South Asia Earthquake - please donate generously

Yet another tragedy to hit my part of the world. Not even a year to Tsunami!!!! Somehow a feeling of deja vu. I am speechless. All I can say is that please please donate generously with your time, money and other resources. See this blog for more details on how to help. Thank you.

The pause that refreshes

I am back!!! Not that I had gone somewhere far away (in fact, am always within 3 feet of my laptop:-) Hope to have regular updates from now on.

In the meantime, please check out this blog on economic issues in India - www.indianeconomy.org

Goodbye dear city

Its with a heavy heart that I wish you goodbye. I hated you when I first moved here, never ceasing to compare you with the one I had left behind. But you grew on me. You will always have a special place in my heart. Its time to go now:-(

Arundhati Roy - the lady for wrong things?

I seriously fail to understand this woman. What does she mean by this? Not that I support the Iraq war. But the killing of innocent civilians by these so called forces of Iraqi resistance should stop.

Ms Roy is still basking in the glory of her award-winning book and deriving unecessary mileage from it. I don't understand her stance on Narmada and all the other things she stands for. Maybe there is something wrong with me, but I hope I am not alone.

P.S.: Came via Shanti's blog.

Happy Diwali

Today is Diwali, perhaps the best known festival in India. No matter what religion you practise or which part of the country you come from, Diwali has some kind significance for all.

In Jainism, on this day, Lord Mahavira attained salvation or nirvana. Also for Jains, the New Year is the day after Diwali. In north India, Diwali celebrates Lord Rama's triumphant return to Ayodhya and his coronation as king. In Gujarat, the festival honors Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and in West Bengal, it is associated with the goddess Kali.

May this "festival of lights", brighten your lives. Here's wishing you all a HAPPY DIWALI.

Wail from the valley

While you used undue force on us
Paradise burned
And we lost our land and beauty
The only thing we managed to salvage
was our glorious culture and history

It is the promise of tomorrow
That keeps us going
Some day we will live without fear
In our own land and country

Anjum Nair

"The only fight we lose is the fight we abandon. What's abandon? :-)"- Anjum Nair

I know a lot of my posts are belated but I always wanted to write about him. He passed away a few months ago after a year-long battle with cancer. I didn't know him at all but somehow his death hurts. Also read about his extraordinary wife, Patsy Nair. I think Chindu & Bijoy say it all.