We fight, quarrel,argue still reconcile to live together happily

We quarrel,fight,argue,counter ..but still reconcile and live together.... She is always correct I feel and she feels I am correct...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It was in 1974 that I got married to
BRINDHALAKSHMI... Almost 42 years have elapsed after our becoming wife and husband... Among  things we have faced together, it comes to my mind various instances when we had quarrels, arguments ,counter arguments,ultimatum of legal separation through words,the severeness  of mental agony resulting from such petty quarrels and the satisfaction and peace of mind felt in our joining again forgetting any minor differences of opinion .

I  remember.. instances in 1974 when I had to leave home by 7 AM to reach my Office Bank by 8.30 AM..at Jayanagar, Bangalore,.a distance of around 10kms by bus from our residence at Seshadripuram, Bangalore.  Although I would be ready to leave home in time ,she would not have kept my breakfast or food ready.In a fit of anger I used to  shout at her and she used to retaliate stating. You may go without food I used to leave home without taking food reach Office ,get some food  etc...Ofcourse evening when I return home by 6 PM...she would be waiting for me with all good,smile of her young face making me  forget all anger I had in the morning and feel happy in her presence.Ofcourse I have felt what she told me was correct ..go to office without food...she was new to Bangalore ,just around 17 or 18 years old etc....She needed time to prepare food etc ..I used to think over and feel she was correct...This is how our married life began   .

In 1976 a year after marriage we were in Trichur... I remember to have left her in a Railway station and come home out of anger ...but she came back home..although she did not know the language Malayalam or the address.

There were many instances when I have told her.  "" You go back  to your parent's  home..I can remain without you. Or seek separation.."".but in my heart of  hearts I  never felt I should ever leave her.

We are married to live together, bring up children well and live happily and peacefully.We feel happy having done our duties as wife and husband as parents to children.

This morning I had a fight and severe arguments  with her and she is more powerful and aggressive in her arguments . ..But in mind or heart was feeling she is correct.May be the instance of quarrelling or arguing with your wife brings in a hidden cementing force strengthening our relationship to remain as wife and husband...She would have felt that I am correct.

After 42 years of such  married life, I recollect how she has stood  with me through all situations..especially during my illness 1979 onwards ...and brought up children,taken care of  their education, welfare etc ..I also feel how I took care of her during some accidents say around 4...leading to Surgery etc .She takes care of food and cooking and I take care of her health and medicines..She is a little vociferous but in contact with all my relatives and her relatives and many others..

So , there  has been an understanding of sharing our skills or natures mostly not expressly but felt in the interest of family.

Whatever quarrels,arguments,etc we have, we get back united the same day Perhaps this is the God given natural gift to all married persons to remain together always despite any occasional differences of opinion .

As I feel she is always correct,my wife must be feeling similarly  that I am correct..culminating in a peaceful and successful married life

VIJAYARAGHAVANP1 RAGHAVAN, hi

VIJAYARAGHAVANP1 RAGHAVAN https://www.google.com/search?q=VIJAYARAGHAVANP1.RAGHAVAN@blogger.com Vijayaraghavan Parameshwaran
Vijayaraghavanp1

An astrologer"s day

Chitra Rajesh Brindha RaghavanThe intuitive wisdom or Divine vision to predict, foresee or forecast future events and prescribe pariharams etc for any sin or papam etc possessed by human beings called astrologers are largely accepted by various people .., may be we have Indian Astrologers ... some Kerala experts ,some Tamians,Maharashtrians,etc and from others too.., Most of their calculations are found based on planetary positions, Dasa.,Rasi.. Zodiac,stars , etc of individuals at the time of birth and later as one passes through various dasas or peroods in life periodically. Incidentally these appear reasonable apparently and scientific being based on a stream of Mathematics.... Ofcourse , we consult astrologers for comparing stars of a girl and a boy at the time of marriage which is also simple mathematical comparison of stars, yoni,rasi, Gotham,dasasanthu, rajju ,etc of two individuals generally accepted by common people .... Ofcourse the Astrolgers coming through TV channels,News Media and others mostly commercial professionals are there ... they predict or assume to know everything in the world and predict on many matterd ...Generally some people go to them in times of difficulties and others who believe in this astrology also see them. Also the computer or digital system allow us consult on any matter or problem through astrology online and get results emanating from skilled softwares satisfying all ... although not having general recognition as true ... We have to differentiate between the real and fake astrologers as we have similar comparisons in other professions also.,, P.S. People go to Doctors, Engineers ,Advocates, Accountants , Politicians , Teachers ,etc for consulting various matters related to each profession for advice or consultation etc ..,, We see generally .. Politicians approach astrologers before and after elections, Parents with boys’ horoscopes approach to get suitable girls and vise-versa, Some parents go for construction of fake horoscopes for marrying children of wealthy and employed girls, Some people go to them know fate of litigation or chances of victory before filing suit, before constructing house, Some persons go to them after trying and faing in all Medicine or treatment for sickness finally approach astrologer for cure .... Etc What we observe here is astrologers are the ultimate point for finding panacea for any problem . Astrologers are visited by all.. . My case ..... ., Girl’s horoscope was sent to us and I had my horoscope ... compared all parameters or poruthams myself as I knew that work Informed girl’s father .. stating porutham in 8 items .. Ofcourse I did so since I liked the girl more than the poruthams.... So that is where I didn’t go to an astrologer but functioned as as an astrologer ... That was an Astrolger’s day for me I made a mistake in not continuing with such a lucrative profession ..., Addendum... Various poruthams seen........or compared... 1. Naadi porutham: Endocrine, Temperaments, hereditary. 2. Kanam porutham: Avoids ego problems and frequent quarrels. 3. Rajju porutham: Felicity and duration of married life. 4. Sthirie theerka porutham: Prosperity of family during the course of time. 5. Yoni porutham: Intimate relationship between couple. 6. Raasi porutham: Possibility of bearing a male child. 7. Raasi athipathi porutham: Relationship between in-laws. 8. Vasiyam (Vashikaran) porutham: Physical attraction between the couple. 9. Thinam porutham: Marital interaction quality. 10. Vethai porutham: Mutual repellence and enmity. 11. Virudcham porutham: Family tree continuation. 12. Aayul porutham: Life expectancy. 13. Mahendram porutham: Promotes attachments, increase in longevity. Most important poruthangal are Nadi, Kanam and Rajju. In addition they avoid marriages between persons of same gothrams.. Between female star and male star there should be a difference of aeast 8 Both maynot have same star... Some doshams like chevvai dosham of female affecting male avoided... Generally the male should be older than female but now a days the trend has chsnged .... So that is an astrologer's day Vijayaraghavan Parameswara Iyer

THAT WAS CHAIBASA...NOT CHAI...BASA....

