Puppies for Sale

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard.

As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the Eyes of a little boy.

"Mister", he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies."

"Well", said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money."

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer.

"I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look."

"Sure", said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle, Here, Dolly! he called.

Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight.

As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared; this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up...

"I want that one", the little boy said, pointing to the runt.

The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would."

With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself To a specially made shoe.

Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands."

The world is full of people who need someone who understands. Are you there for them?

Don't be conditioned to Lost

An eagle's egg was placed in the nest of a prairie chicken. The egg hatched and the little eagle grew up thinking it was a prairie chicken.


The eagle did what the prairie chickens did. It scratched in the dirt for seeds. It clucked and cackled. It never flew more than a few feet because that is what the prairie chickens did.

One day he saw an eagle flying gracefully and majestically in the open sky. He asked the prairie chickens: "What is that beautiful bird?" The chickens replied, "That is an eagle. He is an outstanding bird, but you cannot fly like him because you are just a prairie chicken."

So the eagle never gave it a second thought, believing that to be the truth. He lived the life of and died a prairie chicken, depriving himself of his heritage because of his lack of vision.

What a waste! He was born to win, but was conditioned to lose. Do not let people or situations or even yourself condition you to lose in life.

The Bus Passenger

The passengers on the bus watched sympathetically as the attractive young woman with the white cane made her way carefully up the steps. She paid the driver and, using her hands to feel the location of the seats, walked down the aisle and found the seat he'd told her was empty. Then she settled in, placed her briefcase on her lap and rested her cane against her leg.

It had been a year since Susan, thirty-four, became blind. Due to a medical misdiagnosis she had been rendered sightless, and she was suddenly thrown into a world of darkness, anger, frustration and self-pity. Once a fiercely independent woman, Susan now felt condemned by this terrible twist of fate to become a powerless, helpless burden on everyone around her. "How could this have happened to me?" she would plead, her heart knotted with anger.

But no matter how much she cried or ranted or prayed, she knew the painful truth her sight was never going to return. A cloud of depression hung over Susan's once optimistic spirit. Just getting through each day was an exercise in frustration and exhaustion. And all she had to cling to was her husband Mark.

Mark was an Air Force officer and he loved Susan with all of his heart. When she first lost her sight, he watched her sink into despair and was determined to help his wife gain the strength and confidence she needed to become independent again. Mark's military background had trained him well to deal with sensitive situations, and yet he knew this was the most difficult battle he would ever face.

Finally, Susan felt ready to return to her job, but how would she get there? She used to take the bus, but was now too frightened to get around the city by herself. Mark volunteered to drive her to work each day, even though they worked at opposite ends of the city.

At first, this comforted Susan and fulfilled Mark's need to protect his sightless wife who was so insecure about performing the slightest task. Soon, however, Mark realized that this arrangement wasn't working - it was hectic, and costly. Susan is going to have to start taking the bus again, he admitted to himself. But just the thought of mentioning it to her made him cringe. She was still so fragile, so angry. How would she react?

Just as Mark predicted, Susan was horrified at the idea of taking the bus again. "I'm blind!" she responded bitterly. "How am I supposed to know where I'm going? I feel like you're abandoning me."

Mark's heart broke to hear these words, but he knew what had to be done. He promised Susan that each morning and evening he would ride the bus with her, for as long as it took, until she got the hang of it. And that is exactly what happened.

For two solid weeks, Mark, military uniform and all, accompanied Susan to and from work each day. He taught her how to rely on her other senses, specifically her hearing, to determine where she was and how to adapt to her new environment. He helped her befriend the bus drivers who could watch out for her, and save her a seat. He made her laugh, even on those not-so-good days when she would trip exiting the bus, or drop her briefcase.

Each morning they made the journey together, and Mark would take a cab back to his office. Although this routine was even more costly and exhausting than the previous one, Mark knew it was only a matter of time before Susan would be able to ride the bus on her own. He believed in her, in the Susan he used to know before she'd lost her sight, who wasn't afraid of any challenge and who would never, ever quit.

Finally, Susan decided that she was ready to try the trip on her own. Monday morning arrived, and before she left, she threw her arms around Mark, her temporary bus riding companion, her husband, and her best friend.

Her eyes filled with tears of gratitude for his loyalty, his patience, his love. She said good-bye, and for the first time, they went their separate ways. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday... Each day on her own went perfectly, and Susan had never felt better. She was doing it! She was going to work all by herself!

