Doing Well By doing Good!!!

If we can be of some help then we should never hesitate to extend a helping hand.This way we will do well for ourselves.Let us always do our bit to help those in need and bring a smile on their faces.I read this wonderful speech which I wish to share here.

Excerpted from a speech delivered by R. Brody to the graduating class of John Hopkins University on May 26, 2005u.

There is a man who I'd like to tell you about. His name is Sandy Greenberg. In his youth, Sandy was a very good student, but he came from a poor family. And so he went to Columbia University on a scholarship and there he met his roommate who also was receiving financial aid.

Now while he was a sophomore at Columbia University, Sandy contracted an eye disease that eventually proved to be glaucoma. But the trouble was, it wasn't detected early enough, and as a result he became legally blind. I ask you all to imagine for a moment having been sighted all your life, and then all of a sudden being faced, in a very competitive school, with losing so much sight you could no longer read. This is what happened to Sandy Greenberg.

But something else happened to Sandy that may surprise you. Sandy said that when he lost his sight, his roommate would read his textbooks to him, every night.
So I'm going to put you in that position, in a competitive school like Columbia, or Johns Hopkins. If your roommate had a serious disability, would you take the time to read textbooks to him every night, knowing the more you spend time reading textbooks to your roommate, perhaps the less well you might do with your other activities? That's not as easy a question as it first appears.
But luckily for Sandy, his roommate did. And as a result, Sandy went on to graduate with honors. He got a Fulbright Scholarship, and he went off to study at Oxford. He was still quite poor, but he said he had managed to save about five hundred dollars as he went along.

His roommate, meanwhile, also went on to graduate school. One day, Sandy got a call from him at Oxford. And his former roommate said, "Sandy I'm really unhappy. I really don't like being in graduate school, and I don't want to do this."
So Sandy asked, "Well what do you want to do?"
And his roommate told him, "Sandy, I really love to sing. I have a high school friend who plays the guitar. And we would really like to try our hand in the music business. But we need to make a promo record, and in order to do that I need $500."
So Sandy Greenberg told me he took all his life savings and sent it to his roommate. He told me, "You know, what else could I do? He made my life; I needed to help make his life."
So, I hope you'll remember the power of doing well by doing good. Each of you, in your own lives, will be faced with challenges, with roadblocks, with problems that you didn't anticipate or expect. How you are able to deal with adversity will be influenced, to no small extent, by how you deal with others along the way. What you get will depend a lot on what you give. And that's the end of the story of doing well, by doing good.

Ah! I almost forgot. You probably are wanting to know who Sandy's roommate was. I think you've heard of him. Sandy's roommate was a fellow by the name of Art Garfunkel, and he teamed up with another musician by the name of Paul Simon. That $500 helped them cut a record that eventually became "The Sounds of Silence."

Recently, we had the pleasure of going to Sandy's daughter's wedding, and it was Art Garfunkel who sang as Sandy walked his daughter down the aisle.
When you get to be my age (which, for some of you, is really old, (though it doesn't seem so old to me anymore), you will find yourself beginning to ask, did my life make a difference?
That's the day of personal reckoning. And I think the only way to face it is to consider, every day of your life: How can I do something for somebody else? How can I give back to others? It may be teaching, it may be becoming a doctor, you may be successful in business - no matter what your career path, there will always be the opportunity to give back. The chance will present itself to be giving of your time, giving of your money, but mostly, to be giving of yourselves, of your own heart and soul.
My hope today, as you commence to new beginnings, is you will always keep your eyes open for those opportunities to give and embrace them as your best sure way of doing well.

Happiness!!!

Happiness I think is a state of mind. The early morning walk,the chill and gentle breeze blowing,the chirping of birds,the peace and quiet around can all bring a great deal of happiness and joy.What is required is just being aware of all these small joys in life.It is important for everyone to cherish and enjoy every minute spent living in this wonderful world.

If happiness is associated to an event then I believe it is very shortlived,because once that wears out the search for happiness begins yet again.A poor man thinks he will be happy if he can make money.A rich man inspite of all the wealth is unhappy because he probably does not have a child.Similarly people have different expectations,wants and think they will be happy once that happens. As a result we end up spending our lives settings goals and targets for us to be happy.

It is very essential to live the present moment,because only the present moment is the truth.The past is gone and the future is yet to come.We cannot predict what is in store for us.

