Brighter.....Stronger......and Lighter !!

Dear All

Wanted to share a delightful news ..... !!

At last, I have started a structured weight loss program for myself which was long over due.....

I was weighing a little over 80 (clearly overweight for my height - 170 cm), but jumped to 85 quite recently as I was innocently (!!) not doing any thing about it !!

The first warning signal of endangering obesity came - when I started finding it difficult to get up from sitting position - when I sit in the floor !! Then, there were flurry of genuine feedback from almost every one around me that my "thoppai" was too visible off late !!

In the past 15 years, I would have started physical exercises for at least a hundred times.....but the initiative never lasted beyond 2 - 3 days. Now came a real reason for me to focus on trimming the body - Thank God before it was too late & suggested by a physician.....!!

I am working out 1 - 1/2 hours every day under the careful eyes of a Physical Trainer in a Gym for the past one week which I am sure will continue until I find some perceptible improvement.

I am bit confident this time because I have also consulted a Dietitian and am quite consistent in the prescribed diet to compliment my work outs. The most comforting aspect of the latest initiative is that I am out of the initial pain phase and have started tasting the pleasure during the physical tiredness after work out.

Before I really become brighter and stronger, I already feel the lightness !! Having brooded over the physical heaviness and the pain of carrying the unnecessary flesh of the body, its not about the lightness of the body that I am talking about.....!!

Thank God - once again .... for facilitating some sanity to dawn upon me.....!!

Love // Suren

Human "Beings" - 7

Dear All

I had drawn a list of people to be roped into this series when I started - but I started realizing that I might not be doing justice to my original idea if I had to write about many of them - Let me clarify....!!

I wanted to avoid writing about people in close circuit - few in the list got deleted !!

There were few more which are quite known VIPs which I decided to cover comprehensively as a single post (the earlier one).

When I reviewed few of other people, I realized that its just one aspect about them - that I have been admiring all along.....!! To develop those as a full fledged post, I might have to use bit of "creativity" which was not my intention.
{I think Sujatha acknowledged this aspect when he wrote "Srirangathu Thevathaigal - I wonder if I can manage his level of creativity - though it could be another experiment that I will attempt in due course}.

And... there were memories of some specific interesting incidents that brought few people into my list. I started wondering if I could go off the hook.....!!

As the month is nearing the close, lemme close this series.
(Incidentally, Today is the last day of AGNI NATCHATHIRAM which was frying chennai city so long)

Well, to sum up my specific thoughts on this series as it got started - the fascinating aspect about human beings is the lack of any guarantee of any thing that we identify themselves with.....!!

While there could be some some extra ordinary thing done by some body in their "high", it is no surprise if the same person acts quite normal and ordinary in a similar situation at a different time. The contrary too is quite true......
Its just a moment of life that gets sealed as an opinion about some body.

I wonder but not really sure ... the only reason perhaps why we start admiring some one is due to their consistency in what ever we like them for. (as a "Being" in their active present)

Once we have people in our favourite list, we even are ready to forgive them for some nasty behaviour in a particular moment. To put it differently, we are ok with what they "are" - considering what they "have been in the past" to us.

Warm Regards // Suren

Human "beings" - 6 :: VIPs

Dear All

"Sachin Tendulkar", "Abdul Kalaam", "Vishy Anand", "AR Rahman", "Mother Teresa" were the names spontaneously blurted out by me when I was asked whom I admire most.....!!

This question was a part of the introductory session in a training program at a office where I worked earlier. While every one of the participants were able to come out with just one name and was able to speak couple of coherent sentences on their choice of person, I was groping for words to substantiate my thoughts about the array of people whom I spelt....!!

As I was thinking aloud on the rationale behind my choice(s), I discovered that, per se - it was not an individual whom I had chosen but rather a innate quality....which is some thing that captivated me - abundantly available in all of them. Its nothing but HUMILITY....

Well, for a common man perhaps humility could be a virtue to be practised... (and perhaps a basic qualification for being normal and not a VIP ??).

However for people who have reached certain height in their career / profession, humility is too big a qualification which they need not carry at all. To put it differently, we do have lot of other people at the same levels matching their calibre but quite ordinary in their character !! That makes this list of people special for me and in my memory...

