The Srirangam Tam Brahm Iyer Mami– Conventional yet unconventional!!!

Hi all,

This is just my attempt to scribble down my thoughts about those memories and sequence of events and few random musings here and there during my visits to South India.

The characters of any of these have no resemblance to anyone. These are characters re-created by me and I have just given life to these (with my thoughts and emotions).  The characters may or may not be a combination of few people and who seem to have hit a cord in my mind.

Chapter 1

The Srirangam Saga!!

The Srirangam Tam Brahm Iyer Mami– Conventional yet unconventional!!!

It was just like another day in the morning,  Monday morning blues as we call it but for her it was just another day of cooking, cleaning, washing, making piping hot and sumptuous food for her family and looking every bit the beautiful housewife( homemaker does sound better tho’).  She had a beautiful name Nandini and beautiful, big and black eyes that could sweep a man off his feet.  Nandini had every bit of feminine grace and sex appeal (that’s what men term it as).  With a Dravidian womanly built, slightly bulky below, saree suited her the best and she would walk with that feminine grace which will make your knees go weak.

Her day started with the typical rice flour kolam that adorned the courtyard of every home.  She would first wipe the courtyard, her saree not worn perfectly though, tied here and there, hair falling on her face, half dried flowers but the lingering fragrance of the malligai flowers (malli poo) still on every inch of her body.  The kolam strokes are beautiful and even when she is putting those she has a mischievous smile on her face (she is thinking something) and giving us space to ponder of what is going on in her mind.

She realizes that it’s already 6.30 and she had to keep the white colored idlis and the molagapodi (fresh ground gun powder) ready for her family.  Oh yes, her family, a husband who worked at the Government office and 2 kids a son and a daughter(beautiful just like her).  I forgot, she had her in laws too.  Nandini was every bit the religious daughter in law and her in laws loved her.  Who would not? She attended to everyone just like the Gitanjali express.

Folks, more to come about this short story (if I may say so).. so stay tuned!!!!!

Luv

Rekha

Keep the BALANCE SHEET of your LIFE simple and clean

I am the Chartered Accountant of my LIFE  and I know fully well how to balance the Balance Sheet of my LIFE.

It was just few months that this happened.  May be it was the last day of the school and I saw so many kindergarten children flock and were saying good bye to each other.  I am sure they would be feeling so happy that vacation was coming and they could play the entire day.  Many of these kids would have fought with each other during the school and also forgot that they fought.  But the best thing about kids is that they do not carry forward these feelings of animosity.  As we grow up, we forget these simple things.  With growing up, our ego also grows.

We need to learn a lot from these kids.  They live every day like a new day that’s the reason for their everbeaming smile and happiness.  Why do we as adults have so much of pent up emotions and feelings within us.  We somehow have built a wall around us and are not able to let go of certain events and incidents in life. The reason is that we forget that we need to be child like at heart.  That’s how life has to be lived. Ego rules us whether we want to believe it or not.

Two kids will fight like the worst of enemies and yet the next day you will find them hugging each other and walking with arms on shoulder.  It’s actually as simple as that. Everyday needs to be dealt with within those 24 hours itself and we need to settle that debt then and there within that specific time.

Carrying it the next day is going to be problematic for the balance sheet of your LIFE.   When the Balance sheet tallies, you definitely do not need an External Auditor to audit your LIFE.  Your conscience is your biggest auditor.

Love and blessings always!!

Rekha

Be Different but don’t forget the real YOU – Fall in love with your LIFE!!!

The sooner we fall in love with ourselves and our life, the easier it is to accept things and situations in life - Rekha Mahadevan

On days when I am bored, I love to do something different.  But I make sure when doing it, I try not to forget the real ME.  I love the way I am and my uniqueness, my traits, my manners, my mannerisms and all the crazy stuff that I do and love doing.  I am unapologetically myself.

I love me and this is what makes me love the things, the people around me and this is what keeps me going and happy. Things which I try once in a while are shopping for clothes that are totally new to me and that gives a step up to my personality.  Trying a new haircut is something that I would never have tried over the years, but I have cajoled my inner brain to do it, just for a change.  But the real ME is still there, very much grounded and rock solid.

One of the teenagers asked me the other day “What does pretty mean”.  My answer was simple. I said pretty is YOU because there can no one be like you and so what is different is pretty.  Am sure she was a little confused with the philosophical jargon, but minutes later, I could find a smile on her face and she went back happy and with a little more confidence in her bag.

The simplest thing to do is to Fall in love with your life because it is yours and you don’t have to justify doing it to anyone, other than YOU.

Love

Rekha

p.s.  Expressing gratitude and Thanks every minute of our very being on this wonderful planet is like attracting beauty and peace in every sphere of our life.

The Power of 70:30 ratio- Think about it !!!!

I have the same number of hours in a Day that Beyonce has !!!

I recently read a wonderful article about the rule of 70:30 and I was thoroughly impressed.  With common sense prevailing in me most of the times, I have always believed in the theory of 70 to 30.  But at times, the monkey mind goes on a tangent and my mind keeps swaying.  The easiest thing for me to try and cover this with a rhetoric “I am human”.

I actually did an inventory of the stuff that I have got and believe me close to 60% are things that I hardly use or use very rarely. There are stuff that gets accumulated, savings that are going to go unused.  There are moments when we love to do something but think of how our bank balance will take a drop.  Don’t do this!!! There is never ever going to be a rewind button in your LIFE.  So do what you wish to as this segment of life is not going to return back to you, even if you wish to.

