Kids Are Kids. They Will Never Lose Their Innocence.

Yesterday was the much awaited installation of our Lions District Cabinet and being the Secretary of my club I was privileged to hold the banner of my club and attend the installation. As its said man proposes and God disposes I fell ill with a terrible flue. As my co members were leaving for the programme I was thinking why God at this time you put me in bed and that too when one of my favourite actresses was attending the show

Poor mom because she had to baby sit her YOUNG son she also could not go. Anyways I slept through and got up today a lot back to normal. So still on rest I was relaxing on one of those bean bags which keep you as cosy as you love to be watching one of my favourite shows on tv. Anyone passing by would get to see me lying in the passage. Suddenly I hear this shrill voice " Naveen Uncle how is your fever ?  ”I looked out and there stands Adi my club presidents son who is my neighbour. So I waved at him and said "Monu am doing well" the conversation didn't end there and there comes the cutest sentence I heard in a few weeks. “Uncle ennikkum ennale paripadikku  pokkan patteella athukondu ningal vishamikkanda" which means I too couldn't make it to the function yesterday  so you don't worry.

I was so touched . A young boy of his age taking the trouble to stop at my gate and call out to me to console me for the bad feeling I had about missing the function was actually so soothing to the mind. I really could feel the concern in his voice when he said it.

We say kids are new generation and they are more caring about their electronic devices....... No it is not. It is about the way the kids are brought up. When the kids in our times asked for time to our parents they gave it in abundance and we were always happy with them. today we as parents don’t have time and we give our kids all the gadgets instead of the time they ask for and we complain about the change in their attitudes.

What all my parents said  I did as a child I see my son and nephew doing then why are we cribbing about  the lost New generation when we are the cause for losing them.

A Year Remembered

One more page in the book of my life, the page of 2011, is being turned over. It has been a year of mixed feelings. If I say it was a page all written in golden letters I would be fooling myself. The page had a lot of black patches too. The page, as it turns by, takes me through a summary of what I learnt.

The learnings I have had have been tremendous and I believe the creator made this year or at least waited all these years to give me a learning of a life time. As per mythology Arjuna learnt so many things from The Lord in a very crucial part of his life. So I am sure HE has destined me to learn all what I learnt in the 2011 chapter this year only. Many have come in this life of mine and many have left.  The ones who came to stay are with me supporting me through thick and thin and the ones who decided to leave me and go have surely left a deep imprint on my life and gone. As it is said, life moves on and I still feel all this will bring the better out of me.

This post is a thanksgiving to my parents, my sister, my brother in law, aunts, uncles, cousins, colleagues and above all my good dear friends who stood by me through thick and thin telling me and mentoring me in the best and the right direction.  I know the learning of 2011 will be taken with me to the later parts of my life.

The best learning I got this year was that not everything which glitters is gold. Though we learnt it long long ago, we never get it to seep down in us and we tend to believe that calm waters are safe but, calm waters can also be very rough below.  People who have been known for years seem to fade away by character and you really feel that it’s your fault but later on in your solitude you realize that they were always that way and we only saw the better of them, thanks to the good in us.

Another important learning I had this year was not to take anything and everything as it comes. Check it and if it doesn’t match you and if it is unbecoming throw it back at the people who flung it at you. I am a person who does not react much, chip of the old block my Dad. But this year has taught me that where a word has to rule a word rules and where silence speaks volumes silence speaks it all.

My dear friends it’s been a pleasure and a great time we had together this year called 2011. Let’s all join together to welcome 2012. May all our hopes, aspirations and dreams be fulfilled. May the poor and the rich, the unhealthy and the healthy, the down trodden, the animals and all of us have a very beautiful 2012 which brings love, joy and peace to the world and to mankind.

Innocence Lost

A teacher in my mother’s school narrated this. One day she saw a rat in the house and she ran behind it and killed it. The 4 year old son was terribly taken aback that the mother did such a cruel thing. He went up to the mother and said “Mom you are so cruel you killed the rat. Now wait and see God is going to punish you. “The 4 year old was so sad and he went on around the place talking about this cruelty and how God would punish her for the act.

The rat was thrown out of the compound and the little boy was looking at it from the top of his compound wall. He thought it should be given a ceremonial burial. He took some sand and stooped on the boundary wall and with a lot of respect began putting it on the dead rat. The poor little boy fell off the fence and was bruised very badly.  The little boy after all the crying and sobbing late in the night asks his mom. “Mom you killed the rat but why is it that God punished me?”  What answer would you give the little child?

What made me think was all of us in our childhood were innocent and uncorrupted, compassionate and friendly. We knew that being bad was wrong.  But gradually we changed and today we have become so corrupted. Today, for many of us to be bad is no problem at all. Is it education that makes us too aware of the world that makes us what we are today, or something else? Why do we lose that love, compassion, true belief in God and unbiased love to every living being over a period of time?  