Chitra Rajesh Brindha RaghavanChaibasa… and ..not chai…basa……. The word Chaibasa has nothing to do with Chai that is tea .It may be a Bengali name CHOR Basa which they used to say meaning place where thieves live….but may not be true as we all lived there for some period and enjoyed…. Recently I gave up taking filter coffee and shifted to chai or tea and was reminded of this place Chaibasa where we had a nice period of stay with our little child, Rajesh.Ofcourse we could get only chai there and no coffee like in many other places in Bihar. It was an opportunity and fortune to work in Bihar for about 6 years in Bihar from 1977 when we were just two. Bihar also is actually VIHAR means house for any .It was during our stay in Bihar we could visit many places including famous temples. We two went to Kasi or Varanasi from Jamshedpur visiting famous Viswanatha temple and also the confluence of three rivers namely Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi called Triveni sangam We had taken bath at the holy place and went there in a boat and collected some holy water in metal pots which we preserved for years along with some vishnupadham/sanku etc. Also we visited important places like Allahabad, etc. In addition we had visit to PURI Jagannath temple, Konark Sun temple and Bhubaneswar while in Bihar. Orissa state was adjacent to Bihar state. We were two in 1977 and transferred to Tatanagar branches, Bihar r say Jamshedpur Bihar. There were a lot of Tata companies like Tisco. Telco, and others..In particular I had an Ayyappan temple where I used to go..Some Gujarathi Basa,, Marwadi Basa, Marathi Mandir and a Madrasi sammelani were there. Initially we stayed in Madrasi sammelani for about 15 days, There was a restaurant run by a Palghat Mami where we could get good meals, Masal Dosa, curd . filter coffee, etc and enjoy food which we could not get anywhere in Tatanagar or Jamshedpur or even Bihar. While staying in the Community centre Madrasi sammelani I met Mr Ranganathan an Engineer, one of the office bearers of Sammelani and his wife was Mrs. Saroja Ranganathan my senior in the Bank at Jamshedpur. Their son is the Tamil cinema celebrity Madhavan must be a little older than our son Rajesh. In Tatanagar REC at Adityapur Ind Estate was there and a Branch of Bank also was there where I worked. There were many temples etc where my wife used to go with their mami gossip groups. While in Varanasi we two were taken in a boat to the centre of Ganges and the other side where there were dealers for Varanasi silk sari. I had bought one green sari for her which cost Rs 300 and came by post after some days. She had retained it till last year , 2019.. Later it was Majhgaon ..Singhbhum Dist.. Bihar tribal area presently in the Jharkhand area where we three lived of rover three and a half year. It was a tribal place with no electricity, roads, train ,Doctors,and other necessities but still cheap and good. Our son was grown and brought up there as a Bihari . Next before returning to Madras in 1982 we were in Chaibasa,We had opportunity to join the staff of the Branch in a picnic visiting various places like Nalanda, Rajgirh, Bodhgaya etc,.I remember staff colleague Miss. Shipro (Bengali) had brought her sister a Homeo Doctor in the picnic to take care of our son who was not well but became fine during journey, I had carried some essential medicines with me, We had nice time at many places in Bihar and in particular at Nalanda, Mithila, Bodhgaya, Rajgirh etc While being in Chaibasa our son would speak only Hindi and thus became called a Bihari in in our hose after we returned home .. In Chaibasa I went to a Homeo Doctor who cured me of my head ache by giving a few tablets. In Chaibasa we had very few south Indians except the ones from Bank serving nearby Branches. It was difficult to get meals or leave alone south Indian meals or curd or coffee ONLY Chai..Singada or samosa or jalebi and we liked them too. THAT WAS CHAIBASA….

I had a dream to be a teacher

Chitra Rajesh Brindha Raghavan I had a desire ... when I was in Primary schools say 1952 I used to like some teachers like Subhadra , Janaki, Rama Iyer etc and later in Bangalore Teachers like KSM, KVS and later college lecturers like Sundaresan , Srinivasan , Gangadharan etc ... Although not concentrating in subjects , I used to dream of becoming like one of them .In school stage I was feeling to become a teacher carrying chalk piece, duster and cane stick .., Those days teachers could punish children and were of good character .. At school stage desired becoming a teacher wearing necktie and speaking in English and coming prepared to class with Pythagoras theorem Archimedes principle or some Geometry riders ... imagined questioning students simple things and teaching them well.., Then later in BSC class .. again desired to become a Maths Teacher like Sundaresan , teach all Calculus, Dynamics etc and make some students brilliant to climb the ladder of higher studies 🐸🐸 Later in Evening college studying Law , I hardly listened to the lectures and read all guides myself ... But salil my dreams turned out false as I got employment after BSC in 1967. Later I was trying for becoming an Instructor in Banks training centers but coukdnot succeed ... After retirement I got opportunity to teach Debts recovery act to some students who were deputed by some Banks ...and some Foreign Exchange to CAIIB students ... But here the students were grown up and were just not seriously attentive in the class.. They were not fluent in English and I was not good in Tamil ... Here I have satisfied having been a teacher although all of them preferred back benches and asked for question papers in advance ... Now finally during my last visit to San Jose USA In 2019 to 20 I had occasion the teach Sanskrit to children on Sundays. So my dream of being an eternal teacher remained unfinished 🇦🇮 But I used to teach my wife spoken English and computer directly or through e mail lessons .. but the student teacher relationship was missing and student not obedient.. I taught Physics to my neighbor house girl and my niece at PUC level but they didnot study well. Ofcourse I have taught Maths and Science to my son and daughter during their school days 🇦🇮🇦🇮 So I too join the fold of Teachers although not fully recognized as a Teacher --

Our Wedding anniversary

Chitra Rajesh Brindha Raghavan araghavanp1@gmail.com> wrote: Nether have We seen you all, Nor have you seen us when small, Got married decades ago happily , Remember the wedding anniversary yearly. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This happened in 1974 ***************************************************

We got married on 4 th Sept 1974 at Chennai.. I got her photos before marriage as under and our entire family at Madras went and saw the girl in Madras at her uncle’s house in Kodambakkam ,Kamdarnagar , Madras .My younger brother went next day to see her as he had work on previous day ...