We have it seems forgotten how to be happy.Most part of our life is spent on pondering over what happened in the past,why people did not do things the way we wanted them to.Let us learn not to bring what happened in the past because the past is over and it is best to let bygones be bygones.Let us stop cribbing and complaining about what we don't have,about perfection and so on so forth.Let us learn to accept everyone for what they are and not what we want them to be.Everday is a new day and a gift sent to us.It is upto us to accept each day with a lot of joy, cheer and happiness.This is the best gift we would give God in return for all the beautiful things he has given us.

Awareness,Belonging and Commitment can keep us Happy always.Being aware of every little thing happening around us can give a lot of happiness.

If we can bring a smile in someone's face everday with our little act of kindness that in turn can bring a lot of happiness to us.

When there is awareness there is a sense of belonging and when there is belonging there is commitment. If we are aware,we are happy and smiling, it gives us a sense of belonging to all around us.When we feel a sense of belonging then there is commitment too,we would for sure be committed to do all we can to bring happiness and cheer in others.

All this may be easier said than done, but it does not hurt or rather it woul be great if we attempt to be aware and be happy always and enjoy every little thing thing.'You are what you feel.If you feel happy from within it shows on your face.A happy face is welcome by all.So let us all keep Smiling always,be Happy always and spread Happiness and cheer around!!!!

Unpredicatble Kids!!

Children are always full of surprises, we all know this.They are the most unpredictable lot I think.We would very confidently tell our friend that our kid does not like a certain food when they will prove us wrong by not only eating it without a fuss but also take a second helping.

Here I would like to narrate an incident.There was this kid all of two years maybe, let us call him Arjun.Arjun was a hyper active baby and always upto one thing or the other.He could be made to sit in place only while watching cartoon onTV.This way he could sit for hours, for he so enjoyed Tom&Jerry.On one occasion his mom told him she is just going out for a few minutes and whether he would go along with her or watch the cartoon.He said he will watch TV,so mom put on the cartoon for him and went out with her friend for a while.Mom is just around the street corner saying bye to her friend when she is in for a real shock.She can see tiny head peeping out of her 6th floor balcony.She came running home to find to her great relief one of her neighbours Hema at her door engaging Arjun in a conversation.Seeing Arjun's mom Hema gave her a good scolding for leaving the kid alone at home and going out.Opening the door and coming in mom is surprised at the work Arjun has done.He has opened the balcony door and dragged the heavy centre table up to the balcony and stood on it and peeped out.Hema lives on the 8th floor,luckily for Arjun and all of us she came out to her balcony only to see him peeping out.It was indeed very thoughtful of Hema not to call out to Arjun from up,instead she came down to the 6th floor and rang the doorbell to distract his attention and it worked wonders because Arjun got down and came to the door.When mom asked him why he did this he very sweetly replied "I was seeing if I can see you"How unpredicatble indeed!!!Normally a child who would watch TV for hours without being distracted,on this occasion proved wrong his mother's thinking that he will sit and watch until she came back..Lesson learnt here, never leave your kid alone at home though only for a short time.Accidents can happen in seconds.

An incident to tell how innocent children are. Pooja a bright and intelligent girl always full of questions.One evening she is sitting and listening to a story her mom is telling her,when she is distracted by her neighbour uncle who comes out with a cigarette in his mouth.Pooja smiles at uncle and very innocently asks her mother "why uncle has a candle in his mouth???"

Another incident to prove the innocence and pure mind of a child.Karthik an eight year old boy.It was Diwali time and fire crackers are banned in the gulf countries.Some naughty kid decided to play a prank at school.The class is out in the hall to watch a show when the naughty kid lights a match stick and puts it in karthik's bag and runs out.After the show when the class is back the teacher finds the burnt bag and books and questions Karthik.Being a serious issue this is brought to the notice of the supervisor and Karthik is summoned for questioning.The supervisor asks Karthik if he brought a match box to school.Pat comes the innocent reply from Karthik 'Sir I did not bring any match box sir, because I'm very sure my mother would definitely tell me if she packed a match box in my bag with my books."The surprised supervisor is convinced that Karthik is not the one who is responsible for this from his innocent reply.

The unpredicatbility and innocence of kids is simply amaziing.

An unexpected celebration!!!

