Cockles and Mussels!

This is the traditional Irish whistle(like Scottish,pipe). And one friend of mine helped me sing this song, and I sang along with him. I don't know the music notes. Else I would have wrote that down too..but it was one of the most beautiful songs I have heard...simple, yet so sweet and easy to sing, in tune...Its a traditional song, in Ireland and in kerala we call them "naadan paatuukal". This is it:

Cockles And Mussels.
"alive alive oh alive alive ohh
Singing cockles and mussels alive alive ohhh


In Dublin's fair city
Where the girls are so pretty
I once met a girl named sweet Molly Malone
And she wheeled her wheel barrow
Through the streets broad and narrow
Singing cockles and mussels alive alive oh


She was a fish monger
And sure was no wonder
So were her mother and father before
And they wheeled their wheel barrow
Through the streets broad and narrow
Singing cockles and mussels alive alive oh


She died of a fever
And so one could save her
And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone
Now her ghost wheels her barrow through the streets broad and narrow
Singing cockles and mussels alive alive oh


She wheels her wheel barrrow
Thought the streets broad and narrow
Her barrow is narrow
Her hipa are too wide
And whenever she wheels it
The neighborhood feels it
Her girdle keeps brushin' the homes on each side


It's not just her fat but,
it's not only that but,
she's cockeyed and musclebound Molly Malone
Alive alive oh
Alive alive ohh
Singing cockles and mussels
Alive alive ohhh..."

note: she must have been damn popular, that she is still remembered!!!

 

Glimpses of Geilic & Celtic Culture---Wicklow,the Garden of Ireland

This long winding road looked as thou it came directly out of a painting!!!


I was so awed by this long winding road which seemed to have no end at all!!!!!


This is celtic cemetry inside a 16th century monastery.The cross scrible shows that the monk lived in 17 th century!


This brook is the origin of the mighty lake that flowes thru the centre of Dublin!The water is so dark in color,that the irish say that it looks like "Guinness"!!!!!


This is the meditation tower for monks.The entrance is 6 feet high from the ground,w/o any ladder!


Another 16th century cemetery!


Mashed potatoes with beef stew(everything was white in color,yuck!!!


The lawn at the background is fully natural,and is spread thru acres!!!


how does this look???


This is the wishing pillar!!If you hug it, and wish something,the belief is,it wud come true! I cudnt even hug it completely cos of its width.So our guide used his arms as extension to mine LOL!!!!!

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Lord Hanuman & Wheel!

My cousin has a daughter. When she was 3 yrs old, the Hindu mythological serial "Jai Hanuman" started broadcasting in Doordarshan. And she got attached to the serial soon. She was completely awed by the costumes and graphic effects and almost thot that every episode story was real. Also her granny, who was  a regular viewer of the serial, told her all the stories of  Lord Hanuman, along with her own interpretations. As soon as the title music of the serial started at 9:30 PM every Thursday, she would be the first one, to sit in front of TV, ahead of all others!

We never noticed, how strong it had got into her system, till one day her parents took her to a temple. There was a statue of Hanuman , and as soon as she saw the statue, she stood there for a while! And began to pray aloud:

Wheel bhakti vandanam jai hanuman! 

Wheel bhakti vandanam jai hanuman! 

Wheel bhakti vandanam jai hanuman! 

And it went on non-stop......

 

Everybody in the temple started staring at her cos of this odd prayer(which was also very loud!). Later we found the reason behind this odd "mantra" with "wheel". The thing was the serial "Jai Hanuman" was sponsored by "Wheel" detergent powder and it was their way to say at the beginning  and it between commercial breaks "Wheel bhakti vandanam jai hanuman!" This kid thot that it was the way to pray to Lord Hanuman, and had studied it by-heart. So when she saw Lord hanuman in a temple, she didn't think about anything else,and started saying the "wheel" version of the serial title as  prayer for Lord Hanuman!

 

This is a just true instance which showed how commercialization affects small kids...and how truly innocent kids are!!!!

 

 

 

A handful of ruby-red seeds!

I knew him only for 2 months. We first met in our math tuition class,during my first year of engineering. He was tall, fair and above all very friendly with everybody. It was his native place, while I came from another district and stayed in a hostel which was near our tuition-class. He made our otherwise dull class, lively with jokes and funny answers to my  master's questions. He usually got into his nerves, but we actually enjoyed their encounters. He was in his first yr of mech engg. As I was in different stream, we met only in tuition classes, and that too once in two weeks. We were not close friends , but I enjoyed his company.