The right one of the two was the photo her parents who were in Andippatti Madurai District Tamilnadu sent us initially through my father when we were in Bangalore .

Left one I got sometime later and attached . Bottom one also I got attached . There were only black and white photos those days ..... She said these photos were taken at Andippatti Studio in 1974 .She thought it was taken for her College admission . But later she was told the photo has been approved by an intending bridegroom ...we had conveyed our approval over phone the same day ..in June 1974 when I had come to attend my cousin’s marriage .. She used to say having missed college studies on account of marriage .. That is how the life of our marriage started in 1974. 46 years have elapsed thereafter .... We thank all who sent us good wishes on this occasion My parents are in the photos who chose us as wife and husband ..and blessed us ..Syamala Lakshmanan my niece and Balan her younger brother are also present We remember and thank our parents always ... Her athai Visalam was married to my father’s cousin Dr T V Sundaresan ... Ofcourse 46 years have passed although we feel having met other just now .. We could live in various places and get children a son and daughter educated who employed and settled .we have lead a happy and contended life and are settled in Chennai after retirement in 2007. We wish all the best to everyone and on this occasion advise couple who get married to live happily understanding and adjusting each other ... With both our parents with us .... With children And grandchildren Thanks Rajesh Vijayaraghavan 4082235465

Chitra Rajesh Brindha Raghavan Nether have We seen you all, Nor have you seen us when small, Got married decades ago happily , Remember the wedding anniversary yearly. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This happened in 1974 P vijayaraghavan Married V Brindhalakshmi at Madras on 4.9.1974 *************************************************** We got married on 4 th Sept 1974 at Chennai.. I got her photos before marriage as under and our entire family at Madras went and saw the girl in Madras at her uncle’s house in Kodambakkam ,Kamdarnagar , Madras .My younger brother went next day to see her as he had work on previous day ...

The right one of the two was the photo her parents who were in Andippatti Madurai District Tamilnadu sent us initially through my father when we were in Bangalore . Left one I got sometime later and attached . Bottom one also I got attached . There were only black and white photos those days ..... She said these photos were taken at Andippatti Studio in 1974 .She thought it was taken for her College admission . But later she was told the photo has been approved by an intending bridegroom ...we had conveyed our approval over phone the same day ..in June 1974 when I had come to attend my cousin’s marriage .. She used to say having missed college studies on account of marriage .. That is how the life of our marriage started in 1974. 46 years have elapsed thereafter .... We thank all who sent us good wishes on this occasion IMG_7475.jpeg IMG_7473.jpeg My parents are in the photos who chose us as wife and husband ..and blessed us ..Syamala Lakshmanan my niece and Balan her younger brother are also present We remember and thank our parents always ... Her athai Visalam was married to my father’s cousin Dr T V Sundaresan ... Ofcourse 46 years have passed although we feel having met other just now .. We could live in various places and get children a son and daughter educated who employed and settled .we have lead a happy and contended life and are settled in Chennai after retirement in 2007. We wish all the best to everyone and on this occasion advise couple who get married to live happily understanding and adjusting each other ... IMG_7495.jpeg With both our parents with us .... IMG_7497.jpeg IMG_7496.jpeg IMG_7498.jpeg With children And grandchildren IMG_7499.jpeg --

My new year greetings. 2020

Chitra Rajesh Brindha RaghavanHappy New year 2020 .

On the occasion of dawn of the year 2020,I feel happy having lived through the old year 2019.

With no other definite plans or tools on hand and observing the current trends I wish the new year begins with following requests, decisions,prayers and wishes.

May men reduce use of smartphones ,telephones,etc and pay attention to other domestic duties also and request women to monitor and follow suit,

Hope that the stock exchange improves and Sensex  crosses 50000 Mark and allow all persons engaged in speculation or any other market activities become billionaires,

Desire that all banks exercising caution in lending and reducing and recovering NPA s and allow Bank make profit to give maximum dividend on the investments .It is also requested rate of interest on deposits be increased and rate of interest on loans etc also reduced ,

Pray that Real Estate prices increase at fantastic rates and capital gain or other taxed get reduced,and prices of property while buying is reduced,

It is desired Gold prices increase and also dollar value decreases  thereby increasing value of rupee against dollar, and increasing paying capacity,

Let employers low all persons work from home and increase salary every month along with tax free bonuses,and allow them work for home,

It is also desired all establishments allow more leave to all,including any maternity or paternity leave to all employees,

It is overdue any income is made tax free,and other tax rates reduced,

Along with all these it is desired more and more people go to temples, churches and mosques and become religious,

It is desired women start giving respects to men including husbands and mother in law and vice versa,

Coming to Whatsapp or Facebook or Twitter etc let the activity be reduced so that women can take care of their home including husband,children and others,

Above all wish for more production,,increase in employment,stability of Governments,international peace etc are also desired ,

It is also desired more elections take place regularly,

Those having other prayers may add in the new year wishes and wait to see if anything materialised on the last day of 2020.

Our visits to Kentucky state USA

Our visits to Kentucky state

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Kentucky is a southeastern state bounded by the Ohio River in the north and the Appalachian Mountains in the east, with Frankfort the state capital. The state's largest city, Louisville, is home to the Kentucky Derby, the renowned horse race held at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. The race is preceded by a 2-week festival and celebrated in the Kentucky Derby Museum year-round

We reached Louisville KY on 26 th Non and left Louisville on 7 th Dec spending happy moments with Narayanan and Sundaram along with some of their family members 

..........................,,.,,,,,,,..................

