1. "People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
— Mother Teresa
2. "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
— Maya Angelou
3. "Even more, I had never meant to love him. One thing I truly knew - knew it in the pit of my stomach, in the center of my bones, knew it from the crown of my head to the soles of my feet, knew it deep in my empty chest - was how love gave someone the power to break you.
I'd been broken beyond repair."
— Stephenie Meyer
4. "Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up."
— Neil Gaiman
5. "Dance like no one is watching. Sing like no one is listening. Love like you've never been hurt and live like it's heaven on Earth."
— Mark Twain
6. "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” Jackie Robinson
7. "Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square hole. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
— Apple Computer Inc.
8. "Be the change that you wish to see in the world."
— Mahatma Gandhi
9. "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."
— Mark Twain
10. "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."
— Albert Einstein
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Apple Computer Inc.
"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square hole. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."
Friday, 6 November 2009
Sadhguru
"Our lives become beautiful not because we are perfect. Our lives become beautiful because we put our heart into what we are doing." - Sadhguru
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Nallur - Jean Arasanayagam
It’s there
beneath the fallen fronds, dry crackling
piles of broken twigs abandoned wells of brackish
water lonely dunes
it’s there
the shadows of long bodies shrunk in death
the leeching sun has drunk their blood and
bloated swells the piling clouds.
It’s there
death
smell it in the air
its odour rank with sun and thickening blood
mingling with fragrance from the frothy toddy
pots mingling like lolling heads from
blackened gibbets
it’s there
amid the clangour of
the temple bells, the clapping hands, the
brassy clash of cymbals
the zing of bullets
cries of death
drowned in the roar
of voices calling Skanda
by his thousand names
Murugan, Kartikkeya
Arumugam ………….
‘We pray, we cry, we clamour
oh Sri Kumaran, be not like the god
who does not hear, deaf Sandesvaran.’
Thirtham now no longer nectar of the gods
brims over but is bitter, bitter,
and at the entrance to Nallur
the silent guns are trained
upon a faceless terror
Outside
the landscape changes
the temples by the shore are smoking
ruins charred stone blackened,
on empty roads are strewn
the debris of warfare,
stained discarded dressings
a trail of blood
soon mopped up by the thirsty sun
Turned away from bloody skirmishes
of humankind the gods are blinded
by the rain of bullets
six faced Arumugam, all twelve eyes
close in darkness
The land is empty now
the pitted limestone
invaded by the sea
drowns, vanishes,
waves of rust swell and billow
beating into hollow caves and burial urns
filled with the ash of bodies
cremated by the fire of bullets.
beneath the fallen fronds, dry crackling
piles of broken twigs abandoned wells of brackish
water lonely dunes
it’s there
the shadows of long bodies shrunk in death
the leeching sun has drunk their blood and
bloated swells the piling clouds.
It’s there
death
smell it in the air
its odour rank with sun and thickening blood
mingling with fragrance from the frothy toddy
pots mingling like lolling heads from
blackened gibbets
it’s there
amid the clangour of
the temple bells, the clapping hands, the
brassy clash of cymbals
the zing of bullets
cries of death
drowned in the roar
of voices calling Skanda
by his thousand names
Murugan, Kartikkeya
Arumugam ………….
‘We pray, we cry, we clamour
oh Sri Kumaran, be not like the god
who does not hear, deaf Sandesvaran.’
Thirtham now no longer nectar of the gods
brims over but is bitter, bitter,
and at the entrance to Nallur
the silent guns are trained
upon a faceless terror
Outside
the landscape changes
the temples by the shore are smoking
ruins charred stone blackened,
on empty roads are strewn
the debris of warfare,
stained discarded dressings
a trail of blood
soon mopped up by the thirsty sun
Turned away from bloody skirmishes
of humankind the gods are blinded
by the rain of bullets
six faced Arumugam, all twelve eyes
close in darkness
The land is empty now
the pitted limestone
invaded by the sea
drowns, vanishes,
waves of rust swell and billow
beating into hollow caves and burial urns
filled with the ash of bodies
cremated by the fire of bullets.
But of course you're "Sri Lankan."
It was one night some years ago that I realized how deep discrimination against Tamils runs in Sri Lanka. We were all stopped at a checkpoint and I happened to notice that my friend’s National Identity Card (NIC) had some extra lettering to mine. At a glance, it somehow seemed more crowded than mine. After going through the paces at the checkpoint, I asked for my friend’s NIC to have a closer look. It was only then that I discovered all Tamils have their names and addresses written in Tamil, in addition to and under the Sinhalese script. I realized then just how deeply ingrained discrimination ran in our system.
