Brand new shatabdi coaches

It was a pleasure travelling by Shatabdi from Chennai to Bangalore today morning. The coach numbers were not pasted on the sides but were neatly appearing in panels inside the coaches. The body of the coaches appeared quite spacious and good leg space too. The pouch to keep water bottles was very spacious. No really, I have had many occasions when a larger water bottle would refuse to fit into those pouches and cause minor irritant and inconvenience. The windows were not tiny openings in the sides, but almost the entire space was occupied by huge windows. No, the curtains were thankfully replaced by pull down venetian blinds. The train ride was like a tourist package, with both sides open to the outside view. There appears to have been good rains in these parts and green green and more green fields and trees were visible. Even the scenery which is quite rocky after Jolarpet had lush green tufts sprouting all over the bald surfaces. The best innovation was the sliding door. It left me wondering why was such a convenience not thought of earlier?It is a definite relief not to have the door banging all the time and it is also energy inefficient.
The icing on the cake was the arrangement of the seats. Half the seats face the engine and half the seats face the rear . So you get to see some faces rather than everybody's back, bald pate or earphones!
I would recommend this train as the only sensible way to travel to Bangalore from Chennai; exactly 5 hours, comfortable, okay the early morning timing is a bit of a hassle. But look at the bright side. No snoring companions(yes I had them the last time, and it has left me traumatised)

Krishnamacharya

The founder of Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai, began his yoga classes in the royal school of Mysore Maharaja. Krishnamacharya had every qualification to become an academic and also to take up the post as pontiff of Parakalamutt. But he declined all these avenues and took to teaching and propagating yoga as a 'gurudakshina' to his teacher. He learnt yoga under his guru in a remote cave in Tibet for seven years.At the end of which, the guru asked him as gurudakshina, that he should get married and leading the life of a 'gruhasta' and also take it as a life mission to spread the teachings and practises of yoga across the length and breadth of the country.
He took this mission very seriously, so much so that he was actively teaching yoga even into his ninetieth year. He took on a pupil aged 23 when he was past 80. Not for him mass yoga classes and counting numbers. He believed in individual attention to every pupil and tailored the classes to each student. NO wonder that several of his students have turned out to be teachers and pioneers in setting up yoga institutes throughout India and abroad.
There was an interesting anecdote about practise of yoga in Sweden. One of his students had learnt yoga and was practising the same when she got back to her place in Sweden. After a few days, she called back and said, while the practises were solving her physical ailments when she was in Chennai, they were not doing so in Sweden. Krishnamacharya asked her if it was very cold in Sweden. She said no, it is summer and it is quite warm with loong days and short nights. Krishnamacharya thought for a few minutes and realised the problem here. Her asanas had to be done before sunrise and just after sunset. During summer the days were long and it was very late by the time the sunset and then she did her asanas. Within a couple of hours, the sun rose again and she had to wake up and do her exercises before sunrise. While days and nights are fairly equal in Chennai, this practise was perfect, it got skewed in Sweden. He had to tweak the treatment to suit the peculiar conditions there and then she was in comfort!
Great man. Yes, I think he single handedly revived the practise and teachings of yoga and got it a respectable and desirable status that it enjoys today.

Mommies of the world

I had a soul searching experience yday while on the train. There was a young girl travelling with us . She kept getting calls on her handphone from her mommy every five minutes, asking her if the train has left the station. The scheduled departure is 11.45 pm, but the train is in no hurry to start as it is under no pressure to cover the distance to Chennai in the allotted time. I was wondering why her mother is pestering her like this and that too keeping up such late hour to do so.The train will leave a few minutes this way or that, I told myself. I was also quite surprised that this girl was answering her mother everytime so pleasantly.

It was 6 am and I woke to her ringtone. She was talking pleasantly again. I asked her is that mommie again.She had a bemused expression and said, no auntie, it is daddy and uncle!

Yes, I saw it coming, I was told in no uncertain terms, that while I may find it unacceptable in others, I have behaved in the same way and there is absolutely no doubt that I would continue to behave in the same way!

Do mothers have to make such a fool of themselves?

