Time alone can heal

My good friend Jayaram lost Devika, his wife, last week after a prolonged illness. She was suffering from a kidney ailment for the last ten years and in the last few years was practically on dialysis. Jayaram did a lot for his wife and did whatever possible cheerfully. Devika’s mother had offered her kidney to her daughter for transplant, which sustained her for ten years. Jayaram has two teenaged daughters who also did their measure for their beloved mother.

I went for the funeral and there were near and dear ones grieving. It was quite touching to see the daughters literally weeping and moaning though Jayaram stood his ground for the sake of his daughters. A thought that crossed my mind was two young girls have lost their mother, the husband - his wife, and the mother - her daughter. That home will never be the same again. The kitchen will be empty, and the corner bed where Devika spent her last days, silent and still. Overnight, life changes.

Jayaram and his two daughters will continue to hear Devika’s voice, and feel her endearment and love in all they do, though she will never ever be seen again. Why (reason) and when (time) these happen are unfathomable, I tell myself.

It would sound a cliché to say that ‘Time alone can heal’, but ultimately this truth will always hold. May Devika’s soul rest in peace.

Partners in Crime

My niece, Priya had decided to celebrate her birthday with hubby , Vikram, over a quiet dinner. The devil that Vikram is - he had tied up a master plan with my daughter, Shraddha, a bigger devil, to celebrate the birthday of Priya in a manner which was more of a surprise to her.

Both Vikram and Shraddha had sewn up a master plan whereby the duplicate key of Vikram’s house was available with Shraddha. Both of them had agreed that after dinner when Vikram brought Priya home, the house would be decorated and a cake would be kept on the centre table. All the other family members were told to assemble in the house and ten of us including my eighty old mother were seated in one of the rooms with all lights switched off. Thanks to mobile phones, constant encoded messages were exchanged between the devils to ensure that the plan was executed without any glitch. Vikram, of course, to ensure that Priya had no clue , had to pretend while messaging that he was involved in serious office work.

At around 1155 pm, we heard the noise of the key on the door and Vikram along with Priya came in. There was pin drop silence and the lights were put on by Priya who saw the cake and the decorations and was heard telling her hubby ‘ Baby, thanks so much for the cake’. By then all of us rushed from the other room and in unison sang ‘Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to Priya’. She was stunned and could not believe her eyes. She was so thrilled that she lost herself for a moment and hugged each one of us expressing her joy and happiness.

For all of us , this was a memorable experience, and for Priya – it was something out of the world. Indeed the plan was executed to a ‘T’, and I had heard of such things happening elsewhere We congratulated the partners in crime, the two devils, who left no stones unturned in ensuring an unforgettable experience and a great birthday to Priya.

Confidence level

Courtesy: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/funlok/

I liked this story and thought I will share it for the benefit of my readers


Story told by a man which is most frightening yet thought-provoking experiences of his life.

He had been on a long flight. The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: "Fasten your seat belts." Then, after a while, a calm voice said, "We shall not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened."

As he looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive. Later, the voice of the announcer said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us."

And then the storm broke. The ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightening lit up the darkening skies and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean. One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash.

The man confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him. He said, "As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying.

The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm. And then, I suddenly saw a girl to whom the storm meant nothing. She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat and was reading a book.

Everything within her small world was calm and orderly. Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world. When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible storm, when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity, when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid."

The man could hardly believe his eyes. It was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark, he lingered to speak to the girl whom he had watched for such a long time. Having commented about the storm and behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.

The sweet child replied, "Sir, my Dad is the pilot and he is taking me home."

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Club 99

I heard this story and was fascinated by its moral. Thought I will share with my readers.

Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle, was neither happy nor content. One day, the King came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King. Why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly servant had so much joy. The King asked the servant, " Why are you so happy?"

The man replied, " Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant. But my family and I don't need too much - just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies ."

The king was not satisfied with that reply. Later in the day, he sought the advice of his most trusted advisor. After hearing the King's woes and the servant's story, the advisor said, " Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of 'The 99 Club'."

" The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?" the King inquired. The advisor replied, " Your Majesty, to truly know what 'The 99 Club' is, place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep."

When the servant saw the bag, he took it into his house. When he opened the bag, he let out a great shout of joy... So many gold coins! He began to count them. After several counts, he was at last convinced that there were 99 coins. He wondered, " What could've happened to that last gold coin? Surely, no one would leave 99 coins! " He looked everywhere he could, but that final coin was elusive. Finally, exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to earn that gold coin and complete his collection.

From that day, the servant's life was changed. He was overworked, horribly grumpy, and castigated his family for not helping him make that hundreth gold coin. He stopped singing while he worked.

Witnessing this drastic transformation, the King was puzzled. When he sought his advisor's help, the advisor said, " Your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined 'The 99 Club'. " He continued, " 'The 99 Club' is a name given to those people who have enough to be happy but are never contented, because they're always yearning and striving for that extra ONE telling themselves: "Let me get that one final thing and then I will be happy for life ."

We can be happy, even with very little in our lives, but the minute we're given something bigger and better, we want even more! We lose our sleep, our happiness, we hurt the people around us; all these as a price for our growing needs and desires. That's what joining 'The 99 Club' is all about."

A cricket's Lesson !

N.S.Iyer is traveling. He nevertheless is keen that his readers stay updated with his thoughts. So, here is something that he had forwarded to me earlier, which he prefers posted now. And i am more than happy to do so !

And by the way, he is got his ear on this blog ! For this blog and its readers are important to him.

Kavi

A man and his friend were in a city, walking through the street. It was during the noon lunch hour and the streets were filled with people. Cars were honking their horns, taxicabs were squealing around corners, sirens were wailing, and the sounds of the city were almost deafening. Suddenly, the man said to his friend, "I hear a cricket."

His friend said, "What? You must be crazy. You couldn't possibly hear a cricket in all of this noise!"

"No, I'm sure of it," the man said, "I heard a cricket."

"That's crazy," said the friend.

The man listened carefully for a moment, and then walked across the street to a big cement planter where some shrubs were growing. He looked into the bushes, beneath the branches, and sure enough, he located a small cricket. His friend was utterly amazed. "That's incredible," said his friend. "You must have super-human ears!"

"No," said the man. "My ears are no different from yours. It all depends on what you're listening for."

"But that can't be!" said the friend. "I could never hear a cricket in this noise."

"Yes, it's true", was the reply. "It depends on what is really important to you. Here, let me show you."

He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and discreetly dropped them on the sidewalk. And then, with the noise of the crowded street still blaring in their ears, they noticed every head within twenty feet turn and look to see if the money that tinkled on the pavement was theirs.

"See what I mean?" asked the man.

"It all depends on what's important to you."