BACK FROM BALI

 

                                                            We are back from Bali.

                      The Top and the Shirt must  have cost us 50000 Rupiah each

                                                               

                                                                        

                                                                       

GREENERY

                   Rev. Dr. Santy.S.Paul, KUT Seminary, Kannammoola writes

Greenery in this climate demands lot of patient nurturing, which is very well evident.

                                                         

                                                        

                                                                             

                                      

                                                            And I replied

                                                    Thank you very much.

                                                     All credit goes to Lila.

                                    I take the photos and send them across.

           Hailing from Munnar and later from Thalavady, Kuttanad, my fascination 

                           for the green and the greenery beats everything else

SCHOOL GIRL AGED SEVEN YEARS ATTACKED BY STREET DOGS

 

Manorama online 

സ്കൂൾ വിദ്യാർഥിനിയെ തെരുവുനായ്ക്കൾ ഓടിക്കുന്നതിന്റെ സിസിടിവി ദൃശ്യങ്ങൾ

പാനൂർ ∙ ചെണ്ടയാട് മാവിലേരിയിൽ സ്കൂൾ വിദ്യാർഥിനിയെ തെരുവുനായ്ക്കൾ ഓടിച്ചു. തിങ്കളാഴ്ച വൈകിട്ട് നാല് മണിക്കാണ് സംഭവം. അഞ്ചോളം നായ്ക്കൾ കുട്ടിയുടെ പിന്നാലെ ഓടിയെത്തുകയായിരുന്നു. നിലവിളിച്ച് ഓടിയ കുട്ടി നായ്ക്കളുടെ കടിയേൽക്കാതെ അദ്ഭുതകരമായി രക്ഷപ്പെട്ടു.

This is the visual image of a school girl aged seven years  attacked by  five street dogs as she was returning from  school. Terror stricken, we could hear her crying aloud - aiyyo, aiyyo - as she was running fast to save herself from the ferocious dogs. We could sense what went through her mind.  We were one with her.  Fleet footed, we heaved a sigh of relief, when she outran the dogs that were about to pounce on her. 

The report was in Manorama online.

The incident took me back to my own life at Munnar when I was growing up.

The year was 1963. I was in the 8th standard. Aged 13 years. I wore shorts and slacks. After a long wait I had a pair of shoes on my feet. My parents must have sacrificed quite a lot to present it to me. Our house was in the middle of a hill. It was below the Munnar - Mattuppatty Road and above the Munnar - Grahamsland Road. 

I was at the Government High School, Munnar. It was three miles from my house. I used to walk the distance from the school to my house for lunch at noon recess and return after the lunch. There were two buildings called 26 murry or 26 houses  in a single building  and 20 murry or 20 houses in a single building, the former on the top road and the latter on the road down.  My route to the school was the Munnar - Grahamsland Road that skirted the 20 murry. As I reached this location, one dog barked at me. I had always seen a large number of dogs there. All of sudden I saw several dogs joining the one who started it first. The barking became louder.They didn't stop with it. They started running towards me. I was afraid. I turned around. I ran for dear life. I could sense one or two dogs were closing in. By that time I reached the narrow path up that led to my house. I jumped on to the path and doubled up on that steep gradient. As I was climbing up the hill, I could see the dogs on the road. There were at least

fifteen to twenty of them. Fortunately they chose not to follow me up the hill. 

When I returned in about five minutes, Mummy was concerned. I explained what had happened. Papa's friend Krishnankutty Chettan was there at that time. He volunteered to come and help me cross the critical point. The dogs were still there. But they chose to ignore us. Past 20murry I told Krishnankutty Chettan, I would run to reach the school in time. I was happy I could reach the school in time despite the unexpected turbulence on the way.

 

QUESTION AND ANSWER

 

I raised a question.

"Three quotes imbibed in me."

Is it correct usage?

Here is the answer.

Yes, "three quotes imbibed in me" is a grammatically correct and understandable usage, particularly in a literary or reflective context. 

It means you have absorbed, adopted, or internalized three specific quotes to the point where they are part of your thinking or character. 

Here is a breakdown of the usage:

Imbibe (verb): 

While it literally means to drink, it is commonly used figuratively to mean taking in, absorbing, or assimilating ideas, knowledge, or principles.

Imbibed in me: 

This implies the quotes were taken into your mind/soul.

Alternative phrasing: 

While correct, you could also say:

"I have imbibed three quotes." (Active)

"Three quotes are deeply ingrained in me."

"I have internalized three quotes." 

The usage is perfectly fine for expressing that you have learned and held onto certain words of wisdom.

LIVE IN RELATIONSHIP

 

LIVE IN RELATIONSHIP 

Census 2027 will record live in couples who stay in a household in a stable union as married couples. 

It means there will be zero data on how many Indians are choosing live in relationships. 

The census should capture cultural shifts as erasers cannot kill any cultural momentum.

The policy makers' ability to constructively address how a society is transforming should never be obstructed. 