It was our fortune that we could be together at Hazard and Louisville for a few days . We remember each and every moments of our stay there . Looking forward to meet again more often .

*********^^^^^^^^^^*********

We had sumptuous and tasty foods together at Tandoori at Louisville and homemade preparations at Hazard for a week.

In addition Dr Roy Varghese And Dr Kantha and Dr Yalamanchi and others were met by us and had good food at their houses .

We had on earlier occasions gone to Mammoth Caves,Kings Island,Toyota Car Factory and the Capital Frankfort etc 

We too had a meet and ate at Pizza Hut Somerset Where Sundaram and family came from Nashville 

.Dr Nitya   Narayan joined us at Louisville on 6 th Dec and made the reunion full and memorable.

That was our meet together

WORK FROM HOME OR WORK FOR HOME ???????????????

WORK FROM HOME OR WORK FOR HOME   ???????
*WORK FROM HOME OR WORK FOR HOME   ??????

************************************************

Life is made easy by being at home resulting from advancement of science and technology. The concept of work FROM home has made life more comfortable for men and women as they can very well work FOR home remaining at home  and  earn... doing office work from home and simultaneously attending to personal work.

In the mornings we see lots of delivery boys at the doors from Swiggy, Zomato, Uber Foods,etc  who deliver breakfast at short notice . Women find it easy as they need not  prepare anything and waste time in preparing breakfast everyday with different menu .All other restaurants like Saravana Bhavan  or Adyar Amanda Bhavan or Thaligai accept orders online throughput the day and supply at doorsteps .This also provides employment to many youngsters who have a driving licensee and flair for selling. 

You don’t need a car or a driver etc  as  Uber, Ola etc are at door steps at cheaper rates offering regular free drives etc to any place you need to go.

You don’t need to go to vegetable market or provision stores for buying monthly   needs . You can order online through many of the shops of Reliance, Spencer, Pazhamudircholai,etc or through Big basket etc where all goods are delivered at doors. Most of the online trades allow you hefty discounts , cash back etc including the giants like Amazon,Flip kart,Snap deal,etc , who sell you anything at discount and deliver at home.

Now comes Doctors or Physicians or Dentists etc who are available through app Pratcto   health   app  and we can choose them .Some of them provide you advice online and may be if you pay a little more they may visit you at home. I remember some 5 years back my wife had an accident and surgery at leg..,,she could not move from home for 2 months..,,Doctors,Physiotherapists,and Radiologist or X Ray persons used to come home and do all the services.

Next regarding     medicines  . ,,Apps of various suppliers through whom you can order by uploading prescriptions and getting all medicines at discount around 20 percent. There is an app showing agents who sell medicines which are about to reach expiry dates at reduced rates. There is one selling all genetic drugs.Apps are there for buying allopathic, Ayurvedic, Sidha, Homeopathic or Acupuncture     medicines .

Of course bus, train or rail or airline  bookings are always available online but you need go to the bus station or airport   to travel as they cannot come home .

We used to have associations at Apartments where members pay monthly maintenance, etc and get all services common to the flats .It has   now been replaced by an app in mobile through which members can initiate and get reply  for  all communications,remittances,complaints,etc. People rarely meet each other or know anyone staying in same building. Even inside house wife, husband , children communicate through mobile phone .

Your Smartphone recharging, paying telephone or internet bills or Electricity charges, Water  charges, Property taxes,  ,can be made through internet . 

Of course filing of Income tax or payment of advance tax or self assessment or penalty for any delay etc can always be made  online .

Regarding Banking it is not required that you visit any branch.,,,they come home and open all your accounts and give the Cards ....Credit card or ATM  Debit Card. Hope some banks provide ATM machines at your door steps also. All loans you can apply online through the bank hub etc . May be they cannot trace you later if you change your location or user ID .

It is a rare occasion when anybody goes out of house to witness  any cinema or cricket match /IPL/Test /Series etc which can be viewed through TV sitting at home .

There are various matrimonial sites on web through which you can advertise your bride or bridegroom needs and view many intending girls regularly ...all these through internet. If   found eligible and suitable and  profitable, you can even conclude marriage settlements or engagements.

People who are wealthy or others who can spend time  by sitting at home engaging in trading in equities / stocks/Mutual funds/Futures/Options/Derivatives etc online daily and make or lose all money through online trading .I don’t know if Bit coin trading are also done online. Commodities or Foreign Exchange business also allowed  online .

May be life is made easy   through phones/apps etc resulting in making people lazy and of sedentary nature leading to health problems. I have seen in USA except a few people nobody ever walks out of house but travel in car or aero planes always sadly making them obese and unhealthy,

This is what is happening. I do-not know   many more developments which have been taking  place in the use of Smartphone by youngsters making life luxurious but leading to destruction in many cases . Smartphone, Whats App, Facebook, Instagram, etc have made life comfortable and enjoyable ..., may be otherwise in the long run.,,

Only places where your physical presence is required is while going to temples, doing Pooja at home or chanting verses or buying small items like flowers,etc or going to a saloon or Barber shops , or sleeping. Even Barbers may come home and render service if you call them and pay additional charges.

May be daily washing of  cloths or cleaning house or clearing trash etc needs to be done by men at home and online services are not easily available. We await them soon.

I n USA I found  during last year my daughter was remaining inside a closed room for half a day and I was taking care of her kids in the kitchen. She told me she was on online duty and attending patients being attached to a Hospital in California.

So that is the situation.

WORK FROM HOME OR WORK FOR HOME ?************************************************

Tamil New Year day and Vishu

t was during morning  walk I met Mr. Krishnan a regular walking mate and wished him happy new year. It required clarification as for Tamilians   new year day was  today and for Palghat People Vishu falls tomorrow. In order to cover both  festivals  on a single day, we had our vishukkani  today itself  and decided celebrating both today.

