Leaves of My Tree

As a student of Air and Space law, I got a chance to visit the Vermont Airbase of the U S Air Force. I saw the taking - off of F 16 for the first time. I even got to be at the weapon simulation centre. As a lawyer, I always read the issues involved, but what impressed me most was the awareness that a child is still alive in me, when I was gazing at four F 16s taking off to disappear in the clouds... Take a glimpse and enjoy.

My grandmother always told me stories . Apparently, thats the best way to instill values in your kids. She told me stories of Ramayana, Mahabharatha ( infact my mother read the entire mahabharatha when she was carrying me, garbha samskara , she believes it has helped), Savitri, Markandeya, Chidambara, Nachiketha, Bhagavatha, Harishandra and so forth. I was amazed by the characters that come across in such stories. The good men, their patience, perseverance, determination, honesty, content, bliss in the most difficult times, faith in the good deeds, neutrality and so forth always made me raise my standards and expectations from myself much much higher. I have, to my knowledge lead my life till date following those principles. This has brought me in many difficult situations where I had to choose one of the two paths, stand by one against another (but never as difficult as in those stories, it is this feeling that kept me going in all those circumstances), control my desires and even tak

A song that made me think... think of what I would give to my children. Wealth, infrastructure, knowledge, technology... may be yes... I will be in a position to leave this for them... but what about values, bliss, innocence... ? I don't know... I am afraid.

A video that I received by email. It speaks about the importance of life and luck. Enjoy!!!

When we get so close to each other That we hold each other so tight, The little droplets on your temple and hair The desire in your eyes, dark and blue The scent of your body, all mine, so pleasant The warmth of your touch, the promise to love With our dreams and plans, through the passage of life, We shall be together. We are now close to each other, We have to hold each other tight. The droplets of sweat on your temple and hair The yearning in your eyes, both so dark The stench of your body, still all mine The touch, it is hot around, the compromise to live Despite the nightmares and shocks, in the Chambers of death, We are together.

My dilemma solved! I am an Indian woman. Indian society - a society bound completely to values. I believe in my society, in the values that my parents have imbibed in me. I have been a very good student and am confident to be a good lawyer. I have always wanted to achieve something significant. My mother, who has been a very 'success'ful lawyer herself has always told me that it is important to put family before career. I always wondered why she kept telling me this! Today I spent sometime thinking about my own self, my future, my plans, my opportunities, my challenges, my setbacks and my inefficiencies and strengths. In the process, the question that I have been pondering is about success. Is success related to profession or is it personal? Would I have termed my mother a ' successful lawyer' if I had felt her vacuum at home? I am very clear about the answer which would be in the negative to my second question. I have given my answer as a child and not as a fellow la

ಇಂದು ನನ್ನ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಅಷ್ಟಕ್ಕೆ ಅಷ್ಟೆ.. ಆದುದರಿಂದ ಓದು ಸಾಗಲಿಲ್ಲ. ವಿದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಓದಲು ಬಂದವಳಿಗೆ ಓದು ಸಾಗದಿದ್ದಾಗ ಸಿಗುವ ಒಂದೇ ಗೆಳೆಯ-ಇಂಟರ್ನೆಟ್. ಅದರಲ್ಲಿ ದಿಬ್ಬಣ ಎನ್ನುವ ಕನ್ನಡ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮವನ್ನು ನೋಡುತ್ತಾ ಕಾಲ ಕಳೆದೆ. ನಾನು ಕನ್ನಡ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಗಳನ್ನು ನೋಡುವುದು ಕಡಿಮೆ. ಆದರೆ ಈ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮ ಅದರ ಭಾಷೆಗಾಗಿ, ಅದರ ಅರ್ಥಪೂರ್ಣ ಸಂಭಾಷಣೆಗಾಗಿ ನೋಡುತ್ತೇನೆ. ಅದರ ಕೆಲವು ಮಾತು ನಿಮ್ಮೊಂದಿಗೆ ಹಂಚಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವ ಆಸೆ. ಅಳು, ನಗು, ಕೋಪ ಇವೆಲ್ಲ luxuries. ಯೋಗ್ಯತೆ ಇರುವವರು ಮಾತ್ರ ಇವ್ಗಳ ನೆರವು ಪಡಿಯಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯ. ಈ ಮಾತು ಅದೆಷ್ಟು ಸತ್ಯ! Now I will switch over to English for the benfit of those who do not understand Kannada. The translation first: Tears, laughter and anger are luxuries. Only the deserving can benefit from these. Don't you think its true?