But then there was a takeaway, of a different kind. This girl got off at Perambur and when I woke up I saw that she had neatly folded the bed covers and the blanket. I was impressed. I learnt something from her. I also neatly folded my stuff, to make it a wee bit easier for the unknown railway employee. And that I should not put any pressure on the environment by my actions!

Thavam

I had a very unique experience a few days back. I had gone to be an observer in a entry level training session on yoga.The two day programme was offered to entry level officers of a PSU, as a part of their induction programme. I also wanted this opportunity to get in touch with yoga teachers in Bangalore of the same institution from where I had got my initiation.
One and a half hours of the preliminary session was conducted by one senior practitioner. I was drawn to her and was totally in awe of the power and conviction that she was exuding. No, it was much more than that.I did not actually see a halo around her head, but she had that much of a saintliness and 'aakarsha sakthi' that yogis and great seers possess. Every word that she uttered went direct to my head and is stored in my permanent memory, there is absolutely no transmission loss!
After the session, few of us sat together and were jamming together. It was then, it came out that from childhood she had this spiritual quest and for several years now does 'thavam' for three straight hours everyday! No joking, 3am to 6 am is her timings someone told me. While it was astounding to say the least, I was more interested in how is she able to sit for 3 hours, does her back not ache, her legs and hands 'go to sleep'. I asked her straight away, to which she said, 'not having any feeling of the body, so where is the question of ache, or any sensation....' as if it is the most natural thing to say and went on to talk about some other training session.
She is no saint, but a homemaker and after the meditaiton gets into making breakfast/lunch and later attends to all other duties including training for which she and her husband share a passion.
So, that explains the tremendous charisma she exuded. I remembered reading earlier, that the more you meditate, you will be acceptable and your words will be heard and followed.
Suddenly all that I have read and heard about yoga and meditation seemed to make sense.

Me, customer delight

My search for a roadside 'istiriwallah' was finally answered yesterday. There are several lanes and bylanes branching off from our road and I took the road less travelled by and that made all the difference. This lane steeply bends down and quite nondescript. I strolled along the road to locate a tailor recommended by my neighbour.I was spot on and then I wanted to check out this place for 'istiriwallah' also. I looked at the 'potti kadais' and also trying to read the kannada nameboards. I saw one shop and I was reading the name boards which were in English and Hindi. It said, xerox, Job typing, mobile recharge, fax, courier; the whole works. I thought such an assortment of services would have a shopkeeper who knows neighbourhood shops quite well. So I asked the lady,is there a laundry nearby.She gave me a big grin and said this is a laundry!But where are the other services; she said there was a shop earlier and it folded up and she has been doing 'ironing' for a number of years now! Did not feel the need to paint the shop afresh she said. People can see that there is an ironing board and two huge iron boxes. I was so intent on doing the 'reading ' bit, that I skipped the 'looking' bit.
So, I came home and happily took the silk sarees for ironing.The lady took them happily enough and said come tomorrow 10 am. I asked her her shop timings.I was well scalded by an experience in our previous laundry shop, you see. He quietly shuts shop even for 'varalakshmi vratham' without as much as by your leave.She said all 7 days and 7 am to 9 pm with a two hour lunch break.Suited me fine.
The best part is, when I went there next day at 10 am , not only were the clothes pressed and ready,she picked it up right away!First time customer and what customer service.
CRM guys are you listening?

South Indian weddings-

There was a wedding in a friend's family and I had spent two enjoyable days last weekend. Two full days of attending a wedding, is something I have not done for many many years. More so, remaining up and about and raring to share with aam jan.

No, I did not feel obliged to attend the same. It was purely voluntary. I was not obliged to stay almost all the 48 hours.It happened naturally. It was like magic, that all the stuff I have grown to dislike in weddings, had vamoosed without a trace and all that I like and look forward to, were there in plenty. How did that happen?

Well for one, today South Indian weddings have metamorphasised, incorporating the 'fun' stuff from other styles and also reinventing and enjoying the traditional aspects.It is also that the families and the bride and groom are well educated on what they are going through and bring a certain amount of seriousness and purposefulness about the religious part. Nobody was distracted or worse still secretly hurrying the priest to get it over and done with. No,let me not jump the gun.

