വസൂരിമാല തബുരാട്ടി

വസൂരിമാല തബുരാട്ടി: കഥയുടെ ആദ്യ ഭാഗം

“ഇതര ഭാഷയിലെ പ്രണയലേഖനങ്ങള്‍” എന്ന ആമസോണ്‍ പ്രസിദ്ധീകരിക്കുന്ന കഥാസമാഹാരത്തില്‍ ലഭ്യമാണ്

ഭാഗം  ഒന്ന്

കോട്ടെടാ ചെണ്ട.” സ്കൂളിന്‍റെ പകുതി പൊളിഞ്ഞ മതിലിന്‍റെ വിടവിലൂടെ കടന്നുവരുബോള്‍, സ്കൂള്‍ ബാത്ത് റൂമിന്‍റെയും എട്ടാംക്ലാസ് ബിയുടെയും മതില്‍ വിടവില്‍, തല മുങ്കാലുകള്‍ക്കിടയില്‍ തിരുകി പാതി ഉറങ്ങുന്ന ശംഭുവിനെ പ്രകാശന്‍ കണ്ടിരുന്നു. പക്ഷേ ക്ലാസ്സിന്‍റെ തിരിവില്‍ അരുണും സംഘവും ഉണ്ടാവും എന്നവന്‍ കരുത്തിയതേയില്ല. “മാരണങ്ങള്‍! ഇവരില്‍ നിന്നും എനിക്കു രക്ഷയില്ലല്ലോ ഭഗവതീ..”.

അവറ്റകളെ കണ്ടതും പ്രകാശന്‍ ആദ്യം ഓര്‍ത്തത് തന്‍റെ തവിട്ടുനിറത്തിലുള്ള കള്സ്സത്തിനുള്ളിലെ അയിമ്പത് പൈസയെയായിരുന്നു. ഇന്നെങ്ങിലും അതിനെ രക്ഷിക്കണം. കീശയില്‍ നിന്നു പെട്ടെന്നു അയിമ്പത് പൈസത്തുട്ടെടുത് പ്രകാശന്‍ വേഗം വാതുറന്നു നാവിന്‍ ഇടയില്‍ തിരുകി. “ബേറെ ഏടവെച്ചാലും അവന്മാര്‍ തിരഞ്ഞു പിടിക്കും.”

അരുണ്‍, എട്ടാം ക്ലാസ്സിലെ ഏറ്റവും വലിയ തടിമാടനാണ്. തന്നേകാള്‍ വലിയ ഒരു കുമ്പയും, തടിച്ചു പുറത്തു ഉന്തിനില്‍ക്കുന്ന ചെവിയും ഉള്ള അവനെ കണ്ടാല്‍ തന്നെ പേടിയാവും. അവന്‍റെ തടിച്ചു മെഴുക് തേച്ചു പുരട്ടിയ  കൈ മുട്ട് കൊണ്ടുള്ള ചൊട്ടിന് നല്ല എരിവാണ്. പൊക്കം വളരെ കൂടുതല്‍ ഉള്ളതുകൊണ്ടു, തല താഴ്ത്തി, കഴുത്ത് തെല്ലൊന്നു ചെരിച്ചു, മൂക്ക് വികസ്സിപ്പിച്ചാണവന്‍ സംസാരിക്കുക. സംസാരം എന്നു പറയാന്‍ വയ്യ. കൂക്കിവിളിയെന്നേ പറയനാവൂ. അവന്‍റെ കൂടെ എപ്പോഴും വാലും പിടിച്ച് അശോകും ഉണ്ട്. മെലിഞ്ഞ കൈകാലുകള്‍ ഒരു വല്ലാത്ത രീതിയില്‍ എപ്പോഴും ചലിപ്പിച്ചു നടക്കുന്ന അശോകന് അരുണ്‍ വലിയ നേതാവാണ്.

ശംഭുവിനെ നോക്കി നാക്ക് നീട്ടി പിന്നെ കൊഞ്ഞണം കുത്തിയശേഷം അരുണ്‍ പ്രകാശനെ ഒന്നു അമര്‍ത്തി നോക്കി. അശോകിന്‍റെ കൈയ്യില്‍നിന്നും സ്കൂള്‍ ബാഗ് പിടിച്ചെടുത്ത് പ്രകാശനു നല്കി, ഒന്നുകൂടി അട്ടഹസിച്ചു: “കൊട്ടെടാ ചെണ്ട.”.