I’ve heard the justification that NIC’s are written in Tamil so that the “holder” is able to read it him/her self. Fair enough. I’ve also heard the explanation that there are Tamil officers in the forces, so this’ll enable them to check NIC’s as well. Correct me if I’m wrong here, but are only Tamils checked at check points? If not, how then can this “explanation” hold any water? If the justification is for both the holder and reader of an NIC to be able to read it, then all NIC’s of all Sri Lankans should be written in both languages. Yes, this should have been done way back in time, but, I’d say it’s better late than never especially in post-war Sri Lanka where we are told there are no majorities and minorities any more. Yet, discriminatory NIC’s are merely the ‘tip of the iceberg’.
Just yesterday I looked at a Tamil friend’s Birth Certificate and discovered that it has been filled up and signed in Sinhala. Of course the form itself is tri-lingual but, as far as my friend’s knowledge of what’s been filled in, her guess is as good as anybody else’s. She can’t read her own Birth Certificate! Yes, one can get a translation, but for a nation that “prides” its multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural heritage and of course a newly established “Sri Lankan-ness” we all seem to claim with a gusto, should not all us citizens have our basic documents written in our respective mother tongues? Two friends of mine from Jaffna and Batticaloa told me that their Birth Certificates had been filled out in Tamil, possibly because it was difficult to locate a Sinhalese Registrar in the North and East around twenty years ago. But the reality remains that not all Tamils are from Jaffna or the East. Must they be born in a Tamil majority area to enjoy a fundamental right?
Another friend has five pages of ‘signed’ divorce papers she cannot read. Her husband (also Tamil), was provided with a one-line translation of this document, stating the clause under which she was filing for divorce, and by when he should appear/appeal to the Court.
Yet another friend was unable to get a withdrawal form in Tamil to withdraw some money at a State Bank. She was even reluctant to drop an ‘anonymous’ complaint into the complaint box for fear of being traced and possibly harassed or worse. If something as simple as an 8”x3” bank form cannot be translated by the State, what hope is there then for an official document?
I was also told of an instance where a Tamil had to make a complaint to the Police regarding an incident of assault on her husband. The entire statement was taken down in Sinhala and she had to sign it purely based on trust. In retrospect, she says that it could have said anything at all. Shouldn’t understanding and knowing what you’re signing be a basic prerequisite in a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic country?
I don’t even have to step very far out of my home to find examples of this systemic discrimination. A few weeks ago my domestic handed me a bunch of documents and told me that he was due some money for working in the plantations. He wanted me to see where he should go to collect the money and how much was due to him. The forms were all in Sinhala.
Think about something most people take for granted – ‘bus boards’, which are predominantly in Sinhalese only. A lot of State run buses have the tri-lingual stickers, but even here the font size of the destination in Tamil is much smaller than the name in Sinhala.
Responses to appeals made to the President’s Fund, notices at the Western Provincial Council Motor Vehicle Department, letters from the Grama Sevaka’s Office, notices in government hospitals – the list runs endless where Tamils cannot engage with the State in an official language guaranteed by the Constitution, also their mother-tongue. If Tamils are in fact “legitimate” citizens of this country, (as so vociferously proclaimed time and again) why must be there be a need for them to depend on/spend for translations, or rely on their Sinhala friends to interpret documents?
As a friend told me recently, “If I’m not “citizen” enough to be entitled to such basic rights as these, then don’t expect me to adopt or uphold a superficial “Sri Lankan-ness” that doesn’t even acknowledge my existence.”
I don’t need to tell you my friend’s ethnicity.
As originally published on www.groundviews.org under the title Even post-war, discrimination runs deep in Sri Lanka
I’ve heard the justification that NIC’s are written in Tamil so that the “holder” is able to read it him/her self. Fair enough. I’ve also heard the explanation that there are Tamil officers in the forces, so this’ll enable them to check NIC’s as well. Correct me if I’m wrong here, but are only Tamils checked at check points? If not, how then can this “explanation” hold any water? If the justification is for both the holder and reader of an NIC to be able to read it, then all NIC’s of all Sri Lankans should be written in both languages. Yes, this should have been done way back in time, but, I’d say it’s better late than never especially in post-war Sri Lanka where we are told there are no majorities and minorities any more. Yet, discriminatory NIC’s are merely the ‘tip of the iceberg’.
