When Your Sister gets Married !!

Yesterday was my sister’s marriage,
With all the blessings from the heaven,
With all the graces of the elders,
And with all the wonders of nature...!

It was raining all along the day,
And it was tears all through her cheeks.
The happy smiles of siblings glittered
Through the rain to the flashes...!!

Home, the place where she heard the lullaby of love,
The cradle where we played and lived together for years…!
It was in a festive mood and was decorated in each inch,
With flowers, smiles and camera flashes..!!



She wept when we left her at his home,
She stood drenching herself in tears,
Though they were known each other for so long.
Though they loved each other since long back..!!

Moments, where joy and grief make a mix,
Times where smiles and tears come together..!
A treasure of feeling to the dears and nears
And the epitome of pleasure for the weds...!!


Tears find it’s way again through her cheeks
Standing near to a flowering tree,Her eyes followed us till the vehicle turns away,
And the road looks long and as complex as life..!!

Back at home, we again start to live,
The siblings are away and the home is alone with us.
And now we miss her in every inch of life,
As we see the stranded home and courtyard..!!



How fast the time reinstates disorders to order,
And how quickly a home without her settled in minds..!!
But the home and the flowering plants still wait,
To see her smile and to feel her love!!!

Perhaps they too might be knowing,
That she is blessed with a marriage of her choice,
And she would be in full smiles ,
When she comes to meet us...!!!

One more Onam !!

One more Onam…! Again the time to cherish..!

I am not the one to blame our time or the change it has brought in our life. Life changes. We are living on technology that affects every bit of our life. Technology leads our days. We are connected to people around the globe wire- free.

Families have become as tiny as ‘Atom families’. The mix and match of lives within a family has become an old story, which we may narrate to the coming generations like this- “Once upon a time there was a family with 8 members living very happily...”

What is the root cause of this change?

As a single entity, an IT guy is worried about the Information Explosion. How can he find out those data which are so precious to him in relevance? No solutions, but there are some strategies.

One can classify and store them separate. It can be detached from the whole to limit his attention specifically on those relevant items. Because this is what he needs to stay on. Here his attention reduces from vast to tiny. Molecule to atom.

The same must have happened in our family concepts too. At least for the nostalgic village concepts. Population explosion is the herculean threat that has been perplexing the society since unknown times. Recovery from poverty and ignorance, a great achievement of the society, again tempts to set its way right back to the wheel. People started looking for new ways for a living, and many themselves transplanted to the so called ‘metros’.

This may be the beginning of ‘Atom families’. And now, these tiny family planets start revolving around MNC’s. People prefer jobs not on merit but on packages. And the ready made ‘package system’ becomes a best practice in all walks of life.

People prefer packages, if it’s for a trip to a tourist place or an offer to a trillion valued MNC. People analyze more practically to make decisions than ever before. We know very well, we are going to be ousted, if we lag a moment.

Then, here is the counter question.." What’s not right in dedicating our time and life to earn a living in this aggressively competitive world?"

What happened to the deep rooted traditional nostalgia...Then?? Onam of childhood, plucking flowers, creating wonders; master arts with nature by making Pookalam..??

We can create multi storied commercial establishments and flats. But how we go about, to have a go back to flowers and simple pleasures.

People say only memories left here precious to count...!!

No flowers with a dew of nature, No moments with calmness and serenity...! Everything is noisy...Onam comes out from minds. Media remind us...”Hey Onam comes. These are the programmes...”

We wish happy Onam, enjoy, cheer up....! But don’t you feel the stiffness and drowsiness of these words?? It's like shampooed hair of a girl; Does it look nice than the black oily hair with "thulasippo...?”

But here is the controversy, or more likely a true fact. This is the way life goes in our time. And it’s true that all our wishes are true and pure. Just like a girl shampoo her hair with all the spirit of feminity.

Still people ask... "Are the roses in pots looking good than the "Chemparathees" in our backyard?” No. never! But does it mean the roses are not worth and pure..??

In our time too, we celebrate Onam with all spirits..!!

We don’t have those ‘Onappokkal’ on our courtyards. But we do have those flowers in our mind as fresh as ever before.

Wish you all a very Happy Onam..!!

How if Zidane enters the Dictionary !

There are very many words adapted to English from different languages and cultures. Many of them were very popular and relevant in a particular culture and got adapted to English Dictionaries based on the high volume of usage among the public.

