Mm Connect March 2014

8/12/2019 Mm Connect March 2014

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MM CONNECT MARCH 2014

A few weeks ago, accidentally, I bumped into an acquaintance from my school days who

continues to live in the small town I grew up in. I met him after 40 years and a lot had

changed. Yet after the initial embarrassment of remembering the face but not the name, we

were hugging each other. He remembered things about me that I had forgotten, some of

them deliberately. I for my part remembered things about his family members that

surprised him. We had agreed to share a cup of coffee, which extended to another and then

dinner.

As we chatted we pretty much covered most of the towns population of those daysespecially the prettier inhabitants and he seemed to know a lot about a lot of them. I was

surprised at how much he seemed to know he said it was the benefit of having been born

and brought up in a small place.

That reminds me of a quip.

The best thing about living in a small place is : when you are not sure whats going on in

your own life ..Someone else usually does.

Now this is the kind of small place that Melur Meadows is designed to be. Not for us, mind

your business and I will mind mine attitude of the cities. Despite having a care-taker

amongst us, it is this friendly inquisitiveness that serves as the best early warning system

when a resident is not feeling well. It is the hey, I am not going to let you mope by yourself

spirit that breaks down the boundaries of the introverted and keeps them from becoming

lonely.

For me Melur Meadows is a dream come true. May we always be a small place- with a big

heart.

Best Wishes and thanks to all of you who live this spirit every day.

Regards,

Sathya

THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH: G N. Parthasarathy - D05 - [email protected]

Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant.

Socrates


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SPECIAL DAYS OF THE MONTH

UNIVERSAL HUMAN BEINGS WEEK

From March 1 to 7 the Universal Human Beings Week is observed

annually all over the world. It is observed to celebrate Humanity

and to give primacy to the human and spiritual, rather than to the

material values of life.

MARCH 8. INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

Originally it was called International Working Women's

Day. In different regions the focus of the celebrationsranges from general celebration of respect,

appreciation and love towards women to a celebration

for women's economic, political, and social

achievements. Started as a Socialist political event, the

holiday blended in the culture of many countries,

primarily Eastern Europe, Russia, and the former Soviet

bloc. This is a day which some people celebrate by

wearing purple ribbons.

MARCH 15 WORLD SLEEP DAY

This is an annual event organized by the World Sleep Day

Committee of the World Association of Sleep Medicine (WASM)

since 2008.[1]

It is aimed to celebrate the benefits of good and

healthy sleep and to draw society attention to the burden of sleep

problems and their medicine, education and social aspects; to

promote sleep disorders prevention and management.

MARCH 29 WORLD THEATRE DAY

World Theatre Day was initiated in 1961 by the

International Theatre Institute (ITI). It is celebrated

annually on the 27th March by ITI Centres and the

international theatre community. Various national and

international theatre events are organized to mark this

occasion.


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MARCH 29 WORLD WATER DAY

International World Water Day is held annually on 22

March as a means of focusing attention on the

importance of freshwater and advocating for the

sustainable management of freshwater resources

.

World Water Day 2014 will address the nexus of water

and energy. The UN system working closely with its

Member States and other relevant stakeholders is

collectively bringing its attention to the water-energy

nexus, particularly addressing inequities, especially for

the bottom billion who live in slums and impoverished rural areas and survive without

access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, sufficient food and energy services

MARCH 26 INDEPENDENCE DAY OF BANGALDESH

It is also referred to as 26 March, commemorates the country's

declaration of independence from Pakistan in the late hours of 25

March 1971 by the "Father of the Nation" Sheikh Mujibur

Rahman.

A LITTLE SELFISHNESS IS GOOD FOR YOU: James David D26 -

[email protected]

The word has such negative connotations. It is seen as a

tremendous character flaw the type of insult that someone may

yell out in a heat of passion only to stop a conversation dead in its

tracks, as the receiving party takes tremendous offense.

Yet it is possible that, as a society, we have gone too far to the

other side, promoting the idea that if we want to truly be good

people, we need to be as selfless as possible. Complete

selflessness has a cost and that cost is often our own health,happiness, and wellbeing.

With so much emphasis on helping others, we should always remember that we deserve as

much health and happiness as anyone else possibly more. This is because:

We are human If we believe that everyone needs deserve happiness then we must also

believe that we deserve happiness too.

We can control our happiness As much as we try to help others, the only person whose

happiness we can fix with any certainty is our own.


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We matter most to us When it comes to our life, no one is more important than ourselves.

Not friends. Not even family.

That last point is often forgotten. But the truth is that we are important. We matter. And we

especially matter to us the one person in this world that knows us best of all. It is for that

reason that being a little bit selfish may be a good thing.