While he mentioned his relatives n Palghat like Payyannur, Ayyakkad, Perinkulam, Koduvayur, Nemmara,etc we came to commonness of  Kavuu that is Manappallikkavu. I told him that I belong to Thondikulam but hardly stayed in Palghat as I lived in Trichur for 13 years and later in Bangalore,etc.I was recollecting my colleagues in Bangalore who originally hailed from Thondikulam like Anantharaman,Dhandayuthapani and Seshadri.Incidentally none of us meet each other after retirement. Two of them were related to my wife and thus not much acquainted with me and the third person belonged to Delhi and was a colleague in Inspection and Audit Dept. During my Bank service of six years in Coimbatore wife used to go for Nurani/Thondikulam sasthapreethi  every year and I couldn’t go .She used to say many people enquired about me through my mother who was from Nurani. She used to explain about the various Paayasams tasted ,etc.

It is found we have many near relatives in Nurani  ,Thondikulam,Tharakkad,Thathamangalam,Chittoor,Vadakkancherry, Kalpathi,etc and many other places in Palghat.

I mention my native place as Palghat but feel unhappy being away from my native place.

Being  a senior citizen I don’t say an old man many items are restricted to be eaten .In the morning during course of walk we worship or do sevai at Perumal koil,pray God Pillayar,another Ganesha and Nagathammal and others. Since she takes bath early morning she goes inside all the said temples and I worship from outside and I return home and take bath later, Today in one of the Ganesha temples she got Kesari and Sweet Bhoondi In dhonnai as prasadam .I had to consume one of them as she doesn’t take those . Later at home I could get heavier breakfast after performing Ammavasai  tharpanam.While taking lunch took a little rice,Sakkara Pongal,and a little aviyal and a vadai .She has made aviyal,mango koottan,Rasam,Some paanagam,vadai, Paayasam, etc I couldn’t take all these as usual . That is the situation.

Nowadays festivals need to be celebrated without much eating things since there are not many persons at home. Of course a portion she distributed to neighbors and they too reciprocate . In order to reduce intake in quantity of carbohydrate and fructose and sodium chloride , saturated fat,etc we combined both festivals to a single day .

ABC of Babysitting while visiting children in USA

ABC of Babysitting while   visiting children in USA

Babysitting is temporarily caring for a child. It emerged as a social role for teenagers in 1920. In suburban America it became important in 1950s  and 1960s when there was abundance of small children. In India also the concept of Babysitting is not much popular as working parents find it necessary for someone to take care of their small children at  home .  In many families the parents of the male member or the female member who happened to be senior citizen come and stay with such working couple and take care of their children at home, Of course the presence of elder members like parents and others in extended families make the children feel at home comfortable when both the parents work and are available at home only during holidays.

 

Being grandparents of four American born grandchildren it became necessary to visit them periodically after retirement from service in 2007.Blessed with tiny kids we feel privileged and happy to visit our children and grandchildren in America since 2007 till now. 2018….say around 8 times and in a period of twelve years till 2018 had presence in U S A   during the last ten years.

 

It was an opportunity to experience and enjoy the pleasure of Babysitting coupled with visiting various places there along with children, In short out of fifty states of the United states of America, we had occasion to   picnic or stay in more than 13 states namely Kentucky, New  Jersey , Oklahoma ,Texas, California, Massachusetts, Chicago, Michigan, Cincinnati, Washington DC, Nebraska, Tennessee, etc, ,Arizona, Florida, etc.

 

It was after retirement from service in 2007 we had to be with our daughter at Austin Texas when she was preparing for her admission in US for Medical residency, preparing for USMLE exams, etc. Her   mother used to sit with her during her preparations supporting with occasional snacks, tea. Coffee etc and were stationed at our son’s house at Austin.

 

In 2007 Austin Texas was the first place we had to stay where our first granddaughter Dhwani was born, We were   taking care of her since her 3^rd month after  birth . I was necessary as both our son and daughter in law were working and we need to k look after the child at home during their absence .As a routine babysitting we took care to note the timings of feeding the child with milk every two hours …by noting down the timetable in a white board hung in the kitchen. We had to change her diapers and sit with the child showing some new things or actions , Also it was necessary to sit with the child around the rocker listening to some musical tune adjusted and hear d while the rocker was rotating and child remaining sleeping , Other daily duty ended after the father or mother returned home after work by 5 PM. It was a pleasure living in the sole company   of   the grandkid realizing the depth of love and affection we had toward the child by seeing the smiling or crying face of the infant   with different expressions in face. Growth of teeth and teething trouble, change of food from liquid to semi solid, giving her bath every two days using tub,   towel , soap, etc was part of our routine. It was all interesting and enjoyable. More interesting were the times she spilt milk or threw away food not found tasty or palatable by her and the   costumes  or new dresses worn by her now and then. Austin being capital of the state Texas had a large of computer related companies.

 

It was Boston capital of Massachusetts in 2013 where the granddaughter Poorvi through our daughter was born, It was her mother’s privilege at Beverley Hospital M  Salem  MA from time of birth  and all others including me were at home or say the apartment at Salem for about 5 months taking care of the baby, Boston is an important place in the state of  Massachusetts. Later in 2017 we were back at California at San Jose to take care of grandson Vaibhav through daughter , We enjoyed staying there too taking care of the children.

 

Later in 2017 we were back at California at San Jose to take care of grandson Vaibhav through daughter , We enjoyed staying there too taking care of the children and also being with the children of our son at Fremont who stayed nearby daughter’s house in California at  Santa  Clara.

 

ABC of Baby sitting or Austin, Boston, California of Babysitting is being experienced and enjoyed by us being present at these places during births of grandchildren and also visiting many other states of USA during the   said   period and seeing many new places. Among others some of the places we visited are Marathon caves Kentucky, Pentagon, New York,   Nasdaq   Stock Exchange, United States Senate Chamber at Washington DC,U S Bureau of Engraving and Printing US Currency, New York Stock Exchange, White house at Washington DC, Universal studios, Florida, Los Angeles,  San Diego, Chicago, Manhattan, Washington square , Tennessee, Corpus Christie , Nebraska, statue of liberty,  Liberty Island, Golden gate San Francisco, Ghirardelli  Chocolate  factory California, Toyota Car making facility  at  Georgetown ,Kentucky state, Eiffel Towers, Disney Land etc..Las Vegas, Tulsa Oklahoma, Michigan, Washington DC,. Gloucester vales watch, Inks Lake, Watkins Glen, Ithaca  Boston, ,MIT Cambridge MA, Harvard university, Binghamton  state University of New York, Niagara falls, California science academy, Louisville, Hazard  Kentucky, Poughkeepsie Hudson Valley New York, Harvard University Cambridge MA,JFK Airport, New York ,Cincinnati, Times square  New York and  a few others.

