புலி உலாவும் சோலை (Forests where tigers roam)

Read this poem in Kurunthogai , from Sujatha's 401 Kaathal Kavithagal

(குறுந்தொகை பாடல் 237. பாலை தலைவன் கூற்று )

அஞ்சுவது அறியாது , அமர் துணை தழீஇ

நெஞ்சு நப்பிரிந்தன்று ஆயினும் எஞ்சிய,

கை பிணி நெகிழின் அஃது எவனோ நன்றும்

சேய  அம்ம , இருவாம் இடையே

மாக் கடல் திரையின் முழங்கி , வலன் ஏர்பு

கோட்  புலி வழங்கும் சோலை

எனைத்து என்று எண்ணுகோ முயக்கிடை மலைவே

பொருள் :

அஞ்சாமல் அவளைத் தழுவ

என் நெஞ்சம் விரும்பி

என்னை பிரிந்து சென்றது .

ஆனால் என்ன பயன் ?

கையால் தழுவ முடியாது .

எனக்கும் அவளுக்கும்

அதுக தூரம் .

இடையே கடல்போல் ஆரவாரிக்கும்

புலி உலவும் சோலைகள்

எத்தனை என்று எண்ணுவேன் ?


My crude English translation:

My heart left me alone sans fear,
Yearning to hug her .
What can it do, little heart,
My hands can't touch her.
Can't say how many,
Are the forests, where tigers roam,
Stand between us!


Was wondering how many forests were in TamilNadu that time ( more than 1000 years ago!)  populated with tigers.. It's sad to compare with today's tiger population in the world!

(p.s. : Read this when I was missing my wife on a Saturday evening, who is out-of-station :-(  )

Read in Nila's Kavithaigal

தவிர்த்தலுக்கென்றே ஒரு பார்வை வைத்திருக்கிறாய் நீ

தவித்தலுக்கென்றே ஓர் இதயம் வைத்திருக்கிறேன் நான் ..

Uglier sides!

We rarely get to see the uglier sides of our minds. Don't we?

It comes to our notice only when there is desperation. And desperation doesn't arise very often in our very secured lives and it seldom comes to our notice.

We are most of the time under the impression we aren't like that and when it comes to our notice as in a desperation, it leads to bad feeling. A conflict arises then. "Why was I like that when I am not that?", is what buzzes in the mind. It was already there. It just surfaced. So what is the solution? Choose good or ugly based on morals laid out by the society or go by survival instincts? Going by survival instincts is what comes naturally, but we don't want to do that naturally because it hurts human ego. Acting by the morals laid out by the society earns a reputation and wears a mask over your face and you can be comfortable with people. Either way, once you see your ugly side, it is difficult to hide from self. But why call it ugly at all is what I don't understand..

I welcome answers if any!

(p.s.: I really liked Jokers role in exposing peoples uglier side in The Dark Knight)

Escapes...

There is this desire to escape from daily routine, from a relationship no longer alive, and from knowledge which is always becoming stale. You choose one kind of escape, I another, and my particular brand is always assumed to be more worthwhile than yours; but all escape, whether in the form of an ideal, the cinema, or the church, is harmful, leading to illusion and mischief. Psychological escapes are more harmful than the obvious ones, being more subtle and complex and therefore more difficult to discover. The silence that is made up through disciplines, controls, resistances, positive or negative, is a result, an effect and so not creative; it is dead.

There is a silence which is not a reaction, a result; a silence which is not the outcome of stimulation, of sensation; a silence which is not put together, not a conclusion. It comes into being when the process of thought is understood. Thought is the response of memory, of determined conclusions, conscious or unconscious; this memory dictates action according to pleasure and pain. So ideas control action and hence there is conflict between action and idea. This conflict is always with us, and as it intensifies there is an urge to be free from it; but until this conflict is understood and resolved, any attempt to be free from it is an escape. As long as action is approximating to an idea, conflict is inevitable. Only when action is free from idea does conflict cease.

' But how can action ever be free from idea? Surely, there can be action without there being ideation first. Action follows idea, and I cannot possibly imagine any action which is not the result of idea.'