It feels good to give our life for someone else, but unless we also care about ourselves, the

chances of living a healthy and happy life will suffer. Caregivers are a great example of this.

Caregiver anxiety is an extremely common condition, as caregivers give too much of

themselves for their patient and forget/ignore the things that make them happy. In the end,

while they may have made someone elses life a little easier, they often make theres a great

deal worse.

Its time to be a little bit selfish. Its time to care about our own health and happiness, even

if its slightly at the expense of someone we care about. Our happiness needs to beimportant to us. But perhaps the greatest reason to be a little selfish is because it makes us

a better person for others as well.

We may love our friends, neighbours, extended family and those in dire needs to the point

of wanting to care for their every whim and they may accept this love with open arms. We

sometimes bent backwards to help them at the expense of caring for ourselves. On

occasions we question ourselves the wisdom of our charity Misplaced[?] How far can

we go this way?

If being a little bit selfish now and then helps we find happiness, and not at the long termexpense of others, focusing on our own happiness not only benefits us but may even benefit

those that we are giving to. Yet even if it does not, our happiness should be our priority

above all others. If that means we need to be a little selfish now and again, then being a bit

selfish may be a good thing.

PERCY CARROLLS FINAL RUN: S. Sankaranarayanan - B36 - [email protected]

The Anglo-Indian community was closely involved in the running of Indian Railways aslocomotive drivers, guards and station masters. During several strikes since Independence,

the Railways have been kept working because of the loyalty and courage of the Anglo-Indian

railwaymen wrote Frank Anthony, prominent Anglo-Indian leader in his book Britains

Betrayal in India.

Recently, Anglo-Ink brought out a title Footprints On The Track Anglo-Indian Railway

Memories. Noel Thomas, a resident of Vishakhapatnam has compiled and edited the

volume; he has also contributed to it. The book contains 38 true stores (including a poem

and a ballad) of simple railway folk of hard-working men, of mothers, wives, sons and

daughters who made railway colonies model centres of social interaction, communityservice and harmonious living.


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Can there be an Anglo-Indian function without music? (Remember, whenever our good

friend Eldon attends our function he invariably entertains us with a song or two on his

mouth organ.) In the book release function an eleven year old boy, Hansel Dique sang the

ballad Percy Carrolls Final Run set to tune by his father Stephen Dique. We dont have

an audio but we have the script. Now, read on.

Percy Carroll was a brave Railwayman.

He loved his engine, and kept it spic and span.

His firemen loved him, cause he treated them well,

He was a big hearted driver, more than words can tell.

On that tragic morning, he came full speed round the bend,

At that very moment, he knew his life could end.

His sole concern was how to save the train

So that hundreds of travellers, they wouldnt die in vain.

He eased the throttle and applied the brakes,

He knew hed have to hit the fouling rakes.

He yelled to his firemen, Save yourselves, JUMP,

And along with his engine, he went over the hump

These were his last words, Hows everyone?

He smiled when they told him, no damage was done.

His life was ended and his race was won

When Percy Carroll made his final run

A 30-year-old railway man, Percy Carroll, was the driver of the Up

Bombay-Calcutta Mail on March 20, 1959. Given the all clear at a

station he kept going till, round the bend a few miles away, he saw the

consequences of two goods trains that had crashed into each other

only a little earlier wagons strewn all over both tracks. Braking for

all his life but knowing he was not going to make it, he had his crew

jump. He was at his post, trying to slow his train down as much as

possible, when his engine crashed into a couple of wagons and toppled


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over the embankment. He was caught under the wheels of the engine, but the carriages of

his train held the tracks. Carroll died on March 22 and was posthumously awarded the

Ashoka Chakra.

INDIA COFFEE HOUSE: K. Ramachandran -A02/04 - [email protected]

Writing a piece in India Magazine, Khushwant Singh

commented on the ambience of India Coffee House at

Regal, Connaught Place, New Delhi. I write by recall.

India Coffee House was a gathering place of all busy

bodies in the corridors of power. All decisions of

political gravity tended to originate in the gossip being

milled around within the precincts of this timehonoured institution - over a cup of coffee! Amidst all this din was a man sitting alone and

therefore attracting attention. Speculation was what is it that he carried and would not

share unless someone walked up to him with deference to the power of solitarity that he

exuded. It is then that the others who threw frequent glances at him noted he was

squirming. You read it right he was squirming in his seat. The intensity of curiosity increased

and all attention riveted upon him. He did his best to stop squirming. Then the truth was out

- he had to pass wind. In his effort to control he let it out with a squeak. All around him in

the India Coffee House laughed at the faux pas. He was embarrassed to shame and blurted

'Sorry, slip of my tongue!"