The periods of our Babysitting in USA reminds us of days   when we brought up our kids under our complete control, supervision and   presence  and at that time there was no need to leave children under such Babysitters as there was no necessity. We have been fortunate to live with our parents during our childhood with no   Babysitting etc.

Out of fifty states in the USA a few of them not  visited  by  us  are  as under..

Alabama,,Alaska,,Arizona,Arkansas,Colarado,Georgia.Hawai,Kansas,Minnesota,Mississippi,Misssouri,Montana,New Mexico, North Carolina. Oregon, Pennsylvania,  Rhode Island, South   Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

During our visits to USA we had opportunity to be present during these festivals

New Years Day also called New Year or New Year’s is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar.

Martin  Luther King Jar day   …January 16th Birthday of Martin Luther King.

Presidents Day ,, 20th Birthday of George Washington first President of America

Memorial Day….29th May remembering people who died while on active   service.  .usually  the last Monday in the month of May

Independence day…4th July   ..commemorating   adoption  of declaration of independence

Labor Day….5th  September  . .honors . American Labor movements,

Columbus Day…..10th October…Anniversary of Christopher Columbus and discovery in America,

Veterans Day 11th    November..….History of veteran of world   war 1

Thanksgiving   day… ..24th November….fourth Thursday of November in USA   a reunion of family members

Christmas…25th December Birth of Jesus Christ..

Black Friday….one of the busiest shopping days in USA in   November every year,

Good Friday and Easter……Good Friday comes before Easter in November..

 

While reading the history of America we come across the names of a few Presidents as under…

George   Washington ,

John Adams,

Thomas Jefferson,

James Madison,

Andrew Jackson,

Franklin Pierce

Abraham Lincoln,

Andrew Johnson,

Chester Arthur,

Grover Cleveland,

William McKinley

Theodore Roosevelt,

Woodrow Wilson,

Franklin D Roosevelt,

John F Kennedy,

Richard Nixon,

Gerald Ford,

Jimmy Carter,

Ronald Regan,

George H W Bush,

Bill Clinton.

Barrack   Obama,

Donald Trump…

The main Political parties in USA are Republicans and the Democrats..

American Flag have fifty stars representing fifty states of   the country, There are 13   stripes in  the  flag because there were 13 original colonies. The   star -spangled Banner is the national anthem of America. The capital of United  states  is at Washington D C. George Washington was the first President of America and is called the father of the nation.

We have had experience of various Time Zones in   United    states of America. We have no such occasions of Daylight saving in India. There are more than 10 Time Zones in USA. The continent USA or North America   has 4    standard   Time Zones. In addition Alaska, Hawaii and 5 US dependencies all have their own Time Zone.

 

Names   of Time Zones..

Pacific Time

Central Time

Eastern Time and

Mountain     Time.

Daylight saving Time Zone Mechanism are second Sunday in March and 1^st Sunday in      November   every year.

 

Arizona has no Daylight saving time and hence the Time Zone doesn’t set clocks forward anytime during the year.

Capitals of a few States are as under…

 

Arizona…..Phoenix

Alabama  ..    Montgomery

Alaska    …           Juneau

Arkansas…Little Rock

California….Sacrament

USA….   Washington DC

Colorado….Denver

Connecticut….Hartford

Florida   Tallahassee

Hawaii …Honolulu

Illinois…Springfield

Indiana   …Indianapolis

Kansas…Topeka,

Kentucky..Frankfort

Maine   . .Augusta

Massachusetts…..Boston

Michigan…. Lansing

Missouri     Springfield

New Jersey   Trenton

Nebraska    Lincoln

New Mexico   …Santa   Fe

New York   Albany

Oklahoma …Oklahoma

Oregon…Salem

Pennsylvania….Harrisburg

Ohio   Columbus

Rhode Island…Providence

Tennessee….   Nashville

Texas….  Austin

Utah …           Salt Lake city

Virginia      Vermont

Washington …..Olympia

Wisconsin…..Madison

Wyoming   …  ..Cheyenne

 

We were in USA during presidential elections on three occasions.

‘2008….Obama Barrack Democrat got elected

2012   Barrack   Obama got elected

2016….Ronald Trump     Democrat   nominee elected..

 

We have also stayed through the four seasons in America

Summer…June to August,

Winter…begins on the Winter solstice

Fall ( autumn)  ….September to November,

Spring…March to May

There are two equinoxes every year   in September and   March when the sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night is nearly equal.

We have travelled through the following Airports in USA and others like Heathrow Airport     London , Frankfurt ,Singapore ,etc..

Other important Airports in USA are…

Chicago   O’Hare International   Airport

San Francisco International Airport

Dallas/Fort worth   International Airport,

John F Kennedy International Airport

Los Angeles International Airport

Newark Liberty International Airport

La Guardia Airport LGA New York City

Boston Logon International Airport

Nashville International Airport

Kansas City International Airport

 Top 10 largest companies in USA are

Wal-Mart

Berkshire Hatchway

Apple

Exxon Mobile

United Health Group

CVS Health

General Motors

And other companies   like

IBM

Dell

Face book

Google

Microsoft

Amazon

Texas Instruments

San Disk    and   others.

List of largest daily US newspapers sin the order of circulation are

The New York Times

Washington Post

USA Today

Houston Chronicle

The Wall street journal

Chicago Tribune

Los   Angeles   Times

New York Post

Ten top breaches of America are…

1 - Kapalua   Bay Beach, Maui, Hawaii. ...

2 – Ocracoke   Lifeguarded Beach, North Carolina. ...

3 – Grayson   Beach State Park, Florida. ...

4 – Coopers   Beach, Southampton, New York. ...

5 – Coast   Guard Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. ...