ബാഗ് വാങ്ങി, മടിച്ച് മടിച്ച്, മെല്ലെ കൈയ്യുയര്‍ത്തി, പ്രകാശന്‍ ചെണ്ട കൊട്ടുന്നതായി നടിച്ചു.

“ഇങ്ങനെ ആണോടാ, മലയാ നീ ചെണ്ട കൊട്ടുവാ, ശരിക്കും മെയ്യനങ്ങി കോട്ട്”.

ഇടയാന്തൂര്‍ കാവില്‍ വലിയമ്മാവന്‍ വസൂരിമാലയായി ഉറഞ്ഞാടുബോള്‍ പഴയ വെള്ളമുണ്ട് കൊണ്ടു ഉണ്ടാക്കിയ തോള്‍വളവില്‍ കെട്ടിവച്ച ചെണ്ടയില്‍ പുളി മരത്തണ്ടു കൊണ്ട് തകര്‍ത്ത് കൊട്ടുന്ന അച്ഛന്‍റെ വിയര്‍പ്പില്‍ കുതിര്‍ന്ന കൈ മസ്സിലുകളുടെ വേഗം ഓര്‍ത്തപ്പോള്‍, ഒരു വല്ലാത്ത ഊര്‍ജ്ജം പ്രകാശനില്‍ നിറഞ്ഞു. ബാഗ് ഒരു കൈ മുതുകില്‍ ഇട്ടു, ശരീരം മുന്നോട്ട് വളച്ച്, കൈയിലുള്ള സംങ്കല്‍പ ചെണ്ട മുന്നോട്ട് ഉയര്‍ത്തി പ്രകാശന്‍ കൊട്ടാന്‍ തുടങ്ങി. “ഓന്‍റെ ഒരു ബാഗ്!.. അതെങ്കിലും ഞാന്‍ ഒന്നു തല്ലി പൊളിക്കട്ടെ ..”

അകലെ ലക്ഷ്മി ഇതും കണ്ടു വരുന്നല്ലോ എന്നോര്‍ത്തപ്പോള്‍ പ്രകാശന് വിഷമം കുറച്ചല്ല തോന്നിയത്. തന്‍റെ പച്ച നിറത്തിലുള്ള ബാഗ് പിന്നില്‍ തൂക്കിയിട്ട്, നല്ല വെളിച്ചെണ്ണയിട്ട നീളന്‍ കറുമ്പന്‍ മുടി നിവര്‍ത്തിയിട്ട്, തവിട്ടുനിറത്തിലുള്ള പാവടയും വെള്ള ഷര്‍ട്ടും ഇട്ടു വരുന്ന ലക്ഷ്മിയെ പ്രകാശന് തെല്ലൊന്നുമല്ല ഇഷ്ടം.

“ഇവനൊക്കെ പറയുന്നതും കേട്ടു തുള്ളുന്നതിന് പകരം, നടു നീര്‍ത്ത് നിന്ന്‍ എതിര്‍ത്തു നിക്വാ വേണ്ടത്”, പല പ്രാവശ്യം ലക്ഷ്മി പ്രകാശനോട് പറഞ്ഞിരിക്കുന്നു.

“ഓള്‍ക്കത്ത് പറയാം. നല്ല കിഴുക്ക് കിട്ടുന്നത് അവള്‍ക്ക് അല്ലല്ലോ”

 