Who has not heard of Khushwant Singh? With Malice Towards One and All" and a famous

editorial where he wished Jayalalitha was President of India so that he can adorn her

beautiful picture on the cover of the Illustrate Weekly of India each week! His satire and

sarcasm carry loads of wit and conjure up rib tickling images.

MY ENCOUNTERS WITH THE POLICE: Lakshiminarayanan [email protected]

My immediate younger brother was both impulsive and

audacious. He was relieving himself, out of sheer physical agony,in an important arterial road - Pantheon road in chennai. A

policeman accosted him and asked: dont you know that

pantheon road is not meant to be a public urinal? My brother

haughtily retorted:What will you do if you are under pressure

The policeman immediately caught my brother by his collar and

said you have asked a beautiful question - the judge will give

you an appropriate answer . So saying, he hauled us to the

Egmore court in spite of my entreaties and asked us to wait for

our summons. My discreet enquiries revealed that the fine may

go up to fifteen rupees. A quick check to our dismay showed wehad less than three rupees. I rushed to my office and managed to borrow the amount from


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three friends [this happened in 1954 and I was a government servant on a princely salary of

Rs.90/- per month], The whole drama lasted for five hours by the time fine was remitted

and we left the court precincts. The parting shot from the policeman was that because of

me, my brother was let off or otherwise he would have been booked under another section

dealing with obstruction of a public servant from discharging his duties. It was clear that we

should not act defiant when we are on a weak wicket.

James Bond movie With Love from Russia was released in Globe Theatre, Chennai in 1960

or 1961. Crowd to buy tickets overflowed into Mount road bringing the traffic to a standstill.

My immediate younger brother was an English movie buff. Having failed in three attempts

to buy the tickets, I was persuaded by my brother to join him in one more attempt

notwithstanding my reluctance. We were almost at ticket counter: the sign board SOLD

OUT appeared. My brother was crestfallen. Someone watching our disappointment and

predicament offered two five rupees tickets at twenty rupees each. Nothing doing I

argued. that the additional fifteen rupees for each ticket would get us special thalis with all

the goodies on five Sundays, in the then famous Saidoji Mess in Triplicane.

My brother insisted that we should take the offer and see the movie. We pooled our

resources and bought the tickets. Now we were at the entrance; .the doorman examined

the tickets and asked us to stand aside. We didnt feel anything amiss as we saw quite a few

people also standing by the side. After some time a chap dressed like the manager came and

had a chat with the doorman and gave us a look of sympathy and disappeared. My stomach

started churning; a premonition of the impending disaster dawned on me. My brother was

the least perturbed.

After fifteen minutes, four policemen escorted us to the B2 or B4 police station opposite toSpencers. There were only two benches and we scrambled to occupy a seat and retain a

semblance of whatever little dignity was left. The inspector, who had been out for a while,

entered the station. He did not even glance at us. Once inside, the inspector was treated to

a sumptuous meal by the police constable and moved to an adjoining room; he was resting

after a tight schedule and a hearty meal. After sometime, everybody stood to attention and

we were all herded into the Inspectors room. I felt very small when I explained that I was an

Officer of the state Government. My brother reeled off his bosss name a big industrialist.

Oh! said the inspector and asked my brother to be seated in the bench for some more time.

All the others were given a tongue lashing for buying counterfeit tickets and let me off. My

brother was a special guest for one more hour and then let off.

A good bath to dust off the police station smell followed by a meal restored normalcy.

False bravado under adverse circumstance does not cut ice with the police. These are all

vintage stories but with one advantage-one could run away and the police man[ many of

them pot bellied] could not catch you...

Let me end the snippet with an interesting story. Lyndon B Johnson once went to church,

accompanied by police outriders. After the service a little one approached him and asked

whether he was the guy who came with the policeman. When LB said yes, the boy advised

escape through the back door-the policemen are still waiting for you outside


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PRAYER:Venkatraman Garke B 06 - [email protected]

If you pray with the intention of doing good

to someone, your prayer may bring about

good both to him and to yourself. Some

people pray for the spiritual benefit of

those who have done them some wrong,

thereby helping others spiritually. But all

prayers with a motive fall short of the ideal

prayer which is without motive. In the

entire spiritual panorama of the universe

nothing is more sublime than spontaneous

prayer. It gushes out of the human heart,

filled with appreciative joy. It is self-expression of the freed spirit without any motive. In its

highest form, prayer leaves no room for the illusory duality of the lover and the Beloved. It

is a return to one's own being.