 

There were lots of  "manjadi" trees near our tuition class. Once their fruits are dried, they break up and lots of "manjadi" seeds which looked like ruby- stones where all over there. And I was fascinated by these nature's ruby-stones, I used to collect them frantically, after our tuition class. I didn't have much time to collect cos, after tuition class, it was almost dark and we had to run to hostel. Everybody made fun of me for collecting those ruby red seeds, but I continued with my craziness!

 

One Friday, after class, I started my usual hobby of collecting those ruby-seeds. Usually I was alone, but after some time I noticed, my funny friend sitting beside me on road-side and collecting those ruby-red seeds. We didn't

Talk. His friends were calling him to go home and not to sit with that "crazy girl". But after collecting so many "rubies" for me, he gave it to me and asked me to go to hostel, as it was getting very dark. He said that the area was not good, after dark ,and that he had helped me, to get to hostel early. And as my usual collection was doubled due to his help, I was extremely happy. I thanked him and went.

 

I reached home on Saturday and Sunday morning, I woke up with my mom, holding a news paper . She asked "do u know this boy?". And there I saw, my funny friend's stiff body, as being picked up from Kallar waterfall. I cudnt answer her. I looked at the dark, unrecognizable body...no, it wasn't my friend. But the news said "yes". He had told me on Friday , that he was going  for a trip to Kallar, which is a tourist spot. And on Sunday what I see is this.

 

I didn't go to his funeral, while all my other friends went, which was on Monday. I didn't want to erase that pleasant, friendly face, by seeing his dead body. He is still in my memory, as I saw him last time, sitting beside me collecting ruby red seeds.

 

I never collected ruby red seeds again, but I kept it with me till last year, when a small kid begged me, if I could give it to her. I gave that entire box of ruby-red seeds to her and told "Promise me that u will never throw it away!". She promised and was so thrilled to get my entire collection. I didn't tell her who was with me when I last collected them and what happened to him...

Have u ever had a nameless relationship?

I had...I met this lady first in my life , when I was in 7th standard(12 yrs old). She was then in her late thirties. She was my language teacher. As I had a natural flair for my native language, she started noticing me in class. Exactly I don't know when she became my mentor. The next thing I notice is that I had a nameless strong relationship with my teacher. I used to read a lot, just to excel in her general essay questions. She never appreciated me in front of me. But other girls used to come and tell me that she always tell about me to them. She used to beat me hard with a cane for even a small mistake I made.She was my teacher till I was in 10th std.

 

I never thot she also felt the same strong affection towards me, till I came to know that she actually asked our headmistress to teach in my class from 7th till 10th. She even used to twist  my ears, till it hurt, for my small mistakes. I studied like hell for her subject. But she would never give me full marks. I remember once I got 49 and three quarter marks out of 50 and got punished by her for losing one quarter marks,for a spelling mistake.

 

My diary was filled with things about her. Everyday I waited to get a glimpse of her. Even I thot I was crazy. It was a mixture of extreme love and respect! I acted very haughtily in front of her and she too looked as if she disliked me in particular.

 

I never saw her after my 10th std. But I had sneaked her address from another girls notebook and kept it all my life. After 2 yrs I sent a letter to her(then only I had the guts to admit my love and respect for her!). And the reply was unbelievable. She actually resigned from my school, after I went. She said she was crazy about me. She couldn't teach there any long w/o me. She told me that she had some feeling that I was related to her in past-birth. She was always thinking about me.

 

After that I used to sent her letters every year, but no reply came. Then after 12 yrs I got a letter from her with her phone nbr. Then I found that 4 yrs back , she had even came to my college hostel, to see me, just after I left college. Our letters were always misplaced. I called her 1 yr back, but the number was changed. I hunted it down and  finally called her.

 

Yesterday I called her again, and she was so happy that she almost cried. Its been 13 yrs since we saw, but I am so surprised how the relationship still remains the same!!!!!! She told me that I am her un-born child. Even her husband knows everything about me. She was so happy that I still treasure her,since my 12th yr!!!. The funny thing is that we have never told to each other about the depth of the bond we share,yet we are so sure about other's feelings.

 

I try to give this relation a name, but I cant....some relationships are better left unnamed!!!!

I am married,so what ???

Nowadays I get personal mails, messages and chat session asking me questions like this

1) "I saw ur blog, and found interesting, but what do u expect from that , as ur married".

2) what are u looking for? U r married, u have family, then why?

3) I think u lack something in ur marriage, i.e. Why u r writing in blog?