And there are words, which have done great business globally to find a place to the elite dictionaries. “Google” is the most recent addition to this. Searching has almost become synonymous to googling and vice versa. People tend to google for each and every bit of information, though there is plenty of subject specific information retrievers exist. Truly they are more accurate and specific than the jungle of results google creates, but unfortunately not so popular even to information specialists and librarians.

Well, I am not intended to tutor about searching and its relevance.
Xerox, Cola, coke, zipper...the list of such business and market related trade marks in English dictionaries goes long.

Khaki, pajamas, guru, pundit, curry, yoga…there are quiet a big number of terms and usages have been adapted to English from Indian languages.

Words like ‘copra’ (The dried white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted.), ‘coir’ (The fiber obtained from the husk of a coconut, used chiefly in making rope and matting) etc are examples of words borrowed from Malayalam language to English.

I was wondering about the possibility of adding another wonderful term to this list. The copyright holder, here is a person ‘Zinedine Zidane’ and the term is ‘zidane’.

I noticed a piece of news in “The Times of India’ which reads ‘Irish Jockey does a Zidane’. The news was about an Irish jockey who was caught on camera butting his horse. He is facing a ban now for that mistake.

The popularity, the zidane-materazi incident gained was amazing. It was so popular since Zidane who made (did) it. He was the real football magician in our decade and the whole world was awaken for his reign over the trophy.

Well, if it could manage so long in the public memory, what would be the out come years after?? Perhaps an entry for ‘Zidane’ to dictionaries and a tiny news column in some news papers
‘Two zidaned to hospital !”

One Year for the Departure !!

It was a day in June. Was it raining? I don’t remember now. I was busy for the whole day. We had to write an article on etd@IISc. etd@IISc was our project at NCSI and it was almost delayed to send an article to an International conference to be held at Australia. It had been decided on the last day that we have to write the draft and he will be reviewing it a day later. Ironically in that meeting he told us “Perhaps we can ask our Chairman to review the article, as he is a well-versed expert to review up to the standard”. For a moment I kept wondering in my mind “Oh...an eminent writer like you are saying this?? Actually what’s the need for it if you can review the same ...?”

Meeting was over and it was our task now to prepare a draft of the article. I didn’t have any clarity in putting up the things. And the article remained unfinished though the clock on the wall at NCSI moved a long way in late night.

I planned to get up early and finish the article so that he can review it in the morning hours. It was one of the bad nights for me. I closed my eyes only to face it’s resistance to embrace the state we call “Sleeping”. I believe I must have slept, at last, expecting the alarm ring to awake me. But instead my phone rang loudly only to hear a cursed news; only to feel a deadly shock: “He is no more in this world”
TBR was no more when I started writing the article for his review..!
It had happened in last day evening itself.



Gracefully I thank my friends helping me to be stable in those hours. We were consoling each other. But it was beyond all our strength and belief. And we understood all are same in his love and influence. All were equally sad and all were equally affected.

I remember that evening. We sat on the cement bench in front of the vast ground at IISc. There were noise and arguments among the hockey and cricket players. I looked at the trees which border the ground. It seemed like dark thick forest. And every evening we sat there after spending the most cursed hours in NCSI. We didn’t play cricket for several weeks. And it was raining that followed the days after.

Ram, KK, Joby...all got separated now. Staying miles away. And Dr TBR too, is away..; far away from us. But the inspiration continue still. His voice and smile is alive in my mind.

And it’s now exactly one year for our pains!! A year old now TBR in our memories!!

Falling of a Tree !

A tree falls !!
It brings down the branches,

Throws out the wind from the leaves,
And Stops the lullaby of birds..!



What was the tree for me?
What was it for the members at NCSI?

A tree which gave us shade by standing tall,
And by spreading thousand hands..!

At rainy times she took all the raindrops upon her hand,
And showered again after rain...
Raining the drops from the leaves,
Like the drops of water from a girl’s open hair!!

She was not the one amongst the proud trees,
In the crowded ways at IISc..
The road she stood was not always crowded,
But it had a lot to travel !!

She stood alone looking high at the sky,
And pleased all with her charm and beauty..!

How many times we sat on her shade,
How marvelous was the breeze on her leaves..!

I remember people standing and chatting in her shade,
On busy and crowded seminar days..!



The laugh and talk which made NCSI always noisy,
Don’t know – Had she ever complained??

The rejuvenating relief we got by watching,
the falling rain on her hands and leaves..!

All the times it made my day when I watched,
Her wet and soft face, standing by the window

And at last she saw the tears from our eyes,
When we lost a love of our own...

