The Namesake - No Naam Ke Vaas

What happens when the dry westerly winds collide with moisture laden easterly winds? Do we call this the brewing of perfect storm or is it is just a passing summer shower? Will the winds be strong enough to blow off the duck back and drench our eyelashes and cheeks with saline water or just disappoint you with the high and dry feeling? Let us wait to find out.

Can a train journey, a conversation with a fellow passenger and the company of Nikolav Gogol’s book change the future of Ashok, simple middle class Bengali? Miracles do happen in simple journey. The very journey from Calcutta to Jamshedpur to visit his grandfather gives Ashok a second life, a life changing moment. The very Ashok who was recanting his grandfather’s words “Books make you travel the world without moving an inch” at the end of this train journey decides to travel the overseas in pursuit of his dreams. His dreams were nothing extraordinary. A Phd at an American University, sharing life with a beautiful Bengali girl, career as a professor, and dutiful father giving the best of life and opportunities for his children. It all comes true as Ashima, a beautiful Bengali Koel lends her shruti to his life sacrificing her life and passion. She faces the challenges of life as she crosses the bridge on river Hoogli and embarks her journey of life on Brooklyn bridge. Dripping icicles on the barren tree branches, a stage in between water and snow describes the frigid environment, the cause for her fluidity.

However hard one tries to transplant and thrive in the new soil, the genetic make up and the core can never be altered. Pangs of moving to a new city and settling in an alien culture, anxiety in retaining the cultural identity, Ashima tires hard to recreate Bengal in Brooklyn, and weaves a cultural cocoon around her.

How does it feel to grow up as “Gogol Ganguli” among Greg, Gretchen, and George? How does it feel to grow up with a western cheesecake while the core at home is the Bengali rasagulla? Like the cheese caught between the layers of sandwich Gogol melts within when taunted by his classmates and when chided by his parents for not being another Bengali kid. The cultural disconnect resonates within Gogol and Sonia and they are burdened by the cultural cross they are made to carry. Like every other NRI parents Ashok and Ashima bring their kids to educate them on the cultural richness of India. Sonali, the squeamish ABCD stays immiscible.

Amidst the back drop of the kids growing up and trips back home grey clouds gather on the horizon. Passing away of Ashima’s her father back home makes her worry about emptying hour glass of life and withering roots. She holds on to her husband and son for her emotional survival. With kids graduating and moving out of home, Ashima like every parent fall a prey to the empty nester syndrome. The protective Indian motherly feeling breaks out of the egg. She worries unduly about his son but is only disappointed when her calls are unanswered and never returned.

Gogol caught between the jaws of the western culture and Max (his girl friend) at one end and the ever disheartened Indian parents at the other end is tormented by guilt and confusion. Passing away of his father puts an end to Max’s chapter in his life and he decides to make his mother happy by marrying Moushmi, a girl of Bengali origin. With Sonia moving to the West coast and without Ashok and Gogol Ashima’s life plays plaintive notes.

Did someone say that only time can work its magic on our skin and attitude. When that happens no one knows how and why it happens? There is a stage in life where we relinquish our dreams and stop goading kids with our dreams and accept them as they are. Ashima was at the crossroads of her life. She breaks out of her cultural cocoon and accepts her American son-in-law Ben. Now that her kids are living their American dream life, she decides to spread her wings and watch their life from this side of the shore. Ashima liquidates the assets and flutter back to the grove where she belonged. Her life goes back to the same notes she sang before marriage, she gets an opportunity to relive her passion.

Gogol, the architect is disappointed when his dream of building Moushmi Mahal was thwarted. To him the very name Gogol and the author were total mockery and revulsion, but in the back drop of Moushmi leaving him for a French guy the author turns out to be meaningful teacher and his book becomes a bible and more. He decides to read the book and architect his life with real happiness, following his father’s footsteps.

The Namesake is a simple story that brings the clash of ethnic baggage, value system and sentiments on the silver screen. Be it Bengal or Brooklyn anyone who is deeply rooted in their culture and ethnicity feels lost and confused when transplanted in a foreign soil. Is it good to have a cultural and ethnic identity? Does it do more damage than good? Ashima’s quandary and experiences answers these questions in the movie.

• Mira has done a fine job in taking a difficult but ubiquitous subject and candidly presenting it without cloying. She weaves a delicate thread from cultural cocoon that becomes a powerful backdrop and a colorful tapestry for the movie. She scores an A+ making the right choice when with cast, camera and music.


• Tabu the right pick for Ashima’s role, showed maturity in her looks and in performance. The timbre of the lost soul was well reflected on her face all through out the movie. Was it Tabu or Shabana Asmi? She scores a lot of wow moments in the movie.


• Kal Penn playing as Gogol was a challenging role, given his ethnicity and cultural background. He brilliantly transforms from juvenile Gogol to mature young men traveling through eye of the storm. He scores a lot of awe moments.


• Not for namesake, cast sake, and story sake but it is a must watch movie for all those who have crossed oceans, traveled miles, and others who plan to do so.

Survival at the end of the month

We still have 4 more days to payday and my bank account is already parched and dry like the summers of Khandahar. Thanks to maddening March. Tax planning and Uncle Chidambaram have left me scrimping and scrounging. The beggars outside the temple had more purchasing power than me.

Here is what I have in my wallet today. What can a Rupee and 25 Paisa get me? Not even a bus ride to work. The autowalas whom I haggle with were ready today to take me to work at my regular price but I had to decline their offer. Bicycles running besides me seem to have more power than my sturdy legs. I respected the same bicycles that I considered a traffic nuisance when I traveled by car. I lugged my heavy laptop and bruised ego in the hot sun to work while pondering on the power of money. I couldn’t see my own shadow follow me, may be he knew I was penniless and he moved away like the ticks that leave the body of dead animal? My empty smile resembled my wallet.