ശംഭു അരുണിനെ നോക്കി ഒന്നമറി. നിലത്തു നിന്നു ഒരു കല്ല് എടുത്ത് അരുണ്‍ അവനെ നോക്കി ഒറ്റ ഏറുകൊടുത്തു. കാലില്‍ കൊണ്ട കല്ലിന്‍റെ കൂര്‍ത്ത വേദന കൊണ്ട് ശംഭു ഒന്നന്താളിച്ചു. അരുണിനെ നോക്കി, ഇത് പന്തിയല്ല എന്നു കണ്ടവന്‍ മതില് ചാണ്ടി ഓടി മറഞ്ഞു. കൊട്ടാനായ് ഉയര്‍ത്തിയ കൈയ്യിനിടയിലൂടെ പ്രകാശിന്‍റെ കീശയില്‍ കൈയിട്ടു അരുണ്‍ പരത്താന്‍ തുടങ്ങി. “ഇന്ന് നീ പൈസയൊന്നും കൊണ്ടുവന്നില്ലേ.., ഇന്നലെ വിട്ടപ്പോള്‍ പറഞ്ഞതല്ലെ ഇന്ന് പൈസ കൊണ്ട് വരാന്‍?” ഷര്‍ട്ടിന്‍റെ കോളര്‍ പിടിച്ചു വലിച്ചു, അരുണ്‍ ചോദിച്ചു. വായില്‍ അമ്പത് പൈസ ഒളിപ്പിച്ചു വച്ചത് കൊണ്ട് പ്രകാശന്‍ ഒന്നും മിണ്ടിയില്ല. “ഓന്‍റെ വായില്‍ ന്തോ ഉണ്ട്”, അശോകന്‍ ഇത്തരം കാര്യങ്ങള്‍ കണ്ടുപിടിക്കാന്‍ ബഹു മിടുക്കനാണ്. “എന്താടാ വായില്‍”, എന്നു പറഞ്ഞു അരുണ്‍ പ്രകാശന്‍റെ കവിള്‍ രണ്ടും അമര്‍ത്തിപ്പിടിച്ചു. വേദന കൊണ്ട് വാ പിളര്‍ന്നപ്പോള്‍ തുപ്പല് പുരണ്ട അയിമ്പത്തു പൈസ താഴെ വീണു.

ഉളിപ്പില്ലാതെ മണ്ണില്‍ പുരണ്ട ആ അയിമ്പത്തു പൈസ എടുത്തു, “നീ ഇപ്പം പോ” എന്നാഞാപ്പിച്ചു അരുണ്‍ നേരെ ഓയില്‍ച്ചമുട്ടായി വില്‍ക്കുന്ന കണേരേട്ടന്‍റെ അടുത്തേക്ക് പാഞ്ഞു. പുറകെ അശോകും. കുറച്ചകലെ മുറത്തില്‍ വിരിച്ച് വച്ച ഓയില്‍ച്ചമുട്ടായുമായി ഇരിക്കുന്ന കണേരേട്ടനെ പ്രകാശന് കാണാം. അയാളില്‍ നിന്നു മൂന്നു ഓയില്‍ച്ചമുട്ടായും വാങ്ങി രണ്ടെണ്ണം ഒരുമിച്ച് വായിലിട്ട് ഒന്നു അശോകനും കൊടുത്ത് വിജയിയായി പോവുന്ന അരുണിനെ കണ്ടപ്പോള്‍ പ്രകാശന്‍റെ കണ്ണു നിറഞ്ഞില്ല. മുന്‍പൊക്കെയായിരുന്നെങ്കില്‍ അവനൊന്നു കരഞ്ഞേനെ. പക്ഷേ ഇപ്പോള്‍ അവന്‍ വ്രതത്തിലാണ്. വ്രതത്തിലിരുക്കുമ്പോ മനസ്സ് വെഷമിക്കരുത്, അത് ശുദ്ധമാക്കി വെയ്ക്കണം എന്നു പലപ്രാവശ്യം വലിയമ്മാവന്‍ പറഞ്ഞു പഠിപ്പിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു.

The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World

The Geography of Bliss Book Review: The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World by Eric Weiner

Happiness is “home” and a book that is illuminating and funny
Eric Weiner does an year long journey into places that are contradictory and different, in search of what makes people happy. He sometimes get into science of happiness studies and weaves his tongue in cheek observations and conclusions into actual travails that he had endured. He participates with the societies he finds himself into and focuses on “normal” people in those societies. If happiness is all about places, author does not give any definitive reasons to it, but the journey itself and the way it is narrated is so beautiful that you will enjoy reading this book until the end and will hope for more. If you are from some of the societies which he describes, like India where I am from, you will feel that some of his observations are perfunctory. But considering the complexities of any society and the time he had to spend with each of them being very little, it is something you can pass over without being offended.

Published in Amazon Review

Book Review: Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges

Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges, by Antonin Scalia
“Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges” is a concise but practice based discourse on persuasion and is highly recommended.

The 245 page book is a result of brilliant collaboration between Antonin Scalia, an Associate Judge of Supreme Court of United States and Bryan A. Garner, a well known legal lexicographer and Editor in chief of Black’s Law Dictionary. The book is for lawyers. But I am software engineer: so what am I doing with this book? From the jacket to sub title and the back cover you will assume that this book is intended only for lawyers. Actually, the authors focus only upon lawyers and describe in detail various aspects of persuading a judge to lead or enable the judge to come to a decision favorable to their clients. All the illustrative examples and side bar are taken from the realm of legal domain. But what makes this book an extraordinary one is how this sharp focus on a particular domain becomes relevant to any situation where persuasion is needed to arrive at an actionable decision. The authors focus more upon analytical and behavioral aspects of art of persuasion rather than emotional techniques many propound.

