தவம் ஏதும் புரியாமல்
நீ வாய்த்தாய்
இது எப்படியென்று புரியாமல்
நான் வியந்தேன்
நீ வாய்த்தாய்
இது எப்படியென்று புரியாமல்
நான் வியந்தேன்
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
சேரும் நாள்
அணைக்கின்ற தோள்கள்
அனலான தேகம்
மையல் கொண்ட இதழ்கள்
மோகம் கொண்ட பொழுதுகள்
இவையனைத்தும் நினைத்து ஏங்கினேன்
சேரும் நாள் தொலைவில் இல்லை எனத் தூங்கினேன்
அனலான தேகம்
மையல் கொண்ட இதழ்கள்
மோகம் கொண்ட பொழுதுகள்
இவையனைத்தும் நினைத்து ஏங்கினேன்
சேரும் நாள் தொலைவில் இல்லை எனத் தூங்கினேன்
என் மனைவி
நல்லுறவுகளை வலுப்படுத்தினாள்
நட்பு வட்டத்தினுள் நடுமைப்படுத்தினாள்
ஊண் உயிர் காதலில்
ஊற வைத்தாள்
பேரன்பின் ரசம்
பருகக் கொடுத்தாள்
மிளிரும் மேனியால்
மயக்கும் பார்வையால்
தேன் சொட்டும் மொழிகளால்
தேகமெங்கும் உணர்ச்சியால்
உள்ளம் கவர்ந்தாள்
உயிரில் கலந்தாள்
நட்பு வட்டத்தினுள் நடுமைப்படுத்தினாள்
ஊண் உயிர் காதலில்
ஊற வைத்தாள்
பேரன்பின் ரசம்
பருகக் கொடுத்தாள்
மிளிரும் மேனியால்
மயக்கும் பார்வையால்
தேன் சொட்டும் மொழிகளால்
தேகமெங்கும் உணர்ச்சியால்
உள்ளம் கவர்ந்தாள்
உயிரில் கலந்தாள்
தேனுக்கே இனிப்பா?
என்னுடைய தேனுக்கு இனிப்பா கொடுப்பேன்?
அமுதத்தை மிஞ்சும் முத்தத்தைக் கொடுப்பேன்
அதில் காதல் ரசம் சொட்டச் சொட்டக் கொடுப்பேன்
முதுமையிலும் முதிராத உள்ளன்பைக் கொடுப்பேன்
திருமந்திரம் சொன்னாற் போல்
அன்பே சிவம் என்பேன்
மந்திரத்தால் ஈர்ப்பது போல்
அவளது அன்பே சுகம் என்பேன்
அமுதத்தை மிஞ்சும் முத்தத்தைக் கொடுப்பேன்
அதில் காதல் ரசம் சொட்டச் சொட்டக் கொடுப்பேன்
முதுமையிலும் முதிராத உள்ளன்பைக் கொடுப்பேன்
திருமந்திரம் சொன்னாற் போல்
அன்பே சிவம் என்பேன்
மந்திரத்தால் ஈர்ப்பது போல்
அவளது அன்பே சுகம் என்பேன்
பெருமை
மனம் தனைப் புரிந்து கொள்
மணம் கொண்டவனே
நான் பூச்சூடினால்
மணம் தனைப் புகழ்
நான் சேலை அணிந்தால்
நிறம் தனை ரசி
நான் சமைத்தால்
ரசித்துக் கொண்டே புசி
ஊடல் கொண்டால்
கவிதை ஒன்றை வாசி
கூடல் கொண்டால்
உயிர் மூச்சனைத்தும் சுவாசி
கூறாமலே இவையனனத்தும் செய்தால்
என் உள்ளம் உவப்பு கொள்ளும்
இயல்பாக சிரிப்பேன் - மொத்தத்தில்
நான் நானாக இருப்பேன்
அதற்காக நீ உன்னை இழக்க வேண்டாம்
நீ நீயாகவே இரு
கொஞ்சம் புரிந்து கொள்
அது போதும் என்றாள்
கோபம் கொண்ட வேளையிலும்
கோதையின் மனப் பக்குவம் கண்டு
அகம் மகிழ்ந்தேன்
ஆண்டவனுக்கு நன்றி சொன்னேன்
பெருமை கொண்டேன்
பேரின்பத்தின் எல்லை கண்டேன்
மணம் கொண்டவனே
நான் பூச்சூடினால்
மணம் தனைப் புகழ்
நான் சேலை அணிந்தால்
நிறம் தனை ரசி
நான் சமைத்தால்
ரசித்துக் கொண்டே புசி
ஊடல் கொண்டால்
கவிதை ஒன்றை வாசி
கூடல் கொண்டால்
உயிர் மூச்சனைத்தும் சுவாசி
கூறாமலே இவையனனத்தும் செய்தால்
என் உள்ளம் உவப்பு கொள்ளும்
இயல்பாக சிரிப்பேன் - மொத்தத்தில்
நான் நானாக இருப்பேன்
அதற்காக நீ உன்னை இழக்க வேண்டாம்
நீ நீயாகவே இரு
கொஞ்சம் புரிந்து கொள்
அது போதும் என்றாள்
கோபம் கொண்ட வேளையிலும்
கோதையின் மனப் பக்குவம் கண்டு
அகம் மகிழ்ந்தேன்
ஆண்டவனுக்கு நன்றி சொன்னேன்
பெருமை கொண்டேன்
பேரின்பத்தின் எல்லை கண்டேன்
Thursday, November 22, 2018
A wonderful Thanksgiving party
First Thanksgiving