On Friday morning, Susan took the bus to work as usual. As she was paying for her fare to exit the bus, the driver said, "Boy, I sure envy you." Susan wasn't sure if the driver was speaking to her or not. After all, who on earth would ever envy a blind woman who had struggled just to find the courage to live for the past year?

Curious, she asked the driver, "Why do you say that you envy me?" The driver responded, "It must feel so good to be taken care of and protected like you are." Susan had no idea what the driver was talking about, and asked again, "What do you mean?"

The driver answered, "You know, every morning for the past week, a fine looking gentleman in a military uniform has been standing across the corner watching you when you get off the bus. He makes sure you cross the street safely and he watches you until you enter your office building. Then he blows you a kiss, gives you a little salute and walks away. You are one lucky lady."

Tears of happiness poured down Susan's cheeks. For although she couldn't physically see him, she had always felt Mark's presence. She was lucky, so lucky, for he had given her a gift more powerful than sight, a gift she didn't need to see to believe - the gift of love that can bring light where there had been darkness.

Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between 2 wolves inside us all."

"One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego."

"The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather Which wolf wins?

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

I Love You!

There was once a guy who suffered from cancer... a cancer that can't be treated. He was 18 years old and he could die anytime. All his life, he was stuck in his house being taken cared by his mother. He never went outside but he was sick of staying home and wanted to go out for once.

So he asked his mother and she gave him permission. He walked down his block and found a lot of stores. He passed a CD store and looked through the front door for a second as he walked. He stopped and went back to look into the store. He saw a young girl about his age and he knew it was love at first sight. He opened the door and walked in, not looking at anything else but her. He walked closer and closer until he was finally at the front desk where she sat.

She looked up and asked "Can I help you?" She smiled and he thought it was the most beautiful smile he has ever seen before and wanted to kiss her right there.

He said "Uh... Yeah... Umm... I would like to buy a CD." He picked one out and gave her money for it.

"Would you like me to wrap it for you?" she asked, smiling her cute smile again.

He nodded and she went to the back.

She came back with the wrapped CD and gave it to him. He took it and walked out of the store. He went home and from then on, he went to that store everyday and bought a CD, and she wrapped it for him. He took the CD home and put it in his closet. He was still too shy to ask her out and he really wanted to but he couldn't. His mother found out about this and told him to just ask her.

So the next day, he took all his courage and went to the store. He bought a CD like he did everyday and once again she went to the back of the store and came back with it wrapped. He took it and when she wasn't looking, he left his phone number on the desk and ran out...

RRRRRING!!!

The mother picked up the phone and said, "Hello?"

It was the girl!!! She asked for the boy and the mother started to cry and said, "You don't know? He passed away yesterday..."

The line was quiet except for the cries of the boy's mother.

Later in the day, the mother went into the boy's room because she wanted to remember him. She thought she would start by looking at his clothes. So she opened the closet. She was face to face with piles and piles and piles of unopened CDs. She was surprised to find all those CDs and she picked one up and sat down on the bed and she started to open one.

Inside, there was a CD and as she took it out of the wrapper, out fell a piece of paper. The mother picked it up and started to read it.

It said: Hi... I think U R really cute. Do u wanna go out with me? Love, Jacelyn

The mother opened another CD...

Again there was a piece of paper. It said: Hi... I think U R really cute. Do u wanna go out with me? Love, Jacelyn

Love is... when you've had a huge fight but then decide to put aside your egos, hold hands and say, "I Love You . . . "

First Love

Two Babies...

Two babies were sitting in their cribs, when one baby shouted to the other,
"Are you a little girl or a little boy?"

"I don't know," replied the other baby giggling.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" said the first baby.

"I mean I don't know how to tell the difference," was the reply.

"Well, I do," said the first baby chuckling, "I'll climb into your crib and find out."

He carefully maneuvered himself into the other baby's crib, then quickly disappeared beneath the blankets.

After a couple of minutes, he resurfaced with a big grin on his face.

"You're a little girl, and I'm a little boy," he said proudly.

"You're ever so clever," cooed the baby girl, "but how can you tell ?"

"It's quite easy really," replied the baby boy,

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"You've got pink socks and I've got blue ones . . .

Nuts...

On the outskirts of a small town, there was a big, old pecan tree just inside the cemetery fence.

One day, two boys filled up a bucketful of nuts and sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began
dividing the nuts. "One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me," said one boy. Several
dropped and rolled down toward the fence.

