Glaciers to Blessing

June 30 2011 - It was the day when V and I were returning from Alaska to homeland. The day by itself was very eventful. We started driving from Seward, a seaside town closer to Kenai Fjords preserve, towards Anchorage. En-route we decided to stop at the Wildlife center. Although it is terrifying, we were on the lookout for a grizzly bear throughout the trip. I mean you gotta sight one if you are in Alaska. That was a fun hour or two watching black and grizzly bears, owls, musk ox, arctic bison and caribous at close range in the open wild life center.


We headed out to Anchorage and from there the plan was to drive to Talkeetna for the glacier landing tour. By the time we were in Anchorage, we both had taken couple of pills for the usual headache. We were hell bent about having Indian food, seems Chinese/Thai/Mexican food that we relished in the past days was not enough. So I called this Yek/Yeti or some such Himalayan restaurant and ordered food for carryout. You should have seen our faces. How it lit up seeing simple daal chaawal. We called the airline to learn that the tour was cancelled. Yet again, for the fourth time since we landed in AK. But as usual, they were not sure about the cancellation either, asking us to call in an hour or visit directly. Talkeetna was about 3 hours by road from Anc. It is surprising that V did not get a traffic ticket during our days there! Finally on arriving at Talkeetna, weather had improved and the cancellation notice was long gone! Gearing up, it was infact a unique experience. Watching miles and miles of glacier from a touchable distance & sighting Mt McKinley was awesome. I can tell the difference between Mt Matterhorn in Swiss and the topography here – it is not simply a snow capped mountain.

at peace

It has been a satisfying week. Varalakshmi Vratham followed by Avani Avittam and Jabam. Although the latter two have least significance to me, there is a sense of content with festive events. Specially Varalakshmi Vratham or Kaaradayar Nombu... feels like very humbling occasions. To me, it helps realize the ability to unconditionally submit and there is no greater feeling than that. On the day of Jabam we went to this Shiva Vishnu temple close by. V chanted 1008 sitting there while I finished my pradakshanams. It was surprising that the temple invited so much crowd and there was a Raghavendrar porapaadu (procession around the temple). I sure did enjoy their bhajans. What a serene feeling to sit in a temple and pray.  I still cannot shut off my thoughts and pray in total silence. The inner silence, I mean. Even during prayer life's everyday clutter keeps popping in my head...!.

Aaja Piyaa...

Song: Aaja Piya Tohe Pyaar Doon
Movie: Bahaaron Ke Sapne
Originally sung by: Lata Mangeshkar
Cover by: Revathi




It was the period when Amma used to get super irritated about remix versions of every other Hindi oldie.

Pon Maalai Pozhuthu

Song: Oru Pon Maalai Pozhuthu
Movie: Nizhalgal
Originally sung by: SP Balasubramanyam
Cover: Vasanth aka Subbu

My all time favorite of Balu-Raja combo. Sadly I cannot appreciate the lyrics it carries. Its the sin of studying in Kendriya Vidyalaya (ek gaon mein group) and the bundled minimal interest in Tamil.

Apart from the mesmerizing tune, there is a sense of nostalgia attached to the song. Set in old Chennai, the beach and all of that reminds of my childhood times, when I had absolutely nothing else to do than roam the Chennai streets looking to play cricket with some group.

Be oblivious to material madness

What does it take to leave excitement out the door and lead a peaceful life? Leave out the good and bad energy, and also forget that there is a world out there. With maddening competition and milestones - did you go to this reputed school.. under grad or grad? What about Ph. D have you thought about it? do you own a house in this city..? are you very outdoorsy? do you make intelligent use of your spare time? do you plan on your masters soon enough? does your designation and pay scale compare to this society's benchmark? are you a size zero? are you a six pack stud guy? are you well versed in rocket science viz-a-viz hardware & software design? what have you accomplished this year? still haven't been to NY? why do you spend so much/little? If you are in the States, there are also traditional grueling questions about your visa and green card progress and tax money. I know. And the list never ends. Say you have answers to all of the questions above. AND. you are gleaming because you think you have successfully annoyed this society back. The list shall continue to haunt you in a different format - is your child a brain wizard? your parents know to use iPad? Now…you get my drift here, don’t you?

What if I don’t want to accomplish anything mentioned above and still lead a peaceful life? When did it become a crime to lead my life my way? It’s an opportunist’s world out there. Make use of your life's circumstances to account for accomplishments. That’s the rule of life now. And I am not blaming others who like to run this race, with a cheerful face. Please. By all means, go for it. I am nobody to judge others. All I am saying is that I do not want to participate in this chase. And oh, I do have one question in return to this society. When will you stop asking these questions? Yes, I do know the answer. Never.