The book has 4 main parts: General principles of argumentation, Legal reasoning, Briefing, and Oral arguments. First two parts are applicable to anyone and can be read without much legal background. Briefing and Oral arguments are the longest sections in the book and some part of them may need some amount of legal literacy to understand well. I do not know why “Source for Inset quotations” section was needed, but the Recommended Sources are well documented and is very helpful to continue learn more about the subject. The book looks like suddenly stopped without a summary chapter or a conclusion chapter. May be, authors were following their own advise on not to repeat themselves.

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Book Review: India After Gandhi: The History of the World’s Largest Democracy

India After GandhiIndia After Gandhi The History of the World’s Largest Democracy By Ramachandra Guha

A very good historical account of India as a new nation state.

“India After Gandhi” covers a long period in Indian history from 1947 to 1990. There is an extended post script (“A history of events”) that covers the incidents and movements after 1990 to up until 2004. The book ends with author’s perception on why India survives regardless of many doomsday predictions that it has encountered throughout its 70 or so years of existence, about its survival as a single nation founded on democracy and secularism.

The story starts with independence, but does not cover the events and personalities that lead up to it. The longest part of the story in the book narrates a very engaging story of a young country trying to define itself, by creating a constitution that guarantees universal adult franchise, building a bureaucracy by extending the British ICS, providing a judiciary that is independent and generally infusing the county with optimism and ideals of a just born country. At the same time the country was dealing with division of the country into two, the “biggest human migration in history” that left many thousands killed and left many more thousands with no property, arduous resettlement of refugees, intricate and complex integration of more than 500 princely states into a country and the mammoth task of building its infrastructure. Author also gives a details account of various insurgencies including Kashmir issue. It is this part that covers era of Nehru and Shasri that is well written and well researched.

The second part deals with how the constitutional democracy slowly transformed into a “populist” democracy under Indira Gandhi and how the emergence of local politics changed the topology of Indian politics. Here Author’s research seems to be constrained to Haskar’s (A top bureaucrat in Mrs. Gandhi’s inner circle) papers and newspaper journalism. The depth of analysis suffers because of the weakness of primary source materials.

The third part, that is aptly named as “history of events” deals with most “current”, in terms of history, events in India. They are mostly depended upon journalism rather than any historical research, but in some way present a good analysis of emergence of caste, religion and regional based politics in India

All in all a very good history of India, especially on its inception stage as a nation.

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Book Review: The Numbers Behind NUMB3RS: Solving Crime with Mathematics

NumbersI started watching Numb3rs after reading this book. Actually the book helped appreciating the show since the show itself does not clarify many of the techniques they use and most of the time we just have to trust the show. In that sense this book acts as a companion book to the show itself. But it does more than that. The chapter on network analysis was particularly interesting and the discussion on misplaced degrees of separation a good one. The authors make a very readable text even for non-mathematicians.But authors try to cover too many sub fields of applied mathematics in this small book. The depth of the book suffers because these ambitions selections.

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Pythagorean Theorem and Bhaskara’s Proof

The Pythagorean Theorem is one of the most celebrated mathematical theorem in the world. According Guinness Book World of Records, it boasts more than 500 proofs. Most famous of the proof is the proof provided by Euclid in Elements

Many mathematicians from antiquity to modern times had marveled at this rule and proved it in different ways. Here we will see how Bhaskara, one of the most important mathematicians of old India proved it geometrically.
The theorem says a2 + b2 = c2 : where a and b are sides of a right triangle and c is its hypotenuse
Bhaskara gives the following diagram to prove the theorem:

Bhaskara’s description of Pythagoras Theorem

From the picture, you can see that
Area Large squire is = Area of all 4 triangles + area of smaller squire
c * c = 4 * ( 1/2 ) a * b + (b-a) * (b-a) = 2ab – ( a2 + b2 + 2ab)
c2 = a2 + b2
which is the Pythagorean theorem

Is Book a Failed product?

A good product creates and maintains two way communications between the user and the product. A successful product, software or otherwise, creates a more natural form of interaction, an interaction that can take place subconsciously, without effort, whereby the communication in both directions is done so naturally, so effortlessly, that the result is a smooth merger of person and the product, jointly performing a task.