I have been down from the past two days! thanks to the weather of Montreal, that keeps fluctuating forever. I have no clue when this weather will get normal for people like me who are yet to get used to this... I have been here for the past eight months. When I came here in August 2008, it was quite nice. the temperature was just too good for an Indian. It was about 24 deg. C. Somewhere from about October, it started getting cold. From December to April it froze completely. It is supoosed to Spring in May... well it did get green, but the wetaher is like a lady's mind ... completely unpredictable. Not many women would like me for this comment... I spent some time seeing Baba Ramdev's yoga CD today for I have avowed to start practising yoga everyday from tomorrow. I used to follow him earlier. I must concede that his yoga does really make a difference in your health for it did in mine. It was quite unbelievable when his kapalabhati pranayam actually cured all my corns on

ಹುತ್ತ ಕಟ್ಟದೆ ಚಿತ್ತ ಮತ್ತೆ ಕೆತ್ತೀತೇನೆ ಪುರುಷೋತ್ತಮನ ಆ ಅಂಥ ರೂಪರೇಖೆ ! ಇಂದು ಮನಸ್ಸು ಏಕೋ ಚಂಚಲ. ಏನೋ ಕಳೆದು ಕೊಂದಂತಹ ಅನುಭವ. ಬೇಸರ, ಜಿಗುಪ್ಸೆಗಳು ಜೊತೆಯಾಗಿ ಕಾಡಿದ ದಿನ. ಅಪ್ಪನಿಗೆ ಹೇಳಿದೆ. ಆಗ ನನ್ನ ಅಪ್ಪಾ ನನಗೆ ಎಲ್ಲಿನದೋ ಹೇಳಿದ ಮಾತು. ಅರ್ಥಗರ್ಭಿತ! ಅಂದು ವಾಲ್ಮೀಕಿ ಹಾಗೆ ತಪಸ್ಸು ಮಾಡದೇ ಇದ್ದರೆ, ಅಂದು ಆತನಿಗೆ ಹುತ್ತ ಕಟ್ಟಿರಲಿಲ್ಲವೆಂದರೆ ಇಂದು ರಾಮಾಯಣ ಅಷ್ಟು ಸೊಗಸಾಗಿ ಮೂಡಿ ಬರಲು ಸಾಧ್ಯವೇ? ಹಾಗೆ ನಾವು ಇಂದು ಯಾವುದನ್ನೋ ಸಾಧಿಸಬೇಕು ಎಂಬ ಹಂಬಲ ವಿದ್ದಲ್ಲಿ, ಅದನ್ನು ಕೇವಲ ತಪಸ್ಸಿನಿಂದ ಮಾತ್ರ ಸಾಧ್ಯ. ತಪಸ್ಸು ಎಂದರೇನು? ಕಣ್ಣು ಮುಚ್ಚಿ ಶ್ವಾಸದ ಏರಿಳಿತಗಳನ್ನು ಅವಲೋಕಿಸುತ್ತಾ ಕಾಡಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಚಳಿ ಮಳೆ ಬಿರುಗಾಳಿಗೆ ಅಂಜದೆ ಪದ್ಮಾಸನ ಸ್ಥಿತಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಕುಳಿತು ಧ್ಯಾನಮಜ್ಞರಾಗುವುದೇ? ಅಲ್ಲ. ಆ ತಪಸ್ಸು ನಮ್ಮದಲ್ಲ. ಅದು ಕೇವಲ ಲೌಕಿಕಗಳನ್ನು ತೊರೆದವರಿಗೆ. ನಮ್ಮ ಕರ್ತವ್ಯವನ್ನು ಅದರ ಕೊನೆಯವರೆಗೂ ತಲುಪಿಸುವುದು, ಯಾವ ಅಡ್ಡಿಗಳು ನಮ್ಮ ಹಾದಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಬಂದರೂ ನಮ್ಮ ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯನ್ನು ಗುರಿಯ ಮೇಲಿಂದ ತೆಗೆಯದೆ ಇರುವುದು ನಮ್ಮ ತಪಸ್ಸು. ಮತ್ತೆ ನ ನ್ನ ಕೆಲಸದಲ್ಲಿ ಹೊಸ ಹುಮ್ಮಸ್ಸು , ಆಸಕ್ತಿ ಮೂಡಿತು. Photo courtesy: http://kids.baps.org/storytime/valmikirishi.htm

I am not happy with the UPA government at all. I have no clue what made the people of India vote it back to power. Are we not aware of the infaltion, the price rise that we have seen in our day to day activities? Where the hell has our GDP stooped? Dont we know the meaning of that? Did we not understand the trap created by the nuke deal? Are we not aware of the caste politics that UPA played? Did we forget the fact that UPA infact politicised all the apolitical constitutional positions? Think who is our president and also know why she is one? Does she have any reason or quality to be one? What happened to the post of Governors in the UPA regime? Are we really looking for such dirty politics? Have we read the policy that both the NDA and UPA gave to us? Unfortunately the UPA does not have any specific policy... but why have we voted it to power??? Why the hell are we going wrong in ours understanding? Why are we still stuck to 2 rupees rice and 3 rupees kerosene? When will be grow up?

Well, I have not been a regular blogger though I have tried to be many times.. to make it more cliched, I have been regularly irregular. Today has been a very tensed day, I am suffereing frm the elction ever. India has to decide her next leader. I am quite clear this time that I want to see Shri. LKA as my PM. Well .. I know its tough.. but I have ray of hope. A hope which will help in hoping for a better and inexpensive India. The countdown for counting has already begun and so is my excitement. However, amidst this tension, I spent some time listening to some old melodies. I have loved the song ek radha ek meera, from Ram teri Ganga maili. The song made me wonder if I like my husband unconditionally, rather I questioned myself if I would have loved him if he was not as he is... and I came to the conclusion that I am not enough cultured to express unconditional love. But I was told immense conditional love will finally take to the stage of unconditional love. Awaiting to reach suc