An inspiration from a yogin

It was a week filled with activity , it started with an introduction explaining about the heritage of our Indian yoga system and how we are in the land and still not aware of the treasures of the mystical system.

Swami Kailashnaath, with his sweet flowing words and cute smile took us along with the work shop of prayers,yogic breathing and postures, guiding us with his participation.

He had come all the way from Palani, invited here by some benevolent citizens.

Each morning we assembled at 6 am, and the routine practices went on till 8 .30 am .
For those who could not make it in the mornings, evening timings were offered from 6 pm till 9 pm.

He made it a class of no paper and pen and all practicals.

Lessons learnt from animals, and how we could benefit from them, breathing patterns , and techniques to avoid the diseases of the modern world , all leading to a fit body to do what ever we need to or in search of,  through the body.

We were initiated into the system formally at the penultimate day at 4 .30 am.

He wound up, answering  our stupid questions with his intelligence  and compassion, encouraging us to carry on with the practices that have been shared.

A deck of murukkus

Friday is a local market day, where one could get any thing that is normally needed for the whole of the weeks living from veggies, fruits, broom,  bamboo baskets,linen and even snacks.

There is a village close by across the Salem Coimbatore highway called Attayampatti, it may be famous for many things,but to us it is murukkus.

It is made with rice and other cereals, made into a pasty dough and using metallic instruments with a small gap,the paste is deep fried with flowery designs in oil.

The local cinema shops get them,for their viewers, and it the snack for many homes with puffed rice and  ground nuts.

I showed this picture to a neighbour hood child, she squealed  " santhai murukkus".

Lessons from Children

Sundays are happy times for kids, and torture times for parents,so a programme arranged to get the kids out  for a day with packed lunch is an agreeable situation for the parents and squealy moments for children.

A week back was one such Sunday , we managed to convince a dozen parents to send the children, but the  bottom line number of attendees was a mystery till the start, and even later.

There are many times when we think that  we can share our experience with the kids, but we always end up learning new and innovative things from them.

The rest in pictures.

Yellow river turns red

The ten commandments is a movie that if seen, lasts for a life time within, the impressions  are non erasable.

It was the first movie i had seen in my primary school, the movies are always selected by a roman catholic, called Brother Basilio, and all if not most had always been winners at the academy or at Oscars.

The picture of the yellow river now running red reminded me of Moses making the Nile turn red.

May be it is the wrath of a Moses there or a dumping of the chemicals from upstream , what ever the cause, "the yellow river runs red" says the head lines.  

Observe and Accept

Observe and Accept rather than Research and Develop.

In the scientific world there is a term ,research and development.

It simply means to see again and better it, the way things are approached now follows this system, in all ways of life.

There is arrogance and alteration of the original in these methods

It is more so in the modern system of medicine, where newer diseases are being noticed all across the world.

Ding the other sciences, with healing methods, if we see nature and its ways of handling things , observing and accepting would bring on a great humble way of healing troubled bodies and hurt minds.

Festoons for fun

It was a time for fun and frolic, and the kids had the occasion , all that mattered was the place, that was always available at our work station.

The balloons were purchased and the festoons of shining plastics ,coloured papers were got with the twine .

A boy s birthday was selected and the balloons were blown and saved the previous evening, safely hidden in the glass cupboard, to see no one played away with them .

The kids arrived at  5 pm quickly washed after school, the festoons were arranged to their wishes and balloons  put up at the  available hooks or nails, or at the palms at the entrance.

All done  the  birthday boy arrived and we all sang  for his health, happiness,long life, and more.

The favourite songs were downloaded on you tube, the kids were given all the liberty to do what they liked and that was the only fault when the kids pulled down the festoons and burst  the balloons.

They danced and screamed and yelled and created all the havoc that they could not at school or at their homes.

Some one must have remembered the pyramid climbing , so  there they were bending and climbing, to reach the top.

Fun and  more fun it was for  all.

The magical world of illusions

It was another chance to see a magic show organised by the rural society of doctors for the centenary meet at Chennys hotel  Salem

After the felicitations to the elder doctors of the rural areas, the magician was given the stage and with an assistant he went to work and laid the table .

With the switch on of the music he  moved his arms and fingers, and there he was literally pulling out  playing cards from thin air, they seemed have been placed just in front of him, and he was pulling them out and making them smaller and smaller and finally had a stack out of his small mouth .

Good lord when did that get into his mouth !!!!

The Chinese rings were wonderful with his deft swift hands,
getting them one into another and slipping them out and forming the Olympic rings and out singly.

We  were shown some electric bulbs of so small size, and then placed in one ear and then removed from the other ear and from his mouth and bottom and into the ear and out of the other again.

He asked if any one wanted to learn how to trick the audience and learn the trade, there were a few hands going up, and i was not one one of them .

The ropes the kerchiefs and the news paper tricks were all too wonderful, and the balloon he swallowed, we all literally asked him what happened to the balloon,he said it will pass away tomorrow.

There was no doubts as to who enjoyed the show the most,and which side the applause came the loudest.

The front row is always the best seat, with the other kids who all watched with me with equal wonder.