Just yesterday I looked at a Tamil friend’s Birth Certificate and discovered that it has been filled up and signed in Sinhala. Of course the form itself is tri-lingual but, as far as my friend’s knowledge of what’s been filled in, her guess is as good as anybody else’s. She can’t read her own Birth Certificate! Yes, one can get a translation, but for a nation that “prides” its multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural heritage and of course a newly established “Sri Lankan-ness” we all seem to claim with a gusto, should not all us citizens have our basic documents written in our respective mother tongues? Two friends of mine from Jaffna and Batticaloa told me that their Birth Certificates had been filled out in Tamil, possibly because it was difficult to locate a Sinhalese Registrar in the North and East around twenty years ago. But the reality remains that not all Tamils are from Jaffna or the East. Must they be born in a Tamil majority area to enjoy a fundamental right?
Another friend has five pages of ‘signed’ divorce papers she cannot read. Her husband (also Tamil), was provided with a one-line translation of this document, stating the clause under which she was filing for divorce, and by when he should appear/appeal to the Court.
Yet another friend was unable to get a withdrawal form in Tamil to withdraw some money at a State Bank. She was even reluctant to drop an ‘anonymous’ complaint into the complaint box for fear of being traced and possibly harassed or worse. If something as simple as an 8”x3” bank form cannot be translated by the State, what hope is there then for an official document?
I was also told of an instance where a Tamil had to make a complaint to the Police regarding an incident of assault on her husband. The entire statement was taken down in Sinhala and she had to sign it purely based on trust. In retrospect, she says that it could have said anything at all. Shouldn’t understanding and knowing what you’re signing be a basic prerequisite in a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic country?
I don’t even have to step very far out of my home to find examples of this systemic discrimination. A few weeks ago my domestic handed me a bunch of documents and told me that he was due some money for working in the plantations. He wanted me to see where he should go to collect the money and how much was due to him. The forms were all in Sinhala.
Think about something most people take for granted – ‘bus boards’, which are predominantly in Sinhalese only. A lot of State run buses have the tri-lingual stickers, but even here the font size of the destination in Tamil is much smaller than the name in Sinhala.
Responses to appeals made to the President’s Fund, notices at the Western Provincial Council Motor Vehicle Department, letters from the Grama Sevaka’s Office, notices in government hospitals – the list runs endless where Tamils cannot engage with the State in an official language guaranteed by the Constitution, also their mother-tongue. If Tamils are in fact “legitimate” citizens of this country, (as so vociferously proclaimed time and again) why must be there be a need for them to depend on/spend for translations, or rely on their Sinhala friends to interpret documents?
As a friend told me recently, “If I’m not “citizen” enough to be entitled to such basic rights as these, then don’t expect me to adopt or uphold a superficial “Sri Lankan-ness” that doesn’t even acknowledge my existence.”
I don’t need to tell you my friend’s ethnicity.
As originally published on www.groundviews.org under the title Even post-war, discrimination runs deep in Sri Lanka
The Ruined Gopuram - Jean Arasanayagam
Somewhere lost landscape
White sands and palmyrah fronds
Freakishly black,
All evening the pyres burn
Beside the broken walls,
The ruined gopuram.
Caves darkened in the evening light,
The turquoise seas bright with morning sun
Dimmed and went black.
Unknown goddess, guardian
Of the freshwater spring
Is silent.
The Brahmin chants his
Pooja to the gods, camphor
And incense stream out
Of the stone door into the evening light.
On the shore, the ruined temple's
Silent bell is cracked,
Thickened ashes falling dead,
There are no bells
Left for mourning.
White sands and palmyrah fronds
Freakishly black,
All evening the pyres burn
Beside the broken walls,
The ruined gopuram.
Caves darkened in the evening light,
The turquoise seas bright with morning sun
Dimmed and went black.
Unknown goddess, guardian
Of the freshwater spring
Is silent.
The Brahmin chants his
Pooja to the gods, camphor
And incense stream out
Of the stone door into the evening light.
On the shore, the ruined temple's
Silent bell is cracked,
Thickened ashes falling dead,
There are no bells
Left for mourning.
Friday, 25 September 2009
Monday, 14 September 2009
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
ஆண்ட இனம் மாண்டழிய, அருள்வாயோ?
பெம்மானே,
பேருலகின் பெருமானே,
ஆண்ட இனம் மாண்டழிய,
அருள்வாயோ?
வெய்யோனே,
என்புருகி வீழ்கின்றோம்!
வெந்தழிந்து மாய்கின்றோம்விதிதானோ?
புலம் பெயர்ந்தோம்,
பொலிவிழந்து புலன் கழிந்தோம்,
அழுதழுது உயிர்கிழிந்தோம்
அருட்கோனே!
சோறில்லை,
சொட்டுமழை நீரில்லை,
கொங்கையிலும் பாலில்லை,
கொன்றையோனே!
மூப்பானேம்,
உருவழிந்து முடமானோம்,
மூச்சுவிடும் பிணமானோம்
முக்களோனே!