Luckily I didn’t have to buy lunch since I had packed my lunch from home. But my unruly taste buds fell in love with anything and everything edible that my eyes catch and my nose smells. I felt like a hungry reptile with a sticky tongue. I had to discipline my senses today from not watching and catching chimney smokes from the neighborhood kitchen. It pinches your heart more than your stomach when you don’t have enough change to buy a packet of Tiger biscuit. I wish I could raise the height of my teeth and arrest my saliva from over flowing. Pavlov’s theory was working fine. I could not hold them any further and I shamelessly befriended the guy at the canteen to buy stuff on credit to clam down my ulcerated intestine walls.

My enslaved senses were cursing the one who invented money. I wanted to go back to the days of barter system or even to the days where we could exchange favor for favor rather than money. Man who made money measures him today and makes him complete. Money controls the aperture of his smile and arrogance in his voice. My eyes would not rest if I didn’t pay my credit card dues and EMI. What a life!! Well this is how most of us are today, and our Karma balances are no different. Materialistic comforts and desire is driving us away into the desert of worries and stress. What can we do about it? Here I am waiting shamelessly for my next pay check like the desert sands awaiting the monsoon rain. For the first time I felt my ego balloon was punctured and the gas smelled worse than automobile exhaust, that was the smell of desire. I didn’t wallow in self pity, but rather appreciated life more than money, life is still beautiful in penury.

Mylapore Mardigras

When watermelons and tender coconut adorn the side walk we know summer has atlast arrived. This time around Mylapore pavements had more than just the thirst quenchers. An entire ecosystem mushroomed within a day to celebrate the annual festival of Mylapore. People seem more active than bees and ants. It was definitely an awe moment.

The gaint pandal at the entrance of the temple was welcoming and it set the stage for a grand gala festival. Mylapore has always been the epicenter of cultural and religious groups. Be it music, arts, street plays, or cultural fair there is something that this temple neighborhood offers for everyone even today. Though barricades and pandals erected on each of the four maadaveedhis made commute a nightmare, but still people were willing to put up the inconvenience to watch the fun and frolic unfold.

The Annual Panguni festival at Kapali temple began on March 24 this year with the traditional flag hoisting in the temple premises.


Shiva along with Parvati is taken on a procession along the four maadaveedhis each day at night. During these days Myalpore air is filled with a special concoction of soothing music emanating from the traditional wind instrument (Nadhaswaram), recitation of Sama vedam and hymns from various puranams by Oduvars. The burning of incense on the side and strong scent of jasmine from the sidewalk vendors makes this place spiritually and culturally invigorating.

The vahanas for the procession change every day. Traditionally it starts with Suriya prabhai and Chandra prabhai on the first two days of the festival. Adhikaranandhi on the third, Vrishabaha vahanam on the fifth, the car on the seventh, procession of 63 Nayanmars (Arupathimoovar) on the eight day draws scores of people from all over the city. The final day concludes with the celebration of the traditional marriage between Shiva and Parvathi (falls on the day of Uthiram star).

The festival is a big 10 day entertainment feast for all the kids and elderly. Within the temple premises oldies throng to hear the concerts and spiritual lectures, while artist from the nearby villages perform folk arts to entreat people on the streets. The little ones go around the streets and bring back a handful of items that include balloons, watches, sugar candy, flutes in exchange for a small change from their piggy bank.

The festival brings together an entire ecosystem of art, culture, music and religion filled with fun and frolic. Apart from sidewalks being turned into “Water or Buttermilk Pandal” for the Car and the Arupathimoovar festival every inch of the sidewalk is turned into a shop that sells trinkets, coconuts, flowers, incense, peacock feathers, cheap jewellery, and rangoli patterns and heaps of colors. Narikoravas, a diminishing trible also throng the temple city to display their intricate handwork that range from tuft of fox hair to ward of evil at home, catapult to hunt down birds, and chains made from colorful beads. Paramapatham and thayakkattai (Snakes & Ladders) and Pallankuzhi are hot sellers at fair.

It has been more than 25 years since I attended one and there seems no change in the
celebration. There is more fervor and flavor with which the festival is celebrated today
and tradition intact. When one would think that fast lifestyle and western influence will
pigeon hole and dilute such festivals, but on the contrary attendance is increasing year after year. This very festival connects people all over the city and the globe. The very utterance of
the word Arupathimoovar transcends peoples’ thoughts across latitudes and longitudes
and makes them feel connected and charged. Somethings last forever!!

A Journey on Time Machine – Five Point Someone

What if you were made to walk down the memory lane? Am I sounding that old or am I making you feel old? What if you were reminded about your college days? The eleventh hour exam preparations, absconding from class and taking refuge in cinema halls, smoking pot on the hostel terrace, falling in love with your HOD’s daughter and showing up for class half intoxicated, stealing exam papers. These were a few sequences in the play staged by Madras Players an adapted from Chetan Bhagat’s “Five Point Someone”. Nostalgia crept in after along time and it really made me crave for the halcyon days.

Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but life is a comedy when seen in long shot. Those were the words of the famous comedian Charlie Chaplin.

The play made me sit back, reminiscent and enjoy my college days. Call it chewing the cud or laugh at the comedy in retrospect, it only made my heart lighter at the end of the day filled with deadlines at work.

The story is about the three Musketeers – Infectious Ryan, the infection Harish, and nincompoop Alok – the three room mates’ journey at IIT Delhi. Ryan is the care free type who doesn’t give a shit about exams, and professors, Alok the over weight kid who sweats from eyebrow to groin with the mere utterance of the words exam and assignment, and the Harish is the pendulum who swings from between Alok and Ryan. Their personality traits are brought out in the very scene before and after their semester through out the story. Since I had not read the book till the end of the first semester I was not sure why the book was named “Five point someone”, but then it all became evident when the trio trying to beat/cope up with the grading system.

