I could still vividly remember my childhood days, when my grandmother would ask me to write down the list of groceries to be purchased for the forthcoming month. She would think of all those functions and festivals impending that month and the special items that would be needed then. We rarely experienced any shortage in grocery during the month and have hardly went to shop to buy something that got over. Though I reflect upon such acts now and trying hard to inherit it, at that time I found this regular activity of scribbling down the list as a boring one. But, now not only I admire her planning but also her consistency in doing it every single month!
I used to think (saying myself a radical thinker ;-)) that being regular usually is not interesting and mostly gets bored after sometime. However now I realise that being regular is not boring for all activities. Ofcourse, regular repeated cooking recipes would bore me and I like to have variety in cooking dishes. Earlier the moment when I hear routine tasks, for example the daily chores we do in our day to day life, I feel somewhat uninteresting. There are times when I used to ask my mom how she could cook for all three times a day, everyday! Isn't it a boring one..
When I started cooking, initially I too felt the same, but slowly din't find it a difficult one. But as I mentioned earlier, I used to give some twists and turns in the recipes to make it more interesting :)
One fine evening, I gave more thought to this "routine, regular & boring thingy". I observed that many things in nature are regular, starting from Sun rise and Sun set, seasons, lifecycle of all living beings, etc.. If these happenings are not regular, then there will be a big mishap. So it is very important for them to happen regularly. As in nature, there are some important things within us for example digestion, breathing which happens regularly. Apart from these things, our brain picks up some activities as habits only when done regularly. And this is called consistency! There is a saying in Samskrit about अभ्यास (Abhyasa which means practice), which says, whatever skill we posess, we should practice it regularly, otherwise those skills will slowly wane away. Hence it is important to practice regularly to retain it.
So practicing regularly is important, but how to make it interesting rather than a boredom??!! I have been thinking about this for sometime now... Ofcourse, if we start liking it, we will not consider those activity as a boredom, but what if otherwise?? One of the things that came to mind is slightly changing the order of the activities.. or the style of the activity like the variety in cooking receipes..
If you have any ideas on how to make the regular activities an interesting one, I am all ears to it. Please do pour in your thoughts about it..
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
Learning - The outcome of toughest times!
Being with my son Barathraam has made me retrospect more about life values.
There is a famous saying in Tamil which goes as "மீன் குட்டிக்கு நீந்த கத்துகுடுக்கனுமா?" - Does new born fish needs to be taught swimming??
Its surprising that how new born babies know sucking which provides them food.. Certainly, God has blessed us with some innate skills which is essential to our livelihood. Even a small baby does work to earn his meal. (Ofcourse sucking milk is a big job for a baby who has been getting his food automatically when he was in his mother's womb!) That would mean, working is inevitable for humans and all living organisms to run their livelihood. Work is worship and performing work to our best by submitting it's results to God will help us to realize the Ultimate Truth.
Another wonderful thing that I observed from Barathraam is Learning. When he has grown a little and needs more milk, he did not know how to suck milk from bottle. Perhaps, God has blessed us to suck naturally from mother.
He has been crying a lot for more than a week, when we were trying to give him milk through bottle. The two weeks was tough time with baby's crying. The difficult part here is that, he cannot be given any training or something on "how to suck bottles!". He has to learn by himself and slowly one day he learnt it. It took 2 weeks crying and his efforts to learn it. But the outcome of 2 weeks crying is the skill he learnt on "how to suck bottles!"
Ah, how many times in life, we were depressed and down because we are going through some tough times. And some of us do think that it happens only to us. If we retrospect how we were as babies, we would get more strength during tough times. All we need to say to us during tough time is "I am going to learn something from this tough situation and let me learn it.", instead of worrying on why its happening so to me! If a baby thinks why something new to me is forced, he cannot get his food. Similarly, we should not think why something bad is happening to me. Everything is for good :) (I know it is easier said)
I sincerely hope, Barathraam will make me understand many of life's values.
There is a famous saying in Tamil which goes as "மீன் குட்டிக்கு நீந்த கத்துகுடுக்கனுமா?" - Does new born fish needs to be taught swimming??