6 – Lighthouse  Beach, Buxton, North Carolina. ...

7 - Caladesi   Island State Park, Dunedin/Clearwater, Florida.

There are many Hindu temples in USA and a few among them are

Ganesh Temple New York

Akshadham temple New Jersey

Marlin Hindu Temple California

Sri Siva Vishnu Temple Washington DC

Swaminarayan Mandir   Houston

Venkateswara temple   Atlanta

Radha   Madhav  Dham Texas

Ram temple Greater Chicago

Murugan temple Maryland

Sri Venkateswara temple Illinois

Sree   Meenakshi Temple Texas

Sankar Mochan Hanuman temple    California

Sri Venkateswara temple Pittsburg

Shiva Vishnu temple   South Florida

Shirdi Sai temple Connecticut

Guruvayurappan temple   Marlboro  New Jersey

Top   US Rivers by Length

Missouri

Mississippi:

Yukon

Rio Grande

St. Lawrence

Arkansas:

Colorado:

Atchafalaya:

Ohio Red:

During our visit to USA last year in 2017 we were specifically required to take care of our grandson Vaibhav and a poem written in this  connection   is given below…

Neither am a Night Watchman in Cricket Match,

Nor a Goal keeper in   soccer or football watch,

Remain as Daycare father or mother great,

Enjoy the visit as a Baby sitter or grandfather right..

 

 

Enjoy the dawn of morning see smiling face of toddler,

Feed him milk, formula  ,semi solid and fruit matter,

Get bitten by incisors erupt as six months old,

Pat and touch at back help him sleep as told.

 

 

Little deeds of kids remind us go,

Acts of love we showered and felt   years ago,

When we too played  , learnt and troubled them as kids,

Parents were from   of God who take care of us for all odds.

 

 

What is life without love we feel and remember and remain,

One between the man and woman in love which rarely remain,

The strong one among siblings and children of parents  so dear,

The strongest being love of father and mother to children  for ever.

 

 

Dress him warm with cloth  and shining

Make him sit in high chair standing,

change bib or diaper and  do wiping ,

Clean   overflowing mouth of liquid   after eating,

 

 

Support him stand amidst  crawling ,sitting and climbing,

Cover the sleeping kid in crib with warm clothing,

Watch him steal and taste particles lying on  ground ,

Pull him back while   crawling behind grandma old ,

Moves around the   island in kitchen and rooms around,

He pulls  all electric power  cable attached in wall good.

 

 

Fever or cold he faces with infection,

Medicines and care of parents found for perfection,

He joins us see TV programs when free in noon,

Dance of Jimikki   kamal   dance  and others seen.

 

 

In guarded stroller we take him out,

Go to the Murdock  park in and out,

Allow his father   work throughout,

Assist us complete our daily workout.

 

 

This is the routine   life of senior grandparents,

Who live in America as visitors and parents,

Of children who were kids sometime   thus,

And bestow   their children as gifts for us.

 

About California where we stayed for   maximum period 

 

Orange   is a city located in Orange County,  California. California is a state of fruits and nuts...My granddaughter calls her new house in San Jose as orange trees' house and she is studying in school   Appleseed   Montessori at Sunnyvale CA..My daughter works in Kaiser Permanente Medical Center  , Santa Clara  CA which she says is next to I pad, etc maker Apple Inc.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Apple is an American multinational technology company that is   headquartered in Cupertino, California, which   designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services

**********************************

Many cities , counties ,states in USA  are having names related to fruits.

I recollect one place Tiruchirapalli in Tamilnadu where we have lived for six years from 1988 famous for sugarcane, paddy, banana fruits, mangoes, etc .It was pleasure for children to climb trees and pluck mangoes ,gua fruits  and eat after sharing with others. I remember my elder sister Lakshmi who visited us at Tiruchirapalli once asking in our language Tamil Malayalam ..''Raghavaa  ..oru perakkai.. porichu  tharaya??..meaning   Oh  Raghava.. will you  pluck and get me one gua fruit ??? Incidentally I recollect her staying at Mayavaram Lodge , Tiruchirapalli and getting me  Adai Aviyal,etc there   My eldest sister Parvathi who visited us once during Mahamaham  festival of Kumbakonam on 18 th February,1992 also tasted the mangoes and accompanied us to Kumbakonam for seeing the festival and  Jayalalithaa on her birthday.. Magam star.
Mango pickles like Avakkai,etc were  made, distributed to relatives and stored in ceramic jars for whole year and ripe fruits eaten .. Of course my spouse took care of selling  surplus fruits, coconuts and drumsticks at very good rates and saving  money from the proceeds . In addition there were  many coconut trees in the house at Thillainagar, Tiruchirapalli ..with tender coconuts, the sweet water and the coconuts from a number of trees  providing us cool water, coconuts for making daily dishes like sambar,koottu,chutney,etc.

Here in Fremont CA at our son's house, we have the following trees, plants, grapevines  growing fruits.

Grapes,
Pomegranate,
Apple,
Kiwi fruit,
Pear,
Avocado ,.
Plum,
Gua ..a variety,

Orange and lemon plants are just  planted and are growing.  

There are twenty-four rose plants surrounding the house with different colors flowering in abundance during seasons’ pluck and keep one flower in front of lamp near the pictures of God..Goddess daily...

Bagavad Gita  says...

patram pushpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktyaa prayacchati |
tadaham bhaktyupahritamashnaami prayataatmanaha || 26 ||

One who presents a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water with devotion to me, I will consume that loving gift from that pure hearted being.

Tomato large size and small size ...... ..
..Cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes ..as called  are grown throughout the year in large quantities ..

It is in daughter's new house at San Jose..near  Cupertino, A we have trees of orange, lemon and naarthangai grown in large quantities throughout the year and thus granddaughter calls is Orange Tree house  .

It is tasty and medically healthy to eat some of these fruits..

We eat apple daily .as we have heard...An apple a day keeps the Doctor away....

 

 

We get all vegetables in USA and we make our vegetarian dishes making use of them. In this connection a small write up is given here..

Ammachi cutting vegetables and fruits in America....