Idea is the outcome of memory; Idea is the verbalization of memory; idea is an inadequate reaction to challenge, to life. Adequate response to life is action. We respond ideationally in order to safeguard ourselves against action. Ideas limit action. There is safety in the field of ideas, but not in action; so action is made subservient to idea. Idea is the self-protective pattern for action. In intense crisis there is direct action, freed from idea. It is against this spontaneous action that the mind is disciplined itself; and as with most of us the mind is dominant, ideas act as a brake on action and hence there is friction between action and ideation.

' I find my mind wandering off to that happy experience of the Engadine (or the Himalayas as we often say). Is it an escape to relive that experience in memory?'

Obviously. The actual is your life in the present; this crowded street, your business, your immediate relationships. If these were pleasing and gratifying, the Engadine( is a long valley in the Swiss Alpss located in the canton of Graubünden in southeast Switzerland.) would fade away; but as the actual is confusing and painful, you turn to an experience, but it is finished; you give it life only through memory. The present being dull, shallow, we turn to the past or look at a self-projected future. To escape from the present inevitably leads to illusion. To see the present as it actually is, without condemnation or justification, is to understand 'what is', and then there is action which brings about a transformation in 'what is'.

- An excerpt from "Commentaries on living" - J Krishnamurthi. I felt this is one common thing everyone experiences. So I thought if the problem is understood, There won't be a need to escape..

Vinnai thaandi varuvaaya

Vinnai thaandi varuvaaya was good! Trisha's characterization was good and consistent till the end. These kind of emotions get rarely portrayed in Tamil films... Personal opinion. Liked it.
Goutham Menon could have made this movie some time before :P
And, man! Trisha is stunning... And obviously couldnt believe its Silambarasan.

p.s: could have named it appaavai thaandi varuvaaya

How mysterious are you?

What's the fun in being predictable? Are you unpredictable is the question.. Complicated and inconsistent responses to situations makes you unpredictable. There is another way - not letting others know you in detail. Brain has evolved to an unfathomable extent that it complicates the responses to situations intentionally making people mysterious about the ways you respond. That kind of responses are being called matured responses by the society. Keeping it simple is not fun it seems. You have to have atleast one more face above your face.
I could rationalize unpredictable responses only as a survival instinct. But brain gets habituated in responding that way even when something doesn't jeopardize its survival. Isn't that hypocritical? People's responses at situations like that are callous. If everyone can live without emotions, it wouldn't matter. Lot of Jokers(played by Heath Ledger,as in The Dark Knight) are required to make people realize what they really are!
People,Hypocrisy is ugly!

ஹைக்கூ ?

ஒற்றை மரத்தடி

காலி புத்தகம்

பேனாவில் மை தீர்ந்திருந்தது.

தாகம் தீர்க்க

கானல் நீரை

நோக்கி நடந்தேன்

அவளுக்காக காத்திருக்கையில்.

காலை இளம்பனி

நதியில் ஓடம்

துடுப்பு இன்றி

நெற்றியின் பொட்டை

சுற்றி வரைந்த

ஒற்றை புள்ளி கோலம்

உன் முகம்

இவற்றில் எவை ஹைக்கூ அல்ல என்று உங்களால் கூற இயன்றால் ,

உங்களுக்கு ஒரு சபாஷ்! ஹைக்கூ எழுத விதி முறைகள் உள்ளன. அறிய விழைந்தால் சுஜாதாவின் "ஹைக்கூ - ஓர் அறிமுகம்" படியுங்கள்.

( சிந்து மேனனின் முகம் போருந்தியதென எண்ணினேன்! தவிர அவரை நினைத்து எழுதவில்லை ! எழுதினாலும் தவறில்லை !)

உண்மைகள் !

