Agasthya – The power of perseverance

A gurgling sea still looked ferocious. It was a complete deluge. The earth shattered, followed by a huge wave that seemed insatiable. It swallowed the animate and inanimate alike, ruthless and powerful as it was!

A vain and powerful kingdom lay submerged, allowing the sea creatures to feast on the once-all powerful creatures. The tectonic plates had moved causing a huge earthquake that shook the abode of Lord Shiva. There was a huge gathering and people from all over the region had gathered to wish Shiva and Parvati on their wedding day. Mythology has it that since all Gods had gathered at one place causing the colossal upheaval.

“This way!” screamed a voice. Soon a huge crowd followed the voice. Dodging the fire balls that rolled towards it, the crowd valiantly moved ahead. Soon they reached a point where the sea had made major inroads, gulping the greed of men that hitherto thrived in the region.

How were they to cross the watery grave alive? The leader, a tiny-tall man stood firm, holding a pot-like vessel in one hand and a beaded chain in the other. He signaled the crowd to stay calm. Hours passed and slowly the water started to ebb away.

“Once we cross the water and go to the other side, there are plain fertile lands. We can halt there for a few days before deciding what to do next”, he said.        

“Are you sure that the land can take all of us? We should split, lest we burden the land more than it can handle”, a man from the crowd spoke.

“You may be right. We caused this huge loss to mother earth by crowding at the same place. We should learn from our earlier mistakes”, the leader spoke.

He called the man from the crowd and to lead the other faction. People were seen bidding tearful adieus to near and dear ones. Their paths split, forever and somehow, they all knew it, though the words that were spoken conveyed the contrary.

After a few days both factions realized that the split was inevitable as people joined both factions along their way to safer pastures. The first faction of the Velir clan was led by Agasthya, while the second was led by Kashyap. The first faction moved southwards, while the second moved northwards. The entire land form had changed, and the plains were no longer visible. Agasthya was surprised. The earth grew before his eyes and the crowd went into a frenzy.

“Run, the earth is going to swallow us too. Evil forces have joined hands”, shouted a few.

“Death is inevitable. Let us sit and meditate and think of Shiva and Parvati before our lives are taken away”, rued some.

Some refused to move ahead, while some other wanted to go back. Few others egged Agasthya to carry on with those willing to follow him. Take the able men to protect you.

A wise man stood up with support on both sides. “Take the women and children along with you. Let the able men follow. The rest of us will try to keep pace”, he said. The leader agreed and the crowd progressed further, led by Agasthya. His tenacity urged others to follow their persevering leader.

Every now and then he called out to the people, motivating them to follow. He addressed the ever-growing mountain to stop and allow them to progress. Days rolled by, months passed, the old and unfit perished, unable to withstand the hardships. After many months Agasthya reached the top of the Vindhyas.

The crowd that followed cheered him. “Vindham Adakinon, Vaazhga”, they shouted. The climb down was not difficult. By now they had seen many hardships and had moved far away from the initial trauma, though the loss weighed heavily on them. As hey descend, they assimilate the traditions of the local people and begin to thrive. Many interesting stories about the survivors and their lives unfurl to entertain eternity.

One among the many stories is that of Avvaiyar, a poet beyond compare, a guide par excellence and an advisor to Lords and rulers.

As Agasthya survived the arduous journey and appeared victorious atop Vindhyas, crowds on either side cheered him. Once he descended, the local chieftain, a fisherman, wished to give his daughter in marriage to Agasthya. Agasthya married her. Soon they had a son who they named, Perumsagara, meaning the vast sea. True to his name he was wise and sharp. He married the daughter of the local leader and Agasthya named him Bhagwan. The intellect and tenacity of Agasthya had spread far and wide. Meanwhile his wisdom, in the form of stories from the past kept his listeners in rapt attention. He had overcome the language barrier by formulating the language that was destined to unite people far and wide and would be spoken by the generation that followed. 

Many detractors mushroomed from time-to-time, but the power of Agasthya-founded Tamil still stands the test of time. So immensely uniting and emotionally exquisite was his formulation, that its popularity spread far and wide. Bhagwan grew up listening to his grandfather’s story. His penchant to find out the fate of the second faction made him set out on a journey northward. On route he met his wife-to-be, a girl who he named Aadi. Aadi gave birth to a girl child. Not wanting to subject the child to the unknown hardships that she and her husband were embarked on, she left the child in the care of a local learned man.

