Rengudu's Blog

It was already late for me. I had to be present on the pulpit before the trainees exactly at 9 a.m. Then it was 8:45. I tightened my shoe lace finally and zoomed in to my car and drove to the seminar venue which is just over 3 Km away from my home. When I pressed the brake pedal for stopping my car outside the seminar hall, I felt that something was pricking the second finger of my right leg. 'Ouch' I felt a little bit of pain, but certainly not required immediate attention. I parked my car and rushed to the seminar hall. For every alternate step of mine, the pricking brooked. 'What could be inside?' My thought rewound about 30 min and replayed from 8:30 a.m but with out success. I looked at my watch. Oh, God. It is 9:00. I virtually ran into the hall and stood on the dais before the trainees. "Good Morning friends...", I started delivering my prepared content. Being a trainer I had to move to every place inside the hall to bring a conducive learning atmosphe...

I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree.The last class I had to take was Sociology. The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with. Her last project of the term was called, 'Smile.' The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions. I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway. So, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally. Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald's one crisp March morning. It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son. We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did. I did not move an inch... an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved. As I turned around I smelled a horrib...

தீபாவளி என்றாலே பட்டாசும், பலகாரமும்தான். இவை இரண்டும் கலந்து சந்தோஷம் தருவது என்னவோ உண்மைதான். ஆனால் இந்த முறை பட்டாசு வாங்க வேண்டும்s என்று சொன்ன போது எனது அருமை புத்ரி 'வேண்டாம், வாங்காதே' என்று சொன்னபோது சற்று அதிர்ந்துதான் போனேன். போன வருடம் வரை தன் பங்குக்கு வேண்டியவற்றை தானே தேர்ந்து எடுத்து வாங்கியவள்தான் அவள். இந்த வருடம் அறிவு முதிர்ச்சியின் காரணமாக 'வேண்டாம்' என்று சொல்வதிலும் காரணம் இருக்கிறது. பட்டாசுகள் வெளிப்படுத்தும் புகையினால் ஏற்படும் சுற்றுசூழல் பாதிப்புதான். காற்றில் உள்ள கார்பன்-டை-ஆக்சைடின் அளவு நூறு மைக்ரோக்ராம் இருக்கவேண்டும் என்பது தான் அளவு. ஆனால் தீபாவளி தினத்தன்று இந்த அளவு இருநூற்று ஐம்பதை தாண்டுகிறதாம். இன்னும் சில இடங்களில் இந்த அளவு நானூற்று ஐம்பதை தாண்டுகிறதாம். இதனால் ஆஸ்த்துமா உள்ளிட்ட சுவாசம் சம்பத்தப்பட்ட நோய்கள் அதிகரிக்கும் சூழல் உண்டாகும் என்று ஒரு ஆய்வு கூறுகிறது. இது ஒரு புறம் இருந்தாலும் பட்டாசு தொழிலில் ஈடுபட்டுள்ள பலர் பாதிக்கப்படுவார்கள் என்ற சமாளிப்பு வார்த்தைகள் அவளை சமாதானப்படுத்தவில்லை. "பட்டாசு தொழிலில் பெரும்பாலும...

POINTED REPLIES WHEN YOU COULD HAVE HEARD A PIN DROP Field Marshal Sam Bahadur Maneckshaw once started addressing a public meeting in English at Ahmedabad. The crowd started, Speak in Gujarati. We will hear only in Gujarati." Field Marshal Sam Bahadur Maneckshaw replied, Friends, I have fought many a battle in my long career. I have learned Punjabi from officers of the Sikh Regiment; Marathi from the officers of the Maratha Regiment; Tamil from the officers of the Madras Sappers; Bengali from the officers of the Bengal Sappers , Hindi from the officers of the Bihar Regiment; and even Nepali from the officers of the Gurkha Regiment. Unfortunately there was no Army officer from Guajart from whom I could have learned Gujarati." You could have heard a pin drop. At a time when the US President and other US politicians tend to apologize for their country's prior actions, here's a refresher on how some former US personnel handled negative comments about the United States. JF...