'பெரிய உண்மைகள் பரம எளிமையானவை 'என்று எதையோ ஆரம்பத்தில் உளறினேன் . பல்லாயிரம் ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்னால் பாரதியின் தாத்தாவும் என் தாத்தாவும் ' ஒருவரே ' என்று பின்னோக்கிய உயிர்ப் பயணத்தில் சாதாரணமாகத் தெரிந்து கொள்ள முடியாதா என்ன? இன்னும் பின்னாடி போனால் இதுவரை பிறந்ததும் ஒரே மனிதன் .... ஆயிரம் கோடி பெயர் ரூபங்களில் அவன் ... அவனே காசி . அவனே மார்டின் .. நாம , ரூப மயக்கங்கள். தனித்தனியே உயிர்ப் 'பற்றுகள்' . உலகில் யார் ஒருவர் இறந்தாலும் அது நான் தான். உயிர் வாழ்தலே காலத்தின் ஒரு தற்காலிக ஏற்பாடு தான். சாதாரண பொது புத்தியில் உணரலாமே மனிதா! ஒருவனே பிறக்கிறான். ஒருவனே இறக்கிறான். இதனால் பிறப்புக்கும், இறப்புக்கும் 'தனி' அர்த்தம் எதுவுமில்லை என்று பொது புத்தி(common sense) கொண்டே புரியலாமே! இதனையே பூனை, புலி, கரும்பு, வேம்பு, கரப்பான், கொசு, புல்லென்று, சகல உயிர் ராசிகளுக்கும் பொருத்திக் கொள்ளலாம். 'உயிர்' வெளிப்பாட்டின் எண்ணற்ற உடல் வடிவங்கள். இந்த வடிவங்களில் மயங்குவதும் முயங்குவதும் வாழ்க்கை. வடிவங்களை பெயர்களால் அடையாள படுத்திக்கொண்டு வதைப்பட்டுகொண்டிருக்கிறோம் .

நன்றி : பாதசாரி , 'மனநிழல்'

மழை, ஜூலை 2002 இதழிலிருந்து

quoted from : 'உயிரின் ரகசியம்' - சுஜாதா

It all boils down to this!

"Nothing is more chastening to human vanity than the realization that the richness of our mental life — all our thoughts, feelings, emotions, even what we regard as our intimate self—arises exclusively from the activity of little wisps of protoplasm in the brain."

Quoted by - Vilayanur. S. Ramachandran and William Hirstein , Brain and Perception Laboratory, 0109, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, USA

In - "Three Laws of Qualia - What Neurology Tells Us about the Biological Functions of Consciousness, Qualia and the Self"

From - "Journal of Consciousness Studies, 4, No. 5-6, 1997, pp. 429–58"

(Qualia are the ‘raw feels’ of conscious experience: the painfulness of pain, the redness of red. Qualia give human conscious experience the particular character that it has. For instance, imagine a red square; that conscious experience has (at least) two qualia: a colour quale, responsible for your sensation of redness, and a shape quale, responsible for the square appearance of the imagined object.)

Read more about qualia in http://www.imprint.co.uk/rama/qualia.pdf

மழையும் உண்டு ...

'பாரி பாரி' என்று பல ஏத்தி,

ஒருவற் புகழ்வர், செந் நாப் புலவர்;

பாரி ஒருவனும் அல்லன் ;

மாரியும் உண்டு , ஈண்டு உலகு புரப்பதுவே .

பாரி பாரி என்று

ஒருவனையே புகழ்வர் புலவர் அனைவரும்.

பாரி ஒருவன் மட்டும் இல்லை

மழையும் உண்டு

உலகை காக்க!

புறநானூறு - பாடல் 107

பாடியவர் - கபிலர்

பாடப்பெற்றவர் - வேள்பாரி

திணை - பாடாண் திணை

துறை - இயன்மொழி

பாரி இல்லையானாலும் மாரியாவது உள்ளதே !

An insult by whom?

Kalam was not in headlines for quite some time.. This month he was,but not for good reasons. He was frisked by continental airlines some 3 months back. Our responsible politicians have nothing to argue about in parliament . It appears to me like they have been hunting for issues to discuss... Pity them, India is a developed and a problem free country and they have no issues to discuss in Parliament. They had found this issue and i feel sorry for Kalam.

Of course, frisking an ex-president is a misdemeanour. Airline staff were aware of this, but they obliged to their company's rules than to Indian constitution. Our honorable MPs have demanded an apology from Continental Airlines. They had followed Transport Security Administration rules and were defending their staff. They openly stated we can not apologize. Our Patriotic MPs including Aviation ministry told media, if they aren't going to apologize, their license will be cancelled. Cont Airlines were made to bow and finally they apologized. I don't understand what a person can get out of an apology that was begged for! A person of Kalam's stature shouldn't be treated this way. The way he envisioned India to be a developed country I'm sure no forthcoming president would do it. They dragged him into mud and have put him in a delicate situation. Just tell me, what can he comment on this? These goddamn MPs gained what out of this apology. These shameless b@#$%&ds didn't make any enemy state bow down like this when we were attacked. Sitaram Yechury went to the extent of politicizing this issue saying they might have frisked him because he was a Muslim. Why the hell he is dragging religion in to this.