Its surprising that how new born babies know sucking which provides them food.. Certainly, God has blessed us with some innate skills which is essential to our livelihood. Even a small baby does work to earn his meal. (Ofcourse sucking milk is a big job for a baby who has been getting his food automatically when he was in his mother's womb!) That would mean, working is inevitable for humans and all living organisms to run their livelihood. Work is worship and performing work to our best by submitting it's results to God will help us to realize the Ultimate Truth.
Another wonderful thing that I observed from Barathraam is Learning. When he has grown a little and needs more milk, he did not know how to suck milk from bottle. Perhaps, God has blessed us to suck naturally from mother.
He has been crying a lot for more than a week, when we were trying to give him milk through bottle. The two weeks was tough time with baby's crying. The difficult part here is that, he cannot be given any training or something on "how to suck bottles!". He has to learn by himself and slowly one day he learnt it. It took 2 weeks crying and his efforts to learn it. But the outcome of 2 weeks crying is the skill he learnt on "how to suck bottles!"
Ah, how many times in life, we were depressed and down because we are going through some tough times. And some of us do think that it happens only to us. If we retrospect how we were as babies, we would get more strength during tough times. All we need to say to us during tough time is "I am going to learn something from this tough situation and let me learn it.", instead of worrying on why its happening so to me! If a baby thinks why something new to me is forced, he cannot get his food. Similarly, we should not think why something bad is happening to me. Everything is for good :) (I know it is easier said)
I sincerely hope, Barathraam will make me understand many of life's values.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Words from me...
I heard many people saying "How naughty and troublesome I would have been to my parents but still they were so good to me"
These words come from their mouth after their experience with their kids!! :-)
Yes, "You will love your parents more once you start take care of your child".. You will then start savoring reminiscences of your childhood. These words of mine from my experience now, may re-emphasize others words, but still its worthy a million to say it "How good and affectionate are my parents to me..."
These words come from their mouth after their experience with their kids!! :-)
Yes, "You will love your parents more once you start take care of your child".. You will then start savoring reminiscences of your childhood. These words of mine from my experience now, may re-emphasize others words, but still its worthy a million to say it "How good and affectionate are my parents to me..."
Saturday, April 3, 2010
In search of a good time!!!
Some thoughts have been rolling on my mind for many months which I wanted to pen down. Often, I used to say myself, that I can pen down those thoughts when I find good time. I used to think that only during some "good time" I can articulate my thoughts well.You may ask what is a "good time" for me. When I retrospect about my definition of "good time", I could say that it is a calm afternoon or a serene atmosphere, conducive to pen down my thoughts. If I say I have not gotten a "good time" all these months, then it would be a white lie.
But its true that I have been postponing not only blogging, but also some activities that I wanted to do, saying myself its not a good time and let me wait for "some good time"! Sometimes, though I postponed an activity and did it later (yes after I found a good time ;-)), I realised that it either turned futile or din't have the effect of doing it without postponing.
It took me these many months, to realise that I have to equip myself such that I can articulate well and do things at my best in any given time. Perhaps, I realised by magic of Barathraam. Though initially I may not be at my best in articulating and doing my activities better at any given time, I believe I will slowly imbibe the skill of doing my best any time. Also my habit of postponing activities will slowly get rid off.
Through this post I would say to all who are like me that, we won't find a "good time" unless we seek it.
And, if we could see all time as "good time", then we could see ourselves transformed.
I should also accept here, that I have not taken any oath of "seeing all time as good time". But I will try my best and once in a while check out this post and your comments to remind myself of it :-)
But its true that I have been postponing not only blogging, but also some activities that I wanted to do, saying myself its not a good time and let me wait for "some good time"! Sometimes, though I postponed an activity and did it later (yes after I found a good time ;-)), I realised that it either turned futile or din't have the effect of doing it without postponing.
It took me these many months, to realise that I have to equip myself such that I can articulate well and do things at my best in any given time. Perhaps, I realised by magic of Barathraam. Though initially I may not be at my best in articulating and doing my activities better at any given time, I believe I will slowly imbibe the skill of doing my best any time. Also my habit of postponing activities will slowly get rid off.
Through this post I would say to all who are like me that, we won't find a "good time" unless we seek it.
And, if we could see all time as "good time", then we could see ourselves transformed.