Thursday 20/3/08 was my husband's birthday(tamil b'day).Usually I have a bajhan or a sloka session at home back in Pune and definitely go to BajhanaMadam for archanai&abhishekam. This time it was all quiet out here in Abudhabi.The only difference was that Thursday happened to be a holiday as it was Prophet's birthday.I was missing all the activity I would have had in Pune but cheered myself saying "all that happens is for good only".
Wednesday evening my husband told me that our long time friends from dubai will be coming over for lunch on Thursday morning with their parents who are here visiting them.I was pretty thrilled hearing this.


Thursday morning as planned we had a nice lunch with our guests and also took the blessings of elders(which I think is a rarity this part of the world).We were chatting and catching up on old times when there was another pleasant surprise waiting for me.Our friends had got a DVD of Smt. Vishaka Hari for us to watch.So we had a wonderful time listening to and watching Vishaka Hari's rendition of Seeta kalyanam for 3 hours.That was really wonderful and pretty unexpected for me.


The point that I wish to convey here is that if we earnestly wish (for whatever it is) God makes sure and reassures us that he is there always for us.I so very much missed the satsang that I would have had in Pune that here HE arranged one for me through our friends and fulfilled my wish.So I was convinced that no matter where you are if you sincerely long for anything it happens.


These are all small matters on the face of it but if we give deeper thought we sure do understand that every small act certainly has God's hand. These small coincidences (as most may see it) or incidents in our life are a reminder and reassurance to us that HE is always there alongside us.I for one do very strongly believe so.

So a nice birthday I must say.

My Maiden Flight!!!

The year was 1978.My husband was selected on a one year scholarship to UK.He left India early 1978.The first few months I spent in Mayuram and then came to my parents house.My husband decided that I too could join him the last few months.So I started preparing for my trip.First passport,then visa procedure,so my father&,me were regular travellers by the deccan express (Pune-Mumbai).Though the visa procedures were pretty tough and long I did finally manage to get the visa.Went through plenty of new experiences all through the way.
My father and I next went for the air booking,booked by Britih Airways.I can still remember my father doubly making sure with the travel agent how safe it is to take the flight and she was telling her "uncle nowadays people are going to moon, you should not worry uncle, this is only a flight to UK,she will be fine uncle".So it was all set and I was ready to venture my first flight.

In those days I certainly had no clue about the weather in UK,the dresses that would suit the weather etc.

I start my trip,a jolna pai on my shoulder,that was my hand bag I imagineHere I am reminded of the film "Nala Damyanti"http://movies.sulekha.com/tamil/nala-damayanti/default.htmwhere Madhavan travels to Australia first time and carries a Manja pai with him .I boarded the flight and was shown my seat,went and sat there(aisle seat).Beside me were an Australian couple.I safely kept my jolna pai below my seat.It was a non stop flight and in 7 hours I landed at London's Heathrow airport.It was huge airport,and being my first trip outside India,it was a great experience I must say.I weny through all the formalities and was greeted by my husband waiting outside.

We stayed in London in a hotel,my husband took me that afternoon to meet the director of the CBI(Confederation of British Industries).After the preliminaries he asked me if my journey and everything associated was comfortable, without a second thought pat came my reply, Sir,I think the visa procedure for the wives should be made easier than this.(Today when I think about this I feel amused at my self for having been so rude and blunt to him) He probably did not expect this reply, any way he was indeed good nad ofcourse wise.After sight seeing In London for 3 days we came to Manchester where my husband was staying.

I had plenty of experiences during my stay here.Will quote a couple of them here.

We had no car here so needed to walk whenever we went out.Walking in the snow was a really novel experience for me specially after the snow when it becomes ice.Initially when I did not have the right shoes,I used to slip and fall.

Here I have to quote one incident which is very fresh in my memory still.We had gone for our weekly shopping to TESCO.We did the shopping and were back on our way home, chatting away when I sliiped and fell what with all the bags in hand.My husband gave me a helping hand and very unsuspectingly he too fell with a thud bags and all.The best and interesting part of all this is when passers by ask you,"ARE YOU ALRIGHT??when you are actually not alright and feeling pretty miserable after the fall and the broken jam bottles in the shopping bag.

Now to some things I really liked during my 3 months stay here.First it was the worst snowfall ever in the last 40 years,second I used to love watching snowfall from indoors and children playing in the snow,making snow man and throwing snow balls at each other.

