Nineteeth September, Two Thousand Twenty One, Another Day, Another Year

The day started with Greeja and me went for a walk at 7.30am. It was something we do either in the morning or in the evening. The usual 1 hour walk ended with a shorter walk which lasted just about 45 minutes. Greeja made a "greens" smoothie for breakfast. The morning was filled with calls from my parents and aunties and friends. Had my bath, went straight for my morning prayer at home. Then Greeja and Dhivyaa presented a gift sent by Raviena, that was my first surprise, which made my day.   

Raviena's Birthday Gift

Then I was browsing through my WhatsApp and FB, pleasantly reading greetings sent by family and friends from near and far. The sense of "being" overwhelmed my thoughts, felt very elated that I was remembered. I realised then, that I had an important task to do, a dear friend from south has asked me and another friend to prepare a document to facilitate financial assistance to needy students who had been admitted to University Science Malaysia (my alma matter). This was a commitment that like minded guys from my batch (Class '87) have pledged to carry out to assist in our little way to give back to the community.  

Lunch Prepared By My Dear Sister Thara

The fragrance of Sotong Curry (Squid Curry) was already whetting my appetite, and I thought a "boiler" would put me in the right mood for lunch. Thank's to Thara, lunch was nostalgic, Sotong curry with Kathrika Paal Curry (Eggplant with Coconut Milk Curry) was one power pack combination. 

With a satiated stomach, and wanting to laze around, I mistakenly looked at my FB, and behold something caught my eye. There was a post that states, "If I recieve an envelope, which contains an information stating when I will die, would I open the envelope?" My immediate answer was, NO. I will not open the letter. Why would I? I would rather go on living my life the way I would want to, then to worry about living with fear that I would die on a particular date. If one lives life without regret, then there is nothing that should stop him/her from going on life as it is. I would want death to surprise me. Interestingly on the other hand there are many who live their life as though they are going to live forever, postponing many a matter for tomorrow, wanting to do it another day at an opportune time. It could be something as simple as "hello how are you?", "I love you.", or "I am sorry." But many are caught up with the mundane of day to day living or even seeking to satiate the immediate pleasures in life, that by the time they realise, they would have missed meaningfulness, it would be too late.

Try to nap after that, I just couldn't, because the reflection kept my cerebrum awaken. So did the next best thing, caught an action movie on Netflix.         

Dinner by Greeja, My Best Half

Dinner was ready, but I have already started with a glass of Malbec, it went well with the spagetti after that. It was a sumptious dinner, and was catching up with my nephew Kavin, who dropped by. The food tasted great because it was cooked with love, the dinner felt great because of the warmth of being with the family. Moments like this is when one feels contented and fulfilled. It would have been complete if Raviena, my parents and my sister Vani and her family were here. That will be in good times.

 

Birthday Cake and Portugese Egg Tarts by Roshen and Dhivyaa

No birthday is complete without a birthday cake, followed by sweet indulgence. It is a state of bliss. But life is not all about bed of roses. It has its ups and downs, going with the flow of the journey one has decided. But like they say, never a journey complete without the companionship of friends. My classmates from school, John, Raj, and Dass wished me early. We were together since standard One, till high school. We know our secrets and naughty thoughts. Life then was without inhibition, carefree, only stopped short because we didn't have the means, but we made do with what we had. 

Then came the video call from my Nanbans (நண்பன் aka friends) from Class 87, USM. For the last 34 years we had an unbroken relationship, crossing many challenges and tribulations. Despite our distance and diversities in our profession we stood steadfast with our bonding. Lending a ear when in need, partaking in happiness and sadness of each other and their families. Thank you Jega, Megan, Ganason, Selva, Sugu, Dorett and Raja Saar for not only making my birthday complete but also being the pillar, holding C87 together.   

I poured my favourite Jameson

As the day ended, I came across another post on FB that asks, "Will we remain faithful to our spouses, children, relatives, friends, nation and God until the very end?"  Well I thought why should one be faithful, instead it should be "meaningful". Faithful sounds enslaving, and when one is faithful, the chances of being blind to perversity of the other would be there. 

"To Live Is The Rarest Thing In The World. Most People Exist, That's All."

Oscar Wilde

CHEERS,

  

TO MORE YEARS OF WIT, WISDOM  AND WHISKEY

(That was Raviena's Wishes for Me)

LETS CELEBRATE LIFE FOR LIFE ITSELF 

  Ravi Varmman, 105721092021, Subang Jaya.

ON 58TH MALAYSIA DAY

 

I was musing over Adzhar Ibrahims ponder on FMT today entitled "Let's Reboot Malaysia and Invite Brunei, Singapore Again." (original article link attached)

Adzhar Ibrahim means well and in the "True Spirit of Malaysia" this notion should be welcomed. But unfortunately the truth is far from that. Every Malaysian today are critically facing identity crisis. Malaysia today is categorically divided by race and religion, where every entity has cocooned itself within it's own construct promoting exclusivity.

The notion of INCLUSIVITY by virtue of UNITY IN DIVERSITY as Malaysian, is broken. We have moved from accepting diversity to tolerating it. That is indeed sad. Gone were the days when the sense of brotherhood or for the matter sisterhood overode every differences that we had. Somewhere along the way this EMOTION had been hijacked. What is left now is a fractured nation, searching for its soul.

But not all is lost, I see that the millenials today are looking at the nation with a completely different lense. Their voices are becoming louder, and they are seeking sociopolitical legitimacy towards building their "TANAH TUMPAH DARAHKU" (The Land Where My Blood Spilled) the way the Founding Fathers of this Nation wanted.

