Dear Friends,
Today is the Telugu New Year.
Though I am not a Telugu yet we do celebrate it as I was born and brought up in Hyderabad.
Memories of mangoes flooding the market, the maamidi pachadi we used to make and relish on this day comes to my mind.
This single dish has four tastes - sweet, sour, bitter and salt.
It is a must to have this on a new year's day as its believed that our lives have all experiences and we should not shy away from any of those.
mangoes are sour.
fresh neem flowers are slightly bitter.
jaggery an ingredient used to make this dish is sweet.
salt is added to balance all these above.
there are chillies - popularly green chillies are preferred as it imparts a unique taste to this sweet sour dish.
mangoes are cut leaving the seed out.
oil in a pan is heated and a teaspoon of mustard and methi seeds are spluttered, some green chillies and a teaspoon of fresh neem flowers are suated for a few minutes.
then we tip in the mango bits, add some water, a pinch of turmeric, salt to taste and allow it to cook for a few minutes until mangoes are all done.
then we add 3 or 4 tsps of crushed jaggery.
if one wants to thicken it, rice flour is dissolved in water and batter added.
this then is the beginning of the basant season - a season of colors and flowers all around. spring time it is. the weather is just right. not too cold nor too hot.
this also marks the beginning of the basant navaratri where the goddess is prayed for well-being of all.
another must have is the chitra annam.
which is cooked rice mixed with a spicy tamarind paste with roasted peanuts.
its very popular and is served as a divine offering at most temples including Tirupathi.
then there is the sweet dish is actually a sweet indian stuffed bread.
the stuffing is usually jaggery, coconut, cardamom or any other ingredient as per family traditions.
the bread dough is made and rolled out. the sweet stuffing in then filled in and the bread flattened into roundels to be cooked over a hotplate using clarified butter or any preferred oil.
Cheers!
Mahalakshmi
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Funny, Honey, Money, Sunny!!
Dear Friends,
Funny is life and how it turns us inside out as we grow older and wiser?! with all the experiences it teaches us. Life is an adventure if we treat it like fun.
Life is serious when we think about the responsibilities we have to undertake towards our commitments both voluntary and involuntary.
Life is happy when we move ahead as we grow. Meet with success. When we prosper. When our near and dear ones make us happy and when they do well in their lives. We wish at times that these happy times never end at all and just continue forever!
Life is sad when we have to take up new responsibilities in our lives. Most of us come to love the comfort others offer us - both physical, mental, financial and moral and wish it never ends its flow. It is human nature to become lethargic and get used to being in a state of limbo in life with such feelings.
But is life all about being in limbo just to feel ok? We have to take those first steps in any matter to move ahead. Whether we are right or wrong we have to keep moving with some action plans for our lives. Along the way we will learn to fall, to get up, to balance ourselves and the courage to take the next steps even if there be doubts in our minds about success or failures ahead. Never mind the result just keep moving and soon life will teach you how to balance through good people guiding, helping at crucial times. But it is us and our minds which have to be strong to take those crucial and initial steps to move on in life. We get help when we start helping ourselves. Help is never continuous and it is better not to expect it from others all the time. If we get help then consider it a bonus in life. This way the mind knows that the action has to start from within ourselves and no amount of pushing by others has helped anyone in this world.
So I do think life is funny :)
Honey!
Its sweet. Too sweet! Honey means so many things to so many people depending on age and circumstances.
Its the nectar which the bees work hard to collect. So many thousands of worker bees to fill a bottle of honey. Is life not funny when you think its the hard work of others which gives a sweeter taste! We bottle this up and spoon feed ourselves from time to time to enjoy bliss.
Honey can be that someone who is special to us. It is an endearment for the one we love beyond ourselves. Its such a nice feeling to be in love. Its a commitment of our deep feelings for another.
Life will surely be dull and listless if there is no honey to bring in the sweetness in our lives.
Money
We make something of our lives, earn money and hence get a certain status in life. The gradation comes from our minds. Others praising us when we do well and disapproving when we don't do well is one aspect every individual goes through. After all we live in a society and others opinions do matter until we reach a certain comfort level with money.