Given that definition, see what Socrates had to say about Books, one of the most enduring and successful product ever in human history:

SOCRATES: You know, Phaedrus, that’s the strange thing about writing, which makes it truly analogous to painting. The painter’s product stands before as if they are alive, but if you question them, they maintain a most majestic silence. They seem to talk to you as if they were intelligent, but if you ask them anything about what they say, from a desire to be instructed, they go on telling you just the same thing forever. And once a thing is put into writing, whatever it may be, drifts all over the place, getting into the hands not only of those who understand it, but equally of those who have no business with it: it does not know how to address the right people, and not address the wrong.

—Plato: Collected Dialogues, 1961.

Is the product Book, a failure? We know its not. Then how does it follow the definition of a good product, described in the beginning of this note?

Credits:

The Design of Future Things by Donald A. Norman

Books.Google.com for complete quote by Socrates

Panchathantra: The best of Indian stories

{ Written for my daughter when she was 5 years old}
Panchathandram is full of stories. Very good stories. This is a book that has a lot stories about birds, animals, and many people. There are stories of a crow that will stay with owls and then defeat them in war. There are stories of people who are so greedy and bad things happening to them. There are stories of people who are so good, but will go through difficult times, but in the end many good things will happen to them.
Once upon a time, there was a kingdom called Mahilaropya. It was ruled by a good king. He had three sons. All of them were not very good at studies. They just liked playing around and teachers could not teach them anything. King was so sad. “How can they become kings themselves when they grow up, if they are so stupid and not good at studies?” King worried.
King thought and thought and decided that his sons must be taught all the good lessons as soon as possible. “But who can teach my sons all the lessons needed to make them a king?” King asked his prime minister. Prime minister Said “Oh King, only a very smart teacher can teach your sons all the lessons needed. We need a great teacher to teach them well”So King ordered Prime Minister to find such a teacher. He decided that if a teacher can teach his sons well, he will give a lot of presents to the teacher. Prime Minister, after searching a lot, found such a teacher. His name was Vishnu Sharma. Prime Minister brought him before the king.
“Can you teach my children all the great things they need to know as Kings?” King asked
“Yes, your illustrious King, I can”, Vishnu Sharma Said.
“How can you teach them all the lessons to those kids who only like playing and not learning?”
“I will teach everything to them by telling STORIES…” Vishnu Sharma Said.

And thus, Vishnu Sharma taught five big lessons to Kings Sons by telling them many stories. All these stories together came to be known as Panchathandram. Each story has very good “moral” or a lesson attached to it.

Here is a story from Panchathandram. Ask Mummy to tell you the moral of the story.

Little Rabbit who defeated the Big Lion

Once upon a time there lived a ferocious lion in the forest. It was a greedy lion and started killing animals in the forest. All the animals together went to the Lion and begged him to stop killing. They told him that everyday one of them will come to his house and he can kill that animal and eat. So every day it was the turn of one of the animals and in the end came the rabbits’ turn. The rabbits chose an old rabbit among them. The rabbit was wise and old. It took its own sweet time to go to the Lion. The Lion was getting impatient on not seeing any animal come by and swore to kill all animals the next day.

The rabbit then strode along to the Lion by sunset. The Lion was angry at him. But the wise rabbit was calm and slowly told the Lion that it was not his fault. He told the Lion that a group of rabbits were coming to him for the day when on the way, an another angry Lion attacked them all and ate all rabbits but himself. Somehow he escaped to reach safely, the rabbit said. He said that the other Lion was talking very ill of this Lion and was telling that this Lion is a very bad lion. The Lion was naturally very enraged and asked to be taken to the location of the other Lion.

The wise rabbit agreed and led the Lion towards a deep well filled with water. Then he showed the Lion his reflection in the water of the well. The foolish Lion seeing the reflection thought that there is a real Lion in the well. The Lion was furious and started growling and naturally its image in the water, the other Lion, was also equally angry. Then the Lion jumped into the water at the other Lion to attack it, and so lost its life in the well. Thus the wise rabbit saved the forest and its inhabitants from the proud Lion.