 

 

We   get   all   types  of vegetables   and fruits  in USA  and most of them we get and use in India . Also many vegetables are grown in  our houses  as we have seen at Hazard KY where my brother  Dr Narayan stays...they grow green chilies, brinjal,ladies finger, tomato, peerkankai,  beans, apple, etc in large quantities. in Fremont CA    where our son Rajesh stays..they have all fruits almond, cashew nut, apples, plum, grapes, mango,etc large number of flowers of rose variety, and in Marblehead Salem MA where our daughter Chitra lives they have apples, brinjal, tomato,  greens , and pumpkin  white and yellow ... also  grown regularly in their backyards, and in New Jersey where our Sudha stays and Tulsa where Sridhar stays...they too have all fruits  and lemon.. narthangai, etc in large quantities. Our daughter Chitra during her Medical Residency at Omaha, Nebraska used to say the state being largely agriculture based with   mechanical tools for plouging,watering,removing,and corns,beans,sugarcane are main crops grown there. 

 Tartaric acid, Citric acid, Oxalic Acid, Malic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Picric acid  ,salicylic acids, and others are found in fruits. Many of the fruits contain fructose which may not be good for  diabetics  but there are fruits containing less of sugar  and others containing less salt or Sodium chloride etc.. .which we have to choose as  per needs or body restrictions. Banana fruit contains Potassium but also fructose...so it  is  to be decided for consumption for people having blood sugar level, cholesterol problems .. Hypertension   etc. Mango fruit contains maximum sugar   content as also date fruit which diabetics should   avoid..Papaya and koyyappazham are generally preferred for diabetics containing less fructose   but with a little energy, proteins etc..

 

Some vegetables nuts are  alkaline  like Almond, artichoke, asparagus, avacadoe,Basil, beetroot, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, carrot, cauliflower celery, cilantro, cocoanut, cumin,eggplant,Garlic, Ginger, green beans, grapefruit,etc

 

 

They may not be acidic also, so that you can get body pH levels alkaline   by  taking many above alkaline foods.

 

In particular we see in America   vegetables are  of  huge or large sizes when compared the size  we see in India..and neatly packed in polythene bags after cutting,peeling,washing,etc..

Mostly vegetables and fruits are  received from neighboring countries...orange, apple, are largely grown in US also.

 

Okra, egg plant,  etc..are some names...commonly heard.

 

 

It is a good experience to see such large number of vegetables fruits etc in USA  and use them...Some of the rare vegetables like Avocado, brussels,etc are very good for health...which we do not get in plenty in India .We see them fresh and neatly packed and any vegetable spoiled  and found unusable is thrown out  and neither sold nor used by any.

In India also we  grow and get a large number of vegetables, greens etc having medicinal properties and we should make use of them as remedy provided by nature or God for our health problems.

 

 

There are many herbal preparations as oil,lehyam,kashayam etc as medicines in Ayurveda using herbs and roots of plant used for medical treatment relating to brain or Central nervous system,. called.... Mental disorder/ illness, psychological disorders, psychiatric disorders,etc  and these herbal medicines are found effective....

 

 

So nature is abundant with all human needs for existence and survival...

 

 

Cutting vegetables is an art or talent  generally  entrusted to the oldest lady in the house  who takes care of   choosing and cutting them so that the sides are neatly peeled, skin removed, internal seeds thrown out, pieces are made small in geometric sizes, washed again in  water before using etc.  and AMMA was given that work in addition to cooking,  supervising and tasting the final products...

 

 

 

Glossary of Vegetables - Indian Names

English Name	Indian / Hindi Name
Ash Gourd	Petha
Aubergines	Baingan
Banana (raw)	Kela
Beetroot	Chukander
Bitter Gourd	Karela
Bottle Gourd	Lauki
Brinjal	Baingan
Broad Beans	Papdi / Vaal
Cabbage	Pattagobi
Capsicum	Simla Mirch
Carrot	Gajar
Cauliflower	Phoolgobi
Chilli (green)	Harimirch
Chilli (dry red)	Sukhi Lalmirch
Cluster Beans	Gavar
Coconut	Nariyal
Colocasia leaves	Patrel / Patra
Colocasia roots	Arbi
Coriander leaves	Hara Dhania
Corn	Makai
Cucumber	Kheera / Kakdi
Curry leaves	Kadi patta
Dill	Suva bhaji / Soye
Drumstick	Shingh phali
Eggplant	Baingan
French Beans	Fansi
Fenugreek leaves	Methi patta
Garlic	Lahsun
Gherkins	Thendli
Ginger	Adrak
Gooseberry	Amla
Green Bell Pepper	Simla Mirch
Green Mustard	Sarson ka saag
Green Peas	Matar
Green Onion	Hara Pyaz
Jackfruit (raw)	Kathal
Knolkol	Gathgobi
Lady Finger	Bhindi
Lemon	Nimbu
Lettuce leaves	Salad patta
Lotus Stem	Kamal Kakdi
Maize	Bhutta
Mango (raw)	Kaccha Aam / Keri
Mint	Pudina
Mushroom	Khumb / Guchhi
Okra	Bhindi
Onion	Pyaz
Plantain (raw)	Kela
Plantain flower	Kele ka phool
Plantain pith	Kele ka guda
Potato	Aloo / Batata
Pumpkin	Kaddu
Purple Yam	Surti Kand
Radish	Mooli
Ridge Gourd	Tori / Thurai
Snake Gourd	Chichinda / Padval
Spinach	Palak
Sweet Potato	Shakarkand / Ratalu
Tomato	Tamatar
Turnip	Shalgam
Yam	Sooran

During our last visit to USA between 2017 and 2018 we had visited a few places of importance in California State and a few of them are as under..

Los Angeles

Lake Tahoe bordering California and Nevada Mountains

Palm Springs

Santa Cruz

Yosemite National Park

Santa Barbara

San Diego

San Francisco

Fremont

San Jose

Santa Clara

Palo alto

Solvang Ca

Hearst San Simeon state Park

Hearst   castle

California academy of sciences

Morro Bay state park

Paso Robles the wine country

Disney land Park,

Hollywood

And  others….

 

So that was Babysitting this year and we hope to see more places in USA during next visits