We work to earn money. We make plans and have goals in life to reach. Money is a powerful motivator in everyone's life. The having of money and not having enough can make that big difference to our lives all the times until we are alive.
But how much money can make that difference to our lives is a moot question which even we ourselves cannot give a steady answer to this question as we grow older.
Money!
for what are we struggling so hard. i feel we should enjoy basic comforts instead of always thinking of saving on small basic comforts while letting big money go away just in no time. its difficult to earn money and more difficult to keep it safe for our use and more and more difficult to use it on ourselves.
we should tell ourselves that we have to enjoy basic comforts of life instead of always thinking of controlling money spending. instead we should think how we can earn better or more to lead a good life. i know today's topic is just this :)
Funny is life and how it turns us inside out as we grow older and wiser?! with all the experiences it teaches us. Life is an adventure if we treat it like fun.
Life is serious when we think about the responsibilities we have to undertake towards our commitments both voluntary and involuntary.
Life is happy when we move ahead as we grow. Meet with success. When we prosper. When our near and dear ones make us happy and when they do well in their lives. We wish at times that these happy times never end at all and just continue forever!
Life is sad when we have to take up new responsibilities in our lives. Most of us come to love the comfort others offer us - both physical, mental, financial and moral and wish it never ends its flow. It is human nature to become lethargic and get used to being in a state of limbo in life with such feelings.
But is life all about being in limbo just to feel ok? We have to take those first steps in any matter to move ahead. Whether we are right or wrong we have to keep moving with some action plans for our lives. Along the way we will learn to fall, to get up, to balance ourselves and the courage to take the next steps even if there be doubts in our minds about success or failures ahead. Never mind the result just keep moving and soon life will teach you how to balance through good people guiding, helping at crucial times. But it is us and our minds which have to be strong to take those crucial and initial steps to move on in life. We get help when we start helping ourselves. Help is never continuous and it is better not to expect it from others all the time. If we get help then consider it a bonus in life. This way the mind knows that the action has to start from within ourselves and no amount of pushing by others has helped anyone in this world.
So I do think life is funny :)
Honey!
Its sweet. Too sweet! Honey means so many things to so many people depending on age and circumstances.
Its the nectar which the bees work hard to collect. So many thousands of worker bees to fill a bottle of honey. Is life not funny when you think its the hard work of others which gives a sweeter taste! We bottle this up and spoon feed ourselves from time to time to enjoy bliss.
Honey can be that someone who is special to us. It is an endearment for the one we love beyond ourselves. Its such a nice feeling to be in love. Its a commitment of our deep feelings for another.
Life will surely be dull and listless if there is no honey to bring in the sweetness in our lives.
Money
We make something of our lives, earn money and hence get a certain status in life. The gradation comes from our minds. Others praising us when we do well and disapproving when we don't do well is one aspect every individual goes through. After all we live in a society and others opinions do matter until we reach a certain comfort level with money.
We work to earn money. We make plans and have goals in life to reach. Money is a powerful motivator in everyone's life. The having of money and not having enough can make that big difference to our lives all the times until we are alive.
But how much money can make that difference to our lives is a moot question which even we ourselves cannot give a steady answer to this question as we grow older.
Money!
for what are we struggling so hard. i feel we should enjoy basic comforts instead of always thinking of saving on small basic comforts while letting big money go away just in no time. its difficult to earn money and more difficult to keep it safe for our use and more and more difficult to use it on ourselves.
we should tell ourselves that we have to enjoy basic comforts of life instead of always thinking of controlling money spending. instead we should think how we can earn better or more to lead a good life. i know today's topic is just this :)
Monday, March 8, 2010
2 Seconds To Happen But Years To Recover!
Dear Friends,
On Saturday the 6th March, I got a call at the office that my husband had met with an accident and was at the hospital. We rushed there. Since the accident occurred on the road an ambulance was called and he was admitted into the Royapettah Government Hospital for the first aid. But the decision to shift him elsewhere to a private hospital was our own. By evening he was shifted to a private hospital where he was prepared for an emergency surgery on Sunday.
