June Issue Sangamam Times Pdf

Volume 1 Issue 3

June 2008

Sangamam Times Contributors:

Pitru Devo Bhava– Sainath

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Sainath-

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Vidya Tadanki–

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Hari T. Reddy

A Father means so many things... A understanding heart, A source of strength and of support Right from the very start. A constant readiness to help In a kind and thoughtful way. With encouragement and forgiveness No matter what comes your way. A special generosity and always affection, too A Father means so many things To all of us – me and you... The June issue of Sangamam times incorporates in its pages a special feeling of gratitude to a great pillar of strength, courage and love in each of our lives – our father. At the outset, it is unlikely that anybody can truly encapsulate in verse or words what a father means to him or her. The poem above is perhaps just the precursor to a whole lot of emotional outpourings that would cascade from our hearts if each of us were to be asked to speak about our fathers.

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Yamini C. Roy

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Ram Kishore

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R. Srinivas

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Anuradha Jandhyala

What we have for you in this issue are some articles written by a few of our friends about their fathers which are but a harbinger of the feelings of the others. R. Srinivas’s is a touchingly brief account of how his father, coming from a humble and modest background, still packed an enormous education into his life. Vidya’s recollection of her father – a noted doctor, philanthropist, and social activist – and how he inspired her with his principles and activities makes for interesting reading. After reading these reminiscences, it may not feel out of place to remember what William Shakespeare once said: “It is a wise father who knows his own child.” At the danger of treading a few toes and possibly make the illustrious author turn in his grave, I may add that ‘It is a wise father who knows what his child needs.’ For those who love us truly, educate and nurture us. Lest we think fathers are only meant to be strict and protective about us, I must bring in a bit of humour and add that some of the funniest moments in our lives involved our fathers – and I am sure I speak for the vast majority here. How can I ever forget the time when once we – my mother, sisters and I - returned late night from Hyderabad after a vacation and my father received us at the station and proudly declared to my mother: “You don’t have to worry – I have cooked the meal for dinner. Just have a wash and come down.” You could see the relief on my mother’s face. But as we started eating, something was odd! The potato curry was reeking with the smell of camphor! My mother asked the question that was uppermost in our minds: “Where is this camphor smell coming from?” And dad beamed a divine smile and answered: “Yes, I added it to the curry to make it smell good.” There was a mad dash to the bathrooms and I don’t really want to narrate what happened after that. Here is to our fathers – our pillars of strength and support, our guide and mentor – our everything. We salute you.

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Soubhagya Lakshmi

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Y. Madhu

Acknowledgements:

Our June issue of Sangamam times also contains some deeply thought provoking articles on the finer sentiments of life by Hari Kumar and some insights into the spiritual world by Ram Kishore. In between, yours truly has tried to tickle a few funny bones by relating an experience that would have gone bitterly wrong but for the angle in which it was viewed. Sundari has written about her experiences of a journey into the world of classical music. We may add here – not without a degree of pride – that Sundari holds a master’s degree in Veena from Padmavathi University where she topped her batch. There are some of us who were bitten by the travel bug and took off on a vacation or summoned the courage and energy to take a long distance hike. Yamini comes forth with his travelogue about a holiday to a few places in North India while Anuradha recounts her experience of a 70-odd km biking expedition that she took part in for a noble cause. Guys, who said you can’t enjoy life at forty plus?

Silicon Andhra/ Sujana Ranjani Hassyam.com/ Images from Flicker

The wide panoramic spread of articles and the sheer depth of the topics selected to be dealt with gives an excellent feeling of pride – there is so much we have to tell each other and perhaps so many of us waiting to tell! Let’s keep it coming folks.