 

About our Flags

{ Written for my daughter when she was 5 years old}

Dearest Malu,

You remember the apartment complex where we stay in US. Pappa was coming back from office and slowly driving on Capitol Avenue. I could see the apartment from far and first thing you see from far, is a big flag fluttering over the apartment. If you remember, it is the national flag of America. It is a beautiful flag and when the wind blows, it starts fluttering and dancing. If you keep looking at the flag, you will see RED and WHITE stripes. They are almost like the stripes on your frock. Start counting all the RED stripes. How many are there? If you get 7, then you are right. If you haven’t, try counting again. Then count all the white stripes, you will get 6. Now if you count all the RED and WHITE stripes, how many stripes will you get? You will get 13. America had 13 different places in the beginning. That was very very long back. Look at the stars. They are all white and what is the color of the “box” where they have placed the stars? It is Navy blue. Remember the uniform Ammama had stitched for you long back? I think the color of the uniform frock was navy blue. Now start counting all those stars. It is very difficult to count those stars. You need to know how to count up to 50. But Akuchechi will know. Let her count. There are 50 stars in that flag. It is because US has 50 states. California is the state where we live. We used to live in Virginia too. That is another state. You can see picture of all states in US in your LeapPad Book.

Dubai where Akkuchechi lives also has a beautiful flag. It has four colors. Count the number of colors in this flag. There are four colors. Can you name each of the colors? Yes Red is there. Then Green, White and Black. If you really look at this flag, you will see letter E there. Dubai is Unites Arab Emirates. That is the real name of that place. And Emirates starts with a letter E, like America starts with A and our India starts with a letter I.

What about our India? Don’t we have a flag like all other countries? Yes we do have. It is a really beautiful flag. It has three colors, Saffron (it is like red), White (every flags seems to have white color, isn’t it?) and Green. Look at that circle in the middle of white stripe. It is called Chakra. Chakra is another word for Wheel. Your cycle has two big wheels and many small wheels right? But this wheel on our flag is a special wheel. It is called Asoka Chakra. You can see that it has got spikes. Those little blue lines inside the chakra. Count all the spikes and you will be surprised that it has 24 spikes. For big people chakra with 24 spikes means many things. For you it means movement and speed, like when you get on to cycle (you can move fast and fast right?). When we are at it, can you count the colors in our flag again? There three colors, no there are four colors. Saffron, White, Green and Blue used for chakra. But we call our flag “Tri-color” flag. It just means flag with three main colors. But since it is our flag, it is also a pet name for Indian flag. Like malu is for Jhanvi.

Our flag was not always like this all time. When Gandhiji wanted a new flag, he asked an uncle named Pingali Venkayya to make a flag for him. Pingali made one flag, but just with two colors. Green and Red. Gandhiji didn’t like it. He wanted to add white also into the flag. Then he looked at and thought he will add a “Charka” also in it. You can see that flag here. It is almost like our flag. But what is there in the middle? It is called Charka. It is a machine used to make clothes. There still are some people using this machine to make clothes. They make cloth from cotton. The dress you are wearing now is made of cotton. You can make threads from cotton using charka. Gandhiji was really fond of making strings using charka. Using that strings he used to make clothes. He never sold it but made dress for himself. After some time people did not like charka on our flag. They then put chakra (wheel) and that is how it became our flag.

Making the Indian flag is very difficult. Only two places in India can make the flag cloth. And flag cloth must be always Khadi. Remember the strings made of cotton? By sticking all the strings together, you get a cloth. That cloth is called Khadhi. In Kannur, there are places called Neythu Shala. You can see how people make cloth by visiting there. The cloth they make is white. Then how will they add colors to it? You can do it yourself. Take a white cloth and pour some blue ink into it. Mummy has a pen with blue ink. After sometime, your white cloth will become blue color. That is how people add different colors into the Khadi cloth. It is called dying. After adding saffron and green color carefully into the cloth, our flag cloth is ready to use. Don’t they have to add white color into it? No No, because cloth is already white. After that they will make Chakra on the white part of the cloth. They do it by embossing. Take a coin and keep a paper on the top of it. Using your pencil keeps rubbing on the coin through the paper. After sometime, you will see a picture of your 50p coin on the paper! They do something like that using a chakra on the flag.

But one big problem with our flag is that, it has to have a definite size. If you look at the flag, it has length and it has height. You know how to measure your height, right? You can stand up against the wall and mummy will make a mark on the wall where your head touches it. And then she will take a tape and measure how much is your height. Ok what is your height now? Let me know. You can also use a scale to measure length and height. Akkuchechi must have a scale with her. Using that scale, you can measure the length of this paper. Its length will be somewhat 8 inches and height will be 11 inches. For our flag, if the length is 3 inches then its height must be 2 inches. Such flag will be small. You can also make big flags. When you grow up you will learn proportions. Then you will know when your flag is 30 inches long, what its height should be.

