Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Faceless Veils


Beauty and essence of a veil
is in its drape & elegance
Why create an intense spiel
with societial vigilance?

Nursed with a veil at birth
Comfort infants feel as newborn
Carried forward into their youth
Confront they do, to be reborn!

Worn in style at happy times
Unveil she gets, as a bride
Governed by faith in tough times
Appeal she does, for her pride

Color of a veil defined in culture
Echo stories across many a tradition
Black and white in one scripture
Cause, in another, a contradiction

A veil in style creates a fashion
On a ramp it makes a statement
A veil styled to ignite passion
On a stage it makes one dominant

Faceless yet colorful is a veil
Let's not curate for it, an identity
Flawless and sans any spiel
Let's live in peace and harmony.

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© Balaji Palanidurai

This narrative poem was inspired by the painting (see picture) by a good friend Vesta. It decorated her aesthetically furnished flat in Chennai. When inquired, she said it was one of her art projects from her college days. I took her consent to write a poem about it, which she happily granted. I started writing and should admit, it took me a lot more time (5 weeks) and deep thinking to pen each paragraph and each one triggered may a thought and emotion in me.

Right through my life I may have seen a million people both men and women in a veil and I see them till date. I have draped one myself and I believe the purpose of draping a veil varies from protecting oneself from harsh weather at one extreme and at the other extreme to make a fashion statement; religion, culture, faith and ignorance all fall in-between!

So, let's not be judgmental about the who, where, why and how one wears a veil. Appreciate the necessity or admire the beauty of it. If you feel like, wear one just for fun or to make a statement!

I found this interesting link while researching for this poem..
https://www.abouther.com/node/3731/people/features/five-times-famous-people-wore-hijab



Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Mangal myths and ignited minds


(1700 words, 7-8 mins read)

It was a cloudy Tuesday morning in the month of October and my body clock woke me up 15 mins earlier than the alarm on my mobile clock that was set to chime at 5 am. Before, my muscles could get into action and catapult me out of bed a lightning fast signal from my brain instructed them to take it easy. The previous night, while I was busy collecting information for an article, I was planning to write for the people’s president of India, Late. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam’s birth anniversary, my son informed me of his decision to skip his football training the next day due to a minor injury on his right heal. Basically, that meant I could return to my state of light sleep and resume the dream in which I was addressing a hall full of bright young students.


Although, my muscles happily obliged to the instruction from my mind and lay still, it was getting difficult for my mind to get back into dream state. It was frequently getting interrupted by a beep sound of 4 monolithic cranes deployed at the World Trade Centre being constructed right across the road from my apartment block in Perungudi, now part of Greater Chennai Corporation. Amidst this tussle between my mind and body the mind subconsciously tuned into another frequency of sound waves of 2 familiar voices; one seeking permission to have a head bath and the other canvasing against it. Before my mind could tune into active listening mode the beep from the crane grew louder and subdued the last audible words “because, today is Tuesday…”. But it was just enough for my half-asleep mind to recognize the first voice as that of my teenage daughter and attribute the second to that of my modern wife with strong religious beliefs!


The beep from those cranes by now became the trigger for scene transition and I was back in my dream. The dream had progressed to the point where I was now faced with some interesting questions following the floor being opened up for interactive discussion. I had just finished talking about the power of youth in India and experience with examples shared by Dr Kalam in the chapter Building a New State in his book ignited minds.  

A tall young boy with an athletic body was waving his hand and as the mike was being passed to him, my mind was preparing my body for a fight or flight response. I felt like a contestant in the famous quiz show, “Kaun banega crorepati?” (Indian version of “Who wants to be a millionaire?”) with no life-lines left. The boy sitting on the anchors’ chair, made famous by one and only Mr Amitabh Bachchan, shooting the question for 1 crore rupees! 

“Uncle, my mother does not allow me to eat eggs on mangalvar (Tuesday). You talked about Mangalyaan, India’s Mars mission and how India is scaling new heights in Space program. But, I am standing here, bound by a superstitious belief that is not letting me to even follow my diet plan given by my fitness trainer. What should I do?”. I gave him a receiving smile so he could calm down and regain his breath. APJ’s quote, “Breathe in thoughts of success and you will be a success”, came to my mind.

For a split second I wished our roles were swapped as a flash back of me asking the exact same question to my mother played in fast-forward mode! If I give him a convincing answer based on my belief system, which has a high probability of alignment to his scientific thinking then we both might celebrate it as a success. I was, at the same time, concerned of the impact that celebration might have on his relationship with his mother and respect for her belief system.