Are we such a safe & affluent nation to talk about issues like this. One day at parliament two idiots were fighting with each other for answering to one another's question in a different language.

Why the hell we elect such assholes? We are to blame! Who knows, they may find this silly blog and take me to task for calling them assholes. Jobless b@#$%^&ds!

Now tell me who insulted Kalam?

The sun sets in the Sunset Boulevard,LA...

RIP Jackson! :(

Hogenakkal trip

I am bloggin after a long time.. Many other things had occupied my time..

I am writing this after a long time I visited Hogenakkal. Well, It remains still in my memory afresh as I saw those things that day. ( A trip worth remembering..) Felt like writing it today only.

Me and my friend Maria christu raja started off by evening around 6.30 in my Unicorn on a full moon day in april ( dont remember the day). Going out of Bangalore was a headache..

We preferred the Anekkal-Thenkanikottai (தேன்கனிக்கோட்டை beautiful name)-Hogenakkal route.

By the time we were at the outskirts of the city, it was around 8 pm. Moon was rising.. Beautiful sight. Never been in highways at night, before.. so couldn't go beyond 60. After we took a turn from Hosur road from chandapura towards Anekkal ( meaning elephant stone), the roads were calm - not much traffic, narrow with lot of trees on both sides.. not much humans around.. We drove slowly (30-40 kmph), and reached anekkal.. had our dinner there and then set out towards Thenkanikottai. We had planned to stay there in a lodge for the night. On our way to Thenkanikottai we had to pass through many villages and uninhabited places. Moon was around 60 degrees from the vertical... We switched off the headlamps and drove in the moonlight.. beautiful experience... Our retinae got adjusted to the available light and we were able to navigate without any hitch...

Reached Thenkanikottai and stayed there for a night.. Lodge was pretty decent ( there was only one in the whole town).. Started off to Hogenakkal early in the morning.. We passed through villages, stopped by lily ponds. I can't describe them. It was like a painting.. Cranes flying around, fishes jumping out of water, frogs over the lotus leaves, flowers at various stages of bloom, cattle grazing around and peasants bathing them. Heaven on earth..

Then we entered into reserved forests and stopped by small streams passing by... they were clear and place around were great other than the mineral water bottles and lays packets thrown around by humans passing by... I pity those mindless creatures..

Rest of the journey towards hogenakkal, we saw lot of forest birds and trees.. Here I have to mention something.. Maria Christu Raja is a ardent lover of nature and is good in identifying trees from their barks, flowers and leaves and birds. He knows a lot about animal's behavior and food habits as he volunteers often for surveying preys, predators conducted by NGOs. Nice that I joined that trip with him.. I learned a lot.. After sometime we had to climb small hills and the roads had lots of hair-pin bends after which came the amazing view of Kaveri flowing amidst hills.... Lovely sight. It divides Karnataka and Tamilnadu for a stretch of few kilometers.. We stopped few kilometers ahead of hogenakkal to wet ourselves in the river.. I parked my Unicorn at the banks of Kaveri( was worried a little about my best pal's loneliness, But a lady's cycle gave him good company till I came back). There was this Parisal. We hired one and waded the river and reached a small island... We both got into the river and started playing...

இயற்கை தாயின் மடியில் பிறந்து

எப்படி வாழ்ந்தேன் இதயம் தொலைந்து

சலித்து போனேன் மனிதனாய் இருந்து

பறக்க வேண்டும் பறவையாய் திரிந்து

Later Raja told we can climb a hill nearby so that He can study some trees in that forest. I had never trekked like that before.. there were lot of holes in the slopes of that hills where I suspected the presence of snakes.. National geographic snake documentaries flashed before me very often... We went to a certain height.. It was twelve in the noon and the summer sun was burning us.. I gave up and told let's get back to the boat... He said ok and we started getting down..

When I was about to alight the boat I had to remove my sandals... I bent to remove that and the sony ericsson in my pocket ( was singing that time ) fell into the river... :) oops.. The boatman looked for it and took it outside.. It was singing still with an infection in its throat..LOL.. I removed the batteries and put it into my bag.. We got back to the other shore... Raja attempted rowing the parisal for a while.. Nice experience.. We took off in my unicorn ( He had to leave his newly got girlfriend there itself) towards Hogenakkal..