For most persons, outer ceremonies and rituals prevalent in diverse religions constitute the

established and even indispensable approach to God. However, they are neither essential

nor necessary, though at times they have been allowed or given by masters by way of

inevitable accommodation to human weakness. Its practice brings benefit when they are

allowed or given by a master, but only during the period prescribed by him, and in the

context in which they are intended to be given effect. They have no lasting value nor can

they be made eternally binding. They never were, never are and will never be, essential or

indispensable.

No master has been content with merely external discipline. Through their teachings as well

as example, they have set forth prayer as the inner approach to God.

Among the lovers of God, many prayers are prevalent, arising from diverse cultural contexts.

Some prayers invariably contain an element of asking something from God, either material

or spiritual. In fact, God is so merciful that even without their asking He always gives more

than they can receive. He knows our real needs more deeply than we do. Therefore, the

element of asking from God is superfluous. It often mars the inner love and worship which a

prayer tries to express.

What constitutes the essence of prayer? The ideal prayer to God is nothing more than

spontaneous praise of His being. You praise Him, not in the spirit of bargain but in the spirit

of self-forgetful appreciation of what He really is - because He is praiseworthy. Your praise is

a spontaneous appreciative response to His true being, as infinite light, infinite power and

infinite bliss. It is futile to attempt a standard prayer and hold it up as an ideal for all people

of all times. The glory of the Almighty transcends all human understanding and defies all

verbal descriptions. Eternally fresh and self-renewing in its unlimited amplitude, it never

fades; nor is it ever confined within the limits of the hymns. All hymns and prayers reach out

towards the eternal Truth of Godhead only to merge those who utter them in silent and

unending adoration. If by ideal prayer is meant a set formula, any search for it is a wild

goose chase. All prayers ultimately initiate the soul into an ever deepening silence of sweet


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adoration; and all formulae are dissolved into the integral and direct appreciative

perception of divine Truth. That which seeks to reach towards the immeasurable, itself

becomes incapable of being measured by any set standards.

The ritualistic and repetitive expressions of prayer cannot do justice to the innermost

essence of prayer, which is adoring love for the eternal Beloved. To attempt to standardise

prayer is to mar its intrinsic beauty. - Avatar Meher Baba

FEED YOUR FUNNY BONES:

A man and his wife are driving down the highway when a police officer pulls them over. The

officer says to the man, "Do you know that you were speeding?" The man replies, "No sir, I

didn't know I was speeding." The mans wife then yells, "Yes you did, you knew you were

speeding I've been telling you to slow down for miles." "SHUT UP!" the man says to his wife,"Shut woman, just sit back and be quite." Then the cop says, "Well, since I've got you pulled

over did you know that the tag on your license plate is expired?" "No Sir" the man replies, "I

did not know that either." "YES YOU DID!" His wife yells, "I've been telling you to go get it up

to date for months!" "Shut up" the man yells to his wife again! "Sit back and shut up, mind

your own business!" Curios, the cop walks over to the woman's side of the car and asks her,

"Does he always talk to you this way?" "No" she replies, "Only when he's drunk

The local forest warden in a small town arrested a man for killing a wild fowl. The man wentbefore the magistrate to plead his case. After pleading guilty with an explanation, the

magistrate asked him why he did it.

I was just trying to feed my hungry family, he told the magistrate, and I had never done

anything like that before.The magistrate, being a family man himself, had a soft heart and

agreed to let the man go free, since he was only trying to feed his starving family and it was

his first and only offense. Before you go, though, I want to ask you a question, the

magistrate quipped, What does wild fowl taste like.Well your Honor, the man told him,

It not as tender as wild rabbit but it is better than the wild partridge.

An engineer died and reported at the gates of heaven. An newly appointed angel, checked

his dossier and grimly said, Ah, youre an engineer; youre in the wrong place. So the

engineer was cast down to the gates of hell and was let in.

Pretty soon, the engineer became gravely dissatisfied with the level of comfort in hell, and

began designing and building improvements. After a while, the underworld had air

conditioning, flush toilets, and escalators, and the engineer was becoming a pretty popular

guy among the demons.

God called Satan up on the telephone and asked with a sneer, So, hows it going downthere in hell? Satan laughed and replied, Hey, things are going great. Weve got air


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conditioning and flush toilets and escalators, and theres no telling what this engineer is

going to come up with next.

Face clouded over and he exploded, What? Youve got an engineer? Thats a mistake; he

should never have gotten down there; send him up here. Satan shook his head, No way. I

like having an engineer on the staff, and Im keeping him.