Another boy came riding along the road on his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard
voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard,
"One for you, one for me. One for you, one for me." He just knew what it was. He jumped
back on his bike and rode off. Just around the bend he met an old man with a cane, hobbling
along. "Come here quick," said the boy, "you won't believe what I heard!" "Satan and the Lord
are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls."

The man said, "Beat it kid, can't you see it's hard for me to walk." When the boy insisted though,
the man hobbled slowly to the cemetery. Standing by the fence they heard, "One for you,
one for me, One for you, one for me."

The old man whispered, "Boy, you've been tellin' me the truth." "Let's see if we can see the Lord.
" Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything.
The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter
as they tried to get a glimpse of the Lord.

At last they heard, "One for you, one for me . . . That's all. Now let's go get those nuts by the fence and we'll be done."

They say the old man made it back to town a full 5 minutes ahead of the kid on the bike . . .

Miles Apart

What greater thing is there for two human souls that to feel that they are joined... to strengthen each other... to be at one with each other in silent unspeakable memories.

Love puts the fun in together, the sad in apart, and the joy in a heart.

Absence makes thy heart grow fonder.

And ever has it been known that love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.

The simple lack of him is more to me than others' presence.

You don't need to be on the same wavelength to succeed in marriage. You just need to be able to ride each other's waves.

Miss you...

Conquer Your Weakness

This is a story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move.

“Sensei,” the boy finally said, “Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?”

“This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,” the Sensei replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the Sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the Sensei intervened. “No,” the Sensei insisted, “Let him continue.”

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and Sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind. “Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”

“You won for two reasons,” the Sensei answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defence for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

The boy’s greatest weakness had become his greatest strength.

Embracing Imperfection

A story by a girl. "When I was a little girl, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely burned toast in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his toast, smile at my mom, and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember Watching him smear butter and jelly on that toast and eat every bite!

When I got Up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad For burning the toast. And I'll never forget what he said: 'Baby, I love burned toast.'

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if He really liked his toast burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, 'Debbie, your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides-a little burnt toast never hurt anyone!' You know, life is full of imperfect things.....and imperfect people. I'm not the best housekeeper or cook.

What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults - and choosing to celebrate each other's differences - is the one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good,the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of GOD. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where burnt toast isn't a deal-breaker! We could extend this to any relationship in fact - as understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!! "

Love - Lost & Found

“Only Love” – Erich Segal - I was reading this book and was inspired to write on it. A very touching love story – about love; lost & found.

1978
A group of idealistic young doctors join a mission of mercy to Africa. Two of them, Mathew and Silvia, fall in love. They have one year together, before they are swept apart by bloodshed and violence. Mathew Hiller has been in mourning ever since.
The Present
A pioneer in genetic therapy at the very top of his field, Mathew is appealed to by a rich man whose wife’s brain tumor has been declared inoperable by every other surgeon. When she walks through the door he sees that it is Silvia, as beautiful as ever – still his “only love”. It’s as if the years have never passed.
He must save her life. And if he does... what then?

I am sure everybody in life has their own first love and it is indeed very special. Few of the lucky lot, are fortunate enough to spend the rest of their lives with them. But rest of them; need to move on with life and hence at some point or the other need to settle down and get married. They too lead a happy life with their better half.
But what happens, if you get to meet your first love once again? And even worse, you get to know that your first love shares the same feelings for you; even now; as you do?

Better never to have met you in my dream than to wake and reach for hands that are not there.
- Otomo No Yakamochi

If the alarm goes off, don’t run downstairs.. wait and watch !!

XYZ Office ->

A fire alarm rang at 6 PM when almost all shift employees are in office(approx 5000). As usual entire office was evacuated within 3 mins & every employee gathered outside office. 10 mins passed..................................5 more mins passed.
Security Officer started Announcement: "Dear Employees - With melting heart I am making this announcement that for many of you it will be a last evacuation drill, as we are laying off almost 80% employees. While moving in who-so-ever ID card won't work are laid off & all their belongings will be couriered to them tomorrow. We followed this approach as we don't want to fill email box size with layoff email in thousands & also to avoid any fight inside office. Hope you have nice career ahead. Please move in & try your luck".

The Curse of being a Girl - An Interesting Article

ONCE, IN a candid conversation with my two kin – one of them was elder, while the other was of same age – we started discussing about the love affairs and stuff, which was not a big thing in such a modern time. My elder brother told me, “I will break your legs if I find you moving around with any guy!”

I was totally flabbergasted by such a chauvinistic statement counter questioned him, “What if you find him (my other brother) roaming around with any girl?” There on followed moments of lull, no body spoke for a while…how could they? They had no possible answer for my question. The talk ended with a giddy smiles and the topic changed.

