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Life is short.
It does not make any sense to let a day slip past without enjoying it. Even the worst day has its value, because it eventually comes to an end and leaves you with a sense of relief that tomorrow certainly has to be an improvement. Most days, if we look closely at them, are pretty good. Sure, they have their petty annoyances - bad weather, malfunctioning appliances, inexplicably difficult children or spouses or bosses (or any other adversaries) - but by and large they're pretty good for most of us.
Carpe diem - Seize the day, What a beautiful expression.
As I said earlier, life is short-sadly, it grow shorter by the day - and that's all the more reason for all of us to carpe the diem. There are a lot of interesting things and people around, if we care to look. Every day remember what Saint Tyagaraja, the famous Carnatic Music Composer wrote about his life-
"Enaati Nomu phalamo?
Edaana balamo?"
(What penance and vows have brought me this blessing?
To which generous alms given by me do I owe this fortune?)
I enjoy my day with a number of Cs- Cryptic crossworld, Carnatic music, Company of loved ones, Computers, Career, Communication, Communion with God, Curd rice and so on. I have selected six Cs that I enjoy every day for this article. The first is Carpe Diem Canon, the second is Cryptic Crosswords, the third is Career, the fourth is Curd rice, the fifth is Cricket and the sixth is Childhood memories. These are in the nature of random thoughts with a bit of autobiography. Enjoy this article. But more importantly enjoy every day of your life.
Carpe Diem Canon #001 Success is defined by what you leave behind.
In Mahabharatha, Duryodhana has been described as sweet-natured and generous to his subjects and friends but his envy of the Pandavas was a fire burning his entire life, the fault that led to his fall. That a person with generosity, so accomplished, became a slave to this overpowering passion was indeed tragic. And Duryodhana is remembered by the devastation he left behind and not for anyting elseMahatma Gandhi, Helen Keller, Mother Teresa, Albert Einstein and many many others are remembered even after they have left. For example, if you conduct a poll among Railwaymen about the names of Chairmen Railway Board from 1950 till date, two names will definitely figure - that of B.C.Ganguly and I.K.Gujral. Because they have been perceived to have left significant legacies. The legacy may be achievements at work or a strong value system. A number of senior officers are remembered for their unflinching adherence to values. Mr.M.N.Prasad, a senior retired railway officer was Divisional Railway Manager at Madras. He was supervising the restoration work at an accident site. The workers could hear sounds from an A.C.Coach, but the cold-cutting equipments were not adequate. Mr.Prasad authorized the use of the blow torch, but told the workers to strip the coach of everything that was inflammable. Despite precautions, the interior caught fire and the two trapped passengers died. During the enquiry, Mr.Prasad had the courage to narrate the entire sequence and accepted responsibility. How many possess such moral courage? I recommend that you leave behind a strong value system as that would help the organization in the long run. Integrity, Moral courage, Sense of responsibility are not old values. They are eternal values.
Cryptic Crosswords
If I am asked to thank the English race for just one invention, I shall unhesitatingly choose the Cryptic Crossword. It is a wonderful pastime and I thank God I fell into this habit. I cannot remember when I started solving crosswords. What I remember is that my cousin and I used to jointly solve Indian Express crossword in our college days. Crossword puzzles are mainly of two types, Cryptic and non-cryptic. Non~cryptic are more in use in USA, while Britain is the home of cryptic crosswords. The non-cryptic puzzles or easy puzzles, as they are sometimes called, generally are one-liner clues. I do not personally derive any joy in solving them. You can start solving crosswords after getting introduced to them by a friend or a book. I am giving here some interesting crossword clues that I have come across with the solutions and a brief description.
IST (10)
(CAPITALIST - a straightforward clue)
Half the alphabet is very small (4)
(The full alphabet of 26 letters is A to Z and half the alphabet is A to M or ATOM)
Hidden gift for double anagram (6,6)
(LATENT TALENT)
Career
Mr. Varadachari, who was Financial Adviser & Chief Accounts Officer (FA & CAO) of South Central Railway, Secunderabad in 1975 was a colourful personality. I was a junior officer then and was impressed by a number of stories about him. It is said that the Chief Security Officer came to him one day and told him," Sir, my RPF band is in a bad shape and I need to buy a few musical instruments. It would cost about Rs. 12,000/. If I approach Railway Board for sanction, I may never get them. Can you help me?" Without batting an eyelid, Mr. Varadachari talked to the Chief Engineer on the intercom and told him,"Mr. Reddy, I want an estimate for water supply arrangements." Mr.Reddy asked for details. Mr. Varadachari told him," Everything can be decided by you. But make sure that Rs. 12,000/- is provided for Drums & Pipes." RPF got its band as part of the water supply arrangements!
Curd Rice
The first visit to our village that I remember was when I was four. There would be at least three families doing their annual pilgrimage and since the earlier generations did not follow family planning, there were at least 10 boys and girls. My grandmother would seat herself in the middle of the hall, a large wooden vessel, filled with cold salty curd rice, garnished with coriander, curry leaves, green chillies, mustard seeds, small pieces of mangoes with another ceramic jar containing Maavadu (small mango) pickles placed in front of her. The children would form two semi-circles before her, ten young right hands stretched out in anticipation, palms curved; grandma would place a perfect little ball of curd rice on each palm in turn, on top of which she would daintily balance a small maavadu. That was the time I fell in love with curd rice.
I had always liked R.K.Narayan, but my admiration for him went up substantially when I read T .S.Satyan quoting Narayan, "the sound of curds falling on a heap of rice is the loveliest sound in the world." How poetic and how true! Kannadasan, the great Tamil lyricist has, in the film Pava Mannippu, described the heroine with the lines, Kalangalil aval vasantham (She is the spring among seasons). I would rather say, 'Sadhangalil aval thayir sadham' (She is curd rice among food). Shah Jahan perhaps never had curd rice with pickle or he would have said his famous lines 'Agar Firdous Bar Roi Zamanast Tho Haminasto, Haminasto, Haminasto' - if there is a heaven on earth, then it is here, it is here, it is here' about the vessel containing curd rice and not about Kashmir.
Cricket
You have two sides. One is out in the field, and one is in. Each man that's in the side that's in goes out and when he's out he comes in, and the next man goes in until he's out. When they are all out, the side that's out, comes in, and the side that's been in, goes out, and tries to get those coming in out. Sometimes you get men still in and not out. When both sides have been in and out, including the not outs that's the end of the game. Howzzat?
Childhood
There were always at least 10 of us boys going to the San Thome beach often. The entrance to the sand was by a flight of steps. A few vendors were there at the start of the steps. One of them was with a weighing machine. We were keen to know our weight, but felt whatever money we had was better utilised on mangoes. So my friend, Babu and I hatched a plan. As soon as we reached the vendor, Babu stood on the machine, noted his weight and started running towards the San Thome Church. The vendor was taken aback and after a minute started running behind him demanding money. Babu was a good runner (which was why he was chosen) and before the vendor came back, all of us noted our weights and ran to the beach, where Babu joined us later. After I started earning, I tried to pay back the vendor with interest, but could not locate him. Even today, this incident makes me laugh and feel ashamed at the same time.
Be happy while you're living, or you're a long time dead. "'Scottish Proverb
S.Parthasarathy
January 2005
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