His knee cap had fragmented and blood clots had to removed along with the broken bones.
We soon learnt that there was no need for any replacement of the knee cap or inferior as they referred to that bone and still he could walk normally within a month or so. Even with all this pep talk I could see he was in great pain and doubt whether he would recover so fast.
This accident happened when he was about to board a bus which moved too fast for comfort and he fell down as he lost his balance. His left knee had hit the road and borne the brunt of his weight.
All such things happen inside 2 seconds but it takes weeks, months and maybe in some cases forever to heal or come back to normal.
I know of the case of a woman who had put the pressure cooker on the stove.
The valve had burst with a big noise and the starchy water from the rice inside had dripped down to the floor. The lady wanted to turn off the gas so she rushed to the kitchen and fell on the slippery starch and in a second she was on the floor with a broken hip bone. Even after several years now, she's in pain and cannot move normally though she does all the kitchen work by herself.
Why this hurry and what will happen within those few seconds if we are late to respond? These are accidents because we are not aware of what to look for to safeguard ourselves?
Never rush for anything even if it is something very very urgent. go about your work in a calm manner. If you are going to miss this bus due to some reason wait for the next one. Do not board a bus which is in a hurry to leave you behind anyway. Some bus drivers here drive the bus for their own sweet pleasure and not for the public which pays their salaries.
Prayers for my husband and many others who suffer physically from accidents, to recover fast. May god give them enough courage to bear the pain and may they heal in double quick time.
take care.
Mahalakshmi
On Saturday the 6th March, I got a call at the office that my husband had met with an accident and was at the hospital. We rushed there. Since the accident occurred on the road an ambulance was called and he was admitted into the Royapettah Government Hospital for the first aid. But the decision to shift him elsewhere to a private hospital was our own. By evening he was shifted to a private hospital where he was prepared for an emergency surgery on Sunday.
His knee cap had fragmented and blood clots had to removed along with the broken bones.
We soon learnt that there was no need for any replacement of the knee cap or inferior as they referred to that bone and still he could walk normally within a month or so. Even with all this pep talk I could see he was in great pain and doubt whether he would recover so fast.
This accident happened when he was about to board a bus which moved too fast for comfort and he fell down as he lost his balance. His left knee had hit the road and borne the brunt of his weight.
All such things happen inside 2 seconds but it takes weeks, months and maybe in some cases forever to heal or come back to normal.
I know of the case of a woman who had put the pressure cooker on the stove.
The valve had burst with a big noise and the starchy water from the rice inside had dripped down to the floor. The lady wanted to turn off the gas so she rushed to the kitchen and fell on the slippery starch and in a second she was on the floor with a broken hip bone. Even after several years now, she's in pain and cannot move normally though she does all the kitchen work by herself.
Why this hurry and what will happen within those few seconds if we are late to respond? These are accidents because we are not aware of what to look for to safeguard ourselves?
Never rush for anything even if it is something very very urgent. go about your work in a calm manner. If you are going to miss this bus due to some reason wait for the next one. Do not board a bus which is in a hurry to leave you behind anyway. Some bus drivers here drive the bus for their own sweet pleasure and not for the public which pays their salaries.
Prayers for my husband and many others who suffer physically from accidents, to recover fast. May god give them enough courage to bear the pain and may they heal in double quick time.
take care.
Mahalakshmi
Monday, March 1, 2010
Parents And Kids
Dear Readers,
I was passing through a road where a school is located. It seemed like rush hour traffic at school closing hour. The sides of the main road were parked with cars and two wheelers of all kinds, sizes, makes and colors. Soon the school bell rang and out rushed students from the three gates.
The parents and chauffeurs were present in large numbers to ferry their wards off home.
This made me wonder about parents being there at working hours! In many cars I found both parents waiting for their kids to come out.
This is not an exception for one school. This phenomenon is found all over the city at all schools.
This meant only thing for me. that parents are ready to put aside their work for the sake of their school-going kids.
We as a couple did the same for our very own and I should know.
Both of us decided to work from home and be there for the kids when they went and came back from school. My husband would cycle them to and fro until they could ride their own bikes at around age 9 or 10 years. They were independent yet we were always available for them at home but we were also working and busy to earn for our bread and butter.