The script brings out clearly the fear inculcated in our education system. The fear from failure in semester exams and fear of not getting a decent job apart from financial and emotional responsibility at a very young age pushes students like Alok over the edge from the Hostel terrace. This makes us curse our exam system and society for its undue pressure and over expectations from the student community. Why does success in life have to be measured based on academic degrees?

What can bring spice to monotonous college routine, sadistic professors and pedagogical lectures? Well, Neha, the HoD’s daughter brings a whiff of fresh air to the story when our eyes just became cloudy. For once there is a romance scene in Indian play without a song. Harish and Neha’s love interesting develops a few more knots in the story and makes you move to the front of the seat. The plot becomes more tearful when the letter Neha holds from her brother Samir springs up in the middle of the play.

The tirade waged against Commerce graduates was hilarious. The dialogues and conversation with Harish’s alter ego brings out best in men and women when it comes to commitment. There is enough humor to keep us in our seats for two hours without wiggling.

All play no work policy of Ryan, Harish trying to impress the HoD for his daughter and Alok trying to care more for his family forces the trio to adopt unfair means in the examination. Professor Veera’s patronage was like the rain shower on a toasty summer evening. He brings back the lives of the three students on track and springs some hope in the story.


All in 5 lines: Promising Youngsters on the horizon
Ryan – the cool cat, Alok- the stress ball, Harish – the sweaty socks must be given a big round of applause. The 3 youngsters definitely made the audience relive and experience their college days once again. Rest of the crew was good, nothing exemplary. Props by Mahesh need a special mention. I have not read the book and hence I don’t know how much of justice was done to the original script, but as a stand alone theatre play FPS is definitely a must watch.


More about the novel:

Chemical Engineer, MBA - Delirium in 48 hours

When it comes to shopping both genders and parties on either side of the table today are equally astute and tough to satisfy. Is it because of perfect competition and too many choices that prevail in the consumer world or is it because there is no product differentiation? Customers do enough homework and research (Gee thanks to the World Wide Web) on the products before they set their foot in the shops. Then they run from pillar to post for the best price and play one dealer against the other to get the best offer.

I was in the market scouting to get a decent air conditioner and to choose the right one from a dozen of brands was a difficult proposition. I carefully looked at the ads and their fine prints and memorized brands that advertised to hard sell their products. It is the time of the year when air conditioner sales was picking up with the rising mercury. Dealers were giving ads in the Newspapers touting free installation and free stabilizer with air conditioners. Wow! I was happy that consumerism was driving the prices down and I had freebees and offers.

I didn’t take the regular route of researching on the web rather I directly went to the dealer to understand the latest in the world of heat transfer. Since this was my first visit during the purchase cycle I decided to study the brands and market demand more than technical specification.

I set my foot in the neighborhood dealer who was selling 6 different brands. With confidence and little arrogance I entered the shop while the intelligent ego in me was ready with questions. With a warm smile the salesman asked my requirements and price budget and he made a few suggestions. Though I accepted his suggestion but I had to satiate the consumer ego in me. I thought let me put my MBA to use and I will ask him questions from product marketing and get relevant information. I asked him about the best brands in the market, margins in brands, fast moving brands, and brands with maximum failures and complains, and also about place of manufacture and warranty. At the end of it I wiped the beads of sweat on my forehead, but he was cool as a cucumber. Since he was dealing with multiple brands he could not make up his mind on a particular brand. He was more comfortable arranging them on price than on quality and service. Before I bargained on the price, he ascertained free installation and stabilizer. I held my decision in abeyance and walked out of the place.

Sometimes too much information and research make the selection process confusing and arduous. That is exactly what happened when I came out from the dealer. The MBA in me was put to shame and I didn’t have any more hair to pull. He now put some paradigms in my mind and subliminally created preferences towards a particular brand. Coming back to the oldest trick I started asking (word of mouth is the most powerful marketing tool) my colleagues about air conditioners and their experience. Some of them gave me contradicting feedbacks and I was in a quagmire at the end of it.

Since none of my ventures helped me to zero in on a brand, I decided to pick the technical yardstick to narrow down my choice. My colleague whispered a nearby store has all brands under one roof and priced competitively. The store was hardly stone throw away distance from work and I didn’t need much momentum to drive my ego there. I let the MBA in me go to sleep and I woke up the Chemical engineer. I armed my arguments with flow patterns, turbine design, and Reynolds number. My ego was dancing in excitement. It was 10 years since I graduated and for the first time I felt my degree was put to right practical use. I was ready to beat down the sales man with all technical jargons.

I climbed the flight of steps and walked in the hallway that had rooms with see through doors on either side. There were 8 brands on either side till the end of the hallway. My ego was welcome with a smile by the first salesman belonging to a particular brand on the left hand side. I recanted my requirements and he showed me a few options. This guy was definitely technical but very shallow. His presentation aroused the real chemical engineer in me. My heart quipped “It is all heat transfer baby!!”

He tried hard to convince me that this particular brand had different nozzle shapes and sizes which cooled the room faster, but I had to remind him that capacity of the compressor was fixed and hence output can’t vary. The ego in me had conquered and squished his ignorance. His job became tougher now and he couldn’t afford to let me walk out of that room. My ego was priced at 25,000 and it was all worth for him to lose his pride and surrender his ego. He quickly realized that he had to close in now and he distracted me with a presentation that showed design of turbines/fans and how it affects efficiency. He threw another trick from him bag this time. He was trying to get me to go with his brand presenting the softer aspects wrt to embedded electronics and fuzzy logic algorithms. I was sucked right into the presentation that ran on the 14 inch monitor, but my ego didn’t want to lose either. I told him that I was not enamored by electronic controls and gizmos and I cared for performance. I had no other grounds to haggle except on price. But then I realized this was taking me no where. The salesman instantly rolled out the last bait in his bag. He tried to enamor me with the gift scheme and said that I could not avail the gift and he would reduce the value on the price of the AC. I was stunned and the MBA in me woke up and he said “Don’t fall a prey to this scam and this is to get non MBA’s in the trap”. Once again I stroked my ego and thanked my degree that kept me agile and wary.