As the day followed I discussed about the whole thing with my mother at the end of which she said, “Beta, tu ladki hai na!”

And that was when I realised that I am still considered inferior to my brothers. He has more freedom than me. It kind of condemned me with a tag of helplessness. In the modern era, no matter how things have changed, no matter how much people would say that sons and daughters are equal, in the back of their minds they know that sharp differences exist.

Recently I read John Milton’s Paradise Lost. God created the world in seven days. But there was nobody to appreciate his creation, so he created man in his own image and christened him Adam, he was supreme amongst all the creatures in the world. But, he was all alone. God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept. He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh thereof and he made a woman from the rib and brought her unto the men. She was christened Eve.

Adam says, “This is now bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman because she was taken out of man”. If a woman is supposed to be formed out of man, does that give him the right to own her? Does she become subservient to him? After all she is born as an individual, with her free will. Eve was born to be a companion of Adam not his servant or slave. Even God did not create any bias between them.

I observed that women are always considered inferior to men. I do not know the reason. From the conversation with my brother, I noticed that I do not possess the same amount of freedom (social or sexual) that my brother has. If he could go out and do whatever he wants, why should I be discriminated against? Why there is so much pressure on a girl whereas guys could go around freely? A girl is termed as characterless for seeing boys but guys remain unblemished even if he were to flirt around with girls. Why? Just because he is a guy!

Dont hate anyone

"Romance" - A Short Story Contest

Courtesy - Jyo's mail

It’s a story of a Brahmin gal who loved(loving) a non-Brahmin and due to
father’s compulsion married a Brahmin guy and leading a perfect life with
little happiness!!
(Some tamil words included)

Hi folks, here's my entry to the much talked about short story contest. The
story is not short though, I apologise!
When I thought of this story, I envisaged it and almost started writing
this in Tamil but only then did I realise that my written Tamil is not upto
the mark. ( Well, am not claiming my English is excellent, but it's
relatively better than my Tamil) In fact, even after I finished writing it,
I still felt the story belongs to Tamil!! Will mail it to my aunt and get
it reincarnated in Tamil.
Pssst, the most operative name in this story, I ripped from Thevar Magan
;)It somehow signified a lot to
me!

Dearest Appa,
27th Jan'1965
Hope this letter finds you, Amma, Raji and Seenu in good health. The
weather here in New York City is icy cold. But Avar sollraar- I have
missed this winter's biting cold. I still wish I had seen the snow… But
then, I still wish I had not left Trichy at all. I do miss Trichy, Appa.
You, Amma, Raji, Seenu, pakkatthaathu Rama, Vikatan, Ucchi Pillaiyaar Koil,
filter coffee, Holy Cross College, the Physics Department and of course
Sakthi. I know you wish I hadn't brought his name in this letter.But not to
worry Appa, I understand that you got me married to Visu because you
thought it was best for your daughter. I still remember Amma wiping her
silent tears with her madisaar thalappu and you shouting at me the day I
told you about Sakthi. Later, when the initial shock wore off you patiently
listed umpteen reasons why I should not marry Sakthi. I agree Appa, that 20
is too young to decide, that Raji and Seenu would have been affected
greatly by my 'mistake', the Agrahaaram would have scoffed at you… a meat
eater was not a good match for someone who had never even tasted onion and
garlic. The reasons were innumerous. I knew you'd still have objected and
offered other reasons even if he had become a Dhigambara monk. Visu on the
other hand, wore a poonal, he is the son of Neelakanta Sastri, an Engineer
and he researched about computers which is what made you jump for this
alliance. Am not complaining Appa, Visu is a nice man.
Tell Amma that I could not try her kozhakkattai recipe this Pongal because
coconuts were too expensive and Avar nenacchar that it was ridiculous.
Anyway, we went out on Sankaranthi day and dined out. He thought it would
be a good idea to invite the Chatterjees also. But I didn't speak Bengali
and Mrs.Chatterjee spoke English in an accent that comes with living years
in America. Hence I made myself busy with the menu card. They ordered
various species of fish,shrimp and a lot more of items I had never seen in
my life. I ordered orange juice and a sandwich. The other diners thought it
was queer coming to a seafood restaurant and settling for a sandwich. That
day, I learnt that Avar prefer pannradhu beef, pork, bacon and seafood. Do
you know, Appa… Sakthi gave up meat because of me? I didn't ask, he just
did. But then, Sakthi is not Neelakanta Sastri's son and that made it
imposible for Subramania Iyer's daughter Kalyani to marry him.
I will keep you posted on what happens here. I don't think I can make it to
Seenu's Upanayanam. Tell Amma not to get me a pattu podavai for the poonal,
I don't use them here. I wore it once and felt like a clown here.