I should also accept here, that I have not taken any oath of "seeing all time as good time". But I will try my best and once in a while check out this post and your comments to remind myself of it :-)
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Keep Echoing
Its been more than 10 years now, that I lived with my parents continuously for 3 months. If I am right, lastly when I was studying 12th standard I was at home. After that I could be at home only during my college holidays which is not more than 2 months. Later once i started working it was even ,ore less, like some weeks.
It was now possible to stay with them for 3 months continuously because of our sweet little Barathraam. I could still vividly remember the initial days when they arrived. We showed them the washing and other places in our colony, my college, my office etc. How Appa got accustomed to this cold winter climate still surprises me.
I dint have the slightest thought that he could go for supermarkets alone even during snow and on temperatures like -20 degree Celsius. Though he was hesitant initially, he did it for he wanted to shoulder Sriram's shopping activities. As Amma kept praying, she dint face any major health problems during these 3 months, though she had few minor ones now & then. I was sure that she would like this cold climate and she also liked it. As always, she gave me advices softly and took great care of us. I would say both of them are instrumental in bringing Barathraam to set into a rhythm, like timely activities. We are a bit disappointed that we could not take them to any place, but we can't help it as we had our little Barathraam. Good at least we could take them to the frozen lake.
Now though they are back to India, their voices are keep echoing for me in each & every activity like Appa's dialogue when he keep him விபுதி (sacred powder)"தாயுமான சுவாமி குழந்தை காப்பாத்து. குழந்தை சமத்தா பால் குடிக்கணும்" (Lord Thayumana Swamy take care of baby, he has to drink milk well) and Amma's "ஜோ ஜோ ஜா ஜா ஜி ஜி" (rhyming tunes) mimicking all songs, like Bagyada Lakshmi Baramma and "ஏழை சொல் அம்பலம் ஏறாது" (Poor man's words are not heeded in an assembly). I have to say her that, "ஏழை சொல் அம்பலம் ஏறாது ஆனால் அம்பலம் ஏறும்போது ஏழை நினைகப்படுவான்".
We do miss them and by recollecting their voices and dialogues, I feel they are still with us. I sincerely wish to stay with them longer. I believe they enjoyed their stay in Finland.
It was now possible to stay with them for 3 months continuously because of our sweet little Barathraam. I could still vividly remember the initial days when they arrived. We showed them the washing and other places in our colony, my college, my office etc. How Appa got accustomed to this cold winter climate still surprises me.
I dint have the slightest thought that he could go for supermarkets alone even during snow and on temperatures like -20 degree Celsius. Though he was hesitant initially, he did it for he wanted to shoulder Sriram's shopping activities. As Amma kept praying, she dint face any major health problems during these 3 months, though she had few minor ones now & then. I was sure that she would like this cold climate and she also liked it. As always, she gave me advices softly and took great care of us. I would say both of them are instrumental in bringing Barathraam to set into a rhythm, like timely activities. We are a bit disappointed that we could not take them to any place, but we can't help it as we had our little Barathraam. Good at least we could take them to the frozen lake.
Now though they are back to India, their voices are keep echoing for me in each & every activity like Appa's dialogue when he keep him விபுதி (sacred powder)"தாயுமான சுவாமி குழந்தை காப்பாத்து. குழந்தை சமத்தா பால் குடிக்கணும்" (Lord Thayumana Swamy take care of baby, he has to drink milk well) and Amma's "ஜோ ஜோ ஜா ஜா ஜி ஜி" (rhyming tunes) mimicking all songs, like Bagyada Lakshmi Baramma and "ஏழை சொல் அம்பலம் ஏறாது" (Poor man's words are not heeded in an assembly). I have to say her that, "ஏழை சொல் அம்பலம் ஏறாது ஆனால் அம்பலம் ஏறும்போது ஏழை நினைகப்படுவான்".
Our sweet little Barathraam
On an auspicious day, we are blessed with our cute little baby Barathraam. I was wondering earlier before delivery how I would take care of a small little baby for I din't even have courage to hold a small baby. However as everyone says, things change when it comes to own individuals. Yes, I could now say that one will acquire all needed skills to take care of a baby naturally and will become motherly.