I walked out of this brand and moved into another brand just to find reasons to accept my choice and stroke my ego. I knew I could do this only by stomping over a few more egos and finding faults with the other brands. Human mind is so capable of denigrating, isn’t it? I was convinced on the design and efficiency but the price was too high. I would rather pay for the engineering but not for marketing and brand value.

Sales guys rack up their brains to come up with innovate ways to present the same old Colgate with campaigns such as New, Improved, extra fluoride and while the ting noise stays forever. This was the same case with air conditioners. There was no clear product differentiation strategy in terms of technology. Most of the other brands had similar features and at the end of the one hour exercise I was still left high and dry. I had a tingling sensation and I realized I was in the turbulent zone and with high Nre. Nothing crystallized at the end of all these trips only my fluids dynamics was uncontrollable.

When we come to shop we all come with a requirement and when we leave we all look forward to walk away with the pride of owning the best brand at cheap price with maximum guarantee. We don’t want to believe the salesman ad want to throw our weight and knowledge around so that he doesn’t take us for a ride. None of it was achieved in my case and all rounds of research and screening turned futile.

When I came home in the evening my mother was only surprised to see my indecisiveness. My education, experience and logic all went for a toss. Even after stomping so many egos I felt rattled inside and I heard the voice in my head. It said “A Chemical Engineer and a MBA cannot make a simple decision?” My ego got swatted like a fly.

Slew of questions marooned my mind. Should I go with brand loyalty or should I trust another brand? The simple process of qualifying a brand and putting my credit card down became a complex process. Education created only paradigms and doubts in my mind. The sense of calm and feeling of being assured was all ushered in the past 48 hours. I realized I needed an air conditioner to cool my mind and ego. My complex mind immediately started building an equation for decision making.

F(x) = (history, price, quality, warranty, service)

When I presented the case to my mother and she only made it simple. Her logic seemed convincing and solution seemed simple. “We have 2 machines of the same brand at home and touch wood they have been trouble free for 9 years now. The brand is an Indian brand and there is no reason to fear they would shut their doors or give poor service. On the price front this brand was in between low end and fast moving brand and high end, luxury brand”. With conviction and clarity she said let us go with our gut feeling and from past performance. Her simple 2 minute solution put the multiple personality in me to rest. I asked both the MBA and the Chemical engineer to vacate my mind and unction my bruised ego. For the first time in two days I had an empty bladder feeling, the cloud of delirium vanished and a decision was made.

Solace, Solitude, and Silence – The Ramana Way

Before going on vacation we make reservations and accommodations months in advance, we itemize things we need to carry, and secure our belongings back home and finally ensure we have enough balance on our pre-paid mobile cards.

We all come to this earth with two kinds of cards, viz. Pre-paid and Post-Paid. The former one is from our karma from the previous birth aka fate and the latter one is our freewill aka fate of our next birth. The clash between science and spirituality was going on in my mind. I called on Newton and Neelakant at the same time asking for a solution.

The Newton in me presented his argument: “Don’t you agree that my 3rd Law holds good for all living and non living things?” To solve this debate between Neelakant and Newton I asked Senthil, my scientist friend to jump in. I was confident that this chemist would help me solve the mystery, but that was short lived until he came back with a boomerang. He presented another complex argument “when we reap fruits are you able to distinguish if this was a by-product of an action performed in the past (aka reaction of the action) or it is due to freewill aka action in the present birth”. Now I felt lost with too many questions already rattling my mind this only added another dimension to my paranoia. I asked both Neelkant and Newton to leave my head for sometime.

When science doesn’t help it is faith that helps. I had faint inkling that I had to get over some obstacles before going on this spiritual trip. Call this a test of perseverance or unwavering faith. But I had an intuition that once I get through this then it would be a smooth sail. The previous night I made a trip to Kapali Temple, I call him my local jurisdiction lord and I asked him if there was a way to check the balance on my pre and post paid and ways to ensure that I had enough balance to redeem my points for a spiritual vacation? Man proposes and God disposes is a hackneyed phrase we get to hear, and some people say we cant embark on a spiritual journey until one gets a call from God. Neither did I know my karma balance for redemption nor I heard a call from God, but I had this wish deep down in my heart to visit the holy city of “Thiruvannamalai” abode of Siddhas. Puranas say the very utterance of Lord Arunchala’s name and the very thought of Holy mountain Arunagiri is enough to absolve our sins. Absorbed in the spirit of Annamalai I took the noon bus to Thiruvannamalai, 180 kms south west of Chennai.

It was mid February and nobody promises of nice weather in Southern Tamilnadu. One gets taste of summer in February. It was one such day with no humidity and the sun was masked well behind the clouds and the breeze was pleasant. I had a feeling of winning a scratch lottery. There was no thought about work our about any payment dues, my mind was free and clear for once.

It was 4 pm when I checked in one of the row cottages at the ashram. There was nothing fancy about the accommodation. There was a table and chair to the left a double bed with sheets neatly tucked and inviting fresh linen. To the extreme right there was a shelf to lock precious belongings and right besides it there was a photo of Sri Ramana on the wall. His trademark, the piercing eyes reminded me of the objective of my visit.