Well, when I started this series of posts, I told myself to scope it only with simple people whom we encounter in our day to day life - but helplessly I am drawn in making this post about great people with an air of simplicity.

Well, just one more post to go in this series.....Stay tuned

Love // Suren

Picturesque Photos - 1

Dear All

This photo in today's THE HINDU made me shed tears early in the morning....!!

Some how I was deeply affected by the expressions of the people in the photo. Hope you like it...

Suren

Human "Beings" - 5 :: Smiling Flowers....!!

Dear All

We have a small temple close to our home - sort of departmental structure which has almost every single God - made to suit the local residents. Needless to say its extremely convenient for us too where me and my wife go at least once a week.

Going to this particular temple is not just to pray to God but also to watch an interesting character in front of the temple with some amusement. In fact, there are two ladies - seated on the either side of the entrance of the temple - selling flowers and other relevant items required for the temple....AND the interesting aspect is the contrast they offer !! While one of them is always smiling, receptive and nice to the customers, the other one is always tensed up and wear an irritated look.

Well, it might be quite a natural thing to have different type of people in the world, but it is quite striking to see these two sitting next to each other for years - NOT getting impacted by the other person !!

Needless to say, we are regular customer only to the smiling one.. and just in case if she is not available for the day, then we approach the other person. Knowing us too well (as being customer of the competitor} the "rudie" has tried her level best to be a pleasant person whenever we reach out her shop but we are not the one to budge, always fall back to our regular shop with a warm reception on the next day.

I am also getting reminded about another female in a close-by Baba temple who is another tall example of customer friendliness. This person greets us - at least when we are 25 metres away from temple - and always have some or other words of courtesy. Not just us, she has rapport with several regular visitors AND ensures that she gives a pep talk to every one without any one feeling left out....!!

These people - I some times feel- have transcended their economic realities and have decided to be cheerful and enliven the atmosphere....!! They really do not wear the smile artificially for the sake of their business {Don't know why I get reminded of the fake - pleasant faces of those air hostess-es I have seen in Jet Airways !!}.

It is almost impossible for any one NOT to feel the positive emotions -at least for few moments - when we encounter some one who smiles naturally. These people mean to our lives lot more when we are bit depressed and eager to get back to our normal cheers. Well, people - not just in business, particularly relevant to customer service - who habitually smile and remain cheerful - serve the society in lot more cascading ways than they can really visualize. For that matter, getting a bit of extra business / recognition at work is just incidental AND just a side effect in the larger scheme of things....

Dedicating this post to the youth who join in BPO / ITES industry - most of whom become dead serious about their career AND eventually lose their ability to smile.

Love // Suren

Human "Beings" - 4 :: Karma Yogi AMAVASAI

Dear All

In this post, I am going to give a glimpse of a man with a strange name (amavasai) - a gardener whom I knew from childhood AND who passed away 5 - 6 years back as a ripe old man.

Extremely sincere to his work, I had lessons of "job satisfaction" from him at my very young age AND not just me - the whole of our family adore him for his sheer personality. It is not that this man was working for our family alone - he had a band of families in chromepet area who loved and respected him. He remained as a free lance gardener for close to 50 years of his adult life until death.

He had so much pride about his profession and was more an artist than just a gardener. Living in an independent house those days ('80s) we needed him every month for weeding out and cleaning up the garden. Every time, at the end of day long work, he insist us to go around and look at his "performance" and he accompanies us with a wide grin on his face (he remained tooth - less ever since I remember him !!). He expects a warm appreciation each and every time and we never mind giving it whole hearted - as we understood that words meant much more to him than the wages that we pay for this gentleman.

This man lived in chitlapakkam, did not drink thru' out his life (though he was fond of BEEDI) and carried an air of heroism about himself. Out of his own wages, he was able to buy a piece of land and get all his 3 sons an independent thatched roof - homes lined up in front of his own house. Till the end of his life, he did not depend on his sons - all of whom - to his dismay - got their livelihood in constructing occupation. He had an air of pride about his own gardening profession and despised his sons for what they got ended up into....very typical of him !!