One of the most important things about babies are that they are very good in observation and acquires inferential knowledge. So it is very important for the parents to watch out their activities. I have learned many good habits from my parents and grandma, and imbibed many good activities from them. To name a few, I imbibed श्रद्धा (shraddha - performing work with trust and faith), hardwork, dedication from my father, being tolerant, inquisitive, creative from my mother, and being perfect (including keeping things from where its taken), systematic from my grandma. When anyone says that Vidhya is good at this, I attribute all those praises to my parents and grandma, for its because of the way they brought us.
Similarly, I believe Barathraam will find some good habits from us. So it is very important for us to follow some of our good habits consistently and at the same time acquire new good habits.
As the saying goes சொல்லி கொடுத்த வார்த்தையும், கட்டி கொடுத்த சோறும் எத்தனை நாளைக்கு ? - as, "How many days will the preached words and prepared lunch will stand?" meaning those advices which are kept told will have effect only few days. Only when an individual realise it by himself, he will do it lifelong. Children will not heed to our mere words or instructions. So for our words to be effective, we have to live those words by ourself.
I pass on this message to all those ought to be mothers - You will acquire motherly skills naturally, but you have to watch out your habits for your baby learns from you and not from your words.
One of the most important things about babies are that they are very good in observation and acquires inferential knowledge. So it is very important for the parents to watch out their activities. I have learned many good habits from my parents and grandma, and imbibed many good activities from them. To name a few, I imbibed श्रद्धा (shraddha - performing work with trust and faith), hardwork, dedication from my father, being tolerant, inquisitive, creative from my mother, and being perfect (including keeping things from where its taken), systematic from my grandma. When anyone says that Vidhya is good at this, I attribute all those praises to my parents and grandma, for its because of the way they brought us.
Similarly, I believe Barathraam will find some good habits from us. So it is very important for us to follow some of our good habits consistently and at the same time acquire new good habits.
As the saying goes சொல்லி கொடுத்த வார்த்தையும், கட்டி கொடுத்த சோறும் எத்தனை நாளைக்கு ? - as, "How many days will the preached words and prepared lunch will stand?" meaning those advices which are kept told will have effect only few days. Only when an individual realise it by himself, he will do it lifelong. Children will not heed to our mere words or instructions. So for our words to be effective, we have to live those words by ourself.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Its been a year!!!
I couldn't believe that its been a year since I joined Nokia.
When I look back and have a retrospective thinking, I have to admit that my learning curve is not huge in the past year. I have just got to know some of the open source stuff, but technically I have not learned anything new and have been passing the time solving bugs with already gained knowledge.
I have to clear a point here, that its ME who did not learn much or took steps to learn. Nokia as a company provides a good platform to learn, provided one has the thirst towards learning. One good thing about Nokia is, you can get to know many useful information on various fields - Intranet is swarmed with information!
But, that seems to be a bad thing for me.. For, I am overwhelmed with so much information that I easily lose track of what I am interested in.
I am kinda person, who can easily get lost in a maze with many open ways.
But once started with a particular way, its easy for me to concentrate on it and reach the destination. I hope I will utilize the wide Nokia platform in the coming years with a destination to reach.. Ah, this might not be possible in the coming year as I will be away on Maternity leave :)
Let's see whats in store for me after the coming year.
When I look back and have a retrospective thinking, I have to admit that my learning curve is not huge in the past year. I have just got to know some of the open source stuff, but technically I have not learned anything new and have been passing the time solving bugs with already gained knowledge.
I have to clear a point here, that its ME who did not learn much or took steps to learn. Nokia as a company provides a good platform to learn, provided one has the thirst towards learning. One good thing about Nokia is, you can get to know many useful information on various fields - Intranet is swarmed with information!
But, that seems to be a bad thing for me.. For, I am overwhelmed with so much information that I easily lose track of what I am interested in.
I am kinda person, who can easily get lost in a maze with many open ways.
But once started with a particular way, its easy for me to concentrate on it and reach the destination. I hope I will utilize the wide Nokia platform in the coming years with a destination to reach.. Ah, this might not be possible in the coming year as I will be away on Maternity leave :)
Let's see whats in store for me after the coming year.
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