Many parents choose to work from home or run a business where timings are flexible. But not all of us can do this kind of a thing. India being a country where family ties are still intact even though most of us live as nuclear families now. Yet the elders are just a call away for young working parents. They step in to take the responsibility of bringing kids back from school. Think of it. Our lives revolves around bringing up our kids and whatever we can give them to make their lives more meaningful and successful. It is indeed a long journey for any parent. It needs a lot of time, energy, money, patience, security, tolerance, love, kindness, discipline, and the words go on and on. Are all parents able to give most of these to their kids?
Among the above, the love and affection for our kids is the biggest investment we make for our kids. And this love and affection is unconditional. It is given without any conditions attached to it.
The parents sitting in their cars and waiting for their kids conveys one thing very strongly for me as I understand it. It is love and affection for our kids which make us do things, make us adjust ourselves to suit their timings, sell our very souls so that our kids don't go through any pain. We are always there for them whenever they need us.
I consider the day my boys were born as the best day of my life. They are gifts of God to me. May I continue to love them the same way ever after.
God bless all parents to give their very best for their kids.
God has been kind to us in giving us kids through whom we learn to love unconditionally.
Cheers!
Mahalakshmi
I was passing through a road where a school is located. It seemed like rush hour traffic at school closing hour. The sides of the main road were parked with cars and two wheelers of all kinds, sizes, makes and colors. Soon the school bell rang and out rushed students from the three gates.
The parents and chauffeurs were present in large numbers to ferry their wards off home.
This made me wonder about parents being there at working hours! In many cars I found both parents waiting for their kids to come out.
This is not an exception for one school. This phenomenon is found all over the city at all schools.
This meant only thing for me. that parents are ready to put aside their work for the sake of their school-going kids.
We as a couple did the same for our very own and I should know.
Both of us decided to work from home and be there for the kids when they went and came back from school. My husband would cycle them to and fro until they could ride their own bikes at around age 9 or 10 years. They were independent yet we were always available for them at home but we were also working and busy to earn for our bread and butter.
Many parents choose to work from home or run a business where timings are flexible. But not all of us can do this kind of a thing. India being a country where family ties are still intact even though most of us live as nuclear families now. Yet the elders are just a call away for young working parents. They step in to take the responsibility of bringing kids back from school. Think of it. Our lives revolves around bringing up our kids and whatever we can give them to make their lives more meaningful and successful. It is indeed a long journey for any parent. It needs a lot of time, energy, money, patience, security, tolerance, love, kindness, discipline, and the words go on and on. Are all parents able to give most of these to their kids?
Among the above, the love and affection for our kids is the biggest investment we make for our kids. And this love and affection is unconditional. It is given without any conditions attached to it.
The parents sitting in their cars and waiting for their kids conveys one thing very strongly for me as I understand it. It is love and affection for our kids which make us do things, make us adjust ourselves to suit their timings, sell our very souls so that our kids don't go through any pain. We are always there for them whenever they need us.
I consider the day my boys were born as the best day of my life. They are gifts of God to me. May I continue to love them the same way ever after.
God bless all parents to give their very best for their kids.
God has been kind to us in giving us kids through whom we learn to love unconditionally.
Cheers!
Mahalakshmi
Monday, February 22, 2010
Tomato Jam
Dear Readers,
I made tomato jam yesterday. A vegetable market just across our apartments put up a board 'buy one kg and get one kg free!' for Rs.6/- which I thought was a steal.
Psst... today its Rs.8/-! up by Rs.2/-.
Well, i washed a kg of tomatoes and processed it just as my mom would do when we were very young. She would add a dash of lime juice which added flavor to it. It came out very well. I made soft rotis and we had them with tomato jam today.
I will share the recipe with you.
Wash 500gms of ripe sour tomatoes.