Sangamam Times The Multiple Sclerosis Society of America organizes numerous events each year, in an effort to raise funds for MS research. One such event is the MS150 bike ride in Illinois. This takes place in summer and involves riding a total of 150 miles in 2 days. Each rider is required to raise at least $300.00 to be able to participate. The ride starts in Maple Park, Illinois – this is about 50 miles south of Chicago. The first day ends in NIU campus in DeKalb. The second day starts at NIU and returns to Maple Park. Riders have a choice of riding 35 or 75 or 100 miles (concentric routes) on the first day and 35 or 75 miles on the second day. Riders and volunteers stay overnight in DeKalb. I participated in this ride in 2007. I respect the cause for this ride. But honestly, that was not the only reason for my participation. A group of colleagues at GE have been riding this for some years, under Team GE banner. This year, 4 of us in my group decided to join the GE riders. Training for long distance rides is somewhat different – endurance is the key. Rider needs to last through 4 to 5 hours of riding with short stops in between. A good light-weight bike is a good place to start, when preparing for a ride like this.

MS 150 Bike Ride 2007, A frolic in Rain Anuradha Jandhyala husband. This was a lucky coincidence – I got a quick lesson on changing flats and bought useful tools for the ride. Tiny air pump, spare tube, tire remover, gels for energy, camel back and so on. I rode my new bicycle to shopping for small groceries, the library and many short 10 to 15 mile rides. That’s pretty much how other riders trained too. These short jaunts got us used to riding on the streets, with some nasty drivers honking in frustration. As a fellow rider put it to me, there is a pecking order to all occupants of a road – cars, riders, runners, walkers. So that’s how we spread the love, if not road-rage. Team GE met on memorial-day weekend for a 30 mile ride in Busse-Woods in Schaumburg. For some of us on the team, that was the longest we ever rode before the ride.

hooked to my bike, it kept cadence, distance and for some reason, temperature. Brian was nowhere to be seen, I did not see him again until after the ride. This was the fate of many riders – completely drenched from rain and riding full-face into the wind. Small clusters of riders went by. As for team GE, some rode at full-speed down the 75 mile route and the rest took the 35 mile loop. For a few minutes I was left riding the 75 mile route alone. As I rode along I met people and rode with them for some distance, until one of us had to leave. Then another rider would catch on or slow down, for some conversation.

By the second rest-stop my humor had vanished and I questioned my mission and the seeming lack of purpose in it. I dropped my bike and walked in, brooding. “I have MS and thank you for riding this for me!” I looked up startled, into the earSaturday June 23rd woke up damp and cloudy. Troopers that we were, hundreds nest face of a volunteer. My eyes smarted, of riders and volunteers made it to the Elburn hopefully from the rain. This was a turning Middle School. We parked our cars and got point – my ride had found its purpose. I gratefully snacked on the peanut-butter cut out our bicycles and helmets. Riders are required to check-in their overnight bags with she made for me and rode on. volunteers, who tag them with the rider’s number. After checking our bags, team-GE gathered around and took pictures. Then we wished each other luck and began the ride. It was Friday June 22nd, in The rain did not start yet. Not reading the 2007. I was in Target, shopping for pon- dark clouds correctly, I gave my bright orchos. This was a last minute thing, due ange poncho to Brian, a team member. He to guidance from the team captain that rode off with it pinned to his seat. there was a 40 percent chance of rain. I selected a bright orange poncho. It was The riding course is to south and cheerful and the only one that bothered west of Chicago, it is also the driving route to to be a size small. I went home and Northern Illinois University Campus in packed up all little things for the ride and DeKalb. As with most of Illinois, the topola small overnight bag. ogy here is very flat, but instead of prairies, we were greeted by rolling fields. The landOriginally, I meant to use my scape is quiet and serene. The only vehicles mountain bike, a decent Trek 800. But that pass us are large trucks and vans. The after discussing with expert riders in the land slopes gently, as luck would have it, on group, I decided to get a new bike. I dis- this dreary Saturday morning – upwards. A covered pretty soon, that this was the downhill would have been a blessing. The best thing I could have done for myself. organizers provided rest stops every 10 It was a sleek Trek 7.2 FX street bike miles, with the first one at 5 miles. Day 1: Before the garbage-bag poncho with 28 gears and a smooth ride. Linda at Village Cycle Sport helped fit me with After we left the first rest stop, it The weather Gods did not let up, a bike. As it turned out, Linda belonged began to pour. Shortly after, the wind pick up but riders and volunteers were a balm. I got to the team which designed the course and to complete the orchestra, temperatures a lesson in “reading mountains” from an and she expected to ride along with her hovered at 57 F - I had a little computer