4) U r lonely....after marrg? U can contact me, my mailid is :jghjd@gmfh

 

I am fed up with this......really....

This is to all the guys who have such doubts:

1) I have a very happy marriage(which was a love marriage)!!!!!!!!!!

2) I am writing blog to get friends opinion on my thots and not to look for another husband or extramarital relationship.

3)For heavens sake, a married woman DO have and CAN have their own life and friends.

Who should die first?

"If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day, so I never have to live without you."' I have heard this quote every where and I have heard  couples or lovers quarrelling over, whom should die first. Every body says "I want to die first, cos I cant live without you". Me and my husband quarrels over this too...but its kinda different for us. He says " I would die before u. Cos I cant live without u" and in answer I say "Yes,dear if that happens, I would wish ur wish to come true cos, I know very well that if I die earlier, ur life will be so tortured and lonely that my soul will never have peace. But if u die before me, I will be at least happy that u were happy with me, till ur death". And he will stop the conversation there with tear-stung eyes!!!

To all future NRIs !!!

Hi guys this is actually a comment I posted in one of my friend's blog about name pronunciation. Chanakya thot it was really funny and wanted me to share it in my blog. It was like this:

 As every Indian born and brought up in India, and later shifted to Europe or US (in my case it was Ireland), I had problms in understanding their English(not Irish, which is entirely another language).And ofcourse they too faced the same problem with me!. The more I got confused the more I wanted to study their slang. My friend Marie, helped me. Eventhough she was Irish, I never had communication problems with her(I still don't know why!!!). I had a very embarrassing time, making myself idiot in front of her! She said not to worry cos , even she herself found in my shoes when she went to a different county than ours(within Ireland)!!!

 

Some samples:

 

1)  I went and asked her the meaning of arse-hole(which was "ass-hole" as Irish would write.)

 

2) I went and asked her all the words that they use to describe "to get drunk".For that she actually took me to a book-shop and bought me a book titled "Irish pub-language!!!!".

Thank her now I know, what my neighbors yell at Saturday nite parties!!!

 

3) I asked her the exact difference between beer and lager, cos I used to spent hrs reading alcohol percentage on each, deciding what to buy!!!

 

4) I asked her if "Guinness" was Ireland's official drink, as every Irish used its name while talking. (which was almost true!).

 

5)When I first saw  Hurling(Ireland's national game), I thot the stick was a real , handy weapon and the game was actually a fight!!!

 

6) Brinjal was alwayyyyyyyys "eggplant" there!!!

 

7) Mutton was alwaaays "lamb" there!!!

 

8)Curd was always "yoghurt" there!!

 

.......but still I saw the most polite people there, who were always patient to repeat things another 50 times for me!!!! I studied how to behave towards foreigners from them (for that matter Indians were not best!)

Humor@work

In my workplace we used to have certain self-development workshops called “Chrysallis”. As s/w development is not such an amusing job, this event gave us a chance to unclog our brain. Funny things used to happen there. The aim was to improve communication, etiquette, body language, phone-etiquette etc. But most of us will be dragged from the midst of the coding (it was compulsory!). So even while attending the session most of us will be “mind-compiling” our code, we have to finish next day. One day john and myself were talking about the new shirt he has bought last day (ofcourse w/o our tutor’s permission). I was asking its brand name, cos I knew john loved branded shirts. As we were in class he whispered to me “its Louis Philleppe”. And then the next thing I heard simi who was sitting next to john screaming loud!!!! “what blue-film?”. There was pin-drop silence for 2secs. Me, john and everybody else couldn’t understand what was happening. And simi was there looking shocked. Next moment all blurted out into hilarious laugh. It turned out that as  usual simi was too involved in her “mind-compiling”, that she heard “louis-phillippe” rhymed like “blue-film”. U shud have see her face after that !!!(and john’s too)…while I had one of the best jokes witnessed!!!

Problems of a single child!

Is there any one out there who is a single child!!! I was always been a single child. And I always wanted to talk to others about how terrible and alone one feels when they are the single child of their parents. But then others will think..”isn’t she nuts?? Single child! What a lucky girl! I have always heard this comments from ppl. As everyone, I didn’t choose to be a single child. When I asked my parents, I understood that it was my mom’s decision. When I asked my mom, she told me she wanted to give me all the best things one can provide for a child and chose to have only one. I also heard another story from my relatives that my birth was too much for my mom that she didnt want another one…

 

Whatever the reason is, I always suffered loneliness in family. I never knew how families worked actually, so whenever there were problems inside family, I felt I was the sole sufferer! Cos I cudnt find anyone to go and open up, who understood how my family worked. Whenever I tried to get ppl to tell my probs they always told “but, my parents are not like this or this is not in my family!”