Reached hogenakkal.. we hate crowd and decided not to boat once again... Civilians visiting Hogenakkal were having a good time.. some were drinking and massaging besides the water falls ( What a bad taste!)

Two eyes were not sufficient for me to watch the magnificence of the water falls.. we went by foot around various falls and finally had a so called fresh catch fish toast in a hotel.. it was good...

Return also we drove slow.. reached Thenkanikottai and took rest for sometime.. Back to Bangalore in the same evening... Had dinner in Malgudi that night...

The day was worth living!

who are becoming teacher these days??

This question was running in my mind days.... Of course after I passed out of my college! I'm writing this from a Tamilnadu student's perspective.. Most of us who opt science group, take it with the intention of undertaking a professional course (engineering or medicine) .. These days engineering is more preferred because 235 odd colleges are there in Tamilnadu and getting into one of them is not a big job (but getting a job after that is...). Then got to clear 8 semesters and get into some job that would fetch a minimum of 20 k a month...Nothing wrong indeed.. We need to resolve the financial crisis and get things stable.. Medicine is mostly opted by people who are ambitious or their parents are so ambitious that they push these guys into medical colleges...
Approximately 95-98% of Tamilnadu's Science group population gets into these 2 courses.. The remaining
1. who don't manage to score good
2. Willing to work as a teacher
3. Dont get a job other than a teacher

become Teachers...

This is really a sad state. (Tamilnadu state) LOL.. The percentage of teachers who really inspire us to learn a subject and make that us our career is decreasing day by day.. In many cases it has become the other way.. Many of us developed hatred towards certain subjects due to incompetent teachers...

If I hated chemistry, my chemistry teacher Ms.Amudhini is to blame. She does everything else in class other than teaching the subject. She shuts the doors and starts conducting a prayer meeting, mentions few fellow class mate's name just before the exam and prays specially for them to get good marks.. let us leave her.. waste of time talking about one inhumane person.

Well, seeing from a broader perspective, teaching effectively is an art. It is an important aspect in building a nation. Teachers are the engineers of a country. It is a sacred job.

Even if you are getting into teaching profession out of desperate need for a job, it have to be done with so much care understanding the gravity of its need in country building. People should understand this.

Well, no use blaming unless I make some change here....

Why do they need a war with us?

The developments in the past week has taken me aback. Pakistan has started building troops in the border, conducting war drills and aircraft sorties over cities. While the Indian PM is hell bent in avoiding war and constantly reminding Pak that they only got to nab terrorists and their breeding grounds, Pakistan's ISI has started analysing areas it can attack in India including Kolkata.
War would not be a solution to this problem. Previously I was of the notion that waging a war and cleaning threats the Israel way would solve the problem. But now, not. Because, at the will be surrounded by enemies and endlessly we have to keep increasing our defence expenditure and cannot live in peace, like having your house besides a hostile neighbour waiting to seize a chance to jump into a fight for the silliest reason. War is bad for Pakistan only! It will accelerate their fall into the abyss. They already are economically in a pitiable situation. Their government has to focus into problems like public's literacy, hunger, health etc instead of spending on war. They already are not able to tackle internal political issues. War would swipe off Pak's financial reserves. And war has become very expensive these days. Just imagine if a fighter aircraft gets shot down you lose 400 crore rupees. A missile which can shoot down an aircraft costs 2-3 crores. For flying an aircraft for one hour you need to spend 4-5 lakh rupees on fuel alone. Just to give you an idea. You have to mobilise troops, food for them and the most precious thing is human lives lost in a war(I'm not a pacifist though).
Zardari should be called as Psuedo president. The real president is Kiyani, Army chief of Pak. It looks like ISI and Kiyani have joined hand in hands and taken all Zardari's power. It was evident when taliban announced that it can back Pak army if there was an all out war. Kiyani is the master mind behind all the war fury Pakistan is showing the world whereas Zardari's job is only to tell the world "Evidence is not enough, Qasab doesnt belong to Pak". He keeps denying whatever India tells.
This is going to continue until India responds immediately and gathers the support of International community as soon as it got the evidences. Diplomatic isolation will help us a lot. Pakistan can't stand that. It will be constrained and hence we can expect that it will act immediately. That could be the only solution.

synonym of ' ford ': Cross a river where it's shallow.....