Volume 1 Issue 3 ex-navy corps rider called Jerry. It turned out that I was shifting gears too late into the upturn. The hills were so gradual that some times I would miss the upward roll. The trick is to read them well ahead and shift down before reaching the upturn. Then on top of the hill, shift up so that the ride is a little harder. But it gives momentum for the next portion of the ride. A volunteer made a neat little poncho for a lot of us riders, from unused garbage bags. Every little bit helped. Not all riders were active bicyclists. I had been in the middle of my training for the Banco half-marathon (another favorite past-time). But I quickly learnt what many already knew, that bicycling uses a different set of muscles than running. Long distance riding, as with running though, involves a conquest of mind over body. Clichéd as it is, it is the truth. A friend once told me that during a long distance run, 2 miles before the finish, a long-term ache in her Achilles returned, very sharp. She was concentrating so hard that she said out loud, “no, not now!” The pain went away and she finished the race. She was puzzled by it as I was. I did not have a dramatic moment like that. But yes, I had to silence that little protester a few times. Tired and damp, we rode 77.5 miles into NIU campus. The last 10 miles was uphill. The sun finally came out, but a few hours too late. The next morning was a different story. It was a sunny spring-like day, with a nip in the air. With a vengeance, I took down the steepest of the mountains, that so troubled me yesterday. So at the decision point, those I rode with at team GE (except Tom, the team captain as I later learnt) took the 35

miles option. I felt good still, so I took the 75

mile loop, yet again. Day 2: An easy 75miles The monotony of the landscape was broken by colorful riders. Only today we were all cheerful. Memorable among them, some of Jerry’s buddies came up and chatted with me – he asked them to look out for me. Mark, Linda’s husband was a ride-marshal. He met me at rest-stops and chatted sometimes, waved at other times. Today, I decided not to sweat the details. My goal was to ride to the next reststop. I had no intention to finish. I was stunned when at a rest-stop, one of the volunteers let out a loud cheer and said, “This is the last stop, congratulations you are almost done!!” It then dawned on me, without ever intending to, I had ridden 72 miles! This was the last rest-stop. We only had 5 miles to go. Those were the hardest 5 miles of my life and I am not kidding. I would not have completed the 5 miles, without Linda’s help. I met her just past the last rest stop. She rode alongside; we were joking and laughing on the way in, thanks to her robust sense of humor. We were greeted by Tom, the GE captain. He completed it an hour before me. As I drove home, it occurred to me, that we all had a place in the event – riders, volunteers, even those who chose to sleep in, on this cold summer weekend. Imagine riding along with too many vehicles on the road? The purpose of the ride, I understand. The Cause - is above me. I am but a cog in the whole wheel of things. But if all you want is for me to ride a few miles for a good cause, I might do that. Heck, I might do that again.

Sangamam Times

Like Father Like Son Srinivas Rao Ramayanapu There was an anonymous quotation that I once came across, which I find to be a perfect prologue to the article below. It says: “Every father should know that one day his child will follow is example rather than his advice.” All of us who know R. Srinivas will universally acknowledge that he lived up to the example set by his father by imbibed into his life the very same admirable traits his father lived by. Given below is a short account of what R. Srinivas has to say about the ideal example his father set for him.