For international students like me Thanksgiving is a new tradition. There are lots of festivals in India where we go to our relatives place and meet with our extended family. But none of the festivals is specifically for showing gratitude. It's great that in US they have a grand holiday specifically for this. What more is required in life than feeling grateful and happy? Best part is it always happens on Thursday so the families can get together for 4 days.
In West Lafayette, there is a tradition where the local people invite the Purdue students during Thanksgiving and share their joy with us. I and 3 other Purdue students Pulkit Shukla (Indian from my Masters program), Ogechukwu Ezenwa (Nigeria), Kamilah Razak (Malaysia) got invites from a Physician Shannon Oates and her husband Larry Oates. Their 3 daughters Maggie, Caroline, Becky and son Sam and their extended family, friends, and neighbors had graced their house.
Gingerbread house
As per American Christmas tradition, we decorated gingerbread houses. We had lots of fun doing it. For us it was a new experience to stick candies, icing, wafer, pretzels, etc and make nice houses. There were artistic houses built by Caroline Oates (colosseum), Kamilah Razak, and Shannon Oates herself. It was heartwarming to see all family members involved in this activity irrespective of age and making fun of each other in the process and enjoying themselves -especially Caroline with her sarcasm and witty comments made us all enjoy ourselves.
After building our gingerbread houses, they put all the gingerbread houses on display on the road and they voted for each other's houses. They left it on the road so that the neighbors can also vote. I was glad to know that last year also they did the same and a newspaper reporter covered it!
Grand dinner
We had a grand dinner with turkey, beef, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and turnips, sweet potatoes, peas, asparagus, gravy, buttered rolls, wine, etc. Add to this 4 types of Pie - Pumpkin pie, strawberry streusel pie, Pecan and chocolate chips pie, Apple pie - suffice to say we ate to the extent that we have never done before. Shannon was a great host and there was lot of efforts from lot of people including grandma, and Kamilah in cooking all these - hats off!
Musical program
We had a musical program where each of us sang, played musical instruments and had great time. Grandpa Jack read a poem. Shannon's daughters Maggie, Becky and her boyfriend sang songs and played guitar. Kamilah played Saxophone beautifully. It was nice to see everyone entertaining each other with grandma, uncle Jim and cousins Ryan, Helen singing songs too. Ogechukwu Ezenwa recited her story. I sang a tamil song - I am thankful nobody knew how bad it was LOL. We took a group photo at the end. It was a memorable first Thanksgiving indeed.