ஊன்ந்தெய்ந்தோம்
ஊனுருகி உயிர் ஓய்ந்தோம்
ஓரிழையில் வாழ்கின்றோம்
உடைக்கோனே!
நீறாகி,
ஐம்புலனும் வேறாகி,
பொன்னுடலம் சேறாகிபோகமாட்டோம்!
எம்தஞ்சை,
யாம்பிறந்த பொன்தஞ்சை,
விரல் ஐந்தும் தீண்டாமல்
வேகமாட்டோம்!
தாழ்ந்தாலும்,
சந்ததிகள் வீழ்ந்தாலும்,
தாய்மண்ணில் சாகாமல்
சாகமாட்டோம்!
பொன்னார் மேனியனே!
வெம்புலித்தோல் உடுத்தவனே!
இன்னோர் தோல் கருதி,
நீஎம்தோல் உரிப்பதுவோ!
முன்னோர் பாற்கடலில்,
அன்று முழுநஞ்சுண்டவனே!
மின்னோர் எம்மவருக்கு
பிரித்து வழங்குதியோ?
பாடலாசிரியர் வைரமுத்து
இசையமைப்பு பிரகாஷ் குமார்
திரைப்படம் ஆயிரத்தில் ஒருவன்
பேருலகின் பெருமானே,
ஆண்ட இனம் மாண்டழிய,
அருள்வாயோ?
வெய்யோனே,
என்புருகி வீழ்கின்றோம்!
வெந்தழிந்து மாய்கின்றோம்விதிதானோ?
புலம் பெயர்ந்தோம்,
பொலிவிழந்து புலன் கழிந்தோம்,
அழுதழுது உயிர்கிழிந்தோம்
அருட்கோனே!
சோறில்லை,
சொட்டுமழை நீரில்லை,
கொங்கையிலும் பாலில்லை,
கொன்றையோனே!
மூப்பானேம்,
உருவழிந்து முடமானோம்,
மூச்சுவிடும் பிணமானோம்
முக்களோனே!
ஊன்ந்தெய்ந்தோம்
ஊனுருகி உயிர் ஓய்ந்தோம்
ஓரிழையில் வாழ்கின்றோம்
உடைக்கோனே!
நீறாகி,
ஐம்புலனும் வேறாகி,
பொன்னுடலம் சேறாகிபோகமாட்டோம்!
எம்தஞ்சை,
யாம்பிறந்த பொன்தஞ்சை,
விரல் ஐந்தும் தீண்டாமல்
வேகமாட்டோம்!
தாழ்ந்தாலும்,
சந்ததிகள் வீழ்ந்தாலும்,
தாய்மண்ணில் சாகாமல்
சாகமாட்டோம்!
பொன்னார் மேனியனே!
வெம்புலித்தோல் உடுத்தவனே!
இன்னோர் தோல் கருதி,
நீஎம்தோல் உரிப்பதுவோ!
முன்னோர் பாற்கடலில்,
அன்று முழுநஞ்சுண்டவனே!
மின்னோர் எம்மவருக்கு
பிரித்து வழங்குதியோ?
பாடலாசிரியர் வைரமுத்து
இசையமைப்பு பிரகாஷ் குமார்
திரைப்படம் ஆயிரத்தில் ஒருவன்
Fact of the day..
10 Downing Street is one of the most heavily guarded buildings in Britain. Apart from the decorative policeman, the front door cannot be opened at all from the outside because it has no handle, and no one can enter the building without passing through an airport-style scanner and a set of security gates manned by armed guards. In the first five years after Tony Blair became Prime Minister, 37 computers, 4 mobile phones, two cameras, a mini-disc player, a video recorder, four printers, two projectors and a bicycle were stolen from inside the house.
"Vast, awkward house. WILLIAM PITT THE YOUNGER"
"Vast, awkward house. WILLIAM PITT THE YOUNGER"
உலகத் தமிழினமே...
உலகத் தமிழினமே!!!
உண்மைத் தமிழினமே!!!