I didn’t waste a minute upon arrival at the room. After a few seconds of glancing at the layout and arrangement I jumped in the shower and within minutes I was draped in dothi headed to Ramanasramam right across the road.


My friend Senthil had checked in the morning at the ashram and he gave me a quick tour of the ashram and handed over a sheet of timetable of activities at the Ashram. Common people call them beggars, while ashram calls them Sivan adiyaars. We were welcomed by them seated on either side at the entrance of the ashram.

I was next welcomed by the Peacocks when I entered in the ashram, and they were the permanent inmates of the ashram. I am sure they let Ramana know of my arrival at the ashram. This was the first time I heard peacocks sing, though my previous encounters with peacocks have been in captivity. From the very entrance of the ashram one could see the lofty peak of Arunagiri and the ashram was on the foot hills. One got lost at the mere look at the mountain. It has a lot of messages if you have the right station tuned to receive them. Bookstore and administrative offices were lined on my right and once I crossed them and climb a few steps I saw the shrines on the left.

It was weekend and definitely scores of tourists were sure to stop by the ashram. Some serious spiritual seekers both from the country and from overseas were camped at the ashram for months together and some even for life. Senthil pointed out a few of them whom he had seen from his trip couple of years ago. What is it that they find here and why is it that they leave their family and wealth to settle down in a small village like Thiruvannamalai? That was a question in my mind, but I decided to park for another time.

We washed our feet and headed to the main shrine aka Brindavana of Sri Ramana. This is the second building on the left after the book store and admin building. A huge hall painted with silence welcomed us. Sadhakas and spiritual seekers were seated with crossed legs and eyes closed. This made me wonder if I had stepped into Kailash.

I prostrated at the front of the Shivalingam kept on top of Sri Ramana’s Samadhi and circumbulated before finding a quiet spot besides the sadhakas. Living in city’s hustle bustle how many of us have experienced and enjoyed a calm mind? For the first time I felt something unusually calm. I looked around to see if I had stepped in a zone with absolutely no gravity. I was still walking on the floor, but my motion slowed, my pulse began to settle down to a comfortable pace, my heart was beating at the minimum required level, my mind was free from anxiety for once, there was no pressure on my lungs to breath and deep silence filled every pore and vessel in my body. How did all this happen in a few minutes? Can our body chemistry be altered that soon without any external drug? Well the answer is silence, the elixir. In the new age we can call him Prozac.




I have read so many books on meditation and how to silence the mind, but this was my first practical experience without any notice and preparation. The entire reaction was catalyzed by Sri Ramana. An hour had passed by before we were brought back to consciousness by the chants of Sri Rudram and Chamakam. We witnessed the evening ablutions given to Shivalingam by the pandits. It was Saturday and there was an evening prayer session in Tamil. Men were seated on one side of the hall and women on the other side of the hall and each of them took turns in reciting poems written on Sri Ramanar set to various carnatik ragas like Kavadi chindu, Kaapi, Hindolam, etc. The entire hall that was engulfed in silence sometime back was reverberating with bakthi and only one voice was heard. For that moment I forgot if I was living in Bhulok or Kailash! It was quarter past 7 at night, the prayer session ended and breeze of silence again took over the hall again.

Silence is a powerful tool and it can be enriching or disturbing. We’ve seen “Keep silence” board at hospitals, clinics and at places of worship. The silence at hospitals and clinics is somber while the silence at place of worship is always pensive. There was no tinge of sadness in any of the faces meditating in the main hall. I could see them radiating energy and joy. Is it because they’ve realized the true joy and permanent happiness in the world? May be I will borrow a few of my high school physics here to scientifically paint the atmosphere. We are exposed to the radioactive rays emanating from the Samadhi and Mount Arunachala. These rays are never injurious but only enriching. Can I call these guys Positrons (positively charged electrons)? The very silence in the hall strips the negative charge and impinges our cells with positive energy. Should I call this Ramana effect?

Discipline was strictly followed in the ashram and nobody had to do the time keeping job, people knew their routine, but people like us had to go with the timetable until we got used to the routine at the ashram.

We stepped out of the prayer hall and joined the queue that waited in the courtyard. There was absolutely pin drop silence and people calmly waited for their turn to enter the dining hall without jumping lines and making noise. The President of the Ashram welcomed every one who entered the dining hall with a warm smile. We walked through 2 big dinning halls and there were photographs of Ramana adorning every inch of the wall. I glanced at them curiously and ambled through the dining halls. Dried leaves were neatly laid out and stainless steel tumblers were placed on them. Without need for any instruction people followed the routine, I felt this was even better than an automated assembly line.

Most of us were seated on the floor, while some elders and some people from overseas were seated on the table lined up near the call. I sprinkled some water on the dried leaf and curiously waited to see the entrée for the evening. It was definitely Satwick food and there was nothing elaborate, but it the food was definitely nutritious. Two course rice was served along with vegetables and the balanced diet was topped with fruits at the end. There was absolute equality in what as served at the ashram and at special request food with less spice was served.

We classify foods in Hinduism according to the 3 gunas (Satwick, Tamasic, and Rajasic). Taste buds in our tongue and in our mind are activated with the kind of food, and our actions follow. Surprisingly for many of us the very thought of food is enough to activate our taste buds and drive our actions J. We don’t even get time to see what we eat in the city leave alone cooking satwick food and taking time to relish. This for the first opportunity I was able to relish and enjoy my meal. At the end of the meal my mind was still and calm, and for once I could appreciate and enjoy the effect of Satwick food.

The first night blossomed at the ashram with the experience of stillness in mind, silence in action, and to top it off with the satwick diet. I could witness and the very feel of
transformation within me. I was very much afraid that this state would be ephemeral if silence was not adhered. Senthil came back to the room and he cleaned up and started reciting a few chapters from Durga Saptasathi (Chandi). The entire ashram was vibrating with positive energy and soaked with spiritualism. I exchanged a few social pleasantries with my friend before retiring for the night. The cottages at the ashram were cloaked with silence and oxygen was pure and filled with peace. There was no craving for computer, mobile phone, TV and newspaper.