It might be bit difficult to believe that his whole life got over within a space of 8 square kilometres as he never travelled any where out of his domain - walking all by himself to the home of his clients (like us) who always waited for him. When he reached a stage when he could no longer work, he still reached us once a month and got his "pension" from us and got back to his home at the end of the day. He never asked for money even during this phase and it is really emotional experience for any one who watches his body language when he takes the money "without working"....and his humiliation about losing his stamina. {I remember he used to still help us with little chores in sitting position - though he was not able to work in garden}. When we have leisure time, it is always a wonderful experience to listen to him and his heroic tales of past.... which never bores him - particularly on his achievement on how daringly he bought the piece of land taking 100 % loan from all his well wishers.....!!

Such people who remain single minded about their work never leave our psyche and slip out our admiration. For that matter, when ever I see people committed to their work - particularly doing blue collar jobs, I still get reminded about AMAVASAI - who according to me is a true Karma Yogi. I feel these people - without a word or emotion - keep challenging the materialistic ways of modern world immersed in too much of technology.

Dedicating this post to the millions and millions of nameless karmayogis who steer the country - though they are unaware - but just don't care - about it.....!!

{it is a good co-incidence that the gentle man that I talked about had a name that meant "not in lime light"}

Love // Suren

"கோ" - திரைப்பட விமர்சனம்

பேரன்புக்குரிய வாசகர்களே

நமது முதலமைச்சர் குடும்பத்தின் மற்றொரு கொடை - ஆம், அவரது சீர்மிகு பேரப்பிள்ளையின் மற்றொரு தயாரிப்பான "கோ" திரைப்படம் பார்க்கும் பாக்கியம் வாய்த்தது. (எவரிடமாவது இது இக்குடும்பத்தின் எத்தனையாவது கொடை என்ற கணக்கு உள்ளதா ? எவ்வளவு கடினமாக உழைக்கிறார்கள் இந்த குடும்பத்தைச் சேர்ந்தவர்கள்.....தாத்தாவை மாதிரியே !!! )

விறுவிறுப்பான திரைக்கதை..... நிறைய இடத்தில் புத்திசாலித்தனம் பளிச்சிடும் இயக்கம்... அற்புதமான கேமரா .... இரசிக்கும்படியான இசை .... சந்தேகம் இல்லாமல் மற்றுமொரு வெற்றிப் படம் தான் !!

கடைசி சண்டைக்காட்சியில் கதாநாயகன் இறந்து இருந்தால் கண்டிப்பாக படத்தின் "message" பற்றி ஒரு நெருடல் இருந்திருக்கும் - அதிர்ஷ்டவசமாக அவனை பிழைக்க வைத்து ஒரு சாமான்யனாக வலம் வரும் வகையில் திரைக்கதை அமைத்திருப்பது ஆறுதலான விஷயம்.

இருந்தாலும் விமர்சனம் என்று வந்து விட்டால் நம் ஆழ் மனதில் - குறைகளை அறைகூவி விடும் ஒரு வழிமுறை தானே ?? இதோ........

(1 ) கதாநாயகன் துடிதுடிப்பான புத்திசாலித்தனமான வாலிபனாக சித்தரித்து இருப்பது மகிழ்ச்சிதான்.....!! இருந்தாலும் படம் நெடுகிலும் சந்தர்ப்பம் கிடைத்த போதெல்லாம் கேமராவை எடுத்து click - செய்வது கொஞ்சம் போரடிக்கிறது.... அந்த காலத்து MGR படங்களில், அண்ணல் முதல் சீன்-இல் மட்டும் Doctor ஆகவோ வக்கீல் ஆகவோ வந்து விட்டு பின் வரும் காட்சிகளில் நமக்கு தெரிந்த "அதே" கதாபாத்திரமாக வலம் வருவது ஒரு உச்சம் என்றால் இந்த படத்து கதாநாயகன் ஒவ்வொரு frame-லும் கேமராவை எடுப்பது மற்றொரு உச்சம்.

பெருங்குறையாக சொல்லவில்லை - ஆனாலும் நிச்சயமாக மனத்தில் ஒரு நெருடல்....ஆயாசம்.....!!

(2 ) கதாநாயகி தமிழக திரைவானில் பட்டொளி வீசி பிரகாசித்த முன்னாள் கதாநாயகி-யின் தவப்புதல்வியாம் !! தாயார் முடிக்க மறந்த சேவையை தொடர்ந்து முடிக்க, தன்னால் முடிந்த பங்கை தமிழ்த் திரைத்துறைக்கு ஆற்ற வந்த மற்றும் ஒரு மெழுகு பொம்மை.....!!