But now we can do some coloring of the flags. I have attached a big picture our flag along with this mail (www.girisree.com/BloggerData/Flags/indiaflagbig.gif. You must have three color pencils. Find out the proper colors. Look at the color picture of our flag. See where white comes. It comes in the middle. Where is the Green? It is on the top. No No. It is at the bottom. Now you know where Saffron is. Careful when you color Chakra. All 24 spikes should be colored properly. When you are done on one side, you have to do the other side also. I have not added picture on the other side. That you have to make yourself.

After you have colored, get a scissor from mummy. She will give it you only if you be very careful with it. Cut along the flag carefully. Now you have a India flag, colored on both sides. Isn’t pretty? Now all you need is a flag post. Flag post is long stick on which a flag can be hoisted. Get a long stick from Ammama. Mummy also might have one. One with which she threaten you to beat with! Also get some gum. Apply gum on one side of your flag and paste it on one end of the stick. Hold on it on other end. Hey now you have the flag on the flag post. You can run, holding one end of the stick. Sometimes, your flag will start fluttering like the one we have here in the apartment. You can also shout “Jai Hindh” while running with flag. That is going to be real fun!

With lots of love,

Pappa

March of penguins

{Reflection on March of penguins based on the film of the same name. Written for my daughter when she was 4 years old}

Dearest Malu,
We all live on this earth and as you have seen in pictures it is almost like a ball. It has oceans and land. This is not a small ball, but a very big one. It is almost like the beach ball you have, with both ends little flattened. At two ends of this ball are poles, North Pole and South Pole. And both places are full of ice. The South Pole is called Antarctica.

Antarctica is full of ice. In Antarctica you can see vast mountains and sheets of ice there. Most of it is actually an ocean (with lots of water). But almost all the time this ocean is frozen to ice.
Antarctica – That is where Emperor Penguin lives. There are many kinds of penguins. The penguins we saw in Monterrey Bay, when we all went to see big fishes were from South Africa. But Antarctica has one special penguin and it is Emperor penguins. They live in the ocean. They are birds, but can not fly. The small little wings that you see them having can not make them fly. But they can swim very well. They catch fishes in the ocean and eat them as and when they like. They, with friends, swim in the ocean, play in the ocean and live in the ocean.

An emperor penguin baby (chick) is born out of a big egg that mummy Penguin lays. From the egg, a small chick will come out. Mummy and Pappa feeds the baby and it grows and become real emperor penguin. The story of that egg, chick and the baby becoming a grown up penguin is a beautiful story and that is the story the Pappa is going to tell you now.

Antarctica is very cold. Very very cold. Even the big ocean, most part will become ice on the surface. It is ice every where. White ice, where ever you look. It is the coldest (you take a cup of water and pour outside, it will become ice then and there), driest (all water is ice, so you will not even get water to drink), windiest (wind blows so fast, it can beat pappa’s car even in the freeway) and darkest (sun does not come for full day here at Antarctica, it will be there for only very small time and it is night almost always) place on our earth. That is where Emperor penguin lives. Can you image how difficult it will be living there? Of course they have a kind of fur coat all over them, but even that is not enough to ward off the cold and wind.

But every year, in the month of February, when real winter season is about to start, emperor penguins will come out of sea and will start marching to a place where they can lay egg. Not one or two penguins, but many, hundreds and hundreds of them will come out of sea. The place they have to go is far away. They will not take a bus or car since there are no roads to that place. They will not take train, since there are no rail roads to that place. They can not take planes, since they do not have one. All these seven thousand penguins will have to walk to reach a place where they can lay egg. They will walk day and night, sometimes seven days or sometimes even more, to a place where they can safely lay egg and bring up their babies. The place they are going to is a vast icy place where there is no ocean. They will walk. When their little feet get tied, they walk on their belly.

The place they go is not an ocean, so they will not get any food there. So before they started walking, they will catch fishes for three months and keep all those fishes in their tummy so that they can eat them one by one when they reach the place where they can lay eggs. The place they are going is the place they themselves were born. That was the same place their papa and mummy were born and their grandpa and grandma were born. And after long long march, day and night, in the very very cold, they all, thousands of them, will reach their birth place almost same day every year.