From her foster father, Avvaiyar learnt about her parent and grandparents and decided to unite people all over the region. 

Her skill at poetry and mastery over the language formulated by her great grandfather Agasthya, helped her achieve her cause.

Ode To The Ruler!

Measured in action
Transparent in dealings
Yielding to no faction
A ruler sans divisive feelings!

No foot in the mouth
Draws clear boundaries
Stretching between North and South
A ruler sans baseless worries

Learns at the edges
Connects every dot
Yearning for no badges
A ruler, not a bigot!

Bends not an inch
Remains equally to all
Tackling issues not cinch
A ruler, not a wax doll!

Touch - The Krishna Concept

I am not sure who Krishna was. But the stories associated with this name reflect the existence of a mature society that sought conceptual clarity. Heres one such story that appeared to be a good bed-time story for kids when I read it first. But it lingered on, revealing layers of a deeper philosophy. 

One day Arjuna walked up to Krishna after performing an act of what seemed like philanthropy to him.

"Krishna, do you agree that I am the greatest philanthropist in the world?"Krishna smiled but said nothing.

Arjuna persisted. What initially seemed like harmless bragging on the part of Arjuna, eventually grew into a war of words between the two. "Come to the empty ground behind the palace before sunrise tomorrow", Krishna ordered.

Arjuna reached the round, by now more out of curiosity than the initial emotion. He saw Krishna leading the way, with Karna trotting behind. When the three of them met Arjuna and Karna were equally surprised. Krishna silently walked ahead, signaling the twosome to follow him. They reached a spot and what lay ahead made Arjuna and Karna gasp. Two huge heaps of precious stones and gems and rare metal welcomed the unsuspecting warriors. 

Finally, Krishna spoke. "Before sunset distribute all of this wealth to needy people. Take one heap each", Krishna was not available to answer any queries! Arjuna realized, albeit a little late that Krishna was still on the previous day's topic. He soon started looking around and called every single person that looked famished and gave away a little portion of the heap. But as he dug into the heap, the heap started growing. Karna found a tree nearby and decided to rest a for while, while Arjuna was busy distributing the wealth. 

By noon Arjuna's little hill had grown to a mountain, while Karna's stood still. It was close to sunset and Arjuna wondered what Karna was going to do. After all, there was very little time left as the great ball of fire was sinking fast into the dusky sky. Karna woke up and walked lazily towards his heap. He looked around and saw two lame people walking towards them. Word had spread about the wealth distribution camp and people were still trickling in to take alms from the noble one that was distributing wealth generously. 

As the lame people approached them, Karna called out to one of them. The man limped towards Karna hesitantly.

"Do you see this heap?"Karna asked him pointing to his heap of wealth. "Yes, my Lord", the lame man said, folding his hands in reverence. "From now on this is yours!" Karna said with very little hesitation. Krishna appeared before the two at that very instant.

Ärjuna", began the Lord, "philanthropy does not mean distributing the wealth among the subjects. When you touch something, it becomes

yours. You gradually start associating with it, nurturing it and as a consequence, it begins to grow on you. When you do not touch something, it does not belong to you. Giving away what does not belong to you is quite simple as you just saw", concluded Krishna.

Karna was about to leave when Krishna continued, "On the contrary, when wealth is distributed wisely, through good governance, prosperity prevails. Each of us has a strength that will become our weakness when the rule of the game changes".

The girls' swirls

SHE was born. SHE stands for She when a girl child is born, transforming into a He after marriage and becoming wE upon the birth of a child. Confused? Then surely you must be a boy or a bigger boy trying to make sense out of this. My sincere suggestion - Don't! Does this ring a bell? Hail comrade! Curious to know more? Wait until you grow up, girl!

SHE in her first phase of life is the daughter - carefree, loving and adorable. She helps her parents around in the odd jobs, fights with her siblings, does what she has to and begins growing roots. As she grows her parents begin to worry more. Their expectation from her begins to increase. The modern-day dialogues have morphed themselves, rather unsuccessfully, to camouflage the regressive mindset.

SHE is told to learn how to cook, followed by a ‘I am not saying this so you may cook and feed your husband and in-laws. I am saying this so you don’t starve!’ – oh, yeah?