Boil, de-skin and make a pulp. The ratio of sugar I used this time was 1.25 times sugar to 1 measure of pulp. I just tried another method this time for preparing too. Just mixed both the pulp and sugar and set it up on low flame over the stove. Kept stirring until sugar dissolved completely. when I could see the mixture reducing to 3/4ths of the original quantity I added 3 tablespoons of lime juice and 1/2 tsp of salt to balance the sweetness. It was gooey and very tasty. When it was poured into a glass jar to set, it looked so attractive with seeds everywhere like a red polka dot dress. It sits pretty over my dining table and will be over very soon. Then I washed the ladle and the pan with some water to make tomato juice. That was tasty too. :D
We remember food, events, etc. associated with childhood, when we are past 50 years. Perhaps that is the time when our kids are on their own and we have time to look back upon our own lives as a flashback. We remember our childhood friends and cousins with whom we might have spent our innocent days. Each one of us must have come a long way from how we led our lives half a century back!
Sweet and sour are our memories of the days gone by just like the sweet-sour lime pickle without which my last course of any meal - curd rice - is not complete. More on this later.
Catch you tomorrow, god willing :D
Cheers!
Mahalakshmi
I made tomato jam yesterday. A vegetable market just across our apartments put up a board 'buy one kg and get one kg free!' for Rs.6/- which I thought was a steal.
Psst... today its Rs.8/-! up by Rs.2/-.
Well, i washed a kg of tomatoes and processed it just as my mom would do when we were very young. She would add a dash of lime juice which added flavor to it. It came out very well. I made soft rotis and we had them with tomato jam today.
I will share the recipe with you.
Wash 500gms of ripe sour tomatoes.
Boil, de-skin and make a pulp. The ratio of sugar I used this time was 1.25 times sugar to 1 measure of pulp. I just tried another method this time for preparing too. Just mixed both the pulp and sugar and set it up on low flame over the stove. Kept stirring until sugar dissolved completely. when I could see the mixture reducing to 3/4ths of the original quantity I added 3 tablespoons of lime juice and 1/2 tsp of salt to balance the sweetness. It was gooey and very tasty. When it was poured into a glass jar to set, it looked so attractive with seeds everywhere like a red polka dot dress. It sits pretty over my dining table and will be over very soon. Then I washed the ladle and the pan with some water to make tomato juice. That was tasty too. :D
We remember food, events, etc. associated with childhood, when we are past 50 years. Perhaps that is the time when our kids are on their own and we have time to look back upon our own lives as a flashback. We remember our childhood friends and cousins with whom we might have spent our innocent days. Each one of us must have come a long way from how we led our lives half a century back!
Sweet and sour are our memories of the days gone by just like the sweet-sour lime pickle without which my last course of any meal - curd rice - is not complete. More on this later.
Catch you tomorrow, god willing :D
Cheers!
Mahalakshmi
Friday, February 19, 2010
To Desire For More
Dear Readers,
I remember when I was in school and the rank I got always mattered to me as well as those around me.
I would like to have said I was the first in class but the ranks would always be within the first 5. Mostly the 3rd rank till about the 8th standard.
I have prayed to lord Ganesha for the 2nd rank in exchange of an offering of a coconut! But 3rd it was most times.
Then due to the Telangana agitation in the late sixties and early seventies, all of us lost one year at school or college. So my uncle who had just started a tutorial college found a private candidate in me appearing for the 11th HSC straight without even decently finishing my 9th standard from Vivek Vardhini Kanya Shala, Hyderabad!
I remember we were just 4 candidates appearing that year for the HSC from Sri Vidya Tutorials.
I was the topper having secured a second class! After seeing my results I thought God could have given me a first class. This trend seemed to follow my thinking through my higher education. If I got 62% I would think how nice if I had got distinction. If I scored a distinction, I would think how nice if I could have got the gold medal. I realized how futile it is to think about the results after they have come out!
I had friends who scored different percentages and their reactions were anything but hilarious when heard out. X felt she could have at least got pass marks as she had failed in the B.Com. Y felt she could have got a 2nd division but she got only a 3rd which disappointed her a lot. I got a 2d division and thought I could have done with a higher
2nd! Well there appeared to be really no end to this kind of wanting..