God was as mad as he had ever been, This is not the way things are supposed to work and

you know it. Send him back up here or Ill sue you.

Satan laughed uproariously, Yeah, right. And just where are YOU going to get a lawyer?

FROM THE ARCHIVES

THE PAMBAN BRIDGE

It is a cantilever bridge on the Palk Strait

in the south connects Rameswaram on

Pamban Island to mainland India. It

refers to both the road bridge and the

cantilever railway bridge, though

primarily it means the latter. It was

India's first sea bridge. It is the second

longest sea bridge in India [after Bandra-Worli Sea Link] at a length of about 2.3

km. The rail bridge is for the most part, a

conventional bridge resting on concrete

piers, but has a double leaf bascule section midway, which can be raised to let ships and

barges pass through. The railway bridge is 6,776 ft (2,065 m) and was opened for traffic in

1914. The railroad bridge is a still-functioning double-leaf bascule bridge section that can be

raised to let ships pass under the bridge.


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The railway bridge historically carried metre-gauge trains on it, but Indian Railways

upgraded the bridge to carry broad-gauge trains in a project that finished Aug. 12, 2007.

Until recently, the two leaves of the bridge were opened manually using levers by workers.

About 10 ships cargo carriers, coast guard ships, fishing vessels and oil tankers pass

through the bridge every month.

After completion of bridge metre-gauge lines were laid by them from Mandapam up to

Pamban Station, from here the railway lines bifurcated into two directions one towards

Rameshwaram about 6.25 miles (10.06 km) up and another branch line of 15 miles (24 km)

terminating at Dhanushkodi. The section was opened to traffic in 1914.

The bridge is located at the "world's second highly corrosive environment", next to Miami,

US, making the construction a challenging job. The location is also a cyclone-prone high

wind velocity zone. This Bridge consists of 143 piers and the centre span is a Schrezers

rolling type lift span. It is 220 ft [67 m] long and each weighs 100 tonnes

WOMENS DAY CELEBRATIONS IN MELUR MEADOWS

On Saturday, the 8 March, Melur Meadows joined

the rest of the world in celebrating Womens Day. It

was day of great fun and companionship amongst all

members of the community. Singing by Melur

Meadows Melody Makers of I am woman and the

musical Debate between men and women set thepace. The highlights were a kuthupattu dance by

Nithya, speech by Sakthivel and solo by Piruthiviraj,

all members of the staff. It was a day of harmony

and enjoyment, hallmarks of the Melur Meadows

community.

THE SPECIAL GUEST FOR MARCH Alamelu Raman

Alamelu Raman, a lovely lady with an

engaging smile, is the mother of

Vasantha Ramani (D07). She was

spending a special time with her

daughter here for a while. When you

see the mother and daughter

together you are much impressed by

the easy camaraderie between them.

Mrs. Alamelu reflects the admixtureof courage and gentleness that


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women of her times needed to survive and succeed in life. Born in an orthodox family in

Thiruvanaikaval she studied only up to 6th standard. She was married at the tender age of

15 and joined her husband the next year in Calcutta. Then on she followed her husband to

various cities, Bangalore, Chennai, Bombay, Delhi and Hyderabad. In all of these changes she

was the anchor who gave the warmth of security to her four daughters and two sons. She

has six granddaughters and two grandsons.

Perhaps on first sight she is no different to many other women but her life is quite

extraordinary in how she overcame the odds stacked against her and kept her individuality

without rocking the boat. Her husband who was not a robust man needed all her attention

which she gave unstintingly. However, being a man of his times, he expected her to be

nothing more than a housewife. She, on the other hand was endowed with a free spirit and

needed to spread her wings. She found an outlet in writing but that had to done stealthily

and got published in the pen name, Jayalakshmi and a friends address was given for the

cheques from the magazines.

She learnt to sew and designed and made the girls garments. She is still a great knitter and

her son in law, Ramani proudly sports one of her creations. Her great grandson is

demanding one just like his grandfathers! However, she said with a chuckle that her

husband disapproved of her time spent on these creative activities and once broke her

embroidery frame.

Whilst here, she invited our ladies for a recital of the Vishnu Sahasranamam and when

others were looking through their booklets she was able to recite the slogans from memory.

Anyway how did she manage four daughters, especially if they are all vivacious likeVasantha? She had a ploy: she sent them all away in different directions and let them cool

down.

A very wise and peaceful presence, she is now living with her son in Hyderabad. She is

feeling well though slightly weak and shaky.

We all send her a huge hug and wishes for her 90th birthday on the 14th of this month. May

God Bless her with happiness and good health.

Mm Connect March 2014

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