When i read this Garfield strip, it reminded me of "figure set ஆகலேன்னு வருத்தப்படும் சங்கம் "... beware

உதித் நாராயணன் & முத்தைத் தரு பத்தி ....

I was looking for lyrics of this famous song in net... i found it in http://www.tfmpage.com/forum/archives/28722.20.41.37.html

mutthai tharu patthi thirunakai
atthukkiRai satthi saravaNa
mutthikkoru vitthu guru para ena Othum

mukkat para maRku suruthiyin
muRpattathu kaRpith- thiruvarum
muppatthu muvarkkath- thamararum adi pENa

ptthuth- thalai thatthak kaNaithodu
otRaig- giri matthaip poruthoru
pattap- pakal vattath- thikiriyil iravaaka

patthaRkira thatthaik kadaviya
pacchaippuyal mecchath thyaku poruL
patshatthodu rakshith tharuLvathum oru naaLE

thitthitheya otthap paripura
nirttha paDam vaitthup bayiravi
Dikkotka nadikkak kazhuvodu kazhuthaada

Dikkup pari attap bayiravar
thokkutthoku thokkuth thokuthoku
chithrappavurikkuth thrikadaka ena Otha

kotthup paRai kottak kaLamisai
kukku kukuk kukukuku
kutthip puthai pukkup pidiyena muthukookai

kotputRezha natpatR avuNarai
vetti baliyittuk kulagiri
kutthup pada otthup poravala perumaaLE

thread எண்டு இல் ஒருவர் இந்த பாட்டை உதித் நாராயணன்
பாடினால் எப்படி இருக்கும் என imagine பண்ணி எழுதியிருந்ததை
படித்ததும் சிரிப்பு அடக்க முடியவில்லை...

for your perusal :

muttai tharum paatti thuru naakai
aatu keerai satti saravana
muttaikoaru vittu guru paara ena oattum

mukkabulaa maarku shruthiyin
murpathahathu karpithitruvom
muppaatan moovarum dharma adipen

தனிமை ..

தொலைவில் கடலில் அஸ்தமிக்க செல்லும் சூரியன்

பாலைவனத்தில் பூத்த கள்ளிச்செடி

ஊர் எல்லையில் காவலில் அய்யனார் சிலை

தூரமாய் கடலில் மீன் பிடிக்கச் சென்ற படகு

நதியினில் மிதக்கும் நிலா

வெய்யிலில் திரிந்தும் கருக்காத ஒற்றை மேகம்

தூரத்தை குறிக்கும் மைல் கல்


தனிமையும் அழகோ ?

நிழற்படம் நன்றி : திரு. அனீஷ் B கிருஷ்ணன்

நீர்த்துளி

கடலாய் இருந்து
மலை மேல் மிதந்து
மரம் மேல் விழுந்து
ஓரிடம் விட்டு ஓரிடம்
செல்வதே வாழ்வாய்க்
கொண்ட நீர்த்துளிக்கு ஓர் நாள் சந்தேகம்
தான் தூயவளா தீயவளா என்று ...

தன்னுள் நீந்திய மீனிடம்
தான் மோதிச்சென்று கூழாக்கிய கற்களிடம்
தன்னில் எதிரோளிக்கும் நிலவிடம்
தன்னில் நீராடிய பெண்ணிடம்
இக்கேள்வியை கேட்டது ...

மீன் :
நான் பிறந்தது வளர்ந்தது
விளையாடியது காதலித்தது
பின் ஓர் நாள் இறப்பது
என என் வாழ்வே உன்னில் தான் ..
நீ தூயவள், அதிலென்ன சந்தேகம்?







கூழாங்கல் :
மலையாய் இருந்த என்னை
ஒவ்வோர் கணமும் மோதி மோதி
கடுகாக்கி மண்ணாகும் நீ
தீயவள் அன்றி வேறென்ன ?






நிலா:
நான் வளர்ந்தாலும் தேய்ந்தாலும்
நிழல் போர்த்தி ஓர் நாள் முகம் மறைத்தாலும்
நித்திரைக்கு போகும் முன் உன்னில் தான் என்னை பார்ப்பேன்
தூயவளே !