We work hard for money, freeze it up in Fixed Deposits and compromise on time that we could have beautifully spent for our family and friends.  There is no intention to undermine or underestimate the importance of money and I will never do so, having personally gone through monetary crisis early in my teens.  So I genuinely understand how important money can be.

Having said that, these 86400 seconds of Life that we get everyday are truly wonderful.  With every day that passes, these many number of seconds get deducted from our lives. The reason for me to state this humongous figure of 86400 is not to depress you or myself but to simply get back those chords of life that we somehow have ignored or have forgotten. It’s better to be late than never.

So think about it !!

Luv to All

Rekha

She is Shakthi !!!!– I see her in the form of a Mother, Sister, Daughter

The reason for me to define my conscience as Goddess is just that I am able to relate to the feminine form, Shakthi.  There is peace in me when I think about her, see her and it is this reason that draws me to the temple, irrespective of whether she is a presiding deity or not. 

When I visit the temple on Tuesdays and Fridays, the first thing that I want to see is how beautiful she looks in the beautifully draped saree with vibrant colors like red, blue, orange, yellow and green.  These are colors that I personally love. There is a sense of calmness and peace that I get when I see her and my entire being is filled with contentment.  I love to read the Mahisasuramardini stothram and the Lalitha Sahasranamam. It is more out of love and a sense of belonging when I read them and not merely to satiate the religious beliefs that I read the shlokas. 

I recently read an article on scientific reasons to visit the temple and it somehow configured with my thinking as well.  The positive energy emitting from the lamps that are lit, the fragrance of the flowers and the camphor being lit somehow create the right vibrations and energy that we somehow may or may not experience in our homes. 

This is one thing I have wanted to write since a long time.  For me another beautiful aspect of visiting the temple is to dress up beautifully, wear flowers and wear something that makes me feel good.  Everytime I wear something new, I want to go and show her (The Devi) what I am wearing. It gives me a feeling that I am visiting my home and showing it to my own Mother.  Believe it or not, I have a feeling that the Devi has a twinkle in her eyes and she smiles back at me and there is happiness from within.

I see her as a friend, a sister, a mother, a daughter –She appears to be in every FORM.

Luv

Rekha

Accept and Appreciate your INDIAN Curves - Confidence is skin deep and FLESH DEEP too.

The very reason for me to write on Curves on this blog is for many of my friends and women out there who are not happy with their bodies.  I have a lot of my friends complaining about the bulges and a little flab here and there and literally leading their lives with the only motto of LOSING WEIGHT.  Many out there are not happy with their bodies for whatever reasons.  It’s a sincere request from my side that we need to change our thinking and just see how wonderfully our body responds.  Sending out wrong signals to our body is only going to cause more stress and depression.

I come across a lot of teens nowadays who starve themselves and want to look as thin and skinny trying to ape the West.  With no offence meant to anyone, I personally feel that as Indians we are endowed with a beautiful skin and well-endowed body.  For me, an Indian woman is blessed with the right curves, a beautiful body and each one of us need to be proud of it.  Curves have been and will always remain and the sooner we accept it, the easier it is going to be for us.

Trends would come and go, but CURVES STILL RULE.  A healthy complexion, be it a wheatish complexion or a tanned skin is going to look beautiful on the Indian woman.   There is absolutely no need for us to ape the West.  The Westerners have  mind of their own.  Let’s have ours too.  We have seen most of our celebrities and media representing INDIA at the International level wearing the six yard wonder and looking absolutely stunning in it. I feel happy when I see them receiving awards and accolades and speaking with such confidence and carrying themselves so perfectly.

Just like me, many of my friends are comfortable carrying a Western outfit as well as a saree so confidently and brilliantly.  It is difficult for me to imagine a Westerner wearing a saree minus the curves. 

So be confident in your skin, flesh and mind.  Be happy with your curves as we are blessed to be born in this beautiful country with good climate, 4 seasons and lot of sunshine.  Everything about India is beautiful and natural. So why not your curves ?  Think about it  !!!!

Signing off for now!!!

Luv

Rekha

Amma Pleazzzzzzzzzzzz- The Umbilical Cord connect

"Amma" Pleazzzzzzzzzzzz- The Umbilical Cord connect

First of all wishing all mothers a very very Happy Mother’s Day

After a break, I am here wishing all the Mothers on this beautiful planet a very very Happy Mother’s Day. On this day, I want to thank my "Amma" for having given me this beautiful life.  Most of the times, life has been fair to me and of course beautiful and during the not so beautiful times, I call out “Amma Please”.  For me she is the placebo, when she is around and when I just see her I feel good.  Just like any other child, I have my bouts of fights, arguments and bouts of moods, but she is there for me, I know.

The mother daughter relationship strengthens when we become mothers.  We are able to relate to her in a better fashion.  The same is true for me as well.   The relationship that I share with my daughter is different from the one that I share with my mother.  I am her mother, friend, confidante (most of the times). 

A woman has the natural instincts of a mother even when she is very young.  She plays the role of a mother when she is an elder sister and has siblings around. She again becomes a mother to her parents when they are aging.  She also plays the role of a mother to her husband.  We have multifaceted roles to play and MOTHERS are truly a rare species.

When we are down are not feeling good about ourselves, the first person to know that we are not okay is our mother.  What is this connect, it is the umbilical cord connect which only a mother and child knows.  When we are happy, they are happy, when we are sad, her heart cries.  The magic of the umbilical cord is such that we can never separate ourselves from our mother.

The only day when your mother smiled when you cried-  Such a beautiful statement made by Dr. Kalam. 

Love you so much "Amma" for being there for me always!!

Love to all and love your moms, you only get one life and one MOM.

Rekha Mahadevan