A face we saw always comes quickly through her shade,
Smiling and wishing all of us like a blessing from heaven..!

And it’s strange that she didn’t cry or complain this time too,
Who knows what she whispered in those times!!

But how silently she goes, Before the leaves turn brown,
And before the arrival of monsoon..!



She falls with no pains like a mother for her children,
And she goes from the scene to the unseen,
By keeping a fragrant breeze in our mind..,
And a sweet song of love in our hearts!!!

Commit Mistakes..n..dare to change !

The very thought of a change is inspiring. However sometimes it’s true to have anxieties and difficulties in coping up with the new challenges and scenarios. It’s always difficult to go out from the comfotrt level that one enjoys until the last moment. Quite often we would not remember the struggles faced in the early stages of our current job which we consider now as the most wonderful one ever dealt with. The fear of committing mistakes is the most important factor which refrains one from daring deeds and experiments.

We limit the world within the boundaries where our eyes reach. Stripe the opportunities with the narrow direction of our vision. The most important failure of common man is the 'fear of mistakes'. Which bars him from adventures and new ventures. We often forget the basics. How many times you made mistakes while learning addition and subtraction? Did you stop all your mathematics by reasoning the failure caused in that effort? The most beautiful and rightful skill is the “ability to commit, admit and correct mistakes”. The courage to commit and correct mistakes. Mistakes and its subsequent correction only make ape man.

The burning I suffered on my forefinger in my childhood while taking an “appam” from the skillet is one of my lessons with fire. That mistake taught me a lesson. I remember I did enjoy it with pain. And that made me knowledgeable to identify fire and the ways to take the same “appam” in more effective and safe manner. A small mistake has done the trick. It advocates wisdom. It offers opportunities to change the attitude and pave a path of knowledge. Mistakes carry a lesson to learn.

I feel that the most important gaining mistakes give in is the clarity of knowledge. Assume two persons did a work, one person committed a mistake and the other one did it without a mistake. And suppose the two are giving tips to their disciples to do the same job. And now the pupils are repeating the job that their guides have done. Here I am not sure whether the first disciple commit a mistake or not, but I am blank sure that the second disciple never do the same mistake that his guide committed.

A mistake equips us with practical knowledge to not repeat the mistake again, and it helps in offering effective knowledge management among others. This is the way the process of “changing” also works !

It’s raining here..!

How splendid the feeling!! This is the moments I expect to happen all the time, and this's the time I rejoice at the best. The thick and cold clouds sow the seeds of feelings to the earth and to the hearts... Sky embraces the earth with thousand hands. What an affair. Love that matters a lot. The rhythm of showering offers Beethoven’s symphonies. Sometimes it’s like … Like a folklore sung by an anonymous singer. It flows from far away distances and ... flows to the minds by wetting the bored days. Evoking the taste of life and songs of love.




Rain gives birth to greeneries. Grass and flowers stay crowned the artistically crafted drops of water. Sun again brightens it with the sparkles of love. Wonder, how a rain plant the seeds of memories in our mind? Memories of Child-hood.., School days...Wet leaves of trees and sighs of wind,..The stories grandma told on a rainy day,... Love...departure...!! Faces we lost in the raining of time...Teared pages of life...!! Memories take a rebirth here..!

And at last eyes start raining along with the whispers of raining trees. Tears of sparkling colours. And sure, at rainy times, there is someone smiling… staying high on the clouds... Dropping tears of joy and love.

Really it’s a heavenly feeling!!

Smile...Most worthy facial!!

How worth a smile is? Have you ever thought of it..? Are you keeping a smile while meeting and talking with people..?
A smile has great value as it brings the sweetness of mind. It disarms everything which stands against it. Most of my friends, I remember, had a smile at first sight. Even if it’s not happened at first sight still there is a chance. I remember how I got a good friend by a smile.

I saw him every day while waiting for the bus. Though we both traveled by the same bus it didn’t happen to have a smile each other. On occasions when we were alone in the waiting place, it seemed that a high-power tension had been prevailed in between us. The sharp and uncomfortable looks and the deep silence that surrounded us made me to feel us as two living beings from different planets.

Days went with the same mood and rhythm. I was thinking of a way to lighten the situation. And suddenly it happened. I smiled to him, and in response, he too. We chatted lightly and started to exchange more healthy smiles in the days after. And now he makes most of my days!!
How worth was that smile... And now, I cannot remember it without a smile.. !

Harsh Time !!