My quest for a partner to share sorrows ended there. Gradually I learned not to share family problems with others, as I happened to overhear someone ,whom I considered my soul mate, gossiping abt my family to others. For me everything was my responsibility. As I was the only child, parent’s expectations landed only on me. And believe me, it was damn heavy!!!!

 

When there were small trifles in family, I was too small to understand that its common. I thot it was my mistake. I wanted to ask others why problems happen in family. But couldn’t trust anyone, cos whoever I went to always told “their family and their parents”. No one could identify my position with themselves. I was confined into the island of 3 ppl, mom, dad and me. My pressure inside built up so much so that I started having constant blackouts, at the first sign of tension.

 

Even now after growing up, I have trust problems. I don’t know if this loneliness is there in all single children. Does every single child find difficulty in identifying themselves with other kids? Do they think, they have the sole responsibility of the family? Do they think they shud be so perfect that the entire family depended on their virtues? Do they think that they became single child cos of their fault? I just wanted to know, cos I do think sometimes!

Me as a traditional Kerala Hindu bride

Hi friends...this is for all my friends who havent seen a traditional kerala hindu wedding. Me and my husband got wedded on Jan27,2005...and here i am sharing some of the snaps of the ceremony!

Wedding album: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/swathisasidharan/album?.dir=/6f4d&.src=ph&amp...

This is the most imp part--tying "THALI"

Before "nirapara" and "nilavilakku"

This is done just before tying "mangalsutra" or "thali". "Nilavilakku" --- that long stemmed lamp represents "agni" and "nirapara" means a kind of vessel ie "para" will be fully brimmed with rice, mostly overflowing, which denotes  wealth and prosperity!!

Our "saath phere" (we did only thrice!!!)

These are the "pheras" ie  going  around agni(fire) and it is common in all Hindu marriages almost all over India. But in Kerala, we do it only thrice. We say it as getting married as "agnisaakshi" means fire-god as the witness!! and that garland is made of "thulasi" leaves, which is considerd very sacred!

Me and my hubby just after ceremony

This was taken just after the "thali" or "mangalsutra" tying ceremony!

Christmas Miracle?

Does anybody had christmas miracles in life? Actually I had , 2 yrs before when i had a disc injury and was in bed for 6 mths, i went to midnite mass, in a nearby church. I was mentally and physically shattered at that time cos of difft reasons. The church was fully packed and i didnt have a place to sit. I cudnt stand, cos my back was getting hurt alot...I prayed God, "only you know in this whole church that I am in pain, now. If you understand that pain and love me and tell me that you will be there for me all my life, pls show me a sign that you do care". And suddenly, a baby began to cry aloud and his mother had to take him out cos of his crying. She was sitting next to where I was standing. When she went out, I hesitated to sit on her place, and the woman next to me told "u sit,here". And I couldnt believe...God KNOWS my pain..I sat there shocked for a while..Sure I didnt expect His love to act so fast...and then I had complete faith in miracles...(btw, the baby didnt stop crying, and the mother had to stand out,till the mass finished)....

 

when i was 23 yrs old..and hmm the wrld was not soooo good!!!

this was when i was NOT so innocent, but still was naive...i thot, love was eternal...but later i realised..afterall nothing is eternal...

when i was 1 yr old...and the world was so beautiful!!!

how i miss those innocent eyes!!!!...when shall i ever have that back again? when shall i see the world thru my lost childhood eyes...

me&my hubs

this was one of our most cherished moments of life...my hubs dont know yet that i have this photo  he will kill me if he comes to know that i have published it here....so guys, pls dont tell him...

Honey--the fuel for brain(?)

live on honey now...drinking honey always. last week, i almost drank 1 kg of honey. some ppl say honey makes u thin. i dont know if thats rite.(havent gone much thinner,lately !!!) but yrs b4, one doctor told me to take honey alot, so that it will give fructose directly to brain..u know for what??? ha.. i was studying for engineering entrance exam yaarr!!!!and i think i took  7-8 kg that time...dont know whether it helped my "brain-cells".. but i got thru entrance anyway..
and now i am doing it again...(to get thru another exam!!) and believe me, i am going to write a testimonial on honey's brain refreshing power if i get thru this exam...(am not kidding!!!)