So, I decided to play neutral and suggested that his mother might be following a belief and value system that she was brought up with, and she might be right in her own way. I added, if he did not believe in the same belief system then he should have an informed discussion with her. Try to make an effort to explain to her, his point of view and its importance to his fitness regime. I shared the wisdom of the Dalai Lama who once said, “If scientific analysis were conclusive to demonstrate certain claims in Buddhism to be false, then we must accept those finding and abandon those claims”.


The loud cheers and claps of millennials in the hall was deafened by the voice of my daughter, which by now had escalated to a high pitch. “Ma, I don’t understand why I cannot have a head bath on a Tuesday? My hair is greasy and I am feeling awkward and I want to wash it now!”. It was not very loud nor disrespectful, but was just enough and concerning to wake me out of my dream and bring both my mind and body to ground reality. It felt like a déjà vu moment between my dream and reality!

I rubbed my eyes to shake-off last traces of sleep hangover and adjust my vision to near sight. The first frame, I saw, was that of my wife exiting our bedroom with our dog for its morning walk. In the next frame my daughter was storming inside our (common) bath-room. Our eyes talked for 15 seconds and she understood my unspoken words; she quickly fetched my brush and paste and handed it to me before closing the door behind her! Will she go ahead and take a head bath or skip it and pay her tribute to mangalvar? The suspense started building up and from past experience I knew it would last for another 7-8 mins, which is how long she usually takes for her bath.

I was there, sitting in my green jockey night suite thinking through my next manoeuvre to clear this hurdle. I reached out to my android smartphone with 99% battery life left, as a result of 8 hours being in silent and do-not-disturb mode, and invoked Google baba to provide some answers. Google baba never lets me down! Within a fraction of a second I was showered with 5,30,00,000 results for my “Tuesday head bath” search phrase! An inherent joy and satisfaction filled me with this new found insight that I was not alone in this quest. I hurriedly browsed through some answers (both for and against the subject in question) on Quora and quickly dispatched few links to my daughters’ Gmail address.

The social psychologist in me wanted to empower my daughter – K-Pop listening, mild-mannered and kind-hearted teenager who equally values Indian tradition - and ignite her natural intelligence to question, debate, reason and follow her heart. At the same time, the Indian husband in me, with his 80s upbringing and 90s education wanted his 20th century love marriage to last forever.


When I returned to my bedroom after having been forced to use the bathroom in mothers’ room for my morning duties, I saw steam coming out of our bathroom door. It was infused with the scent of Head & Shoulders shampoo; “she did it!”. She had already stepped out and was in the balcony that gave a 70mm panaromic view of those cranes still beeping and busy doing all the heavy-lifting. I could see her shoulder length hair dangling in front of her face as she was giving it a whip with her favorite 5 feet long turkey towel! I was glad that she listened to her heart and did what she felt was right for her hygiene. My immediate thought was to reach for my phone and recall those emails I sent but decided to leave it there for future reference.


I recollected the excerpt from ignited minds that I remembered writing down the previous night. It read “…if something is at stake, the human mind gets ignited and its working capacity gets enhanced manifold”. As I was convincing myself about my daughters' determination to question the established beliefs, I felt something cold touching the skin of my right calf muscle. It was, Duster, our dog who had returned from his morning walk! Alas, that also meant my wife would be enter ing the room any second now and I quickly prepared myself to play referee between mother and daughter. I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard her voice travelling from the kitchen calling my daughter for breakfast. This was followed by her usual non-urgent but anxious reminder to hurry up as it was almost time for the arrival of our charted auto-rickshaw for school drop.


There was a surprising silence on the breakfast table. As if planned with precision, my wife started talking when my daughter took a mouthful of a small slice of soft dosa dipped in gun-powder. She said, in a calm and composed tone, “Beta, I follow a certain belief system and I would like to adhere to it for your well-being. I understand it is not fair of me to expect you to follow it blindly. So, let’s have a discussion when you return from school and lets understand our respective viewpoints.” I was glad to hear that and felt happy that there was no imminent danger to our happy married life. I was equally surprised by the transformation that was on display on both sides of the breakfast table. 

This was exactly the culture and citizenship that APJ had advocated throughout his life. He left us with this beautiful quote, “Enlightened citizenship has three components: education with value system, religion transforming into spiritual force, and creating economic prosperity through development”, in his book Inspiring thoughts.


