர்ந்தாலும், பல்சக்கரங்களில் சிக்கிய குப்பை தானும் அடிபடுவதுடன் சக்கரத்தின் இயக்கத்தையும் நிறுத்துவது போல, அந்நிகழ்ச்சி வாழ்வின் இயல்புநிலை குலைத்ததாகவே உணர்கிறேன்!!  அறம் பிழைத்தேனோ!

Sarabham!

My visit to Sarabheswara temple yesterday made me think of life from a few different perspectives. The belief goes this way: on request of people from all over the world including Devas, Shiva took Sarabheswara form - a combination of bird, animal and human with goddess Shakti as his wings - to pacify Narasimhar after he destroyed Hiranyan.  When you are mentally or physically disturbed, if you worship Him, He will hug you too and pacify you is the belief.

Hiranyan was a very powerful person with a lot of magical powers and almost immortal; he ruled the world. But he was killed by Narasimhar - who could lift him just like that, put him on His lap with such an ease, pierce his body with just nails. And such a powerful Narasimhar was lifted by Sarabheswara just like that, He hugged Narasimhar like a mother hugging her child and cooled off His anger. And, Sarabheswara had to have Shakti as His wings. This story clearly shows that however powerful you are, there is always someone more powerful than you.

In life, many times we end up expressing anger in such a ferocious manner as Narasimhar. This anger, even if it is righteous, scares off people who we try to protect (or at least believe to protect) and they fear coming near us. On the other hand, though the anger makes us act, it also prevents from coming back to normalcy. It affects us very badly - much worse than the impact on those who receive the anger. If we get a Sarabheswara to cool us off and bring back normalcy at the right time, we are lucky. What would have happened in this case if Shakti did not come along as His wings? What do we do if we do not have a Sarabheswara? Can we be our own Sarabheswara? Hmm…

Narasimhar, the manifestation of the Protector destroyed, and Sarabheswara, the manifestation of the Destroyer, protected. In highly tensed situations, roles and expressions can change, will change looks like. 

The Protector decided to appear for a child and destroyed his father out of love. Strange it sounds, when you say this statement!

I don’t know if worshiping Sarabheswara will pacify us; but I am sure, thinking about the lessons from the story can  certainly do the trick. I think, it is the power of this civilization, that thought thru principles, values and translated them to stories! On 2nd May, there is a dance drama in Music Academy on Prahlada - the child for whose love the Protector manifested. I am thinking of an hour long drama, I acted as Prahlada when I was 11 years old! I am happy that I am born in this country, that taught me / keeps teaching me the deeper meaning of life!!

அணில் குஞ்சு!!!

என் பரணில் ஓர் அணில் கூடு. அதிலிரண்டு அணில்குஞ்சு... கண் திறக்கவில்லை இன்னும்! வெளியில் எறிந்துவிடலாம் கூட்டோடு; விட்டால் உங்கள் விலை உயர்ந்த சூட்கேசுக்கு ஆபத்து அக்கா என்று வேலைக்காரியின் ஆலோசனை. எனக்கு சூட்கேஸ் முக்கியம்! அணிலுக்கு அது கட்டிய கூடு முக்கியம்! குஞ்சுக்கு வாழ்க்கை முக்கியம்! 15 வருடங்களுக்கு முன் இந்த இடத்தில் வீடுகளில்லை! மரங்கள் மட்டும்தான்!! 

வழக்கம்போல விடை தெரியா எனது வினாக்களுடன் நான்! இரண்டு உயிரை விட 10000 ரூபாய் முக்கியமா? மரம்வெட்டி வீடுகட்டி இப்போது கூடுவெட்டவும் தயங்காமல் திரிகிறோமோ? யார் வீட்டில் யார் இப்போது? யார் குடி கெடுத்தது யார்?