I owe my success to my dad – Sri. Ramayanapu Venkateswararao. My dad came from a very humble background. He started off as an attendant in Indian Express, one of the leading newspapers in India, at the age of sixteen and got elevated to be a driver in the span of 2 years. There after he stayed a driver for 40 yrs, until his retirement. He always strived to see that his kids were well educated and worked hard to provide us with a better life. He was never satisfied with my performance at school: and if I did well, he never expressed his happiness in front of me. He raised the bar all the time. Even when I secured the first position in school, he said something like “How come you scored less in this subject, next time your score should be higher!” At that time I did not understand why he said that. But now when I look back, I can clearly see that it was all about developing a strong sense for the value of education in me. The message was not to stay contented with the achievement on hand but to aim for higher goals. Thanks to him, I achieved the distinction of being the fist graduate in the family from both my maternal and paternal sides. No he is no longer amongst us but his legacy and values will be carried forward, ever enshrined in my heart to be transmitted down the Ramayanapu family.

Volume 1 Issue 3

Spirit World -Ramakishore Somanchi Spiritual world is not something connected with spirits; it is something which we all try to understand Right from the beginning, we can reach the spiritual world through many ways and the pre-requisite for that is to forego your most treasured dream. The spiritual world starts where material plane ends and it's an endless ocean whose depth cannot be fathomed by any known instrument. Scientists try to reach there through Their endless research and the saints reach there by practicing rituals and disciplining their body through Hatha yoga's. There is also another path, the path of total surrender, through which one can reach there. For this one needs a beautiful object, which has some truth in it. By interacting with this object, the Seeker quickly sheds his own ego, gains enormous strength in the process and through this strength Cuts through the veil of illusion separating material and meta-physical planes and finally drowns himself in The ocean of bliss, which is "the origin of truth". In material plane we put heart into only few relationships, but in spiritual plane Every relationship is important and an instant understanding comes into being that we all are connected way back (in previous janams) and one can challenge any relationship from a distance. When we all start to expand ourselves from one to many relationships, the universe too expands. This life is a known between two unknowns, where we are allowed to play for a while. Just like we watch a movie, this play is being watched by higher souls that control events on this Planet. Whenever we loose something, a part of ourself is lost in that relationship and which we always try to pull out and at the fag end of our life. We will be left with many such losses and the resultant grief will overwhelm all our achievements. Only a high amount of positive energy will help us in restoring our lost self. In order to achieve this, we need a cluster of natural relationships from where one can quickly acquire enough power to counter the material loss.

HAPPY FATHER”S DAY!!!

Maganty Family Picture

Happy Fathers Day

All our love

Nishita & Avinash

“My father inspires me to work really hard. Success can take you to places.” -Avinash Maganty

Avinash Maganty is our Bhagya and Prasad’s son. He is seen with his sister Nishita a 9th grader. Avinash is in his 1st year undergraduate in Upenn the ivy college which ranks 5th in the U.S

Keep Moving Life gives answers in three ways. It says yes and gives whatever you want. It says no and gives you something better. It says wait and gives you the best. If you're committed to your dream, you will win anyways. Don't just dream, Live your dream. Keep moving towards it. -Anonymous

Garden City to Golden Temple– Yamini C. Roy On 30th April 2008, at about 8:30am in the morning, our planning phase culminated and the Implementation phase started. We four (Santhi, Chandana, Vandana and self) embarked on our summer trip to the states of Punjab and Himachal from Bangalore. Our plane took off to Delhi at 10:45am and reached Delhi at 1:15pm. Our train to Amritsar is at 4:30pm and we decided to take a look at Qutub Minar (as we missed this great monument in our last visit to Delhi) on our way to the Railway Station. It was very hot at Delhi and hence we spent little time at Qutub Minar. We went to Sagar Restaurant at Defense Colony, primarily to kill time. This is the best joint for any South Indian tiffins when you are at New Delhi. We reached the Railway station well in time and the Amritsar shatabdi was waiting for us. The distance of about 450kms, is covered in just 6 hours by the new-look Shatabdi. They treat you like a king. They serve Mineral water bottle, cookies, tea, soup, a massive meal and an ice cream. I strongly recommend this train as it gives you the taste of the Modern India. Our driver Mr. Hardeeep Singh was waiting for us right on the platform with a placard. Don’t be surprised. I booked a cab on the net for the entire trip starting 30th April till 10th May for a paltry sum of Rs. 16k, (inclusive of tollgate, parking fees, taxes). The big reason for me to do so is there is no good bus/train connectivity to all the places of our itinerary. The next day, 1st May, 2008 we visited the site where the Jallianwala Bagh massacre has taken place. This place is few meters from the Golden Temple. Many bullet marks can still be seen on the walls. It was very disturbing to be there and read the horror created by Dyer and his cronies. We moved on to the Golden temple and the best part here is the “Langar”( a free community meal). Everything inside the Gurudwara Complex is free and distributed by self nominated volunteers. The Sikhs had 10 gurus starting with Guru Nanak and there tenth guru “Guru Gobind Singh” had declared that “Gurugrandh Sahib” will