Live - ins are now are more popular than marriage in USA and UK

It is certain that cohabiting couples exist in India. It is a growing feature not only in metro cities.

But there is a lot of social animus. Never mind that Supreme Court has found it protected under the right to life and liberty. 

Hostilities are animated by the idea that this is not 'Indian Culture.'

But culture never is, never has been, a static thing. It is constantly evolving.

Indian mythology suggests that, once upon a time, Indians were much less puritanical.
..................................

Sourced from the editorial, 'Count us in,' of Times of India, 31.03.2026

SHREYA AND LATHIKA

 

Shreya  stepped into the newspaper's office with trepidation. It was just 1km from her house. Those were the days when buses were far and few. KSRTC had the monopoly of the roads in the city. The drivers rode the vehicles behaving as if they were the emperors of the roads. The conductors were happy tapping the double bell at all stops. It saved them from doing the work for which they were recruited.Commuters would run hither and thither. It was a cat and mouse game. The lucky few managed to get a foothold in. The rest trekked it to their destinations on foot.

The girl was 12 years. She was in the 6th standard. She was the errand boy of the house as the parents had two daughters only as their offsprings. No sons. They were shocked when the second child was a girl.

They did look after Shreya well.  However, they were always comparing her with the elder daughter, Lathika who had been at once beautiful  and brilliant. She excelled in her studies. They had the feeling the younger one would reach nowhere as they had thought she was neither beautiful nor briiliant.

As there had been no one else at home, Shreya would be sent to the shops to purchase everything the house needed on an emergency. Jobs, the sons were delegated at the households in those days. Another task she had been assigned was to visit the Gautami Hospital if anyone fell sick at home. For all diseases it had a single panacea. A few ounces of the red mixture as the medicine for anything and everything. The beauty was the ailments were cured with that.

Lathika  had  been awaiting the results of her final  year degree examination. Eight years the girl's senior, the sister had been studious. A topper, she had very good results all along right from her first standard in the school. She had performed very well at the second year's University examination  with an above 50% result for Part II.

As everyone considered  Lathika brilliant, it had been assumed, she would clear the degree exam with a high first class. Those were the days when newspapers carried the results of the exams held  in Kerala. Those were the days when reputations were established and reputations were blemished by the newspapers that published the results.

As Shreya loved Lathika very much, she  wanted nothing but  the very best for her elder sister.

At the newspaper's office, the staff on duty were surprised to see the puny girl. She was hesitant. Someone, to put her at ease, quried why she was there. She blurted out,"Result." She unfolded her palm, and there it was. The register number of her elder sister for BA English final. A kind lady came forward and took the scrap of paper from her hand. 

The lady looked up the  result sheets. There it was. It was a pass in Third Class. The lady wrote it out on the paper itself and handed it over to the girl. Though she was only 12, she could understand that her elder sister's result was not at all good. She began crying there itself. The staff at the office pacified her. They gave her two chocolates and told her to return to her place. The girl followed the advice. She took the short cut. She couldn't hold back her tears that were rolling down spontaneously. She just didnot know how to present the misfortune to the people at home, that included Lathika who had high hopes of scoring at least a first class. 

Shreya walked slowly. She took a long time to reach home. The moment she reached home, she was admonished for her ineptitude in not hurrying up with the good news that they all had expected. She kept quiet. She didn't say a word. She quietly handed over the scrap of paper to her Amma. 

A look at that, it was a big commotion. Everyone in the house were weeping. Lathika was inconsolable. She cried aloud unashamedly. Between her sobs, she was murmuring her future was doomed. No one at home slept that night

Time is a big healer. 

After a week Lathika's favourite teacher contacted her. The teacher told her nothing was lost with the Third Class in the degree final examination. She was advised to apply for admission to the MA English Course as there was a fair chance of securing admission with the second class she had scored for Part II English in her BA second year examination.

The teacher was right. Lathika could secure admission to MA English as the teacher had predicted.

The studious girl she was, Lathika had applied herself whole heartedly into her studies over the next two years. It was a commitment.

Her result amazed everyone. She had won  a second class. There were no first classes and there were only three second classes in that batch.

The moment her results were announced, there were four offers of appointment in as many number of colleges as a Lecturer in English. She joined the one that seemed the best and that took her on to 35 years of meritorious service as Lecturer, Professor, Principal  and Director.

Her students always liked her as she was an efficient teacher.

For Lathika,  wedding bells chimed soon after her results. She had a doting husband and  four wonderful children, three daughters  and a son. The children had grown up and were well educated. They were settled in different parts of the world.

Shreya  was happy for Lathika who had made it big in the world.

 

With new challenges comes growth

 

Tessy is in IT

He's good at computer.

When I needed Videos of three speeches in  a programme held at KUT Seminary on Friday last, I requested him to help out.

He responded:

I will try to get all that you said... I am not sure if I can get the transcripts. but will definitely try.

I wrote:

I sought the impossible because you are a wizard.

And Tessy replied:

I can definitely try uncle.

With new challenges, comes growth