Your loving daughter,
Kalyani.


Dearest Appa,
20th Oct'1968
We are fine here. Gautam is speaking his first words and I swear they
sounded like 'Dosai'. But Visu claims it's just gibberish. From your
previous letter, I gather that pakkathatthu Rama is married and settled in
Jamshedpur. Nice to know that. Please find out her address from Saarada
maami and write it to me. I want to keep in touch with her. I hope Raji is
happy with her husband in Madras. I spoke to her last month, great to know
that she has a phone. Do tell Seenu to study well and prepare for his
school final exams. Raji also told me that Sakthi is married now. I wish
him good luck, but I could not convey the message to him. Raji refused to
be the messenger and I know you have severed ties with Sakthi's father,
your long term friend Sankaravel, thanks to me. I hear his wife is his
cousin… He must have succumbed to his mother's wishes.
How did Avani Avittam go? Visu's mother gave me a bunch of new poonals for
Avani Avittam but Visu was in Boston that day. He wouldn't have used it
anyway, I haven't seen him wear one in the last three years. Gautam is now
playing with the spool of thread- mere thread it is, what else can I call
it? Gautam will not even know what it signifies, I guess. Visu is making
sure Gautam grows up listening to English only. He says it will make his
life easier. But I do read out passages from Ponniyin Selvan and
Bharathiyaar's poetry when I am alone with him. It's more of reading to
myself, I guess. I actually got that poetry book as a present from Sakthi,
it still has his scrawling signature in the first page.
By the way, Visu saw that book and asked me about Sakthi, I told him. Hold
your breath Appa, he didn't throw me out of the house. He is a good man, no
question. He said it is okay and that he doesn't mind. And then he told me
of his American girlfriend whom he was once in love with, when he first
reached America- Amy, a fellow Researcher who was in a brief relationship
with Visu when she was in New York. They lived together for 3 months and
decided against marriage, somehow. Amy once dropped home when she was in
New York. Nice lady, she was.
Ask Amma to send me Sambar Podi for this whole year. My friend Sudha is
coming to Madras next week. Ask Seenu to catch the Rockfort Express and
give it to her. I will collect it from her here.
Your loving daughter,
Kalyani.


Dearest Appa,
3rd June'1974
We have arrived here safely. After two months in India, I find it hard to
adjust back to normal life here. Gautam and Ranjana demand vadai,paayasam
and vaazhai ilai here. Visu's relieved to be back in America. I left a set
of my books there. If it's not in Trichy it must be in Visu's parents'
place. If you find them, safeguard them until my next trip. They mean a lot
to me since they were gifts from Sakthi. By the way, Appa, I found out
Sakthi's present address in Madras from Rama and Saarada maami. I wrote to
him. I am extremely proud to know that Dr.Sakthivel is a cardiologist much
in demand there in Madras. He was thrilled to hear from me after so long.
You know what he has named his daughters? Kalyani and Raagamaalika.
He called me. You know what, he's still a practising vegetarian, Appa. He
didn't revert back just because he lost me… He asked me if I still sang and
whether Gautam and Ranjana could sing. I could see a proud father in him,
when he claimed his daughters could sing upto Ra ra Venu Gopala. That's
when I remembered that I was once a good singer. I wonder why I stopped
singing, wonder why I never exposed the kids to Music and Dance. But then,
I realize that I had buried all that deep inside me when I left Trichy;
after bidding farewell to my best Rasika, actually. Sakthi. After the call,
I tried singing 'Kurai Onrum Illai'. I could not quite reach Charanam,
because of the lack of practice and more importantly because of the tears
that filmed my eyes and the constriction in my throat. I sang to Visu and
the kids one of these days. Though Gautam was impressed, father and
daughter could not just wait for me to finish!
By the way, next time some friend comes to India, send me a Sruthi Box. I
would like to start singing again.
Your loving daughter,
Kalyani.