serve as their guru from then on. At the Golden Temple, kirtans are sung through out the day and night in front of their holy book. The Golden Temple has three floors and one should visit all the floors. The only restriction however, is to cover your head inside the temple complex. Now coming to the most exciting part, the “Langar”, tens of thousands are fed everyday and the waiting time for you to get the first roti is less than 2minutes irrespective of the crowd. We can see the kitchen where 10000 rotis are made in 1 hour by machine. Of course, sometimes, we get to eat “hand made rotis” too as there are far too many volunteer cooks. Along with rotis, one will get Dal Makhni, a subzi, sweet and flavoured rice in the morning and no rice is served in the evening. All items are served hot and they are deliciously prepared. There is no cap on any of the items and you all can eat your heart’s content. The langar affair is so tempting we went again in the night to enjoy the meal.

to make it richer with calories. I gave a pat on my back for choosing to have this famous lassi first thing in the morning and I am sure this is the only place where u get a spoon along with the lassi glass to eat out all the cream and the butter. You need to run the whole day to burn the extra fat. After this, we set off to Dharamshala, our next destination. Dharamshala is a five hour drive(around 230kms.) from Amritsar, via Gurudaspur, Pathankot. Till Pathankot, it is plains and from Pathankot the Ghat section begins. You can see the rich wheat fields of Punjab followed by snowcapped mountains in Himachal Pradesh. We reached Dharamshala at around 3pm. In the evening at 5pm, we went to Mc.Leod Ghanj where Dalai Lama has his house nestled among Buddhist monasteries. We were told Dalai Lama makes public appearance in the morning at 8am. We played with the bells there and walked up to the gate where Dalai In the evening, we went to the Wagah border Lama stays to take few photographs. The entire place is full of posters depicting to witness the change of guard between the two countries. Wagah border is just 26kms., Chinese brutality on silent Tibetan protesters. We came back to our resort and from Amritsar town. The parade starts at saw a mindless Hindi movie Krazzy 4 sharp 6pm in summers and to get a good view of the ceremony one should be there by that was screened as part of Club Activi5pm. We can see Pakistanis occupying there ties. Dharamshala is a place of scenic side of Galleries and Indians out number the beauty and we stayed there for just one night. Pakistanis. The atmosphere is electric with both the sides sloganeering for their respecDay 4(3rd May 2008): tive mother lands. Vande Mataram, IndiaZindabad, Bharath Mata ki Jai pumps the adrenalin of every Indian and the hour of We set off to our main destination Mawaiting just disappears. I am not sure if in the nali. We started from Dharamshala at entire world this kind of ceremony takes 9am, visited two famous temples enplace between any two countries. route and reached Manali via Mandi, a drive of 7hours,a distance of 240kms., On our way back we went to another temple which I feel can be reached in six hours surrounded by a Sarovar, but this time it is a if I were behind the steering wheel. Our Hindu temple, “Durgiana Mandir” housing friend Hardeep Singh was extremely gods like Durga, Krishna and Shiva. Our Day cautious and I had to plead him to go two ended with the Langar at the Golden faster with my sign language, whenever Temple. Santhi was dozing off at the back. Bunches of roses greeted us before we Day 3(2nd May 2008): reached our resort. As we were very After having the complimentary breakfast we tired, we just took a shower and relaxed checked out of the hotel and straight went to in the evening. IPL 20-20 match was have the famous Amritsari lassi. The Lassi is shown on a giant screen while I had full of cream and the milk very rich and plenty of Apple wine. The bottle costs tasty. The vendor adds an extra dose of butter just 120 bucks and tasted just like apple