Then came a time when I started earning. If the pay was Rs.200/-per month I would dream of what I could have done if my pay was Rs.300/- There seemed to be no end to this cycle until I was at the cross roads in the year 1996 with no interest in working for others. Realization came that we can lead a simple life with simple wants and earn just that minimum which can see us through every month. So it was time to set up a business and pick projects my husband and I could easily handle. There was no dearth for engineering projects and we worked for some of the best companies and star hotel groups for the past
15 years now. We earned more than we expected. At times we had to employ 8 boys to see us through some important projects. I have no regrets and no high expectations either. Life is simple when kept to the bare minimum. That does not however mean that we don’t enjoy life or living. We are still able to get the best out of life through the various interests we have cultivated over a period of time.
But the main thing in all this was the studious avoiding of comparing ourselves with anyone, be it our own siblings who were doing well nor our relatives or friends. I think if we are past caring about petty things we can enjoy our lives being satisfied with what we have and not crib about not having something which is out of reach.
Psst… having said all the above I have one confession to make though. Over a period of time we have accumulated so many things at home which we don’t use. They occupy space in the lofts above. Both of us have made a promise that we should clear the things we have not missed using over a period of one year. Then and only then can we truly call ours a simple living. Now this is a new project which requires our attention!!
Cheers!
Mahalakshmi
I remember when I was in school and the rank I got always mattered to me as well as those around me.
I would like to have said I was the first in class but the ranks would always be within the first 5. Mostly the 3rd rank till about the 8th standard.
I have prayed to lord Ganesha for the 2nd rank in exchange of an offering of a coconut! But 3rd it was most times.
Then due to the Telangana agitation in the late sixties and early seventies, all of us lost one year at school or college. So my uncle who had just started a tutorial college found a private candidate in me appearing for the 11th HSC straight without even decently finishing my 9th standard from Vivek Vardhini Kanya Shala, Hyderabad!
I remember we were just 4 candidates appearing that year for the HSC from Sri Vidya Tutorials.
I was the topper having secured a second class! After seeing my results I thought God could have given me a first class. This trend seemed to follow my thinking through my higher education. If I got 62% I would think how nice if I had got distinction. If I scored a distinction, I would think how nice if I could have got the gold medal. I realized how futile it is to think about the results after they have come out!
I had friends who scored different percentages and their reactions were anything but hilarious when heard out. X felt she could have at least got pass marks as she had failed in the B.Com. Y felt she could have got a 2nd division but she got only a 3rd which disappointed her a lot. I got a 2d division and thought I could have done with a higher
2nd! Well there appeared to be really no end to this kind of wanting..
Then came a time when I started earning. If the pay was Rs.200/-per month I would dream of what I could have done if my pay was Rs.300/- There seemed to be no end to this cycle until I was at the cross roads in the year 1996 with no interest in working for others. Realization came that we can lead a simple life with simple wants and earn just that minimum which can see us through every month. So it was time to set up a business and pick projects my husband and I could easily handle. There was no dearth for engineering projects and we worked for some of the best companies and star hotel groups for the past
15 years now. We earned more than we expected. At times we had to employ 8 boys to see us through some important projects. I have no regrets and no high expectations either. Life is simple when kept to the bare minimum. That does not however mean that we don’t enjoy life or living. We are still able to get the best out of life through the various interests we have cultivated over a period of time.
But the main thing in all this was the studious avoiding of comparing ourselves with anyone, be it our own siblings who were doing well nor our relatives or friends. I think if we are past caring about petty things we can enjoy our lives being satisfied with what we have and not crib about not having something which is out of reach.
Psst… having said all the above I have one confession to make though. Over a period of time we have accumulated so many things at home which we don’t use. They occupy space in the lofts above. Both of us have made a promise that we should clear the things we have not missed using over a period of one year. Then and only then can we truly call ours a simple living. Now this is a new project which requires our attention!!
Cheers!
Mahalakshmi
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Good Samaritan
Dear Readers,
This an incident which always touches my heart whenever I hear it from my cousin ( I heard it today also for that matter through telecon) or think of it.
