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Jottings : slice of life - 74 ( “Ethics” - a book which transformed my thinking)

Jottings : slice of life - 74 ( “Ethics” - a book which transformed my thinking) The year was 1656, and the young man in question was a sephardic jew twenty three years of age. The scene of this enactment was the Talmud congregation in a synagogue in Amsterdam - the sanctum sanctorum of many Jews, who after centuries of running away from one nation to another finally found peace in the enlightened and democratic country of Holland. In that glorious Dutch period of tolerance, they were given the freedom to practice their own religion, but with the caveat they were not to disturb existing Christian traditions. Jews were elated. After the Mohammedan rule in Spain centuries ago where they were treated well, this was their first taste of renewed freedom to practice their cherished religious beliefs with confidence and security. The elders of this community strictly instructed, watched, censured and guarded their fellow members from violating the accepted interpretation of the old Hebrew

Jottings : Slice of Life - 73 ( Mahadeva Mama - a reminiscence)

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Jottings : Slice of Life - 73 ( Mahadeva Mama - a reminiscence) ( PS : When I woke up today morning, Strangely, my first thoughts were about an uncle of mine for whom I have the greatest love, affection and regards. He died in the mid nineties. Coincidentally enough, my brother today posted in a private whatsup group an old photo he had dug out from his archives of my Uncle along with his wife and their four gorgeous daughters in the prime of their lives. The photo must be at least thirty years old. To me this was sign enough to write about him, and his influence in my/our life. Its a private photo, and I dont wish to reproduce it here without permission; but be assured, it is a stunning photograph of a family on whose faces confidence, joy, peace, satisfaction, beauty and prosperity are written all over. I have tagged two cousins from that group in this post….) ************************************************************** In every family, over and above ones parents, there is

Jottings : Slice of life - 72 ( Neerja - extraordinary courage, professionalism and humanity under pressure)

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Jottings : Slice of life - 72 ( Neerja - extraordinary courage, professionalism and humanity under pressure) When Pan-Am flight No 73 was hijacked on 5th september 1986, I was in my mid teens. I think I learnt of the incident from news papers, or I remember my father mentioning that a flight to America was taken hostage by a group of people at gun point , and after nearly eighteen hours, most of the passengers managed to escape through an exit opened by a very brave, young Flight attendant named Neerja Bhanot - who was shot dead during that process. I distinctly remember the beautiful, magnetic smiling face of that recognizable young girl ( Neerja was a popular model) as it appeared in print and limited news channels. We did not have live coverage of tragedies, as we do today. If I jog my memory to see if I was affected by her tragic death in 1986 , I would have to say No. A good looking girl had died by gunshots, and that was all there is to it. I probably assumed it was part of h

Jottings : Slice of life - 71 (On my Birthday...)

Jottings : Slice of life - 71 (On my Birthday...) (PS : I request all my friends to pls accept this note as my personal thanks for taking time to remember and wish me this day. It is truly humbling. Thanks again) Words are inadequate to express the deep feeling of gratitude I feel on being remembered and wished on my Birthday by so many good friends from all around the globe. It is a privilege, a blessing that cannot be measured or reciprocated in any kind. I can only offer a weak “Thank you” to all of you, and remain grateful. Over the years, I have often wondered, why should a Man should celebrate his chronological birthdate as something special. Any answer I could think of seemed trivial, and certainly not worthy of celebration. Five years ago, I hit upon a deep , existential realization while lying in a hospital bed that made real definitive sense to me, personally. The fact that life had chosen a particular moment in time to help this human body, with life pulsating in every

Jottings : slice of life - 69 ( Dr J Jayalalitha - a great artist, a woman of indomitable will and a charismatic leader)

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Jottings : slice of life - 69 ( Dr J Jayalalitha - a great artist, a woman of indomitable will and a charismatic leader) ( PS : I dont want this article to be read like an obituary, because it is most definitely not one. Dr J jayalalitha has been confined to a Hospital for the last two and half months, and we have not seen a cheerful photograph of her till date. Nor do we have any concrete news on her medical condition. All that we have is mere speculation, rumors and half baked rejoinders by her inner party circle. As a Tamilian, I join millions all over the State of Tamilnadu in hoping that she recovers well and steps of her confinement. Our prayers are with her. However, even if she does, it is highly unlikely she will have enough energy and health left in her to regain active control and immersively participate in the administration of her party or State. To that extent, I think, we have reached the end of one of the brightest, controversial and determined political careers in

Jottings : Slice of life - 67 ( Coleman Barks - his inebriation with Rumi)

Jottings : Slice of life - 67 ( Coleman Barks - his inebriation with Rumi) I have in front of me three books : “Introduction to Zen Buddhism” by DT Suzuki published in 1934, Idries shah’s “Sufism” published in 1964, and Coleman Barks “The Soul of Rumi” published in 2002. The first two volumes are path breaking books of the last century. Suzuki interpreted the enigmatic and paradoxical mysticism of Zen buddhism to modern western readers in a manner that was scholastic enough, and at the same time easily accessible to serious readers. Idries shah, a Britisher, synthesized the beautiful tradition of Islamic mysticism in the form of Sufism, its dance of dervishes, making it sensible and meaningful to a world which thought of them as nothing more than nervous paroxysms of Mad men. That the depth of Sufism is essentially the same mystical reverberation of ages across traditions, was first realized in the English works of Idries shah. The love poems of Sufi mystics, the clownish stories o

Jottings : slice of life - 66 ( Fidel Castro 1926-2016 - a thorn in American Flesh)

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Jottings : slice of life - 66 ( Fidel Castro 1926-2016 - a thorn in American Flesh) A few weeks ago I was watching Brian de Palma's masterpiece "Scarface" again. Perhaps, the best performance ever by Al Pacino, as a young Cuban refugee who lands on the open shores of Miami in early 1980’s to become an undisputed drug warlord. The first few scenes in the movie shows boat loads of Cuban refugees huddled together, sent out by Cuban government to live or rot in America. It was Fidel Castro’s masterstroke to taunt the mighty Americans. He was dispatching Criminals and trouble makers from Cuba as exile into the US, just as the illustrious English, during the 18th century were sending ship loads of petty criminals into the continent of newly found Australia. This comparison is exaggerated, but the audacity of intent remains the same. For nearly fifty years the revolutionary, communist leader of Cuba held fort over a country that is barely a million square miles long with a p