juice. Even with one bottle of wine, one is bound to get a kick equivalent to 3pegs of Single Malt whisky. Day 5 (4th May 2008) On this Sunday morning, the sun is shining bright and we proceeded to Rohtang pass (about 40kms.from our resort) after finishing our Breakfast. The snow wear is available on rent (each complete set is available for Rs.250) at various shops on the way to the snow point. We reached Marri, 12kms.,before Rohtang Pass where there’s loads of snow. The road from Marri to Rohtang Pass was closed due to some repair work as landslides caused a lot of damage. However, one can go to the pass by trekking or horse riding but we decided against it as it is very time consuming. Also, there is nothing but snow even at that place. Our children had a roaring time playing with the snow. For a while, Santhi and self also became children looking at so much snow, for the first time in our lives. We played in the snow for 3-4 hours and reached our resort in the evening. Later in the night, when I excitedly told our snow experience to RS on phone, he told me they got sick of seeing snow. I then realized I am talking to the wrong person and decided not to narrate our snow experience to anyone who lived in Canada/US. I called few friends in Andhra, where the mercury is soaring high at 45 degrees Celsius and gave a detailed explanation of snow and after the call, I realized we got our money’s worth. The weather at Manali suddenly changed and became very cold, thus keeping us locked indoors for the rest of the Day. Day 6(5th May) Monday morning was very cold and cloudy, as we decided to go for local sight seeing. We first went to a natural hot water spring that is just 6kms, from our resort. The place is called Vashisht after the famous Vashisht Muni. In the same compound as the temple for Vashisht muni, there is this spring with very hot water and one can take bath in the small pond and it is a popular belief that one can get rid of any kind of skin diseases after you take bath here. I felt the statement is true as the water there is very rich in its sulphur content. Santhi spent a lot of time buying woolen jackets and other local articles. We went to Hidambi temple(wife of Bheema),

and Gatotkach temple. At Hidambi temple, one can see the gigantic feet of Hidambi, and all of us remembered Maya Bazaar after visiting these temples. In the evening, we had guests…Surprised to know that we had guests at Manali? Yes, I mean it. The newly married couple, Gangadhar (younger brother of RS) and his wife Vijayalakshmi visited us at our resort. We all played Housie(Bingo) conducted by the resort entertainment team, where I won the first prize for Full House. I got a woolen stole as gift. ….. To be continued in the next Sangamam Times…

For A Bond That Binds—Hari T. Reddy FOR A BOND THAT BINDS When was it that you had a nice chat with your parents? When was the last time you went on an outing with your children? When was it that you had a tender and memorable evening with your spouse? When did you last call your friend and said hi or invited him / her for a coffee / tea? Relationships vary according to the degree in which intimacy and sharing take place. This implies the discovery or the establishment of a common ground over a period of time. Trust plays a crucial role in fostering a relationship that endures. Relationships are generally regarded in the light of the rewards reaped from them. Usual complications to a thriving relationship are Transferences, entanglements and substitution. The roles we adopt in our relationships are mostly influenced by our experiences in childhood and our phases through adulthood. In truth, the relationships we have with others are just projections of the relationships we have within ourselves. In a broader sense, our relationship with others is whatever we imagine them to be. This subjective view of relationships implies that we can change or improve our relationships with others by working on the internal relationships within ourselves first. Conversely, we can improve our internal relationships, such as our self-esteem, by working on our relationships with others. Here is a simple test to drive home the point.