ஏற்கனவே வில் மாதிரி வளைந்து இருக்கும் புருவத்தை வேண்டும் என்றே தூக்கி வைத்து இருப்பது போல் தோன்றுவது என் மனப்பிரமையோ என்னவோ ? எதற்காக தலை முடியை படம் நெடுகிலும் கோதிக்கொண்டே இருக்கிறார் இன்று புரியவில்லை.....!! (ஒரு வேளை boy cut மாதிரி சிகை அலங்காரம் இருந்திருந்தால் நடிப்பில் கவனம் செலுத்தியிருக்க ஒரு வாய்ப்பு உள்ளதோ தெரியவில்லை ) . "எனக்கு எதற்கு உடம்பு முழுவதும் போர்த்தப்பட்ட புடவையும் சுடிதாரும்?" என்ற கேள்வி கண்களில் தெரிய மருண்ட மான் போல் "திரு திரு" என்று விழிக்கிறார்....!!

நடிக்கத் தெரியாது என்ற குறையே தெரியாமல் இயக்குனர் புத்திசாலித்தனத்தால் பிரகாசமான - மிகவும் அதிர்ஷ்டமான முதல் வாய்ப்பு....!! நன்றாக பயன் படுத்திக்கொண்டு இருக்கிறார்....!! வாழ்க வளமுடன்......!!

(3 ) திரைக்கதை மிகுந்த புத்திசாலித்தனத்துடன் அமைக்கப்பட்டு இருந்தாலும் இடைவேளைக்கு அப்புறம் ஏகப்பட்ட திருப்பங்கள் திகட்ட வைத்தன. சுக்கானை இழந்த படகாக சிந்தனை அலைகழிக்கப்பட்ட ஆயாசம் எனக்கு தோன்றியது. கதாநாயகனுக்கும் முதலமைச்சர் பதவியில் அமரும் அவனது நண்பன் இடையே இருக்கும் நெருக்கத்திற்கு மேற்தளத்தில் அந்த நண்பனின் இன்னொரு வில்லன் பரிமாணம், இந்த இரு தளங்களுக்குள் இடையில் naxalite - தொடர்பு என்ற அடுக்கு - சற்றே சிந்திக்க வைத்து பிறகு இரசிக்க வைத்தது.

(4 ) வன்முறையும் தீவிர வாதமும் கை வராவிட்டால் அரசியலில் வெற்றி பெறவே முடியாது என்ற சித்தாந்தம் மீண்டும் மீண்டும் தமிழ்த் திரையுலகத்தில் வலியுறுத்தப்படுகிறது. முதலமைச்சர் பதவியில் அமரும் கதாநாயகனின் நண்பனின் அந்த கொடிய முகம் அவனது கட்சியைச் சார்ந்த யாருக்குமே தெரியாது என்பது சற்று நம்ப முடியாத அம்சம் தான்.... !!

படம் நெடுக வன்முறையை கொப்பளிக்க விட்டு விட்டு முடிவில் (மட்டும்) ஒரு positive message நமக்கு ஆறுதாலாக தருவது - ஒரு வகையில் சாமர்த்தியம் என்றே கருதத் தோன்றுகிறது......!!

படம் முழுவதிலும் இதை தயாரித்தவரின் பின் புலம் பற்றிய எண்ணங்களைத் தவிர்க்க முடியவில்லை.....!! சாத்தான் வேதம் ஓதுவது என்ற அந்த பழமொழியையும் நினைவு கூறாமல் இருக்க இயலவில்லை....!! இது என் குறை பாடாகவும் இருக்கக் கூடும்.... ஹ்ம்ம்....!!

(5 ) மீண்டும் அந்த பழகிப்போன கம்பீரக் குரலோடு பிரகாஷ்ராஜ்.....!! முதலமைச்சர் பதவியில் இருப்பவருக்கு இந்த அளவு உணர்ச்சி வெளிப்பாடு அவசியமா என்ற கேள்வி என் மனத்தில் எழுந்தது. இலவசங்கள் பற்றியும், நல்ல முறையில் அமைந்த தேர்தல் வாக்குறுதிப் பட்டியல் பற்றியும் நிஜத்தின் சுவடியை காட்டும் வகையில் காட்சி அமைத்து இயக்குனர் ஆச்சர்யப்படுத்துகிறார்.