I am worried about dec 22,2005

One of the most imp "TESTS" in my life is going to happen on DEC 22, 3:30 pm(IST). Please pray for me so that, i may "pass" it...i will tell about it, later..in this blog..!!!O God! Pls help me..

 

 

Wrox-Professional EJB

MY life is ruled by “Professional EJB” and “Design Patterns” these days…I will get my old heart back, full of those magical things, once I get over this phase in my life…”Professional EJB” is my need now...while “Amateur Writing” is where my heart is…

note:dont be fooled by this photo!!! i was not with EJB while this pic was clicked..i was just posing for the photo

 

Look for the bare necessities

Look for the bare necessities
The simple bare necessities

Forget about your worries and your strife
I mean the bare necessities
Old Mother Nature's recipes
That brings the bare necessities of life....

I heard this song for the first time when i was 8 yrs old...i always sing this..especially when i feel so lost...so bad..and feels so pathetic towards myself..and it always bring those days to my life...when life wasnt so complicated...

 

A simple book review

I have read 2 books recently

1.  Khushwant singh’s selects Best Indian short stories (different stories)


2. My first darling in the morning – Uma  Thritankar


3. Dangerous kiss (its actually a trash, by Jackie Collins)

Books yet to read:

1. Gone with the wind.- Margaret Mitchell


2. Arabella  - Georgette Heyer   (both are classics)

 

The first 2 books I bought from India today book club. Book 1 is a book of variety. It consists of short stories from difft authors even some from south India, which includes M. karunadhi , R.K. Laxman, Yashpal and even singh himself. Its easy to understand , empathise and visualize as the characters are ordinary Indian ppl either in the slum or middle class ppl. But most of the short stories have a common nature. It portraits, different ways or ideas ppl use to cheat each other, for money, fame and position. In short it shows different fraud ways a normal Indian does. And in most of the stories , the writer doesn’t narrate a story. He will be a character in that story.

 

The one I remember most, is the story of a wealthy and respectable elderly man, who comes to temple regularly and on his way back, gives hand full of money to all the beggars who sit on the steps to the temple. It’s a story by Khushwant singh. Singh notes that while he gives alms to ppl using his right hand , his left hand will be busy pinching ladies’ bottom, who comes to temple. And in the crowd when they turn around, they never suspect this elderly guy  who is giving alms to beggars. Singh notes this everyday, and decides to put an end to it. He gives anonymous phone calls to the so called wealthy mans house and leaves a message  to his wife that “Mr. Bottom Pincher” has called, her husband. The man soon gets the message and is absent for a while. After some 1 or 2 mths he comes again and does the same thing. The cycle repeats and one day when he comes with his wife and daughter who is 16, singh goes and pinch his daughters back and police catches singh. But he story ends when the wealthy man, takes bail for singh and is released.

 

It feels  so sarcastic, when we finish reading. The double faceted , so called respectable ppl, who is NOT so good at their inside. The real man who pose himself as cultured, educated social animal, who behaves neither like that.  In the last sentence, singh feels sorry for that man. Even the reader feels sorry for him.

 

Its good as we feel like having a dinner with lots of dishes. It’s the variety that matters. Not the taste.We can never say that what singh has selected is the best. There may be stories better than those. But we will get an over view of difft authors’ look towards their society and their response towards them. Its in a way different, from reading a novel of a particular author, who may be our favorite. In that case, we are in a way, brain washed by his/her thoughts. We are forced to think in the same way as he thinks. But collection of different stories helps a lot to see different views of different ppl and analyse them and we will then start to think on our own. We realize that ppl think / react differently and it’s the difference that’s all what matters.

 

I think I wrote too much…but I think thinking and discussing helps our brain to grow, rite?

 

I will write about another book, later…

  

 

My Dream

You know, i have a very big bream...a dream..which would really come true...in fact my birth was only in fact to achieve that dream...and i will tell you  the title of that dream ---- "The Silence of The Screams.."

A hurt which didn't last...

two days back, some old classmate of mine hurt me....and all those wounds that have been forgotten for a while flared up....u know...but just for a while...it lasted only for a day...i know, now i have promised to overcome every hurt...but what if i had a second chance? would i have chosen the way with less hurt and tears...may be not...this is the way i was meant to travel to reach here...after all it has made me all strong and bold...should i say "thank you" to my past????

Entry for October 17, 2005

this is inside of Burger King in Athlone...by the way, is £2.99 a modest  price for a chicken royale?????

Entry for October 17, 2005

this is me...hmm...wondering what to do...