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Corona times - Poems in Tamil

  குருவி - குளவி - கூடு:   நம் வீட்டில் குருவி கூடு கட்டும் போது குதூகலப் படுகின்ற நாம், குளவி வீடு கட்டும்போது மட்டும்  விரட்டுகிறோமே ஏன்? 'கொஞ்சு'கிற பிறவியை விட்டு  'கொட்டு'கின்ற துறவியிடம் போவார் யார்?   இனிக்கப் பேசுபவரைச் சுற்றியும், குறையே சொல்லிக் குட்டிக்  கொட்டுபவரைத் தள்ளியும் வைப்பர் மனிதர்! ==================== காலமான நேரம்:   "குளிக்கப் போகாம கைப்பேசிய ஏன் நோண்டிட்டிருக்கீங்க?" என்றது விசாரணைக் கமிஷன்.   "என்னுள் கவிதை ஊற்று பொங்கிக் கொண்டு இருக்கு!" என்ற பதில் சொல்லும் முன் அடுத்த அறிவிப்பு விரைவில் வந்தது:    "பாத்ரூமில் தண்ணி நின்னு போச்சு!" ==================== பலித்தது சாபம் :   'வடிகால்' கையெழுத்து பத்திரிகை நடத்திய நாட்களில் கிடைத்த சாபம்:   "வளர்ற வயசில கதை சொல்லிண்டிருந்தால்  பிற்காலத்தில் மாடு மேய்ச்சுத்தான் பொழைக்கணும்!" அட! நாற்பது வருஷம் திரும்பிப் பார்த்தால்,  Corporate Trainer ஆகி, வாழ்க்கை முழுவதும் பத்தாயிரம் கம்பனி மா(டுகளை)ணவர்களை கட்டி மேய்க்கும் 'கண்ணனாகி'னதில், பெத்தவர் சாபம் பலி...

Book Review: Living with the Himalayan Masters by Swami Rama

  'Experience' is God: Corona is God. Ask me why? Not even Religions and Masters could make us self-aware suddenly as we are today. If remaining conscious ever is the ultimate panacea for humanity’s ills, this little virus has given it to us on a platter. Whether cloistered or quarantined, if you want a visual tour of the mighty Himalayas, here’s a book by Swami Rama, “Living with the Himalayan Masters”, packed with wisdom, adventure and experiential learning encounters. In these times of travail, a dose of Indian Spirituality is apt. Take a dip in to the ice waters of the Ganges. A short review of the ‘autobiography of the yogi’ is attached for your week-end sojourn with Swami. -J Jeyes www.jeyes.in The Corona God has made us cavemen. After over one lakh years. Like the monkeys which dreaded jumping from their safe trees into the Savanna risking lives, we now look left and right to ensure that the time is right to venture out of our homes. Driving the entire humanity...