Having lived in the city since birth we always wake to noise of the milkvan, metro lorry or auto rickshaw. For the first time there was I waked to the call of the Peacocks. Their shrill voice reminded me of the paasurams from Thirupaavai asking the women folk to get up from their beds and start their day with the thought of Krishna.

People in the neighboring cottages were already awake and getting ready for another day, while the staff from the administration department was busy cleaning the ashram and cottages. Before we gave our mind and heart another dosage of silence and tranquility we set our stomach working on another round of satwick meal.

Neem trees were everywhere in the ashram. Birds seated on the branches were enjoying the succulent fruit and every now and then they dropped the seeds. Only a few of the many they dropped germinated to become another big neem tree. I quickly imagined a Ramana being the Neem tree and Sadhakas being the birds coming to enjoy the fruits of silence and realization of self. Like the birds and the seeds only a few get to enjoy the fruits of realization, while the rest of us have to wait for the right ambiance to germinate and come back again in the next birth to sit on the branch Ramana and enjoy the fruits.

Mere exposure to Ramana rays cures cancer of mind and body. Pronouns, Verbs, and Nouns get obliterated sitting in front of Supreme Master. There is no need of language in silence. There is no need of another illumination source when you besides Sun. Light and sound are two important concepts in physics and our Scientist have spent and are spending so many man hours exploring and postulating new theories. But none of these scientists have realized the properties of presence of light and absence of sound. At Arunchala silence and light are therapeutic. One would step on this soil with thousand questions, but the very moment he finds hidden answers in him and thus gets enlightened.



Peacocks were loud and shrill marking our attendance with Ramana. We got to see Naryana seva as we entered the ashram. Sadhus, (sometimes referred to as beggars in common parlance) are being fed at the ashram in the morning with two course rice meals. One could call this poor feeding or feeding the beggars, but Ramana always addressed them with atmost respect because he sees the same almighty in everyone. He coined the word “Narayana Seva” (duty of feeding Narayanas’). Ramana practiced “Athithi Devoh bavah” he ensured animals (peacocks, cows, dogs) were fed first, Narayanas were fed next, finally his guests at the ashram were served before he sat down for his meal.

We entered the Mataji shrine, the first one on the left before Ramana’s shrine. Ramana’s mother attained mukthi here and her Samadhi has a Srichakra installed. Pandits were busy reciting their morning prayers at the Shrine and we waited to see the morning aarthi at her sannadhi. We entered the main meditation hall returned to our spots. There was absolutely no talk in the hall and something had to be conveyed it was through actions and sometimes through movement of eye balls. I have seen oxygen parlors in cities but this place was filled with oxygen of different kind.

I have often wondered and made fun on how can Dakshinamurthi teach his students in silence (Mouna Vyakya Prakatitha thatvam yuvanam – Dakshinamurthi Asthakam – by Adi Shankara), but today I realized what can be taught only in silence. The mere ambiance in the hall rejenuvated my cells, quelled my fears, satiated my need, killed my desire and answered my questions. Should I call this the start of enlightenment?

The bell at thirty minutes past eleven brought us back to the Bhulok and we joined the line to the dining hall, but silence was still remained the main the landscape at the ashram. I decided to experiment on Satwick food today. I was observing my thoughts after the meal and there was absolutely nothing Rajasic or Tamasic. Sometimes for educated people like me spirituality has to be tested with science. Science can fail but spirituality never fails.

The Sun was mildly shinning and the wind was calm and pleasant, it was 15 mins to four in the evening. We freshened up after a brief nap and went on a parikrama around Arunagiri. We were the only two on the parikrama, while joined us later by foot and by cycles. It is believed that Sadhus and Siddhas live in the mountain and they come out during Pournima (Full moon night) and in early mornings (ushat kala).

Mountain Arunachala has some kind of magnetic energy that attracts many sadhakas and wannabe sadhakas. Every facet of this mountain has something new for the mind and soul. There is definitely a feeling of longingness when I looked at the mountain. Is it the belongingness that causes the longingness in us or it is the longingness in us that cause the sense of belongingness? The draft of longing became intense but that only had a calming effect on the mind. There is a message that this mountain sends out to receivers tuned into this spiritual station – the station of oneness and one consciousness.

We stopped at each of the Lingams during the parikrama while our tongues were busy wagging. But this time we were not gossiping but narrating stories from Ramayana, Mahabaratha and chanting hymns from scriptures. We were tired more from wagging of our tongue more than the parikrama. It was 15 minutes to seven when we reached the main shrine of Annamalaiyaar. We had a close darshan and aarthi of Shiva and Parvathi.

We sat on the outer prakaram of the temple enjoying the food packets sold at the temple. It was satwick food again, but our choice was limited to sugar pongal, pulioyogare, pepper vadai. We walked through the veedis surrounding the temple and it there was silence and shops were shutting down already. It was 15 minutes past eight when we reached the ashram. The Devi shrine was closed and Ramana shrine was dim but there were sadhakas with closed eyes and crossed legs observing silence. We prostrated at the ashram to mark the finishing of the parikrama while our tired legs demanded for some rest. For the first time we realized that two days had gone by and we just had another day in our karma account. Unrelenting Senthil came back showered and recited a few more chapters from Chandi before calling it a day.