மொத்தத்தில் நல்ல படம்..... You can very well go to "kho "

சுரேந்திரன்

Human "Beings" - 3 :: Loco Minds

Dear All

This is a tale of two young brothers (the eldest was 12 years old) whom I met at least two decades back (yeah, me too was quite young at that point of time !!). These two - astonished me with a very different kind of specialization that made me think a lot.....!!

Only quite recently I got reminded of these two boys when I learnt the importance of their specialization...lemme come to that later.....!!

Well, these two lads were the cousins of my close friend and donned the role of entertainers when ever our friends circle gathered. Being youngest in the group, none of us took these brothers seriously except making fun of them and enjoying their humour sense. On a historic day, it was really a discovery for me to know the serious side of their personalities. I was indeed quite thrilled at my own "discovery" potential when I learnt that my friend (who was their own cousin) was not aware of their serious passion until that point of time....!!

Well, these two brothers - out of their sheer passion - has gathered so much knowledge about Train Engines (Locomotives). They had so much information in their possession as they kept our group enthralled for close to three hours. They seem to have got into some intricate calculations about the capacity of engines by adding up the tonnage of each of the compartments of goods trains as it passes by (yes, they wait close to the railway track which was half kilometre away from our residences - for their observations). At such an young age, they were able to explain the evolution of technology - from loco engine to electric engine.....AND were update on the engines that ply close to our area.

At such young age, they had read lot of articles on their pet subject and were following up few magazines to keep updated. They also had interesting experience of travelling in couple of trains along with the Drivers - who were compassionate enough to teach them seeing the level of curiosity and inquisitive-ness {mind you.... these boys approached the drivers on their own and were not introduced by any adults !! and they had the necessary will and courage to return back from the next station after the lessons.....!! and we are talking about young boys who are just around 10 years old....!!}

Well, quite recently, I had an interesting discussion with a colleague of mine who seems to be a member of an association which consist of people who have interest in locomotives. With the advent of latest technologies, they have their own discussion forums AND websites. As a part of the association, they have opportunities to join the Engine Drivers in a structured manner and my colleague proudly told that he had experience of driving few trains for a specific distance (of course in the company of the driver beside him).

As this colleague was speaking about his passion (he is a chartered accountant by qualification),I got reminded of those two young boys whom I met long time back. I heard from my old friend (cousin of these two boys) that these two did not settle down in life properly....AND were victims of the typical lower middle class problems. If only they had right type of patronage to ensure a career in mechanical engineering / related stuff, perhaps they would have flowered as wonderful professionals.

It is indeed quite rare to pick up a keen interest and passion on any subject at an early age....and its quite a fortune / divine blessing to have a career that is fully aligned to one's passion......{What ever our culture names as "swadharma"}.

Dedicating this post to all those brooding minds which are subjected to so much of self torture due to non alignment of their interest / passion and their profession. Though one can keep arguing about lack of guts or clarity to pursue one's passion, there are invisible / uncontrollable factors in all our lives which deny us this alignment.....!!

Love // Suren

Human "Beings" - 2 :: Partha Sarathy

Dear All

Have you observed this ?

There are always two distinct specializations in every single technical knowledge. Being quite strong in the subject is one .... and having the ability to communicate it in easier terms to a novice is some thing else. If you look bit deeply, the second one is really not a distinct specialization for every branch of knowledge - rather a single specialization that runs across all fields of knowledge.

I always have a feeling that a good teacher will effortlessly get into his act in every single branch of knowledge as and when he learns it. To put it more directly, it is as if a good teacher approaches his own learning process in a slightly different method than any other student as he sub-consciously takes on the self imposed responsibility of communicating it to others after his learning process. Think this is the limit of my words ...and lemme get into the details of man who interested me immensely with his teaching skills....

