musings.....

Ask any kid in the US who the trinities of Indian religion are, and you get a prompt reply "Brayma,Veeshnew,Sheewa"(Apparently they are taught this in high school). Religion, however, changed faces as civilization progressed, and various deities and sub-deites thus emerged.Some of these, are highly localized. For example, down south - one can see prevalance of these three deities - Lord Ayyapa, Lord Muruga and the "Amman" ( as various forms). Lord Hanuman was the deity of choice for the Haryanvis and Rajasthanis.Marathi's swear by ( no pun intended) Lord Vinayak. And the Bengalis have a thing for Goddess Kali.And then of course , are countless "Kaval Deivams" and "Kula Deivams".

A deep-throated Yesudas singing "Harivarasanam" brings back memories of hoards and hoards of Ayyappan tourists in Srirangam every December, on the way to Sabarimala. This deity is supposed to be elder to Muruga and Vinakaya - an offspring of Mohini (who is Lord Vishnu , whose sister Goddess Parvati is Lord Shiva's wife....So from these equations...Wow!!) and Lord Shiva - basically Hari and haran in one. So anyway,Here is the verse.Very evocative lyrics - very powerful singing.

Harivarasanam Viswamohanam

Haridadhiswaram Aaradhyapadhukam

Arivimardhanam Nithyanarthanam

Hariharatmajam Devamashreye

Saranakirtanam Bakhtamanasam

Bharanalolupam Narthanalasam

Arunabhasuram Bhoothanayakam

Hariharatmajam Devamashreye

Pranayasathyakam Praananayakam

Pranathakalpakam Suprabhanjitham

Pranavamanidram Keerthanapriyam

Hariharatmajam Devamashreye

Thuragavahanam Sundarananam

Varagadhayudham Vedavavarnitham

Gurukrupakaram Keerthanapriyam

Hariharatmajam Devamashreye

Tribuvanarchitam Devathathmakam

Trinayanam Prabhum Divyadeshikam

Tridashapoojitham Chinthithapradam

Hariharatmajam Devamashreye

Bhavabhayapaham Bhavukavaham

Bhuvanamohanam Bhoothibhooshanam

Dhavalavahanam Divyavaranam

Hariharatmajam Devamashreye

Kalamrudusmitham Sundarananam

Kalabhakomalam Gathramohanam

Kalabhakesari Vajivahanam

Hariharatmajam Devamashreye

Srithajanapriyam Chinthithapradam

Sruthivibhushanam Sadhujeevanam

Sruthimanoharam Geethalalasam

Hariharatmajam Devamashreye

Things I miss about the only place I can ever call "Home" :

1. The fact that I always belonged. I was loved and accepted for who I was, not on the basis of what people thought were right or wrong.

2. I never carefully worded what I wanted to say, and how I would come accross to people. People always understood where I came from.

3. I could hug my friends any time I wanted, without thinking if it was a girl/boy , junior/senior..

4. I could swear in all possible languages freely, without my friends judging me/getting scandalized..

5. Going out of the way, overboard, crazy - and could still be normal. .

6. MB - where I could change in a room full of wingees, and not care..

7. I could combined-crash with friends, without arousing anyone's lesbian suspicions..

8. I could hitch a ride , and sit in the front bar of the guys cycles - no one would think I was flirting..

9. "Mayira pochu" and "Yetha sollu" were philosophies that were loved and trusted through times..

10. Birthdays were considered special occasions - filled with surprises and cakes , and a lot of good vibes around..

Ah ! Thank God for the good times !!!

Oh yeah ! It was another sleepy day, when you curse day light savings to get used to an hour less sleep. As I slowly trudged my way to work , I heard the bus driver talk about detours because of the parade. The parade, is one of Cincinnati's oldest traditions, and today was the 87th such.

Sponsored by Findlay market, on Elder and Race streets,the parade started on over-the-Rhine, and ended at Broadway(This route is the heart of downtown Cincinnati). It marks the start of spring, and the baseball season. The whole town was painted Red today, with people sporting red hair, red makeup, and even red animals to mark the occasion.

The parade itself , was one jolly event , and people braved the chills to see school bands, Reds fans, and various commercial companies in action, as each one tried to outdo the other's Reds fanaticsm.Meijer's first truck, old style TV and radio antennas,yatches, a bus full of cute 5 -year olds who could barely say "Go reds", a makeshift mobile market and people dressed as pea pods and beans, an Elvis impersonator, a 1952 orginal bobcat - ah! The joys of living in a small, midwestern town !!!

The first game of the season, Cincinnati Reds vs Chicago Cubs, had an added attraction today - President Bush throwing in the ceremonial first pitch. The breakroom of my office on the 17th floor, has a spectacular view of the ballpark, and the river. The big screen would supplement the live action, just in case. Opening day is almost a local holiday in Cincinnati.

Do you want a taste of the American corporate work ethic ? The game was supposed to start at 2 15. And we had a meeting from 2 to 3 today.As we sat in our conference rooms on the 19th floor, I struggled to stop this urge to crane my neck out of the window to see the first pitch.Our meeting went on, oblivious to the fact that there was this country's president , 100 yards away,visible to us, if we would only see!!! Wow!

(An "I-feel-so-grown-up" type comment would be a perfect end to this tale,but I am too swamped ;) !!)