Refining our judgements

Today's post is on charity and whether the consequences of making no judgments are worse than the consequences of sometimes making the wrong ones. Theodore Dalrymple makes a clear case and I would urge you to read the article here. It definitely made me look at charity and the institutionlisation of charitable acts in a different light. The original post was made by Ramana in his blog which I read on a daily basis. What do you think? Please post your comments and views.

The 20p rice

How many of us (I refer to those who are in white collar jobs now) have actually gone hungry at some stage in life? Do we still keep grudges and resent the people who did not help us in a crisis? Do those feelings restrict us from doing good to others? I just happened to come across an article by the famous writer/director Sreekumaran Thampi on Manarama Online (you can read it here). It sheds light on the teachings of the great master Jesus Christ. To me he does not seem to belong to any particular religion, his teachings are for all. The Bible, Bhagvad Gita and the Koran teaches us all one thing: love.....

I think we all need to revisit the teachings of the great masters like Jesus, Mohammed, Vivekananda etc..

Read the article and let me know what you think!

On art and procrastination

Procrastination? I think that word was invented for people like me! I was not surprised when I learnt that I have not blogged for the past 2 years!. Well, I can probably explain it - work load, a new passion for sketching and painting, family commitments - whatever said and done, procrastination is not good for anyone, especially me...

Well, I will be posting some watercolor paintings which I think will catch your attention - not for their artistic excellence but rather for the lack of it - and definitely your comments will help me to decide whether I should stick on to this pastime or go dig up my backyard and plant a few roses....

See you soon!

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. ~Scott Adams

The price of fun.....

I was in my early twenties and in college.. at an age when guys do crazy things and later when their hairlines recede think " hey, did I do all those things?". Well, one day we decided to go swimming at Thirumullavaram beach in Kollam - I had a few litres of toddy (the kallushappu was startegically placed near the beach) coursing through my veins... I was wearing a bermuda borrowed from a friend (which, when filled with water, used to slip down every other minute) and was serenely floating to viewers on the beach- the fact - I was testing my knowledge of acrobatics, desparately trying to find my feet on the shifting sea bed...

Ben, my good friend, was proudly showing off his scuba diving equipment (now am I exaggerating, he had a snorkel anyways..) gifted by his sister who had settled in Ireland, and thought it was a good time to come up underwater and pull my leg. It was unfortunate for me that I had just seen Jaws, the movie, Part I, just the day before and images of sharks ripping off human legs were vivid on my mind. The next thing I remember I had my lungs full of water and was struggling to breathe. I was sure that I had been caught by a blood thirsty tiger shark and for a moment I imagined that my legs had gone. Well, my friends came to my "rescue" and after bringing up all the seawater and the precious half-cooked "kallu" from my lungs, I felt better. But the incident made me decide that I would never go into the water again! Never!. I did'nt know swimming then, and never bothered to learn it. In later years I did go boating and I really love to do that if given the chance again. But there are times when I think whether the fun is worth it.... 

That brings me back to the subject I wanted to talk about - the recent tragedy at Thekkady -all those good people were there to get a chance to enjoy their hard earned holidays and one boat has shattered their dreams and the future of those young ones..

They would be alive now if the boat operators had a standard practice of issuing life jackets, especially when this boat had enough on board.. 

Well, now tourists have become a little more conscious of safety - they have started asking for life jackets. This will definitely help the government to make lifejackets mandatory for all tourists and those people who have to depend on boats for their transportation needs as other modes are not available.

I hope the government will do the needful to help save lives in the future by issuing the promised rules and regulations announced post accident. Or will it be another face saving exercise till the next tragedy?

What is the price of fun?

Charity begins at home....

When I opened up the online edition of the Times of India today, I was greeted by a disturbing news : "Record 1 billion go hungry, says UN". I thought that was bad news until I found the next article -"India tops world hunger chart"! Click here  India ranks 94th in the Global Hunger Index of 119 countries, the report says.....

I had a good picture of India in my mind until I saw Slumdog Millionaire - it changed my perceptions completely. I knew that life was tough in the slums but this...Here I am, a middle aged guy, slighly pot bellied and steadily going bald, having two kids going to school, a doting wife, enough food to eat and a comfortable warm home to go to at the end of the day. I had never thought of a world beyond my family - why should I? Charity begins at home, right?

Well most of us would agree to this philosophy. But the question is should it be restricted to your home once you have crossed the LOC? (Line of comfort). I am sure there are a lot of people among us who regularly contribute to charities and I have high regards for them. What makes them contribute when they have their own needs to take care of? That brings me to another artice in the Times of India where the richest man in Rayalaseema (industrialist and Congress MLA TG Venkatesh) contributed Rs. 1 Crore to the PM's Relief fund - at a time when he lost his own home in the flood that devastated Andhra recently! I asked myself the question " Would I have done what he did?" I tell myself, in all probability, no. That is the time I realize that I am the most selfish guy on earth.

Now, what can I do about correcting this imbalance? 1 Billion going hungry all over the world and 230 million undernourished in India! No, surely I cannot help all of them! But I can make a start by conributing a small part of my earnings to help atleast one of them to get aleast a square meal a day and if possible, a decent education for the young ones. I don't have to look far, there are a lot of takers in my neighbourhood back home itself...

Just thinking about what I can possibly do makes me happy. I realize the fact that this small gesture from me can bring a smile to a poverty ravaged face somewhere..

I hope you will join me in this crusade. Let us make a small difference.

Charity begins at home, but should it stay there?