Good memories I must say.









down below my seat.

A special fruit salad!!!

I can never forget our first wedding anniversary.Those were the Ghatkopar days still.I used to do the cooking in a dabba stove(or thiri stove)and a pressure stove silencer(aavi vanda stove!!!), my mother's precious stove it was.No gas in those days.

So coming back to our wedding anniversary now,we both decided we would celebrate at home by inviting a few friends over for dinner. So it was all set, menu decided.My younger sis- in- law was there with me.

We(sil&me) together worked out how to go about the job.So first thing in the morning off we went to chembur market, bought all the fruits and vegetables we had listed and started with the cooking right away.

We had invited about 20 friends and two stoves with us to do all of it.The menu was rather simple (atleast we thought so!!)Pulav ,vegetable kurma, raitha&fruit salad for dessert.

My sil did all the vegetable&fruit chopping and I took charge of cooking.

By 7 pm we were done with the cooking,we set everything as best as we could and waited for our friends.My husband had office too, so he too had to get back.

By 8 pm all our friends had come.All of my husbands friends were bachelors,so no female company for me though I knew all of them We served all of them fanta& coke and spent a nice time.Now the interesting part.Dinner time.I am sure they were all really hungry and waiting for asumptuous dinner.Dinner was served and all was quiet for a while and I was praying everything turned out ok when one of our friends came up to me and slowly said manni, kurma la uppu illaye?? marandu poyittel pola irukku uppu poda.!!!Oh!Oh! I said and ran with salt to each one's plate. (I never had the habit of tasting food before serving)FIRST LESSON LEARNT, TASTE THE FOOD BEFORE SERVING IT TO PEOPLE!!!!VERY IMPORTANT I THINK!!!

I imagine the pulav and raitha were ok and passable.Now comes the best part of the evening.It was dessert time.Out came the fruit salad.It was served and suddenly I found everyone unusually quiet and having adifficult time with the fruit salad.Went around asking everyone if everything is fine,all of them smilingly nod their heads and say nothing.

Pretty puzzled and anxious at the looks on people's face I tasted the fuit salad.The first spoon that I had I realised my mistake,GUAVA!!!

Those days my favourite fruit was guava and that too the really tough ones which taste sweet but are not soft.I had no clue what fruits are to be added(neither knew of referring to cookboooks!!) in a fruit salad and since my favourite was guava added plenty of that in the fruit salad and gave people a tough time.My elder brother had also joined us and he later told me that guava is not to be added in fruit salad.I remember I had to give all of the fruit salad the next day to the jamadar.LESSON NO 2:JUST BECAUSE YOU LIKE A FRUIT OR VEGETABLE DO NOT USE IT IN ANY DISH!! I realised how tough it is to eat a fruit salad filled with guava only when I ate it.This first anniversary celebration is still fresh in my memory after thirty years.Ofcourse I must say it was an enjoyable one too (inspite of my culinary expertise )!!.Today when I look back I think of how very innocent and simple I used to be.Experience sure is a great teacher I have to say.

Anda naaal Gnabagam!!!

Nostalgic memories of those days.I used to live in one bedroom flat in ghatkopar mumbai.This was soon after marriage.Husband dear used to be off by 7.30 am and be back after 12 hours.So I was left with a lot of time and nothing much to do.I had a Gujarati neighbour who either envied my status or waned to be free for a few hours atleast.She sweet talked me into taking tuitions for her sweet little daughter who was in KG.It was all set and I was convinced that it was good for me too to be doing something useful with my time.I started on an auspicious day and Jagruti(that was the kids name)started coming to learn A,B,C,D.....
Jagruti was a very sweet kid I must say and enjoyed the time I spent trying to teach her.
Those days there was no grinder or mixie either so I used to use the good old faithful aatukal for arachufying idli, dosai, adai maavu,generally I did it once or twice a month..I preferred to do this job in the afternoon teaching the little one alphabets,numbers.
That afternoon I gave Jagruti writing work and started my arachufying job.For a while the kid tried to concentrate on her work, but she could'nt control her thrill any more,so smilingly she very sweetly told me "teacher, merko malum hai teacher kya karti hai,I asked her what and she very shy and all pink told me 'teacher idli banata hai' !!!
Today whilst sitting I was reminded of that and that has matured into my starting a blog and putting up a post too.God Bless you kid wherever you are today!!!