Book Review: Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

Simple Creative Perfectionist: Though‌ ‌I‌ ‌take‌ ‌an‌ ‌apple‌ a day‌,‌ ‌I‌ ‌have‌ ‌never‌ ‌touched‌ ‌the‌ ‌Apple in my life,‌ ‌the‌ ‌laptop,‌ ‌I‌ ‌mean.‌ ‌‌But I‌ ‌ have‌ ‌always‌ ‌wondered‌ ‌why‌ ‌owners‌ ‌of‌ ‌any‌ ‌Apple‌ ‌product‌ ‌were‌ ‌so possessive‌ ‌and‌ ‌proud‌ ‌of‌ ‌holding‌ ‌one in their hands ‘for others to see’ in public places.‌ ‌Particularly‌ ‌when‌ ‌Microsoft‌ ‌is‌ ‌dominating‌ ‌the‌ ‌mainstream‌ ‌how ‌Apple‌ made their ‌world unique? Apple’s‌ ‌an‌ ‌'insanely‌ ‌great'‌ ‌product‌ ‌which‌ ‌'dented‌ ‌the‌ ‌universe',‌ ‌as‌ ‌Steve Jobs‌ ‌believed‌ ‌it‌ ‌should‌ ‌be,‌ ‌'a‌ ‌machine‌ ‌that‌ ‌would‌ ‌transform‌ ‌personal‌ ‌computing'.‌ The electoral noise around may have delayed my reading, but never denied the pleasure of relishing the life story of 'Steve Jobs' by Walter Isaacson. Not only do you get to know the temperamental man who doggedly changed our reality, in contrast to his contemporary Bill Gates, but you also trace the history of...
Krishna Calls: "The first step is the most difficult one. Once taken, all other steps follow effortlessly". This I have learnt in the context of habits. How about abandoning reading in the middle? If you think I have read over 1000 books in my life, to tell you the truth, I have fully completed, taken notes of and reviewed ONLY about 400. Whereas I have quit in between, skimmed, skipped reading over 600 books because my attention was not worth spending on them. So, even if you apply brakes on healthy routines in life, restart quickly so your following steps go on autopilot. Though I have covered a lot of ground on Spirituality, here comes the ultimate words of wisdom, "Srimad Bhagavatam" from God Himself. Because in India, He did not trust 'Messengers' as the communication may get twisted. If you thought it's the good-old Bhagavat Gita, think again. It's different! Short review attached for starting up 'Knowing Yourself'. For those who don...

Book Review: Jugaad Innovation by Navi Radjou, Jaideep Prabhu & Simone Ahuja

Paul Polak, author of  Out of Poverty , wrote: "90 percent of the world’s products and services are designed for 10 percent of the world’s population-to meet the desires, rather than actual needs, of the richest people on earth." How true! On the contrary, Jugaad is what brings in simple and creative solutions to real problems faced by the masses. Here's an interesting book, Jugaad Innovation" born out of Indian ingenuity, with international examples, on how to unleash our innovative spirits while designing products and services. As the sub-title goes, it's a Frugal and Flexible Approach to Innovation for the 21st Century". Creative Spirits Unleashed: The company you keep, keeps you motivated. I fondly recall my discussions on this book in my hand with our young and intelligent HR Professional friend, Pradeep Unnikrishnan, a few years back. It has taken some time to read. But it’s worth it. Again, another book by an author-trio after the Toyota Lean Produc...

Book Review: Most and More by Mahatria Ra

Mostly Motivational: I have read somewhere the Dalai Lama saying: "Go out of circulation, once in six months!"  What he means is to travel out of your city/town/home to break the routine life and connect with Nature. Else the mind in its natural course will set a 'concrete context for life', particularly if you are living in a concrete jungle! If Corona has constrained your travel, alternatively why not pick up a book that expands your worldview to take stock of your life story? Here's a short review of the wise book, "Most and More" from Mahatria Ra, the well-known modern sage. It's a packed-power-punch. Gulp it to strengthen the soul. If a senior trainer and Guru of Gurus in Indianoil like Shri K M Krishnakumar, former Chief HRD Manager, Indianoil-SRO, blesses you with a book-gift, it is only your duty to cherish reading it. And I did. Though I have seen the witty video wisdom of Mahatria Ra, in the WhatsApp world and mostly (rather, more not less,...

Book Review: The Machine That Changed the World by James P Womack, Daniel T Jones & Daniel Roos

Man and the Machine on the Roads The Energy Industry today is on the cusp of change. This is an understatement and we all know, even as we experience the advent of smoke-less transportation vehicles that will soon dominate to move men and materials on the roads. NOW is also the time to look back at the Century of Cars through the eyes of impeccable researchers by reading history of car manufacturers of the world from Europe to US to Japan, shifting from craft-producer to mass-manufacturer to Lean Producers and learn valuable lessons from history. Sharing with you a s hort review of "How Lean Production Revolutionized the Global Car Wars", for teasing your thought-process, as Man-Managers who manufacture products for man's use! Man is NOT a Machine: The current-day scientists think that man is nothing but a bundle of bio-chemical algorithm. I beg to differ. Man is NOT just a machine. Though we appear to be caught into a daily/monthly/lifetime routine like machines, yet...