Senthil and I tried to set alarm in our mobile phones, but they failed and we always woke up to the call of the mountain and birds. We were early to the ashram and since this was my last day I requested Senthil that we spend more time at the Shrine and we would not go anywhere outside the premises though we wanted to visit Skandashrama and Virupaksha cave on the hill. Morning ablutions to the Shivalinga at the shrine was performed elaborately to the chant of Sri Rudram, Chamakam and Pancha sooktham. Being weekday there were lot less people in the main shrine, but those inside were serious seekers. Some of them with closed eyes and crossed legs meditated on Ramana, some circumbulated Ramana, while some had their eyes open reflecting stillness. Each of them in the room had one purpose and reason to be there – self realization. I knew this was my first trip and I could only enjoy the crumbs of silence and meditation and there was lot to be assimilated.

After a long session of meditation, I starred at the clock in the hall and it was 45 minutes past ten. I had 45 minutes before lunch and then I will have to leave the ashram to return to my world of chaos, conflict and confusion. I shed a few tears like the pre-kg kid refusing to go to school. I went to the dining hall for the last time and I realized that have never enjoyed such a meal in my life. It had a different flavor and no words can describe the flavor. My taste buds and mind buds were enslaved. It was mostly that my taste buds enslaved me but this time it was my mind that was in control of my taste buds without any conflict. I felt like a de-clawed feline and de-fanged snake, I was still an animal but instincts were gone. It is temporary or permanent will have to be answered by time.

I captured the essence of the ashram, palette of emotions, and silence and stored them in every cell in my mind and body. My eyes turned cloudy and my mind was revolting to leave, but I had commitments back home. I promised myself of doses of such silence and cure back home and frequent trips to Thiruvannamalai. Senthil accompanied me in the auto till the bus station and before I alighted for Chennai I thanked him for the trip and promised to repeat this every few months. I chugged down the bottle of water that he got me a bottle of water and found a comfortable seat to digest the dosage of silence and my emotions. I continued to observe silence during the journey except for a phone call and letting the conductor know my destination. Before I knew the 3 hour journey brought me back to the hubbub of the city. Conflicts, chaos and confusion returned. I pulled out my survival skills and haggled with the auto guy and when I got home my worries and anxieties that I left outside my door were ready to get on my shoulder.

I always gather people when I go on pilgrimages. The reason being that If don’t have enough karma points to redeem, God might decide to suddenly throw festive offer of buy one get one free and he might let me embark the trip. This was definitely a lottery for me. I felt it was Senthil’s Karma points that got me to Thiruvannamalai. Like Senthil says, all I can do is create Shadba Jalam (play with words), but mere words can’t be a substitute for an experience but still this is an effort to get more people in the path of silence (The Ramana Way).

Raman Effect is “The interaction of light with matter in a linear regime allows the absorption or simultaneous emission of light precisely matching the difference in energy levels of the interacting electrons.” While Ramana Effect is all about impinging our neurons will heavy doses of silence to calm the perturbed mind and the matter inside. Silence is a potent medicine which can cure anything and everything in life. The only way to cross the ocean of karma is through silence. Most of us are busy and we never pause to enjoy such moments of realization and silence. Our lives are so fast that we don’t even know we have passed through the moment of realization.

Only a person who is down with fever likes the porridge. Having soaked myself in silence and spirituality for two days, I closed my room and plunged into silence and some questions came back. Do I have enough karma balance to redeem again for a trip to Thiruvannamalai? But then I convinced to use my freewill and push myself every few months to such doses of silence and tranquility. While desires give rise to Karma, but I persuaded my mind and heart that such desires are healthy and wise.

When I finished this blog my friend Anita wrote back to me saying that "Faith can move mountains" and the converse "Mountains can move faith" is true too.

Courtesy Pics and Information:
For more pictures visit: ramanashramam.blogspot.com/
For information and stay visit: http://www/ramana-maharishi.org

There are buses from Chennai (Koyambedu bus terminus) that ply every hour to Tiruvannamalai. It costs Rs. 55 by ordinary bus and express bus costs Rs. 62 to reach Thiruvannamalai. If you are staying at the ashram then Rs 20 autoride from the bus stand will take you to the ashram.

Horoscope – A scope for horror!!

Now I will have to unlearn and relearn that only 8 planets exist in our solar system. Western Astrology will have to delete Pluto from their birth charts and books will have to remove passages that talk about the effect of Pluto on natal charts. We live in e-age and space-age today and we send Sunita Williams and crew to outer space and to other planets to study their ecosystem but our beliefs and outlook still remain in stone-age. We still believe in Ganesha drinking milk and Hanumanji shedding tears. For those Hindutva or the left wing people – this is Kali Yug, the yug of warfare, treachery, drought, poverty, barbarism.

Are we believing too much in astrology and succumbing to fate without exercising our freewill? This is point to be pondered, debated with logical reasoning.

Astrology is a branch of science that deals with the impact of astronomy on human psychology. Are we letting this science control our psychology and take away our confidence and free will?

We have two schools of people, one who swears and lives by astrology and one who denounces it. The present Chief Minister of Tamilnadu swore in on a Saturday and during Rahukalam. Tamilnadu has had copious rainfall in the past 2 years and touch wood there is peace and prosperity raining in the state. While the previous Chief Minister, a Leo and ruled by star Magham has had all her car numbers add upto 9 and drape her self in green, but all that prevailed in her regime was misery, drought and corruption. Now this raises a question on the belief and the science. Should I believe in my freewill more than the influence of planets?

The moment I utter that I am a Virgo, people blurt out my traits as predicted by Linda Goodman. Now I am criticized for being a Virgo and I am being analyzed for traits that I don’t carry. For those people I life of a Virgo and not my own. How lucky and how empowered, nah?