There was one moment worth mentioning. During the musical program Shannon asked her daughter Maggie to sing “Rivers and roads”(The head and the heart) song. The entire family sang the song and after they finished singing, Maggie and Caroline told us they sang this song when Maggie had to leave home for her college and how they cried and cried at that time. The song has the verses “And my family lives in a different state” and it says that we have to cross rivers and roads to reach you. I am sure when Maggie came for Thanksgiving after she joined college it must have really felt like home for her.
Feeling grateful
What I really liked was this is a great occasion for all family members to get together and talk at length during the lunch and at other activities. We hardly touched our phones. We felt like one of their family members as Caroline, Grandpa Jack, Shannon, Larry and others made us feel at home throughout. I am grateful to all of them. They have inspired me to celebrate like this next year onwards by inviting friends and family at my house for Thanksgiving.
For international students like me Thanksgiving is a new tradition. There are lots of festivals in India where we go to our relatives place and meet with our extended family. But none of the festivals is specifically for showing gratitude. It's great that in US they have a grand holiday specifically for this. What more is required in life than feeling grateful and happy? Best part is it always happens on Thursday so the families can get together for 4 days.
In West Lafayette, there is a tradition where the local people invite the Purdue students during Thanksgiving and share their joy with us. I and 3 other Purdue students Pulkit Shukla (Indian from my Masters program), Ogechukwu Ezenwa (Nigeria), Kamilah Razak (Malaysia) got invites from a Physician Shannon Oates and her husband Larry Oates. Their 3 daughters Maggie, Caroline, Becky and son Sam and their extended family, friends, and neighbors had graced their house.
Gingerbread house
As per American Christmas tradition, we decorated gingerbread houses. We had lots of fun doing it. For us it was a new experience to stick candies, icing, wafer, pretzels, etc and make nice houses. There were artistic houses built by Caroline Oates (colosseum), Kamilah Razak, and Shannon Oates herself. It was heartwarming to see all family members involved in this activity irrespective of age and making fun of each other in the process and enjoying themselves -especially Caroline with her sarcasm and witty comments made us all enjoy ourselves.
Grand dinner
We had a grand dinner with turkey, beef, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes and turnips, sweet potatoes, peas, asparagus, gravy, buttered rolls, wine, etc. Add to this 4 types of Pie - Pumpkin pie, strawberry streusel pie, Pecan and chocolate chips pie, Apple pie - suffice to say we ate to the extent that we have never done before. Shannon was a great host and there was lot of efforts from lot of people including grandma, and Kamilah in cooking all these - hats off!
We had a musical program where each of us sang, played musical instruments and had great time. Grandpa Jack read a poem. Shannon's daughters Maggie, Becky and her boyfriend sang songs and played guitar. Kamilah played Saxophone beautifully. It was nice to see everyone entertaining each other with grandma, uncle Jim and cousins Ryan, Helen singing songs too. Ogechukwu Ezenwa recited her story. I sang a tamil song - I am thankful nobody knew how bad it was LOL. We took a group photo at the end. It was a memorable first Thanksgiving indeed.
Feeling grateful
What I really liked was this is a great occasion for all family members to get together and talk at length during the lunch and at other activities. We hardly touched our phones. We felt like one of their family members as Caroline, Grandpa Jack, Shannon, Larry and others made us feel at home throughout. I am grateful to all of them. They have inspired me to celebrate like this next year onwards by inviting friends and family at my house for Thanksgiving.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
The big picture
I have an elective in my Masters in Business Analytics course for which the concerned Professor has Parkinson's disease. The situation is similar to the movie 'A beautiful mind'. He is the most brilliant Professor technically but his voice is not easily comprehensible. Also, the nature of the course is going to be way too mathematical as per the feedback I had obtained from seniors and other Professors. There was a limit on the class size as 30. Curiously, 30 students registered for the course. I was one among them as I love Mathematics and also love to take challenges head-on.
(Edit: I just noticed that the Professor has won an Gold Medal in the Special Olympics for Golf. Wow!)
By the time the first class started only 19 students were there in the class. The rest of the 11 students dropped out after getting to know the feedback from the seniors later on. The Professor had formed 4 teams out of the 19 students and told all the work in the course including the final take-home exam will be team-based.