After reaching there, after some weeks of “pennukannal”, a Pappa penguin will marry a mummy penguin and they will dance for sometime. During that time Pappa will teach mummy penguin a special song which she will memorize. And then they will wait for egg to form in mummy’s tummy and for it to come out. While they wait winter will grow harsh and huge wind will blow to destroy them. All penguins, thousands of them will huddle together to heat up their body and looking at them far, you will see a large mass of penguins huddled together and icy winds blowing over them.

Now it is May and it is dark almost all time. During all these tough times, an egg is forming in mummy penguin’s tummy and in June she will lay a big egg. She can not keep it on the ice, because it is so cold that it will freeze and break the egg. So she will keep the egg on her feet, under her fur coat. Because egg is on her feet and she must never show it, she will not even able to walk properly. But now three months are over, all the fishes mummy caught and kept in the tummy are also over. Mummy is now very hungry and she has to go to ocean to catch fish again. So she will ask Pappa penguin to take care of egg while she is away to ocean to catch fishes. The handing over the egg from mummy to Pappa is very difficult one. You can try it by passing a ball balanced on your feet to Akkuchechi to her feet. Those mummy penguins who has handed over the eggs to Pappa penguins will go back to ocean. She will walk again weeks to reach ocean. This time more ocean has become ice so they have to walk more and more to get near to the ocean. And she will be back after 3 months to Pappa penguin.

Meanwhile Pappa penguin will tend the egg balancing it on his feet, protecting against harsh winds and standing there on the icy ground. He will do this for 3 months. Without blinking eyes, without eating anything for 3 months, while winter grow violent and wind blows over them every day and night.

Days and weeks will pass. And one day sun will start coming up in the sky, ending long nights. Papa penguin has not eaten for 4 months now and he has been keeping the egg between his feet. And then one day, a crack will appear on the egg and you will see a small beak coming out of it. Slowly the egg will crack open, and there will come a little chick. Pappa penguin is so happy. But he is hungry too. Pappa is waiting for mummy to come back from sea with food for the new baby. He has kept a small food in his throat all these months to feed the baby until mummy comes home. And they together will wait.

And one day soon mummy penguin will arrive with her tummy full of fishes, krill and squids, after walking again many days from sea to this home. When mummy penguins reaches where Pappa penguins and babies live, mummy has to find the Pappa penguin. All penguins looks same: same color, same beaks, and same coats. So how can mummy find Pappa? Remember the special song Pappa taught mummy penguin before mummy went to sea for food. All Pappa penguins will be singing aloud when mummy penguins come marching to them. And each mummy penguins will find its Pappa penguins based on this song. And mummy will see her baby’s face first time he was born. And first time, family is together.

Now mummy is back, Pappa has to go back to sea for food. It is difficult for him to go away, but he has not eaten for four months and he also has to bring back food for baby. Before going away, Pappa will teach a special song to his baby. You now know why, because by the time he is back, baby will have grown up. This song will be the only way, by which he can find his baby.
Now baby penguin is having real fun. They are growing up too. He is getting stomach full food from mummy. Mummy will keep him between her feet and show him the world around. She will clean him up and when the wind blows hard protect him with her fur coat. But she will not allow him to touch the ice below her feet. After teaching him walking, keeping his tiny feet on her feet, one day baby will take his first steps on ice with mummy’s help. Then he will make friends. A lots of baby penguins will start running around and toppling about and learn many tricks under the watchful eyes of their mothers.

Mummy penguin will now have to go back to sea to gather food and eat. Now babies are old enough, mummy will leave the baby alone and will start back to sea. Now babies are alone. But before long Pappa penguin will be back with his tummy full of food. All babies will gather together and welcome their Pappas back home, all singing that song each of their Pappas taught before they went to sea. And now it will be Pappa who will feed grown-up child. After some days, Pappa will leave to sea, but child will not be alone for long because his mummy is back. This cycle will happen many times.

Sun is hot and it is summer too. Ice starts melting making sea to come closer and closer to the home. Now children are big and now they have coats like Pappa and mummy. And in September, Pappa and mummy will decide to go away. They will leave their grown-up children in the home and will go away for ever. The child penguin will grow more and grow stronger without his Pappa and mummy around. In December, the sea will reach almost near to their home.

All boys and girls will stand at the edge of sea. They have never seen ocean in their lives. They will stand at the edge of sea and they will look into the clean blue water of sea. And one day, one by one, they will take a plunge into sea. And first time they will be in their true home. Ocean.
They will live in the water for four years and after that they too will repeat the story that I have been telling you so far.
Take care,

Lots of Love
Pappa