I was now filled with joy and recollected my favorite quote by Paulo Coelho from his book the Alchemist, “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it”. Events from my own life and my dream provided me with a story write and the message I wanted to communicate to students on APJ’s birthday on 15th Oct, which is now celebrated as “Students Day” all over India. Like APJ said, “Science is all about asking questions and finding the right answers through hard work and research into laws of nature. If India is to become developed by 2020, it will do so only by riding on the shoulders of the young”.


So, lets ignite our minds and help make his vision to make India a developed nation by 2020 become a reality.

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©Balaji Palanidurai

I dedicate this story to my family and all students all over the world! 

If all of us volunteer to change our approach a bit towards better life and respect nature, we won't need volunteers to change the world. 

Thursday, August 8, 2019

Beauty of Teaching


Teaching, people say
is a noble profession
Ask a teacher and she will say
it's an emotion

It's her joy, to nurture a flourishing 
dream in a child
And live that dream with them, 
however small or wild

It's her joy, to realize the purity 
in a child's thought
And share with them, 
free of any judgmental knot

It's her joy, to inspire young minds 
so the country thrives
And works toward building 
a value system in their lives

It's her joy, to create an environment 
free of threat and fear
And cajole the fragile hearts 
to unleash their superpower

It's her joy, to be present in the moment 
with cheer and glow
And notice a new enlightenment 
in them as they grow

It's her joy, to see more of her male counterpart
share her vision
And together transform a generation 
like avengers on a mission!

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© Balaji Palanidurai
PC: indiatoday.in

A post in one of my WhatsApp group (of friends with whom I attended a Storytelling course) triggered a spark to write this poem. The post was simple and asked 
"Girls complete this sentence.
I am proud to be a teacher because..." 

Response started trickling through the morning and that is all I needed to invoke my creative veins and voila we ended up writing this poem. It also got me thinking why teaching is still looked at as a profession for women, especially in the early childhood years/kinder garden. I did read an article recently that 2 men quit their high paying corporate jobs to start a kinder garden soon, welcome change!

Thanks to my Kathalaya friends for sharing their views, which inspired this creation!! 
-----------
I dedicate this poem to Mr Prem Kumar founder  of Bumblebee Trust and Kalvi40 who is focused on uplifting the rural Tamilnadu & Puducherry Government schools eco system.
https://www.kalvi40.com/team/prem-kumar/

And the Mrs Kamatchi G HM of Karapakkan Govt High School in Chennai who is keen on leveraging the wider ecosystem to give the best possible education for her school staff and children.

Monday, April 22, 2019

Beauty of Storytelling


Storytelling is a noble and beautiful art
It thrives with indulgence of the heart
With love & passion if stories get impart
Joy of listening is said to be worlds apart

At the core of this art are four founding pillars
When mastered, they help create engaging tellers
Stories with hope, truth and belief aide the teller
Love for the story, alone, can make it a bestseller

Stories come to life through a teller's expression
Often, leaves many with a lasting impression
Stories with fantasy and fiction trigger wild imagination
Cascade, it must get, through to the next generation

A skilled storyteller is like a two humped camel
Their hunch to observe and listen makes them able
Variation in their tone adds flavor to a fable
Carry us they do, to eternity, on a silky saddle

Beauty of a story is enhanced through its telling
Lack of energy may result in airborne shelling
Glamour all facts; so it sounds compelling
May its glory shine in each & every dwelling

--------–--------------------------
©Balaji Palanidurai
I wrote this poem onboard Chennai Express train from Bengaluru to Chennai. I (with my wife) was returning home post a 3 days workshop on storytelling conducted by Kathalaya Trust. Wonderful learning from its founder Madam Geeta Ramanujam and 20 other participants all now complete listeners and observers, which I learnt are key traits of a good storyteller.

My writing journey started on my numerous travels, often resulting in an oasis of stories. But some months would pass without any travel and hence no stories . I thought journey of a camel in a desert would be a good metaphor for this, which I have tried to embed in this poem. Hope you like it.

Sunday, March 31, 2019

என்று தணியும் இந்த இறைச்சியின் மோகம்


Image result for mutton biryani








அடுப்பில் வேகுது இளம் ஆடு
அது துள்ளி குதித்த இடம் கருவக்காடு
காட்டை அழித்தோம் நிலத்துக்காக
ஆட்டை அழித்தோம் இறைச்சிக்காக

அழித்த காட்டில் நட பயின்றோம்
ஆடு மாடுகளை நடவ பயின்றோம்
செழித்தது காடு மட்டும் அல்ல
நமது சுகாதாரமும் தான்

