My Reminiscence

At Bridge water, New Jersey Venkateswara temple, there is a shrine for Sathya Narayana swamy. During my previous visits to the US, I had attended Sathyanarayana pooja at a temple and at another friend's place. Although I watched and worshipped, I did not know the significance of this pooja. This time, when I worshipped this deity in Sri Venkateswara temple, I became curious once again and wanted to know more about this deity and the pooja.   Sathya Narayana swamy is a benevolent form of Maha Vishnu. The name represents pure Truth (Lord of Truth). According to the legends, several kings and merchants used to perform this pooja in the past to overcome adversities and to earn the grace of Sathya Narayana swamy. As per the legend, once the great saint Narada, on his usual travel, for the benefit and upliftment of various worlds, arrived on earth. He saw people going through the cycle of birth and suffering as a result of their past deeds. For the salvation of humanity,...

Though last Sunday was cloudy, it did not affect us or lessen our joy of a holiday. At around 4.40 PM in the evening, we started to the nearby temple in Bridgewater and reached there by 5.05 PM.  The temple is known as "Sri Venkateswara temple of Bridgewater". The main deity is Lord Thirupathi Venkatachalapathy. But as in other temples in the US, under one roof there were many other shrines for other deities too. Sri Durgadevi is one amongst them. Being Navrathri festival season we were aware of the special pooja for Durgadevi, chanting of Devi maahathmyam and cultural performances that were being conducted during these nine days. Although we started late, we reached the temple cultural centre hall before the dancers finished their Dandiya dance.  Dandiya and Garba are two popular dance forms of Gujarat in India. While Garba may have more of a devotional appeal, Dandiya may be more vibrant and is centered around two deities, Goddess Durga and Lord Krishna. The dan...

  A few days back, while Sree and Preetha had gone for their usual evening walk, sitting on the bench in the park, I saw children of about high school age playing an unfamiliar sport in the nearby field. The players were wearing helmets with face shields to protect their heads and faces and they had gloves on their hands. Each was holding a stick (a rod about 4 feet long with a pocket net at its head). The children were also wearing other protective gears for the chest, arms and shoulders.  I am familiar with the game of cricket where the players wearing helmet with face shield, kneepads, wrist pads etc. But these children were not playing cricket. So, I was curious to know more about this game. When Sree and Preetha got back, I asked them about it. Preetha said that it is a special game which is popular in America now a days, known as Lacrosse. They did not know more about the game. I wanted to know more about it. When we reached home, I decided to collect more de...

Today is a rainy day with the sun hiding behind the rain clouds for most of the day. A day of full moon and solar eclipse.  Yesterday was a bright day. We drove to the Watchung park a bit early than usual. The park had a big lake in the centre surrounded by walkways. The lake also had a small dam with a few fountains. Sree and Preetha had their regular evening walk while I enjoyed the warmth of sun sitting on a bench and enjoying the surroundings. It was amusing to see the symbols of Halloween that were exhibited in the park.  Jack-O'-lantern, bats, witches, spiders, ghosts, skulls, skeletons, black cats and full moon are the symbols of Halloween festival. All kinds of spooky decorations are placed in front of the houses during this festive season. Halloween falls on the 31st of October every year. People are in a festive mood from the beginning of this month itself. One can see real/artificial big pumpkins (carved and uncarved) on the side of thresholds leading to...

Those who have read my previous blogs might wonder how I write the exact time of happenings and why. I have a habit of looking at the watch frequently. To me, to be punctual is very important. My father, from my childhood days taught me the value of time and to do my duties in time. There is a proverb which reminds us of the same, "A stitch in time saves nine". My late husband OPR Menon was very particular about keeping time. He was an officer in the revenue department. While in service, he was determined to reach the meeting or programme venues at least five minutes before start. His official driver sometimes pleaded to wait saying, "Sir, nobody including the organisers will be there when we reach. We might even have to open the hall, find chairs and wait for them". OPR would reply, "I don't mind doing it. I must reach there in time. Slowly others will follow". He continued this pattern and gradually things changed, and others followed his path. Bhagw...

Weekends are always welcome. All of us wait for those two days, Saturday and Sunday.  Last Saturday we had a few guests. Reji and Suja are friends of Sree and Preetha. Pradeep and Rajani are relatives. They live in NJ. Preetha had cooked many dishes for lunch. Cooking is relaxing for her as she is so busy at work. Sree is happy sharing the household duties and helping her. By lunch time, the table was full of dishes. The items were chicken biriyani, rice, salad, two curries, two thorans, pickle, pappadam, kondatom, curd, gulab-jamun and Pradeep's tapioca special dish. We chatted happily till 4.10 PM about many subjects. Reji is like an elder brother to Sree. I know him for years as he was Sree's senior while they were students. Suja grew up in Perinthalmanna, Kerala where I was born and brought up. Her father, A.J. John, was the Principal, Govt. Polytechnic College in Perintalmanna in the 90's. He and his wife live in Kerala. Rajani is the Kathakali artist about whom I had ...

This morning is so refreshing with a glowing bright sun, and it felt unusually warm. Preetha conveyed the happy news of Ajay, my grandson, winning the global award from Apax Digital, where he is employed.  Apax is a Global equity advisory firm specializing in growth equity and buyout investments in high growth enterprise software, internet, and technology enabled service companies worldwide. (As you might have guessed, this information was taken from their website.) I felt so happy which made my eyes wet with tears. "Congratulations my dear, I am proud of you and your parents!" To quote from the congratulatory note:  "Ajay's did an exemplary job helping Apax Digital's relationship with  BUILD NYC  for the last two years. Whether it comes to working with the Apax Foundation to apply for Apax's $50,000 annual grant, or to the logistics around the mentorship program, Ajay continues to inspire the team to make a difference from the front lines. He seamlessly tran...

  The rising sun was peeping through the window under the veil of the curtain blinds when I rose up from the bed. I walked to the window and stood there for some time gazing at the beautiful sight. At a distance, among the high-rise buildings, stood towering the Washington monument and the Capitol building majestically. A plane was flying over them, climbing height as if it was in a hurry to reach the sun. Within a few minutes, another one followed. After some time, I left for the washroom, took bath, and dressed up. Sree and Preetha also got ready. Following breakfast, we waited for Saju and family who had promised to reach us around10.30 AM and fetch us to attend the festival. We checked out and waited for them in the hotel lobby at the ground level. When they came, we decided to take some photos and were getting ready. A gentleman came forward to help us. He offered to click the photos for us. A stout one, more than six feet, wearing a hat, dressed up in half trousers and tee sh...

  It was a bit late when we went to bed last night travelling for the last two days. It was a bit hectic for me as I am not used to walking so much that I had to do during this travel. We went to Washington DC on 30-Sep-2023 and came back on 01-Oct-2023 night. Sree was driving to and fro for about eight hours all-together. On our way to Washington DC, we paid a visit to Anup, Dhanya and their children Pranav and Devika. Besides there was Tobby, their pet dog who was just like another member of the family, the youngest one. He had his own bed in almost all rooms including a sofa seat separately marked for him in the living room. As I am a bit afraid of dogs, I had requested Anup not to let Tobby come near me. Although he played with Sree and Preetha, he obeyed Anup and never put his legs on me. He was wagging his tail all the time to show his happiness to play with us. It was fun to watch him playing with the children like close friends do. When they are busy otherwise, To...