During the second class, there were only 9 students. I interacted with the 10 students who dropped out. They told that they weren't expecting so much of a mathematical course.
The Professor now made 2 teams instead of 4. He told in class "Generally, this is my class strength". I thought to myself he is consoling himself by saying that.
Something worse happened after that. It came to my notice that 5 more students dropped out after the second class because they couldn't understand his voice. We are left with a mere 4 students for the forthcoming third class. I am one among the brave souls left.
The professor, while coming out of the second class, asked us, "Are you able to understand?" We all nodded faintly and then he told, "You all should do fine". When he told that, I could sense the pain and sorrow in his voice and face.
I felt bad for him. Apart from his voice, it was also a pitiful sight to see the awkward movements when the Professor is trying to write on the whiteboard. Moreover, he has to sit during the lecture rather than stand because of his disease. In fact, he mentioned he has to take up Rock Steady Boxing classes to help coordinate his movements. Clearly, it was not a joke to be in his position.
I was thinking to myself what would I have done if I were in his position. The answer was not easy. In my old age, if I get Parkinson's I won't be able to do anything about it. I would've just tried to endure what I cannot change. Maybe, just pray to God for strength and accept whatever comes.
Will the Professor's heart sink when he sees just 4 students left? What will he do about the team-based assignments? I thought I will pray to God to give this professor the strength to handle the situation.
In a strange way, this put things into perspective for me. I was thinking that all the troubles that I faced in my life so far. All those troubles seemed like zilch compared to what this Professor was facing at this point in time.
Sometimes looking at others problems we get to know that what we are facing is nothing compared to what many people in this world are facing every day. We are just making mountains out of molehills. We need to distance ourselves from the trials and tribulations that we're facing and look at the big picture. It gave me courage that if someone can handle such huge troubles day in day out and carry on unflinchingly, we can face our problems much better too.
(Edit: I just noticed that the Professor has won an Gold Medal in the Special Olympics for Golf. Wow!)
By the time the first class started only 19 students were there in the class. The rest of the 11 students dropped out after getting to know the feedback from the seniors later on. The Professor had formed 4 teams out of the 19 students and told all the work in the course including the final take-home exam will be team-based.
During the second class, there were only 9 students. I interacted with the 10 students who dropped out. They told that they weren't expecting so much of a mathematical course.
The Professor now made 2 teams instead of 4. He told in class "Generally, this is my class strength". I thought to myself he is consoling himself by saying that.
Something worse happened after that. It came to my notice that 5 more students dropped out after the second class because they couldn't understand his voice. We are left with a mere 4 students for the forthcoming third class. I am one among the brave souls left.
The professor, while coming out of the second class, asked us, "Are you able to understand?" We all nodded faintly and then he told, "You all should do fine". When he told that, I could sense the pain and sorrow in his voice and face.
I felt bad for him. Apart from his voice, it was also a pitiful sight to see the awkward movements when the Professor is trying to write on the whiteboard. Moreover, he has to sit during the lecture rather than stand because of his disease. In fact, he mentioned he has to take up Rock Steady Boxing classes to help coordinate his movements. Clearly, it was not a joke to be in his position.
I was thinking to myself what would I have done if I were in his position. The answer was not easy. In my old age, if I get Parkinson's I won't be able to do anything about it. I would've just tried to endure what I cannot change. Maybe, just pray to God for strength and accept whatever comes.
Will the Professor's heart sink when he sees just 4 students left? What will he do about the team-based assignments? I thought I will pray to God to give this professor the strength to handle the situation.
In a strange way, this put things into perspective for me. I was thinking that all the troubles that I faced in my life so far. All those troubles seemed like zilch compared to what this Professor was facing at this point in time.
Sometimes looking at others problems we get to know that what we are facing is nothing compared to what many people in this world are facing every day. We are just making mountains out of molehills. We need to distance ourselves from the trials and tribulations that we're facing and look at the big picture. It gave me courage that if someone can handle such huge troubles day in day out and carry on unflinchingly, we can face our problems much better too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