Dearest Appa,
14th Aug 1978
Just back after our tour to California. Find our photos, picture postcards
attached herewith. After you are done with showing all family
members,relatives, friends and neighbours, pass them to Visu's parents. It
was a welcome break for the four of us. But I missed my paattu class
students all along and was happy to resume the classes again last evening.
Did I mention in my previous letter, before we left on the tour - I finally
got my driving license here. I sent a few photos to Sakthi too. He has sent
me quite a few records and cassettes. I loved it! I'm reminded of AIR,
almost! I'm circulating them among my friends too. And of course, playing
them for my students too. They are picking up beautifully. Funny news is,
I, a Tamilian, is teaching Telugu and Sanskrit kritis to a cross section of
Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada,Telugu, Marathi, Bengali students in an English
speaking nation.
The music sessions have resulted in a reborn Kalyani, Appa. Thanks to
Sakthi, really. I would have never taken it up had it not been for his
reminder. I am now thinking of what life would have been like if I had
indeed married him. I would have of course lost you and Amma. But right
now, with this life in America, Visu and these monthly letters to you,
Rama, Raji and Seenu what have i gained? I don't find an answer, Appa.
Neither do I think I ever will. Again, as I have always reiterated, Visu is
a good man, no complaints there. He is every bit the son in law you wanted.
Researcher, American Post Graduate Degree holder, a dutiful husband and
father,earning a comfortable income. I know it is too much to ask for
anything else. That is a fantasy I left midway in my life… Once upon a time
in Trichy with someone else.
Your loving daughter,
Kalyani.


Dearest Appa,
14th Apr'1984
Met Dr.Sakthivel after 19 years… He had come to New
York for business purposes and paid me a visit. Visu and the kids welcomed
him home with great pleasure. And they liked him too. In fact, they did
most of the talking initially. And of course, he got me a whole load of
books, cassettes, Mysore Paak and lots more.
Your loving daughter,
Kalyani.


Dearest Appa,
20th Jan' 1990
I just went through all these letters lying in my closet draw for years
together. These are letters I started writing to you and then decided not
to post. For obvious reasons. I could not mention Sakthi to you even though
I was itching to. Not because I was afraid to invite your wrath. I just did
not have the heart to hurt you, I know these letters would have hurt you.
Because deep inside, I know you were disturbed- you knew Sakthi was a good
man, you knew he was a man of substance, yet you didn't want to go further.
Society, I know. Family… I know… And all these letters would have only
wounded you more. Today, 2 years after your death, and 6 months after Dr.
Sakthivel's untimely death in a road accident, I somehow felt like
re-reading all these letters. To me, all these unstamped, unposted letters
mean a life that could have been.
Kalyani Viswanathan.

Why do we Yell in Anger?

A sage asked his mandalies ,'Why people yell at eachother when they are upset?'

The men thought for a while,'Because we loose our calmness,' said one.'we yell for that.'
'But, why to yell when the other person is at your side?' asked thesage. ' Isn't it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice? Whydo you yell at a person when you're angry?'

The men gave some other answers but none satisfied the sage. Finallyhe explained,'When two people are angry at each other, their heartsdistance a lot. To cover that distance they must yell, to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have toyell to hear each other through that great distance.'

Then the sage asked,' What happens when two people fall in love? Theydo not yell at each other but talk softly, why?Their hearts are veryclose. The distance between them is very small.'

The sage continued, 'When they love each other even more, what happens?They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each otherin their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look ateach other and that's all. That is how close two people are when theylove each other.'

Then the sage said, 'When you argue do not let your hearts get distant,do not say words that distance each other more, else there will come a day whenthe distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.'

Tug Of War

Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida, a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming pool behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.

His mother; in the house was looking out the window; saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could.

Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother.

It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two.

The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go.

A farmer happened to drive by, heard her screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator. Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived.

His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, "But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mom wouldn't let go."

You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, or anything quite so dramatic, But, the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of our struggle, He's been there holding on to us.

He did not - and will not - let you go.

The Window

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning, while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hang the wash outside.

That laundry is not very clean, she said, she doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.

Her husband looked on, but remained silent. Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: "Look! She has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this."

The husband said: "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows!"
And so it is with life: "What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we look. Before we give any criticism, it might be a good idea to check our state of mind and ask ourselves if we are ready to see the good rather than to be looking for something in the person we are about to judge. "

And oh yes! I almost forgot….I see you today much clearer than I did yesterday…And you?

Night Watch!

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside. "Your son is here," she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened. Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand.

The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement. The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed.

All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength.

Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients. Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.

Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited. Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.

"Who was that man?" he asked.

The nurse was startled, "He was your father" she answered.

"No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my life."

"Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?"

"I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me. I stayed."

The next time someone needs you...be there. Stay.

You'll be glad you did.