It’s a very serious question we really need to answer because if we could find an answer to this may be we could have very polished, compassionate , loving and giving, citizens for tomorrow. 

Looking Back in Life

I have seen my father take great pains for the family. He has put his hard earned money and directed great efforts to see that his nephews and nieces, abandoned by their parents, were looked after well and made to become good people in life. It was sacrifice to the fullest which did involve the sacrifice of the interest of his wife and kids. More important to him were these other kids, his nephews and nieces, who had no parental care and support financially. He did not want them to become drivers or load bearers on the street. Today, thanks to his efforts, they stand upright in very important roles, and sadly, for them, associating with the one person who made their life worthwhile seems to be a bother and burden of gratitude..  Is it natural that we forget the past? Is it natural that we become so blinded by the insanity around? And, do we allow unworthy worms that are incapable to decide what is important in life?

I don’t know what is important today. But I am sure of one thing, that a good parentage is a legacy you hold for a lifetime. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if people tell you that you have the vocabulary of a thirteen year old or that you are only worth selling vegetables in the rural market, but what really matters is that it is important to be a good human being, a human being who understands another human being and a human being who doesn’t forego his or her values to the society which constantly prompts him or her to do so.  You may have a degree from a prestigious institute, a doctorate in the best subject, and a whole lot of frills and additions, but if you are not brought up in a family where love, ethics, care  and harmony are taught I think all the other laurels in life get washed away forever.

This post is a reminder to all of us who have reached places in life to look back and thank all those people who made a change in our lives. It is important not to be ungrateful beings, which even animals aren’t. It is important to preserve our great lineage and prove that we have been brought up by wonderful people not wretched devils. Let us remember that our treatment of another reflects our upbringing and lineage. 

My Element of Life

I came home late tonight.  I stepped in at around 11.30 pm.  My mom was waiting for me with my dinner served hot at the dining table.  I was touched. I was just thinking how beautifully God gave us this life as a present which had the best goodies in it.  A Dad who is nothing less than the Lord himself, Mom who is an embodiment of patience, a sister who is the source of inspiration and a few good friends who make it worthwhile to be with, which is  beautiful.

Life as Naveen Manomohanan has been very eventful and beautiful. I realized that education alone can’t make a person a good human being. One could claim to be well-educated by virtue of trappings earned over the course of study and yet could be a psychotic wreck. One surely has to be instilled with the values of love and compassion from childhood, guided of course by good parentage. Today when I walk forward in life, I understand and value the importance of good upbringing and lineage which few are blessed with.

From our childhood our parents have always sacrificed their needs to keep us happy and even today they do so. Today was a lovely day. Back home I felt the love and the care a lot that still keep us bonded to  the institution called FAMILY, Father And Mother I (WE) Love You. It was not just about education that was told to us, it was taken for granted that we would study. But we were taught immensely about love, compassion and most importantly integrity that have proven to be invaluable assets. Today when I look back, I realize how fortunate I am and how thankful I need to be.

There couldn’t be a better or more precious gift I could be blessed with, and in many ways this post is a tribute to my family, which is so dear to me. I feel privileged more than ever to be part of a wonderful family while I know fully well that many others could never stand to benefit from this remarkable fabric of life for their own misgivings about it.

The Perils of Age – Perhaps

My flat mate, Rakesh and I were sitting over our breakfast coffee when an elderly colleague joined us. Around 65 may be, the obvious question from her was “ Son, can I order something for you.”  We said we were perfect and she pulled her plate and joined us. The conversation clicked off and then it came to the point of telling us she was going to resign. She said she was joining her daughter in a foreign country.

I was happy for her and I said “Ma’am that would be fun.” She looked at me and then to the plate and said, “Dear, at this age I don’t think it’s fun. I have become a mess. I need to get counseled before I go in with my daughter.” We were shocked. Rakesh exclaimed, “What?”  To which she said “I need to get counseled to stop lighting the lamp I lit all these years, I need to forget that my windows need to be opened. And the worst was this “Son, I feed birds every day in the morning. I am even expected to forget that.” The daughter had given clear instructions to the mother before she even went to her place.

I was thinking how many times our parents have sacrificed for us. The time they have spent for us, telling stories, preparing us for competitions, tucking us into bed. But somewhere don’t you think we are forgetting our parents' sacrifice? They taught us how to walk and now we tell them how to behave. Isn’t it a pain? Just imagine a few years from today we will also wear the same shoes. Imagine us being treated this way.

I can’t imagine.

When did we forget all the goodness taught to us during childhood?