Approximately an year back, I learnt Driving (Car) from a gentle man who is basically an auto driver whose auto stand is quite close to our home. Eight consecutive days of 1 hour learning in the morning enriched me not just in learning car driving but also taught me the art of teaching. I immensely enjoyed every single point that he taught me with practical examples and the manner he blasted me on the mistakes I committed....It is not an exaggeration to say that I hear his voice even now as I commit some of the old mistakes out of carelessness !!

We know him as an auto driver for close to four years and this man has an air of authority in the way he conducts himself. He never bargains on money (at least with us) and does not wear the sheepish smile that is typical with such people with blue collar jobs (??). He is a bit of dominant person but knows his limits. I could correlate his behaviour only when became his student and started admiring his teaching skills.

He is a wonderful teacher (though illiterate) who knows Management by exception, Recapping the prior day's syllabus in an entertaining manner, picking up subtle mistakes by keen observation and pointing it out as appropriate (Do you know this ? some times mistakes have to be pointed out immediately - few other times, it can be gently told later....!! Just meant, this man is a master in knowing "the moment") .... and above all, sharing lot of personal experiences to make a novice feel easy !!

In our culture, we have glorified a teacher's status so much that paying him for his services has to be done with a certain level of reverence and gratitude (its never a "fee" but an "honorarium". Carrying the same wave length on money matters, me and this man never discussed money when my teaching classes got started and in the mid-way, when the time came to discuss it - it happened so poetic and touching; While I was particular to pay him slightly more than the market rate, he was dignified enough not to get curious about the exact amount - but you should observe his humble body language when he got the money from me - After all he is a family man who belongs to lower middle class....!!

Well to justify the title, this post being about "driving", I thought this is most appropriate one. But, it is quite a paradox that this person who taught me driving is named as "Arjun"... !!!!!

Dedicating this post to all the unsung and un-recognized TEACHERS who love what they do....for the sheer pleasure they generate from their teaching skills....

Love // Suren

Human "Beings" - 1 :: NAYAGAN

Dear All

Whether it is raining or shining, approximately at 7.30 AM, I spot this gentleman close to our flat (kodambakkam).

I know him for the past four years and almost daily - quite reverentially - I wave my hand towards him which he reciprocates along with a friendly smile. He is not some one who is visiting to wish me or any other human being in my area - but is quite focused on the purpose of his visit - which is indeed a serious business for him !!

He rides on a old TVS scooty and when he puts the side stand in front of my flat, it is quite easy to spot out the big clumsy bag in the front side of the vehicle - right from our front view balcony. He normally wears a Bermuda Shorts and a simple T Shirt. After waving his hand at acquaintances, he bends down and picks up the array of biscuit packets from the bag and starts serving the stray dogs which already have gathered around him with their wagging tails.

He has complicated his daily routine sufficiently enough for any one of us to get amazed - if we bother to get into details. He serves certain biscuit varieties for particular dogs, bread pieces for a specific blessed one which does not like biscuit as much, a tumbler of milk for another blacky......(yeah, he does bring a container with milk in his big bag that seems to contain an eternity). The more interesting part is to observe the dogs stand in front of him with lot of discipline waiting to be served his / her breakfast and not interfering / competing with the fellow dogs.

When I started my friendship with him few years back, he proudly told that he has a special arrangement with a bakery to take the cake pieces / crumps at a discounted rate. On a particular day, I found him visiting our flat in the evening (approximately by 8 PM) - perhaps he could not spot some of his chums during his morning visit. The only difference in him during that night visit was that he was in his formal dress and was accompanied by his (bit too modern) daughter in a SANTRO car.

He is a man who has retired from his employment (some senior position in a reputed company) and is currently working in hotel ling industry just to keep himself engaged and active. I am pretty sure that he must be spending at least Rs.200 per day from his pocket for his morning passion. {Forgot to tell, our street is just one of his long morning journeys}.

This man does not seem to be very religious. Neither he seems to be an active member of Blue Cross or any other organization of its kind. He does not seem to have any interest in institutionalizing his hobby by training some body OR inducing casual acquaintances like me into his hobby.

It is as if he has taken up this responsibility whole-heartedly, unconditionally and without expecting any thing in return. It is quite admirable to see his level of authority with the watch men of flats (including ours) who some time support him during the service time and I saw him once blasting our watch man for not attending to a sick dog in spite of his instructions !!

Now, this man - one of the unsung hero (Nayakan) of our times - is a sample of the human "being" that I was talking about yesterday....!!