ஒரு நமிடம் - உங்கள் உறவுகளுக்காய்
ஒரு நிமிடம்
தமிழனின் தாயகத்தில் இன்று வெடியோசைகள்
சந்தோஷத்திற்காய் வெடிக்கும் பட்டாசுகளன்று
மனிதர்களைக் கொல்லும் அசுரவெடிகள்
விலகி விலகி செல்லும் தமிழினத்தை
வீம்புக்கு இழுத்து வீதியில் இருத்தி
தங்கவும் இடமின்றி தூங்கவும் வழியின்றி
உணிர்களை காவு கொள்கின்றது அரசபடைகள்
எத்தனை பிஞ்சுகள் எத்தனை உயிர்கள்
அத்தனையும் வெறும் மண்ணுக்காய்
மண்ணோடு மண்ணாக்கப்படுகின்றது
பயங்கரவாத ஒழிப்பு போர்வையில் படுகொலை நடக்கின்றது
வன்னியெங்கும் மரண ஓலங்கள்
வீதியெங்கும் இரத்தவாடைகள்
உண்பதற்கு உணவில்லை
உறங்குவதற்கு இடமில்லை
சற்று சிந்தித்து பாருங்கள்
அந்நிய மண்ணிலிருந்தாலும் சற்று நிம்மதி நமக்கு
சொந்த மண்ணில் வாழ்ந்தாலும் எத்தனை துயரங்கள் எம்மவர்க்கு
எத்தனை குரல்கள் ஒலித்தும் செவிமடுக்காதோரை விட்டுவிட முடியுமா???
எங்கள் உறவுகளுக்காய் குரல் கொடுப்போம்
உலகத்தின் மனிதம் இன்னும் செத்துவிடவில்லை
மனிதம் உள்ளவர்களை எம்முடன் இணைப்போம்
மக்கள் குரல்கள் வெள்ளமாய் பெருக்கெடுக்கட்டும்
அந்த வெள்ளப் பெருக்கு அங்கே குருதி சிந்தும் உறவுகளைசற்றாவது நிம்மதி கொள்ள வைக்குமா???
போராடித்தான் பார்ப்போமே!!!
வாருங்கள் தமிழர்களே!!!
இந்தக் கோரத்திற்கு நாம் சிறு அணைகட்டுவோம்
அந்த அணையை பெரும் மலையாக்குவோம்
தமிழையும் தமிழ் உறவுகளையும் என்றுமே எம் கண்ணாகக் கொள்வோம்
எம் தமிழுறவுகளுக்காய் எம்மாளான குரல்கள் கொடுப்போம்
உண்மைத் தமிழினமே!!!
ஒரு நமிடம் - உங்கள் உறவுகளுக்காய்
ஒரு நிமிடம்
தமிழனின் தாயகத்தில் இன்று வெடியோசைகள்
சந்தோஷத்திற்காய் வெடிக்கும் பட்டாசுகளன்று
மனிதர்களைக் கொல்லும் அசுரவெடிகள்
விலகி விலகி செல்லும் தமிழினத்தை
வீம்புக்கு இழுத்து வீதியில் இருத்தி
தங்கவும் இடமின்றி தூங்கவும் வழியின்றி
உணிர்களை காவு கொள்கின்றது அரசபடைகள்
எத்தனை பிஞ்சுகள் எத்தனை உயிர்கள்
அத்தனையும் வெறும் மண்ணுக்காய்
மண்ணோடு மண்ணாக்கப்படுகின்றது
பயங்கரவாத ஒழிப்பு போர்வையில் படுகொலை நடக்கின்றது
வன்னியெங்கும் மரண ஓலங்கள்
வீதியெங்கும் இரத்தவாடைகள்
உண்பதற்கு உணவில்லை
உறங்குவதற்கு இடமில்லை
சற்று சிந்தித்து பாருங்கள்
அந்நிய மண்ணிலிருந்தாலும் சற்று நிம்மதி நமக்கு
சொந்த மண்ணில் வாழ்ந்தாலும் எத்தனை துயரங்கள் எம்மவர்க்கு
எத்தனை குரல்கள் ஒலித்தும் செவிமடுக்காதோரை விட்டுவிட முடியுமா???
எங்கள் உறவுகளுக்காய் குரல் கொடுப்போம்
உலகத்தின் மனிதம் இன்னும் செத்துவிடவில்லை
மனிதம் உள்ளவர்களை எம்முடன் இணைப்போம்
மக்கள் குரல்கள் வெள்ளமாய் பெருக்கெடுக்கட்டும்
அந்த வெள்ளப் பெருக்கு அங்கே குருதி சிந்தும் உறவுகளைசற்றாவது நிம்மதி கொள்ள வைக்குமா???
போராடித்தான் பார்ப்போமே!!!
வாருங்கள் தமிழர்களே!!!
இந்தக் கோரத்திற்கு நாம் சிறு அணைகட்டுவோம்
அந்த அணையை பெரும் மலையாக்குவோம்
தமிழையும் தமிழ் உறவுகளையும் என்றுமே எம் கண்ணாகக் கொள்வோம்
எம் தமிழுறவுகளுக்காய் எம்மாளான குரல்கள் கொடுப்போம்
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