Make a list of all the things that bother you about other people. Now read that list as if it applies to you. If you’re honest you’ll soon admit that all of your complaints about others are really complaints about yourself! Though it can be hard to admit that our complaints about others are really complaints about ourselves the upside is that our relationship issues actually reveal where we ourselves still need to grow. Consequently, a fantastic way to accelerate our personal growth is to build relationships with others. The more we interact with others, the more we learn about ourselves. I believe the true value of human relationships is that they serve as pointers to unconditional love. When we forgive, accept, and love ourselves, we will forgive, accept, and love all other human beings as they are. The more we improve our internal relationships between our thoughts, beliefs, and intentions, the more loving and harmonious our human relationships will become. Money must never be placed above or valued above people. It is crucial that we don't see the world as it is. Instead, we must see the world as we are.

SMILE AND BE FRIENDLY. BE COURTEOUS. BE TRUTHFUL, WITHOUT GIVING OFFENSE. REMEMBER THE OTHER PERSON'S NAME, AND USE IT FREQUENTLY. DON'T ARGUE. FIND AREAS OF AGREEMENT. DON'T CRITICIZE. SHOW HONEST APPRECIATION. TRY TO SEE THE OTHER PERSON'S POINT OF VIEW. GIVE YOUR FULL ATTENTION TO THE OTHER PERSON WHEN HE IS TALKING. TALK ABOUT THE OTHER PERSON'S INTERESTS. ADMIT YOU MAY BE WRONG. LET THE OTHER PERSON DO MOST OF THE TALKING. LET THE OTHER PERSON TALK ABOUT HIMSELF/HERSELF. LET THE OTHER PERSON TAKE SOME CREDIT.

Finally for fostering a Good LET THE OTHER PERSON SAVE Human Relationship: LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.

FACE.

HOLD THE OTHER PERSON, AND YOURSELF, TO HIGH FORGIVE THE OTHER PERAND NOBLE STANDARDS. SON. TREAT THE OTHER PERSON CARE FOR OTHERS SOMEONE OUTTHERE WILL CARE FOR THE WAY YOU WOULD U. LIKE TO BE TREATED.

The Kite Breaks Free- Sainath I once made a nice kite - decorated it with bright colours and pasted a nice tail to it too. To keep it safe from being cut away into the wilderness, I even attached the strongest thread. I tested out the winds, assuring myself that they were not too fast and furious to tear the kite asunder. Satisfied, I finally launched it into the blue sky, giving it as much thread as it wanted to fly safe and secure. At first, the kite stayed true to course. It gradually started to gain height and then was not content anymore! As the winds took hold, it slowly started tugging restlessly at my hand, wanting to be released. The more I tried holding it back, the more it resisted. I was worried. Oh, what if it were to be cut off? What would be it's fate if it drifted aimlessly in the firmament? I decided to reel it in. But wonders! Even as I pulled the kite in, it's behaviour become more erratic! It plummeted to the ground and swayed wildly to and fro until I finally got the message. With a reluctant sigh and a heavy sense of separation, I let the kite go. And it never came back. Yet I knew that wherever it would go, it would carry my handiwork on it - a testimony to my hard work and love. There is a lesson in this. Often we take great pains to shape and build something. We nurture it and give it our everything. A time will yet come when our own 'creation' will want to strike out on its own. We have to let go. In my own career of teaching successive batches of students and training several in the art of public speaking, at some point I sense among my students a sense of being stifled - of wanting to be independent. I worry that they would not survive or be able to manage on their own, or that they would be ravaged, battered or bruised. This makes me try to hem them back into the confines of my own thoughts, methods and techniques. This only frustrates them more. I then realise that it is best to leave them. The fear that they would drift is not entirely true - they may yet land in other hands that are far more secure and capable than my own! They may reach lands that are greener than my own. They need to catch the wind-drift and be free at some stage - to explore, discover and learn for themselves. They would need to frame their own ideas and lead their own lives. At such times, it would be criminally selfish on my part to hold them back. Yes, I am still happy. That somewhere out there walks someone on the canvas of whose life I could brush a few of my strokes of colour and patterns - just like someone did on mine. The Kite has broken free, but is still bound.

July 26-27, 2008 25 Year REUNION