With so much taint, I do not think we have anything to offer to either Singapore or Brunei, to be part of a propounded notion called Greater Malaysia.

And before we can even offer an olive branch to others, we have a lot of soul searching to do, to correct our mistakes, before we can make our Nation Great again.

Like the caption above we all MUST see ourselves as MALAYSIANS First, no colour or creed should be reflected in front of the JALUR GEMILANG (Malaysian Flag)

SELAMAT(kan) HARI MALAYSIA

https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2021/09/16/lets-reboot-malaysia-and-invite-brunei-singapore-again/?fbclid=IwAR2Nx4Qz5oKOpQEgS2MRlVP6B-bqknet72b11yuP-do2_Pq7lS9QlN82qEw

Ravi Varmman, Subang Jaya, 022216092021

 

WHERE DO I BUY WISDOM

Vegetarian Lunch Today

Payasam (Milk Based Sweet Dessert)

Today is VINAYAKA CHATHURTI, a festival celebrated for Lord Ganesha, who is also popularly known as the Elephant God. 

But did you know that Lord Ganesha is the manifestation of the "INTELLECT". Many are consumed with the ritual of the celebration, not realising the philosophy of what Lord Ganesha epitomises. Lord Ganesha is worshipped as the enabler who removes all obstacles in life. Hence everyone who prescribes to Sanatana Dharma (aka Hinduism) will start their daily activities and began all important events in their lifes by seeking the blessings of Lord Ganesha.

On a ritualistic level, upon prostrating to Lord Ganesha, before the start of the day or event, is an action to psyche ones mind to have clarity and confidence, that everything will go as planned. The method of prostration applied to Lord Ganesha is called the "Thopukaranam." It is a Yoga action where one crosses their arm across the face, where the thumb and index fingers clips both ear lobes, and while doing so one has to do squat down and up. In Yoga practices it is called the Superbrain Yoga, where it facilitates the concentration of the mind, and also activates the parts of the brain that helps to attain higher sense of alertness. This action synchronises the alpha mind waves and siultaneously stimulates and initiates the cerebrum. Therefore the overall action increases ones thinking capacity, concentration, as well as mental and spiritual growth.  

Even the ritual connected to Lord Ganesha speaks volume of the mind, what more then its salient philosophy behind it. Intelligence and experience are vital elements in ones accumulation of wisdom. There are many intelligent people out there, but unfortunately not all have availed themselves to experience, hence many lack wisdom. Success and failures are both equally important in the quest to gain wisdom. Unfortunately many intelligent people prefer to seek safe passage in the journey called life, moving from one phase of life to another in a shielded cocoon. Predictability stifles intellectual progression. 

Lord Ganesha reminds us that wisdom is not something we can merely learn from existing knowledge, but one has to have strong conviction about ones capability and clarity of mind in pursuing any action. By this contention, it is clear that, merely knowing how to swim, would not be enough, but one must have the intelligence to know the conditions of salt water and fresh water are different or for that matter the current in a river would act differently from the current in the sea. Thus with clear wisdom one can better prepare to face any circumstances with ease. 

Beyond the expected Divine Intervention, there is an element of science and logic that goes in the celebration of Vinayaka Chathurthi.

In the mood of celebrating this significant festival, I prepared a vegetarian lunch for the family. The spread of the meal itself is a reflection of human emotions. In Tamizh we call it "Arusuvai" (Six taste of Food). It had Thuvarpu (Astringent) - Surprise; Kasappu (Bitter) - Sorrow; Kaarppu (Pungent) - Anger; Oovarppu (Salty) - Fear; Pulippu (Sour) - Disgust; Innipu (Sweet) - Happiness. Reflecting on our emotions via food would help us understand and manage the moods that we are susceptible to. Whether everyone at home reflected or not, I don't know, but judging from their actions (having afternoon snooze) definitely they had a scrumptious meal.    

The values propounded are universal, it may have been conveyed and ritualised differently, but the message is clear, "Our Destiny Is In Our Hands, With Clarity Of Thought and Action, We Can Make The World A Better Place." 

Vinayaka Chathurthi Greeting To All

Ravi Varmman

Subang Jaya 

041510092021   

 

Brotherhood in Humanity

The Sundial Chakra at Konark Sun Temple, Bubaneshwar, Odisa, India.

"When a warrior fights not for himself, but for his brothers, when his most passionately sought goal is neither glory nor his own life’s preservation, but to spend his substance for them, his comrades, not to abandon them, not to prove unworthy of them, then his heart truly has achieved contempt for death, and with that he transcends himself and his actions touch the sublime."

Steven Pressfield - Gates of Fire

These words are very powerful, which resonates what humanity is all about. It is about collective consciousness, for a common good. The meaningfulness of every action determines the purpose of our existence.

I was watching the medical drama Code Black, and saw the dramatization of what goes behind the Emergency Room in a hospital. Though a fictionalised depiction, but it makes absolute sense of the fragility of life, and what holds this fragile life is the role of every individual in the ER, total strangers, in doing their best to keep every person reeled in alive.

Only if more people realise that life is fragile, more will do to take care of it, and not be carried away with the false notion of permenance.

Life is like the juxtaposition of the sundial above, on one hand, day after day it shows the exact time, but like the Chakra above, life, one the other hand, evolves in a circle between life and death. Neither can one control time nor one can stop the evolution towards death, but definitely what and how we do, within that frame is entirely up to the beholder.  

Ravi Varmman, Subang Jaya, 002707092021