Few more to follow......Stay Tuned.....

Love // Suren

அதே தான் !! கவிதை கவிதை......!! படி ......!!

ப்ரிய நெஞ்சங்களே

பொது நலம் பற்றியும் சமூகம் பற்றியும் அக்கறை இருப்பது போல் நாம் எவ்வளவு தான் வேடமிட்டாலும் நம் ஆழ் மனத்தில் நாம் எல்லோருமே சுய வாதிகள் தான். கவனிக்கவும் - நான் "சுயநல வாதி" என்ற சொல்லை உபயோகிக்கவில்லை.

பிரபஞ்சத்தில் எந்த ஒரு விஷயத்தைப் பற்றி நாம் உருவாகும் எண்ணமும், முன்வைக்கும் வாதமும் நம் கற்பனையான தெளிவும் "நமதே" அன்றி "அந்த பொருள்-உடையது அல்ல என்பதே என் துணிபு.... (ஆம்... "என்" !!)

பல மொழி வித்தகனாக இருக்கப்பட்டவன் தூக்கத்தின் நடுவே திடீர் என்று குளிர்ந்த நீர் ஊற்றி எழுப்பப் பட்டதும் "எண்ட அம்மே" என்று அலறியவாறு எழுந்து ஒரு புதிர் அவிழ காரணமாய் இருந்த (தெனாலி கதை தெரியுந்தானே ?) அதே "நான்" என்ற உணர்ச்சி பற்றி தான் இந்த பதிவு.

இதை மேலும் விளங்கிக் கொள்ள, உற்சாகக் கிள்ளை-யாய் துள்ளும் என் மனம் பற்றி மேலும் அறிய பொறுமையாக மேலே படிக்கவும்.

சுவாரஸ்யமாய் "ஆனந்த விகடன்" புரட்டிக் கொண்டு இருந்த நான் அண்ணா ஹசாரே பற்றி ஒரு கட்டுரை - யின் ஆரம்ப வரிகளைப் படித்ததும் உற்சாகத்தில் மிதந்தேன். கட்டுரை-யின் கருவை பலப்படுத்த சீன ஞானி லாவோ tsu - வின் அற்புத வரிகள் - அப்படியே கீழே தருகிறேன் ....

இந்த உலகத்தில் கடினமான விஷயங்கள்

எளிதானவற்றிலிருந்து தொடங்குகின்றன

இந்த உலகத்தில் பெரிய விஷயங்கள்

சிறியவற்றிலிருந்து தொடங்குகின்றன

ஒரு மனிதன் கட்டிப்பிடிக்கிற அளவு மரம்

மென்மையான குருத்திலிருந்து கிளம்புகிறது

ஒன்பது மாடி கோபுரம்

சிறு மண் குவியலிலிருந்து எழும்புகிறது

ஆயிரம் மைல் பயணம்

காலடி நிலத்திலிருந்து தொடங்குகிறது

எனவே பெரிய விஷயங்களை

ஞானி ஒருபோதும் செய்ய முயல்வதில்லை

அதனால்தான் பெரிய விஷயங்களை

அவன் எப்போதும் சாதிக்க முடிகிறது !!

சரி, எதனால் உனக்கு இதில் இவ்வளவு உற்சாகம் என்று கேட்கிறீர்களா ? ஏறத்தாழ மூன்று ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பு நான் எழுதிய ஒரு கவிதை இதோ -

என் மகிழ்ச்சியின் மூலம் புரிந்ததா ?

நூற்றுக்கணக்கான வருடங்களுக்கு முன் வாழ்ந்த தத்துவ ஞானி சொன்ன கருத்தை நானும் உணர்ந்திருக்கிறேன் என்பது அல்ல விஷயம்.

நான் மனப்பூர்வமாக உணர்ந்த ஒரு விஷயத்தைத்தான் அவரும் சொல்லியிருக்கிறார் - அதுவும் பிரபஞ்ச உண்மை ஒன்றின் பாதி யைத்தான்....!! மிச்சத்தை சொல்ல நான் வரப்போகும் காரணத்தால் தான் என்னவோ ?

வாழ்க வளமுடன்.... என்றென்றும்......

சுரேந்திரன்