பெண்:
கரைகளில் நான் களைந்த ஆடையை
குளிக்கையில் திருடிச்சென்று
கலங்க வைத்தாய் என்னை !
போடி! நீ தீயவள்!








சிந்தனை செய்தது நீர்த்துளி ...
தீயவள் தூயவள் என்பது பிறரது விழிகளுக்கே ..
இவ்விரு நிலையும் இல்லாமையே உண்மை ..
உணர்ந்த நொடியில் சட்டென்று மேகமானது நீர்த்துளி ..
இம்முறை மண்ணில் வீழ அல்ல .

Apophis and the question "who are we?"

This morning I noticed an article in The New Indian Express on "Apophis" written by Manoj K Das - " Deadly date with a dark god ".

Apophis is a Egyptian God (the snake in the picture), who is the only threat to Ra - the sun god. Apophis is darkness and it swallows sun in the night. I don't know the actual story but it is something like this. The Present Apophis is a real threat. It is an asteroid bound to strike earth by 2036.

The article talks about the asteroid Apophis(permanent number 99942) which as per observations and calculations by scientists has a relatively high probability of collision on earth. The asteroid is about 390 m wide and it comes very close to earth (well below the geo- synchronous orbit) in the year 2029 and passes through a gravity keyhole about 600 metres wide. A gravity keyhole is a small region in space that if an asteroid were to pass through it, its course would be altered. So this gravity keyhole alters Apophis' trajectory and this increases the probability of it colliding with the earth in 2036.

Collision probability is calculated and based on the impact energy of collision a scale called Torino scale is arrived at. This scale tells us the level of danger of that asteroid colliding on earth. Our Apophis has a Torino scale number of 1 in a scale of 0-10, which is relatively high. No asteroid in the past 1300 years had been a threat like this(Their Torino number were much lower). The probability of Apophis kissing the earth is 1 in 45000 . insignificant is it?? but it is not.. This is relatively higher.. More observations are being made to study its path and estimate its trajectory so that they can conclude if it will pass through the gravity keyhole. Figure in the left shows the probable impact locations. I can hear the sigh of relief from Indians.

Already people have started worrying about it in various parts of the world and scientists are thinking of ways to avoid collision. Already work has started in this direction to send a spacecraft to survey the asteroid, report its trajectory and observe its composition etc. Watched the movie Armageddon? Astronauts go, plant nuclear bombs and kill the asteroid coming to strike earth.. This time astronauts won't go. Missiles or rockets might go with a nuclear bomb payload to strike the asteroid when it comes close to earth, to alter its path. Some scientists talk about planting Solar Sails in the asteroid so that the photons will produce enough pressure which is sufficient to drift the asteroid so that it doesnt strike our blue planet.Don't worry, Lots of idea will pour in for sure 'cos everybody is eager to live.

Post impact (dont worry it won't happen!), there wont be any long lasting impact effects as "impact winter", Scientists say. But there would be a very big crater and millions of casualties if it struck in the land and very big Tsunamis if it struck in the ocean. The magnitude depends on the angle of impact and the velocity during impact. Estimated to be around 20,000 kmph.


I was wondering at one thing after I read this article. We are a part of a planet called earth. We are a group of molecules living. Here I say living 'cos there is something that makes living things distinct. The coordination of carbon, Hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphor etc inside a cell happens in a right manner. They have got together in the right combination and the probability for this combination was worked out to be 1 in 1 followed by 260 zeroes as mentioned by Writer Sujatha in his book "Uyirin Ragasiyam". The combination formed a primitive cell, deep under the sea which multiplied itself (our ancestor!!) and till date has evolved into various forms of living beings. Reptiles like dinosaurs were dominant till a certain period of time, until some asteroid like the one that is coming for us, hit the earth to wipe out them completely from the face of earth.

We human beings, just imagine, are similar chemicals with probably a different combination which makes it think.We are a part of this earth. The ability to think has made us observe an asteroid coming towards earth using telescope by studying the doppler shifts and build rockets , nuclear bombs to save the planet from an asteroid hitting it, which is just a normal event in the universe. The capability of biochemicals living on the surface of planet to alter course of events to save a planet is something astounding.

Think of it.Isn't it something really amazing?


references : www.wikipedia.org , www.touregypt.net