Day 1 started fairly early with both the bride and the groom, sitting pretty on the dias, but huddled together in separate area with their respective parents. The parents were dressed in traditional attire; it brings a certain seriousness and auspiciousness to the occasion, I dare say.We talk of dress code in corporate world, so there are dress codes for social occasions too!

The bridegroom was doing 'vratham' and the girl was being initiated into 'jatakathi, namakathi' ceremonies. The mood was subdued and lowkey, as the families were coming together for the first time, and the first salvo has been fired for the wedding ceremonies.

Family members and close friends were present, so it was a time for introductions and touching base with people whom you had known long long ago. No nadaswaram this time, so no background noise to overcome.

Post lunch had a very enjoyable time as we were witness to a variety entertainment programme by the children.It was not a amateur affair, but well thought out and planned.The kids were huddled in practise sessions since morning.It helped to bring the two families together under congenial environment. Mothers and fathers presented a different aspect of their personality by going on stage and singing old melodies, really old ones, like 'maapillai doi', and enjoying every moment of it.

Evening was the 'mapillai azhaippu' and the temple was just behind the wedding hall, in the same complex. While the groom's party was stepping into the hall, all of a sudden, the nadaswaram came up belting popular wedding songs.Otherwise sober uncles and aunts suddenly got into the fray and were shaking a leg! I was never more astonished. This was the first time that I have seen elders enjoying a wedding in this way.Then the nieces and nephews also got into the mood and nadaswaram was playing a 'rap' song. I was busy trying to capture all the action on my video.

The 'nichyathartham' itself was quite a grand affair, with the dias filled with all the 'perusu' from both parties.It was like a 'sadas' , all serious to witness the engagement ceremony. The usual exchange of thamboolam and reading the 'pathirikai' was gone through.

The next day started fairly early as the muhurtham was between 7.30 to 9 am. So the run up to the muhurtham has to start by 6 am. There was the oonjal and the songs routine.(Actually I got in late, so missed the fun part!)

The hall was filling up fast, as it was a Sunday and invitees wanted to be there for the muhurtham.The bride, otherwise a fussy girl, was going through the routine of changing sarees every half an hour without batting an eyelid and changing hairdo and accessories to go with it!Quite a feat! But then you have a resident beautician with you and you have to just leave the entire operation to her!Now, the thavil and nadaswaram got into high crescendo and one had to raise ones voice to be heard. The gear was shifting and that was the signal that I need to perch myself on a chair to capture the 'finale'.The couple were by now in a 'padma vyuha' circled by the parents, sisters in law as the chief operations persons, and all relatives and friends wanting a piece of the action. None can enter now , the place was sealed.

Mangalya dharanam was completed and there was a visible sigh of relief all around and the crowd dispersed from the dias and the couple were left to do the sapthapadi with ease and peace and quiet.

Now the parents were freed and they went around the marriage hall, greeting the guests and big smiles plastered on their faces.They have been promoted as mother in laws and father in laws!

Post lunch after a little lull, was the 'nalangu' scheduled. Papads were arranged and also the haldi kumkum. It was lot of fun with good singing from anybody and everybody who was in the mood.

Breaking of papads on the heads of the couple is the climax!It is usual nowadays to rubbish this as being too childish. But then some loosening has to take place for two families to feel comfortable with each other. And nalangu performs that function. Defreezing we used to call in our corporate training sessions, remember?

The reception was a simple affair, with the only object of meeting the guests and taking 'attendance' with them (video and photograph sessions with every group).It is somewhat boring, but not for the invitees. Thankfully it was a short affair, as most of the guests had come in the morning, and only 'office crowd' had come in the evening reception.

The videographer/photographer were getting into the 'portrait' mode and were asking for 'special poses'. I liked the one when the parents sat on the decorated sofas and the couple sat perched on the armrests!

The dinner was a buffet with assorted tents serving variety of dishes. This has become the norm these days.

The two days were coming to a close and what remained in my memory, is the happy faces, the family and friends pitching in with all the work and running around without any hitch, the wedding having the correct share of religious rituals taken seriously and also having room for enjoyment.

Yes, south Indian weddings like English language has become richer for amalgamating the 'mehendi', baraat and dancing, reinventing nalangu and adding a dose of variety entertainment, while retaining the serious tenor and purpose of the wedding event.