My cousin who was a teacher in a school teaching higher classes was trying to better her education by sitting for her Masters in order to get a lecturer’s post in some college. This was the year 1970 in Hyderabad. She had already one Master’s degree but only with a pass in the 3rd division which was not considered enough for the post she was aiming for. So she took up Public Administration as a subject for her Master’s this time and wanted to get a second division with a hope in her heart.
She would appear as a private candidate as she was already working and could not attend regular college. She had to fend for herself and her only daughter at that time, though she had other kind of moral support from a big family on her mother’s side.
With only a crucial 2 days left for the exam paper on public administration and the prescribed book still not anywhere in sight (all the books were borrowed by the regular students of the Osmania University from the Library) her fear was real. She had not had the opportunity to even glance at the book anywhere and with the exam so close by she was feeling very frustrated and jittery about the outcome of this exam on which her future was so very dependent.
As chance would have it, our uncle who was the headmaster of the All Saints’ High School took her along with him to a book exhibition held at the Nizam’s college grounds that day. While going around the book stalls she chanced upon this elusive book and could not take her eyes off it. She kept turning its pages for a long time with no decent sum in her purse with which to buy it off the shelf. My uncle too never carried any simply because they dint have that kind of money in those days. Seeing her interest in the book the Muslim shopkeeper asked her what the matter was. She simply said that her exam was just 2 days away and this was the only book which can help her pass and she could not afford to buy the book as it was priced high at Rs.80/-.
The shopkeeper quietly packed the book in a brown paper sheet and offered it to her saying she can take it, read from it and then return it back to him at the stall after her exams two days later. She was overjoyed and surprised at the turn of events and in turn offered her wrist watch as security against the prized book which he politely declined to accept. It was simply a divine intervention.
She came back home and read a portion in a hurry promising to read it thoroughly the next and the only day left to study. She planned for her young daughter to be sent to our house to play for the day. Told the servant not to come for the day. Cooked a very limited meal and sat down to read the voluminous book. A few hours later, a knock on her door and a couple coming down from Bellary (her late husband’s dear friend and his wife had come to spend the day with the mother and daughter)! Of all days!! But we cannot turn our guests away, who have come from a far off village to meet us, so entertain them she did. She offered them an aloo bhaat (spicy steamed rice with potatoes), chatted with them but deep inside, her mind was on the time that was running out for her!
Then come evening the couple left as the little daughter had not returned even then. The daughter came home for the night, again preparing a meal and washing dishes and what was left was just one night and the next day was the exam day! After putting her daughter to sleep and a bout of crying, she began to read through quickly whatever she could in between nodding off.
The next day at the exam was also tension filled and somehow she wrote her paper that day hoping little to make it in the 2nd division this time around too.
She had very little hopes of passing in the 2nd division and on the day of the results she cried her heart out for she had barely managed to scrape through with a second division in her MA, Public Administration.
Her journey as a lecturer in a government college started off with a better pay packet though she had to travel a long distance by the local train to a college in Dabeerpura on the outskirts of the city of Hyderabad to earn it.
Sbe did return the book to the good samaritan without whose help her dream of moving up in life would have got postponed to yet another year.
At times a power above gives us opportunities and also tests us for strength. We have to make the best of the time we have under the circumstances is the strong message that comes through. We have one life to live and it is 'now' that we can do something positive about it and give ourselves a chance to prove that we are worthy of ourselves.
This is all about a burning desire to achieve something in life.
This is about keeping the effort on to find that elusive something until we get it.
This is about being there at the right place at the right time.
This is about a stranger giving us a helping hand with no conditions attached and in total trust.
This is about those unexpected obstacles which come our way to test us.
This is about making up for lost time at the cost of a sleepless night.
This is about the dawn offering hope of light shining in our lives.
This is about making it against all odds.
This is about God's unseen hands lifting us mortals up with our spirits intact.
This is about divine intervention all the way through.
Since then my cousin has shared this incident with many of her students through the years and so will any who might read this.
Grab that opportunity and make something of your life! Move on.
You have nothing to lose except success!!
Cheers!
Mahalakshmi
This an incident which always touches my heart whenever I hear it from my cousin ( I heard it today also for that matter through telecon) or think of it.