SHE does understand the intent behind what she is told, the words fail their master when not backed by the same intent. She may protest, she may resist, but learn she does. She is blessed with a growth mindset, that’s talking on behalf of the majority.

SHE chooses to get married in some cases, while in some others, the choice is not hers. A beautiful, surreal transformation brings out the  He in her. How else does one explain this? It takes lesser than a microsecond for a girl to accept a stranger, maybe in the modern world, a family that she did not grow up in as hers! You don’t believe me? You sure are a boy or a bigger version of that species! It takes you a lifetime to accept the family that you were born in, as yours.

SHE lays in wait to undergo the second transformation to wE. If it does not happen naturally, she does everything within her might to make it happen. And when it does happen, SHe is no longer the She or the He that she was. She becomes the wE giving birth to the SHE. Call it biology, call it psychology. Call it nature, call it life. Her possibilities as a wE always tend to infinity!

SHE swirls, around her many roles, some as She, some as He and the remaining as wE.  SHE swirls – a girl’s swirls to womanhood!

Peace at war!

Peace is elusive, for it is within
Wrapped and concealed like a piece of gold
Black and ugly, tough and hard, it never shines
Until it's scrubbed and cleaned, made pretty to hold!

Years of submergence underground
Rob its sparkling gleam and dull its lustre
As unfounded fear and burdensome thoughts
Keep peace at war, leaving no strength to muster!

Take a step aside, letting thoughts to flow
Within the sandy banks of the powerful mind
Choose the ones that appeal the most to work on
Peace restored, work becomes a pleasure, not a grind!

To unleash peace, you must choose the battle
Then fight it carefully, not losing all your might
For every battle won, urges you to choose your next
Until the dreary war is won, and peace is yours by right!

                     Finding peace in the midst of war or being at war even in times of peace is a choice that the mind makes...

Collect these Nouns

        What did the mother penguin do to discipline her kids?
·        She sent them to a school

Pic. credit: http://static4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20081019155004/muppet/images/a/a4/3091b.jpg

      When the owls wanted to pass a legislature what did they do?
    ·        They went to the Parliament

When the lone cow refused to obey the buffaloes what did they do?
·        They ganged up against him

Pic credit: http://2.bp.blogspot.com

        What did the bats do when they saw a skyscraper being built?
     ·        They moved to the adjacent colony

Pic.credit: http://www.stgeorgeutah.com

                      Why did the ferrets not interfere in the polecats‘fight?
                   ·        Because it was none of their business

Pic.Credit:http://3.bp.blogspot.com

To build or to break- that is the question

The elaborate ceremony around the marriage finally concluded. The crowd ebbed away slowly.

The newlywed strangers were left to themselves. He approached her. The excitement of being with his new-found love was, somehow missing. She sensed his discomfort and asked him what the matter was. ‘Perhaps he is not well’, she thought.

“I was not interested in getting married. It was, kind of, forced on me,” he said.

“Why didn’t you tell this before the marriage?” she fumed/

An awkward silence left their minds equally noisy.

He knew he had a mammoth battle to wage. She walked towards the kitchen, washing the utensils of the morning with her tears.

She resumed office the next day, much to the surprise of her new family. For many years thereafter, she fought a long battle. Her home was her office and her colleagues were her family. He did not seem to bother as she was spending for the family. His lack of connecting, though, did not augur well in improving the situation.

Though she sensed his struggle towards building and maintaining relationships, she could not help him much. He refused to make her feel wanted in ‘his’ house. He came across as a lazy and selfish man. Though he had been employed for close to 8 years prior to marriage, he had not saved a penny.

His tantrums made her patient and resilient. One day he came home distraught. “I do not want to work anymore,” he declared. He wanted her to give money to start his own business.

“Where will I go for the money?” she asked him. For the first time, he realized the depth of her words.

“Can you help me find a better job? I feel useless,” he said.

She had applied for a job and the consultant had asked her to send her CV. But she was pregnant and a change of job at this point would not go in her favour. So, she decided to send his resume instead.

She told him, in the earnest hope of appealing to his good senses (maybe, it was time to check if he had any!), that he had to participate in the family’s financial commitment. He agreed.

The next fortnight was spent in preparing him for the interview. Mock sessions, general mentoring and general knowledge quiz became the order of the day.

The interview proved to be a cakewalk as also the first few months at the new job. She celebrated the new arrival and the new job with equal enthusiasm.