வயகாட்டில் படர்ந்த நெற்கதிர்கள்
மனித மேம்பட்டுக்கான எதிரொலிகள்
வயகாட்டை அழித்தோம் வீட்டு மனைக்காக
கால்நடைகளை அழித்தோம் வாய் ருசிக்காக

அழிந்தது வயகாடு மட்டும் அல்ல, 
கலாச்சாரமும் தான்
வேந்தது ஆட்டுக் குடல் மட்டும் அல்ல,
நமது கல்லிரலும் தான்

பிறகு ஏன் நம்முள் இந்த இறைச்சியின் மோகம்
என்று தணியும் இந்த ருசியின் தாகம்
தனிந்தால் மேம்படுவது உலக சுகாதாரம் மட்டுமல்ல
நமது இரக்க உணர்வும் தான்

Friday, February 22, 2019

Learn or churn











We all have an equal right to education
To learn from it, one needs determination
Education for all can be simple, yet priceless
Let's not complicate it and make it worthless

Mother nature was the source for it in primitive days
Learn we did by experiencing it in multiple ways
Apply, learning, we did, to domesticate and settle
Multiply we did, yet, thrived with little

With passage of time we moved into civilization
Learning too, kept its pace sans any realization
To industries we went to work and earn
Schools we created for our children to learn

To spread it far and wide it got standardized
In that process did learning get compromised?
Industry it became and many built an empire
A factory that churned out victims of despair

Among them, lived a few known for their philanthropy 
Shared they did their learning and philosophy
Business, it was not for them; our right to education
Lead by example they did for the next generation 

Education for all, now, comes at a price
If you want nature in it, expect a steep rise
Education for all can be simple, yet priceless
Why complicate it and make it worthless?

We are born with creativity and imagination
Let's explore more and upskill for innovation
Choice we have to either learn or churn
Let's follow our passion, till comes our turn.

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©Balaji Palanidurai

This poem is inspired by events over last few weeks where I have been engaged in various discussion about the state of current education system and how the standardized approach is churning our graduates who find themselves lacking in employable skills!

Education now is a big industry and in developing countries this is big business. I was stunned by fees some school charge for kinder garden and more in the name of nature trips and studies! Is it really worth it? But, what is the alternative? In a nuclear family that has both parents aspiring to excel in life they decide to send their kids to schools to be churned out along with million others.

If a small percentage of those parents chose to home school their children and coach them to pursue a passion - in sports, arts or even farming, I am sure life will be very rewarding for them and their children will love them for that freedom. 

The last line of the poem was inspired by the Gully boy (#gullyboy) movie I happened to see over the weekend "Apna time ayega..."
  

Monday, February 11, 2019

Beauty of Goodwill

Image result for goodwill cartoon image










Fortunate you are to experience a goodwill
Culminate it does over time, not at will
Inherit though some do, sans a written will
Alas, acquire some do by passing a bill

Maintain it well, like it is your health
Sustain it will, like your wealth
Jealously it may create, at times in stealth
Seriously if taken, may plant thoughts of filth

Asset it is not, still worthy of a credit
Liability it becomes if not followed by a debit
Leverage it wisely, never misuse it
Else, erode it will - bit by bit

Intangible it can be on your balance sheet
Responsible if you are it will often repeat
Intention if there is to amass and cheat
Tension it creates and will soon deplete

Respect it well, so it becomes your legacy
Suspect none will or call it a fallacy
Adopt its heritage they will in infancy
Your goodwill, of all, will rein in supremacy

Fortunate you will be to experience goodwill
Accumulate it over time, never at will
Inherit if you did, do pass it on in your will
Acquire, never do, by passing a bill

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
©Balaji Palanidurai
January has been busy with setting up my consulting business and working on my first client project. Preoccupied mind is not creative and I experienced it during his period - result there was no poem in Jan.

But, few events in my daily life and recent holiday in the East triggered something  - goodwill of  vendors that I meet who don't hesitate to top up my vegetable purchase with some greens or that extra couple of bananas when I buy a dozen.

I think about help my wife extends to our servant maid at times in kind and sometimes monetary - all in goodwill!

I also remember the incident when the AT&T lady topped up my phone card (free of cost) during our holiday in USA - actually their system was not able to recognize my UK post code and local post code was not matching with the credit card address! $10 just added.

Goodwill is such a good thing, so lets admire its beauty.

Pssst: I asked my 14 year old daughter to make me a cartoon for this poem and she did one. At first I could not relate to it. When she explained the story I realized she thinks deeper than me!!

Its a large family that buys some goodies. The last kid does not get a piece. So, the shopkeeper give her a piece out of goodwill!



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