Few days before on my way back home I saw an old lady standing in a shop. She had an attractive face radiating all the virtues of a profound woman. It was sure that she was from a very wealthy family. She carried all the healthy looks to justify my assumption. Neatly wore white sari and the pleasant smile gave her a divine appearance. She was speaking very loyally to the shopkeeper and the maid who accompanied her also appeared well and equally pleasant.

I remember another woman of my childhood. She was from a very high and rich family. There were many who got a living on her mercy. She helped people with high spirit and passion. I was thinking how such virtues prevail in their character? How can they follow and practice the highest values of life?

The circumstances where their life has been evolved would have played a major role here. They have had a life closely related to people. All along they should have seen the life and feelings of others... life of the lower players in the society. And they must have realized the extra-beauty of wealth when it beautifies the life of poorest. I can see plenty of such Grand Ma’s still in the society.

I was wondering how to relate them with modern era? Women and men at IT time. They have a life related to products not with people. They are always in touch with profit oriented people and vision. All their thoughts are on outputs and the ways to climb the perfectly designed ladders of profession. They are immensely rich. They are driven by the value of dollars. And they spent that too. But that’s only for buying latest gadgets and shares!! In fact, there is no time for them for any other thoughts. That’s the specialty of new life-time.

I have seen many people who are never bothered to offer even a penny to beggars. And many who argue and bargain very strongly to gain one or two rupees from the street sellers. I wonder how the same people can spend thousands of rupees to arrange cock-tail parties. The reason is simple. The parties and celebrations are for their own benefit and pleasure, and to achieve their own aims. While the single rupee’s is for others. That too will benefit them only a time’s food at the best.

Some incidents make us feel ashamed. An year before it was on a pleasant evening I spent hours with friends in one of the pubs at Bangalore. And in the final hours of that night,.. a night before the dawn of New Year, we wished all the poorest who were sitting in the street. The street was thickly crowded with people and with their rapturous celebration to embrace the coming year.
The new day’s newspaper brought a tiny news in my attention. The news of farmers who did suicide since they couldn’t give back the borrowed money of Rs: 2000!! For a moment I thought about the heavy bill that we paid for New Year Celebration.

I Wonder how good it would be if we can spend a little time to think about others!!

Universities ..

What a University stands for?

This was the question asked by our chairman during one of the usual farewell parties at Indian Institute of Science. Deliver higher education, teach and model students to be good citizens, getting good jobs and command respect… answers flooded across from different corners.
Universities are the cradle of culture... How accurate was his answer..!!
It teaches nothing other than culture and values. Universities light the lamps of characteristics which evolve from the right mix of students, researchers and faculties with diverging streams of thoughts and rituals from different spectra of society. And it assimilates the virtue of this mixed culture, adds and transmits among others.
What else can bring about such a revolutionary enlightenment to the society?

The Blog Chemistry !

I remember I had created a number of blogs during last few years. And that's the only remebrance about it as I have forgotten the contents and ways to access it. This was the context to think about a discussion on "the usefullness of blogs" in one of the forums in recent past.

How can one judge "how usefull a web log to him" ?? Would it be possible only by browsing through each of such posts ?? Well I don't have any clarity on it. It's true that each blog will have something to offer. However how to cope up these with the time-work tally ??

The headings and titles of most of the blogs are fancifull. A judgement by titles may mislead then. And truly, bloggers and readers have to master faster judgement and reading tricks.

Well, you must have judged me by now.. !!

KM and Librarianship

Well, I have quite facinated with the recognition KM drives in its fold. As a trained library and KM professional I was wondering how to relate librarianship with KM. Or how to differentiate Librarianship from KM. Traditional library schools stress the significance of reference librarian as PRO. He should understand the people and their information requirements. But it never bothers to extend the intellectual capabilities and knowledge capitals of the person to the benefit of others. I would say that's the missing link. A better understanding of cross-organizational structure and culture mingled with a sound knowldge of the products and services and how relevant it is to the clients and rivals paves the way of effective information gathering and knowledge transition.
So there's the scope for corporate librarians to be a key player in the KM team.

Crazy Cochin

Kochi hosts another C- day tomorrow. The City is thrilled with the very game of Cricket. Both Indian and English players have arrived here. And the hot news all around is about the heat inthe city. The queen of arabian sea is too hot to afford at this stage. The humidity and moisture may beat cricket with it's allround effort. Neverthless the players will enjoy the backwaters and the breeze ..God's own breeze.