My cousin who was a teacher in a school teaching higher classes was trying to better her education by sitting for her Masters in order to get a lecturer’s post in some college. This was the year 1970 in Hyderabad. She had already one Master’s degree but only with a pass in the 3rd division which was not considered enough for the post she was aiming for. So she took up Public Administration as a subject for her Master’s this time and wanted to get a second division with a hope in her heart.
She would appear as a private candidate as she was already working and could not attend regular college. She had to fend for herself and her only daughter at that time, though she had other kind of moral support from a big family on her mother’s side.
With only a crucial 2 days left for the exam paper on public administration and the prescribed book still not anywhere in sight (all the books were borrowed by the regular students of the Osmania University from the Library) her fear was real. She had not had the opportunity to even glance at the book anywhere and with the exam so close by she was feeling very frustrated and jittery about the outcome of this exam on which her future was so very dependent.
As chance would have it, our uncle who was the headmaster of the All Saints’ High School took her along with him to a book exhibition held at the Nizam’s college grounds that day. While going around the book stalls she chanced upon this elusive book and could not take her eyes off it. She kept turning its pages for a long time with no decent sum in her purse with which to buy it off the shelf. My uncle too never carried any simply because they dint have that kind of money in those days. Seeing her interest in the book the Muslim shopkeeper asked her what the matter was. She simply said that her exam was just 2 days away and this was the only book which can help her pass and she could not afford to buy the book as it was priced high at Rs.80/-.
The shopkeeper quietly packed the book in a brown paper sheet and offered it to her saying she can take it, read from it and then return it back to him at the stall after her exams two days later. She was overjoyed and surprised at the turn of events and in turn offered her wrist watch as security against the prized book which he politely declined to accept. It was simply a divine intervention.
She came back home and read a portion in a hurry promising to read it thoroughly the next and the only day left to study. She planned for her young daughter to be sent to our house to play for the day. Told the servant not to come for the day. Cooked a very limited meal and sat down to read the voluminous book. A few hours later, a knock on her door and a couple coming down from Bellary (her late husband’s dear friend and his wife had come to spend the day with the mother and daughter)! Of all days!! But we cannot turn our guests away, who have come from a far off village to meet us, so entertain them she did. She offered them an aloo bhaat (spicy steamed rice with potatoes), chatted with them but deep inside, her mind was on the time that was running out for her!
Then come evening the couple left as the little daughter had not returned even then. The daughter came home for the night, again preparing a meal and washing dishes and what was left was just one night and the next day was the exam day! After putting her daughter to sleep and a bout of crying, she began to read through quickly whatever she could in between nodding off.
The next day at the exam was also tension filled and somehow she wrote her paper that day hoping little to make it in the 2nd division this time around too.
She had very little hopes of passing in the 2nd division and on the day of the results she cried her heart out for she had barely managed to scrape through with a second division in her MA, Public Administration.
Her journey as a lecturer in a government college started off with a better pay packet though she had to travel a long distance by the local train to a college in Dabeerpura on the outskirts of the city of Hyderabad to earn it.
Sbe did return the book to the good samaritan without whose help her dream of moving up in life would have got postponed to yet another year.
At times a power above gives us opportunities and also tests us for strength. We have to make the best of the time we have under the circumstances is the strong message that comes through. We have one life to live and it is 'now' that we can do something positive about it and give ourselves a chance to prove that we are worthy of ourselves.
This is all about a burning desire to achieve something in life.
This is about keeping the effort on to find that elusive something until we get it.
This is about being there at the right place at the right time.
This is about a stranger giving us a helping hand with no conditions attached and in total trust.
This is about those unexpected obstacles which come our way to test us.
This is about making up for lost time at the cost of a sleepless night.
This is about the dawn offering hope of light shining in our lives.
This is about making it against all odds.
This is about God's unseen hands lifting us mortals up with our spirits intact.
This is about divine intervention all the way through.
Since then my cousin has shared this incident with many of her students through the years and so will any who might read this.
Grab that opportunity and make something of your life! Move on.
You have nothing to lose except success!!
Cheers!
Mahalakshmi
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