Positive Overtones

All cars have a designated period of living. When you buy a brand new car, it is at its infancy stage. Just like an infant, the car seems to be the one best thing at present. Its features are appealing and its overall look just magnetically attracts you. It also calls for you to adjust yourself to the way it is. Later down the years, as it gains on age, its functions start to slow down or give away. Not all of us get to experience this stage of the car because of the ever-trendy throw-away culture. Photo by Brett Sayles from PEXELS Anyway, getting back to the car, there is a peculiar experience I remember about our family car. It was when it began to show the first signs of entering into old age. One evening, after having finished our weekly outing, we were heading home when we realized that our car would not start. We checked the radiator and the oil tank but everything seemed fine. We were left with two options: jump-start the car or push it all the way home. Both options see...

Have you ever noticed closely how a dog eats food? In particular have seen the pet dogs eating from their bowl? What I have noticed (and I am sure it applies to all pet dogs) is that if you serve them a bowl of rice with chicken, or goat bones, the dogs would eat the rice directly from the bowl but would take the bones aside and eat them separately as if they were relishing every bit of it. In our community we have a Labrador who is very particular about the meat and bone pieces served to her. Whenever she has to eat the meat or bone piece she takes it with her and moves some paces away from her food bowl to eat it. It is an interesting lesson, the dogs teach us. Treasure your happy and joyous moments. Segregate them from all other moments for it is these moments that help boost your morale in trying and difficult moments.

Photo by Luizmedeirosph (from Pexels) In a village neighbouring my own, there is a story doing the rounds of some people who strolled into a house, occupied it and made it their own. The even itself had taken place some years ago but the story has been passed down, though it is done more in the quiet now. It all goes back to the original tenants - a family that was extremely wealthy. At that time the patriarchal system was so strong that the only ones who could inherit were the sons and in particular the firstborn son. Unfortunately, the rich family had no sons. The only two people in the following generation were Liza and Mia. Liza was the elder but was slightly shorter than her younger sibling. They were born a year apart but they remained the best of friends. Mia was a tall, average-sized girl with olive skin and deep brown eyes, while Liza was slim with blue eyes which she inherited from her mother. Despite their stunning beauty, the two remained spinsters for re...

It has been almost two years since the passing away of my grandmother. However, I cannot but reminiscence on her various peculiar characteristics. Of late, I have been reminded of her use of the phone. As I am doing some research on a topic along the same lines, I thought of just imagining how my grandmother would have used a smartphone. Now, my imagination can be a little far fetched at times and this is definitely one of those times. This is because my granny was very simple when it came to technological advancements. Anyway, getting back to the story; sorry imaginative life-event. For a long time, my granny had used the now almost defunct landline to contact distant people. However, some years ago we decided to buy her a phone. This would be useful for us and for her as she was one of those busy types (a trait I didn't quite inherit). She was constantly on the move when out of home and even when at home she never seemed to be at rest, constantly moving about searching for so...

There was this book I had read a few months back. It is titled 'The Giver' by Lois Lowry. She wrote it as an adventure book for children. However, it ended up as being a story metaphorically describing how life under a totalitarian government. But, what I found interesting has nothing to do with all this. It is more related to the title and the central character in the book. Jonas lives in a community where everywhere lives as equals. Those with defects are 'released' from the community. However, when Jonas is chosen to be the Receiver of Memory, he receives knowledge that adds greater meaning to his life pain, thrill, joy and color. At a particular point in time, he decides to go and share some of this knowledge with his friends so that they too can experience life the way he is experiencing it. This is what really probed me to look deeper into the way I look at my interactions with others. I leave you the question: In our interactions with others, are we givers...

During the janata-bandh in India, an interesting phenomena had taken place though only for a brief moment. While the whole of India was ordered to remain inside their homes for 14 hours, there was also a time where a sense of unity prevailed amidst this global medical turmoil. At around 5pm, just as NaMo had asked us all to do, the whole of India awoke for roughly 5 minutes, making noise or sounds of some sort or another. Some say it was in appreciation to the health workers who are risking their lives by working with victims of COVID-19, others say it was a way to ward off the virus by sending positive energy around. I am sitting on the fence in these two views. However, I have seen a further implication to this move. As far as I know, this has been the first act where nearly 1.2 billion acted in unison towards a goal. It is definitely a show of strength in unity in our fight against the deadly coronavirus

Venerable Simon Srugi lived a life of utter simplicity and humility. His apostolate was very vast and yet very few knew of it and of those who knew even fewer knew him. Born on 15 th April 1877, Srugi’s father had come to Nazareth as a trader in saddles. Hence, the name Srugi which means ‘manufacturer of saddles’. At the age of six Srugi had lost both his parents. He was then taken care of by his aunt and sister. He had done his elementary classes and catechism lessons under the Franciscan friars. In 1888, he was put in an orphanage of Fr. Anthony Belloni, who had founded the religious congregation ‘The Holy Family’. In 1891, when this congregation was merged with the Salesian Congregation, Srugi was among those pupils who welcomed the Salesians wholeheartedly. He was named among the Salesian aspirants of the Agricultural School of St. Joseph in Beitgemal. Srugi has shown evident signs of a vocation and asked to be a Salesian brother. At, Beitgemal he became a teacher, assist...