We live in a country where astrology is deep rooted not only in our culture but also in our minds. Pandavas wanted to begin the war on an auspicious day and hence Krishna played his trick to bring Sun and Moon together so they can start the war on Ammavasya day to ensure victory. But today our mind is like Ammavasya day, total absence of clarity and vision. Today every newspaper and magazine has an astrologer predicting the week based on sun sign and every channel offers forecast for the day based on the movement moon. We have a panel picking and choosing Tarot cards before India plays a match and we have newspapers running front page articles on Mangalik Ash’s what she can bring to a marriage. Have we lost confidence in our selves and on our Indian team that we seek an unproved and unscientific reasoning to placate our delirious mind?

We want to know what future has in store for us. Is it happiness or is it tears and Kleenex? Be it a simple job change, the impending promotion, buying a new vehicle, home or other financial investment or getting married we run to our family astrologer or a quack down the street to make sure our choice is the best. Their choice and advice definitely helps us to make the final decision. Then where is our free will? It is just limited to desiring and reaching an astrologers place? We seek them to make sure we succeed and if not make sure we blame them for their skills? Rather why don’t we play our game of live with confidence and optimism?

Lord Rama had all planets in exalted position in his chart, the best combination ever possible. But still he had to face enough obstacles in life and perpetrate enough crimes on Sita. All he gave Sita was misery by deserting her and sending her to the forest where she lived with her sons. Does astrology guarantee anything in life or does it vouch for a person’s character and success?

Birth stars seem to determine the nature and psychology of a person, thanks to astrology. Even prior to marriage we have lot of crimes being perpetrated on women and by women. If you have a sister in Moolam or Pooradam forget getting her married the arranged way. If you have a daughter in Magham then you will send 5000W through her future in-laws spine. How do I draw the line between being objective and not color blinded by the laws of astrology?

I have seen so many parents visit the astrologer to find out if their wards would make it to the B-School. Well there are only 12 houses in the chart and there is nothing specially for IIT or IIM. Rather than asking their kids to pursue their dream, parents take away their freewill. When these kids grow up they continue to live without the same freewill. How sad!!

Here is an incident that ruined a beautiful relationship. A friend was mine was in love with a girl from an orthodox Brahmin (filled with paradigms and prejudices) family. Her family lived by the laws of astrology and when they took the charts to their family astrologer for approval, he predicted doomsday. Separation and divorce was written all over their charts. My friend’s parents belong to the other school and they believed in themselves and their son. My friend and his fiancée visited other astrologers in the city to verify the same readings. I happen to meet them during their trips to one of the astrologers. I advised them to believe in themselves and build trust in each other rather than believing in a science which is beyond their control and reasoning. I chided them going around and collecting litter in their brains and cautioned them that it would only ruin their relationship.

The seeds of failure and sorrows were sown in their minds early on. On the contrary if they had gone against the astrologer and got married, the fear of divorce and separation will always operate in the back of their minds. The seed of fear would only grow into a weed and finally into a tree that nobody can fell. After meeting 15 or so astrologers in the city they have decided to call of their love and part as friends. The real doomsday was brought in their lives not after marriage but before marriage and by several astrologers. Astrologers have taken away the trust and faith in each other and their relationship but planting fear in the mind of the young wannabe couple.

We all have desires of many kinds and everybody wants to live a life brimming with prosperity, peace, good health and happiness. All mothers and fathers want to ensure their sons and daughter to be happy forever. But aren’t we going overboard by living what an astrologer says?


Here is another example,
A cousin of mine wanted to start a business and be on his own. But every time he visited the astrologer said he needs to wait for another year. But by the time he was given a go ahead he had turned 50. Though his mind was willing his body didn’t have enough strength. Are we missing the bus of fortune believing in quacks and their baseless predictions? Where did hard work go? If we all were made to live by our past Karmas then where is free will in this birth?

Astrologers seem to enjoy a more powerful status than God in the society. Most of the decisions in our lives are taken by them and we merely move around like powerless pawns without any choice. Astrology doesn’t seem to give any remedy or prescription for happiness, good health, peace and prosperity. For those who believe it only seems to bring their confidence levels down and create a disbelief in their freewill and cling tenaciously to their fate and past.

For some it is a simple job change, for some it is the promotion, for many unmarried singles it is about their better half and for the married ones it is about the arrival of the next member in the family. Nobody promised that life is a bed of roses. Why don’t we have the confidence in ourselves and our capabilities? Is it because we don’t want to take credit and responsibility of our failures and is that why we trust and believe astrology? Or it is that we want someone to point our fingers at and thus we turn to this science.

Gemology is another branch of astrology that swears to change fate by just wearing a piece of stone open set in gold or silver. Wearing a 3 carat Pukhraj (Yellow Sapphire) in the right hand index finger is believed to bring back good luck and ward off evil luck. I still wonder how stones can do wonders. Until we have junta who believe in others and not in them we will have such quacks flourish. It is the educated ones that fall in such traps more than the illiterate.

We all have fears and insecurity with our present and our future. We are better of visiting a counselor than an astrologer. May be a counsellor is much less expensive than an astrologer who charges by number of questions. A counselor makes you enjoy the present and nullify unwarranted fears, while the astrologer taunts you with the past karma and the unarrived future. An astrologer can paralyze your confidence, poison your hopes and imprison you in paranoia. Visiting an astrologer or a tarot card reader is like injecting a dose of hope or optimism for most and this become habitual too. Without putting in hard work we want the planets to collude and make honey and milk flow in our lives. Remember there is no short cut to success and there is no big sucker than an astrologer.

Is our freewill overridden by astrologers’ freewill and is our fate overwritten by his freewill and shoddy predictions? Where do we draw the line when it comes to an astrologer? Do we use them as a compass to show the direction or we use them as a wind wane? We can use them as compass or wind wane, but let them not be the wind that changes our lives and misleading compass. We will have to decide which direction we would like to travel. Learn to exercise your free will. There is lot of unlearning and relearning in life, now let us start with Pluto.